CH 40

Ch. 40: Robbers

I was just about to fall asleep, but with guests arriving, it can’t be helped.

Werner: “Whether they are allies or enemies is the real question.”

I place a warm blanket over Hati who’s sleeping on the bed and head to the front door.

And from the inside, I took a peek outside.

I have visibility from the inside out, but not from the outside in. That was one of the features I installed.

Of course, it is a feature of one of my old Magecraft Artifacts.

Werner: “Hm? Looks like it’s robbers.”

It was not Lotte, my sister, or any of the servants in the mansion.

They were disguised with black apparel, and carrying various tools, they were trying to pry open the door.

There were a total of 3. They were probably a band of robbers.

Other than when we enter and exit the Research Facility, we always activate the Barrier Generator.

That’s why even if they wanted to enter, they couldn’t.

Werner: “I guess I’ll capture them for the sake of the Capital’s safety.”

I walked away from the front door and headed towards the hidden backdoor.

And turning off the Barrier Generator for a brief moment, I quietly exit.

I immediately turn the Barrier Generator back on, and with my presence erased, head to the front door by walking around the perimeter of the house.

The front door was reinforced and sturdy even without the Barrier, so I don’t believe it will be that easy to break in.

And I only took the Barrier down for a moment, so the bandits should not have noticed.

With my presence erased, I was just about to speak to the bandits from behind whenーー

“What are you doing here?” I heard Lotte’s voice echo across the yard.

Maybe she had a hard time falling asleep in the unfamiliar mansion.

And it’s possible that she was up and about to use the restroom when she noticed the bandits and decided to stop them.

This is definitely not something a Princess needs to be doing.

Werner: (I’ll need to lecture her later as her teacher.)

In these cases, you can inform the servants and have them take action.

There is not a single advantage in having the Princess herself step forward under these circumstances.

Lotte: “Surrender yourself and do not resist. You will be treated fairly according to the laws of this land.”

And turning towards the bandits, she drew her sword and pointed it straight at them.

I’m sure that Lotte has some confidence in her Spells and swords skills.

She may not have done well against a powerful enemy, but she has the confidence to take care of 3 burglars.

Werner: (She’s being too overconfident. ……I’m starting to understand how my Master feels now.)

My Master constantly reminds me that “he is stronger” to help quell my overconfidence.

Seeing Lotte overextend herself like this, I’m starting to see how my Master sees me.

The bandits glanced at Lotte.

At the same time, one of the bandits suddenly drew his sword and attacked Lotte.

His movements were quick ー the movements of an elite, first-rate swordsman.

And…..I could not detect any murderous bloodlust. Rather than a warrior, the bandit was closer to an assassin.

Lotte: “Eek?!”

But as the tip of the blade almost reached Lotteーー

I blocked the short sword with Magic Power flowing through my robe.

I received this robe from my Master.

It’s defensive capabilities are incredible.

Lotte: “Master, I’m so sorry.”

Werner: “Lectures will have to wait till later. For now, focus on staying safe.”

Lotte nodded towards me.

I took off my robe and placed it around Lotte.

After that, I turned towards the three bandits and glared.

Werner: “You all, what business do you have at this separate residence? If you’re looking for money, there’s none here.”

“...................”

At that instant, I felt intense murderous thirst from the bandits.

And without saying a word, they attacked.

Werner: “........? Why are they so riled up?”

One of the three bandits charged towards me.

They held a blackened short sword in one hand.

It was probably to help hide the blade in the dark.

And not only was it blackened, it also had some sort of liquid painted onto it.

Most likely poison.

Werner: “I see. You are assassins.”

I dodge the short sword and my fist connects with the lower jaw of the bandit.

I have learned some martial arts in the past.

A product of my training and refinement from my Master.

My Master left me alone in most cases, but sometimes, out of the blue, he would take me somewhere outside the Academy.

And sometimes, he would thrust me into an area where extremely dangerous monsters ran rampant.

Werner: “Hm?” As soon as my fist connected, the sensation was strange.

If it was just a regular person, it would have knocked him out.

But I felt no ceasing of resistance from this bandit.

Werner: “You’re not human, are you?” “...................”

The bandit did not answer my question.

Aiming for one of my vitals, it thrust the short sword downwards.

It had amazing technique.

Judging by its movements, you could not help but feel that it was a well-trained human being.

But the sensation I felt on my fist told me that it was otherwise.

Werner: “..........and on top of that….”

I was concerned about the other two.

They were not participating in the attack.

But I can sense the Magic Power they began accumulating.

It was as if they were letting the vanguard gain time while they prepared a huge Spell.

Rather than this vanguard, I need to do something about the 2 in the rear first.

Werner: “Well, whatever. Here, just lay down for a while.” If it’s not human, there’s no reason to defeat it while preserving its life.

I enveloped my hand with Magic Power, and I slashed its head off while dodging an attack.

But it still moved.

Werner: “.........I’m wondering how you were made. I’m curious now.” Deciding to investigate it later, I cut off its arms and legs to ensure that it was incapacitated.

And I proceeded to charge against the two in the back.

Werner: “Surrender.” “..........die.”

“Unforgiveable.”

They mumbled the words without any emotion as they cast a Spell towards me.

Werner: “!! WHOA!!”

It was a much stronger Spell than I expected.

I tried to minimize the damage to the surroundings by creating a Spell Barrier and blocking the attack.

As I did so, I fired a Fire Spell towards them.

They did not move or try to block my attack.

The cloth that was covering their faces burned away.

…………and there, I saw the Academy President and Head of Magecraft Research.

Werner: “............the great and noble President of the Mages Academy and Head of Magecraft Science Research is now resorting to petty theft?”

“Theft? You’re incorrect, Strout.”

The Academy President smiled as he spoke, but his words remained empty.

There was absolutely no emotion inside any of his words.

And the two looked younger than before.

Werner: “If not theft, what are you all doing here?” “Strout, we came here to kill you.”

The Head of Research smiled as he spoke too.

But just like the President, though their words were stale, their faces shown with abundant emotion.

And the dissonance in their expression and speech felt extremely wrong.

Werner: “I see. Do you really think you are capable of accomplishing that?”

“Do not be so cocky, Strout.”

The Academy President cast another Spell.

He combined [Fire] and [Wind] Magic to make a powerful hybrid Spell.

It transformed into a fiery tornado and raged about threatening to burn everything around us.

Werner: “An impressive Spell, President. You are indeed one of the authorities of Attack Magic.”

But even so, the Spell was too powerful.

The Academy President may have been studying theories, but he was not performing those Spells in actual combat.

There was no way that he should have been this strong.

In order to mitigate the damage from the fiery tornado, I surround the area with a Magic Barrier.

I had to put multi-layer Barriers in a wide radius.

If I didn’t, not only would the Marquis Mansion burn down, but the entire neighborhood would be incinerated to ash otherwise.

“You let your guard down, Strout.” I heard the Academy President’s voice coming from my side.

At the same time, a powerful lightning struck down upon me.

I managed to place a Magic Barrier in time to protect myself.

Werner: “Head of Research, have you gotten stronger?” The Head of Magecraft Science Research was not adept with Attack Magic.

“Of course. We have been reborn.”

And the Academy President and Head of Research’s face began glowing red.

Horns grew from their heads and wings spread out from their backs.

The two were no longer human at all.
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