Chapter 12-
After the whole fiasco with the carriage, Yuishia was giving off a strange vibe.
All the time her gaze was staring at the ground, and then, as if she had made up her mind while putting Kuro on her lap and patting him after the dinner, she turned to us.
"Um...Chise-san, Teto-san. I have something to tell you."
"Yes? Is it about what happened during the day?"
"Y-yes. The person that Chise-san and Teto-san argued with is Orbelt-sama… Orbelt Suzurland-sama, to be exact."
Orbelt was the head of the Suzurland clan, which Yuishia belongs to, and the heir apparent to a Count, which was a noble magic family.
Although he was the youngest among the court sorcerers, he was said to have a great talent for magic and a high level of magical power despite his youth. He was from an influential background, has a vast fortune at his disposal earned through the sale of magic potions unique to their family as well as the protection of trading ships, and he also has many magicians and soldiers at his call whom they have fostered from their infancy.
"That's why it's an ill-omen to be eyed on by him. The apparent next heir is also someone plagued by ill rumors."
"Ill rumors, huh......?"
They ranged from performing illegal magic experiments on purchased slaves, to blackmailing or assassination using fostered soldiers, to using his influence to cover up his misdeeds, and cornering others financially using his wealth among other things----
"Wow, that's scary."
"It's dangerous indeed. Majou-sama, you should avoid getting too close."
"How can you say it so flippantly!?"
Yuishia's face stiffened and she raised her voice seeing Teto and me talking so unconcernedly.
"Because you see, it seems like we're too late to take any precautions."
"Visitors in the premises, Majou-sama."
"What? Ehh?"
My mana sense registered several people intruding on the premises of our house. Teto seemed to have sensed them, too.
"There are around...10 people it seems. I guess they're assassins, eh?"
"All of them are rolling on the ground now. They have been neutralized like usual."
"Huh, huh? Can anyone tell what's happening?"
‹Purr~›
I replied to both the confused Yuishia and Kuro who purred in discontent when the hand caressing him stopped.
"Nothing, just some assassins sneaking in."
"I-isn't that awful!?"
"The security spell I had put up before has activated, and they're calmly dozing off in the garden."
I already had a barrier erected here to prevent trespassers when we moved to this house. So the barrier that responded to their ill-will and malice nailed them with ‹Stun›, robbing them of their movements, and then Teto captured them by manipulating the ground with earth magic from a distance.
"Anyway, let's check them out, I guess."
"Ehh, are you sure it's safe!?"
"All good. Our spells have already given them a warm welcome.”
At this point, people of this level could hardly make us break a sweat after our long history of mock battles with adventurers, bandit suppressions, and capturing criminals with bounties on their heads in our adventurer work.
That wasn't even mentioning the fact that they have been hit by the lightning spell ‹Stun› and must be in a paralyzed state. They were further caught up in the soil manipulated and strengthened by Teto's mana, so breaking away from the soil was a tall task even with ‹Body Strengthening› once Teto manipulates it.
We went outside and saw ten people in the grasp of earthen hands and pressed on the ground as they writhe.
"Let's see, can you tell me your goal and who your employer is?"
I shifted my gaze to one of the struggling assassins. However, he kept his expression as indifferent as a stone without answering.
In fact, he even tried to commit suicide by bitting the poison stored in his teeth, but---
"----‹Analyze›. The poison's variation is... I see. ----‹Antidote›."
I used an analysis spell, a higher version of the appraisal spell, and detoxified him with recovery magic.
The man was bewildered when the excruciating pain caused by the fast-acting poison disappeared in an instant. I informed them with a flat expression.
"Just so you know, my healing and dispelling skills are top-notch so don't even think you can easily die in front of me."
The men hung their heads down understanding they could neither run away nor die after I spoke and adopted silence.
I could regenerate their tongues if they tried to commit suicide by biting their tongues, and I even had Teto manipulate the soil to jam their mouths with it to prevent them from committing suicide.
"Now, let me ask again. Can you tell me the reason, purpose, and employer behind your assassination attempt?"
"...... Can't say."
With them finally breaking the ice, even if it was just two simple words, I nodded in contentment.
"...... Oh, alright. You'll stay here like this until morning. It's already late, so we're going to sleep."
"Let's go to sleep-nanodesu, Majou-sama!"
"What, are you really fine with leaving them like this, Chise-san!? I mean, they came to kill you, right?"
I responded to Yuishia who looked flustered at our nonchalant take on them.
"They haven't drawn their weapons yet, so they're just illegal intruders. Besides, I don't like interrogation or torture, so I'll leave that to the experts among the guards and knights."
"Majou-sama is kind and doesn't like hurting people."
I turned away in slight embarrassment when Teto said that, though I could see Yuishia's expression, which had been tense with nervousness until now, slightly eased up.
"You're kind indeed, Chise-san. And even more so, generous."
"I'm just a coward when it comes to hurting people, not generous. That's why I have the whole premises of the house firmly strengthened with harm-prevention spells.
I said in self-derision at Yuishia's words.
I was just a timid and cautious person. I guess that was why I chose to heal, protect and foster over hurting someone.
Of course, I didn't just take anyone's ill will or malice lying down, though my motto was to basically avoid getting into a scuffle as much as possible and leave such matters to guards and such who were mainly for that.
And then, as I exhaled a sigh while entering the house, Yuishia quipped----
"Seriously, just who're you, Chise-san?"
"Fufu, that's still a secret."
"It's a secret-nanodesu~"
As we flashed a mischievous smile to her, Yuishia, who was apparently startled by the assassination attempt, proposed----
"It's kind of chilling to see an assassination attempt, so can I sleep in your room today?"
"Of course. Let's all sleep on the same bed."
"It sounds fun!"
Leaving the assassins behind, we all slept in the same room together that day.
SIDE: Suzurland Clan Apparent Heir - Olbert
"Damn, those annoying adventurer brats...... It would have been for the best if they had just left behind that wand, the magic bag, and also that cat."
"Please appease your anger, Olbert-sama. I'm sure the fostered assassins will surely live up to your expectations."
"Alas, the world wants it to be so, it seems. A pity they're going to be killed and their possession stolen at this tender age. Kukuku......"
In the mansion prepared for Olbert's research, two more men were present there beside Olbert.
With their talents receiving the approval of Count Suzurland, they had become his aids and also court sorcerers at the same time.
"Nevertheless, the wand's color surprised me. A wand that can amplify wind magic by 10 times is simply something prepared by heaven just for us, Suzurland."
One of the aids said so with deep emotions.
He possessed a unique skill called 'Magic Eye of Appraisal' which allowed him to examine the items around the noble Olbert and report his findings to him. It was due to the virtue of this unique skill that he was able to spot the identity of Chise's ‹Magic Wand - Hisui›, the magic bag, and also camouflaged Kuro's real form, a Cat Sith.
"10 fold huh...... Even the treasured wand of Suzurland only provides 5 fold amplification, right? It's strange that a child like her would have it. She even stopped our falling carriage with magic, apparently. Ack, my butt still hurts from the impact."
The other man was famous for his love of battles.
He possessed a unique skill called ‹Flame Manipulation› which, when combined with Suzurland's wind magic, produced intense flames, making him one of the strongest combatants among the court sorcerers of the Lovile kingdom. Surprisingly though, a battle freak like him loved money more than anything else.
He was a materialistic person who believed that with money, one could have everything, including women and alcohol. His love for money made him follow Olbert, as he was always looking for ways to make money, and during the accident as well, he was devising a way to steal the money of an adventurer seemingly carrying a huge sum he met coincidentally.
"Haven't you already treated your bum with a potion? Cease your crude jokes. Hmph, I bet that brat must have been relying on the wand's abilities to cast magic. Such a sublime thing is just benefitting me, the head of this wind magic clan. That's all there is to it!"
"I'm more curious about the rarely seen mythical beasts, Cat Sith. Its fur and blood as a scarce mythical beast should be usable as materials for a magic potion, or it could be a good attraction. At worst, even killing it and digging out its mana core would still be worth it."
After seeing the beautiful black cat on the market and learning of its true form from his comrade possessing the magic eye, the battle freak just couldn't stop drooling at the profit he could acquire from it.
"Hey, be kind to the Cat Sith. Mythical beasts have a long lifespan. We can produce far more mana-potent materials from it if we handle it well."
"Bummer, what about my benefits then?"
"In that case, how about we distribute the contents of the stolen magic bag among ourselves? There should be some things that can be sold for money or exchanged for other valuable items."
Brimming with confidence that this was yet another simple matter for their subordinates, they discussed the distribution of the treasures they hadn't even obtained yet.
‹Magic Eye of Appraisal› could extract information about the opponents as long as they were not far above in strength. However, one couldn't see their status if there was an overwhelming difference in strength. Rather, the aid didn't even realize that he couldn't see Chise's status.
Although he, as a court sorcerer, possessed a sufficient amount of mana, he was only strong when fighting from the shadows of the adventurers, the rear line. He has neglected the training of his mana perception and mana manipulation and has been riding on the virtue of his unique skill and mana reserve.
Even if he had tried, though, it might have been difficult for him to accurately perceive the ability of Chise and Teto, who could control mana like the back of their hand.
As the night further deepened, they became increasingly anxious seeing no sign of the assassins coming back.
"Damn them! How long are those bastards going to keep their master waiting!"
"Hmm, they're indeed late. Shall we call it a day today?"
"Geez, what a waste of time. I guess I'll go to bed."
While fretting, the three of them went to bed.
The next morning, they received information that all the assassins they sent out were captured by adventurers and were handed over to the guards.
