Chapter 180: These Guys Are…
While running toward the fourth street where the twins’ house was, I told Sharle, who was flying alongside me in the air,
"Sharle, there might be thieves in the capital!"
"The royal castle has already sent a report. They should be notifying the gates and soldiers around here right away!"
"Great. And..."
"Teine is looking for the twins from the sky. They’re at the fourth street, right?"
"Yeah!"
It hadn’t been long since the twins left the Fiera Dormitory.
But Erika had said she ran back, right...?
The twins’ skills hadn’t awakened yet, so if they had, it would be a body-enhancement or support skill and I wouldn’t be able to catch up.
I was breathing heavily while thinking— if one of Konru’s childhood friends was a thief, that would fit.
That guy had probably incited the other childhood friend and asked him to guide thieves into the capital.
I didn’t know why they were targeting the twins; in the game the twins’ profiles were there but the family structure wasn’t.
If I had known that, it might have been some kind of clue, but...
"Two of the twins’ friends came to their house together!" Teine is restraining the man watching outside so they won’t notice!"
"Damn it! Tell Teine not to push herself! We’re arriving soon too!"
"Yes!"
Sharle and the others could talk only with the fairies, so that was how they were communicating.
If I turned the corner of this alley, I would see the twins’ house.
I stopped before turning the corner, quietly composed myself, and peeked out to check the situation.
This alley was wide enough for one carriage, so even though several men were standing in front of the twins’ house, no one seemed to care.
Their outfits were adventurer-like, but I noticed blood on the edges of their clothes.
I didn’t know if they had killed and taken something or stolen it, but from their appearance they were definitely thieves.
The number outside... four? Because they said others had been taken inside, there must have been more.
I whispered to Sharle beside me.
"Sharle, please handle this too..."
"Already taken care of."
"Thank you. If I jump out, tell Teine to move however she wants."
"I understand. I’ll be right behind Raide-sama. Do whatever you like."
"...Sorry for the trouble."
"No. Please trouble me more."
While grateful for Sharle’s kindness as she tried to lighten the mood, I looked for the right moment to jump out.
I took three knives from my magic bag—two to my waist belt and one in my right hand—so I could fight indoors too.
Wait for me, I’ll save you now!
Teine must have made a sound on the opposite side, so the thieves turned their attention there and I took the chance.
I jumped out from the shadows, closed the distance in an instant, and slit the throat of the man closest to me from behind.
"Nn...!?"
"N? ...O!?"
As soon as the next man turned sideways, I stabbed his throat with the knife and quickly checked the remaining two while pulling the blade out.
But Sharle and Teine had already used water magic to trap their heads in water spheres, and they were struggling.
When they gasped for air with a pattering sound, the strength in both their bodies completely drained.
If the outside enemies were gone, the inside ones wouldn’t be able to fight back without knowing what was happening outside.
After confirming that all four were dead, I nodded at Sharle and Teine’s faces, kicked open the door of the twins’ house, and entered.
What caught my eyes when I stepped in was Scon lying completely naked on the table.
A man was spreading Scon’s legs, and the moment he saw me he realized his blood was boiling.
He deserved to die—these guys shouldn’t be alive.
"What!? Go pooo!?"
"Die."
"You! GyaAAAAAHHH!? My eyes!!"
While the man spreading Scon’s legs was startled, I stabbed his neck with the knife and threw the second one at the other man.
The man who was hit in the eye thrashed on the floor and stopped moving. I immediately took a sheet from the magic bag and covered Scon’s body with it.
"Guz... t, teacher~"
"Sorry, wait for me."
I glanced at the Sharle who had entered the house and signaled with my eyes. Sharle nodded with a serious expression.
Holding one knife on my waist belt, I quickly swept the room.
There was only one door... if anyone was inside, it had to be there.
I kicked open the door to the adjacent bedroom and saw a man covering something on the bed. When he turned his face,
"What are you!? Gue he~!?"
I closed the distance in an instant, grabbed the man by the back of his neck, and threw him into the wall with a loud thud.
When I looked at the bed, Micon was lying naked, crying and looking at me with surprise.
It was impolite, but since there was no blood from her crotch, it must have been an attempt... That was bad, but I was relieved.
I had already confirmed Scon was safe, so I wasn’t thinking of forgiving him at all, though.
While taking a sheet from the magic bag and covering her body, I turned to the man who was trying to move.
"Teacher~ uuuuu..."
"Scon is safe—please wait a little."
"Gua... ? Who are you? Ggiyaaaaaaa!! Painaaaaaaa!!"
"Who told you to open your mouth?"
I threw the knife at him and it pierced his shoulder. The man was screaming.
...I had aimed for the head, but maybe I should have aimed for the body?
More importantly, even the twins hadn’t screamed, so why was this guy shouting so much?
I sat down and twisted the tip of my shoe into the man’s loud mouth while he was sitting and pressing the knife in his shoulder.
It’s disgusting—the sound, the existence...
Looking down at the man with a face twisted by fear and pain, I took the last knife from my waist belt with my right hand.
"Are there any other accomplices?"
"Nnnnngh!"
"...Hmm."
Even though his mouth was fixed to my shoe, the man was desperately shaking his head side to side.
He was really desperate—how hilarious.
I was thinking maybe I could kill him, but Sharle approached hurriedly and whispered in my ear,
"I can’t trust him. We’ll take him back and interrogate him until he talks."
Interrogation? It was torture, right? I didn’t say it out loud.
The cold, extreme look and expression Sharle and Teine were giving the thieves made me think they were more frightening than the thieves themselves.
When I nodded slightly, Sharle let out a sigh of relief, took something from the magic bag, and made the man smell it.
The man instantly passed out. I pulled the shoe from his mouth after confirming he was out.
...Disgusting. I should buy new ones.
I wasn’t a cleanliness fetishist, but I didn’t want to go see my lovers wearing shoes with this man’s saliva.
Sharle grabbed the man’s hair and dragged him outside with one hand.
From the outside it would look like he was being dragged by something invisible, and I felt sorry for him.
"Auuaaah... Micon~!"
"Scon! I’m glad you’re safe~!"
Scon, wrapped in a sheet so his skin wasn’t visible, entered the room and jumped when he saw Micon safe.
I told Teine, who was in the living room, to arrange a carriage for me to go to the third street. Teine smiled, nodded, and left the house.
I checked the living room—if there were any other thieves, but I felt no presence.
Even if there were, Teine and Sharle had already dealt with them... I thought that calmly, calmer than before.
I headed to the bedroom, bowed deeply with an apologetic face to the two twins hugging and crying with joy on the bed.
"Sorry, it took me too long to save you."
"It’s not like that~"
"Thank you, thank you~"
When I raised my head at their words, I told them I had called a carriage.
I also said they should stay at Nifa Inn until they calmed down—it wasn’t good to be just the two of them.
From experience, it was best to have someone with you in times like this... even if they were rejected, I would force them.
When I had calmed down and felt cornered, I had seen suicide during the war... even though it was only attempted rape, I couldn’t leave them alone.
When I explained that, the twins nodded strongly and let out sighs of relief.
After a while, when Sharle and Teine entered the house, I saw a carriage stop outside.
The sound of metal clattering meant the patrol soldiers had come too.
I asked the twins if they were okay to stand and they shook their heads with troubled expressions.
They had gone through such terrifying experiences, so of course.
I told Scon to cover his body with a sheet so no skin showed and picked up Micon princess-style.
"I want to take both of you at the same time, but I’m not strong enough. Wait a little longer— I’ll be right back."
"Un, I’m fine."
After nodding to Micon, I carried Scon in my arms and ran outside. Erika had opened the rear curtain of the carriage.
When she saw Micon’s figure, Erika’s expression turned stern, then she looked at me and said,
"Roy-san is fine. We captured the male childhood friend. This one... how was it?"
"I barely made it... just in time."
"Even if you barely made it, it’s good that you did. It’s better than becoming a damaged good. Come on, get in the carriage quickly."
"Ah, I’ll bring Micon right away."
Erika’s stern expression relaxed into a relieved one, and she let out a small sigh.
I gently lowered Scon into the carriage, ran back to the house, princess-carried Micon, and returned.
Exactly when I loaded Micon onto the carriage, the patrol soldiers entered the house to check. One of the soldiers whispered, "I’ve heard the situation," to me.
They hadn’t been interrogated, so that was it. Sharle and the others’ reports had arrived in time.
After nodding at the soldier’s words, I helped Erika onto the carriage and climbed in myself. The curtain on the driver’s seat opened a little, and Sateur poked his head out and waved lightly.
...Everyone helped me.
If it had been only me, what would I have done...?
When I waved back, Sateur smiled, pulled his head in, and that was the signal for the carriage to start moving slowly.
The twins were holding each other tightly to steady their trembling bodies, and Erika was gently stroking their backs alternately.