Chapter 248
“Lord Azurite!”
“It’s the Lesser Buncle!!”
His attention drawn by the guard’s remark, Azurite turned towards the road and saw the small magical beast whose chestnut colored-fur rustled as it sprinted ahead while the little fox and the competitor introduced by the Vest family chased after it.
“This is our chance!”
“I know. Rain!”
Azurite thrust out his arm at the right moment and conjured a weak Wind Blade spell adapted to urban areas, but he could not keep the target in his line of sight because of the people blocking his view.
“Tsk, I can’t take a shot…”
“Then let’s get closer!!”
Rain lifted up the hem of her skirt and dashed away with the guards following her lead. The Lesser Buncle also picked up on their presence and ran into the back alley that intersected with the main street.
“Kukuuh!”
“Kyuuu!!”
Meanwhile, the little fox that was running just behind the magical beast followed it into the back alley while the silver-haired adventurer bumped into the Dykebell group who were also on the move.
“Please go ahead, My Lord!”
“Don’t force yourself, Rain!!”
The Dykebell heir was accompanied by one guard. My eyes followed his retreating figure as he left a concerning statement and cast a suspicious glance at the female attendant and the two guards who were blocking my way.
“…I didn’t know we were allowed to interfere with the opponent.”
“No, I am responsible for all of this… but I guess you could say it’s a strategy.”
They did not seem to be the type of people who would recklessly pull a blade out in the middle of town, but… As the violet-haired girl Rain took a condescending attitude, one of the guards came swinging with his fists from the right.
“Don’t take this personally, bud!”
“Oh don’t worry, I just won’t allow it!!”
I used the back of my left hand to deflect the full force of his blow while I coated my other hand with a whirlwind and struck at his solar plexus.
“Guhah, y-you… gah!?”
The impact slightly pushed him back, and the guard unconsciously crouched down due to the pain. I followed up with a well-aimed kick on his chin which sent him stumbling onto the street.
“Bastard, how dare you do that to Rick!!”
I ducked down just in time to avoid the other guard’s upper roundhouse kick that was aimed at the side of my head and placed my palm on the ground as I kicked and swept his other leg from underneath.
“Sei!!”
“Uoah!? Ugh…”
The attack caused him to lose balance, so I followed up with a hand chop to the back of his neck before he could get up and rendered him unconscious.
“Sorry bud, don’t take it personally…”
After neutralizing the two guards, I turned my attention back to the attendant Rain who brought her right arm to her left shoulder like a whip and released something black from her palm!
Although I was caught a little off guard by her petite and dainty figure, the accuracy and speed of the projectile aimed right between my eyebrows was very much beyond the realm of an amateur.
“Uooooh!?”
I barely managed to deflect the small iron ball by raising my right arm which was protected by a gauntlet. However, this was a diversion as she instantly stepped in and delivered a low kick with her right leg as soon as my attention was diverted to the flying object flying to my face.
“Se!!”
“Tsk”
When I slightly raised my left leg to diffuse the power of the kick, she instantly turned her right knee inward and jumped up intending to strike the base of my head with a high kick.
I took a step back and leaned away to avoid that too, but using the centrifugal force of her kick, she did a half turn and closed the distance and hit me with a backhand blow using her left fist.
“Yaaaaah!!”
“Hah, ran out of moves already?”
After the third strike in a row, I finally caught on and blocked the blow with all my might using my left arm and quickly grabbed Rain’s wrist and pulled, tripping and knocking her into the cobblestones.
“Ukyaah!?”
She let out a small scream as she fell to the ground. Having put some distance between us, I immediately closed the distance as she knelt and held her in place as I launched a powerful mid-kick at her chest, only for it to be blocked by her crossed arms.
From that position, she jumped back with a flexing motion and did a backflip to regain her balance.
“Kuuh, you relentless beast!!”
“… I’ve been going easy on you though.”
By the way, I had reduced the force of my kick and adjusted it to be just right for an opponent whose movements were clearly beyond the scope of how an attendant should be.
(She may look like an attendant on the outside, but I’m betting her real job is either a bodyguard or an assassin…)
(…This isn’t how an archer moves, he deceived us!)
After briefly exchanging quizzical glances with her, we noticed that the onlookers were beginning to get restless so I sharpened my senses to decide my next move.
“Shih!!”
After taking a short breath, I crouched down and rushed towards Rain in an instant, attempting to land a palm strike aimed at her chin, only to be countered by a flying knee kick.
“Take this!!”
“Guuh!”
I caught her left arm just before she could slam her knee into my face and used my weight on her knee to restrain her movement as she swung another hand at me. Power surged through my limbs as I forcefully knocked her small body away with a swing of my own.
“Ha, that’s it? Lame!!”
“Wha!? Kahah…”
The move created an opening so I wasted no time and slammed the base of my palm against Rain’s chin. She lost her balance as she landed and I used this opportunity to deliver a blow to her neck that knocked her unconscious.
“M-my apologies… Lord Azurite…”
“…This girl was such a handful.”
Since I didn’t want to interfere with the love lives of others by sticking my nose in their business [1], I supported the attendant, who was risking her life a little too much to be considered loyal to her master, and laid her down on the cobblestones. After taking a brief glance at the local guards who were rushing into the scene, I also ran into the alley in pursuit of the small magical beast.
Character Introduction
Name： Rain (♀)
Race： Human
Rank： Attendant
Skill：Self-Defense, Assassination, Throwing, Cooking, Laundry, Cleaning
Title：Dykebell Family Temporary Head Attendant
Weapon： Hidden Knives, Small Iron Balls
Armament： Attendant Uniform, Blue Crystal Barrette, Garter Ring (For Knives)
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Translators notes:
[1] interfere with the love lives of others by sticking my nose in their business
The original is 他人の事情に口を挟んで馬に蹴られるのも性に合わないため which is a combination of three expressions. The first one is 口を挟む which is to interrupt someone when they are speaking (in this case, this is inquiring about other people’s circumstances), and 馬に蹴られるwhich is a term used for those who interfere with the love lives of others. 性に合わない is the negative form of 性に合う which means to agree with someone or to be congenial. The sentence when all three are put together becomes, “Because I did not want to be involved in the circumstances of others and interfering with their love lives…” However, it’s such a mouthful so I shortened it to, “Since I didn’t want to interfere with the love lives of others by sticking my nose in their business…” for better readability.
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