Chapter 173: A Far Too Simple Rescue

I heard a calm yet oppressive voice from beyond the door. I did not know whom it belonged to.

“She will be saved if you simply sign here. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Your Highness.” “I can imagine. So, after you put your son on the throne, you plan to have fun with that authority as a regent?” “I would never… But my son is still only twenty years old, so I cannot deny the possibility.” “Those documents would be useless without my signature. In that case… I will not sign them, even if that comes at the cost of Priscilla’s death.”

It seemed that someone was trying to force Elliot to write his testament. And judging from the situation, that someone was clearly Count Tarkashire. His goal was taking Elliot’s place, as expected.

Elliot, however, resolutely refused his demand. Priscilla’s life seemed to have been used as a bargaining point, but she was already being healed by Maxwell.

Besides, I couldn’t imagine them saving her even if he accepted it. Elliot was also aware of that fact, that’s why he refused it.

“The north has finally calmed down, so I can’t allow myself to do something that would spread the sparks of conflict. Even if Priscilla dies, I still can’t. And at the same time, I can’t allow myself to die, either.” “Your resolve is worthy of a monarch, however, resolve alone won’t change the world.” “Even so, I cannot accept this. And judging from the earlier sound, it doesn’t seem like I am the only one who has been cornered, isn’t it?” “Of course not. Ones that headed upstairs earlier are at least as strong as fourth-ranked Adventurers. Five such Adventurers should be enough to deal with most people.” “I wonder about that… This is Raum, a place where two of the Six Heroes live.”

Elliot was firmly denying it… Looked like he was self-conscious about his standing as a king. Back when I died, he was still just a little crybaby.

At any rate, it was clear that this place was the root of this incident. All that was left was to secure his safety while also cleaning out the guys inside.

I only had one Mythril thread that I could use, only one meter long. Other than that, I only had my dagger to fight at close quarters. Even so, I had no need for a longer thread in such a narrow underground space.

Catching my breath a little, I tried to kick open the door and go inside.

My kick connected with the door with a loud sound. And the door—didn’t even budge.

“O-Ouch…”

It turned out to be quite a sturdy door. However, fortunately enough, the guys that came to intercept me before had left the door unlocked.

It couldn’t be helped, so I just went and opened it normally by turning the knob. And it opened all too easily.

“W-Who are you!?”

I slowly walked inside. Seeing me, Elliot asked with a shocked face.

“H-Haumea…? What are you doing here!?” “Haumea? Never heard of her… Hey, little miss. I don’t know how you managed to slip past the guys above, but-” “Guys above? I already sent them all to the afterworld.”

Inside I saw a masked man and a noble-looking man. The one that started talking was probably Count Tarkashire. The other one was flustered from my sudden appearance and clung to the wall.

As for Elliot, he was made to sit on the other side of the desk. His feet were shackled, so he would’ve found it hard to escape on his own.

“You did what…?” “I meant I slaughtered them all. And you are next.”

Tarkashire looked dumbfounded for a moment, unable to comprehend my words. Elliot was the same.

He probably didn’t expect me to be so strong. Or rather, he never would have guessed that I would show up here.

“Haumea, what are you…” “I came to save you, so just sit quietly for a moment.” “H-Huh… Come again?”

Spreading the Mythril thread with both my arms, I took a low battle posture. Seeing that, Tarkashire also pulled out his beloved dagger.

It seemed like he carried it for self-defense, but seeing how overly decorated it was and the way he held it, I couldn’t see him as a fighter.

“Little girl, I will not let you get in my way…!” “With that bent back of yours? Please don’t underestimate the survivability of a Scionian person.” “Scion, you say… You mean that wasteland!?”

Ever since the Evil Dragon’s attack, Scion hadn’t been revived and remained as a wasteland. Though in reality, I was just making s̲h̲i̲t̲ up here since I have never even been there.

There were two enemies. Only Tarkashire seemed to be willing to fight. I didn’t know if and when the other one would decide to join.

I had to promptly neutralize him, but seizing the opponent without killing wasn’t something I was very used to.

“I bet you are just bluffing. Back off, little girl!”

Tarkashire yelled and thrust the dagger at me. I just swung my leg and kicked his hand up. Normally, this would be hard for me to do, but his low skill allowed me to pull it off.

The kick landed on his wrist and flung the dagger from his hand straight into the mud ceiling. As he stumbled forward some, I coiled the thread around his wrist and moved into a locking technique.

Using that thread, I forced his hands backwards and tied them like chicken wings. Following that, I swiped his legs and pushed him to the ground with my knee pressing on his back to restrain him in place.

Next, I focused my attention on the other man, but…

“Huh, he’s gone?”

The man was suddenly nowhere to be found. Where he used to stand, there was now an entrance leading to the underground tunnel.

“H-Haumea… Are you alright!?” “Dude, that should be my-… Ah, nevermind. I’m alright, yes. I’m used to this.”

I ended up retorting in reflex, but managed to smooth over it with a smile. Elliot had shackles and couldn’t move, but he didn’t seem to be seriously injured.

I knocked out Tarkashire who was squirming under my knee with a chop to the neck, and stood up.

You could call this a case closed… Right?