CH 61

Battle

Sheila didn’t understand Crow’s intention, who showed no sign of following the children.

Come to think of it, he spilled the word “Count” even though she didn’t ask, and used the word “trafficker,” which Count Gilgner himself adamantly disapproved of.

She thought it was just his carelessness, but the fact that all of the people of the organization except Crow were out also seemed to be on purpose.

When coincidences like this piled up, she had to tilt her head and think. What on earth was he thinking?

As she stared at him, Crow opened his mouth.

“I can prevent them from leaving easily, you know. Right now, I wonder how the cute Sheila-chan is going to fight without any weapons?”

Annoyed by the smug smile on his face, Sheila suddenly threw something at him.

Crow, who was quite skilled, quickly dodged to the left.

“!!”

The flying item was longer than he had imagined. If he had avoided it backward, he would surely have been hit.

Only when the person who threw it drew it back again did Crow finally recognize what it was.

It was a very common item――hemp rope.

“That’s….”

Sheila smiled wryly at the wide-eyed Crow.

“That’s right. It’s the rope that tied our hands and feet. I had it adjusted to the right length, along with everyone else’s.”

The hemp rope was fairly heavy, and the many knots made it stiff, so if it hit you, it could become a deadly weapon.

Her search for a potential weapon was fruitless, and in her distress, she turned to the rope that was used to tie her hands and feet. It was a sufficient enough weapon to have at hand that it truly described the phrase ‘It’s always the darkest under the lighthouse’.[1]

“You seem to be underestimating that I can only use a sword just because I’m a member of the Patrol Corps. I used to hunt beasts in the mountains, so I’m also good with throwing weapons.”

“Growing up in the mountains… It’s quite out of the ordinary.”

Hearing his voice that seemed to be taken aback, she felt like she had done something right for once. It was as if the organization had provided the weapon, so it was no wonder that he was surprised.

Sheila aimed the hemp rope at Crow like a whip.

Crow, who had regained his composure, swung his dagger with unparalleled accuracy.

Sheila turned her wrist and quickly pulled the rope back. If she hadn’t, the rope would have been cut off. The weak point of hemp rope was its low strength.

Crow seemed to have excellent vision and could completely spot the movement of the rope as it flew by at a considerable speed.

He was also capable of throwing daggers. Sheila distanced herself again.

‘As expected, he’s a strong opponent….’

She had never felt so itchy about not being able to use the spirit arts.

Right now, she just needed to buy time until the children were rescued. It didn’t necessarily mean that she had to win.

‘But….’

Sheila’s eyes fired up with determination as she looked up.

She took a quick step forward and swung the rope to the side.

Crow already knew the range of the rope, but Sheila’s step changed the distance between them. He staggered slightly, though he was able to retreat backward and dodge.

However, he wasn’t the kind of man who would give someone a chance to counterattack. As he stumbled, he managed to shoot a dagger, blocking Sheila’s movement.

By the time the dagger that flew at her feet was flipped off with the rope, Crow had already regained his balance.

Sheila continued to swing the rope without slowing down her pursuit. Crow avoided it with ease.

When the rope approached him again for the fifth time, Crow’s eyes, accustomed to its speed, caught the tip of its movement.

When he tried to move his body to dodge again, he felt a strange sensation, as if the attack was different from the previous ones.

Did the tip of the rope lengthen?

No, it didn’t. Crow immediately noticed.

The whole rope was flying.

His body stiffened for a moment due to the unexpected situation.

It was the moment that Sheila was aiming for.

She knew that his visual sensitivity was higher than she had imagined, seeing how quickly he saw through the movement of the rope. The rope wouldn’t reach Crow, so she had to come up with some kind of a surprise plan.

Sheila deliberately released a monotonous attack, making sure he was firmly following the end of the rope. Then, she boldly let go of the rope she pretended to wield.

Crow slowed down as planned.

As soon as she threw the rope, he dodged and jumped right into the middle of it.

Dropping her weapon, Sheila raised her fist and used all her strength to punch Crow.

“Kugh….!”

His light body stumbled and hit the wall with a loud bang. He wiped the blood from the edge of his lip and looked at Sheila dumbfounded.

Sheila swung her aching fist, and her expression became invigorating.

“――I told you. I’ll definitely hit you later.”

He rolled his eyes this time with a smile bubbling up on his face.

“――Hahaha!”

Soon, Crow burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. His body was bent over while shaking, and he was breathing in a heaving, labored manner. It was the most age-appropriate expression she had ever seen on him.

For now, Sheila retrieved the rope she had tossed aside. She wondered what was so funny, as Crow continued to laugh. Maybe he was hit badly and finally broke.

As she was feeling questionable about him, suddenly there was a loud voice that seemed to reach every corner of the house.

“We’re from the Patrol Corps! By order of the King, we will now conduct an inspection of the house!”

It was the rescue she had been waiting for. They had really come.

She had believed in them but felt somewhat anxious, and even when she was encouraging the children, she felt like she was reassuring herself.

As she stroked her wrist and breathed a sigh of relief, she saw Crow’s black shoes in front of her.

“Ahhhh… I was having so much fun, but now I’m in your way.”

“I’m not having fun….. Is it okay for you to be lazy like that? The fact that the Patrol Corps signaled the raid so brazenly means that all the children are protected, you know?”

Crow smiled mysteriously.

‘I won’t tell anyone.’ She guessed that was what he meant.

Crow opened one of the windows lining the corridor. A lukewarm night breeze reached Sheila. The full moon was shining brightly over the ground.

“Well then, shall I run away? Count Gilgner is bound to cut off any strays anyway.”

As expected, there was no trust between him and Count Gilgner. Crow simply declared that he would abandon him.

Sheila almost reflexively held up the rope.

“Do you think I’ll let you go?”

“Do you think you can catch me…..?”

She was frustrated by his confident reply, but it was an undeniable fact that she was no match for him in terms of strength.

Approaching Sheila, who was clenching her teeth, Crow whispered.

“――I’m jealous. Those kids have you.”

His expression no longer looked sad. He just smiled quietly, as if he was letting something go. Like a white moon shining in the sky.

Sheila didn’t respond. Even after he flipped himself out of the window, she still didn’t know how she should have answered.

She was so frustrated that she hung her hand on the windowsill for a while and continued to droop.

…. Why did such unreasonable crimes occur?

The Count who kidnapped the children for selfish reasons.

The organization itself that bought and sold people.

A world where once you fell, you had to commit crimes to survive.

Everything felt frustrating and empty.

‘This is a crime….’

This time there was an easy-to-understand villain like the Count, but there were crimes in the world where no one was at fault. People clashed with each other even though they were all just living with something important in their lives.

Sheila, who grew up deep in the mountains, where everyone was friendly and on good terms with each other, had no idea. She had never known such heartache and pain.

…. Soon after, she heard a pair of footsteps. She felt like she knew who it was, so she waited until the footsteps reached her before she looked up.

“――Fool.”

His silver-white hair shone brightly in the moonlight. Peacock-colored eyes that didn’t reflect his emotions. His stony beauty was seemingly expressionless, but she could tell he was actually quite angry.

“How could you get yourself into such a big trouble when it’s just an on-field training?”

Normally, that would have made her break out in a cold sweat, but Sheila called out the man’s name as if clinging to him.

“――Claushezade-sensei.”

It was the long-awaited Claushezade who walked up to her with the air as if he was the owner of this house.

Translator Notes:

1. Meaning we tend to overlook what is right under our nose. ↵