Chapter 143.4

Chapter 143.4

[Part 4/4]

"...She's sound asleep, as always."

I directed my gaze at Loli Gorilla-sama, who was already sleeping, seemingly without a care in the world. If I looked at her, I'd think she was sleeping like a log. She appeared completely defenseless.

"Well, considering everything that's happened... she's been poisoned, and she's tired."

Despite her overly arrogant attitude and her monstrous appearance, she was still a child who hadn't even reached ten. It would be cruel to blame her appearance too much. It's just not very adult-like.

"Maybe I should wash my face..."

Carefully and slowly, I untangled her small fingers from mine, trying not to wake her, and exerted some strength in my legs to stand up. As I got up, I felt a slight dizziness, but... I managed to support myself somehow. And then I started walking.

The destination my feet took me to was a corner of the safe zone of this boundary, a spring with fresh water.

"This is it, right..."

I reached there immediately. The place was small to begin with, and I didn't want to move away from the water source. I could probably tell that most of the grasses and plants around were, upon closer inspection, various types of low-grade spiritual herbs. Among them, there were even some that filtered toxins from the water and neutralized them.

"Those who set this place up must have planted them..."

Water supply is a matter of life and death during a journey. It seemed that to ensure the safety of the water source, the members of the court and the exorcists who had set up this boundary had planted these spiritual herbs for the benefit of their future generations who would come after them. Of course, even with that, they would still need to boil the water to make it safe for drinking.

"Well, it should be enough for washing my face and rinsing my mouth."

So, I washed my face, rinsed my mouth, and finally used a wet cloth to wipe my body. Along the way, I applied some additional ointment to my scars.

"Haha... I wonder if these scars on my back will ever heal..."

I sighed as I observed and touched the scars on my back reflected on the water's surface. I had plenty of scars all over my body, but that didn't mean I was happy to acquire more. I didn't believe in the notion that scars were a man's medal of honor.

"I should go around later to look for Hisame. Maybe even explore a bit beyond the boundary."

I adjusted my clothes and grumbled, trying to maintain my composure. Even though I tried to keep a calm facade, my voice still sounded heavy and burdened.

(D*mn it, this doesn't make sense, morally or ethically...)

Not only had I been entrusted with a task by my former superior, but I had also developed a personal bond with Hisame. Although it hadn't been for a very long time, I had interacted with her as a junior, and we had been working together.

I also felt guilty for involving her in this troublesome situation. Above all, she was younger than me. If someone were to die, it should be in the right order. There was no reason for her to die before me.

"Well, I don't intend to die in a place like this either."

Life was precious, after all. Even as I said that, my own life was important. I wasn't prepared to sacrifice my life in exchange for... what? To further the twisted plot of a yandere psycho-father? There was no value in that.

...Of course, given her position, it was understandable.

"Troublesome. I seems to have forgotten about her. Hisame, sorry for making you wait, but please accompany me. It seems a bit challenging to calm down Princess right now... huh?"

I turned to face Hisame and made a request, and finally, I noticed something was seriously wrong. She hadn't spoken a word since a while ago. Her attire had transformed into something that seemed like it was mimicking the Hidden Group. And the atmosphere around her had turned ice-cold.

"..."

"Ah..."

Hisame moved forward without saying a word. As she descended from the cliff, she disappeared before I could recognize what was happening or move to help. She vanished without a trace, as if she had simply disappeared from my field of vision.

"Hisame..."

"..."

...By the time I realized it, Hisame was right in front of me. It was as if she had teleported, as if she had slipped into my very being. She stood there in silence. Strangely, I couldn't catch a single movement from her.

"Hisame?"

I blurted out her name, confused and perplexed. Then, I recognized it a moment later—the taste of iron overflowing at my lips, the sensation of wetness around my mouth, and the feeling of a sticky liquid dripping from the corner of my mouth.

"...?"

Without thinking, I reached out, witnessed it—the red, dark-red, almost black fresh blood that clung heavily to my fingertips. In disbelief, in shock, I looked down again at my junior, who had slipped into my embrace.

A dagger was deeply embedded in my chest.

"Ah, eh...?"

Pain and heat came late, followed by nausea. Ignoring all of that, I stared at the girl before me, our cold gazes locking.

"Tomobe!? Tomobe...!!?"

"Hi... same...? Why...!!?"

Loli Gorilla-sama's frantic screams, which had been so noisy, sounded annoyingly distant. My inquiries about my junior's actions couldn't reach the conclusion. The dagger was forcibly pulled out, and my head was struck with an elbow, sending me flying to the ground.

"Tomobe!? Tomobe...!!?"

The sounds of dragging across the ground from behind, repeated thuds, and screams filled the air, but I had no way to react. I pressed on my chest wound, coughing up almost bloody phlegm. Then, I looked up weakly. At her figure, looking down at me.

The figure of the newcomer servant, Hisame. No... the figure of the Hidden Group's Main House Direct Control Owl Inspector (officer responsible for conducting investigations).

A member of the Onitsuki family's branch family, an off-book blood relative. Onitsuki Hisame. (T/N: Hisame here uses 婢簔眼, not 氷雨 like before)

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