Something felt off.
It was right before my bath. I’d been heading off to the changing room with Lady Alias and some of the guards.
“…Sir, where’s Roland?” I asked Frank.
“Probably in his room. You want Roland to guard you even while you’re in the bath?”
“N-no!”
Frank laughed, but then had one of his men search for Roland.
“They’re gone.”
“What are?”
“Those little guys Roland summons,” I replied.
“Ah, those things. What are they called again? Shadows, right? He probably thinks we’re safe in the castle.”
I wondered if that was true.
Just like Roland had told me, I slept somewhere different every night. Each time, one of Roland’s Shadows was present.
Did he really think it was safe here? During the war, he’d always reiterated that we should never let our guard down.
“Would Roland do that…?”
And then there was that odd feeling earlier. No one had believed me, but Roland had explained that wild animals had a sixth sense, and that I ought to value that intuition. I pushed my change of clothes on my lady-in-waiting and confirmed I was wearing my sword before running down the hall.
“Your Highness! Where are you going?” I heard Frank call after me.
“I’m sorry, I need to do this!”
I ignored the guards chasing me as I hurried beyond the castle’s limits.
Roland…
Maybe he was in a situation where he couldn’t maintain his Shadows.
You always told me off.
You always came to my rescue.
You always protected me.
“Just this once, I can…”
I was wearing little, and I outpaced Frank and the other guards, who were fully armored. I left them behind, running through the quiet town while gasping for breath and searching for signs of battle.
I felt confident something was going on. Then a shadow suddenly appeared in front of me, and I stopped.
“Where are you going, Almelia?”
“Roland, I was looking for you…”
I inhaled slowly to steady my breath.
The clouds obscuring the moon parted, illuminating the area.
“Go back to the castle. I’ll handle the assassin.”
“…” I took a step back.
“I figured out where she is. I’ll go stop her. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“…”
I took another step away and crouched slightly. The pressure from each word made my knees weak. I felt cold sweat running down my back.
“Listen to me; go straight back to the castle.”
I had to trust what he’d told me.
The moment Roland turned, he disappeared as though melting into the dark.
It’s coming!
I leaped forward without hesitation and heard the sharp sound of the air behind me being torn.
I spun to find Roland with his head cocked in curiosity.
“Huh… That’s odd… How did you figure it out?”
“Roland never spoke in absolutes about our opponent. He knew they were too much of a threat to be that cocky.”
I was glad I recalled what he said after I noticed the Shadows were missing.
“Follow your sixth sense.”
I’d trusted his words about relying on that intuition. I’d evaded this attack because it was the same kind he’d performed during training.
“Remember this. The moment anyone turns their back, they’re prone to letting their guard down.”
This Roland was tossing a dagger into the air, playing with it. The real one would never do that. Closer inspection revealed there was more that was off about him, including a slightly different expression. This was an impostor.
“Ahh, oh well. I thought this might be easy, but it looks like I was mistaken.”
This Roland grinned as shadows coiled around him as he changed form. A golden-eyed woman with black hair in loose waves took shape. She was pretty enough to rival Rila.
“I was having such a fun time thinking about what to do with you that I overdid it. And then you strengthened your guard. It certainly made things more difficult…but I enjoy a fair challenge. It’s a bad habit, but I wanted to tease you, to find a beautiful way to assassinate you.”
How many seconds had passed since we’d started facing each other?
“…I’ve been watching you for two months. Apparently, you’ve gotten stronger. I suppose that’s what all that practice was for. Nice, very nice.”
Sadism shone in her smile. I felt goose bumps form on my skin.
“I’m planning on having fun with you.”
I had to survive three minutes?
There was no way.
I finally understood why Roland had insisted on training at night. I barely sidestepped the assassin’s strike as she sped toward me.
“Ngh.”
Strong flashes of steel cleaved through the night. All of Roland’s exercises had been to prepare me for this.
“Hmm.”
She had the look of a cat toying with a wounded mouse.
Right as I started to feel confident…
…she launched her foot up.
I was too slow to react, and her foot met the side of my head, sending me flying into a house.
My vision blurred as the impact sent a shudder through my bones, but I still managed to stand.
“…”
Roland hadn’t told me to run. When I’d asked why, he hadn’t responded.
Now I realized it was because I was up against someone who would never give me a chance to flee. He should have told me.
I invoked one of my skills, Returner.
The pain and dizziness disappeared immediately.
“How interesting. You have a skill that restores you to before the start of the fight. That’s a winner, a jackpot of a special skill…but that can’t be all you’ve got, right? That alone doesn’t seem worthy of the hero. And in that case…”
She understands how my skill works? Already? That was way too quick…
I hadn’t used a skill while training with Roland, but if things continued like this, perhaps I’d survive the three minutes.
Returner allowed me to restore myself to my earlier condition. As long as I wasn’t knocked unconscious or killed in a single blow, I could recover to a state before the battle began.
“I see. So as long as none of my blows are fatal, I can’t defeat you.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate me.”
I felt something run through my body. But what?
“Oh, come on. That’s just plain unfair. You have three skills? Any normal person would only have one. And each is powerful, too, I see.”
This assassin must have had Appraisal or Skill Detection. Or perhaps she’d used some kind of magic that carried a similar effect.
“Y-you seem to have multiple skills yourself,” I countered.
Rather than answer, the woman continued as though speaking to herself. “You really are a special thing, aren’t you, girl. Offense, defense, and restoration… Each is a winner on its own… You can handle just about anything.”