“Ludie…?”
“Lilou, it sounds like there was a big accident in town, so we need to head back to the castle after we’re done eating.”
Or so Ludie said, but in truth, this wasn’t just an accident.
According to Claris’s message, several places at once had just experienced magical terror attacks. There were explosions in one area, gangs indiscriminately attacking elven pedestrians in others, and some civilians had been forced to barricade themselves in a school.
Was it even realistic for that to coincide at once?
“Lady Ludivine, I believe getting away from this location is far more important than our meal,” said Claris.
The two of them might have been recalling what had happened to them once before.
“…Good point. As loathe as I am to do so, we should pay our bill and leave.”
A similar attack occurred when I had first met Ludie and Claris. A restaurant next to the building they were in had exploded, and as the area was thrown into chaos, a betrayal by one of their own landed them in a perilous situation.
Something very similar was happening this time, too.
I picked up on the mana approaching us and opened up my stole as I got out of my seat.
The surrounding area roared.
It was the sound of me blocking the flaming arrows that had flown toward Lilou.
“Huh?!”
Holding the girl’s body close with one hand, I faced our enemies as they cast a follow-up spell.
“It’ll be all right, Lilou.”
This time, I blocked a blade of wind sent my way. I could defend magic of this level forever.
Ludie and Claris were quick to act. Ludie immediately used Storm Hammer, blowing the attackers at the entrance back outside.
Claris cautiously stepped into the street and drew her sword. Ludie had blown two people back with her spell, so at the very least, there were two or more people outside the shop. My best move was to go out and help.
It was then, I realized…
There were still assailants inside the restaurant, weren’t there?
“Ludie, don’t move.”
Stopping her from charging out of the ramen shop into the fight, I used my other free hand to pull Ludie in close.
Then I glared at one of the customers eating ramen.
“Tch.”
Clicking his tongue, the man activated an item in his hand.
“A sigiled stone, huh? Those puppies have served me real well, too.”
From the sigiled stone appeared a large stone with a sharpened tip. Right as the stone was released, I punched it with my Third Hand. Then, with my Fourth Hand, I took the stone, now broken in half, and threw it straight at the attacker.
“Thanks. How’d you know, though?” Ludie asked me.
“Something wasn’t adding up. Why was that guy calm looking over at us while magic was flying left and right in the middle of a ramen shop?”
Like Ludie and Claris, I had also been reflecting on that same attack. There had been another suspicious guy during that incident, too. Really similar MO.
“Well, I assume that has to be the last of them in here. I’m worried about Claris, so I’m going to go outside. Can I leave Lilou with you?”
I nodded. Protecting others was my specialty.
“Be careful.”
“I will,” Ludie replied before exiting the shop and beginning to cast a spell.
When I looked at Lilou, she was vacantly gazing at me while tightly hanging on to me.
“Are you okay, Lilou?”
When I asked her this, she jolted in surprise.
“I’m right here, so there’s no need to worry. Believe it or not, I’m actually pretty strong.”
She must have been really scared, as she buried her face in my stomach and hugged me tightly. I opened up my stole and stayed alert of our surroundings to ensure I could protect her from whatever came our way. However, this ultimately proved meaningless.
It didn’t take Claris and Ludie very long to crush our assailants.
We left the rest to the soldiers on guard and met up with Nanami and the others. Afterwards, Sophia summoned us to the castle where Ludie’s family lived.
We parted ways with Lilou, and we ended up eating our missed meal at the palace instead.
“Oh my god, this is soooooo good,” Yuika said, breaking out into a smile.
When we first messaged Yuika’s group, they had barely managed to take a bite of their lunch, if that. I had said we had our own cleanup to deal with and told them they could finish eating before meeting up, but apparently, they had come here on empty stomachs. While she hadn’t acted the way she claimed she would, I couldn’t help thinking it was very like Nanami to react that way.
“I can’t help but wonder why they would carry out an attack like that in broad daylight,” Ludie said, voicing her suspicions.
“Maybe they thought security had gotten lax?” Claris replied.
Incidentally, while there had been a group of guards secretly following us, they had apparently gotten caught up in apprehending some dubious fellow of their own. The ones who had slipped through their grasp had launched the attack on us.
“But weren’t they a bit too unprepared? If I were them, I would have dedicated waaaay more people to an attack like that,” Yuika commented.
“Maybe they had a different goal in mind.”
Yukine said this while watching the news on the TV. Several elves had taken hostages and barricaded themselves in a bank, but the hostages had escaped unharmed, and the news said it was only a matter of time before the criminals would be apprehended. Incidentally, they had not yet reported on the attack we had dealt with. However, I assumed it would only be a matter of time until that incident made it to the news, too.
“I don’t knooow, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Yuika murmured, also watching the news.
Just then, she hit me with a piercing stare.
“Whoa, whoa, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Seriously? Go ahead and think long and hard about that answer. Riddle me this: Who are the guys who always happen to be involved whenever some big incident pops up or some sex—er, some weird dungeon is revealed? It’s always either my brother or you.”
“Ha-ha, that’s true.”