Truth be told, we’d known the enemy’s plan in advance. On the first day of the Founding Festival, Janus had called Embert after the play to report activity from the crystal ball. Thanks to Severin’s crystal ball, we’d recorded Pieno and the merchant discussing their assassination plot in the gazebo. We’d uncovered their plan to attack Giusto with a relatively large force. I’d been ordered to identify the number of archers and their positions. Meanwhile, the boys had been entrusted with confronting the assassins directly.
“Listen closely, Ally,” Embert had said once everyone had viewed the recording. “I want you to focus on informing everyone when the arrows are fired. No matter what happens, don’t set foot in the arena.”
I’d protested, of course, but Embert hadn’t given his assent.
“Lauris and the others should be able to handle the assassins by themselves,” he’d continued. “Janus and I will be on standby as well. Understand?”
I hadn’t understood at all. Upon seeing my silent refusal to answer, Embert had heaved a deep sigh.
“In that case, I’ll allow you to join the battle if something unexpected occurs during the operation,” he’d acquiesced. “Naturally, Janus and I will also join the battle in such an event. How does that sound?”
And something unexpected is happening at this very moment… right? I mean, none of us anticipated this many assassins, did we?
“There are more enemies than expected,” I said. “I’m joining the fight.”
Cia seemed to understand that she couldn’t stop me. “Why did I even try to stop you?” she asked with an exasperated laugh. “Give them all you’ve got then.”
Cita nodded. “We’ll be cheering you on from here.”
“Be careful,” Julietta said with a worried expression.
And so, Custode teleported us to the arena. Immediately, I felt a wave of hostility radiating from above.
“Squishy!” I cried. “Custode!”
The slime leapt into the air and devoured the entire volley of arrows. Meanwhile, Custode swooped down on the villainous archers and hurled them into the arena.
“All right, looks like I’m up next,” I said.
A few assassins in the arena charged towards me. Without Squishy and Custode by my side, I must have looked weak.
“Like moths to a flame,” I muttered wryly.
I grabbed the shoulders of my dress with both hands and pulled with all my might.
“Hey!” Lauris shouted, seeing what I was about to do.
With the sound of ripping seams, the neckline, sleeves, and shoulders of my dress came undone. My guy friends, the nearby assassins, and everyone else in the stadium froze in place. Well, who could blame them? I appeared to be stripping in public, after all. My dress split cleanly down the middle and fell to the ground.
“Ta-da!” I announced.
Of course, I wasn’t naked. I’d been wearing a shirt and trousers under my dress. Earlier, I’d asked Mary to make the seams of my dress easy to tear apart.
Oreste laughed. “Talk about a surprise.”
“Indeed,” Rosario agreed with a chuckle. “And in the middle of an emergency, no less.”
Lauris wore an expression of unmistakable anger. Two men who looked even angrier descended into the arena.
“Were you trying to give me a heart attack, Ally?” Embert asked.
“Even I can’t condone that sort of behavior,” Janus added. “I’ll have to give you a proper scolding later.”
Both handsome men looked more deadly to me than the assassins.
I sighed. “Even you agree with Em for once, Janus?”
As the two men drew their swords, still smiling wickedly, the crowd erupted in shrill cheers. This sound brought the stunned assassins back to their senses. Thus, they resumed their attack. Despite the sheer number of enemies, we never felt overwhelmed. Embert and Janus cut down our foes at a lightning-fast pace. They were so strong that I wondered, “Am I even needed here?” Since the threat of archers had disappeared, the guys could focus on the enemies in front of them. Next thing I knew, a large number of men in balaclavas lay collapsed around the arena.
“I barely had time to show off,” Custode said upon returning with Squishy. After spitting out the arrows he’d eaten, Squishy jumped onto my hand.
“Good work, you two,” I said.
As I began to dispel the barrier around Giusto, I caught sight of Pieno in the arena. Since when had he been here? A man in a cowled, black cloak stood beside him. After a few silent steps, the cloaked man dashed towards Giusto. Neither Giusto nor the others noticed the assailant.
Without delay, I wound up and threw Squishy like a baseball. The slime flew straight and true, striking the cloaked man’s arm. The man nearly dropped his knife due to the impact. Immediately grasping the situation, our clever little Squishy gobbled up the knife.
The man slowed for a brief moment, taken aback. An instant later, however, he continued racing towards Giusto. I was already sprinting as well. Using my momentum, I delivered a flying kick to the man’s jaw, which sent him sprawling backward.
“That was awesome, Ally!” Cita called.
I waved to my gal pals in the stadium. Oreste rushed over to me. “You’ve got to teach me that move!” he exclaimed, brimming with excitement.
“Damn you,” a low, resentful voice echoed behind me.
Giusto turned to face the speaker.
“This was my last chance,” Pieno continued while glowering at his nephew. “But you’ve always had the devil’s luck, haven’t you?”
“Uncle Pieno…” Giusto murmured.
The sadness in his voice caused my chest to ache. For years, Giusto had known about his blood-related uncle trying to assassinate him. Even so, facing him down and hearing his resentful words must have been painful. Sadly, Pieno couldn’t even comprehend Giusto’s suffering. Teeth clenched, the man withdrew something from his pocket. The object—a small, pitch-black box—filled me with a sense of revulsion.
“I wanted to finish things without using this,” Pieno said. “But now you leave me with no other choice.” Smirking, he crushed the black box in his hand. A moment later, a large magic circle appeared in the arena.
“This is bad!” Giusto exclaimed.
Recognizing the danger, he pulled me into a protective embrace. Embert, Janus, and my guy friends readied their swords in preparation for whatever might emerge from the magic circle. The spectators remained motionless, unsure what was happening. Many seemed to believe this commotion was some sort of sideshow. In fact, some eagerly awaited what would happen next. Nevertheless, the magic circle merely emanated a soft glow. Nothing emerged from it.
“Why?!” Pieno roared, glaring back and forth between the magic circle and the crushed box in his hand. “Why is nothing being summoned?!”
Witnessing Pieno’s fury reminded me of something. Still in Giusto’s embrace, I looked over at Embert and Custode.
“Um, is that magic circle what I think it is?” I asked.
Embert, having drawn the same conclusion, burst out laughing. “Ahaha! Then it was you, after all, Royal Prince Pieno!”
Pieno turned his glare on Embert. “What the hell is going on?!” he bellowed. “Why are you laughing?!”
“Well, you see…” Embert began before breaking into laughter again. “Aha! This is too much. I can’t stop myself.”
Embert’s unceasing laughter eased the tension in the air. Even Giusto regarded him with a puzzled expression.
“Certainly, I had my suspicions,” Embert continued with a chuckle. “Even so, I dismissed them. After all, I didn’t think you would be foolish enough to go that far, considering your position. Heh, I’m starting to get a clearer picture of things. Your daughter must have inherited her stupidity from you.” Embert strode over to me and pulled me away from Giusto. “I know you were trying to protect my Ally, but how long did you intend to keep holding her?” he asked, flashing a wicked smile. “I’ll need to give you a stern talking to once this matter is resolved.”
Giusto chuckled, his lips quirking into a charming grin.
Whoa, this is getting scary. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.
Custode smirked from atop my shoulder. “You sure are popular.”
And you sure are heavy, I thought, removing him from my shoulder and cradling him in my arms like usual.
“Don’t ignore me!” Pieno roared. “As soon as my summoning spell finishes, you lot will be trampled to death!”
Embert remained composed even in the face of Pieno’s rage. “Unfortunately, the monster you’re waiting for won’t appear here.”
“What’s so funny?!” Pieno bellowed, Embert’s words merely fanning his fury. “What do you know that I don’t?!”
After exchanging a glance, Embert and I shrugged in unison.
“You’re trying to summon the dungeon’s final boss, correct?” Embert asked, seeming to savor each word. “Unfortunately, that creature won’t appear here.”
Pieno’s temper flared even hotter. “What did you say?!” he roared, raising his fist to strike Embert. Mid-attack, he stopped and furrowed his brow, seeming to have realized something. “Wait. You went to the dungeon, didn’t you?”
“Indeed,” Embert replied, his smile unwavering. He regarded the suspicious Pieno with an expression of mock apology. “On the deepest floor, we found an enormous serpent with three heads. It was sleeping within a rather large cage. Of course, we destroyed the cage, not having the faintest clue that you had set it up.”