Chapter 188 - Say You Want to Live - 4

Trouble never announces itself before arriving. That holds true even when it comes in human form.

The ability to read thoughts is a power uniquely suited to avoiding enemies. You read someone's mind and match their steps, deftly moving in and out so that you never clash with their feelings.

You could call it a dance.

But mind reading is far from omnipotent. It isn't even an all-purpose solution. Reading minds isn't seeing the future, so it can't predict every whim, nor can it respond to sudden accidents or disasters.

Above all, even against another person, it cannot stop outright hostility.

'They mentioned a Military State officer investigating the backstreets. She matches the description.'

I sensed a dark, murderous intent from beyond. Not a decision born of emotion, but a conclusion reached through cold reason.

'Kill her. Silence the witness.'

Cold killing intent billowed outward. The horrified captain didn't even have time to assess the situation through her golem. Wolfen already had us in his sights.

Across the pitch-black darkness, he was staring straight at us.

The moment I sensed it, I flung open the carriage door and shouted.

"Sephi! Captain! Get inside the carriage! Peto, get moving, now!"

"Huh? Where to?"

"Anywhere!"

I hauled the captain and Sephi back into the carriage in one swift motion. Peto, who had been hitching the horses to it, hurriedly leaped onto the driver's seat and urged them on.

"Hyah!"

NEIGH!

With a powerful whinny, the carriage began to move. Perhaps because it was such a fine breed, the lion horse reached top speed in just a few strides.

Sephi and the captain still had no idea what was happening. The captain asked,

"What is going on?"

"It's a long story! We've got a Shadow on our tail!"

'A Shadow? But all I can see is darkness...'

The captain used her Unique magic to synchronize with the nearest golem. Her vision rippled, and the carriage appeared in one corner, racing at top speed. Each time it passed beneath a dim streetlamp, she could see the lion horse charging onward, mane streaming as it pulled the carriage.

Behind it, the streetlamps flickered one after another. As though darkness itself were racing down the street...

'Darkness?'

Realizing what was happening, the captain shouted urgently.

"Something is pursuing us! Given the energy arts shrouding its entire body in darkness, I estimate it is the Umbra... Wolfen!"

"Yes! That's what I said! He's after us!"

Despite the captain and me practically screaming, Sephi remained composed, apparently oblivious to the danger.

"Don't worry. These aren't ordinary horses pulling the carriage. No human can keep pace with them. Besides, the carriage itself has Level 4 protection. Ordinary attacks could never penetrate it."

"Please stop saying things like that! You're terrifying me!"

"I was merely trying to reassure you."

'I poured enough money into this carriage to put up a building. Why would I cut corners on something I ride in myself? From the frame to the cloth covering it, it's all Level 4 alchemical steel and alchemical thread. What on earth is there to worry about?'

Now she was tempting fate with her thoughts! Please stop!

At that instant, my mind reading caught a faint trace of hostility. I hurriedly grabbed Sephi and the captain and pulled them toward me. They stumbled into my arms.

"Master?!"

"Sir?! What is the meaning of—"

There was no time to speak. Wolfen's intent to attack became reality at once.

The carriage jolted violently. A dagger he had launched pierced the joint connecting a wheel to the carriage. At the same time, another dagger slanted through the window and buried itself in the backrest of the front seat. Wisps of dark energy rose from the dagger, which had sunk so deep that even its handle was out of sight.

Thrown off balance, the carriage listed to one side. Thank goodness I had pulled them toward me beforehand. Otherwise, we would have toppled to the other side.

"Aaaaah!"

Sephi screamed and clung to me. Yes, I saved your life. So show a little more gratitude and listen to me...

"How?! They said that crystal glass could deflect bullets with ease! Who made this thing?! I'll put them through hell!"

"This isn't the time to complain about that, Sephi!"

I calmed the raging Sephi and focused. At the farthest edge of my mind reading, I could sense Wolfen's thoughts.

His hostility was sharp and cold as a lake glazed with thin ice. Its target was the carriage careening precariously onward. The distance between them was steadily shrinking.

'Sturdy. I meant to sever the wheel entirely, but all I managed was to knock the axle out of alignment.'

However sturdy the carriage was, it couldn't use bullet-repelling energy. And by its very nature, a wheeled carriage moved in an annoyingly predictable way.

In other words, it couldn't dodge a dagger packed with energy.

'Another couple of hits should do it.'

Damn it. At this rate, the carriage would definitely stop. Once we were stranded, we would never escape.

The way out of this situation was...

Tch. I was going to be left holding the whole damn bag.

"Sephi. You can ride a horse, right?"

"Not with someone throwing knives like that behind me!"

'As your disciple, of course I can manage a horse. But I've never had to shake off a pursuer before. That worries me.'

The urgency must have been making her blurt out her true feelings. I gripped Sephi's shoulders and spoke firmly, as though reasoning with her.

"Sephi. Take the captain to headquarters. Captain Bee is on a very important classified mission. Once she finishes it, she can help me."

Sephi immediately asked,

"What about you, Master?"

Sharp instincts, too. When I hesitated a little before answering, Sephi immediately glared at me and demanded,

"You're not planning to fight that thing, are you? If you spout some nonsense about buying us time, I don't care if you're my master!"

'There's a limit to how much nonsense I'll take! Doing something like that without a plan! If you die, I'm never giving you another penny!'

So disciples berated their masters these days. Wow. The world really was upside down.

Even her thoughts and words were both blaming me. Getting stabbed from the inside and the outside was as bad as any torture.

I hastily grabbed Sephi's shoulders.

"Sephi. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course not."

'No. Of course not.'

Where had the polite lies gone? What happened to all those Sephi Points I'd so painstakingly saved up?

Whew. She was hard to placate. Keeping a firm hold on her shoulders, I indicated the captain.

"Look. We have the captain right here. A Military State captain can bring reinforcements before he gets me. It's the only way any of us will survive."

"You think some plan you threw together on the spot will work?!"

"I didn't throw it together on the spot. The truth is, I intended to use the Military State's power to clean out the Shadow from the beginning."

Actually, it was a little awkward to admit now that the plan had gone wrong, but I had meant to bring even the Military State in a step early.

My plan had been this:

The Market, the Shelter, the Family. Draw out the organizations targeting them a day early. At the same time, pass along secret information to bring in the Military State as well.

Then the Shadow, growing impatient by that point, would join the fray, run into the Military State's military police, and be wiped out... A perfect plan.

I called it Operation You Think You're the Only One Who Can Use the System? I Can Too.

Except the Military State hadn't budged. Despite all the bait I'd scattered, for some reason it was taking longer to respond than usual. Almost as though every unit in Amitengrad had been sent somewhere else.

I should never have trusted this goddamn country. If I'd made a mistake, that was it.

But.

"It's still the Military State, whatever its failings. They will have troops on standby to deal with these disturbances. If those troops deploy while I'm holding out and encounter Wolfen, I win. So my survival depends on you and Captain Bee hurrying."

CRASH!

The carriage lurched violently again. Every wobble of the wheels was now transmitted straight to the carriage.

Barely regaining my balance, I looked at the captain with complete trust.

You understand, don't you, Captain? That this is the most rational course?

"You understand, Captain?"

"Dangerous! I cannot accept this!"

"Oh, what is it now?"

The captain's expression was no longer stiff. With worry filling her large eyes, she refuted my argument point by point.

"Our opponent is an escapee from Tantalus. Even if you are the magician, you do not have the strength to subdue him! You are... weaker than one would expect!"

"Calling me weak to my face hurts my pride. I know that! But I can still buy us some time, all right?"

"You told me to survive! So why must you, the very person who said that, put yourself in danger?!"

"I really, really don't want to do this either! Sacrifice isn't my thing! But this is our best option!"

This wasn't some noble sacrifice. It was the single, carefully calculated way to survive.

I was a petty criminal who, at worst, would be hauled away as a convict laborer. But Wolfen the Umbra was a genuine danger, someone who had even been sent to the bottomless pit.

Well, he fell far short of Tyr, Azi, or the Regressor, but that middling strength was even deadlier to me. It's the runts who get most sensitive about measuring up against each other.

"Then let me be the bait instead!"

"Hahahahaha!"

I laughed uproariously. All eyes immediately turned toward me. I cut my laughter short, my expression turning icy as I replied.

"Don't make me laugh. Bait is only worth something if you can reel in the catch. You wouldn't even qualify as a snack scattered over a pond, Captain. One slash, and all you'd do is give Wolfen another feat to boast about."

"Then are you saying you can stop him?"

"If you bring reinforcements in time!"

Unfortunately, this really was the only way. It was simply infuriating that this was our best option.

Our opponent was the Kingdom's Shadow, whose main weapons were concealment, surprise attacks, and psychological warfare.

I was a petty criminal with nothing to my name but mind reading.

Even with the enormous gap in our abilities, I was the best match for him. We were already past the point where anything else could resolve this.

"Master. This is absurd! Anyone imprisoned in Tantalus is a criminal worthy of the history books. Even you can't face someone like that!"

There was no time left to persuade her. I lowered my voice and addressed Sephi.

With cold resolve, without sparing a thought for affection or points.

"Sephier Bakia. This is both a request and a lesson from your master. Do not turn away from what you must do."

"But!"

"If you insist on being stubborn, this will be my final request as your master. Whether I survive or die."

At my cold rebuke, Sephi caught her breath. A stifled, indignant sob escaped the thoroughly chastised disciple's lips.

But only for a moment. Sephier spread her suit jacket and wrapped it around the captain. She draped the jacket, which offered protection against bullets, blades, and magic, over the captain's shoulders.

Covered by the jacket, the captain questioned me with wavering eyes.

'Will you truly face him alone? But you are...!'

"If you want to save me, survive. Go to headquarters and bring reinforcements! It's the only way I can live!"

After snapping those words at her, I immediately shouted toward the driver's seat.

"Peto! Get ready to escape! We're abandoning the carriage!"

"Got it!"

Another impact struck immediately afterward. The carriage, which had somehow kept hurtling onward despite its staggering, finally met its end.

SCREEEECH!

The tilted carriage screamed as it scraped against the ground. Through the half-severed window, I saw one of its wheels roll ahead of it.

"Well, see you later!"

I opened the door on the opposite side and climbed on top of the listing carriage.

Pitch-black darkness lay beyond. I could clearly sense the thoughts of Wolfen, who was staring straight at us while hidden by his Black Shadow energy arts.

'A man? A bodyguard? It makes no difference. I'll kill them all.'

Who said you get to decide whether we die? Who said I'd make it easy for you?

Time to say hello. With a seemingly relaxed smile, I took the three of diamonds from my pocket. Folding it in one hand, I aimed it at Wolfen.

Alchemical transmutation. In an instant, the card became a large bow. Having already fired it once, I had no arrow nocked, but arrows were meant to be drawn back and fired anyway. I peered carefully into the darkness and took precise aim at Wolfen beyond it.

"Fahrenheit!"

Flame flared at the arrowhead. Then came the twang of the draw. An arrow split the darkness along the straight stretch of street.

The arrow flew straight at Wolfen. The corner of his eye twitched.

'The arrow is nothing. But he can see through Black Shadow energy arts?'

What do you mean, the arrow is nothing? I'd put everything I had into that shot. A little sense of danger would have been appreciated.

'Bullet-repelling energy.'

Tch. Of course.

Energy swelled outward. The darkness swallowed the flame, and the arrow I'd fired with all my strength bounced uselessly away.

Still, I'd achieved my immediate goal.

Having finished my greeting, I jumped off the carriage. I nearly lost my balance and fell, but with the missing wheel slowing it down, I barely managed to stay upright.

Behind me, the carriage grew slower and slower. Sephi and the captain somehow scrambled past the driver's seat and onto the horses.

With my back to them, I stood firm and faced Wolfen.

"... Buying time?"

His voice came from beside my right ear. His thoughts, however, were coming from the left.

Trying psychological warfare on me? Not a chance.

I smirked, put away the bow, and drew my next card.

The four of diamonds. A short spear. As I pointed its harpoon-like blade toward him, Wolfen stopped walking.

Silence fell for a moment. In the distance, the captain, Sephi, and Peto rode away side by side. Freed from the carriage, the lion horses were fast. With that much distance already between them, not even Wolfen could catch them.

Now we were completely alone on the bleak street.

Regardless, Wolfen merely gazed steadily at me, without a hint of regret for those who had escaped.

"So it was no coincidence. You are looking straight at me in the darkness..."

"Perhaps our meeting like this is no coincidence either."

I removed my hat and bowed deeply.

Despite the opening for a surprise attack, Wolfen didn't strike. Was he wary of me, or simply indulgent toward this sort of empty formality?

'Abilities, unknown. Identity, unknown. Is his energy perception exceptionally keen? Or is it some other, unknown power?'

Probably both.

Like me, Wolfen was the sort to make full use of psychological warfare in a fight.

All right. Now it was a race against time.

If I stalled long enough, I won. If I died before then, it was over. A very simple fight.

"Hello, Wolfen Fenstein. I've heard a great deal about you. A Shadow who has existed since the days of the Kingdom, a symbol of this country's darkness."

"Who are you?"

Settling my magician's hat firmly back onto my head, I lifted the brim slightly and smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am the top student of my secondary school, the rising star of the host world, a bespoke private tutor and arranger of encounters, a legend among pickpockets and an undefeated gambler. An idol to children, a kindly caretaker, and a magician with one illustrious conviction to his name. Hughes, at your service."