However, objectively speaking, the sight of the three of us walking in a line, each grabbing the shoulder of the person in front of us, must be quite comical.
No one can see us, though.
Honestly, I didn't want to infiltrate such a dangerous castle.
Ideally, only Safran and Instructor Cattleya would infiltrate, and I would just wait outside.
However, I'm the only one who can see Holly, who knows Iris's exact location. Without me, the other two wouldn't be able to see Holly's guidance.
So reluctantly, the three of us had to infiltrate. But thinking about it, if Shion were here, I wouldn't have needed to come.
Well, if it were Shion, she might have gotten annoyed with rescuing Iris and obliterated the entire castle along with the zombies.
"Instructor, let's set it up here too."
"...A bomb?"
While walking around the castle, we used Galatine to set up bombs here and there.
After rescuing Iris, we'll blow up this castle.
For that reason, we're placing bombs in as many places as possible.
"It's so creepy..."
"Really. It's not something an assassin like me should say."
After wandering around the castle for a while,
"Ugh... This is a bit of a problem..."
I said, standing in front of a certain room with my arms crossed.
"What's wrong, Crow? Is the person named Iris in this room?"
"No, the Ice Sword is hidden in this room. I'd like to retrieve the Saintly Sword along with Iris, but it's locked."
"I can break it open."
"That won't work. If you make a loud noise, they'll notice. Do you want to be attacked by this many zombie soldiers?"
"Uh..."
"Leave it to me. Crow, hold onto my shoulder."
Safran took the lead.
Both Instructor Cattleya and I were holding onto Safran's shoulder.
To remain under the effects of invisibility, we had to constantly touch her, so we acted carefully.
Safran, now leading, kneeled down and began to pick the lock.
"Oh, you're picking the lock?"
"Lockpicking and escaping from ropes are essential skills for an assassin."
"You really can't let your guard down around you."
"I'm useful, right?"
Watching Safran and Instructor Cattleya's conversation, I couldn't help but think,
"The only useless one here is me."
But I kept that to myself.
"Here you go. I've unlocked it, Crow."
"Thanks."
Inside the room, the Ice Sword Arondite, still sheathed, was carelessly left on the floor.
"They're really careless about storing it, aren't they, Instructor?"
"No, probably Iris, when she was captured, tried to use its ability to retrieve it."
"I see. Even if the owner calls it, a Saintly Sword stored in a windowless room like this can't fly to the owner's hand."
Well, with more training, it seems possible to teleport the sword, but Iris apparently isn't there yet.
For now, I collected the Ice Sword.
"Alright, we've placed enough bombs, shall we go rescue Iris?"
"...You scatter bombs everywhere, retrieve the Saintly Sword, and then go to rescue? You really are a villain."
Safran, who was walking behind me and holding onto my shoulders, said that.
"Normally, people would be too anxious and would rush to the rescue."
"If you rush, you can't rescue."
"I understand that it's better not to rush, but humans naturally do. That's what's normal. You're not normal in many ways."
"How rude. I'm as normal as they come."
Our strategy to rescue Iris was going smoothly. However,
"Crow, I sense the presence of a Saintly Sword user approaching us. It seems they have noticed our infiltration."
A situation we had been concerned about from the start of our operation occurred.
A Saintly Sword user can detect another Saintly Sword user if they are using the divine sword's special ability.
That's why, even if Safran approaches using her invisibility ability, she can be sensed beforehand.
"What's the relative position to Iris?"
"We'll probably reach Iris's room faster. The enemy seems to be overly confident, leaving the zombie soldiers to keep watch."
"Then let's continue and meet up with Iris. If the three Saintly Sword users are together, we will surely win."
I turned my face to Safran and Instructor Cattleya behind me.
"They've noticed our infiltration. We'll head straight to the room where Iris is."
The two women nodded silently in response.
"...A VIP room?"
Guided by Holly, as I reached the room where Iris was held captive, I muttered that.
A VIP room.
A room meant to welcome and accommodate high-ranking guests.
They're detaining Iris, the enemy's commander, in such a room?
But that's not the main issue.
A large zombie soldier is blocking the way like a gatekeeper.
Even if we're invisible, if we open the door to the VIP room now, we'll surely be noticed.
Even a zombie, which only follows given orders, would react if the door moves by itself.
No, more likely, the zombie, probably ordered not to let anyone into the room, might aggressively try to obstruct us.
However,
"We've come this far; there's no need for tricks!"
"We'll kill them quickly!"
The two women behind me, unlike me, showed no hesitation.
Instructor Cattleya, now visible outside the invisibility effect, drew her Galatine, while Safran let go of my shoulder and held her Curtana in a reverse grip.
From the zombie's perspective, the figures of Instructor Cattleya and me must have suddenly appeared.
The zombie instantly took a fighting stance and tried to call for backup.
In an instant, Instructor Cattleya slashed one zombie in half, and Safran decapitated the other.
...They're so strong.
Seeing such scenes makes me realize how much of an ordinary person I am, who sneaks around and avoids fights.
"Iris! Are you okay?"
Instructor Cattleya kicked open the door to the VIP room and entered.
She's always so cool with every move and word she says.
Even if she looks like a young girl.
"...! Instructor Cattleya!"
"「?」"
Inside the room, for some reason, Iris, dressed in a gown, was seated and looked at us in surprise.
"Crow? You too..."
"Iris! Are you hurt? Did they do anything strange to you?"
Instructor Cattleya grabbed both of Iris's shoulders, her eyes filled with tears.
"Uh, yes, I'm fine. The one who kidnapped me seemed to want to recruit me."
"Is that so... I was so worried about you..."
Instructor Cattleya hugged Iris tightly, sobbing.
She really shows different facets of herself the more time you spend with her.
Iris, looking a bit bewildered, held the crying Instructor Cattleya, comforting her.
"Or maybe, you were actually treated in an inappropriate manner~? You're much more beautiful than I imagined~"
Safran approached the two with some unsavory words.
"Ah, who are you...?"
"I'm Safran. Nice to meet you~"
"So~, why is a captive like you dressed up in a VIP room? What's going on?"
"W-well, the one who kidnapped me tried to persuade me to join the rebellion every day, and gradually my treatment became like this..."
"Were you treated in a lewd manner~?"
"The one who captured me is a woman!"
"Oh, that's boring."
"Boring? What do you mean?"
At that moment, I cleared my throat a bit. "You know, it's too early to let our guard down. We need to escape quickly."
Saying that, I look down at Iris.
"Sorry, but we didn't come here after annihilating all the enemies. The Saintly Sword user who kidnapped you is still alive. From now on, consider yourself as part of our fighting strength."
While still seated, Iris, who was embraced by Instructor Cattleya, looks up at me with her.
"It's quite unexpected... After being kidnapped and confined, you came to rescue me. I feel like a damsel in distress."
"Oh? Must've been a good experience for you then."
"...I wonder. It's not really moving, especially not with you as the prince."
"Ha! Well, it's mostly thanks to the instructor and Safran."
When I said that, Instructor Cattleya, who was crying, separated from Iris, wiped her tears, and said,
"That's not true... If it wasn't for him, we definitely wouldn't have been able to save you."
Safran added, "I think Crow contributed the most."
Flattery won't get you anywhere.