Just as Instructor Cattleya's execution was about to be carried out, Heath's Raimei Sword glowed blindingly bright, forcing me to avert my eyes.
A thunderous noise erupted, and when I looked back, the execution platform where Instructor Cattleya had been kneeling and Heath had been standing was charred to ashes.
"Good!"
Instructor Cattleya was safe.
Safran, invisible, was carrying Instructor Cattleya across the rooftops of the town, hopping and running.
All that remained was for Safran to escort Instructor Cattleya out of the capital to the noble's villa planned for her hideout.
I steered Sleipnir down to Iris, who was nearby the execution ground.
"We did it..."
"It seems so..."
We spoke in hushed tones, barely audible to each other, and nodded.
Chapter 6: The Strongest Saintly Sword User
"Are you an idiot?! What were you thinking, you idiot! What's going on in your head, idiot! In short, you're an idiot!"
A few days after Instructor Cattleya's execution was ostensibly carried out, and once the heat had died down, I visited the noble's villa where she was hiding. These were the first words she greeted me with.
Instructor Cattleya, along with Safran who was hiding with her, and Iris who had come with me on Sleipnir, all had half-closed eyes, seemingly exasperated.
Instructor Cattleya, crying dramatically, was looking up at me and repeatedly punching me softly with her fists clenched.
It seemed like a childish behavior when she was upset, despite her mature appearance.
"Why are you so angry this time, Instructor? Is it because we didn't tell you our rescue plan in advance?"
"No, you idiot! You know if you do things like this, you'll become traitors, right?! I didn't become an instructor to put my students in danger, you idiot!"
"Well, I don't think it's that dangerous," I replied.
"I didn't sign up to be an instructor just to endanger my students!"
"You say that, but I don't think there's a single student of yours who would be okay with just watching you die. Even Heath and Platanus were worried about you."
"Shut up, idiot! Don't think that'll make me forgive you!"
"Please give me a break, Instructor. We had no choice but to save you. It's no big deal if we get caught."
"What do you mean no big deal?! If we get caught, it's serious trouble!"
"Well, if it's between letting Instructor die and opposing the nation, I think the latter is the lesser of two evils."
At that moment, Instructor Cattleya's face turned bright red as if it had exploded."Why is it?"
"... Could it be that you're a lolicon after all, Crow?"
As Safran muttered this, Instructor Cattleya burst into a fit of anger at her.
"What do you mean by that?! I'm older!"
After a bout of anger, Instructor Cattleya calmed down to her usual self, though Iris and Safran were still wearing awkward expresshions having witnessed her outburst. We were all seated around a table inside the villa, sipping tea in what felt like an oddly relaxed atmosphere given the situation.
"For now, we wait for the real culprit to attempt another assassination on the king. If we can catch them in the act, Instructor Cattleya's innocence will be proven," I explained.
"Do you really think it'll go that smoothly? And doesn't that mean using His Majesty as bait?"
"Yes, but what's the issue with that?"
"What? What are you going to do if His Majesty dies?"
"Well, it wouldn't really matter if he did, would it?"
At that, Instructor Cattleya seemed shocked.
I didn't think it was such a strange thing to say. King Daria may not be a bad king. He listens to others and even trusts someone like me. However, he can't discern between good and bad advice. He's quick to order executions on someone's say-so, showing he lacks his own convictions.
Surrounded by loyal and upstanding individuals, he could have been an exceptional king. But that's not the case. Currently, he's surrounded by nobles and bureaucrats focused solely on preserving their own power.
The king, who fails to fully trust Instructor Cattleya, an exceptional officer and wielder of the powerful Explosive Flame Sword, is failing at something even I find straightforward.
He's potentially more harmful than an average tyrant. So, while he's not a threat worth actively trying to eliminate, he's also not someone I feel compelled to protect.
If he ends up dying because we used him as bait, I see no problem with that. He's a king who's expendable in my eyes."Hey Crow, how long do I have to keep hiding? I'm getting pretty fed up with being stuck with Cattleya all the time."
"What?! I'm not thrilled about being stuck with you either!"
I wonder why these two can't get along either. Since they cooperated when Iris was abducted by Cineraria, it seemed like they had come to recognize each other's strengths.
Maybe it's because Safran initially tried to kill me, and that's still bothering Instructor Cattleya?
"Cattleya keeps nagging me about eating vegetables and stuff. Dealing with her is just troublesome."
"Dealing with? I'm older than you! Show some respect!"
No, I was wrong. They've just reached a mother-daughter-like relationship.
I wish they'd take a leaf out of Holly and Shion's book.
"...It would be ideal if the new assassin tried to kill the king again. But how can we make another assassination attempt happen?"
I brought the conversation back to the main topic. That's when Iris, who had no objections to using the king as bait, spoke up.
"If we make the assassin believe there's a chance to kill the king, wouldn't that work?"
"Right. So Safran, you used to be an assassin, right? What kind of situations are easy for assassinations?"
Instructor Cattleya asked this, and Safran, with her hands behind her head, pondered.
"Hmm? I never really thought about the right time to assassinate. The moment I decide to kill is the time to kill."
What does she mean by the 'time to kill'?
She's a woman who only speaks of ominous things.
"That's nonsense! Don't you think about not getting caught, or not failing the kill, or ensuring you can escape afterward?"
"Heh, when it comes to assassinations, the more challenging, the better for me. No matter how many guards there are, or how difficult it is to infiltrate the target's location, or escape after the kill, I always get it done! I actually prefer being in a pinch."
"…You're quite the deviant, aren't you…"
While listening to their conversation, I pondered over what makes an easy assassination situation.
Certainly, what Instructor Cattleya said made sense. Failing the kill is pointless, and so is being unable to escape afterward."For example, if someone as ordinary as me were the assassin, killing someone as powerful as the king would be extremely difficult. Naturally, I would aim to kill the king when he's alone, without guards, and then plan my escape while buying time before the assassination is discovered. But for someone with immense combat abilities like a Saintly Sword wielder, such considerations aren't necessary. Cattleya or Iris could assassinate the king along with his guards, and Safran could turn invisible, kill the king without the guards noticing, and escape without issue."
"...The Demon Sword..."
According to Holly's speculation, the perpetrator of this assassination attempt was using the Demon Sword. The Demon Sword's trait is a one-shot, powerful destructive magic. In other words, it's a Saintly Sword that only allows for one assassination opportunity. Moreover, the Demon Sword apparently doesn't enhance physical abilities, making escape after the assassination difficult.
So, the perpetrator, with a mindset similar to mine, might choose to kill the king when he's unguarded and careless, and then quickly escape. Such a situation is...
"...Ah."
Non-existent as it may seem, it actually happened.
"...Falconry, you say?"
After returning from Cattleya's hideout, I visited Heath's room in the royal palace.
"Yes. You should invite King Dalia to go falconry and take him outside the castle. That might provoke the new assassin to act."
"...You're not even trying to hide the fact that you're using my father as bait."
"What's the problem? As long as you protect him properly."
It's somewhat impressive how I, an ordinary person, can just walk into the room of the son of the highest authority in the country without any problem.