Chapter 58 – Outskirts of the Imperial Palace ~ Shaman Princess 1
The other person was disguised as a servant or medical officer doing odd jobs in the imperial palace.
Because the imperial palace guards and knights were preoccupied with unfamiliar patients coming from outside, they were less alert to people coming from inside.
So, if we weren’t caught, it was a disguise that would allow us to approach a crowded, crowded place like where Natsuki is now without being suspected.
“Sigh… !”
Aiko held a pair of daggers, one in each hand, and launched her body towards her enemy with a small sound of energy.
As the blade reflected the light and swung around, even the disguised assassins could not stay still. Clicking her tongue, she took out her weapon hidden inside her sleeve and countered Aiko’s attack.
“Die obediently.”
“… It’s a hindrance.”
Aiko didn’t want anyone to think that she was a danger to Natsuki, so the assassin could continue his mission by killing us quietly, so even when fighting for his life, he fought as quietly as possible, unlike the knights and soldiers, which was admirable. 〈 Br〉
When he was about to deflect the assassin’s weapon with his dagger and cut off his uvula. Aiko had no choice but to take a few steps behind her because of the shuriken and shuriken that flew from her side.
The three assassins fighting against Aiko kept their guard up, glancing at me while I was still.
“What are you doing… !”
Aiko then parried away her shuriken and dodged her shuriken with flashy footwork. She desperately searched for help when she kicked away the assassin who was aiming for the blind spot.
“No. You fight well alone, right? “Isn’t it a bad idea for me to intervene here, having never practiced passing the test?”
“It’s time to say such relaxed things… !”
Aiko, protesting, lowered her body to avoid a dagger slashing from her left. She tried to cut off her wrist holding the dagger that cut through the empty space, but the assassin on her right intervened and stopped her attack.
“Look. “They have a great passing technique that covers up mistakes made while attacking each other.”
“Profit… A useless pervert.”
Regardless of whether she was called a useless pervert or not, it was nice to see the once arrogant woman sweating profusely and looking disheveled. This was especially the case with blushing cheeks and muttering even though it was not an obscene situation.
However, if he continued to play around even when his life was on the line, he would completely lose his affection, so he began to control his magic so precisely that he would not be detected by the magicians of the Imperial Knights.
“Just hold on for a few seconds.”
“…”
Even though Aiko seemed to have good skills, she didn’t have time to respond as her three assassins continued to pass without any flaws. And while she was fighting, she even seemed to be holding her breath and trying to spread the distance, as if she had been sprayed with poisonous powder.
I was thinking of using magic that would leave as few traces as possible, but these guys are puppets that are being controlled anyway. I thought it would be a good idea to warn the evil scum in the world who are targeting Natsuki.
“Cut it. Whip it up fiercely.”
In order to use less magical energy, instead of chanting without chanting like usual, he recited a spell, and the assassins, who belatedly realized that he was a wizard, changed their target from Aiko to me.
“Your feet are slower than the wind.”
It is said that great swordsmen have feet faster than the wind, but these were not such beings, so all three had their ankles cut off by the sharp wind magic and fell to the floor.
I thought it was professional spirit that they did not scream even though both their ankles were cut off, but instead held back their screams and whimpered. But Aiko quickly approached them, turned them over, and stomped on their solar plexus with her foot.
“Big!”
Something that was about to be swallowed was spit out from the mouth, and anyone could guess that it was poison for suicide. They were terrible people for trying to swallow poison even though they were going to die anyway due to the large amount of blood flowing from their ankles.
“Where are you going to die comfortably? A sin aimed at Him. “I will regret it until I die.”
Even though I watched Aiko trying every means possible to prevent her from committing suicide in a voice full of emotion, as if she had experienced it once or twice before, she did not stop her.
Aiko, who was focused on killing them as slowly as possible, as if there was no need to interrogate them, clicked her tongue briefly when the three assassins were completely out of breath.
“Tsk. “I still have to suffer more.”
“Is it okay if I don’t interrogate you?”
“It’s okay because I already know who is sending it. Even though he gave up his right to succession in the first place, where else would there be a crazy person who would want to assassinate the royal family?”
Aiko pushed her would-be assassins into a corner and covered their tracks with surrounding objects. She later added her explanation that she had certain allies stationed at the Cherry Blossom Palace to take care of it.
“So. “Who is the culprit?”
“The older sister of Natsuki, the current heir to the throne. “This is Fuyuki.”
“Wow.”
She was in a situation where she could only express admiration. Even without asking her about the reason or what had happened in the past, I could vaguely imagine what was going to happen.
One side heals people with innate magic and is knowledgeable in techniques such as sealing, but the other side has the right to succession, but she has never heard any special rumors while living in the imperial palace.
Jealousy, suspicion, etc. Even if it seems like a crazy reason to others, self-justification or encouragement from those around you must have been constant.
Let’s look with pride at Aiko, who has been by Natsuki’s side and protected her ever since she was young. She frowned and stepped back.
“Weren’t you looking at me with a bad feeling?”
“Stop doubting. That’s a bad habit.”
“Umm…”
Aiko, who had lived her entire life suspicious of those around her, pursed her lips as if she had nothing to say in return when she pointed out that it was her habit.
“So, Natsuki will continue to treat people there all day today?”
“There are breaks in between. “There are no patients that are so urgent that Natsuki needs to treat them, and most of them can be handled by doctors or medical maids.”
He added that some patients even create abrasions by rubbing their bare skin against the mud wall just to get a glimpse of Natsuki.
Even though I dared to pass by the walls of the imperial palace, I was dizzy as to what would happen if Natsuki went stealthy and got caught.
“It’s almost time for Natsuki to take a break. Please come in once.”
“Is it still okay?”
“You will go through a secret passageway that I specially created so that no one around you will say anything. This way.”
Aiko looked around her to make sure no one was watching, then she entered the small warehouse. Then she removed some of the straw from the floor and opened the cover.
It was a small passage that only she could pass through if she crouched down to see if it was true that she had made it. I followed Aiko down the passage first and closed the cover as she stepped into her basement.
After passing through the dark passageway in an uncomfortable position for a long time. Aiko stopped her movements. She stopped so suddenly that she almost crashed, and as soon as she tried to say something, she fell flat on her seat.
“You can just put the cover on top of this and get out. “Go out first.”
I was wondering why I had to go out first, so she asked a question
“I just have to go back to the original entrance, disguise myself again, and sneak in.”
So, since I was a beginner who couldn’t even disguise myself, much less dream of infiltration, I was told to use a secret passage.
Thinking that this is why I’m a ninja, I opened the cover and stuck my head out, swallowing bitterness.
Then, Natsuki was seen just about to take off the pure white underwear that supported his chest, which had become damp with sweat.
“Ah.”
A short exclamation, unknown to anyone, broke the silence, and Natsuki came up with an angry look on her face, her mouth twitching.
“How can I take responsibility for this… “No?”
I looked down into the basement where Aiko was, but she had already run away without a trace. There was no way Aiko, who would have noticed even an assassin sneaking up on her, would not have known that Natsuki was inside. It was as if they had planned this so that I would get scolded by Natsuki.
“Setsuka?”
“Hi…”
Because of the small space, I couldn’t run away quickly, so I could only hiccup and helplessly watch Natsuki approach.
She grabbed my armpits and lifted me up like she was pulling radishes from the garden. As I, who was suddenly lifted like a radish pulled out of a field, looked away, Natsuki grabbed her armpit tightly as if telling me not to dodge.
“I wrote down that I was there because I had work to do. What could this be?”
“Oh, that’s…”
The accident came to a halt in such a sudden situation that I was unable to come up with a good excuse at the right moment.
Now that I was in a situation where people would think anything I said was strange if I answered, I decided to close my eyes and do something crazy.
“I know very well that Natsuki is busy with work. So, to give her a massage to relieve her fatigue… “I’m here!”
“Do you think that makes sense now? A pervert crawled through a secret passageway to give me a message and saw me changing clothes?”
“W-I guess that doesn’t work either…”
“No way.”
Natsuki lifted me up and threw me into the wooden bucket containing the bath water she had prepared to wipe off the sweat.
While she was soaking in the warm water with her clothes on, Natsuki also came into the bathtub and washed her body.
“Let’s take a shower first.”
“… Yes.”
Later, she quietly followed Natsuki’s words, thinking that she should punish Aiko.
