"You there. Step out."
There is a sword pointed in my direction. It looks sharp enough to cut me into two pieces with a single strike.
'How the hell did I end up in this shitty situation? I just want my ingredients and skedaddle back to the mansion!'
I made no movements despite the person urging me to get out of my hiding place for a second time.
The person holding it is covered in all black. If he did not wear a suspicious-looking mask, I would have assumed he was back from attending a funeral.
'Obviously, paired with those murderous eyes... someone as dense as me can tell it's an assassin.'
Behind the intruder are two people with jet-black hair and bloody red eyes. They look a little older than me which really isn't that important at the moment.
'Crap, one of them is bleeding!'
With one glance at the exquisite fabric of their clothes, I could tell they weren't servants. They're not from my family or relatives.
In other words, they're innocent visitors!
Since I haven't stepped outside, I had no idea our house would be housing visitors tonight. Most likely, they're likely the target of the assassin. It's easy to tell since if the assassin targeted any Meilyr, they'll end up as a broken toy locked in a cage or even worse.
'What do I do? Should I run away? Help them?'
Numerous ideas flew in and out of my head, and I can't help but remember what happened earlier which ended up sandwiching me in this situation.
* * *
Everything was going well.
Because of my heightened senses, I was able to avoid the servants and knights moving around.
Eventually, I made it safely to the kitchen. When I arrived at the pantry, I hurriedly grabbed the pouch on my waist. It's enchanted with a spatial spell of having a room-like capacity, allowing me to take a bulk of ingredients.
'With this, I can spend the rest of the year inside. Hahaha!'
Finished with my goal, I stepped out of the kitchen and slipped into the shadows. The hallways were cramped with servants and for some reason, more knights guarded outside the main mansion compared to the usual.
The only path was the garden, which is a bit far. I needed to go past the artificial forest before I can make it back to my mansion.
Silently, I tip-toed on the shadows and stopped.
Leaves hid my figure as I loomed over the corner. Behind that, I could feel the existence of multiple presences, it's akin to facing huge lumps of balls made of mud. These types of sensations meant that whatever was in the corner was human.
Faint voices argued in the air and I strained my ears to hear them better.
"Brother, this isn't good!"
"How can you tell?"
"What do you mean, how can I tell? See that sword pointed at us and how he's inching closer? I think he's planning to kill us, brother."
"Oh? Oh, I see. This is why I told you we shouldn't have left the room. That rumor about a shifting room isn't real."
"Says the person who dragged me outside to search for it!"
Their talk was interrupted by one of the presence suddenly lunging forward. Following it was a bloodcurdling shriek that made me feel as if something was crawling underneath my skin.
'S-something bad happened! And that scream, did someone summon a demon?!'
I didn't want to get involved.
The thing is, as I was about to run away, I stepped on a dry branch.
Crunch!
For some reason, the sound of crickets echoed in the background. The lumps of mudballs faced in my direction and I faced my stupid foot with a blank face.
All sounds became silent in unison, as if time had stopped.
'There is 'fuck' and then there is 'FUCK.' Clearly, my case is the second one.'
With a loud bang, the corner that separated me from the presence exploded. It must be some type of technique under the series of explosive art. Seeing that there was no chanting, the man must be a high-level caster.
'Damn, it's getting worse.'
The cloud of dust settled down, and what I saw was a sight that I don't want to involve myself in.
That's how I ended up in this situation.
* * *
'Seriously, I should have picked another day to pick up groceries.'
Something about tonight didn't feel good. But then again, it always doesn't feel good when I'm stepping outside.
"Get out this instant!"
My thoughts were interrupted by the assassin. I darted my eyes in front and saw that he really will slide me in half if I don't step out.
'For now, let's not get killed like this.'
Slowly, I took my first steps to the road that will lead me to hell.