"Hmmmm," Aileen took off her glasses, examined us once more, then looked around the territory while still wearing her glasses. Finally, raising her hands, she exclaimed, "IT'S YOU! The one who defeated the emperor!"
"You only realized it now? Can't you see anything without glasses? How did you even manage to fight in armor?" I couldn't resist teasing her.
"I can see, of course, it's just a bit blurry, but it doesn't bother me in battle," the guardian folded her arms triumphantly.
"Wait a minute, when you shot at me in the house, and the arrow landed right next to my face, did you do that on purpose?"
"Of course! I wouldn't have killed you, well, unless it happened by accident. Although, if I had missed back then, all of this could have been avoided!" the girl discontentedly pointed at her attire.
"Well, you know! Why did you even come here?!" I asked.
"I'm gathering information about your mages, and I was told that you're searching for the summoner. So, let's not waste time, tell me what you know," Aileen replied.
"Hey, but we're not entirely-" Katrina tried to answer, but I interrupted her.
"Why should we tell you everything? You're a proud imperial guard; you'll find out everything on your own. Now go away and don't interfere with our move," I demonstratively pushed Aileen aside and headed toward the gate.
"And you think you're so important. I don't understand why the emperor admitted defeat," Aileen remarked.
"Maybe because he's a weakling and was afraid to fight further?" I retorted, shooting a disdainful look at the guardian. "Although, he did leave someone behind here."
"Oh, you!! That's it, I'll get all the truth out of you!" Aileen released a couple more arrows at me, and I shielded myself with a box of books.
"Hey, don't damage the antiquities at least. These books will be much more useful than you," I jumped into the house, grabbing my weapons. Taking cover from the arrows behind the cauldron Katrina tried to carry out the door, I leaped through the hole in the wall and ran to the backyard. It's worth mentioning that the arrows pierced the thick cauldron, rendering it even more useless.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!! Are you going to keep running?" the guardian chased after me. I stood my ground on the training field.
"I had no intention of running away, but at least here, we won't destroy anything," I assumed a combat stance, preparing for an attack.
"Great, when I'm done with you, I'll send your remains back to the empire!" Aileen threatened.
"Hmm, then I'll have to think of a fitting punishment for you too," I replied.
"Let her join our guild!" Katrina interjected into our conversation.
"What?? You want to take HER in? She tried to kill me!"
"Oh, come on! The more, the merrier. It's not like it's the first time. Besides, I'm the guild master, and it's my decision whom to accept!"
"Oh, what a puppet you are," Aileen couldn't help but sneer.
"Then I'll beat you so hard that you won't even be able to sign an application!" I leaped towards the guardian. Parrying her retaliatory arrows with my small blades, I prepared to strike at her abdomen, but my blades were stopped by her raised leg. Her high boots, apparently lined with steel, blocked the attack.
"Tch, so it's not just a fashion statement."
"Of course not!" Aileen jumped and kicked me in the chest with her free leg, releasing two more arrows in mid-air before landing. The blow wasn't as strong, especially after the battle with the emperor, but it was still unpleasant.
"Darn, okay," I crouched closer to the ground and held the blades with the edge down, extending them along my arms. This way, I could fight at close quarters.
The guardian continued to shower me with a hail of arrows from her wrist crossbows; it was hard to imagine how many shots she had there. Getting in close, I began to deliver alternating strikes with the blades, but the girl blocked them with her gloves and crossbow bodies. She wasn't wearing any armor, not even simple leather, relying solely on sturdy boots and gloves for protection.
After a few strikes, Aileen twisted to grab both my swords simultaneously and held them at the level of her head. In such a situation, she made the only right choice: leaning forward, she attempted to knee me in the jaw, but I managed to dodge back in time. At the last moment, I noticed the gleam of a dagger under her kneepad and immediately jumped back a couple of steps. The girl slightly tightened her knee, and a small blade shot out from the slot where my head had been a second ago.
"Well, that was very dangerous! How much weaponry do you have on you?" I asked.
"Just a little," the girl made a barely noticeable movement, and blades protruded from her gloves and kneepads. Two more small serrated blades extended from the elbow part of her gloves. "I knew I should've coated them with poison, but I left it at home."
"It seems like you're seriously determined to kill me!" I remarked.
"Not ruled out! I hope you won't die too easily!" Aileen quickly closed the distance between us and began to strike with the blades. It was like fighting a master of hand-to-hand combat, but her strikes were much more dangerous.
I blocked her attacks with the swords, but I could only dodge her kicks. Moreover, when she clenched her fist, elbow, or knee, the blades could shoot out thanks to a hidden mechanism. As soon as one was used, new blades replaced them. It seemed like she had at least five extra blades for each device.
"You're good at dodging, but don't think my ammunition will run out soon," Aileen leaned forward, extending both her hands forward, and leaped at me. She wanted me to block her attack so she could shoot the blades into my shoulders, but I struck the blades at her knees from below, changing their direction. At the same time, the guardian lifted one leg, aiming a knee at my side. Her first attack was just a feint, but I anticipated it and blocked the dagger on her knee, then hit her in the stomach with the hilt. The blow sent the girl flying back, but I managed to grab her gloves and pull them off.
"Hey! Those are mine!" this evoked indignation from the guardian.
"You'll survive without them; it'll be easier this way," I said.
"Fine, then I'll fight with what I have," the girl put away the blades on her kneepads and drew a sword from behind her back. She had concealed the blade given by the emperor under her cloak. "I don't know how you broke the first blade, but with this one, I'll chop you into pieces."
She approached me and aimed her first strike at my legs. I blocked it and tried to counter, but slightly tilting the blade, Aileen freed herself from the first sword and blocked the second. I thought her main weapon was the wrist crossbows, but she was skilled with both the daggers and the sword. The sword looked similar to my blades, but its blade was thinner and, as a result, lighter. Its material wasn't as heavy, allowing her to move faster. Turning in place, she attacked from the side, and I blocked it, but she dodged my counterattack.
"You're quite skilled even with one sword. Did you train for long?" I asked.
"Not much; I often observed the emperor's and Vlad's training, so I wanted to learn to wield their weapons too. However, two blades were too complicated for me, so I devised this fast and accurate style."
"Hmm, so you observed the emperor, no wonder I thought there was something between you two."
"N-n-nothing of the sort! I just really admire him!" Aileen became flustered, and her attacks lost a bit of speed.
Seizing the moment, I pushed the guardian away as I blocked her attack. She lost her balance and stepped back, and in a jump, I struck her with both swords simultaneously. Aileen wouldn't be able to block two attacks in such a position, so she took the sword by its reverse side with her other hand. Both of my swords struck her with force, and she slightly crouched to maintain her balance. I took advantage of the moment and kneed her elbow, causing her to release her own sword and open up for an attack. In the next moment, my sword was already at her throat.
"Darn, I got distracted," Aileen breathed heavily and nervously looked at my sword. "Maybe you'll kill me; there's no point in wasting time. I don't think you'll find the criminals in this time, and we'll remain enemies."
I sheathed my swords.
"Oh, come on, now you're our comrade, and you've also caught the princess's eye, so you'll have to join our guild," I said.
"Hmph, I don't need your pity. But since I agreed to it, fine then," the girl raised her gloves and approached Katrina. "So, you're the GM? I thought differently, but tell me, why do you want me to join you?"
"Well, you're all alone at the Academy, and they treat you like an enemy. When I first entered the Academy, everyone avoided me too, so I wanted to help you make friends," Katrina lowered her gaze and blushed slightly.
"Hmm, well, suit yourself. At least he's not as weak as I thought. I hope you'll help me find the criminals somehow, and what do you know about the summoner?"
"Huh? Honestly, we haven't gotten to that yet. We've had so many problems that we haven't had the chance to look into it."
"WHAT!? Then why did I even come here! Darn stupid librarian, why did she send me here!" Aileen stamped her foot in anger.
"Um, doesn't Teacher Levris work at the library today?" Katrina looked at me.
"Ha! Aileen, you were deceived. It seems our teacher decided to send you to us to improve international relations. She must have known that we still know nothing about the summoner since she's our instructor."
"Damn," the guardian approached the house and banged her head on it demonstratively. "Clearly, no one knows anything about it. I hope you'll at least be more diligent in hunting down the attackers."
"We'll see how the situation unfolds," I looked closer at her wrist crossbows and daggers. "You have interesting weapons; I've heard that the level of technology in the empire is much higher, but seeing it in person is much more fascinating."
"You rely too much on magic, which is why you'll never achieve the level of development of our empire. And don't think I'll share the secrets of our country just because I joined your guild," Aileen hid her hands behind her back, feeling guarded.
"I didn't plan on asking you about all that, but tell me, did you make those weapons, or was it someone else?"
"Well, I made most of them, but I couldn't perfect them completely. Without Trin, they wouldn't have turned out so compact."
"Trin?" Katrina felt like she had heard that name somewhere.
"Oh, that huge guard with a lot of guns who blew up the lawn in front of the tower."
"WHAAAT!? That giant we fought against with Rizel?!" Katrina opened her mouth in horror. "But I thought he called himself TOR."
"Oh, here she goes again. Well, when she, uhm, tries on her combat attire, she kind of, hm, gets a little crazy and has severe personality splits. Otherwise, she's a very sweet girl and created most of the imperial inventions. The flying ship was also her doing. But did you really manage to defeat her and take off her helmet? I never thought anyone could break through her defense."
"Well, it's not just my merit; Rizel did a lot too. But thank you for the praise."
"Aileen, so you're also skilled in technology?"
"Me? Well, sort of, but don't try to get any secret information from me!"
"No, no, it's just a purely technical question, and I hoped for your help."
"Well, alright then. Testing my skills in such a backward country might be a useful experience. Fine, I'll help."
"Your consent sounds more like an insult, but I'm counting on your assistance," I shook Aileen's hand, and thus we gained a new guild member.