—Asher Frostblade's perspective.
Returning to the room, Clara, Alicia and I stood in silence. The minutes felt like hours, but it wasn't really hours; the silence was the culprit that made the atmosphere feel slow.
But of one thing I am very sure...
"This is very uncomfortable."
Of course, after all I'm in a room with two women and two beds, which means I'll have to sleep with company.
Just thinking about it makes me very uncomfortable. Not that I really mind, but that's because in my past life I slept alone and was used to it, and in fact there were times when I didn't sleep for even more than a week, so I'm used to the loneliness.
But at this time it is very different; this time I am surrounded by two women in a room that is not so spacious and has only two beds.
"But why Dik and Felix's room...? Oh, that's right."
In Dik and Felix's room there was a problem: the second bed was damaged, the mattress was rotten and had a bad smell, and that's why Dik is sharing a bed with Felix.
"Prf..."
In fact, I almost burst out laughing at what I just thought.
Two men in a bed, one who's old and the other young.... I just covered my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing.
It's so funny.
"Uh... Wait a minute, this laugh I've never experienced it this easy."
Thinking carefully, I never laughed at the thought of something. It's very strange, this emotion.
But it's very pleasant, of that I'm sure.
Looking out the window, it was about six o'clock. The night was in all its splendor and the moon hung in the night sky; stars lit up the sky, but then I remembered something.
"That moon... It reminds me of the red moon when I died."
In fact, I was curious about that crimson red moon. It was a very strange moon that gave me the feeling that it was looking at me while smiling at my death. That night of my death was coming back to me just now.
"Shit... It's better to forget that."
My death was a year ago, so it's better to forget about the past. After all... that miserable death I had makes me so angry.
"Hey, are you okay?" Clara's voice reached my ears.
Then she appeared beside me and looked up at the night sky. The window is wide, so there was room for both of us.
Looking at Clara, she again spoke.
"Even when it's night you don't take off your mask."
"Well, I take it off when I'm alone."
"Oh, now that I remember, weren't you going to show me what's behind that mask?".
"..."
Hesitating for a few seconds, I looked at Alicia, who was sharpening her two daggers. Then I looked at Clara again.
"Well... I was planning to reveal my face when we reach the imperial city, but..."
Looking at Alicia again, I turned back to look at Clara.
I then brought my hand to my mask and slowly began to remove it, revealing my eyebrows.
"I think it's about time they saw my face," I thought. My mask slowly lowered and then....
Blood red eyes and my silver hair were best shown. I then proceeded to finish removing my mask, revealing my entire face.
Clara's face went blank as her mouth fell open in surprise.
Then her words came out.
"You are...royalty."
I quickly responded to her words.
"No, I'm not. Although I look a lot like royalty, I'm not part of them."
"..."
"Hey, aren't you very...?".
"Mmm... Sorry, I just didn't think you were so..."
So what? Clara paused before she finished her words, but then....
"Knock."
Something fell to the ground. Then I looked back and that's when Alicia was looking at me the same way Clara was. The same words came out of Alicia.
"You're royalty."
"No, I'm not."
Of course, my appearance is considered royalty. After all, hair color and eye color, all these aspects are the same as royalty.
Of course, I could change the color of my eyes and hair if the mana of darkness transformed them, leaving me with dark hair and purple eyes, but I decided against it.
"You're... so handsome," Alicia suddenly spoke.
"..."
I simply looked at Alicia blankly. She definitely speaks bluntly and instantly.
"O-hey, but why are you showing your face? I thought you would never show it."
"Well, I changed my mind. I feel like I'm hiding something from you guys and I didn't want to feel that way."
"I see, so that's why you did it then."
Looking at Alicia and Clara, the two of them quickly spoke up.
"Well, even though you didn't show your face, we knew you were hiding it for some reason and now it seems we know."
"No, in fact, even I don't know why I have to wear this mask. Let's just say my teacher gave it to me, but she didn't tell me the reason."
After being trained for half a year, I considered Oriana as my teacher; I even called her that once, but unfortunately I received a blow so hard that I passed out for several hours.
Since then, I never called her teacher again. That's the only woman I'm afraid of.
Just thinking about Oriana made my hair stand up on end.
"Sigh."
Sighing, I looked at the two in front of me. They were still wearing very surprised faces.
"I think your teacher gave you that mask because you look like royalty," Clara spoke up at that point.
Well, Clara was right about that. Although Oriana handed me the mask, she actually never told me that I looked like a member of the royal family.
"Anyway, we'd better not let our guard down. I have a bad feeling just now," Alicia spoke as she looked towards the wall.
I was about to forget about the matter of those three suspicious fellows. Let's not let our guard down at the moment.
It's nighttime and this hour would be a good time to kill people. I know that very well because I used to do that... although I don't like to think about it.
"If you have a feeling, then something will happen," Clara spoke as if she was sure of Alicia's words.
For some reason, Alicia is always right. It's not just me; also when she has a bad feeling, something relatively bad happens, like an apparition of monsters or a person trying to kill us. Basically, it's like a danger detector.
"By the way, why are you guys so quiet," I directed those words to Encrid. Encrid replied instantly.
"Well... I was resting."
"..."
What the hell is that?
"One last word: it looks like they'll start moving soon. Be careful. If you need help, let Isabella know."
"Hey idiot, and why me? He's your successor, isn't he?"
"..."
I was silent, but quickly focused.
The mana fluctuations were altering. These are indications that someone is using mana to start attacking.
"Looks like we'll be going into action very soon," I spoke softly, and Alice and Clara nodded.
***
—Scene change.
—Sebastian's perspective.
Raising his dagger, Sebastian looked at Peter.
"Hey, do you really have to use that big axe all the time?"
"Hehehe, I like this weapon, boss. I can split my prey's heads with a single blow."
"..."
Sebastian thought for a moment. This guy is a freaking psycho freak with a big axe.
Even Sebastian has his limits when it comes to killing. Although he tends to torture his prey sometimes, it's not always the case and he ends the tortures very quickly.
But seeing Pedro like that... he's a complete psychopath in his own right.
"Boss... when do we start?"
Vendrik had approached Sebastian. Vendrik looked impatient; he doesn't want to wait any longer and see the blood of his prey. Vendrik was anxious; even he is also a psychopath.
Sebastian is the only one with the clearest sanity in the whole group.
Then Sebastian answered.
"In a few minutes. We still have to wait for the perfect opportunity."
Sebastian is very meticulous, so he likes to wait as long as it takes, as long as his targets are killed or captured. Every move Sebastian usually makes ends in a big hit and that applies right now.
There were a few minutes left to make his move.
"It's after seven o'clock at night. It will take half an hour to finish, so don't let your guard down. I don't want to waste too much time."
"Roger that, boss."
"He's coming at midnight," Sebastian looked at Emilia at that point.
"So we have time to have some fun for a while. In the meantime, my gold coins will be quietly here."
Those words obviously went to Emilia, who was tied to the wall with her mouth covered. Of course, the tears wouldn't stop falling.
Sebastian frowned and clicked his tongue.
"Stop crying, it's very annoying, child."
"Well, then it's time to leave. We'll go in through the window."
So Sebastian and the two men went out the window, while Emilia watched as they went to kill people.
***
—Scene change.
—Emilia Merwin's perspective.
The moment Emilia saw those three subjects leave, mana quickly left her hands.
The Merwin family, known as one of the ten strongest families and being among the three most powerful, has two elements they have inherited from the first patriarch of the family.
Known for the elements of air and lightning, these were inherited from the first patriarch. But Emilia is different, with three elements at her disposal. These three elements are the same as the entire Merwin family has, and the third element Emilia possesses is fire.
With three elements, Emilia is very different from the others in her family. From a young age she trained daily with all three elements at the same time, and is currently close to the second circle, being one of the few children to become a first circle mage at a young age.
Emilia's mana, a white color, began to flow out of her hands and slowly made its way to the chains that held her bound.
"Clank."
Luckily, the two chains holding both of Emilia's hands quickly broke, falling to the ground.
Emilia looked down at her hands and removed the cloth that was in her mouth, now being able to speak.
"Those guys... They will kill more people right here.... I should help."
Emilia dismissed those thoughts.
If she tries to save those people, she would be in danger. Besides, she doesn't even know if the people those three are going to kill are strong or if they can fight against those three subjects.
So, on second thought, Emilia had to escape and get to her family as soon as possible and report what happened. If she did that, help would come here and she could rescue the people in this inn.
But there was no time, no way to save the people in this inn in time. Of that Emilia was sure.
"But even if I escape... the forest is nearby and there are grade 8 monsters."
That was a problem. She can't escape that easily; even if she did, those three fellows would quickly catch up with her.
It's not such a simple task.
"Damn... I sob... I can't leave."
Crying, Emilia wailed. Even though she was free at the moment, she couldn't go anywhere. The forest is full of monsters, the Merwin family lands are in the imperial city, and the nearest city to this place is a whole day away, and in that time, the three subjects could reach her.
What are her options? Of course, none.
Emilia is destined not to survive. She can't escape or call for help, unless someone really strong comes along at this point, but the chances are so slim that it's best not to think about it.
Moving closer to the wall, Emilia tried to listen to what was happening on the other side, but....
"Why can't you hear anything?"
In fact, when those guys left, no noise was heard from the other side of the wall. It's as if they never came.
"What if they...?" Emilia quickly dismissed that idea.
How the hell would that guy named Sebastian die, even if he's capable of fighting a fourth circle mage?
So Emilia dismissed the idea that those guys lost. So she tried to listen better and get at least an idea of what might happen, but then....
"Starburst!"
Quickly, Emilia became alarmed. Then she went to the window and saw two women fighting with two of the guys. But then she saw a boy, about her height, and when she saw the color of his eyes and hair, she quickly thought.
"It's one of the princes, a member of the royal family is here."
Of course, Emilia has no idea that Asher is not from the royal family; she is simply confusing him.
"He... he's fighting with the leader."
Emilia looked at Sebastian and Asher who were about to fight, and then she knew immediately.
"I must help," but she dismissed the idea instantly. Then, a dark mana surged from the "prince of the royal family" all over her body. At that moment, Emilia opened her eyes wide....