"We're headed for the kitchen," I said to a slightly tense Seinaru. He nodded without thinking much, though my choice of destination had him somewhat confused.
Incidentally, not only was the kitchen on the mansion's second floor, but it also overlooked the entrance.
Not only did that detail fit my plan, but it would also allow us to notice if anything happened there. The plan was for her to arrive through the entrance, after all.
On our way up, we encountered a couple of soldiers, who only raised an eyebrow at our passage. I acted like a servant led by Seinaru, and he acted his part.
His actions were slightly against the rules, but there wasn't much they could do in terms of correcting him—Thanks to his stubbornness of course.
Like his sister, he could not be maltreated.
We walked by those men without the slightest hint of nervousness. However, when we arrived at the kitchen's entrance someone stood by it—A middle-aged soldier.
"I can't let you in. Cleaning is being done. Besides…" The man paused, eyeing me. "Why bring an outsider here? I know you are benevolent, but you're overstepping your privileges."
His tone felt firm and his expression communicated that truth. He seemed the head of a particular unit, both due to his age and the fact that he had been the only one to actually speak up.
Seinaru threatened to talk, but he immediately decided against it and instead limited himself to hiss. His response annoyed the man, but since he made no further gestures, the soldier could only remain silent.
We turned and made our way from the kitchen, after all, I had considered this and thought of another location.
The pantry.
Although it wasn't as close to the entrance as the kitchen, it remained within hearing range.
'This is going much smoother than I expected,' I remarked when we arrived at the pantry to find that no one guarded it.
'Now… for the main thing.'
"We're here, what next?" Seinaru asked, his nervousness evident in his voice.
I trembled at his question and while collecting my words to give him a response, I inspected the room we stood in.
The pantry was rather large, and five rows of tall shelves stood within it. We stood in between the two as both towered above us.
One large glass window acted as the only source of light in the room. It was made thick enough to almost completely lock out the sun's heat but allow its radiance. It was a pantry after all.
"See… this might not sound too good…" I started talking, even if my words weren't smooth.
How could I possibly explain what I was about to do?
"What do you mean?"
My expression contorted in difficulty, and when I tried to speak I was cut short.
"Seinaru."
A familiar voice called from within the hallways that led into the pantry and I froze in shock. Our gazes met in collective surprise, and I watched his worry increase.
"I'm coming in if you don't respond." The middle-aged soldier announced, and I felt the electrifying sensation of fear course up and down my chest.
Luckily for me, so did Seinaru. And as a result; his attention shot to the pantry's only entrance, then he tried to walk past me to stop the man.
'It's now or never,' I told myself stepping forward at the same time Seinaru did.
Dipping my hand into my trousers, I took hold of the knife hidden within it, and grabbing him by his side, plunged it into his belly
My whole existence cringed at the warmth of his blood pouring down my hand.
The middle-aged soldier twisted the doorknob to step in, and instantly the metallic scent of blood slammed into his nostrils.
His instincts immediately responded, but before he could ascertain danger, his face went pale from the bloodied scene before him.
!!!!
"Wha-what is this!"
Whilst this was going on, another event of weight unfolded outside the mansion's entrance.
A strange-looking figure clothed in a black apparel that masked their identity, approached the gate with eerie steps.
The figure had somehow only been noticed by the soldiers when it had entered the 30m range, which was much too close for comfort. Especially for those men.
To ensure they could easily discover intruders, the land around the mansion's walls had been cleared. Sixty whole meters of space existed around it. A space nearly always under surveillance by those men.
So, how had that individual crossed half of it without their awareness? Was it because the sun gradually descended? Their minds quickly grew suspicious. The mansion was vulnerable since its stronger leaders were out.
"Hey, you!" One of the nine that had gathered from the wooden attachments called out. His sword remained sheathed, but the ones of those behind him were not. The remaining eight were on standby.
His shout did not seem to affect the person since they continued to approach the entrance. So he chose to adopt a more threatening demeanor.
"This is the Empire's territory, if you take any more steps we will not hesitate to cut you down," he roared, placing his hand on the sword attached to his left side.
Thankfully, his words carried weight since the individual immediately halted their movement.
"Good," the man muttered, at least canceling out the probability that their target was a creature of darkness. After all, even they knew the tales of Shadebeasts. Though, many had not seen them.
Adventuring was required for such encounters. Most were much too weak for that type of thing.
Still, before the man could exit his thoughts, a certain pressure seemed to land on the entire area, sending every man present into a moment of shock, as they understood the meaning of that experience.
Unfortunately, before any of them could sound an alarm of danger, the figure abruptly vanished from its position!!
When next the man saw it, it had a sword drawn, and that sword was already coated in blood… all eight of his comrades had been killed instantly.
!!!
Panic swelled in his chest and he tried to unsheath his blade, but the individual was world's quicker than him.
A blow struck his side and his mind spun from the sting of pain.
He fell to the ground, wide-eyed, wondering what had happened—He had expected something more significant.
However, the confusing sight of a still-standing lower torso unfolded in his eyes.
The torso did not have the rest of its body attached to it, and needless to say, his already pale face grew paler when he realized he no longer felt his legs, nor did he have them attached!
Lowering his head in horror, he beheld the gory contents of his insides as a pool of blood formed around him.
Coughing blood as unfathomable pain blurred his thoughts, he managed to catch a glimpse of the individual's face before the deep darkness of death swallowed his existence.
Eiko had arrived, and she did not hesitate in executing bloody judgment.