A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 10, Chapter 257: The Night City and the Intruder

I pressed the knife against the nape of the watchman and opened my lips. At times like this, a small knife was more convenient than the treasure sword. It fit easily in my hand.

「Were you not expecting an intruder today? Or did you not believe in rumors? 」

While trying to tear a piece of his neck, I spoke to his ear. The watchman, with trembling legs, replied that there was no such thing, and that he had not heard about it before. Was that so? He had not a very good understanding of things, then.

「Who…Who on earth…are you… 」

「Are you listening properly? Who do you think I am? 」

I dared to make my voice heavier and harsher. I pushed the knife a little more against his neck. Blood fell from the nape of the watchman.

When conducting an interrogation, it was not good to answer the other party’s questions poorly. An interrogation worked better if you had a good understanding of who was in the position to ask and who was in the position to obey.

The watchman nodded while trying to bounce his chin to my words, and then obediently opened his lips. Rather, it seemed that he was not taught how to be attacked by an enemy. I wondered if it was due to Philos being a peaceful city in the first place, the famous weathervane.

「That’s the behavior I want. If you don’t lie and answer to all my questions, I will spare your life. I’m sure you don’t want to end like your friend.」

I spoke while looking at the corpse lying down in a blood clot. It was a painful end. If I died, I wanted people to kill me with a little more grace. At least, I didn’t want to die with a broken neck by a fearsome axe.

I asked some questions to the watchman, who nodded as if he was still convulsing.

“Where is Philos Trait? How many guards are there today? Where is Roseau? How many escorts does he have?”

The watchman seemed frightened. That was fine. It would be nice if everyone could be honest like this.

Did I scare him that much? The watchman spoke, shaking his throat.

「If…If you’re looking for Philos Trait, I’ll show you. It’s just a short distance from here. I also want to help if I can!」

Looking at the actions and words of the watchman, I thought, “Ah, this kind of race is common everywhere.”

He misunderstood that I must have come to rescue Philos Trait. So in order to appease me, he only provided the answer I wanted to hear.

How great, he was truly a human. I even wanted to clap my hands and praise him.

「No, that’s enough. It’s bad for your god too. So just I want to give you a message. 」

When he heard I wanted to convey just a message, the watchman’s body lost its power. He probably thought he was saved. There was an extreme relaxation after extreme tension. It was rare that the feeling of relief could be seen so far.

Therefore, in order to calm him in down for real, I conveyed the contents of the message.

「…Tell Altius that I was the one who sent you to him. 」

With that said, I held the watchman’s mouth with one hand like a snake and…used the knife against his neck with the other hand. There was a disgusting sound when I pulled the knife. Pieces of flesh flew in the air and blood spilled like a flowing river.

For a moment, I felt the watchman’s body going on rampage in my arms, but it soon stopped. After fresh blood spewed from the watchman’s neck for a while, I removed the body from my arms and it fell next to its comrade’s body.

After wiping the blood lightly from my hands and body, I threw the two corpses out of the wall. There were traces of blood on the walls, but what happened during the night was not so easily noticed.

「It seems you didn’t keep your promise to spare his life. 」

A voice echoed from the darkness. It was not a condemning tone, but it still sounded strong. That voice belonged to Vestaline Geluah.

「It was the other side that broke the promise first. Is it against your liking, Steel Princess?」

“No, that’s not the case”, Vestaline replied briefly. However, even in the darkness of the night, I could see that her expression was slightly tense.

That’s why I said there was no need for her to follow me. Vestaline, who had been raised in the upper class to some extent, and I, who was born and raised in the mud, had too different ideas and aesthetics about life.

I told Vestaline that she could return back now. It was easy to take that option, and it was also easier for me too. However, Vestaline never shook her head vertically in agreement.

「My sister is exposing her heart. If so, as her sister, I must stay and be her armor. 」

Vestaline spoke no further. I shrugged my shoulders and returned the silence. I was not good at being a serious person. She seemed easy to read, but on the other hand, I couldn’t exactly understand all of her words.

I sighed as I looked over the whole picture of the autonomous city of Philos from the top of the wall. It was not a big city, but it was still too wide to walk to every corner. Why did Bruder decide to throw herself into this? Speaking of her…

When Bruder identified the city of Philos as the enemy, it seemed that she decided to scout the city by herself, alone. I didn’t know what the motive was, but Vestaline said she cared about me. If she cared, why would she infiltrate the enemy city?

However, if that was the case, it was not possible for me to leave her behind and return to the Heraldic camp. I spoke with a big sigh.

「So Bruder said she was just gathering information. She won’t do anything else, right? 」

“Yes”, Vestaline nodded a little. If it was not about an assassination, then it wasn’t dangerous, yet.

But if Bruder said she was gathering information, she would walk around in Philos until the moment when her life was in danger. We had to find her as soon as possible.

When it came to gathering information, we could expect that she would aim at the area around Roseau, the center of this city. If so, we should also sneak up near Roseau and join Bruder.

However, there was another thing that stuck in my head. It was the good deeds and words that the watchmen were talking about.

Philos Trait was a noblewoman no matter where she went. To be honest, if you wanted to detain such a person, you should put her under house arrest at best. I thought that safety was guaranteed.

However, when listening to the voices of the watchmen, it seemed that it was not the case. Rather, Philos Trait was far from being safe. Originally, if I found Bruder, I thought I would turn back and return to the Heraldic camp.

I felt like they were not at the stage of having Philos Trait handed over in negotiations.

I bent my fingers, put on my gloves again, and squeezed my hands. What now?

Well, either way, I had no choice but to move. Infiltration activities could only be done in the dark. I had to do what I had to do during that limited time.

「Let’s move carefully. For us who can’t use a light, darkness is both an ally and an enemy. 」

Vestaline spoke serious words. I honestly thought those were peculiar but wise words.

I see. The night came around, and there were only a few lights used by watchmen and guards. For those of us who were illegally stepping into the city, there was no way we could use the lights. That could put us in danger.

However, such anxiety had nothing to do with me. The night city, the movements of a few wriggles on the back alleys, and even the appearance of a weathervane swaying in the wind, were all in my hands.

「Don’t worry, Steel Princess. My real nature is to be lost in the darkness. Rather, let’s walk leisurely and do things at our own pace. 」

I grinned with a wide line on my cheeks as I said so.