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Chapter 118 - The assassin breaks his love spell

Translator: VALIANT

When I woke up, I found Maha sleeping next to me.

I hadn’t seen her make such a relieved expression since the time when we were living together.

She was always so determined and rarely showed any openings, which was charming of her.

[…Tarte, Dia, and Maha would’ve died if they hadn’t met me, huh… Even though I already knew it, being told directly is still painful.] (Lugh)

It would be easy to say that it was just fate, but I was no longer a puppet who would settle for that sort of explanation.

I was reborn into this world to stop Epona from going berserk.

However, looking at Maha’s sleeping face, I came to believe that I was reborn to save her and the other two.

[Good morning, Lugh-niisan.] (Maha)

Maha drowsily rubbed her eyes and woke up.

She must’ve been really tired.

I let her do what she wanted at first, but then I took the lead halfway through.

As I predicted, there was only so much that could be achieved through study alone, and Maha was frustrated about it.

It was funny how a competitive girl like her was trying so hard to learn these things.

[Good morning, Maha. Are you all right?] (Lugh)

[No, I’m not. …Lugh-niisan, you’re such a brute.] (Maha)

She gave me a reproachful glare.

It was her first time, yet I was too rough.

She was so lovely that my sense of reason flew out the window.

[Sorry about that. I’ll make you some tea.] (Lugh)

[No, I’ll do it. Brewing tea for you is my most important job.] (Maha)

[I guess it is.] (Lugh)

When the three of us lived together, most of the house chores were done by Tarte, who was my exclusive maid, but brewing tea was Maha’s job.

Maha got up, put on her loungewear, and went straight to the kitchen.

Kitchens were also a feature peculiar to high-class lodgings. Normal inns didn’t provide such an accommodation in each room.

The scent of tea wafted through the air.

Someone knocked, and a basket was slid under the door.

The inn’s breakfast service. Nice timing.

Maha retrieved the basket as she brought the tea.

[Let’s have breakfast.] (Maha)

[Good idea. Our workout yesterday has made me hungry.] (Lugh)

[Lugh-niisan, you’re usually very cool, yet sometimes, you speak like an old man. That was sexual harassment, you know?] (Maha)

Like an old man? …That’s a bit hurtful.

[I’ll be more careful.] (Lugh)

[Yes, please. I want you to remain cooler than anyone else.] (Maha)

Maha smiled at me, and I smiled back.

I helped myself to some tea. It was as soothing as always, and Maha’s attention to detail was evident in every aspect of her tea.

Next were the sandwiches.

…How surprising. I wasn’t expecting much, but these are reasonably tasty.

[This bread was made in Marouille, right?] (Lugh)

[I’m surprised you could tell. This place procures it from there, and the filling was made with high-grade ingredients too. This inn is popular with the upper class.] (Maha)

Marouille was one of the best bakeries in town, and the one I used to go to when I lived in Milteu.

Moreover, it seems that this bread has just been baked and delivered here this morning.

I see, I should’ve expected no less of Maha’s choice for a lodging.

I’d better remember this address.

[Phew… Now that we are satiated, I had better get back to work. …In fact, there was something I absolutely had to give you.] (Maha)

After saying that, Maha handed me an envelope with some documents in it.

I quickly looked through them.

[This… looks fishy.] (Lugh)

[Yes, very much so. I’m ordering our local operatives to investigate this matter.] (Maha)

Maha’s documents described abnormal incidents occurring in Birnol, a reasonably large town northwest of here.

Not only had there been a lot of earthquakes over there lately, but more than dozens of people had gone missing in the past month.

Not only that, but the cable I used there for my communication network had been cut.

The very same cable that not even Tarte could cut with the knife I created and after strengthening herself with mana.

At the moment, the part of my communication network that I installed there had a ring topology, so even if one side of it was cut off, communication on the other side was still possible, so there was no problem with that, but the thing itself that managed to slice a cable like that was abnormal.

Combined with the fact that there were people missing, something was definitely afoot.

[It could be the work of a demon. And a smart one at that.] (Lugh)

[What sort of situation are you expecting?] (Maha)

[You know how up until now, I’ve killed the beetle demon and the lion demon in succession, both of whom were the brawny type, right? So I predicted that the demons would exert caution and use backhanded tactics. The only thing I can think of in this case is that they are secretly preparing for a genocide, and when they’re done planning it out, they will slaughter everyone in the city in a flash. Then, once they’ve created the fruit of life, they will flee before anyone troublesome arrives. That’s what they’ve been doing, in my opinion.] (Lugh)

It was hard to take a guess without a little more information, but for example, what if they hollowed out most of the underground of the city in advance and let it all collapse at once? If they used such a strategy, earthquakes would occur frequently by now, and at the most critical moment, all the inhabitants could be killed in an instant.

[Most likely. As far as the incident with the beetle demon is concerned, there was a few days delay between the end of his massacre and the moment the fruit of life was ready to be created. But if this demon manages to instantly kill everyone in town, he’ll be able to get it all done before we can even grasp the situation and rush over there. …That’s probably what he has in mind.] (Maha)

Indeed. Normally, it took several days to complete each of the following steps, no matter how hard humans tried to speed things up: an incident occured —] an investigation was conducted —] they contacted someone who could deal with the situation —] that someone rushed to the scene.

If this demon had made the preparations I assumed he did, then his escape with the fruit of life in his possession would’ve been the only possible outcome. …That is, if it weren’t for me.

[I’m really impressed with our information network.] (Maha)

However, I was the only one who used those unconventional methods.

If something happened in this country, I would immediately know it through my Information network and rush to the scene on the same day by flying.

As dreadful as demons were, even they didn’t know that.

Which was why I could get there in time.

[Also, there’s something else that’s been bothering me.] (Maha)

[Tell me.] (Lugh)

[Why do demons only ever appear in the Alvanian Kingdom? Normally, if they wanted to avoid fighting, wouldn’t it be much safer to target a country where neither you nor the Hero are located? The orc, the beetle, the lion, all three of them targeted our country in succession. And if this new incident really is the work of a demon, then that makes him the fourth one. This is clearly abnormal, and I can only assume that they are deliberately going after our country alone.] (Maha)

[I was wondering about that too. I thought the demons were intentionally targeting only our country in order to lure the Hero out and kill her. In fact, the orc demon clearly stated that his goal was to kill the Hero. But it really is strange that despite trying to avoid a confrontation with me and the Hero, they still appear in this kingdom.] (Lugh)

Based on historical records, there was no precedent of demons continuously attacking a single country.

That’s why the neighboring countries were trying to get the Alvanian Kingdom to promise to lend them the Hero in case of emergency.

But if the Alvanian Kingdom was the demons’ sole target, then they would never agree to it.

The emergence of the demons and their Demon King was a calamity that occured every few hundred years, and each nation had its own know-how on that matter. Since each nation had their own preparations for any potential raids, it shouldn’t matter to the demons which one they chose to attack.

And yet, they only picked ours.

In other words, there was an irregularity with the demon raids of the current generation, some reason that made them only target the Alvanian Kingdom.

[The information we have is not enough. For starters, I’ll address the matter at hand while gathering more intel. …Thanks a lot. With these documents, I can move things around.] (Lugh)

The quickest way to find out about demons was to ask another demon.

Fortunately, I had an idea how to proceed.

[I’m glad I could be of help to you. I’m going to take a shower, then I’ll head back to Orna. I have an important meeting this afternoon.] (Maha)

[I see you’ll be busy.] (Lugh)

[I guess so. But that’s my duty. It may be a lot of work, but I take pride in it for being able to help you.] (Maha)

After that, she was gone.

…She’s such a great woman.

I realize that once again.

Now, time for me to do my own job.

Since then, I was back in Tuatha Dé.

I’d been trying to get in touch with the snake demon Mina while having my agents investigate the town where I assumed a demon was operating in secret.

Aside from that, I was busy cleaning up all sorts of damage I had caused.

[Thank you for your hard work, Lugh-sama.] (Tarte)

[I see you’ve locked yourself in your room again.] (Dia)

[Looks like you girls are done with your training for today.] (Lugh)

Tarte and Dia nodded.

They were making the final adjustments to the homework I had given them on the day of my departure.

[So Lugh, whatcha doin’?] (Dia)

[Well, just following up on Count Flantrude, who was instrumental in my trial.] (Lugh)

[Oh yeah, about that. He fell in love with your female alter-ego, right? What are you going to do about him?] (Dia)

[I’m sending him a letter signed with Lou’s name, telling him that I safely made it back to my domain, that I miss him, and that I’ll be back in the royal capital in two months.] (Lugh)

I wrote this letter in what seemed to be a woman’s handwriting.

This was another one of my skills as an assassin.

[But all this will do is buy you some time, right?] (Dia)

[That’s good enough. He and I will exchange several letters for the next two months. …And during our correspondence, I will subtly reset Lou’s words, behavior, tastes, and habits so that they deviate from his ideals, making the gap between Lou and his vision of the perfect woman grow larger and larger. I bet you anything that by the time those two months have passed, he’ll have fallen out of love with Lou. All that’ll be left is to meet him in person, stage the situation a bit, and that’ll be the end of their love story.] (Lugh)

If Lou were to dump him on her own terms alone, Count Flantrude would plunge into despair.

Therefore, I decided to buy time first, then I would distort his feelings for Lou little by little.

And finally, I would let him dump me.

[This is quite the hassle you’re going through.] (Dia)

[He’s worked hard for me. As a token of appreciation, I’m gonna give him the most beautiful ending. The kind where he’s relieved that his love was over with nothing left of it.] (Lugh)

The human heart was a volatile thing.

Not to mention, the love affair between Lou and Count Flantrude was a dramatized, fleeting romance.

The two didn’t know much about each other, and as they learned about the parts of each other they didn’t know, they would realize that they weren’t made for each other, and as they understood that, they would lose interest in each other.

[You are scaring me a little, Lugh-sama… Um…! Even if you were to act cold to me, I would always love you!] (Tarte)

[You’re such a worrywart, Tarte. It’s like you’re afraid that Lugh will give you the same treatment.] (Dia)

[Um…! Well… I don’t think Lugh-sama would ever abandon me. It’s just… that… the thought of it frightens me…] (Tarte)

[There’s no need to panic. It’s natural to be afraid of those who fiddle with people’s hearts like that. …Telling you two about these things is my own way of relying on you. I can tell you about it because I believe you will accept me for it.] (Lugh)

When people just want others to like them, they don’t show them their hidden side.

Even so, I still showed mine to them because I had faith in them, and to let them know that I had the matter of Lou under control, as they were worrying about that.

[Yes! I’m fine with it.] (Tarte)

[If I hated that about you, I would’ve never fallen in love with you in the first place.] (Dia)

[I see.] (Lugh)

I smiled and finished my letter.

I tied it to the leg of a carrier pigeon.

The pigeon didn’t belong to Tuatha Dé. It was a gift from Count Flantrude to Lou.

He would probably never think that the pigeon he gave her to convey his love would bring about their breakup.

The white pigeon flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

With this, the matter with Count Flantrude will be over.

I cleared my throat and spoke up.

[Tarte, Dia, you will turn in your homework tomorrow. Be ready for it.] (Lugh)

I decided that the next task would be to have the girls show me the new powers they gained while I was gone.