Chapter 44
‘Don’t get hurt.’
Glancing at the man who left just now, the whispered words echoed and tickled my ears.
Yeah. I shouldn’t get hurt.
If I get hurt, it would only put me in a difficult spot.
The opponent who came down from the tree was clothed entirely in black, even his face. The only part that wasn’t covered was his eyes.
With that appearance, and while even doing a forward roll after jumping to the ground, he just gave the impression of ‘Yeah, I came here to kill someone today.’
“State your business. Why are you after us?”
I knew that he wouldn’t answer, but I asked this cliché question anyway.
And, just as expected, the opponent did not answer.
Instead of that, he threw away his bow and quiver to the ground, then pulled a sword from his side.
‘That doesn’t look like a sword that knights use…’
It looked about half as short as a normal sword, as if it’s just for sparring.
Even so, it didn’t look like something to use for training, but more for practical use. But rather than for protection, it looked like it was meant for hurting someone else.
In the next moment, a silent confrontation ensued.
I knew that they wouldn’t answer anyway, so I didn’t try to strike an unnecessary conversation.
Shwaaa.
A gust of wind blew by and rustled my hair. I turned slightly so that my hair wouldn’t block my vision.
I felt a bit envious of the opponent. It would be so much more comfortable to fight in tight-fitting clothes.
My hair was loose and blowing around me like a fan right now. There was a veil on my face, and the clothes on me was a dress.
‘Still, even if it’s a dress, I’m glad it’s a one-piece dress.’
With today’s agenda in mind, I deliberately chose a dress that I’d be able to move in more comfortably.
A light, accommodating dress.
As I thought about my choice of clothing for a moment, the enemy made his move first.
Kicking off the ground, his movements looked nimble.
I didn’t notice at first because he was crouching, but as he started to run, the opponent looked a bit short.
I remained still and observed the fast-approaching enemy.
The distance between us narrowed in an instant.
And, without any hesitation, the knife in the opponent’s hand rushed to my shoulder right then.
* * *
‘Easy peasy.’
Was what Harron thought as he swung his sword straight to Rosetta’s shoulder.
The woman was just standing still right there as if her feet were rooted to the ground. She must be terrified. All she was holding in her hands was that strange looking fan.
Of course, he had been surprised when she managed to block his arrows with that fan.
But that was all.
She might be able to ward off arrows with that fan, but it couldn’t possibly be turned into a weapon when the fight turned into close combat.
What could she do with a fan that didn’t even have any sharp edges?
It was also so light that it couldn’t even be used to hit someone else with it as a blunt weapon.
Victory would not be achieved without initiative of attack, and a fan couldn’t be used as a weapon of attack at all.
At this point, it’s obvious who the victor was here.
He was a little worried about the man who looked like an escort before.
Two-on-one fights were troublesome.
But then, that escort rolled away and hid in the bushes.
Poor woman.
Why did you choose a coward for your escort.
Well, it was good for Harron anyway since only the woman was his target in the first place.
‘Let’s get this done and over with, then go get the commission fee.’
That’s all Harron was thinking right until then.
Yes—right until Rosetta, who had just been standing still, gently twisted her shoulder away to avoid his attack.
Instead of her flesh, the sword swung through the air.
‘Huh?’
What’s this.
Not even thinking of this possibility, Harron blinked for a moment.
However, since he was a professional, he quickly came to his senses.
It was a startling scene, so he was dazed for only a bit.
‘Yeah, I’ve been too careless.’
The person in front of him had dodged all his arrows.
‘You seem complacent just because you warded my arrows with a mere fan, but I’ll end that overconfidence with the next attack.’
Harron took a couple of steps back with the sword in his hand.
Again, Rosetta only watched as she stayed stationed in that same spot.
“Hm?”
The veiled woman tilted her head to the side for a moment.
Doubts and realizations mixed together.
Seeing this as an opening, Harron swung his sword once more.
This time, the attack was aimed at the woman’s right thigh.
He took advantage of the fact that her lower body was more constrained than her upper ody.
Besides that, because it was her leg, it would be impossible to completely avoid the blade just by twisting her body slightly like she did before.
She would need to move her legs quickly, but she would more likely lose her balance from doing so.
And a person who had lost their balance was bound to be careless.
Harron reached behind him using his left hand, then picked out a small dagger hanging from the belt around his waist.
‘Once the right thigh gets sliced, I’ll stab the left shoulder right away.’
The very moment that her center of gravity would shift even the slightest, that would be his opportunity.
However, yet again, the situation did not go as he had expected.
Before the edge of his sword could reach Rosetta’s leg, something solid blocked his attack.
‘The fan?’
Shiiing.
As soon as he checked what had blocked his sword, the sound of metal clashing against each other rang immediately. It was a sound that was out of place.
At the same time, under the mask, Harron’s expression became distorted.
“Uuurk.”
A low groan slipped through his clenched teeth.
He couldn’t overcome this force.
It felt as if the object that his sword had struck was a huge, solid lump of iron.
‘What the h.e.l.l…’
Harron’s wide open eyes were shut because of the pain, and he checked once again just what exactly had blocked his sword.
Still, it was that fan.
‘How can a fan stop a sword?’
Mid swing, too? And what the h.e.l.l was this pain?
While he was at a loss for words, Rosetta soon began to push the fan beneath his sword.
Taken aback by her strength, Harron clenched his teeth and tried to endure it. But it was useless. The sword, which was aiming for the woman’s thigh, quivered and was gradually pushed up diagonally.
Shiiing.
The thinly ringing sound, like the howl of an animal, tore through the air.
Chang!
Before long, as Harron’s sword was pushed back by the fan, it flew away in an instant, and the accompanying sound was loud.
It was an incredible sight, but all he could feel was the tingling sensation on his hand.
“Keugh.”
He clenched his sore right hand—but swung his left hand immediately.
There was no time to feel any pain.
At the unbelievable sight of his sword flying away in an arc, fear started to begin creeping in.
The longer he’d face this woman, the more he’d be at a disadvantage.
Since her body was turned to the right from blocking and sending the sword flying, he naturally aimed his left hand towards her right shoulder.
And to avoid that attack, Rosetta leaned back.
The cold blade swung over her nose.
Harron’s attack was packed with force, and so he stumbled because it had cut through only the air.
Not missing this opportunity, Rosetta straightened her posture and held Harron down at the same split second.
Then, she tripped him. As he lost his balance, he immediately collapsed to the ground.
At the sight of the approaching woman, Harron closed his eyes.
However, he felt no pain.
He opened his eyes again, and at the same time as the back of his head was grabbed, his field of vision quickly turned upward.
What he saw was the sky.
And the veiled woman.
In that swift moment, Harron was brought to his knees while his head was tilted back.
Crunch.
Harron gritted his teeth, humiliated.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Without answering the question that he spat out, Rosetta reached towards him with her left hand.
And that left hand went straight to his neck.
His neck was covered with his thin clothes, but he could vividly feel the touch of her fingers through the cloth.
Gulp.
His mouth was dry. It felt like those fingers were as sharp as sawblades.
Every place her fingers swept past made him shudder under unprovoked iciness and fear.
Ring, ring, ring.
The warning bells revealing the fear he felt were ringing loudly in his mind.
Something’s wrong with this commission.
It was a request that he shouldn’t have accepted.
He should have known it the moment he was offered such a huge amount for one request.
Even so, hindsight was always useless. He was already here at this point.
His back was numb and his fingertips were cold. He closed his eyes.
Then,
Clatter.
A hard object slipped through his fingers. His fingers twitched for a few times until he recalled what exactly it was.
It’s the dagger he was wielding earlier.
Harron wriggled his fingers and struggled to grab it again.
In spite of himself, he took it.
Grabbed it like a lifeline.
He didn’t mean to attack the woman with it.
Just the fact that he had a weapon in his hands gave him the flimsiest hope that he could escape.
It was a strange expectation to have in a situation like this—to hope, like this.
Unfortunately however.
Rosetta was greatly capable at breaking people’s false hopes.
“What’cha doing?”
A short question could be heard from beneath her veil.
Harron broke out in sweat, blinking back at the lighthearted tone.
‘Did I… get caught?’
He felt his heart plummet to the ground.
After flinching suddenly, he soon lost control over his actions.
Moving slowly, his glistening eyes looked up.
Towards the woman who asked the question.
This single moment felt like an eternity.
At that moment, the hand on the back of his head gripped with a stronger force.
“Huuuk.”
In an instant, a gasp came up his throat, and Harron let out a rough groan.
Rosetta leaned down further, and the distance between them became even smaller.
“Why are you reaching for that? Do you want to attack me again?”
The sweet voice of the woman could be heard distinctly,
As if she was whispering directly into his ear.
Beneath the sheer veil, he caught a glimpse of the covered red lips.
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.”
And those red lips were shaped like a fine curve.
Seeing the sweet smile on the woman’s lips, Harron loosened the grip of his left hand.
It felt like it was all futile.
What’s the point of holding on to something like this?
Just, it would only provoke the predator’s ire.
The captured prey had no choice but to hold its breath while bowing down with its head stuck to the ground.
Please, he could only hope that the beast in front of him was a merciful beast.
Tak.
With a dull sound, the dagger in his hand dropped to the ground.
The dagger clattering to the dust-covered ground felt like a reflection of his own future.