Over the last few days, I’d noticed someone skittering around the periphery of my life, sniffing for a lead on me.
The fact that I was notorious was common knowledge, so that alone wouldn't have bothered me—but what truly piqued my interest was the way this person was "unusually good at masking their presence."
An ordinary person—no, even someone with legitimate training—would have struggled to notice them. They were a professional, without question. A scout, or perhaps an assassin.
Unfortunately for them, I was hypersensitive to the presence of others. It was likely thanks to the "Lightning Trait" I’d gained from Shiunin, which allowed me to pick up the faint electrical signals a human body constantly emits.
A pity for them. I happened to possess the exact special ability needed to neutralize their specialty.
Apparently, someone was gunning for my life. I moved around in various ways to try and catch a glimpse of their face, but my opponent’s positioning was superb; they never bit on my traps. If I moved too aggressively, they’d realize I was onto them—and that part was frustrating.
As expected of a pro.
I didn't want to leave this threat hanging over my head for too long. I decided to bring things to a head quickly.
I stepped out of the building and took a casual stroll through a deserted area. The presence marking me followed, maintaining a fixed distance.
Eventually—
"Hmph!"
A sharp exhale came from behind, followed by the whistle of slicing wind. In the blink of an eye, the projectile reached my back—and then it just stopped.
As I’d anticipated, it was caught in the "Magnetic Barrier" I had active.
Electricity and magnetism were two sides of the same coin; current creates magnetic force, and magnetic force generates current. A lightning strike is essentially a massive current, and I was manipulating that energy to deploy a powerful magnetic field beneath my feet. Since standard weapons are made of metal, the blade had simply reacted to the magnetism and fallen to the ground.
I turned around and confirmed the dagger lying at my feet. Then, I turned my gaze toward the pink-haired female student standing before me.
"Since you’ve committed a hostile act, I’ll assume you’re prepared to die. Spell: 'Lightning Bolt'."
In reality, the spell was "Thunder Emperor's Flash."
However, just before I released my mana, a slight sense of incongruity struck me. A petite girl with pink hair, wearing clothes several sizes too large... No, even before that, those facial features.
Wait—is that Milia?
In the original game, Milia was an assassin hired to "assassinate the Demon King" who eventually appeared as a potential ally for the Hero Leon. Compared to Victor, who had complex recruitment conditions and wasn't even that strong, Milia was a top-tier candidate. If this really was her, killing her here would mean a massive loss of future military strength.
That momentary hesitation dulled my execution. A violent bolt of lightning exploded against the ground, letting out a deafening roar.
But there was no charred, pink-haired corpse to be found.
A short distance away, the girl stood with a playful smile on her face. It was true that my aim had wavered, but even so, her ability to evade that was impressive.
Both her skill and her face belonged, without a doubt, to the Hero Leon's ally candidate, Milia. Or to be precise, Milia-chan-sama.
...Why the hell is she here?
If I recall correctly, she wasn't supposed to show up until after summer vacation. Why did she pop up now? Well, I didn't actually need to wonder about the reason. An assassin had been suppressing her presence and stalking me. Her goal was my assassination—there was no other possibility.
"Aha? You’re so scary, Albert-sama! That was just a love letter in the shape of a dagger, you know~?"
"That’s a bit of a reach."
This girl was a "Strength: 99, Intelligence: 1" type of disappointment. She had been raised with the instruction to always add "-sama" to people's names, which had somehow led to her calling herself "Milia-chan-sama." At the very least, she could drop the "chan."
"Actually, I just admired your strength so much I wanted to test it out. Sorry~! Wow! You're so cool! Can I have a handshake~?"
As she spoke, she held out both hands, her fingertips barely peeking out from her long sleeves.
...Give me a break. I know all about you. You want people to think those "moe-sleeves" are just a calculating, trendy design, but they’re actually a practical choice for hiding poison needles, right? I already studied your lore in the original game.
I had no intention of shaking those lethal hands.
"Give it a rest. You’re here to assassinate me, aren't you?"
"——"
Milia’s eyes narrowed instantly. "You figured it out?"
"...How could I not, given the circumstances?"
"Ahahaha! Wow, as expected of the top of the class!"
Honestly, if I hadn't figured it out, I’d probably be facing expulsion for incompetence.
"...Hmm, I guess I should retreat for now."
"Are you giving up just because the first attempt failed?"
"No way! The mission doesn't end until either Albert-sama or Milia-chan-sama is dead! Let’s both do our best~!"
With those words, Milia backed away while keeping her eyes locked on mine, then vanished into thin air.
...She got away.
I didn't think I could have finished her off even if I’d pursued her right then, so it wasn't the worst outcome. However, given her parting words, a rematch wouldn't be far off.
As an enemy, Milia was incredibly troublesome. She was terrifyingly strong—so strong that the current Luna or Sylvia couldn't even be compared to her. In the game, she didn't join the party immediately, mostly making brief appearances in the first half. Because of that, the developers didn't have to worry about her breaking the game balance, and combined with her reputation as the "strongest assassin," her combat stats were bloated to the absolute limit.
Even at this point in the timeline, her strength was on a completely different level from the other ally candidates. I could certainly win if "Thunder Emperor's Flash" scored a direct hit, but I desperately wanted to avoid letting her close the distance.
Winning against Milia would likely require me to fight with a genuine intent to kill, but since she was a key ally for the Hero, my honest preference was to keep her alive.
There was only one way to solve this contradiction: I had to master Ancient Blood Magic.
If I could master the "Frenzy" physical enhancement that Verdict had forced upon me, I could rival Milia's nonsensical strength. With that power, I should be able to neutralize her without ending her life.
...But that path was looking increasingly difficult.
Before coming here, I had been in the Second Library, facing the "Bloodline Inscription of the Pure Conqueror." To put it bluntly: my research today hadn't resulted in me being summoned to Verdict’s world at all.
Had Verdict grown bored of me? It was possible, but it felt like something else.
"Unripe lowlife. Did you think I would grant you an audience so easily? Polish your vessel and come back later."
I felt as though I’d been told exactly that. Well, I probably had been. Reading a book of Ancient Magic was essentially the same as having a conversation with the entity inside. if those strange words had surfaced in my mind, they were almost certainly Verdict's will.
Fine by me. I wasn't exactly eager to be murdered over and over again. I’d thought I could just take my time, polishing my skills and accumulating enough power to eventually stand on equal footing with him.
At the time, that seemed like a solid plan—but apparently, the world had other ideas.
If I didn't get the "Tsundere King" to acknowledge me before Milia made her next move, things were going to get very messy. I no longer had the luxury of proceeding at my own pace.
I had to do it. There was no other choice.