"……Guh…… What power……! Y-you monster……!"
Luna watched as Milia drove her dagger through the chest of the man who seemed to be the assassins' leader.
He was the last one; every other intruder had already been wiped out.
'You monster'—
Just as the man had gasped, Milia’s strength was overwhelming, even from Luna’s current perspective. In the time it had taken Luna to take down a single opponent, Milia had dispatched the remaining four in the blink of an eye.
(Milia is…… far stronger than me.)
It was an undeniable fact. Even after Luna had grown by accepting Albert’s power, there was always someone better. She was still immature. Even though she had finally gained such strength—
A sense of helplessness began to surge within her chest.
If it had been the Luna of the past, she likely would have succumbed to that feeling. But things were different now. Part of it was having Milia as an ally, but the greater factor was the reality of being under Albert’s protection. A profound sense of relief, born from serving such a great being, filled her heart.
(Thank you, Lord Albert…… I will never doubt again.)
The leader's body collapsed to the ground the moment Milia wrenched her dagger free.
"Aha! That was a total breeze!"
"It seems my help wasn't needed after all."
Milia had suggested that a new group might soon come for Lord Albert, so Luna had offered her cooperation to protect him. However, looking at this small expert, it was clear she could have slaughtered all six of them alone without breaking a sweat.
"Aha! The road at night is scary, you know? Having someone there was a real confidence boost. Besides, when you showed up, Luna-sama, you had the intensity of a vengeful ghost! I think you definitely won points for style!"
"……Wait, did I really look like that?"
"I mean, you were dragging a body out of the shadows like a total horror movie villain! It was super creepy!"
Though Milia’s tone and energy were thoroughly lighthearted, Luna could sense the 'fathomless terror' lurking deep within her.
Normally, Luna used polite speech with nobles and dropped it for commoners. By that rule, Milia shouldn't have been a candidate for formal language, yet the sheer wrongness the girl exuded compelled Luna to remain polite.
"What do you intend to do with these corpses?"
"I’ll dispose of them properly, okay? You can just leave that to a professional!"
"Will more people come after Lord Albert?"
"Hmm, let me think…… I doubt the guild I was in will try again. After all, everyone from ranks one through seven just got wiped out."
She giggled as if the thought were hilarious.
"But the client was really obsessed. They have plenty of money, too, so they might just hire a different group."
They could not be left alone—
A flame of rage ignited within Luna. She could not tolerate the existence of anyone seeking to harm the great Albert.
(By my hand—)
She would kill them.
"Milia, who is this client?"
"Eh? Hmm, sorry, but I can't talk about my clients, you know?"
"Please, do not say that. This is for the sake of protecting Lord Albert."
"Even if you put it like that, I just can't. You know, professional ethics and all."
"You quit being an assassin, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I quit. But that’s one thing and this is another—oh, I know! How about this? I’ll just go kill the client myself."
"……What?"
Luna’s mind couldn't keep up with the shift.
She had quit being an assassin—she refused to reveal the client's identity—so she would kill the client. The words didn't form a coherent line of logic.
"……What are you talking about?"
"Eh? You want the client to die for Lord Albert's sake, right? I totally agree, so I’ll go kill them for you."
"No, if you're going to do that, why can't you just tell me who it is?"
"Because that would be talking about them, right?"
Luna couldn't fathom what kind of 'ethics' Milia was following. She couldn't understand how Milia reached the conclusion that murder was fine, but naming the target was a violation.
There was no consistency in Milia’s philosophy. If told to 'address everyone with -sama,' she would even apply it to herself. While she followed the instruction to 'never disclose information about a client' with idiotic sincerity, she never connected that to 'do not kill the client.' Each of her values existed in isolation, assembled into a structure that defied all reason.
Luna let out a long sigh. "I understand. In that case, I will accompany you."
"No can do! If you come along, you'll see who the client is, right?"
Mentally, Luna threw up her hands in surrender. It was impossible to understand the mind of this eccentric.
"……Fine. I will leave it to you, then."
"Aha! You can count on me for a good report!"
"Very well. I'm counting on you."
Leaving the disposal of the corpses and the client to Milia, Luna decided to return to the dormitory. As she turned to leave, she called out one last time.
"Regarding tonight's events—please keep this a secret from Lord Albert."
"I don't mind, but why?"
"Lord Albert desires peace. If we tell him something unpleasant happened, it will surely foul his mood."
"True! Got it!"
This was for the best. She wanted the great Albert to remain at peace. Chores like this should be handled in the shadows by those willing to get their hands dirty, like herself and Milia.
Luna cast an entranced gaze toward Albert's room in the dormitory.
"You are satisfied, aren't you, Lord Albert?"
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
That night, Georg von Eldridge was hard at work in his private office.
It was well past midnight, but he didn't care. As a cornerstone of the nation's administration, Georg was a man of infinite business. Even if he didn't want it, work constantly welled up to claim his time.
As he worked—
He suddenly thought he heard the door open.
"……?"
The servants should have been long asleep. Georg glanced toward the door, but it remained closed, exactly as it had been.
(……Was it just my imagination……?)
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a sharp, needle-like sting pricked his neck.
"—Wh-!?"
He spun around to find a woman dressed in black standing there. At first, he thought it was a messenger from the Assassin Guild, but her face quickly surfaced in his memory.
"Milia!?"
"Aha! You remembered me? Glad to see you’re doing well, client-sama."
Maintaining her beaming smile, Milia continued.
"—Well, you're about to die, though."
The moment she spoke, Georg's vision blurred violently. His thoughts scattered, refusing to coalesce. The strength left his limbs, and he collapsed heavily against his desk.
"Gwah!"
His cheek slammed into the hard wood. He tried to push himself up, but his body wouldn't obey. It was all he could do to shift his eyes toward the assassin.
"Y-you…… wh-what are you……"
"I killed you, silly."
"W-why……?"
"Because you were targeting Lord Albert, client-sama."
Georg couldn't begin to understand the madwoman's words. The assassin he had hired to kill Albert was now killing him because he was targeting Lord Albert? He felt as if his mind were snapping.
"Bribery……? Did you betray me……?"
"Aha! Please don't insult Milia-chan-sama’s professional ethics! I’d never be swayed by something like that. I haven't betrayed you at all. I’m keeping all your client info a total secret, so you can die happy, okay?"
His breathing turned into ragged wheezes. His hands began to convulse, and his vision disintegrated. The madwoman’s face began to look like a distorted frog, and her voice stretched out into an infinite drone.
"Is the poison finally kicking in? Still alive?"
"……You think you can get away…… with this……"
"I do, you know? Lord Albert is stronger than me, so he can do whatever he wants with me. And I’m stronger than you, so I can do whatever I want with you. That’s just the natural order of things, you know?"
Georg's world turned to black. The last emotion he felt before the end was pure, unadulterated terror.
(This woman is a monster……!)
What a terrifying creature he had tried to use. That regret crawled through his gut, but the suffering didn't last long.
Georg von Eldridge had stopped breathing.
"And we're done. Bye-bye, client-sama."
With her usual flippant air, Milia skipped out of the room.
The next morning—
A servant of the House of Eldridge discovered Georg’s body in his office.
The death of a man at the heart of the national government, who had wielded absolute power, sent shockwaves through the nobility with the speed of light. Naturally, the Arcana Academy was no exception.
And so, the news reached Albert von Kronstadt.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!? Georg is dead!? Why!? Why now!?"
The death of a master politician like Georg cast a massive shadow over the upcoming war against the Demon King. As Albert clutched his head and writhed in agony, he was in no state to notice the strangely proud expressions on the faces of Luna and Milia.