My name is Urza.
I am the child of Mother Hakuren and Father Hiraku. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Currently, I am living in the royal capital of the Demon Kingdom. Accompanying me are my younger brother Alfred, my younger sister Tiselle, Asa, Mettora, and my personal butler, Earth.
Originally, Nart was supposed to come with us instead of Tiselle, but I manipulated things so that Tiselle would take her place. I apologized to Nart afterward, but she was a willing co-conspirator; we both agreed that Nart and I alone wouldn't be enough to keep Alfred in check. Nart explained the swap to Alfred by claiming she was staying behind to keep me under control, which Alfred used to persuade Father. I felt a bit conflicted that Father actually bought that excuse, but the end result was favorable.
I had intended for Tiselle and me to manage Alfred together, but Tiselle has been absent nearly every day, spending all her time at the Royal Castle. I'm certain I explained her role to her; perhaps she simply forgot? It’s possible. With Asa and Earth also away, our combat strength is severely lacking. Mettora is powerful, but her style isn't suited for suppression or precision.
Since I had no choice, I decided to be extra vigilant to ensure Alfred didn't go on a rampage. Because of that, I was the first to notice the assassins.
There were five of them. In terms of raw skill, they were weak, but I couldn't rule out the use of poison. Carelessness was not an option. I had Mettora deal with them, and they claimed to be assassins hired by the Dalfon Company. I didn't trust the word of an assassin, so I decided to leave the investigation to Tiselle.
I wanted to say I could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but there were more assassins. I couldn't pinpoint their location, but I could feel the unmistakable weight of their killing intent. These ones were on a completely different level from the first five. Their malice was directed not just at me, but at Alfred as well. That was unforgivable.
I spent three days trying my best to find them, but I failed. I couldn't find where they were hiding. It was incredibly frustrating, but I didn't lose my temper. I have grown up, after all.
Instead, I reached out to Uncle Gratz for help. He dispatched an Anti-Assassin Squad immediately.
"We captured them. It was a pair," Uncle Gratz reported later.
Relief washed over me. The killing intent vanished along with them. Still, I had to wonder why they were targeting us.
"Ah—it’s a bit difficult to say, but it seems they discovered your connection to Lulushi-san," Uncle Gratz explained.
"Mother Lu’s?"
"A while back, she devoted a great deal of effort to treating the royalty of a certain country. This was apparently retaliation from a hostile organization opposing that royalty."
"They’re targeting us as revenge?"
"Targeting Lulushi-san herself isn't realistic for them, is it?"
"But targeting children is?"
"Attacking children guarantees a blow even if the attempt fails. If she knows you were targeted, Lulushi-san will worry, won't she?"
"She’ll probably fly into a rage and storm their country," I muttered.
"Exactly. And despite knowing that's exactly what will happen, I'm the one who has to report this to the village. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"
"Couldn't we just keep quiet about it? Then we wouldn't cause any unnecessary worry."
"If you're serious, that is the worst possible move you could make."
"I know. Then, how about we act like we never noticed the assassins in the first place?"
"And say that my men were the ones who found and eliminated them?"
"Essentially, yes. If we frame it that way, I don't think Mother Lu will make too much of a scene."
"That might be true, but... hmm."
"We want to live a normal, peaceful life. We don't want to spend every day surrounded by a massive escort."
I needed to prove to Father and Mother that I was capable of standing on my own. Otherwise, there was no point in leaving the village to come here.
"Please, Uncle Gratz. If something comes up that I truly can't handle, like this time, I promise to consult you properly."
"...Fine. However, I won't file a false report. I'll report that Urza was the one who noticed the threat. But I will also make sure to convey your feelings on the matter. I’ll tell them not to overreact."
"And what about Father?"
"Ah—well, that will depend on Lulushi-san."
"But I don't want him to worry..."
Perhaps as a result of Uncle Gratz’s report, Rigne-san, a High Elf, joined our security detail. Rigne-san is Mother Ria’s mother. Technically, that makes her Grandmother Rigne, but I would never dare say that to her face.
Rigne-san stayed out of the public eye, protecting us from the shadows, though she did join us for meals occasionally. Whenever she was at the house, Big Brother Gol and the others would often visit to receive instruction in archery and the ways of an adventurer. I joined the lessons as well. Alfred sat in and listened too; I wondered if he was actually interested in becoming an adventurer. Personally, I didn't think the lifestyle suited him at all, but I kept that to myself. Father had warned me that a single careless word could deeply wound someone's heart.
It wasn't that I had let my guard down. The enemy had simply played their hand perfectly.
A few hours ago, the Adventurer Guild summoned Rigne-san and the boys, claiming an unfamiliar magic beast had appeared in the North Forest. Rigne-san tried to decline so she could maintain her watch over me, but Alfred and I were both curious about the strange beast. In the end, the six of us—Alfred, Rigne-san, Big Brother Gol, Big Brother Sil, Big Brother Bron, and myself—left the Academy and headed across the plains toward the forest.
That was when they struck.
We were ambushed by a group of about thirty thugs. They were no match for Rigne-san, and she quickly began scattering them. Since we couldn't just leave them there but also couldn't kill them, Big Brother Gol, Big Brother Sil, and Big Brother Bron headed back to the capital to hand them over to the authorities.
While we were deciding our next move, a second wave appeared—another thirty thugs. Again, they were no match for Rigne-san, but their presence thinned our defenses. That was their true goal.
A lanky, tall man dressed like a merchant stepped forward. He didn't look like a thug, and for a split second, I wondered if he was just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire. In that moment of hesitation, he hurled knives at us.
Six knives. Three aimed at me, three at Alfred.
I could have dodged mine easily, but Alfred couldn't. I snatched the three knives meant for me out of the air and threw them to intercept the three headed for my brother. I succeeded, but a dull pain suddenly bloomed in my side.
A seventh knife? It was buried deep in my flank.
Alfred let out a scream. I gritted my teeth. It was fine. This was nothing.
"Alfred, run!" I shouted.
"Understood!"
Alfred turned and bolted. Neither of us had been raised to dither in a crisis. Standing around letting out worried shrieks is a role reserved for stage plays; in reality, it’s just a nuisance. Besides, this new opponent was strong—on a completely different level from the thugs. As long as I didn't focus on trying to defeat him, I could definitely hold out until Rigne-san finished the others and returned...
Then, I heard a sound I never wanted to hear.
I looked in the direction of the scream. A second group had been lying in wait for the fleeing Alfred. A volley of countless arrows erupted from their ranks, and I watched as Alfred was riddled with them from every side.
...
It wasn't that I was being careless. They were simply one step ahead.
I had failed. But reflection would have to wait. I ignored the merchant-like man, called out to Rigne-san, and began to run with everything I had. I needed to put as much distance between us and this spot as possible.
Because Alfred was about to go on a rampage.
Had he died from the arrows? Of course not. There was no way Alfred would be finished by something like that. Even now, his body was becoming translucent.
It was his Mistification ability. In that state, no physical attack could touch him. I couldn't help but feel it was a bit of a cheat. However, he couldn't consciously attack while in that form either. But even if he couldn't attack, he still had other options.
Alfred’s shadow began to stretch and expand unnaturally across the ground. From the darkness, Shadow Soldiers began to crawl out. They were mindless entities that attacked indiscriminately. He had summoned them once in the village long ago, and Father had scolded him terribly for it. He had kept them sealed ever since, but in his current state, restraint no longer existed.
"What is happening?" Rigne-san asked, her voice sharp with concern.
"When Alfred takes damage, he turns into mist," I explained. "But he can't control it yet. When he's in that state, he goes berserk."
The Shadow Soldiers surging from Alfred’s shadow fell upon the group that had ambushed him. They weren't particularly strong individually, but they were relentless and persistent. This was bad. Honestly, I didn't care what happened to the people who attacked us, but Alfred would be devastated by the guilt later.
However, if we got too close, we would become targets as well. I didn't know what to do. I had brought Tiselle along specifically for a situation like this, yet she wasn't here. I cursed my luck.
Rigne-san tried to fire at them, but I stopped her. "Rigne-san, arrows won't work on the Shadow Soldiers! They take damage, but blunt force is much more effective!"
The Shadow Soldiers swarmed the lanky man. He fought back, cutting them down, but they were born anew as quickly as they fell. He was rapidly being swallowed by the wave of darkness. I wanted them to give him a taste of the pain in my side, but at this rate, there wouldn't be anything left of him.
The thugs Rigne-san had been fighting were also being overwhelmed. As we struggled to find a way to intervene, Alfred’s shadow shifted again. He stopped producing soldiers and began to manifest a massive Shadow Magic Circle on the ground.
"What is he doing now?" Rigne-san asked, her worry deepening.
"He's calling out to someone he made a contract with," I said.
"Summoning magic? What is he calling?"
"I'm not sure... but I really hope it's someone we can talk to."
From the depths of his berserk trance, Alfred called out the name of his summon. A figure began to emerge from the Shadow Magic Circle.
I recognized him and called out his name as well.
"Kuroichi!"