I headed to Franz's summons with my stomach in knots.
Once that was done and I'd dragged my heavy body back to my room, a carpet immediately lunged at me.
I ducked through the fully charged, energetically thrashing carpet as though passing under a noren curtain and stepped inside.
Klyuse was waiting in the room, charging the other Treasure Weapons. Reluctant as he was, he'd been doing it because Lapis had asked him to. Regardless of the reason, I was grateful.
When Klyuse heard the results of the summons, his eyes went wide and he let out a baffled voice.
"...Huh? How did things end up like that from this situation, you say?"
"That's exactly what I want to know."
"What did you do, Yowainingen, I say."
"If I had to say, I did nothing."
"Yowainingen, seriously, cut it out, I say!"
The result of ditching my escort duty halfway to go pick up the carpet was that starting tomorrow, I'd been assigned to guard the Emperor directly.
Even saying it out loud, it made no sense whatsoever.
When Franz solemnly told me, I couldn't help blurting out, "Huh? What are you talking about?" Franz's face had gone beet red.
But what I'd done was the kind of breach of trust that could have gotten me immediately dismissed without anyone batting an eye. You couldn't exactly blame me for questioning the man's sanity.
Maybe the idea was to place an untrustworthy guard right where the Emperor could see, so that the next time I screwed up, he could have my head?
But that would mean exploiting the Emperor's position. That was not good... That was really not good. It was treasonous. Don't do that.
I'd braced myself for the worst, but in the end, the matter of my desertion was simply dropped. What's done is done—just make sure you guard properly from now on, was Franz's side's demand.
Was it magnanimity, or was my absurdly high Level coming in handy despite it all... But having the matter dropped didn't make me feel any better.
I just wanted to go home already... It had only been two days. Give me a break.
I'd been operating under the assumption that the Knights would handle the primary escort. However honorable the duty was, being told I had to guard the Emperor up close was a completely different story.
But there was absolutely no way I could refuse. I was cornered.
What would happen when you paired a cursed Emperor with a hopelessly unlucky guy like me?
"There, the Treasure Weapon charging is done, I say. Nothing else, right?"
"Ah, could you do these too?"
I pulled out three Barrier Rings whose charge had been depleted. Klyuse took one look at them and grimaced openly.
"Ugh... t-that magic-devouring Treasure Weapon again... Yowainingen, when do you even use that thing, I say!"
"Ahahaha..."
All I could do was laugh hollowly.
After finishing the summons with Franz and stepping outside, I'd impulsively slammed my head into a wall. Three times. That was why three charges had been consumed! ...Apparently.
"Alright, now the real work begins... We need to be at full readiness... Who knows what could happen. Klyuse, I'll need your help too."
"O-of course... I don't need you to tell me that, I say! But make no mistake—I am absolutely not working for your sake, I say! This is because Lapis gave me orders, and I'm doing it reluctantly, I say!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure..."
Come to think of it, Termu was also working under orders from "Abyss Fire Annihilation," and Killnight had been placed with us by Citry.
The only one who genuinely sided with me of his own free will was Kechachakka... Sorry for almost not inviting you just because of your weird name.
I'd had a bad feeling when I heard he was a Hexwright, but apparently his combat ability was genuinely impressive.
Even when Chil Dragon had appeared, he'd been laughing his usual unsettling laugh—so in a way, that made him quite reliable. I'll count on you.
Right, I should let Termu and the others know that starting tomorrow, we'd been assigned to guard right beside the Emperor...
With the combined curse of me and the Cursed Emperor, tomorrow was sure to be miserable. But there was nothing I could do about it.
Citry and the others were already ahead of us, and anyway, things would work out however they worked out. Lately it was foxes, foxes, nothing but foxes, but even when we'd run into the Labyrinth Treasure Hall, we'd managed.
In a completely resigned mood, I let out a huge yawn despite not being sleepy at all.
An escort request from hell—like nothing I'd ever experienced—was (most certainly) about to begin.
§ § § The key to pulling off covert work was always maintaining absolute composure.
That was how the man had carried out numerous dangerous assignments until now. But this case was an entirely new pattern.
He could no longer understand what was going on at all.
Being swarmed by a horde of monsters that were not his doing. The several dragon corpses found—likely the result of his own curse. Either of those alone would normally be enough to warrant aborting the mission.
And yet, despite everything, the situation had turned in an extremely favorable direction for the man.
More favorable than even the best-case scenario he'd anticipated.
When things became this incomprehensible, even a man of his caliber couldn't stay calm.
Until now, the Emperor—Ladric Aurum Zeberdia—had always been surrounded by his Imperial Guards at close range. That critical duty had never been entrusted to anyone else.
But what was this... He'd received word that starting tomorrow, they would be integrated among the Guards, escorting from right beside the Emperor.
When the first notice had come, he'd thought he was hearing things.
Thousand Transformations' behavior had been far too bizarre. Abandoning the escort to go off somewhere, and not even offering a proper excuse—that was not remotely what a Hunter should be doing.
He'd assumed he was being removed from the detail. It was Thousand Transformations who'd acted like a fool, but when a Party leader made a mistake, it was only natural that the fallout would hit the rest of the members.
And at that fact, the man had allowed himself a small, uncharacteristic sigh of relief. He could pull out of this assignment.
But the actual result had been the exact opposite of his expectations.
The man's specialty was attrition warfare using extremely peculiar curses, but he was by no means weak in direct combat. The reason he'd refrained from that approach until now was the risk of a failed kill, combined with the uncertainty of a high-Level Hunter being present.
But if he was positioned nearby, there was an opening to strike. No curse necessary. After that, he could simply flee—and even if escape proved impossible, the objective could still be achieved.
Was Thousand Transformations an idiot...? Beneath the hood he always wore, the man furrowed his brows.
Having observed his behavior up to this point, if it weren't for the rumors of divine strategy and phantom schemes, the man would have removed him from the list of potential threats entirely.
The Cursed Jewel—the "Proof of Anti-Dragon"—had never been used in such rapid succession before. It was an irreplaceable item, more valuable than the man himself, arguably. The fewer times he had to use it, the better.
What he needed to figure out was how to breach the Hunters' defenses.
Fortunately, Thousand Transformations likely hadn't realized the man's true identity. If things went well, slipping through a gap in the guard and carrying out the assassination—then escaping before being noticed—was not impossible.
The only problem was—Killnight Version Alpha.
The sole pure melee combatant among the escort Hunters, and the unidentified being that Thousand Transformations had brought along.
The man knew the names of most famous Hunters, but Killnight Version Alpha was not among them. In fact, the name alone suggested a high probability of being an alias. But the real issue was that Killnight, as a warrior, was skilled enough to effortlessly cut down Chil Dragons.
Mages' attack spells always had a momentary lag, but an elite melee combatant could land several strikes in that window.
The man was a Mage. In close combat, he would be a step below Killnight.
And even if he managed to land a surprise attack, the crimson armor that the man wore without a moment's removal likely had some form of protective magic woven into it.
Ladric carried Barrier Rings. Killing him would require two hits. One might be feasible, but delivering two strikes in Killnight's proximity was as close to impossible as it got.
Thousand Transformations, whose methods were unknown, required caution—but so did Killnight.
Ideally, he'd carry out the assassination when both were absent, but things were unlikely to be that convenient.
While the man was lost in thought with a troubled expression, a faint sound suddenly came from beyond the door. A knock. Before he could respond, the door opened.
Standing there was an elderly Mage with a ramrod-straight posture.
Gray hair swept back in an all-back style, and on both arms—magic bracelets that served as substitutes for a staff.
The second-highest-Level Hunter among the escort detail: Termu Apocris of "Still Water." A mage who had perfected the supposedly mundane art of water-attribute magic to its absolute limit, making him one of the foremost practitioners even in the Imperial Capital. His power was said to be nearly indistinguishable from that of the legendary "Abyss Fire Annihilation."
But his expression was different from usual—stern. He furrowed his brows, checked the surroundings once, then spoke to the man in a low voice.
"Kecha... This is sudden, but—Thousand Transformations may be a member of the 'Fox.'"
Those words were something the man—Kechachakka Munk—had never anticipated.
The shock was like being struck by lightning. His eyes flew open involuntarily, and a small, questioning sound escaped his lips.
"Wh-what...?"
"Surprised...? Yes, I'm aware I'm saying something absurd. But when you look at the unnatural behavior, the circumstances—there's no other way to interpret it. Most likely, the man called Killnight that Thousand Transformations brought along is also one of their agents. I should have realized sooner. He was so obviously suspicious that it looped back around and I didn't notice. There's no way a guy who charges into a horde of monsters with a cheerful 'kill kill' cry while hacking them apart is normal!"
In the face of Termu Apocris's utterly serious gaze, Kechachakka had nothing to say.
This meant... the plan would need to change.