Chapter Thirteen: She’s Here, She’s Here, She’s Here
Iaair was startled by her own thought.
It wasn’t just the intense hatred she felt for the “culprit” who only existed in her imagination…
But rather…
Why did she feel that the Young Master being seriously injured…
And needing her…
Seemed like a good thing too?
She even felt like she could accept it?
Why… why?
Is this… is this the mindset that “Blackening 300 Questions” wants me to achieve?
“Iaair? Are you alright? You seem a bit unwell?”
Will’s question pulled her out of her chaotic thoughts.
“Young Master… I…”
Before she could answer, the carriage braked sharply, and along with the flickering flames around them, Iaair stopped thinking.
Instantly, the flow of time seemed to slow down.
The carriage, traveling at a constant speed, stopped abruptly. The contents inside scattered due to inertia, and with a skid, the armored vehicle that served as the carriage was thrown sideways.
Amidst the chaos, explosions sounded from outside the carriage.
The moment she heard the explosion, Iaair instinctively threw herself onto Will.
For some reason, she seemed to see a smile of knowing what was going to happen on Will’s face.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
“M-m-m-m-master… There’s an attack?!”
Amidst the coachman’s panicked voice, Will opened the carriage door. The smell of burning grass wafted from outside.
Iaair followed him out of the carriage, and then another explosion sounded, this time whizzing past the armored carriage. An incendiary bomb stopped behind them!
Iaair instinctively activated Ice Armor Infusion and shielded Will.
The surrounding temperature instantly soared.
Her exposed skin could feel the intense heat of the flames nearby.
What was happening?
An explosion?
Where did the explosion come from?
Who caused the explosion?
What was the purpose of causing the explosion?
Could it be…
They…
…were under attack?
How could this happen?
What they were discussing a moment ago was happening around them the next moment.
In her eyes, time became so slow, as if everything was being stretched out.
Iaair’s mind rapidly processed the chaotic information, enduring the ringing in her ears, and opened her eyes.
She looked down at the Young Master beneath her.
“Young Master—Young Master, what’s wrong? *Sniffle*… Don’t scare Iaair…”
“Oh… it hurts… Oh… I’m dizzy… Oh… I’ll lie down for a bit, and the assassin… will be up to you…”
Will, fully armored, was naturally unharmed. He closed his eyes with clumsy acting.
He wanted to see what Iaair’s full power would be in a moment of crisis. If the Iaair he calculated to be stable made a mistake, he would use the armored vehicle as cover and unleash an Extreme Flame Meteor against the witch with coins coated in the catalyst he bought at a high price.
Everything was still under control!
But, Iaair was overloaded—
“Young Master? Wake up?”
Will was clearly well-protected, and her Ice Armor Infusion was intact, so she shouldn’t be in any danger.
She shouldn’t…
Be in…
…danger?
Will seemed not to hear her, lying on the ground with his eyes closed, leaning against the overturned carriage.
“M-Master?”
He didn’t answer her.
But he was still breathing.
Master… had he fainted?
Was this an assassin…
Coming for them?
Just like in the maid training?
Then, another explosion sounded from beside them.
At this moment, Iaair didn’t have the capacity to think about how someone who had fainted could keep their eyes so tightly shut.
The expression on her face was frozen, and the highlights in her eyes were instantly erased.
Silently, amidst the flickering flames around them, Iaair lifted the hem of her dress to prevent the evening gown the Young Master had given her from being stained by the burning ashes, and stood up.
As soon as she stood up, several visible flaming projectiles whizzed past her shoulder.
On the narrow road, the surrounding grass was set ablaze, and thick smoke billowed, burning away the memory of the peaceful afternoon by the riverbank.
Looking against the trajectory of the fireballs, Iaair saw a blurry figure in the thick smoke.
She wore a Great Witch’s hat, and was rather short. Judging by her height, she couldn’t be much older than Iaair.
Her hat obscured half of her face, and the other half seemed to be covered with a low-level cloaking magic. No matter from what angle one observed her, her face under the wide hat brim was completely dark.
She raised the staff in her hand. The staff was somewhat worn, with scratches from the small crystal ball at the tip to the shaft. The end of the staff was even chipped. It looked extremely neglected.
“Are you… the one who wants to kill Iaair’s Young Master~?”
~~~~~~~~~~
The culprit behind this incident stood about ten meters away from the Hysterm Family’s carriage, amidst the swirling smoke.
The witch, Liya.
On the surface, she looked only twelve years old and stood at 1.4 meters tall, but she was actually a hundred-year-old, experienced, and mature witch.
She possessed proud, stunning golden Twin Tails—which she had hidden with cloaking magic.
She possessed enchanting, powerful crimson eyes—which she had hidden with cloaking magic.
She possessed a fair, cute porcelain doll face—which she had hidden with cloaking magic.
She possessed a flat, healthy A-cup chest—which didn’t need hiding as nothing was visible anyway.
—She was an experienced and mature witch.
“What’s going on??? The client never told me I’d have to deal with an armored vehicle and a heavily armored horse!?”
After firing her last ordinary modern incendiary projectile, she began counting on her fingers.
In reality, the witch was more flustered than Will and Iaair.
Extremely flustered.
“Waaah. Isn’t this ripping me off? They said it would be a small, decorative carriage for a noble! Why is it a heavily armored carriage? This, this, this… will the budget exceed the limit?”
“Hmm, how much was the commission fee? How much have I spent so far?”
“…Will I only be able to beg for scraps of hard bread from the cafeteria kitchen next week at school?!”
—She was probably an experienced and mature witch.
If she hadn’t hidden most of her expression with cloaking magic and muffled her voice, the pressure she exuded would have been significantly reduced.
“It hasn’t overturned yet? Do I need to add another bomb?”
“This is so weird, so strange… I wouldn’t have come if I knew I’d encounter an armored vehicle. Waaah… I’m so scared.”
As Liya rummaged in her pocket…
She suddenly felt a chilling killing intent.
She raised her head, squinting, trying to locate the source of the killing intent through the smoke.
In the firelight, a figure stood up—or rather, a Half-Beastman, the Beast Ears on her head were too conspicuous.
With the riverbank breeze, the ribbons on her skirt danced in the air.
Using the witch’s “Witch Detective Vision,” Liya could see that the figure’s fists were covered in a thick layer of Ice Armor Infusion—a rather basic Shield Saint magic.
However, for the first time in her life, Liya felt a sense of unease.
Of course, this feeling of unease might have started when she discovered she was facing an armored vehicle and an armored horse.
There was a terrifying aura.
“Are you… the one who wants to kill Iaair’s Young Master~?”
She heard the words spoken by the figure on the other side.
Perhaps it was the killing intent from the other side, or perhaps it was her own competitive spirit as a witch kicking in, Liya pouted and took out a coin from her pocket.
“Hmph. I just, I just feel sorry for the money. A mere Half-Beastman dares to threaten me? I can’t help it, if I want to complete the commission, I have to use the enhanced version of that move! I wouldn’t use it on ordinary people.”
However, it was somewhat different from the circulating coins. Instead of the head of the first king, it was imprinted with a witch wearing a large hat. The witch had a hearty smile, as if mocking the person using the coin.
“Even though this thing is precious, I’ll just take it back after I knock you out.”
She then rubbed some pink powder from her nearby pocket onto it.
“Next, this is just the witch’s appetizer for you—”
