Chapter 260 (1/2)

「Kuh……O wind!」

「Too slow!」

The shining sword of a man wearing a mask and clad in white garments cut Ein down.

After Kain left, a man attacked all of a sudden. He was hiding his identity, but this sword technique was that of a Temple Soldier.

Normally, Ein wouldn’t be falling behind someone like a Human. However, this man had clearly surpassed the limits of a Human.

She could tell that together with the intense pain, a lot of strength was leaving from within her. The powerful magical power that was kept within the man’s Magic Sword seemed like it shaved away the magical power within Ein.

「Guh……Aah……!?」

「Here’s the finisher! ……Tte, uooh!?」

All of a sudden, a beam that came flying in grazed the masked man as he was about to swing his sword down once more.

At the same time that Ein rolled down from the roof in front of the masked man that dodged that, a shout could be heard from the direction that the beam came flying in from.

「Soldier-san, over here! A pervert in full white is slashing at a girl with a bladed object!」

「Wha……!」

After the masked man panicked and jumped down in the direction opposite from the voice, a cherry blossom-colored young woman appeared.

「This way!」

「Kuh……Sorry, Qu! I couldn’t finish her!」

Lead by the hand by the young woman, the masked man vanished into the back alley.

Confirming that the presence of the man’s group had faded away, the man that called for the soldier earlier went “fuu” and made a breath of relief.

「……Ein, Ein! Are you alright!?」

「……Guh, so it was you, Kain……」

「Since I heard the sounds of a battle, I came back in a hurry. Sorry I didn’t make it back in time!」

Before she could reply, Kain picked Ein up and ran.

「Stop helping me……That was most likely, someone related to the Temple. This will, have an effect, on your future……」

「As if I care! If I were to abandon you here, Ein……I’m sure that, I wouldn’t be able to become anything! Besides……I still, haven’t heard your answer!」

Kain shouted, went through the back alley, and came out to the main street.

The people passing by on the street turned to face him and were startled, but Kain showed no signs of being bothered by it.

Ein thought “what a hopeless guy”. Besides, Ein was thinking of declining the invitation to his party.

「Kain……I warn you. Do not get involved with me any more than this. You will……only become unhappy.」

Muttering that, Ein lost consciousness.

Even while noticing that, Kain ran through the streets at night with all of his might.

He didn’t know who the assailant was.

Since he had ran away at Kain’s bluff, he was able to predict that they were someone who didn’t want the attack to be made public.

However, Ein’s words bothered him.

Someone related to the Temple──Why would they aim for Ein with this timing?

He knew that Ein had a situation that she couldn’t mention to people.

He purposely didn’t pry into it, but he did make the prediction that she was affiliated with an intelligence unit of some country somewhere.

However, it wasn’t like Ein was doing any wrongdoings in this country, and instead, she was eliminating things that were plaguing this country, like the Alva and the Goblin Assassins. Since Kain cooperated in that as well, he knew that very well.

It wasn’t like that was the reason why, but Kain believed that he knew Ein’s temperament very well.

She was always calm, and reliable. And yet, she was unexpectedly ignorant in the ways of the world in strange places.

And then……by no means was she a bad person.

「……!?」

Kain came to a complete stop.

Even though this was a main street, the pedestrian traffic had suddenly vanished. It was as if this whole area had the people clear out of it.

「Influential people, sure are scary. Since they can blockade a street so easily.」

A masked man stepped out from the other side of the street.

Seeing that, Kain went “tsk* and clicked his tongue.

That’s right. If the opponent is really someone related to the Temple, this sort of situation should also be assumed.

Using the authority of the Temple Protection Chivalric Order, they blockaded a part of the direction that Kain was traveling in and cleared it of people.

「Hand over the one on your back.」

「I refuse.」

Kain immediately answered, and searched the area for any presences.

One, two, three……He could feel power that was above average here and there. They were most likely people of the Temple Protection Chivalric Order.

「Uーn……This is troubling.」

After the masked man said that sounding truly troubled, he scratched his head while saying “what should we do about this”.

「……Well, I guess there’s no choice but to explain.」

Breathing a deep sigh, the masked man took a step forward towards Kain.

「She might look like a sweet girl to you but look. The truth is, she’s a Mazoku. Moreover, it seems that she’s infiltrated this country for a while now.」

「……」

Kain didn’t reply.

Going “so he’s shocked by that”, the masked man took another step forward.

「It’s understandable that you’re surprised. Even for me, if I didn’t know anything, I would have been the same as you.」

The masked man held a hand out towards Kain.

「You were just deceived. You’ve done nothing wrong. So, hand her over.」

「If I hand her over, what do you plan on doing?」

「Don’t worry. Nothing inhuman will happen, I won’t allow it. Believe me……」

「You’ll kill her, right?」

Hearing Kain’s words, the masked man was at a loss for an answer. However, he then immediately spun out words with a baffled tone.

「Oi oi, I just said that she’s a Mazoku, you know. Don’t be deceived just because she has that sort of form.」

Ever since he was born in this world and up until now, Kain Stagius held a belief that had not yielded even once.

A man who would abandon a girl, is the one thing he would never become.

That belief alone did not yield, and continued to push on. He had dueled with the sons of nobles whose peerage was higher than his, and he had even entered the hideouts of villainous bandit groups with only a single sword.

「In regards to Ein, I know much more about her than you do. Just as how she looks, Ein is a cute girl.」

Hearing Kain’s words, the masked man went “achaー” and pressed down on his forehead.

「This really is troubling. What should I do.」