Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival-Chapter 116.1

Conspiracy of the Noble Faction (2)

“Your Highness, we are ready to leave. The schedule is getting closer, so we should be on our way.”

The captain of the 5th Squadron, who had come to escort the 2nd Knights on their training exercise, said to Elena.

Is it that late already? The girl who is going to accompany me, Aria, has not returned yet. Can’t we wait for her to return?”

This exercise visit was for the children of barons and above with estates. Aria, who was adopted by a quasi-baroness, was not eligible to participate, but since senior nobles of counts and above are allowed to take one companion with them, Elena had naturally chosen Aria.

Normally, as royalty, Elena would be in a position to ask for more than one escort, but since Elena was determined to set a good example for the other students, and since about 40 elite Squadron members of the Second Order had come as escorts, Aria was the only one who could personally escort her.

The number of escorts for a few days would be enough, even if only the knights came to escort the students, considering the carriage ride.

Elena, who was sitting on a bench in the open air, answered, and the chief of Squadron smiled dryly as if admonishing a child for not listening.

“Your Highness, if possible, please consider the other students who are already waiting in the carriages. And if it is Aria, I will send another carriage to follow her immediately, so you can meet her at the rest stop on the way.”

“I see…”

Among the Second Order, those Squadrons who are entrusted with escorting the princess are the elite of the elite.

The squadron leaders are all rank 3, especially Squadron leader Rudiger, who is in his early 30s and is one of the few rank 4 knights in the Order, and also the head of the baron family.

“Understood. Then, please take care of me on the way, and please arrange for Aria to join us by the end of the day.”

“Yes, sir. Leave it to me.”

It was a little unnatural, but the royalty would be questioned about their qualifications if they were to be too suspicious all the time. And if they mentioned the other students, I couldn’t say, “Wait.

In the carriage were the daughters of barons and viscounts with no sons, and a boy who was the grandson of the temple’s chief, the Baron of the Vestments.

“It’s been a long time, Nathaniel, how is the Temple Chief doing?”

“Yes, Your Highness! Your grandfather is well!

The boy, who is as small as the other daughters and has a pretty face, nervously replies to Elena’s small talk.

“By the way… you don’t have a companion with you, do you?”

“Yes, I am a child of the temple before I am a nobleman, and I can take care of myself.

What he was saying was admirable, but Elena understood from his expression and tone of voice that he was steeped in the temple ideology that condemns worldly nobles, and, careful not to let her disappointment show on her face, she gave up trying to have further conversation with Nathaniel.

Elena, who was bored with the silent carriage, looked out the window and noticed that the carriage, which was supposed to be heading east on the south side of the royal capital, was moving through the forest.

“Where is this carriage headed? From the direction of the sun, it seems to be heading south?”

The soldier called out through the small window in front of him, and the carriage door, which had not stopped, opened, and Rudiger climbed in from the horse that had been riding alongside.

“Excuse me, Your Royal Highness. Will you please behave yourself?”

“You…?”

I will now take Your Highness to a certain place. I will guarantee the safety of the other students as long as you remain quiet.”

***

“What!?”

“Captain!!”

“You, take Joey!”

Joey, pierced through the heart, collapses, and the other knights turn their anger on me as I hold a bloody black knife.

“How dare you!”

Perhaps they were friends among colleagues. A knight about Joey’s age lunged forward with his sword as if to leap out, and with minimal movement, I ducked the tip of the sword and plunged the black knife into the knight’s throat.

“Damn!”

“Surround her! Don’t let her get away!

“OH!”

Their fighting strength was around 200…about the upper end of rank 2. Joey, who was the squad leader, was probably around rank 3, but the fact that he and one of his comrades did not retreat even after being hit was because they still thought they had the upper hand.

When many people are fighting in a small space like indoors, shields and armor are more advantageous because of the limited space for evasion. Even I, if I were fighting warriors of the same rank in the open air, I would first keep my distance, let them disperse, and then try to destroy them individually.

Even though there was a difference in rank, they still thought they could beat me, probably because they felt secure in their armor and because my appearance was still that of a thin child.

But the premise was different. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t evade them even in the tightest of places.

“Nah!”

I deflected the blow with my knife, which was a little faster than the other knight’s blow, and I put one hand on the knight’s head and jumped up to avoid the “ceiling”.

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With my feet upside down on the three-meter ceiling and my whole body spinning, I screwed and broke the neck of the knight I was holding on to, I pulled the black dagger of my bulging shin out of my fluttering skirt, pierced the side heads of the knights on either side with my knife and dagger, and landed on the floor, letting my skirt softly flutter in the air.

“Bah, that’s ridiculous…”

“How could a scout scout be so strong?”

“What is that little girl!”

There were three of them left. If they wanted to overturn the rank difference, they would have to put their lives on the line. And I was sorry to say that I was not a Scout, though I was in a similar position as a Scout Adventurer.

Even if the knights were wearing armor, not a full plate, but light armor such as breastplates and cuirass over a chainmail, and as an assassin, I could kill them as long as there was even a glimpse of skin on their armor.

Before they could recover from their confusion, I slipped through the gap between them and slashed another knight in the neck with my knife while thrusting my dagger into his side over his chainmail.

I jumped over the knights and kicked the ceiling, and with the momentum of the kick, I followed it up with the heel drop of my loafer and kicked a knight in the face until he caved in.

“You’re the last…where did you take Lady Elena?”

“Damn it.”

I pointed my bloody knife at the knight, who was stabbed by the dagger deeply in the side and stared at me with a greasy, sweaty face as he dropped to one knee on the floor.

“Don’t…don’t…look down…on us…our…nation, the aristocratic knights will never speak speak, no matter how much you torture us…”

“Then die.”

Midway through the knight’s words, I slash his neck horizontally with my knife and choke the life out of him.

If torture won’t make him speak, then it would be a waste of time to talk to him. I didn’t know what their beliefs were as aristocrats, but as long as they messed with royalty, a knight at the end of the line would have been prepared to be put to death.

Even if they somehow managed to get the information out of someone who was prepared to do so, there was no time to confirm that it was correct.

“Elena…”

Just to be certain, I confirmed that Joey didn’t have anything on him before going after Elena.

When I returned to the meeting place, the shadow of the carriage was already gone, and after confirming the slight trail of ruts that remained on the ground, I ran directly in the direction where I thought the carriage had disappeared.

At the south gate of the school, I confirmed that Elena’s carriage had passed by. I showed the seal of the royal family and asked the steward of the mansion to pass on a message. I continued to follow the trail of ruts, but on the way, when I entered the forest, I got lost in several trails and could no longer follow it.

Where did they go? Were there any traces that I missed?