NOVEL WEB Chapter 7
As usual, I was photosynthesizing in the yard in the morning.
“What the…?”
“Hurry…!”
“Move faster!”
The garden, which would normally be peaceful with gardeners wandering around, was unusually noisy today as guards were moving somewhere.
“…What’s going on?”
I approached a maid nearby and asked.
“Hic…! W-well…!”
The young maid, who usually just lay around as if she didn’t exist, was startled when I spoke to her but soon started explaining the situation.
“I-I heard that Clayton House was attacked…”
“That place?”
Being in the capital, there were many noble mansions around, but I had heard of Clayton House.
It was the family Lowell, who I’ve been training with lately, had mentioned.
“Isn’t that a strong family?”
I heard they were a famous martial family that had been producing knights for the Royal Knights Order for generations.
And such a place was attacked?
“Who would dare do that?”
“Well… um…”
The maid hesitated, wondering if she should tell me.
“Tell me.”
“Y-yes…!”
She finally spoke up under my persistent gaze.
“Please don’t tell anyone…?”
“I won’t, so tell me.”
“It’s… the remnants of the Luger Kingdom…”
“The Luger Kingdom?”
…That’s Alden’s homeland.
The kingdom that the Adel Kingdom destroyed.
“Are there still remnants left?”
“Yes… the survivors have been terrorizing nobles…”
“Wow.”
That’s scary.
This isn’t just any ordinary world.
It’s a world full of magic and aura, overflowing with strong individuals.
Especially with monsters like Lowell around.
It’s understandable that Clayton House was attacked.
It was a weekday morning, so most of their forces were probably out.
“So what happened?”
“I didn’t hear the details, but… Lord Clayton was injured, so they sent a request for support to our family.”
“Ah, so you’re going to help now?”
“Yes… to fill in the missing guards.”
“Hmm.”
For a moment, I wondered if this place was safe…
But even if they attacked such a family, the chances of them targeting the Void Family next are slim.
Besides, Lowell is here, so I don’t think it’s dangerous with that old monster around.
The lady’s bodyguard and the knight in charge of security are also here.
Even if they send support, the main force will stay at the mansion.
“You answered well. Thank you.”
“Huh…?”
Anyway.
I got the gist of why things were chaotic.
“Then go do your work.”
I crawled back into the doghouse.
Clayton House or whatever, it’s none of my business.
Even if the guards were sent there, Lowell is here, so no worries.
Besides, I’m just a dog let loose in the yard.
I have no interest in supporting other noble families.
Well, if the Void Family were also a target, that would be a different story.
Anyway.
I lay back and waited for the lady to come.
It’s almost time for her to come whining about not wanting to study and then leave, so I waited to go out whenever…
“Hmm…”
…Is she not coming today?
Given the situation, she probably couldn’t come to the garden.
It must be serious.
After all, a noble’s mansion in the capital was attacked, and the head of the family was injured.
The city gates are probably closed, and it’s chaos.
Since the lady isn’t coming, I headed to the training ground to practice.
The garden, which should be filled with the bright voices of the servants, felt unusually quiet today.
The atmosphere is really dark.
If the Void Family is like this, other places must be worse.
Even the training ground was empty when I arrived.
Are they all on guard duty?
Well, they sent a lot of support, so there’s probably no one left to train.
Guess I’ll have to do it alone.
This is when I feel disconnected from this mansion.
It’s good for me, who wants to train leisurely.
I stood in front of the training dummy to practice alone.
Lately, I’ve been refining the basics I learned from Lowell.
The basics are easy to learn but hard to master.
I stared at the dummy and circulated aura through my body.
The most basic thing for an aura user: circulation.
And then.
Bang-!
Release.
I instantly threw a punch, and the dummy was deeply dented by the strong impact.
This is Rush, releasing aura explosively for powerful force.
Personally, it consumes too much aura, so I don’t like it much.
As my level increases, the efficiency will improve, but it’s not something I use often yet.
My favorite is Fleet.
Acceleration.
How cool is that?
If I had known this earlier, I might have successfully escaped from the Coliseum.
Well, that’s in the past now.
I focused on my aura again in front of the tattered dummy.
If I released it explosively earlier, now I had to conserve it without letting it leak out.
A technique that circulates aura to the body’s limit for an instant acceleration.
I focused so hard on my aura that my head turned white.
And then.
At some point, I was behind the dummy.
I had even lost track of my own movements.
“Hmm…”
It’s a technique that makes you insanely fast in an instant, so it’s hard to control.
Usually, it’s used with Track, which enhances reflexes, but it’s still hard to use both at the same time.
Lowell said I’m learning fast, but…
I really want to master the basics soon.
Anyway, while I was training.
“You’re working hard alone.”
“Lowell?”
I turned my head at the familiar voice and saw Lowell approaching.
“Is it okay for you to be here?”
Weren’t they all focused on security?
I thought Lowell would be by the lady’s side.
“The lady is currently taking magic lessons from a special instructor.”
“So?”
“That means she’s one of the safest people in the capital right now.”
“…She must be quite impressive.”
“As far as I know, yes.”
Well.
The lady is always nagging, but…
I didn’t know she was that great.
“Is the situation really serious?”
“Do you know the details?”
“A little. I asked a servant.”
“Hmm, it is serious.”
If Lowell says it’s serious, then it really is.
He’s not one to exaggerate.
“But the Royal Knights Order will send support, so it’s fine.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“There are many from the Clayton family in the Royal Knights Order, so they must be grinding their teeth by now.”
Come to think of it, Clayton House is a martial family that has been producing knights for the Royal Knights Order for generations.
Their eldest son is the captain of the knights, and the second son is an important figure in the military.
They must have really stirred up a hornet’s nest.
Are they that confident?
Especially since this is the capital.
“Good news would be nice.”
“Don’t worry too much, let’s finish our training.”
“Sparring?”
“Yes, let’s warm up.”
“…My body still aches from last time.”
“You’re young, you grow by getting hit.”
After that.
I trained with Lowell, getting beaten up, and forgot about the terrorist incident for a while.
He said not to worry.
Besides, the Royal Knights Order is coming, right?
They sound like a really strong group, so they’ll handle it.
And so.
I spent a few days in the unusually quiet mansion, doing my usual tasks without much worry.
Finally, news about the terrorist incident came.
“What? The Royal Knights Order was defeated?”
“…They must have prepared for a long time this time.”
The pursuit team formed by the Royal Knights Order was ambushed.
“That’s bad, right?”
“Yes, we need to strengthen security.”
I didn’t think it would get this serious.
Do those guys have no fear?
“Can’t they catch them with magic?”
“…They have excellent mages too.”
“Are they better?”
“They seem to use specialized vision magic to erase traces.”
“Ah…”
This is a complete disaster.
An elite guerrilla unit in the city that erases traces well?
And each individual is superhuman with a grudge.
“Shouldn’t we run away?”
“The Adel Kingdom isn’t that weak.”
“But you said they can’t catch them.”
“The royal family is taking it seriously and has surrounded the city, so they have two choices now.”
“What are they?”
“Either try to break through and escape, or act recklessly and get wiped out.”
“Which do you think it’ll be?”
“Hard to say. Based on their past actions, it would be the former, but now they must be confident.”
…So they might act recklessly.
That means there’s a high chance of a large-scale bloodbath.
“This is serious. I should hide in the doghouse.”
I shouldn’t mess around in this situation.
I’ll minimize training and stay in the doghouse for a while.
“That’s fine, but…”
Then.
Lowell, who had been quietly watching me, spoke up.
“You said you wanted to learn the Void Family’s vision technique, right?”
“Ah, yes, I did.”
“…Protecting the lady is the greatest merit.”
“Huh?”
“Please, don’t forget that.”
He’s saying something obvious so seriously.
“Well, I got it.”
I answered casually.
And that night.
Boom-
A huge explosion, unlike anything I’ve ever heard before, shook the mansion.