But would the goddess really target him? Honestly, even he wasn't too sure.
After the heavy topic temporarily came to an end, Fern, like a mother, acted as if nothing had happened and silently took out the blanket she had prepared earlier, calling them over to sit together on the viewing platform's bench.
Because the platform was located in the middle section of the imperial capital, they didn't even need to stand by the railing. Just sitting on the bench was enough to clearly see the streets of the lower district and the magic fireworks constantly rising into the sky.
Frieren very cooperatively sat beside Fern, then gradually relaxed in the warmth, lazily leaning her whole body against her, naturally resting her head on Fern's shoulder as well.
The two of them snuggled tightly under the same blanket. For some reason, the scene gave off a warm and harmonious feeling like mother and daughter. It really made Ash want to complain.
Frieren even unconsciously closed her eyes, immersed in the hazy feeling of almost falling asleep, while Fern gently lifted a corner of the blanket and softly called out, "Lord Ash? Aren't you coming over too?"
"I'll pass. Let Sense go."
Ash silently sat off to the side, keeping a certain distance from the others. His hands rested leisurely on the back of the bench as his deep gaze stared at the gloomy sky.
In the distance, fireworks kept blooming in colorful bursts, dazzling like a kaleidoscope and making people unconsciously lose themselves in them.
At this moment, though, Sense slightly tilted her little head. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly blocked Ash's line of sight and hesitantly parted her cherry lips.
"Lord Ash, I..."
"Hm? Ah! It is a bit crowded here. Four people sitting together isn't very convenient. If you don't mind, you can sit over here."
With three people already on the bench, it was basically full. Ash smiled as he patted his thigh, looking open-minded and considerate.
"...."
Sense immediately lost her voice again. She only stared blankly at his legs, seeming to hesitate, or perhaps think.
The doll-like dazed expression of the girl made Fern unable to hold back from scolding him.
"Lady Sense is already a fine young woman. Even if you're joking, please know your limits. This kind of rude behavior that makes people uncomfortable, even I will..."
"N-No, it's fine."
Before Fern could finish, Sense softly interrupted her. After hesitating for a moment, she carefully sat on Ash's lap.
The properly seated girl immediately made Ash feel a softness like water.
Not just his thighs, even his chest was wrapped in that warmth. There was also a pleasant scent that made him unconsciously want to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair, properly enjoying the warmth of this "human heater."
But Fern, who had been interrupted before finishing her sentence, widened her eyes at the sight and stared fixedly at Sense. For some reason, a sense of loss rose in her heart. It felt like... her place had been stolen.
After all, when she was little, that spot had always belonged to her. Although she stopped sitting there after growing up because she felt embarrassed, now she still couldn't help feeling that her place had been occupied.
"Lord Ash! What kind of behavior is this?"
Driven by those complicated feelings, Fern suddenly put on a stern face and scolded them.
"An adult woman sitting on an adult man's lap in public, if outsiders see this, Lady Sense might not even be able to get married anymore!"
"That serious?", Hearing such severe consequences, Ash couldn't help freezing up a little. Sense lowered her head slightly and softly said, "It's okay. Lord Ash will take responsibility."
"Responsibility? Uh, yeah, I guess. If things are like this, not taking responsibility would be pretty bad?"
Usually Linie hugged him so naturally that he had gradually stopped caring about things like this. But, leaving aside the limitations of this era, even in the 21st century, this probably wasn't something normal friends would do.
'But doesn't Sense still look like a little young? Though I know that absolutely isn't an excuse!', Ash vaguely nodded along, not knowing what he should say next.
Sense closed her eyes and returned to her usual silence, not saying another word.
Seeing their reactions like this, even Fern, who still wanted to scold them more, no longer knew what to say.
For a moment, driven by her irritated mood, she hugged Frieren, who had leaned against her from the side, trying to use Frieren as a substitute, but she still couldn't stop glancing toward Sense from time to time, quietly muttering now and then: "So sneaky!"
'How am I sneaky?', Fern's muttering seemed to reach Sense's ears, but she only blinked blankly, as if she didn't understand. Then she turned her head expressionlessly and calmly said, "If you want to do it too, can't you just do the same thing?"
"I'm not a child."
Fern wrapped herself in the blanket and turned her head away, clearly not intending to continue discussing the matter with her.
———
On the winter night, cold winds howled across the viewing platform, and every breath turned into white mist.
The four of them temporarily stopped talking and quietly sat there, looking into the distance.
Fireworks still continued blooming in the night sky like flowers opening in darkness, brief yet dazzling.
At the same time, small snowflakes gradually began drifting down from the sky. They fell lightly, and before long, the snow grew heavier and denser, gradually dyeing the whole world white.
Snow landed on their hair and shoulders, adding a touch of peace and quiet to the tense atmosphere.
Sense stretched out her small hand and looked at the white snow melting on her fingertips, softly breaking the silence.
"It's snowing."
"Let's walk around a little longer, then we'll head back to the base."
At some point, Frieren, whose gaze kept unconsciously drifting toward Sense, silently stood up from the bench.
Fern, who had long wanted to leave that seat while watching Sense occupy what should have been her place, also silently began packing up the blanket.
"True. If we don't hurry back, Lady Ubel, who isn't supposed to go out freely, will probably throw a tantrum."
"No, if it's Ubel, she already came out a while ago," As Frieren spoke, she pointed behind them.
A girl with a side ponytail stood up from the bushes. Ubel came over with a grin and quick steps.
"It's a festival, and all of you went out to have fun while leaving me behind alone. No matter how you look at it, that's a bit too much, right?"
"If you're discovered, things will get troublesome."
Ash sighed softly, lifted Sense off his lap and placed her to the side, then silently stood up and walked forward.
"Don't say that~ Since it's you, you'll definitely solve it somehow, right?"
With both hands behind her back, Ubel skipped along beside him like a child.
"Originally I thought so too, but the situation seems a bit troublesome," Ash slightly frowned.
"Really? Hmm~"
"What?"
"My brain isn't very good, so I don't really understand complicated things. Anyway, if they're enemies, just kill them, right?"
Ubel, who had been eavesdropping nearby the whole time, gave her answer simply and directly. It was hard to tell whether she truly didn't understand the core of their conversation or was only pretending not to.
Fern and Frieren exchanged glances. They still weren't too sure how much this girl, whose brain really didn't seem to work very well, had understood from their earlier conversation about Ash.
Although they really hadn't mentioned anything about the Demon King or demons, the meaning behind it all should still have been fairly obvious.
But Ubel had always seemed a bit dumb and airheaded from the start.... Maybe she really didn't understand?
And asking her directly would obviously expose things, so everyone temporarily chose to stay silent about it.
———
After returning to the base, on the first night of the National Day celebration, Ash's magic detection, which covered the entire city, noticed something in the latter half of the night, around three in the morning.
Magic fluctuations gathered together in the same district.
And that was exactly the area where he had placed the assassination squad.
"So the assassination squad really was discovered? Though I wasn't exactly trying hard to hide them. But that's fine too."
Gently putting down the book he was reading, Ash rose from the rocking chair. His figure flashed, instantly shooting out through the window toward the target location.
———
Around the assassination squad's residence inside that seemingly ordinary building—
Groups of magic special forces, shadow warriors, knights sealing off the entire district, and a group of unidentified mages were continuously surrounding the building from afar.
They had not started acting yet and were still actively deploying, as though weaving a tight encirclement to prevent the assassination squad from escaping.
At the same time, an urgent voice from the nun suddenly reached Ash's ears through goddess magic.
["We've already been surrounded! Please hurry and—"]
"It's fine. I'm already here. It'll be over soon."
Ash interrupted her and cut off the communication. Casually putting on the mask he had prepared long ago, he drew his blade and charged straight into the crowd without hesitation.
His tactic was extremely simple.
He directly rushed into the soldiers gathered in the street.
No one noticed the figure moving faster than sound itself. Then came a loud "BOOM!!" as the shockwave exploded outward.
Massive amounts of dust surged up, instantly covering everyone's vision with a heavy curtain of dirt.
The ground shook violently like an earthquake, and even the well-trained knights and shadow warriors couldn't help crying out in panic.
The enemy forces instantly fell into chaos. But before anyone could respond, or before the night wind could blow away the dust, screams began echoing through the entire district one after another.
Along with them came wildly flying magic and the blue glow of defensive spells being easily shattered.
As for Ash, after charging into enemy lines, he became like an unmatched savage beast, stirring up a bloody slaughter.
Even sturdy warriors and enchanted armor could not block those godspeed slashes. Defensive magic shields also struggled to stop that physical assault.
The surging gravity impacts tore through people's bodies as though they were made of paper, sending severed limbs and blood flying everywhere.
The roaring explosions one after another, along with shockwaves strong enough to shake the atmosphere itself, formed a grand wave of death behind the blade.
The extermination force specially assembled to deal with these traitors desperately tried to resist, yet couldn't even see their enemy's figure.
Even displaying all kinds of ultimate techniques accomplished nothing, causing many people to mercilessly abandon their former comrades and flee in panic.
However, before the dust even cleared, everyone had already been slaughtered.
Not a single person survived. Everywhere the eye could see, there was only death.
The buildings near the assassination squad's residential area had almost all been reduced to ruins during the short battle, while the streets were left covered in human remains.
Before the conflict had even truly begun, it ended in a one-sided massacre after a third party suddenly entered the battlefield.
The frightened squad opened the windows and looked at the horrifying scene outside, unable to stop themselves from nervously swallowing.
Ash stood amidst the ruins. The blood on his blade had already dried, and his expression was cold, as though everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.
The surroundings were silent, with only the occasional sound of wind, as though telling the story of the battle's brutality.
After all, the enemy lineup assembled against them had been quite serious. They had even prepared themselves to be abandoned, but...
"No need to be nervous. I said I would keep you safe."
Ash coldly looked down at the hellish scene made from scattered human limbs as he appeared beside them without warning.
Before anyone could react, he casually continued, "You should prepare too. Leave the imperial capital immediately."
"Now.... At a time like this?", The poster girl's expression stiffened slightly.
The priest also frowned deeply and said awkwardly, "The city gates of the imperial capital must already be closed. How are we supposed to..."
"It's fine. Just kill your way out," He gave his suggestion lightly.
The mercenary, who happened to not be drinking tonight for once, couldn't help bluntly saying, "Boss, even if you're using us as bait, you can't use us like this, can you?"
"I know the target is huge and there are risks involved, but I'll help you leave and guarantee your safety as much as possible. And after it's done, you'll receive the proper reward. Two hundred gold coins each. You could even retire and live as rich people if you want."
Ash didn't deny using them as bait at all. He even calmly gave further promises before continuing, "So? Take the gamble, and you can gain a lifetime of wealth. That's a pretty good deal, isn't it?"
"Do we even have the right to refuse?"
The nun tightly closed her eyes, seemingly still praying to the goddess through those words.
Although Ash didn't really understand why assassins could also receive the goddess's favor and use goddess magic to gain her blessing, he merely shook his head with a laugh.
"Don't make me sound like such a villain. Though I really am not a good person. But... even in the Empire, you don't have the right to refuse missions, right? In terms of benefits, I've already given very good conditions. And realistically speaking, openly counter-killing the extermination force is obviously beyond your abilities. After counter-killing them, instead of hiding, directly leaving the city would definitely catch them off guard. Maybe you can actually survive by doing that."
"This..."
The squad members all fell silent.
Although the risk really was unprecedentedly high, and they had basically become targets of the entire imperial capital, the essence of the mission truly hadn't changed. Aside from daily life, they had always lived on the edge of a blade anyway.
Not hiding and instead escaping directly really did carry a strong element of surprise.
"You really are good at persuading people," The librarian smiled helplessly. The dissatisfaction from being treated as disposable bait lessened considerably.
After all, Ash was right. This mission wasn't really different from the previous ones, and the rewards were even greater. They truly had no reason to refuse.
If they could really get enough money to spend for the rest of their lives, then even being cannon fodder was acceptable.
Because after working for the Empire all these years and killing so many people, the money they earned was nowhere near like the massive rewards assassins got in the movies and TV shows Ash had seen, where they could enjoy luxury cars, beautiful women, and mansions every day.
In reality, even surviving was difficult. Otherwise, the vendor and the mercenary wouldn't have needed to buy drinks on credit at taverns, and the dwarf Rasen wouldn't have needed to steal from churches just to survive the winter. They were basically doing the work of drug dealers while earning the money of vegetable sellers.
"Let's do it!"
Seeing everyone agree, the blacksmith, equally excited by the reward money, drew his greatsword and leaped headfirst out the sixth-floor window of the building.
Although after changing camps, every mission had become more dangerous than the last, the mindset of gambling big for a better future had unknowingly taken root in them as well.
Even if now wasn't the best time to leave the city, they still gathered their resolve and rushed toward the city gates in one go.
———
If someone tried to break through the imperial capital's barrier from the outside, it would be nearly impossible.
But from the inside...
"Unexpectedly simple."
Ash stood inside the barrier's energy supply room, casually shaking the blood off his blade. Without even looking at the corpses of the mages on the floor, he calmly stepped over them and continued forward.
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