When I entered the room, Holy Knight Canaria and Hero Eligion had started discussing something. The topic of their discussion was related to the arrangements for their journey to the royal capital tomorrow. It seemed that Holy Knight Canaria's claim that she had something to discuss with His Highness outside the room was not entirely false.
In the midst of this, I was observing their behavior with a sense of unease. It wouldn't be surprising if Holy Knight Canaria were to attack at any moment. Therefore, I was carefully watching her every move for any suspicious actions.
So far, there had been no signs of any suspicious behavior.
"I'm done," Holy Knight Canaria said, bringing the discussion to a close without me realizing it.
"Next, it's Kiska's turn," Hero Eligion said, looking at me.
Now that I think about it, I had claimed to have a matter to discuss when I entered this room. Therefore, I would have to speak.
"I came here because I wanted to guard Hero-sama. I can't assert that there's no possibility of someone attacking Hero-sama while he's asleep."
"Certainly, it was careless to sleep alone in this room."
Hero Eligion nodded in agreement.
"Your Highness! If it's about guarding, please let me take on that role! Or does Your Highness intend to trust an adventurer with an unknown background more than me?"
Holy Knight Canaria raised her voice in protest.
It's true that she is undoubtedly more trusted than me. However, if she were to take on the role of guarding, my entire plan would go down the drain.
"I see. In that case, you two can cooperate and guard me. With two of you, you can take turns sleeping. Yes, that's the most efficient way."
Hero Eligion came to that conclusion.
It seemed that Holy Knight Canaria and I would be the ones guarding Hero Eligion.
◆
In the end, Hero Eligion went to bed as usual. Holy Knight Canaria and I, who were tasked with guarding him, sat in chairs, monitoring the situation.
Since we didn't talk to each other, it was a time of pure silence. I kept wondering if she intended to assassinate him while he slept, or if the assassination would take place tomorrow, and this was just a waiting period. With the opponent's true intentions unknown, I had to stay vigilant and be prepared for any possibility. But honestly, it was exhausting.
As time passed, I began to feel more and more fatigued. Thanks to that, sleepiness started to creep in. However, I couldn't afford to sleep. So, I rubbed my eyes and glanced at Holy Knight Canaria. How was she doing? Was she feeling sleepy like I was?
Thinking that, I looked in her direction. Wait, what? Is that even possible? I couldn't help but doubt my eyes. But I checked again, and it was indeed true.
The reason for my surprise was that Holy Knight Canaria was asleep in her chair, even making soft snoring sounds.
Seriously? Can a person who took on the responsibility of guarding just abandon it to sleep? Well, Hero Eligion did mention taking shifts, is she practicing that? Even so, it wouldn't hurt to communicate a little. It seemed as if she knew for sure that the Hero wouldn't be attacked tonight, which raised questions about her actions coming to guard the Hero in his room.
With that in mind, a wave of exhaustion hit me, and I, too, began to feel sleepy.
◆
I heard a loud noise.
In an instant, I woke up.
It seems I had fallen asleep. I felt ashamed of that, but more importantly, I needed to check on Hero Eligion's safety and Holy Knight Canaria's actions.
They both seemed fine. Hero Eligion was asleep in his bed, and Holy Knight Canaria was still napping in her chair.
Then, what was the noise that woke me up? What was the source?
"Hey."
Suddenly, I was spoken to from behind, causing a shiver down my spine.
"How are you feeling?"
The one who spoke was Warrior Gorgano.
It turned out the noise I heard earlier was him entering the room. I thought the room was locked, but he had somehow managed to break in.
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to have a little chat with you."
"What's the topic?"
"It's not the kind of conversation we should have here. Step outside the room for a moment."
"I have no intention of leaving this spot."
"Hmph, I see." He muttered with annoyance and continued.
"Canaria, change of plans! Let's go with a direct approach."
As Warrior Gorgano shouted this, he activated the parasitic scythe Puppeteer.
I tried to intercept it with my "Blazing Sword," but I couldn't stop its power, and my body crashed into the wall.
But there was something more important to worry about. Right after Warrior Gorgano called out, Holy Knight Canaria, who had appeared to be sleeping, suddenly leaped up and swung her sword towards Hero Eligion.
"Hey, we're in real danger here!"
I shouted, panicked. Normally, I would use polite language when talking to the hero, but in this emergency situation, it didn't matter.
"Tch, missed."
Holy Knight Canaria muttered. She had her sword poised as if to thrust it into the bed, with Hero Eligion's head as the target.
"Canaria, what's the meaning of this? Please, explain yourself. There might be a significant misunderstanding here."
Despite having a sword pointed at him, Hero Eligion responded calmly with a confident smile. In contrast, Holy Knight Canaria spoke.
"No negotiations!"
She swung her sword forcefully. From her perspective, a slight movement of the sword could decapitate the hero. So, it seemed like the hero would undoubtedly be killed. At least, that's what I thought.
"Gahh!"
The groan came from Holy Knight Canaria. Her body had forcefully crashed into the wall.
"You really underestimated me,"
The hero said as he picked up his sword. He was still alive.
◆◆◆