"Oh my~ Count, how cruel of you. You invited me all this way as a dancer, and now the host intends to reject my enthusiasm all on his own?"
The moment the words fell, Elsa suddenly stepped forward, bringing that beautiful, dangerous face right up close to Roswaal's.
A gust of fragrance brushed past him, but Roswaal reacted as if a blade were already at his throat. He jerked back like he had been shocked, both hands flying instinctively to guard his stomach.
The instant he made that move, he knew something was wrong.
Elsa's eyes lit up at once, her delight no longer hidden in the slightest.
She had her answer now.
The person in front of her had a flaw.
"I'm dead. I broke character…"
Roswaal pulled a long face and slowly lifted his head.
More precisely, it was Grin, using Transformation Magic to wear Roswaal's appearance.
"OOC? Is that some kind of spell? What a pity, Mister Fake Count. No matter what magic you have, at this distance, your intestines will spill out before the spell ever does."
As she spoke, Elsa's right hand slid behind her waist.
She was drawing her blade.
I'm about to get stabbed.
"Wait, Miss Elsa, I still have something to say!"
Grin shouted in a panic, forcing the words out as he tried to buy himself one more breath.
Elsa paused, just slightly.
Her eyes rested on him with amused interest, and a cold little laugh slipped from her lips.
"Oh my~ Do you have some last words?"
Grin hurriedly yanked a bright red fruit from his pocket.
"Beautiful lady, how about you eat an apple first and calm down?"
Slash.
The blade flashed.
The apple split cleanly in half across the middle.
If Grin had not snatched his hand back in time, he probably would have been cut in two along with it.
"Are you playing with me?"
A rare spark flared in Elsa's eyes.
"A sly little rabbit. An apple smeared with poison. How stupid would someone have to be to eat it willingly?"
"Wow, say that again in front of the Sun Princess if you dare!"
Grin complained as he backed away.
"So you're one of hers~ Wonderful~ That makes things much easier."
Elsa slipped her cloak loose, revealing the proud curves beneath.
The moment Grin mentioned the Sun Princess, Elsa took it as proof that he belonged to Priscilla's camp.
And with that, a fresh target had appeared before her.
The thought of opening up a new stomach brought a morbid smile to her lips.
"Oh my, this is the first time I've drawn my blade against an employer~ What a strange feeling. Could this be the legendary~ thrill of betrayal~ Ah~ how lovely~"
"Hiss—"
Grin shuddered hard, a chill racing straight up his spine.
"Here, take the insignia! I've got something else to do, so I'll be leaving now!"
With that, Grin flung the object in his hand at Elsa and spun around to run.
Clink.
Elsa caught it in her free hand.
Her fingers opened.
What lay in her palm was not the insignia at all, but a worn silver coin.
A faint blue vein pulsed at her snowy temple.
"Hahaha~ What a cute little performance. This time, I'll use the back of my blade to scrape open your intestines from the inside."
"Help! Murder! Fire! Assault!"
Grin howled as he ran, throwing out every word he could think of to draw attention.
For the moment, though, he was unexpectedly fast. He actually managed to open a little distance between himself and Elsa.
Elsa stepped through the sewage in her high heels, light as a stalking cat, yet each footfall seemed to land right on Grin's eardrums, as though death itself was already closing in behind him.
When the kukri came free, there was no dramatic metallic shriek.
Only a short, icy ring.
Like a frozen lake cracking open.
The blade was so thin it was nearly transparent, and under the moonlight it gave off a faint blue sheen. She flicked it once, casually, and the back of the blade skimmed across her forearm before the edge sliced through the air with a whisper-thin hiss.
"She's here!"
Grin twisted around and raised his guard.
Clang!
The collision rang out, heavy and dull.
Elsa's kukri had struck a golden hand mirror.
"Ah! Master, please don't do this to me! My mirror surface is going to get scratched!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
They exchanged several more blows in quick succession, and chips appeared along the mirror's edge.
"Help! They're murdering the mirror!"
Elsa caught an opening and drove a sweeping kick straight into Grin's stomach.
He flew backward, the impact knocking the breath from him, but he used the momentum to widen the gap and cast magic at the same time.
"Shadow Devour!"
The darkness stirred.
Shadow spilled from beneath Grin's feet, flattening itself like a crawling centipede as it raced along the base of the wall toward Elsa.
Elsa seemed to sense it a beat early. Her toes tapped the ground, and her body shifted sideways in a clean, sudden step.
The kukri carved a silver arc through the air and sliced the lunging shadow cleanly across the middle.
A crisp crack burst in the dark, like a hard drive hitting stone. The severed shadow let out a baby's cry before dissolving instantly into black smoke.
"Damn it, she can even cut shadows?"
"Shamak!"
No choice.
Since the attack had failed, it was time to throw down ink and run.
Dense black fog surged outward and swallowed the surroundings, buying Grin the few precious seconds he needed.
"Master, Master, run south! The coordinates of the Sword Saint you were looking for have suddenly appeared!"
The magic mirror clearly had no intention of taking another hit and quickly spat out advice.
Grin had no time to think. He followed the route the mirror gave him and fled.
A moment later, Elsa stepped out of the black fog.
No wonder this skill is trash. It only works on fodder. Use it on someone strong, and if it buys you three to five seconds, you should count yourself lucky.
"A talking mirror… could it be a Spirit? I wonder whether anything warm would spill out if I cut the mirror open…"
Elsa touched her flushed cheek with one hand and gracefully followed after Grin.
As if it had sensed what she was thinking, the magic mirror hurriedly cried out, "Master, faster! Run faster! That crazy woman wants to dissect me! Waaah, this is terrifying!"
"Shut up! Don't you see I'm already running as fast as I can?!"
Grin sprinted for his life, occasionally knocking over whatever was nearby in the hope of slowing Elsa down.
Before long, he was almost out of the slums.
If he could just make it through the alley ahead, he would reach the Civilian District.
Whoosh!
Something tore through the air.
A thrown blade shot straight at him.
Every nerve in Grin's body screamed at once. He grabbed the magic mirror like a racket and smashed downward.
Clang!
The blade was knocked aside and stabbed into the ground.
"Oh, heavens above! Master, I'm ruined! I'm disfigured! Boohoo!"
The magic mirror wailed miserably.
At that moment, it silently swore that someday, somehow, it would find Grin a proper weapon.
Preferably a shield.
In one final burst, Grin rushed out of the alley.
The lingering warmth of the evening sun fell over him once more.
It was already late, and only a few pedestrians remained on the street.
"This is the first time I've ever felt the world was this beautiful!"
"Master, the person you're looking for is right there!"
Grin looked where the mirror indicated and immediately spotted that unmistakable blaze of red hair on the street.
The signature color of the Astrea family.
The Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea.
The strongest person in the world.
The pinnacle of every Sword Saint before him, bearing countless Divine Protections.
If that man made a move, then this damned lunatic would be on her knees in an instant.
"Out of the way, you idiots! A murderer's coming!"
Still wearing his clownish disguise, Grin shoved the remaining pedestrians aside, scaring them so badly they scattered on the spot.