There were no guards or any of Arakawa's men in sight. This situation was highly suspicious; on the contrary, when Yusha first arrived, there was constant activity in the courtyard. Some would patrol the perimeter of the palace, including the courtyard, while others stood guard at the gates. Yusha stopped the wagon and stepped down without wasting a moment. He surveyed his surroundings even more carefully. There were no signs of a struggle or an attack. Nevertheless, he had to be cautious. To tell the truth, he was terrified of this situation and the unknown.
Before the woman could even ask where they were, Yusha spoke.
—"Stay here; do not move from this spot. Do not make any noise or movement that might give away your position, and wait for me!!"
The woman could see in the young man's eyes just how unsettled he was. Though she didn't know exactly what was happening, she sensed they might be in the middle of a dire situation.
(And they were indeed in a dire situation.)
This young man, Who had handled the slave traders all by his lonesome, was now involuntarily trembling; he was deeply anxious.Yusha wasted no time passing through the massive marble gate that separated the inner garden from the courtyard. He then began treading along the path paved with marble blocks, lined with thousands of flowers on either side... or rather, it was more of a trail than a path.
[Yusha was grumbling to himself, muttering, "They're so damn rich, yet they can't even clean this trail properly and make a decent road." He complained because he was walking on such a crappy path; with every step, he was reminded of the long hours he spent working in his father's field.] Yusha entered the palace with silent steps. Even the slightest sound could have turned him into a target. He moved through the corridors for a while, occasionally slowing his pace and listening intently to his surroundings. Hearing any noise would have immediately driven him into hiding, but the palace was quieter than it had ever been, making his caution feel eerily pointless. When he reached the end of the corridor, he saw the first corpse.
(In that moment—right in that moment—he knew things were far from normal.)
Clinging to a sliver of hope that they might still be alive, he approached. That was when he spotted another, and then another. Everyone, soldier or not, had been slaughtered. To make matters worse, some of the bodies had been subjected to indescribable horrors. The unease swelling inside Yusha was overwhelming... yet, despite it all, he couldn't turn back. He had to find those responsible; he had to know what had caused this and who was behind it. Very slowly, he managed to reach the front of the throne room. The door was slightly ajar, and voices were coming from inside. Gathering his courage, he peeked in. Nearly everyone, including the Emperor, lay lifeless. He was looking at the perpetrators. There were three of them—the bastards who had mercilessly butchered everyone in their path.The assassin wielding the spear was speaking. The short assassin told Yui Miya that she must join their alliance and use her S-rank healing and support magic exclusively for them. Furthermore, he claimed that a substantial portion of the Empire's treasury would be hers.
Miya's voice was trembling.
(She did what most of us could never do.)
(She rejected the offer.)
She was terrified. Yet, despite her fear, she did not back down.
"I will not become one of those 'hero-pretenders'—one of those murderers satisfying their own egos," she said.
"You are a disgrace to our ancestors."
Before Miya could finish her sentence, she was knocked to the ground by a sharp strike from the spear. Yusha froze at the sight. The girl he had just fallen for had been struck down right before his eyes. Was this truly happening? He wanted to burst into the room with a thunderous roar, but he was paralyzed. He had fallen in love too fast, but what can you say? Love has no time or place. The spear-wielding assassin then turned his attention toward the silver-haired Princess Mariana. At that, the girl assassin carrying a bow intervened.
—"Enough! I can't stand you anymore!!" she snapped.
—"You always do this, you perverted pig! If you take one more step closer, I'll turn you into a pincushion!"
The spearman let out a mocking laugh before replying:
—"Are you really the one saying this to me?
When we go to the Hunters' Guild, there isn't a man you haven't seduced, and yet you call me a pervert? You make me laugh. Besides, how could a bitch like you ever kill me!?" The tension between the two was escalating rapidly.
(The third assassin, clad in heavy armor like a knight, suppressed the argument with a booming voice.)
—"ENOUGH! We are losing time because of the bickering of two fools. Let's take our share from the treasury, divide the Imperial lands, and get everyone to their respective regions to rule immediately!!"
—"I've wasted enough time with you; I can't spare another second."
—"Stop fighting like idiots and follow me at once."
(The armored assassin moved toward the door, and the other two began to follow.)
Right at that moment, a whisper came from behind Yusha. "Yusha... Yusha... quickly, come into this room."
It was the voice of Aide Arakawa. Yusha dashed and lunged into the room at the very last second. He had made it. While the three dishonorable killers headed toward the treasury, Yusha was overjoyed to see Arakawa. He had saved his life; Yusha now owed him his soul.
(Yusha was both happy and utterly shocked—how had Aide Arakawa survived? How?)
But even though he was glad to see Arakawa, the girl he loved had been murdered before his eyes. She was killed, damn it! She was dead, and he loved her—do you understand?! Arakawa didn't know exactly what had happened between them, but he tried to console him regardless. Nearly everyone in the palace had been slaughtered in this raid. Instead of sitting around, they had to act. They had to stop crying for the dead and start living for them; only then could they take their revenge.
(Aide Arakawa struck Yusha with a sharp slap across the face.)
—Pull yourself together! You aren't the only one grieving. People lost their entire families today. The number of survivors like me doesn't even exceed the fingers on two hands.
(After the slap, Yusha finally regained some of his composure.) — We must get out of here as quickly as possible. Follow me.
(As they hurried through the palace corridors, Yusha spoke in a low voice)
— There is a wagon in the courtyard. if we can make it there, it will be much easier for us to escape this place.
Arakawa simply nodded in response. It was clear from his face just how tense he was. They moved swiftly through the palace corridors. While the three assassins responsible for the massacre were preoccupied in the treasury, they had already made it outside. As they sprinted toward the courtyard, the killers were passing by a glass-walled gallery. The spear-wielding assassin's attention flickered toward the courtyard for a moment. He noticed movement at the front of the palace, but he wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps his eyes were playing tricks on him.
(In an uneasy voice)
— Hey, Emi, Suna, look at that. Am I seeing things, or are there people escaping over there?
— No, there are people there indeed, you fool! You should have told us sooner! They began sprinting toward the courtyard at full speed. To protect their status and their "Hero" titles, they couldn't afford to leave a single witness behind. Despite being cold-blooded murderers, they were the prestigious heirs of the Great Heroes. In the eyes of the common folk, they were protectors, paragons of virtue, and divine beings to be worshipped. That was exactly why they had butchered everyone in the palace—to ensure that not a soul remained to tell the tale.
(Of course, Princess Mariana was the sole exception to this slaughter.)
As the killers scrambled to give chase, the corridors trembled under the weight of their frantic strides. However, by the time they reached the courtyard, Yusha had already set the wagon in motion. They burst out of the palace gates. Arakawa had leaped onto the back of the wagon, alternating between keeping a sharp lookout and shouting directions to Yusha.
The killers' only remaining trump card was Emi. She was the swiftest among them. Descended from the line of Pure-blooded White Elves, she hailed from a clan that produced the realm's finest marksmen and most lethal headhunters. Their eyesight and leaping abilities were nothing short of legendary. If Emi failed to land her shot, their reputations would be forever tarnished. But for Emi to miss was nearly a statistical impossibility; she had endured hundreds of grueling trials since she was a child.
(Emi possessed a graceful, slender, and lithe frame.)
(Every physical trait she had was optimized for lethality.)
She swiftly scaled a tree. She pulled the drawstring taut and released.
[[SHE MISSED!!]]
Undeterred, she continued to leap from branch to branch like a squirrel.
(Despite the heavy blow to her ego, she kept her focus.)
She quickly nocked a new arrow. She drew the bow back with bone-snapping force and released it in a flash.
--THWUCK!
Struck by the arrow, Aide Arakawa collapsed backward, falling onto the family huddled behind him.When Yusha turned to the sound from behind and saw the fallen body of old Arakawa, he pulled the reins even harder. He had to; after all, Yusha had no intention of dying here. Arakawa moved his hands toward the warm liquid coming from his stomach. It was the first time he felt this warm. His body felt as if it were catching fire. Right, it was his own flowing blood, but he couldn't escape the state of relief created by the warmth. It felt as if he closed his eyes once, he could sleep so long that he would never open them again.As time passed, Arakawa's energy depleted further. He couldn't even speak properly anymore; he was busy taking quick, shallow breaths. That was all he could do. Emi drew her bow once more and took her shot at the target. This time, Yusha was hit in the right arm. As a result of the arrow striking Yusha's right arm, the wagon turned sharply.As Emi was jumping from branch to branch, this unexpected situation distracted her for a moment, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. Though they wished she would crash hard, Emi managed a controlled fall with only minor scratches. Despite falling from a tree nearly 7-8 meters tall, she tried to continue the pursuit. She couldn't let them escape. She had to eliminate them. And yet, she had been enjoying the taste of freedom so much lately...A momentary slip and the fall had cost her far too much time. All she could see on the horizon was the wagon slowly disappearing from view.
Yusha told the woman that she needed to describe the way to the nearest settlement immediately. The woman was almost offended by his rudeness and tempted to stay silent, but she could see how urgent and panicked he was through his eyes—and by the way his voice trembled, despite how loud he spoke. (Ignoring Yusha's behavior, the woman described the way to the nearest town). While Yusha drove the wagon, he constantly asked the woman about Arakawa's condition. To slow the bleeding, the woman had torn a piece of red cloth from her dress and was pressing it against the wound. The children were holding the old man's hands, trying to offer support. Indeed, even though the old man was in a pitiful state, he didn't let his face fall. He tried not to look hopeless. He wasn't sure if he would survive, but at the very least, he was going to try not to scare or worry these little "cotton balls" (the children).
When they arrived at the nearest place, the town of Livenburg, Yusha asked where the nearest infirmary [the place where healing magic is performed] was or where it could be. However, the woman had only come to this town once or twice before to sell the fruits, vegetables, and pottery they raised in their village; she openly said she didn't know. Although this news annoyed Yusha, he had to hurry. He could see Arakawa's color fading more and more. He wished he hadn't seen it, but there was no life left in the old man's complexion. (Even though Yusha himself had taken an arrow to the arm, his own pain was just as intense, and blood was trickling from his wound).
He hoisted Arakawa onto his back and asked a citizen walking on the street for the location of the infirmary, but the person didn't know and said they had never heard such a word. They asked another, who also didn't know. Finally, it clicked in his head, and this time he explained it more simply to the man:
— This man is about to die; where can I take him to be healed... to heal... to get the man back to his old self?
— Are you stupid, brother? I can understand you. After you turn the second corner on the right, it will be immediately on your left.
— Is he an idiot or what, tch!! All the idiots find me anyway.
Without even saying thank you, Yusha sprinted toward the infirmary with Arakawa on his back. He was almost exhausted now. He was struggling to carry the old man. He felt his muscles catching fire for the first time; his muscles were burning, and every passing second felt like hot needles were being driven into them. Still, he managed to make it to the infirmary. When they entered, they were met by a short, bald man. (It was clear from his whitening beard and balding head that the man was even older than Arakawa). The card on the man's apron read "B+ Healer," meaning he was a talented healer who had served in this field for a long time.(Unlike other isekai worlds, magic here doesn't just develop through talent, nor does a "magnificent" lineage provide it for you—though they may not be like the Great Heroes, the common folk can reach quite high levels. However, family-inherited magic talent only allows you to understand that type of magic faster and develop more quickly. So, this world isn't as unfair as other isekais...).
Before the man could even ask what happened, Arakawa was scooped up from Yusha's back by the B+ Healer's assistant, a hulking man nearly 2 meters tall. The healer spoke to Yusha in a fatherly way for a reason Yusha couldn't understand.
— Son, you are wounded too. Go over there; a B-rank healer just arrived. He should be at the very end of the corridor. Get your treatment there. Don't just stand there injured.
— Okay... but what about him?
— Don't worry about him; we will take care of it. His condition isn't that bad, don't you worry.Even though Yusha was worried about Arakawa, he was just as battered himself. He figured it wouldn't take too long to patch up the wound on his arm with some healing magic. When he reached the end of the hallway, he ran into a half-wolf, half-human man—a Noll. They're like the mythological Gnolls, only shorter and leaner. He had these simple, tiny glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and looked like a total gentleman. His thick, black mustache curled upward, giving him a humble yet distinguished look.
(Yusha fought the urge to burst out laughing. "What the hell is this thing?" he thought. He had to keep it together; otherwise, he was going to lose it and spray the guy with a fit of laughter.)
-Please, have a seat right here.
(Yusha sat down on the chair.)
With his hairy, puffy hands, the man carefully examined the arrow wound in Yusha's arm.
-I need you to take a deep breath for me.
Just as Yusha was about to inhale and brace himself, the man yanked the arrow out of his shoulder in one swift motion. Before he could even register the pain, the healing magic was already at work. Since he hadn't had time to focus on the sting, his body began to recover before the agony could even set in.
Yusha felt a growing sense of relief, as if a cool breeze were spreading through his chest. As his consciousness began to fade, he muttered in a barely audible whisper, "I'll get your revenge, MİYA..." After repeating it once or twice, he drifted into a deep sleep right there on the soft infirmary chair.