Elder Sister! (2)

“There was a reason, after all, why the innkeeper gave me a portion even though I hadn’t ordered any.”

During dinner, Silia only ordered food for herself.

But the innkeeper, claiming it was on the house, brought out a serving for Louis as well.

To anyone watching, the innkeeper might have seemed angelic.

However, as Louis ate the food, he sensed something strange. That was because it was poisoned.

“Did we just get tricked? Cough!”

Silia spat up blood again while speaking.

It appeared she had been injected with quite a powerful poison.

“Not just us, but I think all the other guests were affected too. What I ate would normally be enough to just knock someone out, but the poison given to the major is far stronger.”

“Wait a second. You ate poison too, so how are you fine?”

No one can ingest poison and remain able to speak normally.

Even Silia herself was clearly not in her right mind as she coughed up blood.

Yet Louis seemed strangely calm. At that question, Louis hesitated briefly before replying.

“I have a peculiar constitution.”

“What?”

“Just think of it as me being naturally resistant to poison.”

“That’s like saying, fart… cough!”

Silia couldn’t finish her retort and coughed up blood again.

It was infuriating, but it was her own mistake for not realizing the food was poisoned.

“Do you have an antidote?”

“Do you think I’d waste such a precious thing by bringing it along when going out?”

Unfortunately, she didn’t have any at the moment.

Antidotes are issued as supplies at the fortress but are so valuable they need to be used sparingly.

“So, are we going to die?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Like I’d die from something like this.”

Silia took a deep breath and pounded her chest with her fist.

At that moment, magic power surged from her fist, spreading throughout her body from her heart.

The magic power that seeped through her body strengthened her immune system, enabling her to resist the harmful substances infiltrating her system.

Only then did Silia stop coughing up blood and exhaled softly.

Silia’s heartbeat, previously erratic from the poison, now sounded normal.

Hearing that sound, Louis could guess what she had done.

“Did you neutralize the poison with magic power?”

“No, I just temporarily weakened the symptoms. It’ll take time to completely neutralize it.”

Indeed, her body was still trembling as she spoke.

It almost looked like she didn’t even have the strength to wield a sword.

“Then there’s no time to relax. They’re already on their way.”

“On their way?”

No sooner had Louis said that than the guestroom door burst open.

Mysterious assailants barged in and threw a net over the two of them.

****

The Dexter domain in the southeastern part of the empire. Originally, this place was just an ordinary domain—a typical village.

The lord’s personality wasn’t bad, and he never got involved in anything illegal.

The residents’ opinion of their lord was also generally positive.

But every such domain inevitably has one major weakness: they are particularly prone to foreign invasion.

Actually, Dexter domain’s defenses weren’t that poor.

It had an army of reasonably skilled knights, so it was not easily overrun.

The real weakness was in how they dealt with threats from within.

“Is everyone asleep?”

“Yes. Soon, they’ll never open their eyes again.”

Several carriages were gathered at the entrance to an inn in Dexter domain.

All had been called there by the innkeeper, not by guests.

The innkeeper was chatting with a knight in the domain’s livery at the door.

“Great work as always, Jake. Collecting sacrifices has become so much easier thanks to you.”

“It’s nothing. You’ve worked hard too, pretending to be a knight, Armon.”

The innkeeper, Jake, was being polite to Armon, the ‘knight’.

But he did not use the “sir” honorific normally used for knights.

In truth, he wasn’t really a knight. Nor was Jake, in fact, even the real innkeeper.

Their true identities were much more like black marketeers, kidnapping people and selling them off like goods.

“There’s something bothering me, though.”

“What is it?”

“Among the sacrifices knocked out, there was a knight from the legion. Given the uniform, I don’t think I’m wrong about that.”

It’s best not to mess with imperial legion knights.

If you carelessly laid a hand on them, it could backfire dangerously.

“I don’t know what division, but from the uniform’s design, they’re definitely not low-ranking. What should we do?”

Even most bandits would avoid knights when possible.

Unless you have solid backing, it’s best to let such people be.

“Legion officer? Even better! That’s a way more valuable sacrifice than the rest of this rabble! Why throw away a gem that rolled right into our lap!”

But Armon instead greeted this with shoulder-shaking delight.

“And did we ever discriminate about human ranks or status when kidnapping?”

Right then, Armon’s form began to change.

Instead of the armored knight, he became a demonic human with dark grey skin and evil eyes.

“Hahahaha! Looks like I worried for nothing!”

At the same time, Jake’s appearance shifted as well.

His general looks stayed the same, but a third eye opened between his brows.

“A real demon like you, Lord Armon, doesn’t need to be bound by the rules of humans.”

What use would human-made laws be to a non-human existence?

Jake followed Armon, that demon, as if he were his liege.

Meanwhile, people descended from the nearby carriages, all with third eyes themselves.

They too were followers of the demon called Armon.

“Legion officer or noble, it doesn’t matter. They’re all just sacrifices to be offered. For the great demon Lord Palmon!”

― For Lord Palmon!

With that shout, the followers stormed into the inn.

Jake would be pretending to be the innkeeper to abduct the sleeping guests.

“You made sure the sleeping draught was effective?”

“Of course. We packed every dish they ordered full of anesthetic poison.”

“Still, for a legion knight, that’s not enough to make them fully sleep.”

“Correct. That’s why we used a much stronger poison.”

The strength of anesthetic poison increases depending on the dose.

For ordinary people, just enough is used to capture them alive.

But a high-ranking knight is different.

A dose that would kill a normal person will only knock out a high-ranking knight.

“You’re lucky things are going smoothly. Playing the role of a knight is no easy feat. Especially with the new, green lord who just took the title—he’s so incompetent, it’s a nightmare.”

“You mean the previous lord’s son? Maybe he just hasn’t adjusted yet.”

“Maybe, but I got sick of watching and had to threaten him a little. I told him if he screwed up, his father’s life was forfeit.”

With a loved one’s life at stake, anyone would do their best.

Recalling that image of the lord’s son, Armon snickered.

“Of course… the so-called father is already dead. By now, he’s probably been used as materials for a magitech device.”

Amused by the memory of another’s suffering, Armon laughed, just as followers began emerging from the inn, dragging people with them to the carriages.

There were even injured people among the captives, not just those who’d been drugged.

Some had simply been abducted off the street, and even children were among them.

“Doesn’t seem like enough, though.”

“No, there are still more left on the third floor. Soon enough….”

KWOONG!-

Just then, a huge crash sounded from one of the rooms on the top floor.

A person was thrown out, smashing through the wall.

“What the…”

That person, who landed at the entrance of the inn, was one of the followers.

Seeing the dead follower, Jake flinched in surprise.

And then, another figure fell from the same spot.

Landing upright was a woman holding a young boy in one arm.

“Elder Sister, can you let go? This is suffocating.”

“If you run, you’ll die.”

Silia released Louis, whom she’d been holding with one arm.

Jake was horrified to see Silia crash through the wall and land unscathed.

“How are you…!”

“Curious how I’m still standing after being poisoned?”

“Of course! Even a skilled knight would have fainted!”

Indeed, Silia had coughed up blood as soon as the poison took effect.

If she hadn’t acted, she really would have passed out.

“Right. If I hadn’t manipulated my internal structure with magic power, things would have turned out just as you said.”

“What? Only a high-rank knight can do that kind of thing with magic power….”

“Enough. Who’s dying first?”

As Silia drew her sword, the followers charged en masse.

Assured by Jake that she would die from the poison anyway, the followers rushed Silia.

But in that instant—

SLAASH!-

Twenty charging followers were sliced in half all at once.

It happened the moment she drew her sword.

“Huh?”

A follower who’d escaped being slashed stared in disbelief.

The moment he watched his comrades fall en masse, his own head went flying.

Before long, only three followers remained.

“Don’t get cocky!”

At that moment, Armon charged at Silia and swung his sword.

Unlike the followers, whom she’d cut down like insects, Silia could not cut Armon.

Their blades clashed, echoing sharply through the air.

After an intense exchange, a wound opened on Silia’s shoulder.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Silia tried to block Armon’s next attack, but he pressed the assault.

But just as he expected, she dodged and swung back.

“…!!”

Sensing danger, Armon jumped back.

Only then did he notice a wound on his own chest, and his fury peaked.

“You half-dead wench!”

“Turns out you weren’t human after all. Aren’t you ashamed, a demon kidnapping people in a hick town like this? Ordinary bandits seem better than you.”

“You dare pass judgment on me, human? We’re not even the same type of creature!”

Blood still dripped from Silia’s shoulder, but Armon’s chest wound was slowly healing.

That fundamental difference was plain, and Silia bit her lip.

Moreover, the rough movements had set the suppressed poison raging again.

The followers had been so weak that she could handle them with little exertion.

But Armon was another matter altogether.

Being a demon wasn’t just for show—he was more than a match for Silia.

To defeat him, she’d have to go all out.

Right now, though, Silia couldn’t use her full strength.

“Hey, wench!”

At that moment, Jake called out to Silia. He hauled a person out of a carriage and held a blade to their neck.

“Drop your weapon now! Or this one’s head will go flying!”

Silia’s hand trembled at Jake’s hostage threat.

For the captive was a young boy.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said drop it!”

While Silia hesitated, Armon rushed in.

She barely managed to block his attack, but his force sent her rolling to the ground.

“Die!”

Armon’s sword, glinting in the moonlight, emitted a chilling aura.

Silia barely managed to block the earth-shattering strike with her aura-coated sword.

As she tried to raise her aura a level for a counterattack—

“Don’t move!”

Jake nicked the hostage’s neck.

At the sight of the boy’s bleeding throat, Silia once again let go of her strength.

“Fool!”

CRASH!-

Armon’s sword, now charged with magic power, nullified Silia’s aura.

The weakened sword snapped, and his blade cut across her chest.

“Keugh!”

Disarmed, Silia collapsed, blood flowing from her chest.

Armon, seeing she was still conscious, sounded impressed.

“I meant to cut you in half, but you’re lucky you aren’t dead.”

If not for her aura, she would quite literally have been sliced in two.

Armon acknowledged her talent.

“But it’s better if you survive, as you’ll make a more useful offering. You must be alive until the ritual is performed!”

“Understood!”

The remaining followers rushed to restrain Silia.

Jake, who had been holding the hostage, moved to help.

“Hmm?”

He then noticed Louis, standing by calmly, and spoke.

“Hey! Aren’t you that woman’s companion? Then surrender quietly.”

Jake dumped the hostage and approached Louis with his blade drawn.

As he threatened Louis, the boy replied.

“Will you really let me go if I do?”

“What a cheeky brat….”

Jake’s furious words were abruptly cut short.

Suddenly, his head hit the ground.

Louis, wrists still bound by manacles, was gripping a sword in both hands.

With a single swing, he’d decapitated Jake.

Looking at Armon, Louis spoke with a smile.

“Let go of that elder sister, would you? She’s a precious sponsor of mine.”

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