[V2C6] Line of a Retired Hero

With his head in his hands, Norman trembled and suppressed his sobs, wondering how things had come to this.

The interior of the tavern was in a terrible state, with the unconscious Jeffery and Gordon amidst overturned tables and chairs.

The red-haired traveler responsible for this chaos hummed a tune, manipulating his distinctive hands by clenching and opening them. Every time the rings on his finger sparkled, arrows of lightning descended upon them. Presumably, all those rings were magical devices.

Greg liked children despite his villainous appearance, so he shielded Norman behind himself, gripping a chair like a weapon and glaring at the red-haired man.

“What’s the matter with you!”

In response to Greg’s angry voice, the red-haired man smirked, chin in hand.

“Hmm-mmm-mmm… Can you shout louder? …Or better yet, let the kid do it. Even that coward might come out if she hears children screaming.”

Caught in the man’s stare, Norman could do nothing but shiver in fear.

＊　＊　＊

Monica ran through the night road, panting heavily.

The barrier she cast on Isaac would only last for an hour or two. Before it wore off, she had to find the village chief and settle negotiations peacefully.

Heading towards the illuminated tavern to inquire about the village chief’s whereabouts, Monica noticed a young woman rushing out of the tavern. The beautiful woman, wearing revealing clothing, was the fifth Silent Witch Monica had seen during the day.

When the woman noticed Monica, she raised her voice with concern.

“Hey, it’s dangerous here! Evacuate into a building right away!”

“…Huh?”

The woman passed by the dumbfounded Monica and ran off somewhere.

Not understanding the danger, Monica stood still. Suddenly, multiple shining arrows of lightning flew out from the tavern’s door, disappearing into the night sky. Someone had used offensive magic inside the tavern.

(W-What is happening…!?)

Monica could tell that something was going on inside the tavern. Judging from the fleeing woman’s words, this was clearly a dangerous situation.

Usually, Monica would distance herself from the danger and flee. However, today’s Monica was filled with the determination to be a master worthy of Ike’s respect.

So, Monica tightened her resolve, entering the tavern with a dignified master’s expression, and…

“Hmm! Mmm-mmm… Finally here, Monica?”

The face of the dignified master crumbled away immediately.

Tables and chairs were overturned, and the tavern was in disarray. The Silent Witches and the villager playing a thug were laying on the floor.

In the center stood a tall man with fiery red hair, Hubert Dee.

“D-D-D-D-Dee-senpai…! Wh-why are you here!”

“Well, I came to see you, obviously. Missed me, my queen?”

“Oh no,” Monica sighed in despair.

Monica kept her residence in Sazandol a secret from anyone except the Seven Sages and a few close individuals. This allowed her to avoid the influx of those interested in the Silent Witch’s research or aspiring apprentices. However, the main reason was to avoid the attacks of Hubert Dee.

Hubert’s uncle, the Artillery Mage, had also promised not to reveal Monica’s residence to Hubert.

Thanks to that, Monica had encountered Hubert only a few times after graduation.

…So she had completely let her guard down.

Since the Silent Witch was said to be in this village, Monica should have expected Hubert to sniff them out. However, she was too distracted by trying to calm down Isabelle and Isaac.

(Aaaaah… I’m such an idiot!)

Three men lay on the floor of the tavern.

The muscular bald man Monica had met at the village entrance. The thug who had harassed Monica. And the dandy man playing the hero who defeated the thug.

“D-Did you hurt these people… Dee-senpai?”

“It’s all because you didn’t come out quickly. You’re to blame, you know?”

“…!”

To the speechless Monica, Hubert grinned and lightly snapped his long, slender fingers.

At that moment, one of the rings shone gold, and several arrows of lightning manifested. Each arrow was about the size of a fork, and their power seemed to be kept to a minimum.

However, there were over ten of them, and they promptly showered down on Monica like rain.

Monica immediately cast a defensive barrier to block the arrows of lightning. The weak lightning arrows bounced off the transparent wall, making popping sounds as they exploded and vanished.

…Indeed, the power wasn’t particularly strong, but the attacks wouldn’t stop.

Because the arrows of lightning continued endlessly, Monica had to maintain the defensive barrier. The situation was extremely unfavorable.

Monica could use two spells simultaneously. In addition to this defensive barrier, she was currently using another barrier to restrain Isaac’s movements. In other words, Monica couldn’t use any other magic.

As Monica fretted inwardly, Hubert took out a small knife from his pocket. It was a delicate and slender blade, not something one would associate with combat. The hilt was adorned with large gemstones.

“I made a new toy to play with you. Enjoy.”

Hubert swung his arm high, and the knife was stabbed deep into the floor.

Instantly, a magic circle spread from the knife’s location. A large-scale magic circle was formed enveloping not only in the tavern, but also the surrounding area,

Seeing the magical symbols engraved in the magic circle, Monica’s eyes widened.

(This is…!)

Monica’s maintained defensive barrier faltered and distorted.

Like a carefully woven fabric unraveling, the barrier tore apart, and lightning arrows struck at her feet, leaving her defenseless.

“Eek!”

Monica curled up in fear, tears welling in her eyes as she saw the knife stuck at Hubert’s feet.

That was no ordinary knife.

“That… magical tool is…”

“Isn’t it interesting? With this, I can disrupt the flow of mana in this entire area.”

Magecraft was the art of manipulating mana via magical formulas. Therefore, once the flow of mana was disrupted, mages would lose the ability to perform magecraft, making it impossible to activate spells.

In other words, as long as they were within the range of this magical tool, even the Seven Sages would have their magic sealed. Hubert should be affected by it as well.

…However, Hubert waved his ring-adorned hands with a confident smile.

Arrows of lightning appeared around Hubert with crackling sounds.

Humans could not perform magic while the flow of mana was distorted… but that seemed to be a different story when it came to magical tools.

Hubert snapped his fingers, sending small arrows about the size of forks at Monica.

Monica tried to activate her defensive barrier. However, while she could form the magical symbols, she couldn’t weave her mana into the magical formulas correctly.

One of Hubert’s lightning arrows struck Monica’s left leg.

“Ah!?”

It wasn’t a shock strong enough to electrocute her entire body. Still, it was painful.

Unable to support herself with her paralyzed left leg, Monica crumpled to the ground. Tears welled up in her round eyes, which displayed a mixture of pain and fear.

Hubert looked down on Monica, who was suppressing sobs with wheezing breaths, and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the situation.

The pain and fear sent Monica into a panic. Nevertheless, determined not to escape into the world of numbers, Monica tried to resist using magic.

However, no matter how many times she repeated the process, she couldn’t control the mana as she wanted. It felt as if she was knitting with a thread moving on its own.

Contrary to Monica’s will, the collapsed mana slipped away from her hands.

“Ah, I’ve been looking forward to this day… capturing and savoring the strongest prey with a tool I made is just fantastic.”

Hubert moved right in front of Monica, squatting down and meeting her gaze as she crawled on the floor.

His eyes looking down at Monica were ecstatic, filled with intense pleasure.

“I’ll bring the prey back only once I’ve rendered all the limbs useless, and then… I’ll savor it deliciously. Wouldn’t that be the best?”

On his face was a crescent moon-like smile of sharp teeth.

(I’ll be eaten…?)

Caught in the sensation of an animal ensnared by a trap or the prey targeted by a hunter’s rifle, Monica shed tears from her round eyes.

Hubert pointed a ringed finger at Monica.

Three lightning arrows appeared directly above Monica, targeting her remaining limbs——both hands and her right leg.

Hubert snapped his fingers. The lightning arrows descended straight from above, aiming to pierce Monica.

But before the lightning arrows could hit her, her body slid horizontally across the floor.

“Eh, eh?”

Someone had hooked a mop handle onto Monica’s coat and pulled her away.

The person embracing the dazed Monica was small but had firm and powerful arms.

“Apologies for the rough way of assistance.”

Holding the mop and supporting Monica was Isabelle’s maid, Agatha.

Behind Agatha was Isabelle, who had only changed her clothes without tying her hair.

“Onee-sama! Oh, how heartrending this is…!”

Isabelle hugged the swaying Monica tightly and glared at Hubert.

Seemingly unfazed by the sudden intruder, Hubert chuckled as he stood up, cracking his slender neck.

“Hmm-mmm-mmm… You’ve got friends today, huh? That’s good. The more prey, the better.”

Saying that, Hubert lifted his hand lightly.

The ring on his finger gleamed gold. However, before the lightning arrows were created, something came flying and pierced Hubert’s hand.

It was a dining knife, glistening in silver.

“Oh no, I should have brought my rifle after all. That way, you could have tasted the fear of being hunted,” muttered Isaac in a cold tone.

He had been trapped within Monica’s barrier, but the activation of Hubert’s magical tool caused that barrier to vanish.

Once he was freed, Isaac apparently circled around to the tavern’s back entrance.

Isaac twirled a raised knife in his hand and glared at Hubert.

Without flinching under the hostile gaze, Hubert hummed a tune as he pulled out the knife stuck in his hand and tossed it onto the floor.

“Sneaking around from the back door? You choose any means without hesitation for the sake of your master. Typical of a former servant, huh?”

In response to Hubert’s words hinting at his past, Isaac smiled slyly. It was a beautiful but chilling smile that could freeze the heart of anyone who beheld it.

As Hubert and Isaac faced off in fighting stances, Agatha adjusted her mop and looked at Isabelle.

“…Milady.”

“Yes, I understand, Agatha.”

Isabelle nodded slightly and spoke with great emphasis.

“Never did I dream that the day would come when I utter that famous line.”

What could the famous line be? When Monica looked up at Isabelle, she saw Isabelle gazing at Hubert with a dignified expression. Then, she swept up her orange curls and announced with a resounding voice.

“Agatha… Take him down!”

“Understood!”

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