BBYW Vol. 3 Chapter 46 (WN)
Chapter 46 – Five in the Forest, Before the Raid
The night of the following day…
I stepped inside the forest close to the palace where Drake usually resided.
The sky was heavy with clouds, hiding the moon and stars: the perfect weather for an ambush.
“Which is all well and good…but why are you here, again?”
When Sakuya and I reached the site the minister Lauros had told us about, for some reason Sue, Roh, and even Xiao Mao came after us, despite not being of any help in a fight.
“Ah, I thought I could show you around the palace…”
Sue timidly raised her hand. Her bluish-black hair tied at around waist level, she was wearing a maid outfit like Sakuya’s, with a black coat on top.
“Before I moved to the monastery, I visited the palace several times with my father. I’m sure I could act as a guide.”
“I see, that would be helpful…so what about you two?”
I turned to the two extra guests and glared, but Roh spread his arms wide, as aloof as always.
“I had a hunch there’d be valuables to find, so I came! Let’s get it on!”
“Alright, retrace your steps and go. Or I’ll cut you down right here. Plenty of room to bury a body or two in a forest like this.”
I put a hand on the hilt of my sword and Xiao Mao butted in.
“That’s not it. Cerros is an idiot, a sleepwalker, and a pervert, he just came here by mistake! Definitely not to go to the palace’s treasury, no sir!”
“Excellent, my dear, you just laid it all out…and even dissed me in the process!”
“…haaaa, do whatever the hell you want. It’s almost time.”
The assassins who took Samuel’s request would gather in this forest before infiltrating the palace.
I looked around, and saw an old man in a butler suit emerge from behind a thick tree.
“I have been expecting you, Lord Dyngir.”
“Where’s the rest?”
Not all of the assassins who joined the meeting had accepted Samuel’s request.
The man who called himself Jack the Bomber, as well as several others, were supposed to have taken it, though.
“Yes, well, about that matter…”
“What? Did something happen?”
The old man stammered, awkwardly.
I kept staring at him, and eventually he continued, apologetically.
“The others have already entered the palace.”
“What? It’s still before the appointed time, isn’t it?”
So I asked, suspicious, and the old man sighed.
“The other assassins had gathered here slightly earlier than you, Lord Dyngir, but suddenly Jack the Bomber proposed that the first one to take Captain Drake’s life would gain the whole reward, so…”
“…so that is what happened. They plan to leave us in the dust.”
Sakuya frowned, displeased.
The old man hurriedly waved his hands and started making excuses.
“I have tried to stop them! However…the other assassins agreed with Jack’s idea, and all entered the palace at the same time, competing against each other…”
“Easy, old man, I know you’re not to blame. It’s pointless to hold underground types like that to their word.”
I shook my head, annoyed, then turned towards the palace.
“I don’t really care about the reward, but…how should we move now?”
“Please rest assured, your share of the reward will be kept separately, Lord Dyngir. Even if you were to turn down the request now, we would not ask you to return the advance deposit.”
“That’s not the issue here at all…whatever, they’re going to reap what they sowed, I suppose.”
Strangely enough, I had a sort of premonition, a feeling that Drake would not be taken down by the other assassins.
I imagined Jack and the others failing their mission and shrugged.
“Our objective doesn’t change. Let’s go inside.”
“The gate guards have already been dealt with, so you should be able to go inside without any trouble. Drake should be in the throne room.”
“The throne room? Not his bedroom?”
The old man nodded to my question.
“That man stays in the throne room all day, for whatever reason. I have never seen him sleep or even lie down, maybe out of fear for his life.”
“Hmm, that’s basically the most troublesome type of target for assassination…I’m not good with stealth or infiltration, so it’s all the same anyway.”
“I see, then let me show you the way…”
“Oh, please allow me to.”
Sue smiled and interrupted the old man.
“I have visited the throne room many times! I can finally make myself useful to Master…!”
“You are…!!”
The old man looked at Sue, his eyes almost out of their orbits.
“Don’t go staring at my woman like that, old man. Turn that filthy leer somewhere else.”
“Y-Your woman…Lord Dyngir…?”
I stepped in between the old man and Sue, and he grimaced.
Sue found his reaction strange, and tilted her head to the side.
“Ehm…have we met before, sir? I feel like I have seen your face before…?”
“Oh, no…that cannot be, er…”
The old man played dumb, after some hesitation, and then coughed to recompose himself.
“I-In any case…you do not need a guide, then. Please be careful, everyone.”
“Yeah.”
I shortly replied, then led the group toward the palace.
The old man watched us go. I had the feeling he especially looked at Sue, but I did not turn around anymore, as we hurried towards the palace.