It’s been quite eventful lately, or perhaps it’s because the original story’s start is approaching, causing unrest in society.
Or perhaps, the number of people dissatisfied with [Light King] and [Thirteen Steps] is increasing.
Ruan and I, who were taken outside the store, were surrounded by several armed individuals who seemed to be their companions.
…There is no commonality among them; each is clad in simple and practical armor without any distinctive features.
I suppose that’s to be expected.
Terrorist acts may display symbolic things to make their presence known to society, but these people are ultimately criminals.
And their goal is undoubtedly the aluminum case full of money that Luan had.
If that’s the case, I’m completely caught up in this, but whether they would listen to me if I explained that to them is another matter.
In any case, it’s better to follow them without any useless talk or rebellious actions in this situation.
Their goal is ultimately the money.
Once they’ve recovered it, they’ll probably leave immediately—”
“You there,”
…
“Hey, you.”
“Ah, yes, what is it?”
I didn’t expect to be spoken to so suddenly, so my response was delayed.
Looking up at the person who spoke to me—a man—I tilted my head in confusion.
A man with an irritated expression, someone I feel like I’ve seen somewhere before…?
“Are you that security guard from that time?”
Security guard?
I tilted my head for a moment, not understanding what he meant, but then I remembered, “Oh, that’s right, there was a time a while back when I worked part-time as a security guard.”
And tracing my memory to the reason I quit that job, I realized who the man in front of me was.
“Could it be, you’re the intruder from that time?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“…”
What to say.
“Because of you, I had to quit my part-time job.”
“Is that so? I also achieved my goal because of you—huh?”
The man heard my words and tilted his head, imitating me from earlier.
“You, a part-timer?”
“That’s right.”
“Not a full-time employee?”
“I wasn’t employed full-time.”
He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it.
“I lost to a part-timer…”
“No, more importantly. Or rather, you haven’t been caught yet?”
That was my honest impression.
I had properly reported to my company’s supervisor that there was an intruder, so I thought he must have been caught long ago since we called the police.
Apparently, he hadn’t been caught yet.
Could it be that there’s some large organization behind him?
Something like a resistance…
“Rather, release me quickly. If money is your goal, you have no use for us anymore.”
“Uh, hmm? Oh—right, we need to get out of here quickly before we’re found by troublesome people.”
With that, I thought I was going to be released from the spot, so I let out a sigh of relief and glanced behind me.
I felt like, “I just want to go home and dive into bed.”
If Thanatos-chan hadn’t picked up the aluminum case, none of this would have happened, and I’d have to give her a lecture when I got back.
They seem to be missing some common sense here and there…
“Scum of society, enemies of Lord Light King. You should disappear right here.”
Suddenly, a clearly dangerous person appeared.
Specifically, a barbarian style with double swords and feather decorations on the head.
He’s dressed like he could become a net meme or ASCII art.
But I can feel an enormous magical power emanating from those double swords, and they are probably magic swords.
Clearly, he is an assassin from the Thirteen Steps, and perhaps even a reaper who intends to erase us right here.
“Fire!”
The men, who had momentarily hesitated, quickly regained their senses and issued instructions for attacking the newly appeared enemy.
Flames burst forth, illuminating the night streets bathed in light.
While each individual shot might not be particularly powerful, the barrage of bullets obstructed their vision, granting them a moment to escape.
Indeed, when I noticed, the people who had surrounded us were nowhere to be seen. Only Luan, myself, and the double-sword-wielding man remained.
…
“…”
“…”
“…Scum of society.”
Wait, us?
“We shall purge them here.”
Wait, does this mean I have to deal with this guy?
…Yes, it seems so.
“Shi…!”
“Na…gu…!”
Double swords—no, dual-wielding—is fundamentally a defensive sword technique.
The super aggressive style seen in manga or games is permissible because it’s fictional.
Well, this world is fictional too, but—regardless, the man’s swordsmanship is extremely defensive. He effectively blocked my strike with Durandal.
Clang, the sound of steel meeting steel.
The man stepped back a few paces as if absorbing the impact, then stared intently at me.
His eyes held a certain conviction.
“I see…a knight, huh?”
He nodded, then discarded the sword he held in his right hand, opting to wield the one in his left hand with both hands, poised in an upper stance.
For a moment, his expression turned blank, and then…
“Kiiieeeeee!”
With a strange cry, he lunged forward—!
