Chapter 85
Laptiricia-sama should be asleep already as her first day in Veneer came to an end. After a meeting with the escort commander, I walked from the Pavillion’s main building to the detached house where I was staying. The meeting confirmed there’d been no abnormalities to be found around Laptiricia-sama. Plus, there was an unexpected tidbit about Ashley’s background.
She was a noble that’d been forbidden to have power – despite being apart of the Honorable Prime Minister’s family. Even as the family head’s next candidate… Even so, the candidate would be the eldest of the main family with no power. If they died, by any means, they’d just appoint another candidate from the main or branch families.
As I entered the house while thinking back on the previous conversation, several light markers appeared on my minimap. They did not use the passage that connected this place to the main building, but instead, came from the treeline.
“They came – -”
I was warned while we were in the capital that the Dark Guild had been requested for an assassination. It seemed that they were finally making their move here.
Immediately after entering the house, I ordered the servants to gather before I hurried towards the second-floor bedroom. I quietly knocked on the girls’ bedroom where they shared a bed and called out to Ashley.
“What’s wrong?”
“I found some suspicious people lurking in the dark. I’ve already shot a light bullet to inform the main building, so for now, take Laptiricia-sama to the first floor.”
“Understood.”
In case of an attack, we’d already decided on our course of action in advance. If the remote house was attacked, a light bullet would be launched into the night sky as a signal to the guards. Also, Veneer – unlike the Capital – was a place the Balga family held little influence, so we didn’t have a grasp on our friends and enemies here. Veneer was like a foreign land to the Duke and where it’s lord stood was unknown. It was better for us to create our own stronghold here rather than move about without a plan.
I moved to the first floor to check on the servants as they’d been gathered in the living room.
“I see everyone is here. I found some suspicious people moving outside. Right now. Laptiricia-sama will be coming down. So I want everyone to stay here for a while.”
The servants nodded at my report while they turned pale and nodded. They stared outside as a light soared into the night sky. It seemed like Ashley was able to properly launch the warning light as I have expected. With that, the escorts should be coming soon. I then confirm the position of the intruders on the map on my kevlar lens.
There!
A single spot of light floated from a tree in the garden where no one should’ve been, but it disappeared immediately. It was probably because they were moving while silencing their steps. But I didn’t miss the conversation and the sounds as it was lit for a moment.
The intruders seemed to have remained stationary on the fringes of the north area of the house. They probably realized they’ve been noticed. Now then, since the escort guards were coming, would they attack or pull back?
“Laptiricia-sama, are you alright?!”
Probably rushing from the main building, the commander entered the house while breathing heavily.
“I am fine.”
Laptiricia-sama said as she arrived in the living room. After ensuring the condition of the detached house, the commander approached me.
“Shaft-dono, are you sure they are raiders?”
“Well, I’m not really sure if they are, but there are several of them hiding in the garden, and in the northern area outside the house. They seem to be worried about the light signal and the team’s response. For the time being, secure the place.”
“What about Shaft-dono?”
“Well, I’ll go greet the intruders.”
After informing the girls that the guards would be taking over, I went outside. The guards had already surrounded the house, so it wouldn’t be easy for them to get in.
I switched to Night Vision mode as I walked to the nearest tree. The visible light that I’d seen earlier was 30m ahead of me. And as I approached the spot, I could also confirm their positions on the map.
Found them! There were five of them, but I wasn’t sure if that were all. However, it was fine with my current loadout. I took out my tomahawks from my coat and began my attack in order to reduce their numbers before they withdrew.
One stood while the others squatted down in a circle while talking in inaudible voices. Just seeing them from a glance, you could already say that they were very suspicious with hooded cloaks and clothes over their mouths. It seemed like something someone would wear during a sneak attack.
If you wore things like that to a place where a duke’s third daughter was staying, wouldn’t it be unavoidable to be preemptively attacked?
From around 15 meters, my crosshairs aligned with the necks of the attackers. I threw both my weapons and the 2 of them let out muffled screams as their heads fell. It seemed like they were confused by the sudden attack as their comrades fell. They were late in responding. I was about to throw more after I moved, if they reacted like that, then I will!
Two more tomahawks came out of my overcoat. I threw one as the crosshairs aligned with another one. When the third person fell, the two remaining attackers finally snapped out of their confusion and tried to escape. However, I wouldn’t let any of them do such a thing. I gave chase as I threw another one – cutting off his leg as he tried to climb a tree.
“Guwah!”
After I heard his scream, I switched to the last remaining one. I didn’t have another tomahawk ready, but I had the Welrod on my hip. I didn’t use that, instead, I used a special gun that’d been in a special holster on my rear. This wouldn’t kill him immediately, but I still needed it sometimes for him to do.
I followed him while I aimed for his back and pulled the trigger once the crosshairs aligned with it. A dull sound filled the air, then after seeing it connect with the intruder’s back, I stopped chasing.
The gun I used for the last attacker was a VMB Original firearm. A GPS tracking dart. The gun was a non-lethal pistol, as such, it couldn’t inflict damage upon an opponent. When used, it attached an ultra-small GPS Transmitter to the target. Then, an orbiting GPS Satellite wound the plant could be used to pick out the transmitter’s location.
The light point at this time was displayed. Regardless of if a place was mapped or not. I was worried about whether it could be used in this world, but it turned out that it could be used immediately after a trial run. In the sky, high above this world, GPS satellites would not really have been established. However, the reproduction of the game’s power allowed this weapon to function.
Now then, will this person lead us to their base? Or to those who requested their services? For the time being, I’ll start by interrogating the person who lost their leg. While staring off into the darkness where the person had disappeared, I made plans for the rest of the day. Then decided whether or not to leave tonight, or after tomorrow’s events. I then returned to the house.