Eve has excellent night vision.
But even more impressive is how sharp her hearing becomes when she concentrates.
It is almost like a sensor.
It seems to be a characteristic of the leopardkin tribe.
Around the time the second wave was closing in.
First, I had her confirm the approaching second wave with her night vision.
Next, I had her press her ear to the ground and listen for footsteps.
The number of people estimated from the count of lights.
The number of people estimated from the count of footsteps.
There was a discrepancy.
From the lights, I could estimate about thirty people.
From the footsteps, it came to roughly forty-five.
A difference of about fifteen.
That difference was likely the separate detachment.
Partway through, Eve reported that one group of footsteps had split off into two.
The separate detachment had left the main force.
After giving Seras her instructions, I entered deeper into the woods with Eve and Liz.
I asked Seras to buy time against the unit carrying lights.
I could trust her with that.
I did not expect perfection, though.
Expecting too much would only put pressure on her.
I knew she would do her best.
That was enough.
No matter the result, I would not complain.
That is what "leaving it to her" meant to me.
I told her so.
After parting with Seras, I advanced through the woods toward the direction where the separate detachment was likely headed.
I took Eve and Liz part of the way.
Eve concentrated and listened carefully.
"Fourteen… no, fifteen people are moving through the woods toward us… At this distance I can tell for sure…"
Eve whispered that near my ear.
She seemed to have grasped the number by sound alone.
...
I may have picked up something truly incredible.
"Got it. Go back and hide with Liz."
"Are you sure you'll be all right on your own, Touka?"
"I can't leave that girl by herself, can I?"
"But…"
"Don't worry. It'll be fine."
The moon was currently hidden.
The inside of the woods was dark.
Deep darkness.
It was my favorite stage.
I tapped my temple with a finger.
"I'm not as good as you, but my senses are pretty sharp too. I once spent several days in a certain place with death right beside me. Thanks to that, I've become quite sensitive to presence."
I placed a hand on my robe.
"Besides, I'm not alone."
Pigi-maru gave a small reply.
"Pi."
After Eve and the others left, I hid myself in the shadow of the grass.
The separate detachment drew closer.
The moon remained hidden behind clouds, and the darkness grew thicker.
I aimed for that exact moment.
"[Paralyze]"
I activated the skill under cover of darkness, making sure to catch as many of them as possible within range.
"Wh…at…?"
I immediately moved in and cast [Sleep] so they could not cry out.
I drew my short sword.
One by one, I slit their throats.
One,
two,
three,
four,
five…
I counted as I swiftly cut them down.
"With this—"
Still hidden in the darkness, I finished.
"Fifteen."
I had eliminated the entire separate detachment.
Just as planned, not a single one escaped.
They had been a fairly skilled group of fifteen.
But compared to the Five Dragon Warriors, they were nothing.
The moderate darkness had provided just the right support.
And besides,
"…You really are excellent."
Right now, a thin layer of Pigi-maru was clinging to the soles of my boots.
Flattened out.
It acted like a cushion that absorbed sound.
Thanks to that, my footsteps had been almost completely silenced.
Whenever I was about to make noise while moving, Pigi-maru had thoughtfully muffled it for me.
Because of him, the job had gone much more smoothly than expected.
I stroked his protrusion.
"You really are a capable partner, Pigi-maru. Thanks for the help."
"Pinyuu~…♪"
Pigi-maru let out a small, delighted cry.
Now, next…
For a while now I had been hearing a man's voice.
I could not yet make out the words.
But I could tell he was speaking quite loudly.
It was probably someone from the main force that had been carrying lights.
Or perhaps that Muaji.
I did not know whether Muaji had been with the separate detachment.
Since I had wanted to finish quickly, I had skipped interrogation.
In any case—
"I will annihilate every last member of Ashinto."
I checked for any other presences.
I burned the current location into my memory.
After memorizing the position, I headed back toward where Seras was.
Right now the Ashinto group had stopped moving.
Just as I had intended, they seemed to have noticed the broken branches.
The man who had seen through Eve's unease.
Observational ability.
Insight.
He appeared to excel in both.
He should have noticed those branches as well.
Next, Muaji would sense something suspicious there.
And he would read that there might be a trap ahead if they stepped in.
Therefore they would not enter the woods.
But the real aim was the opposite.
This was a ploy to keep them from entering the woods.
The owner of the voice I could hear had not moved.
He was not approaching.
In other words, he had not entered the woods.
The plan was working.
I continued moving.
As I drew closer, I gradually began to catch snippets of the conversation.
The speaker was addressing someone.
It seemed Muaji was speaking to Seras.
Seras appeared to have revealed herself.
Or perhaps Muaji had noticed the hidden Seras.
'Make it look as though you are trying to lure them into the woods as much as possible.'
That was as far as my instructions had gone.
I had left the rest of the time-buying method to Seras.
From the content of the conversation, it seemed she was doing well.
"..."
Muaji was a first-rate con artist.
Clever and sharp-eyed.
That was exactly where the pitfall lay.
First, give Muaji a sense of unease.
Muaji would try to solve the mystery of that unease.
Once he solved it, Muaji would feel satisfied.
He would gain confidence.
He would feel the omnipotence of being absolutely right.
At that point his thinking would stop.
Next would be my turn.
The woman before him would be a pitiful loser whose scheme had been seen through.
What was there to fear?
He had powerful forces at his disposal.
There was also the separate detachment he had sent behind her.
The opponent had no escape route.
Everything was going according to his plan.
Was that not Muaji's current state?
His manner of speaking made it clear.
Right now Muaji was filled with a sense of omnipotence.
And that very sense of omnipotence had become the poison that paralyzed his thinking…
I began to climb a tree.
Pigi-maru could also change shape like a rope.
He helped me climb.
He really was a dexterous fellow.
He even silenced the sound of my climbing.
I took up a position that was somewhat far but allowed me to overlook Seras and the others.
It was a distance where even my maximum-range [Paralyze] could not reach.
But right now I needed to see all the enemies at once.
Muaji and his group had kept their distance from the woods.
They seemed to think approaching it was dangerous.
On the other hand, they showed no sign of retreating further.
They probably believed that at this distance they would not fall into any trap.
"..."
Too bad.
As long as I have time, my status abnormality skills can reach you.
The moon showed its face.
I whispered to my partner.
"Pigi-maru… connection, begin…"
"Pi."
From the back of my head, a sensation like roots spreading out to both sides extended.
While listening to the conversation between Seras and the others, I performed the mana supply and connection.
—Crack—
I reviewed the conversation I had heard so far.
The speaker had been Muaji.
Muaji had been revealing various secrets.
The true nature of the curse had indeed been poison.
Partway through the conversation, something slightly unexpected had happened.
Seras had revealed her identity.
The effect had been immediate.
The attention of every Ashinto member had completely shifted to Seras.
Right now they were not keeping watch on their surroundings.
Their attention to everything else was so scattered that I could tell even from this distance.
Everyone's focus had been drawn to Seras.
To Seras Ashrain bathed in moonlight.
From the words I heard, even Muaji himself seemed entranced.
Once again darkness covered the area.
—Snap…—
Seras too was enveloped in darkness.
"..."
Even though it was for the sake of diverting attention and buying time…
You really went all out, Seras.
I lifted one corner of my mouth and murmured.
"You did well, all by yourself."
—Crack—
I put strength into my voice and released the signal.
「――Connection, complete――」
△
Right afterward, a mass of light appeared between Seras and the Ashinto group.
It was the ability of the light spirit.
The light that appeared like a flare illuminated the Ashinto members.
Every single one of them was now visible.
Whoosh!
Dozens of protrusions shot toward the Ashinto group.
Although they showed signs of panic, the Ashinto members were still frozen in place.
Their minds had not yet caught up with the sudden attack.
I could see Muaji's expression changing to one of shock.
But it was already too late.
I would not let them escape.
To achieve the best result, I could not allow even one to get away.
Not a single person.
That was why I had needed to eliminate the separate detachment first.
I had wanted to avoid the situation where the separate detachment, realizing the main force had been wiped out, would scatter in all directions.
If that happened, tracking them down would become difficult.
MP remaining displayed.
"Status, open."
Ashinto.
"I'll show you a status abnormality curse you don't know about."
I have caught every last one of you.
"[Paralyze]"
▽
I climbed down from the tree and walked over to stand beside Seras.
In front of us were the paralyzed Ashinto members.
Even the so-called strongest brothers were in a paralyzed state.
Of course, Muaji was as well.
"You didn't think my attacks could reach this far, did you?"
If they could, I would have attacked long ago.
That would have been the logical assumption.
Because no attack had come, Muaji had judged that this spot was outside the range of any trap.
But he apparently had not considered that we were the ones buying time.
The time we had bought had been used for two things.
Time to eliminate the separate detachment.
Time to connect with Pigi-maru.
"Using this power also takes a fair amount of preparation time."
I released the connection.
"Th-the separate… detachment… where…?"
"I already took care of them. While you were running your mouth, all fifteen of them."
"Ng…gh…? What was that… appearance just now…? Who… are you…?"
"[Poison]"
"Gu, gaa… ah…!?"
Muaji and the others fell into the poisoned state.
I quickly counted the numbers.
"Thirty in total, huh."
Any other presences…?
In the direction behind us.
Two at a distance.
Eve and Liz.
No other concerning presences.
I let out a breath.
"Man, that Eve…"
Earlier she had said "about" and "roughly," but she had nailed the exact numbers.
She had called it perfectly.
The hearing of the leopardkin really is amazing…
"Now then… I guess we'll wait for a while until the Ashinto guys drop dead from the poison."
There was no particular need to talk with Ashinto.
Nor did I need to listen to anything they might say.
I already knew about their evil deeds.
Their deaths would not pain my heart.
Knowing they were scum was more than enough.
"Um…"
Seras called out to me.
"Hm?"
"Was I… able to meet your expectations…?"
"Yeah, of course. You did well. Though revealing your identity just to draw their attention was pretty bold."
Seras showed a look of remorse.
"I'm sorry… I made the decision on my own to reveal my identity…"
Why had she gone into remorse mode?
"No, I'm praising you."
"U…"
Seras covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
Then she awkwardly averted her gaze.
"I'm sorry, I jumped to conclusions…"
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
"Well, anyway, you did a good job. Leaving it to you was the right call."
Seras's expression softened.
"Y-yes… I'm glad I could be of help."
Seras placed a hand on her chest and her face brightened with relief.
I said,
"Could you go let Eve and the others know what's happening? It would help if you came back as quickly as possible."
"Yes, understood."
Seras trotted into the woods.
"..."
The first stage was clear.
"…Now then."
They had arrived.
The first wave that had gone after the decoy horses.
I could see a cluster of lights in the distance.
They were approaching.
They had probably seen the light Seras released at the signal and turned back.
"Hmph."
I felt a little relieved.
It looked like they had come back properly.
If they had not returned, my plan would have ended incomplete.
The picture I had in mind was drawing close to completion.