Margaret and Iri exchanged a glance, instantly on the same page.
This was no assassin. This was a super Excelia bank that had walked right up to their door and offered itself!
As long as they seized the chance, never mind how much they could grind their Basic Abilities. Just in terms of the "high-quality Excelia" needed to level up, a Level 4 "punching bag" of this caliber was more than enough to go around!
Worried their joining in would cut into Jeanne's Excelia? No need. Jeanne and Rose had long since filled and even overflowed their high-quality Excelia. If they didn't still need some time to max out their current Basic Abilities, they'd have leveled up ages ago.
"We're heading off then, Lady Demeter, Leon."
Leon flashed them an encouraging smile.
"As long as you keep your trump-card moves under wraps, go all out with everything else, no holding back!"
The two nodded in understanding.
Meaning, so long as they kept their key skills hidden, it didn't matter if someone got a look at their regular moves.
"Got it!"
He watched the four figures streak toward the fight like arrows, then pulled his gaze back, only to find the gentle smile gone from Lady Demeter's face. Her expression was grave, deep worry lurking in her eyes, and she spoke softly.
"Leon, I'm going to need an explanation from you."
Leon: "..."
Crap, I nearly forgot this goddess is the loving, motherly type...
The corner of his mouth twitched, and out of the corner of his eye he caught Persephone beside Demeter wearing a "this'll be good" look. His heart sank.
Just then, most of the enemies he'd frozen had broken free of the ice. Though the cold had stripped them of most of their fighting strength, some of the crazier ones, figuring "take one down and break even, take two and turn a profit," began slowly mounting another suicidal charge at the support troops!
The zone the Astraea Familia was covering, especially, had turned into a disaster area.
Hmm. This phenomenon bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain village's police force.
Watching Alise, Kaguya, Ryuu and the others fall onto the back foot, Leon's eyes darted around, and his face instantly filled with "pan...ic."
"Oh no! The perimeter's in trouble! Alise and the others are in danger, Demeter! I'm going to back them up!"
Before he'd even finished, he'd become a black streak and vanished into the field.
Demeter: "..."
Persephone: "..."
Astraea: "..."
The goddess of justice blinked blankly, an invisible question mark slowly rising over her head.
...What's going on? When did my children get into danger?
She studied the battlefield seriously, carefully, and found that those enemies "processed" by the blizzard had so little fight left in them that they couldn't even walk straight, swaying and trembling on their feet. What threat could that possibly pose?
But before Astraea could say a word, the situation over there abruptly turned!
"Kaguya, watch your back!!!"
"Hehe, too late!"
"Guh!"
...
At the very same moment Leon charged toward the Astraea Familia's battle zone...
Rose and Kureha, who had quietly slipped away from the group long before, were skirting the embattled streets, infiltrating an old warehouse district near Daedalus Street.
"Rose, is this the place?"
Kureha's tone was calm, but Rose could hear the suppressed loathing in her words.
Rose unrolled a parchment map, double-checked it, and nodded.
"Right location. The intel came from a professional dealer in Orario's black market. Far more reliable than what's floating around out there."
"Still, just in case, let's scout it out and confirm first."
"Okay!"
After the brief exchange, the two figures melted silently into the shadows.
Two and a half minutes later...
"Intruders! Grab it for me, now!"
A wet succession of meaty thuds rang out, followed by several short, sharp screams.
"It's an adventurer! On guard... agh!"
"What are you bastards panicking for!"
"It's over there!"
A shriek of agony tore loose somewhere across the room.
"Protect the client! Hurry!"
"Damn it! Who the hell are you?"
A choked gurgle, then nothing.
"Shit!"
Up on the warehouse roof, Rose peered down through a skylight. Kureha had already torn into them like a silver wolf into a flock of sheep, blade light whirling, flesh and blood flying, slave traders dropping one after another.
The sight of her going on a one-woman rampage left Rose at a loss for words.
She rubbed her forehead helplessly.
"We agreed to scout first... whatever."
Since they were already exposed...
Rose rose slowly to her feet, a sweet, cold edge curling at the corner of her lips.
"Then I'll have to ask all of you to shut up for good."
"After all, only the dead keep a secret best."
Her figure blurred in an instant, and the next moment she appeared behind a potbellied middle-aged noble in lavish formal dress.
A flash of silver passed, and a line of blood welled up.
"Hk... hk..."
The noble's eyes went wide with terror, his hands clamping uselessly over his throat as he staggered backward.
Rose raised her sword and stepped closer, her tone as polite as if she were discussing a dinner order.
"My apologies, I didn't control my strength well and put you through some suffering. The fat on your neck was thicker than I expected... I'll adjust accordingly next time."
"You... you're..."
In the faint light falling through the skylight, the noble finally made out her face.
A silver arc split the gloom, and then everything sank into eternal darkness.
...
Rose flicked the blood from her blade and slid it back into its sheath. On the other side, Kureha's fight had ended too.
A pack of mob soldiers with no Falna, plus a few Level 1 guards and one Level 2 squad leader, hadn't given Kureha, her killing intent maxed out, even the slightest trouble. No... they couldn't even stall her, getting mowed down like grass by a Kureha running at full tilt.
"You're not hurt?"
Rose scanned the warehouse, looking for the hidden door that concealed the "merchandise."
The Sword Saint's face and collar were spattered with mottled blood, lending her a fierce, breathtaking beauty in the murky light. She drew out a handkerchief and slowly wiped the stains from her cheek, then shook her head.
"Sorry. I got carried away."
Rose let out a soft laugh.
"I understand how you feel. And the outcome's good, so the process doesn't matter."
Then she changed the subject, her eyes already turned toward the depths of the warehouse.
"Enough about the rest, let's find the hidden door first. No telling where that fifty-million... where that princess has been stashed."
Kureha: "..."
"Mmh... mm, hng..."
Just then, a faint, muffled whimper came suddenly from the shadows of the corner ahead and to the side.
The two exchanged a look, closed in without a sound, crouched, and lightly tapped the floor. A hollow echo answered from below. Rose lifted her head toward Kureha, a playful, amused smile flickering in her eyes.
"Commission settlement: successful recovery of one beautiful princess, with a bonus payout of fifty million."