PR: Ford 53 & Alive Sigh
Dalton Nimrud didn’t like what he was seeing.
Where had it all gone wrong?
As he racked his brain for an answer, he realized the answer was fairly obvious.
-”The plans have changed. The assassination will take place on the day of the banquet.”
The Moonlings.
It was all because those stupid assassins had pushed back the date of Elric Portman’s assassination.
Dalton’s plan had been to get rid of the troublesome Elric Portman before the banquet and kill Elvus Grayman on the spot.
He had no intention of getting involved in the process himself.
But now that he had to assassinate both of them at once, he had no choice but to be part of the process himself.He came out just in time to hear that the Moonlings had lured them out to the same spot.
It seemed that the heavens hadn’t abandoned him just yet.
“What a wonderful coincidence.”
He walked out into the garden and saw Elvus Grayman and Elric Portman talking.
How did they know each other?
He wondered briefly, but not for long.
Dalton knew.
“Well, it’s no secret that the Graymans don’t associate with people based on their titles, though I never realized it extended to even barons.”
He remembered hearing that Elric Portman had been a wanderer for ten years.
It was possible that the two had met during that time.
It seemed like a plausible connection, and Dalton began to believe it.
Whatever it was, it didn’t change his plan, so he’d make it quick and then go home.
Dalton smiled, feeling a little better.
The two men began to speak among themselves.
Elvus began.
“Who’s that?”
“Count Nimrud.”
“I don’t know all the nobles of other countries by heart, so don’t look at me like that.”
“Would you understand if I tell you that he’s the one who has been targeting you?”
“Oh?”
They were being too generous.
Dalton clicked his tongue.
“You’re both like worms, not knowing what’s going to happen to you. A man who’s Half-dead and one who’s crippled, that’s quite the combination.”
“I suppose so?”
“At least I’ll be better soon, unlike you.”
“You’re speaking rudely.”
Dalton frowned.
‘Did he know someone?’
Did he have a powerful bodyguard nearby?
Surely that bodyguard couldn’t have been so stupid as to not know what was going on.
Dalton patted the small crystal ball in his pocket.
Ding–
Judging by its reaction, the Moonlings had already arrived here.
So was their confidence just a bluff?
Yes, it was surely all just a bluff.
Dalton spoke in an angry voice.
“…I’m done playing around.”
Dalton glared at Elvus Grayman.
“Young Master Graham, you’re going to die right here.”
“You mean me?”
“Yes, Sir. It is nothing personal, but your sacrifice will be for the greater good… I suppose that’s the way I’ll put it.”
If he stayed away too long, he might arouse suspicion.
Dalton sprang into action.
“It’s for the glory of the East, Sir, so don’t be too sad.”
Dalton deepened his crooked smile and envisioned his bright future.
Assassinating Elvus Grayman at a royal banquet would surely give him a cause for war.
Dalton’s goal was to gain power by stopping the war with his own hands while the country was still reeling.
If he could oust the king in the process, establishing a new Nimrud dynasty would not be far off.
In fact, he was confident of it already.
He’d already made a deal with “that man” after all.
“Let me introduce you to…”
Dalton felt a little giddy at the thought of his hand pulling the trigger on such a grand plan.
“The Moonlings! The Reapers of the West!”
Gleam!
He raised the crystal ball high, and a grayish-white light emanated from it.
It was a signal of sorts.
“Now, kill them!”
He excitedly shouted and then started a count to five.
Dalton’s heart leapt to his throat in anticipation of the sight of them being beaten to death before his eyes.
“…?”
Nothing happened.
Panic rose in Dalton’s gut.
He looked around, but there was nothing but silence.
“What is this…?”
There were three things Dalton didn’t know.
Firstly, that they both had already known about his plan.
Secondly, that the Moonlings had already tried to assassinate Elric once, and failed.
And thirdly,
“That’s enough.”
The failed assassination attempt had been used by Elric as justification for the Moonlings to do a job under him.
“Deal with him.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Bam!
Danal, the leader of the Moonlings, emerged from the bushes, his eyes glossy, as he kicked Dalton in the head.
Even though this wasn’t his first assassination,
Danal’s kicks were as furious as his rage.
Pak! Pak! Pak!
“Ugh!”
“You’re going to kill me!”
Dalton was busy moaning as he fell to the ground in a heap.
Danal didn’t feel the slightest bit pleased that he was trampling Dalton.
No, he could only be relieved that he had survived hell and come back.
‘What the hell was Elvus Grayman supposed to be assassinated for in the first place?’
It hadn’t mattered whether Elric had shown up or not.
In that future, he would have had to kill Elvus Grayman since it was an order from above after all, but then he would have been tortured by an angered Kasha after finding out later.
In a word, he knew.
‘I’ve been turned into a scapegoat!’
He’d been used as a disposable pawn.
And so, very thoroughly….
Akk!
“Fuck you!”
Dalton’s knee broke, and Danal grunted and spun around.
There stood Kasha, expressionless, and Elvus Grayman, grinning in amusement.
Danal lowered his eyes.
‘The mission’s failed, Kasha found out, and I can’t go back to the Moonlings now.’
Danal, an assassin of the Moonlings, was a person whose survival instincts had propelled him to the position of branch leader.
Therein, he knew there was only one option.
‘This is the only way to survive!’
Thud!
Danal fell to his knees and touched his head to the ground.
“Sir, I did as you asked!”
He’d rather be on Kasha’s side than anywhere else!
Danal prepared to greet his new master.
Elric looked at the stunned Count Nimrud and Danal with a serene expression on his face.
Elvus asked.
“Did you bribe him?”
“I wouldn’t call it bribery, since I didn’t use any money.”
“So you forced him to submit through your strength?”
“They came at me first.”
He sighed heavily.
“And you, you have no fear of them? You came here knowing there would be assassins…”
“Because I trust you.”
Elvus smirked and waved away Elric’s words.
Elric felt a slap to the back of his head.
It was a shame that it had ended so well, but it had almost cost him dearly.
“You have no right to go see your wife.”
Elric said, and Elvus replied.
“Is that so? Then I would like to have a deep conversation with your wife, for example, about Kasha the Sword Demon…”
“I’d hate for us to not be friends anymore.”
“Oh well.”
Elvus shrugged.
Elric frowned.
His gaze drifted back to Danal.
What to do with him.
As he thought, Elric turned to Elvus.
“Can you think of a way to deal with him?”
“A way?”
“Whatever it is, it’s becoming clear that there is a force targeting the East. I’m…”
“I understand. You don’t want your hometown to be drawn into the war.”
Elvus stated, patting Elric on the shoulder.
“Do you remember the offer I made you earlier?”
Elvus’ voice was now serious again.
“I didn’t mean it as a joke. Of course, whatever you choose to do, I will respect your wishes. So I’ll ask again.”
His face was determined, as if he expected an answer he had never heard before.
“Do you ever intend to return to the battlefield?”
Elric hesitated for a moment.
His lips curled at the edges, and a confused answer came out of his mouth.
“…Give me some time to think about it.”
Elric couldn’t immediately answer affirmatively.
He wasn’t sure why he’d said it, even to himself.
It was a true statement after all.
That, as soon as his knee healed, he’d be back on the battlefield.
That’s what he’d always told himself, but when given the choice, he couldn’t bring himself to give an affirmative answer.
-”…Well, I’ll take care of the repercussions for now, you can head back.”
Elvus didn’t seem to mind it and let Elric go.
Elric picked up his cane impatiently and headed for the ballroom.
A feeling he couldn’t quite put his finger on made his stride lurch severely to one side.
His knee was throbbing, but the pain didn’t seem to bother him.
There was just a gnawing question in him that has now turned into an unquenchable thirst, and there was only one person who could satisfy it.
“Milady.”
Elric turned to Tyria.
It was the woman who had been sitting alone in a corner of the ballroom, watching the ball, a person he now made eye contact with.
“Ah, you have come.”
She said in a low voice.
Elric’s lips tightened, then curled into a thin line.
“…I’m sorry I’m late, I got lost.”
“That’s understandable, the hall is quite large after all.”
He finally relaxed.
It wasn’t until he saw her that he realized the answer to two questions he’d always put off.
“What have you been doing alone?”
He realized he wasn’t looking forward to the possibility of leaving her behind.
“I was waiting for you.”
Elric wanted to know more about Tyria.
More than he knew now… deeper.
What she was thinking, what she liked, what she didn’t like.
Beyond that, he wanted to know everything.
For some reason, he didn’t feel like he could leave Tyria Portman’s side until he died.
“Why don’t you sit?”
The moment she gestured to the seat beside her, Elric felt that the battlefield was erased from his mind.
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