Chapter 8

The reporter rolled his eyes and muttered,

“It should be fine… right?”

“I guess so?”

Even though they knew it could be dangerous, they couldn’t resist their curiosity.

In the end, the reporters decided to publish the question in the newspaper’s advice column.

On the day the question appeared in print, everyone who had ever wielded a weapon became excited.

“Isn’t this an obvious attack on someone?”

“Well… there are three Swordmasters. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that person.”

“Maybe. But this is an Imperial newspaper! And look at the question. It specifically says an ordinary woman.”

“Then there’s no chance.”

“Even if you gathered an entire battalion of properly trained knights, they still couldn’t defeat a swordmaster.”

“They couldn’t if they fought head-on!”

“But what if it wasn’t a direct fight?”

One man thoughtfully offered an idea.

“What about using poison?”

Someone else reading the newspaper nearby immediately joined the discussion.

He spoke enthusiastically.

“I’ve heard Sword Masters become resistant to poison.”

“Besides, how would she even get him to consume it?”

“Look.”

“It says she’s ordinary.”

“That means she’s ordinary in appearance too.”

“How could someone like that even get close to a swordmaster?”

“What if she’s actually a beautiful woman who only thinks she’s ordinary?”

“You mean using her looks?”

“Even then, that seems unlikely.”

“Though perhaps a swordmaster might actually like someone ordinary.”

“I suppose that’s possible.”

Groups of people gathered everywhere, seriously discussing possible methods.

Assassination.

Poison.

Overwhelming numbers.

Countless ideas were proposed.

Some readers even wrote down their suggestions and mailed them to the newspaper.

Unable to resist temptation once again…

The reporters published those answers exactly as they received them.

***

Kite never read newspapers or magazines.

He also had no interest in gossip among the nobility.

He believed it was a waste of time.

People always said the same things about him anyway.

Because of that, Vice-Captain Seren gathered information on his behalf and summarized only the important parts.

“I still think you should hire a personal secretary.”

“But people who spend all day buried in books are far too weak.”

The problem wasn’t that such people were weak.

It was simply that Kite’s standards were absurdly high.

Seren didn’t point that out.

He had been by Kite’s side since childhood.

He knew exactly why Kite was the way he was.

His chronic insomnia…

His inability to trust others…

Both had been caused by people who were now long dead.

By Kali, the current emperor’s father and Kite’s older brother.

And by Saraen, Kite’s mother.

Lost in thought for a moment, Seren eventually noticed someone looking at him.

He looked up.

Kite was watching him with deep, knowing eyes, as if he understood exactly what Seren had been thinking.

Only then did Seren continue.

“A rather unusual question appeared in the newspaper’s advice column.”

“An unusual question?”

“‘How can an ordinary woman defeat a Swordmaster?'”

As Seren repeated the question from memory, Kite crossed one leg over the other and let out an incredulous laugh.

“Hah?”

“I believe it’s referring to you, Lord Kite.”

“The other two Swordmasters aren’t from the Empire.”

“I see.”

“Let’s assume that’s true.”

“But why phrase it like this?”

“‘An ordinary woman?'”

Why would an ordinary woman ever challenge a swordmaster?

More importantly…

What exactly counted as ordinary?

There were certainly plenty of women who hated Kite.

But there was no way to know which one it might be.

The word “ordinary” applied to far too many people.

Could it be the same person who’s been secretly following me lately?

The recent incidents had left Kite with an uncomfortable feeling.

Apparently Seren hadn’t connected those dots.

Still, he had investigated the matter.

“I tracked the letters sent to the newspaper.”

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify the sender.”

“The letters were definitely mailed from somewhere within the Empire.”

“But they were posted anonymously from the outskirts.”

“It will take more time to trace them.”

If anyone could identify the sender given enough time…

It was Seren.

Kite wasn’t worried about that.

What interested him more…

Was the answer that had been chosen.

“So.”

“Which answer did they publish?”

“…It wasn’t exactly… appropriate.”

“I’d rather you didn’t hear it.”

“Bring me the newspaper.”

Seren was being overly considerate.

It wasn’t as though Kite was still at an age where such things would bother him.

After hesitating for a moment…

Seren brought him the newspaper.

The published answers certainly deserved to be called inappropriate.

It was almost as if the readers had imagined Kite as some enormous monster.

The proposed methods were frighteningly violent.

Ridiculous.

Even if someone tried every one of those methods…

They still wouldn’t be able to defeat him.

Many people had attempted similar things over the years.

None had succeeded.

Kite leaned back comfortably in his chair with his legs crossed.

He quickly lost interest in the article.

Noticing that, Seren changed the subject.

He began discussing the Knights’ Order’s upcoming monster-subjugation schedule.

***

Evelyn was reading today’s issue of KAS.

The question she had submitted had been published.

So had the readers’ answers.

“…Isn’t this a bit excessive?”

Sitting at the kitchen table, Evelyn clicked her tongue.

Grand Duke Grasias was still a human being.

The suggested methods were far too extreme.

Still…

Reading them gave her an idea.

Carefully folding the newspaper, Evelyn headed downstairs into the basement.

The basement contained countless supplies.

Among them…

A large collection of bullets.

Apparently, her grandfather had preferred firearms when he was younger.

That explains why he never seemed very good with a sword.

The ammunition boxes had neat labels indicating their purpose.

Sleep

Stun

Explosion

Poison

Ice

There were ordinary bullets as well.

But the magical ones greatly outnumbered them.

Each had been enchanted with mysterious magical effects.

Even better…

They were all the same size.

They fit her gun perfectly.

“These must be incredibly expensive.”

Even though she had grown up in the countryside, Evelyn wasn’t completely ignorant of prices.

Firearms were expensive.

Difficult to use.

Their ammunition was expensive as well.

But these bullets had already undergone magical enhancement.

That meant…

They were practically priceless.

“And there are this many…”

Her grandfather had secretly been unbelievably wealthy.

If the relatives who inherited his country estate ever learned about this place…

Their eyes would probably pop out of their heads.

Once again…

Evelyn couldn’t help wondering.

Just what kind of person was Grandfather?

Ever since discovering this house…

She had asked herself that question over and over.

She still had no answer.

Loading the enchanted bullets into her gun, Evelyn took a deep breath.

There wasn’t much time left until the Emperor’s birthday.

Now…

She had to begin acting seriously.

Everything else was ready.

All that remained…

She was bringing home her grandfather’s benefactor.

“…I’m sorry.”

She was doing this to save him.

Yet somehow…

She still felt guilty.

After that, Evelyn acted exactly according to the plans she had carefully prepared.

She quietly waited on the roof of a house overlooking an alley.

Eventually…

Kite appeared.

He was walking alone along a route Evelyn already knew well.

Apparently, he had read the newspaper after all.

Well…

Even if he hadn’t, Vice-Captain Seren certainly would have.

Seren had probably tried to trace the person who submitted the question.

But that wouldn’t have been easy.

Evelyn had disguised herself thoroughly before sending it.

And whenever my benefactor has trouble gathering information…

He always turns to information brokers.

It was an unfortunate habit for the brokers.

After all…

Simply hearing Kite’s name was enough to send them into panic.

Still…

He visited different brokers in rotation.

So they probably didn’t encounter him very often.

Whether that was any comfort to them was another matter.

Holding her breath, Evelyn waited.

The instant Kite entered her sights…

She pulled the trigger.

The first shot was merely a distraction.

She had naturally assumed he would dodge it or block it.

Just as expected…

Kite instantly drew his sword and deflected the bullet.

But Evelyn didn’t stop there.

She fired a second shot.

Then a third.

Each one timed with a slight delay.

Will this actually work?

Swordmasters possessed extraordinary defensive abilities.

They constantly surrounded their bodies with an overflowing aura.

Yet…

Surprisingly…

The bullets worked exactly as intended.