Inside a small room, Klaus was meeting with a few of his henchmen. Fritz, who he ordered the other day to prepare and monitor the group of assassins, sat down in front of him with his knees on the floor. Fritz was sweating nervously, scared of Klaus who was in front of him. The others stood in all the corners of the room, and although they were not involved, they too were scared.

"What the hell do you mean they failed?!!" Klaus shouted, slamming his fist on the table.

"Eek...!"

"One girl...it was all but one girl dammit!"

"I-I apologize, boss, but it's true! We underestimated her! N-Not only that, but she was with someone else at the time!"

"Tch...! So, these assassins failed because the girl was strong, and because she had a friend?" Fritz nodded several times. "Who?"

"A-A man with purple eyes and long black hair tied in a ponytail. A-According to our intel, people call him 'Blacksmith'."

"Blacksmith?" he repeated. "I haven't been up to the surface in a while now. I don't think I've heard of him before. Is he new?"

"Y-Yes. He arrived here in Windebenen a few weeks ago apparently. We saw him go back and forth to the forest with the girl. We believe they live there."

"Hah! The forest huh? Full of monsters and they choose to live there? They must be idiots. Whatever. Fritz!"

"Y-Yes, boss?!"

"Form another group of assassins. This time, bring our best ones. Go into that forest and find them. Kill them both and leave nothing behind."

"Y-Yes, boss!"

Klaus turned to the others. "Any news of that noble?"

"Y-Yes! The noble is on his way now. He should arrive in Windebenen by tomorrow morning or so."

Klaus nodded. "Once we've dealt with our two pests, we won't have to worry about anyone else ruining our sales."

*****

Celeste

I served Blacksmith a warm plate of fried pork chops and some roasted vegetables, placing down some utensils and napkins beside it.

"Thank you, Celeste."

Blacksmith grabbed his fork and knife, and dug in. He cut a piece of the pork chops and took a bite of it with the vegetables.

"How is it?" I asked.

"Delicious," he said, swallowing the food. "The pork and vegetables are well seasoned, and they're cooked perfectly. Good job, Celeste."

"Thank you."

Now finished cooking, I untied my apron and hung it back on the wall. I grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Blacksmith.

"You know, you don't have to wait for me. You're free to do whatever you want."

"I know."

I turned away and looked out the window. It was a beautiful morning today. The sun was bright, and the sky was as blue as ever. Birds chirped outside and I could hear the sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

"Blacksmith-sama," I said. "About those assassins the other day. Do you think there will be more?"

Blacksmith chewed and swallowed his food, then placed his utensils down. "Hopefully not," he replied. "What we did likely angered them even more, but so long as we stay away from Windebenen for a while, we should be fine."

"So we're hiding for now?" He nodded. "I see."

I sat and watched Blacksmith as he ate his meal, and before I knew it, he finished his pork chops and vegetables. Blacksmith stood up to take his dishes to clean, but I offered to clean it myself.

"I'll be in the Forge working on some weapons and tools. If you need anything, come down." I nodded, then he left.

I went over to the sink and started rinsing off the plate and utensils with some soap and water. Once it was cleaned, I dried it off with a dry cloth and placed it back in the cabinet.

I looked around at the dining room and kitchen. I noticed the two rooms were a little old and dirty, having some dust on every surface. I walked down the hall and checked the other rooms, finding them to be the same.

Since we're staying inside, I may as well clean the house.

I prepared a bucket of warm soapy water and some cloths. I walked around the house from room to room and started cleaning them. I wiped down the walls, floors, and all the furniture until it was glossy and shiny, leaving no speck behind. In just a few hours, I was finished.

"Good," I said, satisfied. "The house is all clean now. Hopefully Blacksmith-sama will be happy."

Suddenly, I heard the faint sound of something rustling.

"Hm?"

I heard the rustling again. Wondering what it was, I walked around the house, trying to figure out where it was coming from. It was then I realized that the noise wasn't coming from inside, but rather outside of the house.

I took a look out the window and stared into the forest. All I saw were trees and leaves. Nothing strange or suspicious. But then, there in the shadows, I saw something rustling and a few silhouettes dashing through the forest.

Assassins...they're here. I turned to look at the door heading downstairs to the Forge. Should I tell Blacksmith-sama about this? No...the reason why they're here is because of me. It should be my responsibility to take care of them myself. I don't want to be a burden to him.

I pulled out Excalibur and reached for the doorknob, opening the front door and stepping outside of the house. To ensure none of the assassins got inside, I closed the door behind me, and the house instantly disappeared from sight.

I walked out in the open where I could be seen. I stood still and waited for a moment, but nothing happened. I knew they were there, hiding in the forest, stalking me with their wicked eyes. Yet, they weren't moving. Perhaps they were cautious of me. After all, to them, it looked like I came out of nowhere. And I was alone, something that made them alert.

If they won't come out...

I imbued my strength into Excalibur and it glowed a bright white light. I held the hilt of my sword tightly and swung Excalibur around me, sending a sword beam left and right. The sword beam cleanly sliced through the trees, and out came multiple figures.

"Y-You saw us...?!!" said a voice.

Twenty assassins, dressed in black cloaks and wielded daggers, having sinister grins on their faces, surrounded me.

"Is this all of you?" I asked, taking a glance around me.

"What, you think you can take on more of us?"

"No. That's not what I'm trying to say. Although, I'd be glad to," I replied.

"Hey, is this girl insane, or is she actually serious?!" said one of the others.

"What does it matter? We have a job to do you lot," one reminded them all, who I assumed was the leader of this group. "Unless you want a beating from the boss, make sure we kill her well!"

"Boss?" I repeated.

Suddenly, an assassin dashed behind me and thrusted his dagger forward. "Too easy!"

However, with a swift spin, I kicked him in the side of his torso, sending him crashing into a tree and knocking it down.

"...!"

"Wh-What the hell just happened...?"

"What are you idiots standing around for?!" the leader shouted. "It's just one measly girl! Don't get scared of her! Kill her, now!"

"Hah...!!!" the others shouted, charging towards me from different directions.

I raised my foot upwards and stomped hard on the ground, knocking a few assassins to my left off of their feet. I leapt upwards and swiftly kicked each one of them down, sending them crashing straight to the ground.

Turning back to the other assassins, I quickly dashed towards them. Using the edge of my hand, I struck the back of their necks and knocked them out one by one.

In the end, they were all taken out. Six assassins were unconscious, and eight were deep in the ground with their face in the dirt.

"I-Impossible...she's so strong, and fast! T-There's no way this is the right girl we're looking for, is it? No...it has to be. It makes sense! B-But no one mentioned she was this strong...!" the leader muttered to himself.

I raised my sword and pointed at their leader, startling him. "You," I said. "You talked about a boss earlier. Tell me who it is."

"Heh. Heh heh heh! Why should we tell you?" the leader asked me.

"Why? Well...you don't really have to. But surely it's better to be taken to Windebenen and their guild than me killing you."

"Hah! Kill? Are you serious? If you wanted to kill, you would've done so from the start! Seeing all my friends and myself are still alive, I can tell you're nothing but a soft-hearted girl!"

"Hm. So all I have to do is kill them to get you to talk? Okay."

"Eh?"

I started going around to every one of the fallen assassins, stabbing each of them in the chest with my sword. As my blade struck them in their abdomens, they each let out a painful groan. Life instantly faded from their eyes as blood sprayed all over my clothes and body, but I remained unfazed.

"Y-You...!"

One killed, two killed, three killed. Eventually, all fourteen of them were dead. I raised Excalibur upwards and stared at my sword as blood dripped down from its blade. Then, I turned my gaze towards the remaining assassins.

"Eek!" they shrieked.

"K-Kill her...kill her, you idiots!"

The leader shouted the order, but none of them listened. They were all frozen, terrified to move.

"Did you hear me?! Kill her-"

By the time he gave the order again a second time, I quickly dashed past him and killed one of his assassins, decapitating them.

"Ahhhhh!!!" the other assassins screamed, running away from me.

"Wh-What are you all doing?!! Get back here!" he shouted.

I won't let you escape.

I dashed towards them and swiftly cut them all down as well. Their bodies fell down to the ground, and dark-red blood leaked out from their gaping wounds.

"E-Eek...!" The leader backed away and tripped over one of the corpses. "M-Monster...monster!!!"

I tilted my head. "I'm not a monster. I'm a pup-no, human."

I slowly walked towards him with my bloody sword in hand. Terrified, he began crawling away.

"G-Get away from me!"

He threw his daggers at me, but with a swing of my sword, I easily deflected every one of them. Before he realized it, he had no more daggers left to throw. Just then, he came to a stop, hitting something. He saw a shadow over him, and he looked up to gaze into Blacksmith's purple eyes.

"Ggh..." the assassin's leader gasped, choking on his own breath, freezing in place.

"Blacksmith-sama," I called out to him.

"You came out here without telling me?" he said, crossing his arms.

I looked down and bowed. "I apologize, Blacksmith-sama."

Blacksmith sighed, then glared at the leader at his feet. "So, you were sent here to kill Celeste?"

His eyes were cold and dark. There was no hint of compassion or mercy in his gaze, and it terrified the assassin's leader who was staring directly at him.

"N-N-No...that's..."

Blacksmith reached for his sword, pulling it out of its sheath and swinging it. In an instant, the leader's right arm was cut off and fell to the ground.

"Aaaaaagh!" he screamed in pain and agony. "My arm!!! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!!"

He held his wound with his other hand, trying to stop the bleeding. Unable to bear the pain, he continued to squeal and began rolling all over the ground. Annoyed, Blacksmith stomped on his chest and stopped him, then placed the tip of his sword at his throat.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to answer them honestly. Understood?"

The leader stared at Blacksmith and his sword. Then, he moved his teeth and we heard something crack in his mouth.

"Cleanse."

The leader glowed in a blue light for a brief moment, then it disappeared, leaving him clean.

"...!"

"We met a couple of assassins who did the same thing. Unfortunately for you, I was prepared for this."

Blacksmith pushed his sword a little further and the leader shrieked. "A-Alright! I'll talk, I'll talk! What do you want to know?!"

"Were you and your friends assassins sent here to kill Celeste?" he asked.

"Y-Yes, we were!"

"That means you're aligned with Anton and the other assassins who were sent before, right?"

"Y-Yes, that's right! After we heard that girl took down Anton, the boss was really mad and sent us here to kill her!"

"Boss?" Blacksmith repeated.

"You mentioned something about that earlier. Are you going to tell us who it is now?" I asked.

"Eek!" he shrieked, terrified from staring into my blank eyes.

"Well?"

"K-Klaus! That's our boss! It's Klaus! He's the one in charge! He's hiding underground, just underneath Windebenen!" he shouted out loud at the top of his lungs.

"Underground?" we repeated.

During the time we were in Windebenen, we never heard anything about an underground town. Perhaps the people had no idea of its existence.

"And this gang of yours," said Blacksmith. "It's not just assassinations or petty theft that you do, is it?" The leader fell silent, nervously sweating. "Answer!"

"N-No, it's not!" he answered. "Aside from what you just said, we sell illegal goods, as well as kidnap and sell people as slaves!"

"Slaves...?"

Upon hearing that word, Blacksmith's eyes darkened, and the tip of his sword grazed some of the skin off of the assassin's leader's throat.

"Eek!"

"These slaves. What are you talking about?" he asked, his tone now deeper.

"T-The boss and all of us have been hiding underneath Windebenen for a few years now. During that time, we've been taking requests and selling goods, but we've also been kidnapping some people to sell as slaves to earn money. Most of them being young women and girls. Some we took from the streets and some we took from outside of town from other places," he explained.

"And you're saying all of these slaves are underneath Windebenen at the moment?" He nodded. "Do you know where the entrance to this underground town is?" Blacksmith asked.

"I-I do, but..." Blacksmith moved his sword slightly, startling him. "A-Alright, alright! The entrance is inside a small house at the west edge of Windebenen. If you go there, you'll find a way in."

Blacksmith pulled away his sword from his throat, and the leader took in a deep breath of relief. I looked at him, staring at his terrified state, then turned to Blacksmith.

He was...colder now, much darker than the person I knew. He seemed mad, and there was a sense of rage in his eyes. Hearing about these slaves had angered him in a way.

"Blacksmith-sama, what are we going to do with him?" I asked, pointing to the assassin's leader.

Blacksmith was quiet for a moment, then sighed. "I don't know. We could kill him right here."

"K-Kill me?!!" the leader cried out. "W-Wait, please, I beg of you! Don't kill me! I told you everything you wanted to know!"

"Hm. If you want to live so badly, maybe you should tell us more. You do have more to tell, don't you?"

"M-More? A-Alright, how about this then?! A noble is coming to town to buy a few slaves from us!"

"A noble?" Blacksmith repeated. "Who?"

"That, I don't know. B-But it's a noble here in the Casasacra Kingdom! A baron I believe."

"When is this baron arriving?"

"By tomorrow morning, or so they say..."

Blacksmith placed his hand to his chin. "This problem is getting more and more difficult for us..."

"Blacksmith-sama?"

"Hm...alright. We'll take him to the guild and have him explain everything he told us. But first, we'll need to heal him," he said. "That's right. You haven't practiced your spells much, have you Celeste? This is a good opportunity. Try using some healing magic on him."

"Me?" I said, pointing at myself. "But I don't know how to use any magic."

"You do. You used your sword's holy magic before, remember?"

Surprised to hear that, I looked at Excalibur. I thought I was using the sword's power, but it had been me using magic this entire time.

"Hm. Alright. Can you teach me how to cast it?" I asked.

He nodded, then demonstrated to me how to use the spell. After watching him closely and taking his advice, I raised my hands towards the assassin's leader and focused.

"Heal."

I casted the spell, and the leader's wound instantly patched up, regenerating his arm in the process.

"Good. Now, let's go to Windebenen. I have a plan on how to deal with this."

*****

In Markus' office at the Adventurer's Guild, the assassin's leader kneeled in front of me and Blacksmith, as well as Markus, Clive, and a gold-ranked adventurer named Baldwin. He explained everything he told us to the others. After listening to him, they understood more of the situation we were dealing with.

"An underground base hidden here in Windebenen huh..." Markus muttered. "To think none of us have noticed it before."

"The entrance is concealed inside a small house that was hardly noticeable to the public eye. As normal and legitimate the house is, none of us would've been suspicious of it," Clive said, having a disappointed look on his face. "If my guards and I had been thorough in our investigations, maybe we could have caught them much sooner. Maybe if the men arrested were still alive..."

"Anton and the assassin died?" I asked.

Clive nodded. "It happened this morning. We found the two of them in their cells with foam in their mouths. They must've poisoned themselves before we could get any more."

"Don't blame yourself," Baldwin, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best as captain, and you've made Windebenen as safe as possible. You should be proud of that."

"Thank you, Baldwin-san."

Baldwin was a middle-aged man with short brown hair and brown eyes, having a beard underneath his chin. He wore gold armor over steel chainmail, and he had on brown leather gloves and boots. Strapped to his back, he had a greatsword that seemed to be made out of platinum-steel. He looked like a powerful and brave person, and after hearing him talk, I could tell he was very compassionate and wise.

"He talked about a noble coming here," said Blacksmith. "Do any of you know anything about this noble?" Markus and Clive nodded.

"Baron Giovanni Orodente of the Casasacra Kingdom," Markus replied. "I received word from our king that a few nobles were coming to visit a few towns and cities to establish trade relations with our kingdom, but it seems like there was more at play."

The Casasacra Kingdom. One of the books I read before in Blacksmith's library contained a map of the Northern Continent. If I remember right, the Casasacra Kingdom was another nation neighboring to the right of the Eisernes-Kreuz Kingdom, ruled by an emperor.

"Many years ago, the first king made a law that prohibited slavery in the Eisernes-Kreuz Kingdom. To this day, it's still illegal. However, in the Casasacra Kingdom, slavery is a common thing," Clive explained.

"Why come here then?" I asked.

"Although slavery is legal in their nation, there's not many slaves to go around. My guess is that Baron Giovanni came here in hopes of getting a few for himself."

"Even if he is from another nation, anyone who dares disobey the law here will be punished accordingly," Clive stated.

"Still, it's going to be tricky handling a noble like him..." said Markus.

I tilted my head. "If we arrest him, won't that end it?"

"It's not that easy, Celeste."

Markus and everyone else in the room nodded in agreement with Blacksmith.

"Nobles are very important to the Eisernes-Kreuz Kingdom, as it is with any other nation. To accuse one, especially a noble of another nation, could bring great shame to yourself. Worse, even severe punishments."

"If that's the case, then is there anything we can do?" I asked.

"There is," said Clive. "If you truly want to take down this criminal gang, including the noble, you will first need irrefutable proof."

"Proof?"

Clive nodded. "If we catch him in the act, such as buying a slave or dealing with a wanted criminal, that's a different story. Baron Giovanni will have no way of escaping, as there is evidence of his purchase and his meeting with Klaus."

"Of course, even if we do have all the proof in the world, it still won't be enough," Baldwin explained. "Everyone here in Windebenen is far below the royal families, so we don't have the power to strip the baron of his position and powers. However, another noble, one who is higher in nobility, can help us with that."

"Fortunately for us, I have some connections," said Markus. "Duke Bastian Wiechweizen. He's close to the king. We can send one of our adventurers to his castle at Blitznacht and inform him of our situation. And luckily, we have one of our best in the room to send." Markus turned his eye to Baldwin.

"We can quickly put an end to Klaus and Baron Giovanni." Everyone else in the room nodded.

"I would ask you to find a few people to help us, but I understand you and the adventurers can't really do much in this position," said Blacksmith.

"Ha ha ha ha! You're not wrong about that. However, it'd be wrong to just send you and Celeste alone to deal with this."

Just then, an idea popped into my head. "How about recruiting people we know of?"

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Hm...Dual Ignis?" I suggested.

"Ah, the twins."

"They're exceptionally talented with fire magic and martial arts, and the two work well together as a team," said Baldwin. "I recommend them as well, Markus-san. They are already familiar with Blacksmith-san and Celeste-san."

"Hm. Alright. But that's still not enough. How about Henry-san and his team come along as well?"

I tilted my head. "His group?"

Markus nodded. "I understand you have bad blood between them, but just this once, is it alright for you to work together?"

"Hm. That's fine. They've already apologized before anyways."

"That's great!"

"It seems like we have everything planned then," said Blacksmith.

"Hm. I'll write a letter for Baldwin to deliver to Duke Bastian. Clive and his guards will patrol around town to make sure nothing happens. As for you two, you can stay here in my office to wait. I'm going to invite the other adventurers and have us all discuss our strategies."

*****

"What the hell do you mean our assassins were killed?!!" he shouted, slamming his fist onto the table.

"Eek!"

"W-Well, we were wondering how long they were taking, so we followed their trail to locate them. There in the forest, we found them dead on the ground. They all appeared to have been stabbed."

Whoever this woman was, she was quite strong if she was able to take down that many skilled men on her own. And that irritated Klaus.

"Tch! So all of them are dead huh...?"

"N-No," said one of his henchmen. "One of them is actually alive. I believe they were captured. At the moment, they're at the guild."

Klaus slams his fist on the table, startling everyone in the room.

"Eek!"

Shit! This is bad for us! Klaus thought. If they leaked any information about us, we're dead! No...we're already dead. There's no doubt the guild and everyone already knows about us!

"Dammit...dammit, dammit, dammit it all!!!"

Then there's the noble as well. He's going to arrive by tomorrow morning. If he finds out about any of this, he may end up cutting ties with us! The money we would gain would be lost. I can't let that happen. I need to take care of that woman...I need to make sure our business will be smooth.

*****

Celeste

As we were waiting, the office door opened and the adventurers we invited entered the room. There was Dual Ignis-the twins Hitze and Feuer. And there was Henry, along with his two friends, Noah and Carl.

"Oh, Blacksmith-san, Celeste-san!" said Hitze.

"It's nice to see you two again," said Feuer.

"Hm."

"Dual Ignis? And...you two..." Henry said, awkwardly.

"Ah, you're all here!" said Markus. "Please, sit down."

The five of them sat down on the couches here in the office. Carl looked around the room, taking a glance at each of us.

"Seeing we're all here, I assume this is something important?" he asked.

Markus nodded. "That's right."

"What did you want to talk to us about?" Hitze asked.

Markus' face turned stern. "You see, Blacksmith-san and Celeste-san were targeted by assassins not too long ago. They brought one of the assassins they took down here to the guild, and we managed to get some valuable information."

"Such as?" Henry asked.

"There's a criminal gang run by a man named Klaus, and they're hiding underneath Windebenen." Hearing this, the five of them had their faces lit up and eyes widened, surprised.

"Underground?" Carl repeated. "Are you sure this assassin is telling the truth?"

"It took some convincing," said Blacksmith.

"Hm," I agreed.

"A-As expected of you, Blacksmith-san, Celeste-san..." the twins said, simultaneously.

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"According to him, they've been underground for quite a while now. They've been selling illegal goods, taking requests, and worst of all...they're selling women and girls as slaves."

"Slaves?!"

"Tch! What despicable people...!" Henry said, clenching his fist and gritting his teeth. "Taking innocent lives and giving them away for money...!"

"And another thing," said Markus. "If you do not know, Baron Giovanni Orodente from the Casasacra Kingdom is coming here tomorrow. We hear that he's planning to buy a few slaves from them, and more than likely he's going to meet with them in secret far from the prying eyes of the public."

"I think I get it now," said Hitze. "You brought us here to help you guys to stop this."

Markus nodded. "I know it's a bit much to ask, and I'd understand if any of you aren't willing to risk your status as adventurers or as people in general."

"Of course not!" the twins said, simultaneously. "We'd love to help!" Henry and his two friends nodded in agreement.

"Are you really sure about this?" Blacksmith asked. "You'll be risking your reputation as adventurers." They nodded with certainty.

"We've actually had a fair share of nobles ourselves, especially the bad ones," said Hitze.

Hitze and Feuer's parents have always worked hard for their family. They brought them food, water, and kept a roof over their heads at all times. Whenever they were free, the two of them would always spend their time hanging out with them. Their family lived a good life, but unfortunately, it never stayed that way.

One day, the prices were changed due to a stupid noble raising the taxes. Their family has always kept up with their payments, but due to this, they were falling back. The noble demanded more money, and having no choice, they paid up everything they had.

"We ended up in debt, and our lives turned for the worse," Hitze said, clenching his fists. "That's why Feuer and I became adventurers. To pay off our family's debt."

"Whatever happens to us, it doesn't matter. So long justice is served," said Feuer.

Markus turned. "You three?"

"If this baron is truly involved in slave trading, it's up to us to put a stop to it. Everything will be better off without him," said Henry. Carl and Noah nodded.

"Hm. It looks like we're all in agreement. Now then, let's get right to our discussion."

*****

After a few hours of discussion in Markus' office, our strategy meeting had come to an end. With there not being much to do at the moment, Markus dismissed us from the guild. Henry and his two friends were going to walk around town for a while. If there's anything they find or hear, they'll report it back to us. Blacksmith and I were ready to leave Windebenen. The twins offered to accompany us for safety, but Blacksmith told them it was fine. Our operation would start tomorrow, and all of us needed to be prepared when the time comes.

As we were walking on the dirt trail, I stared at Blacksmith. His attitude was serious, and there was still a sense of anger lingering around him.

"Blacksmith-sama," I called out to him. "The slaves. Who are they?" Blacksmith stopped walking, and I stopped behind him.

"Slaves..." he said. "They're innocent people who are taken as property rather than human beings. Sometimes they could be elves, dwarves, or other living beings as well. They're treated harshly and they're stripped away of their freedom and identity," he explained. "As Henry said before, the ones who sell and treat them as such are despicable people."

"Do you hate them?" I asked.

Blacksmith went quiet for a moment, then clenched his fists. "I despise them. More than anything in this world." I nodded in understanding.

I placed my hand to my chest. "Whatever your heart follows, I will follow it as well."

Blacksmith nodded. He turned around and continued walking, and I followed close behind him.

"Let's get ready for tomorrow, Celeste."

"Yes, Blacksmith-sama."

*****

Around morning, there was a large gathering of people standing on both sides of the streets in Windebenen with their eyes focused at the entrance. There, we saw a group of knights riding on horses, walking in front of a carriage transporting the baron of the Casasacra Kingdom, Giovanni Orodente.

The carriage was red and dark-orange in color, adorned with gold trims and the kingdom's symbol—a red flag with a gold lion on its legs and three red tipped arrows protruding behind it, pointing in different directions. The baron's knights wore steel armor with black leather clothes underneath, bearing the kingdom's symbol on their shoulder. Their horses had brown leather saddles and steel armor covering their bodies.

The people of Windebenen, who stood by the side to make space on the road for the noble, bowed and welcomed him. Instead of cheers or praise, many of the people were quiet or talking amongst each other. The baron from the Casasacra Kingdom was not really someone everyone was excited for.

Blacksmith and I stood far behind the crowd, carefully monitoring the baron as he made his way to the center of town. As for the others, Markus assigned them to stand by and watch as well. As long as the baron was in Windebenen, he would have to make a move and come in contact with Klaus and his gang underneath town. When he does, that will be our opportunity to catch and apprehend them.

The carriage slowly comes to a stop and the door opens. Stepping outside was a short and fat man with blonde hair and a mustache, wearing a red and dark-orange uniform with baggy black pants and black leather shoes. He had a wide grin on his face, revealing a few gold teeth.

"Is that him?" I asked.

Blacksmith nodded. "Based on the description Markus gave us, there's no doubt that's him." Just then, Blacksmith turned to look in a different direction.

"What is it?"

He shook his head, then turned back to the baron. "Nothing."

Markus, along with a few other guild members, came and kneeled in front of him.

"I am Markus Eisenholz, the guild master of the town. Welcome to Windebenen, Giovanni-sama," greeted Markus.

"Hm hm hm! Thank you for having me, Guild Master," Giovanni said, twirling his mustache.

The baron looked around Windebenen and took a glance at the buildings, stalls, and people.

"You know, I've heard much about Windebenen. The famous town of freedom and trade in the Eisernes-Kreuz Kingdom. I must say, I'm quite impressed."

"Your words are too kind, Giovanni-sama."

"Hm. While I'm here, I wish to take a look around. I want to have a better understanding of this town and know what Windebenen has to offer to my king and the Casasacra Kingdom. You don't mind if we talk about business later, do you?"

"Of course not! Enjoy your stay here as much as you like."

Baron Giovanni and Markus shook hands, ending their conversation. The baron turned away and started walking around Windebenen with a few of his knights.

"Let's go," said Blacksmith.

"Hm."

During that day, we followed behind the baron, carefully keeping an eye on him as he went around town. He wandered through the streets, visiting vendors and browsing their stalls, buying some food, drinks, and souvenirs for himself. Aside from his wide grin, he seemed like a normal and kind person. There was no hint of rudeness or malicious intent. In addition to that, the knights guarding him were not acting strange or harsh at all. Nothing suspicious as of yet.

Hours passed as we monitored him, and it eventually turned to night time. With no luck, Blacksmith and I met up with Hitze and the others at the guild to give our reports.

"How did it go for you two?" Feuer asked.

"Not well," Blacksmith replied. "The baron acted normal as any baron would. There were no signs of any suspicious people meeting him as well. How about you guys?"

Henry shrugged. "We got nothing too. Honestly, there were just too many of those knights guarding him." Carl and Noah nodded in agreement.

"Hitze?"

"Same. We found nothing suspicious or strange of the sort on our side."

"I see."

Blacksmith turned to look at Feuer. From her face, it looked like she had something she wanted to say.

"Feuer-san?"

"Well...Hitze may have not seen it, but..." said Feuer.

"What did you see?"

"...I noticed one of his knights left his side for a moment. The one who had on a green cloak and no helmet. He went into an alleyway where no one was around, and that's where I saw him meeting a cloaked man. They looked like they were talking to each other."

Everyone had their eyes on Baron Giovanni. As for his knights, not many of us paid any attention to them. They weren't the ones we were supposed to monitor. Perhaps he sent that knight as a messenger so as to not draw any suspicion on himself.

"I wasn't close enough to hear anything they were talking about though. Sorry."

"It's fine," said Blacksmith. "It's still important information. Thank you, Feuer-san."

"So, what now?" Henry asked.

"More than likely, Baron Giovanni will meet with their boss tonight. It's the perfect time for a noble like him to move without having anyone watching him. We will need to be discreet if we want to catch him." Everyone nodded. "And another thing..." Blacksmith, using his eyes, looked behind him. "Can I ask you guys to go on ahead without us? We're going to need to take care of something first."

"Something? What are you talking about, Blacksmith-san?" Hitze asked, tilting his head.

"Someone's been following us..." he whispered.

Hitze and the others were surprised. They turned and gazed at a cloaked man standing far behind me and Blacksmith, watching us.

"An assassin...?" Feuer whispered.

"Seems like it."

"If you're being targeted, why not stick together? It'll be better, won't it?" Hitze asked.

"No. These assassins have their eyes on us alone, not you. You are the only ones who can move quietly and make sure this operation goes smoothly."

"But..."

"Don't worry about us. We'll join up with you later."

"Hm," I agreed.

The five of them stared at us for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright. We'll make sure we won't fail!"

With our meeting over, the five of them left the guild first. Shortly after, Blacksmith and I followed behind. The cloaked man, who had been stalking us, followed as well.

Outside, the two of us walked to a secluded area of Windebenen. Here, it was quiet and dark. No one and nothing around except for us. We were alone, and that was what we wanted. We won't bother the people this way, and we can fight back without having to worry about anything.

We slowed our pace and looked around our surroundings. Just then, from the shadows, a dagger was thrown at Blacksmith. I jumped in the way and deflected the dagger using my hand. From behind, four cloaked assassins came rushing towards us with daggers in their hands.

"Hah...!"

One assassin lunged forward to strike me, but with a step to the side, I avoided the attack. I quickly grabbed their arm and threw them to the ground on their back.

"Ggh!"

"Hmph!"

I stomped on him hard in the stomach, and in an instant, he was knocked out unconscious. I took a quick glance around and saw the other three assassins coming towards me. Before they could strike me, I jumped upwards and spun, kicking them all in the face and instantly knocking them out as well.

This seems too easy...

"Got you now!"

A fifth assassin jumped out from the shadows and thrusted his dagger at me. However, the moment the tip of his blade touched my body, it immediately broke.

"Wh-What...?!"

Using this chance, I punched him in the face, breaking his jaw and teeth. The assassin fell to the ground and twitched from pain.

"Hm."

I turned around and found Blacksmith handling a sixth assassin. They swung and thrusted their dagger at him, but he parried each attack with his mithril sword. The assassin leapt upwards and came down to strike, but Blacksmith blocked it.

"Hm..."

"Heh heh heh..."

As their weapons clashed, the assassin chuckled and gave off a smirk. From underneath their cloak, the assassin pulled out another dagger.

"Blacksmith-sama!"

I rushed forward, but I was too late. The assassin thrusted their dagger straight into Blacksmith's abdomen and stabbed him.

"Aagh...!" he groaned.

The assassin pulled out the dagger and stabbed him again and again. Blood splattered on the ground from his wounds and Blacksmith grew weaker. The assassin pushed him back, then kicked him to the ground.

"You're dead...!"

Before the assassin could land another attack, I leapt up and kicked him back, shattering his ribs.

"Aagh!"

"Blacksmith sama!"

I went over to him and carried him up. I touched his wounds and found my hand covered in blood.

"Haah...haah..." he panted.

"Blacksmith-sama..."

His face was pale and his breathing was slow. He started coughing, and out came more blood.

"Heh heh heh..." the assassin weakly laughed. "Our daggers...they've been dipped in poison we made from wyvern venom. Its potency is quite strong. Sooner or later, your friend is going to die if he doesn't get an antidote."

"An antidote..." I repeated.

"An antidote won't be necessary..."

"...!"

Suddenly, a purple aura emitted from his body. Steam rose as his wounds magically patched themselves. In an instant, Blacksmith's face and body healed.

Blacksmith sighed, then spit some blood on the ground. "That hurt..."

The assassin grit their teeth and crawled backwards. "Wh-What was that?! Magic?! Y-You...are you a mage?!"

"No." Blacksmith walked over to him. "I'm a blacksmith."

Blacksmith raises his fist and punches the assassin in the face, knocking them out. I stared at him and looked at his body.

"Are you alright...?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm fine," he replied. "That should be all of the assassins who were following us. I think the guild can take care of this. Let's meet up with the others."

*****

Hitze

We carefully followed behind the baron and the knight with the green cloak unnoticed. We were at the west edge of Windebenen, and there, in our line of vision, we found the baron talking to a mysterious cloaked man outside of a small house, the same one Markus and Blacksmith informed us of. Beside the cloaked man, there were two other cloaked men.

After a few words of exchange, he gestured to the baron and knight to come inside. They did so, and the two other cloaked men stood outside to guard the door.

I turned to Feuer and nodded at her, and Feuer nodded back to me in response. I looked up at the roof of a building where I saw Carl and the other two in position, and they nodded as well.

"Let's go," I whispered.

"Hm."

Feuer and I moved past a few barrels and boxes, sneaking closer to the guards at the door. Coming from behind, we both moved in unison and silently took them out. Feuer and I moved in front of the door, placing our ears close to listen. Nothing but silence. Inside, we heard no one talking, no noise made. Feuer signaled to the three on top and they came down to meet us.

"We'll go in first." Henry and the other two nodded.

Feuer kicked down the door and the two of us stepped inside into the living room. The room was covered in dust and cobwebs, and the furniture looked old and rusty. But there was something strange. There was nothing. No signs of the baron or criminals.

Where did they go? I thought.

Feuer signaled to the three and they came inside. They took a look around, and they were surprised as well.

"Where the hell are they?" Henry asked, frustrated.

I shrugged. "Don't know. They just...disappeared."

"Still, I think it's safe to say they're somewhere in this house. Maybe if we look around, we'll find something," said Feuer.

"Good idea. Henry-san, you two, you mind guarding the door?"

"Got it."

The two of us made our way down the hall and searched through the rooms. We checked from corner to corner, examining all the furniture, only to find nothing suspicious of the sort. No luck, the two of us came back together.

"Where could they have gone? We searched everywhere in this house," said Feuer.

I placed my hand to my chin. "If I was them, I'd make sure to hide..."

"What are you talking about, Hitze?"

"Look around, Feuer," I said, taking a glance around the house. "Everything is normal. Too normal. If anything, I'd say there has to be some sort of hidden door in this house somewhere."

"Then let's look." I nodded.

Feuer and I checked around again. This time, as I was touching the bricks of the walls, that's when my hand pushed something. The wall moved and shifted to the side, revealing a secret passageway showing stone spiral stairs going down.

"Found it!" Feuer and the others came over to me. "Are you guys ready?" They nodded, then one by one, we carefully walked down.

*****

We eventually arrived at the bottom. Upon reaching the ground, we were surprised at what we found.

"This is..."

Underneath the town of Windebenen, there were ruins of an abandoned city. It was large, wide and vast from the looks of it. The ceiling was just tall enough for all the buildings, standing up to around thirty feet. The buildings were old and worn down, and the road was broken and dirty. Along the road, there were tall torches standing up from the ground, lit up and illuminating the path ahead.

We were expecting to find a small base. Maybe something like a dungeon or a cave. We didn't expect something huge and spectacular such as this. To think this underground city has been here this entire time, and it had to be the criminals we were pursuing who found it. This situation couldn't get any more bizarre.

I took a quick glance around the area. "There doesn't seem to be anyone here."

"Be on your guard," Feuer said, warning me.

"I know that."

We stepped forward and walked on the illuminated path. Cautious, we kept an eye on our surroundings, ready for any potential attack. As we went deeper into the city, that's when we began to hear muffled cries in the distance.

We quickly moved to a nearby alleyway to hide. We took a glance around us, and Feuer pointed to a large brick building, which looked like an old prison from the outside. In front of the doors, there were two cloaked men acting as guards.

"That's where it's coming from?" Noah whispered.

Feuer nodded. "It seems like it."

"Feuer and I will go and check it out. Can I ask you guys to stand back and watch us?"

"Man, you're really keeping us back too much," Henry said with a frown on his face.

"O-Oh, then-"

"Just go!" I let out a quiet chuckle, then my sister and I left.

We sneaked past a few buildings and made our way up to the prison rooftop. Once we positioned ourselves, we dropped down and took down the two guards. We took a quick glance around, then moved the bodies to the back where no one could see them. Feuer and I stood on both sides of the door. With a nod to each other, we kicked down the door and busted in.

"T-This is...!"

There were multiple old cells with stone walls and rusty iron bars. Inside these cells were many women and girls sitting in chains. They were slaves.

"Everyone!"

"Hitze, wait!"

Ignoring her, I rushed to one of the cells. "Are you guys alright?!"

"W-Who are you?" they asked.

"We're adventurers! We're here to save you!"

"Adventurers?"

Upon hearing that, they all smiled and stood up. In their eyes, I saw their hope restored and how glad they were to see us.

"W-Wait," said one of the women. "This isn't all of us. A few were taken not too long ago."

"Taken? By who?"

"T-Their boss, Klaus," they answered. "We heard that they were taken to some noble so he could buy them."

I grit my teeth and clenched my fists in anger. "Tch! Alright! I'll go and find them!" Feuer suddenly karate chopped my head and stopped me."Ow...!"

"You need to calm down! Think before we make a move!" she shouted.

"Y-Yes ma'am..." I replied, clutching my head.

Feuer sighed. "If we rush in, we'll end up risking this whole mission. The baron will escape, and we could never free any of these people."

"So, what do we do?" I asked.

"We need someone to stay here and watch everyone. More than likely, they'll come back here to check on them. We'll also need someone to take care of the criminals outside." I nodded.

Just then, the prison and ground began to shake. Terrified, the women and girls huddled close and hugged each other. Outside, we started to hear screams and people shouting.

"Wh-What's going on?" one of the girls asked.

"We don't know. Let's go and see what's happening!" Feuer nodded.

The two of us rushed and stepped outside the prison. There, in the distance, we saw explosions and bodies of cloaked men sent flying in the air. From the alleyway, Henry and the other two came out and ran towards us.

"What's going on?!" I shouted to Henry and his group.

"Don't know! All of a sudden, everything just started shaking and blowing up! I think they're fighting someone!"

Fighting someone? I thought. Who could it be?

"Aagh!"

One of the buildings in front of us instantly fell apart after a cloaked assassin was thrown through it. We quickly pulled out our weapons and prepared ourselves to fight, but out from the smoke, there we saw a familiar figure.

"Celeste?" we all said simultaneously.

"Oh. Hello," she greeted us.

"U-Um...Celeste? Were you the one who did all of this?" Feuer asked.

"Hm."

"T-That's Celeste for you..." Feuer and I said simultaneously, remembering how powerful she was.

"Hah...!"

Just then, from behind her, an assassin jumped out from the shadows and thrusted their dagger to stab her.

"Celeste, watch-"

We tried to warn her, but she already anticipated the attack. Celeste quickly spun around and kicked the assassin, sending him crashing into another building. Rubble covered his whole body, and underneath, we could see him twitching in pain.

"..."

Celeste walked over to us. "So, what are you doing?" she asked, unfazed by everything that just happened.

"W-We found women and girls inside this building who were captured as slaves. We were planning to free them, but we were worried about the criminals coming here to get them," I explained, coming back to my senses.

"Don't worry," she said. "I can take care of them."

"There she is!"

Suddenly, a group of cloaked assassins appeared right in front of us. There was anger and hatred written all over their face, and they had their daggers ready to kill Celeste.

"You annoying pesky girl...! You're with a few friends huh?! You'll pay for what you did to us!"

The three of us prepared ourselves to fight them, but then from the side, we heard a battle cry.

"Hah...!"

Henry and Noah came charging in with shields, bashing into them and striking them with their swords. From the rooftop, Carl shot arrows, hitting a few of the assassins in the chest and shoulders.

"Aagh...!"

"Don't you forget about us!" Noah shouted.

"I'm not getting left out this time!" Henry shouted, swinging his sword.

"You guys...where did you get those shields?" I asked.

"Hm? We found these in a few barrels back there. They must've stolen these. We thought of using these against them!"

"Go and look for their boss! We got this!" Celeste nodded.

"I'll be leaving then. Can you two handle guarding them?" she asked us.

We both nodded. "We got it!"

Celeste sprinted away from us and leapt up into the air, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Feuer and I stared at her as she moved further away, honestly amazed.

A few cloaked assassins suddenly appeared, surrounding us. " You! Get out of the way if you don't want to die!" they shouted, pointing their daggers and threatening us.

Feuer and I gave off huge grins. "We like to see you try!"

"Hah...!"

"Flame Edge!"

The two of us cast the spell and our weapons ignited into flames. I spun and swung my sword, slashing them with steel and fire. Feuer jumped on my back and leapt upwards, coming down and slamming the ground with her battle axe, sending flames around and burning them.

"Aagh!"

"Flare Burst!"

The two of us cast the mid-tier fire spell, causing a small but powerful explosion aimed towards the assassins, blasting them away.

"Aagh!"

"T-Those two..."

"They're strong...!"

In the distance, Henry and Noah fought in the front with Carl having their backs. They swung their swords and cut the assassins down.

"Aagh!"

"Rock Golem!"

Noah strikes his sword in the ground and casts the spell, instantly creating two large golems made of stone and rock in front of him.

"Graaw!"

The rock golems swung their arms, punching and knocking a few of the assassins away.

"Aagh!"

"Wind Edge!"

Henry casts the spell on his sword and he rushes forward. He leaps up into the air and comes down, striking an assassin in the chest. Then, he spun around and cut the other assassins in a circle.

"Aagh!"

"Hah...!"

Seeing two assassins charge towards Henry and Noah from behind, Carl readied two arrows and shot them both in the back, taking them down. Suddenly, from behind him, three assassins came onto the rooftop.

"Die!"

"Guiding Wind."

Casting the spell on his arrows, he shoots the assassins using his bow. The assassins stepped off to the sides to dodge, but his arrows flew directly towards his moving targets, hitting them in their chest.

"Aagh!"

"Tch...!"

Celeste-san, Blacksmith-san, we're counting on you two!

*****

The Blacksmith

"Aagh..."

I quietly took down a few of the cloaked assassins and left them dead on the ground. As I turned to leave, I faintly heard some people chattering in the distance, chuckling and laughing with each other. Although it wasn't clear, behind all that talking, I heard a few muffled cries and weeping.

I followed the noise, slowly moving past a few boxes and barrels. There, behind one of the ruined buildings, I found the baron. He was alongside the gang's boss, Klaus. Guarding them were a few cloaked assassins and one of the baron's knights. In front of them, there were women and small girls in chains—the slaves they were holding captive.

Found you.

Baron Giovanni gave a wide grin and moved in close to the slaves. He grabs one of the women by her chin with his hand and lifts it up to look at her in the eyes.

"Hm hm hm..."

"Hhh..." she nervously whimpered, trembling.

The baron chuckled, then let her go and backed away to look at them all.

"Hm...all of them are beautiful. Gah! This is going to be a very tough decision for me to make!"

"Why choose when you can have them all?" Klaus suggested.

"Hah! You're quite the businessman, aren't you, Klaus-san."

This is making me sick...

I dashed forward and struck two of Klaus' cloaked assassins in their backs.

"Aagh!"

"Hm?"

The bodies of the assassins fell to the ground, and they all turned to look at me.

"You...!"

"K-Klaus-san, I thought you said this place was secure!" the baron shouted.

"It was!"

I turned to look at the women and girls shackled in chains, then turned to look at the baron and glared at him.

"Baron Giovanni. I'm going to make you regret doing this..."

"Eek!"

The baron's knight stood in front of Baron Giovanni and Klaus, guarding the two of them.

"Y-You...! Who the hell do you think you are, huh?! Coming here and causing all this mayhem!" he shouted.

"Me? I'm nothing more than a blacksmith," I replied.

"A blacksmith?" Klaus repeated.

"By the way, should you really be worried about me?" I said. "As a baron, you should be more concerned about yourself. You'll be stripped away of your title and power once you're finished. Surely you know of Duke Basitian Weichweizen of the Eisernes-Kreuz Kingdom."

Upon hearing that name, Baron Giovanni's face grew stiff. "Weichweizen? N-No...you're bluffing!"

"Am I?" Baron Giovanni stared at my face, and cold sweat ran down his face as he realized it was all over for him.

"I see," Klaus said, having a scowl on his face. "So you're the one my men were talking about. Blacksmith. The one who's friends with that white haired girl who took down Anton and my assassins."

"That's right."

"How did you get here past my men? Unscathed even?"

"Your men were weak. That, and I came along with a few friends."

"Friends?"

Just then, an explosion happened off to the side and a few cloaked assassins were knocked to the ground. From the black smoke, Celeste appeared.

"You're here, Celeste."

"You..." Klaus pulled out his daggers and glared at her. "You know how much of a nuisance you were to me? I'm going to enjoy gutting you...!"

"Wait!" the baron suddenly shouted, stopping Klaus.

"Huh?"

"Her...she's the one..." Baron Giovanni muttered, stunned. "Such elegance...such strength...she's the one!"

"What the hell are you on about?"

Baron Giovanni points at Celeste. "Don't kill her! I want you to capture her for me! She's the one! I want her!"

"Sorry, but after all the men and resources I lost because of her, I don't have any plans on keeping this girl alive."

"Surely you can make an exception! You want money, right?! I'll pay you! 500 gold coins!"

Upon hearing that offer from the baron, Klaus froze and thought about it for a moment. He took a careful look at Celeste, then clicked his teeth.

"Tch. Fine. You better keep the deal!"

"Of course!"

Klaus flipped his two daggers and dashed towards Celeste. Before he could get close to her, I dashed in front of her and intervened, blocking his attack with my sword.

"Celeste! Go after the baron and free the slaves they took! I'll handle him!" I shouted.

"Hm."

Celeste turned towards the baron and he gave off a smile, sweating nervously.

"N-Now, there's no need for violence," he said, holding up his hands. "Look, you are a very beautiful and elegant woman. Surely becoming my wife, becoming a noble yourself, would be much better than some servant of a blacksmith."

Celeste tilted her head. "Are you asking me to give up on him?"

"Why not? He's nothing compared to me! I'm a baron! I have all the money, all the power, everything you could ever dream of! "

"I see. In other words, you're asking me if I'm willing to become your slave, right?"

"W-Well, that's-"

"I refuse. You treat others as property rather than living beings. Blacksmith-sama despises people like you. So, for him, I shall eliminate you now."

"Eek!"

The baron's knight stepped forward and stood in between Baron Giovanni and Celeste.

"F-Felix-san..."

"Go, Giovanni-sama. I'll stay here and buy you some time to escape," said Felix.

Baron Giovanni grit his teeth, then turned away and ran as fast as he could.

"You'll pay for this...!!!" he screamed.

"Hmph!"

I pushed Klaus back away from Celeste and Felix, moving the two of us to a different area.

"Hm hm hm. Look at you. So brave to stand up for that girl of yours. You must be a fool if you think you can take me down."

"I can, and I will."

"Hah!"

Klaus kicks me in the chest and knocks me back. Following it, he lunges forward and thrusts one of his daggers towards me. I parry his dagger, then counter by swinging my sword. He quickly drops down and dodges it, sliding past me and slashing one of my legs.

"Ggh!"

"Hm hm hm!"

Klaus swiftly thrusted his dagger towards my face. I quickly tilted my head to the side and dodged it, but using his other dagger, he cut my arm. Klaus continued, swiftly swinging his daggers at me. I parried his attacks, but while I was focused on one dagger, he managed to cut me little by little using the other.

"Ggh..."

"I told you so," said Klaus, grinning. "You thought you could be a hero and save the girl, but you're just some stupid blacksmith who couldn't do crap!"

I threw up, coughing some blood onto the ground. My body was getting numb, and I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker each second.

"The poison is running through your system. I would let you slowly die, but I really want to end this quickly."

He flipped his daggers and gave a wide grin. As he was about to strike me with his two daggers, I mustered my strength and moved my sword.

"Aagh!"

Klaus looked down and saw my sword struck in his abdomen. He dropped his two daggers to the ground, and blood seeped out from his wound.

"Y-You...curse you....you bastard...!" Klaus backs away and holds his wound. "Augh...!"

"Ha...ha..."

I reached for one of the daggers and picked it off the ground. I slowly stood up and made my way towards him. All the wounds he inflicted on me suddenly glowed in a purple aura. Steam rose from my wounds, and in an instant, they were all healed.

Steam rose from my wounds, and in an instant, they were all healed [https://img.wattpad.com/f7e18a748b9132808f56c60ebd83d404359ab4e8/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4d6d31733164554e55344f5853513d3d2d313438303633333633302e313766643738323466353839643934653736323538393235343239352e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

"N-No...that's impossible. With the poison in your body...you shouldn't be able to cast any healing magic in time...! You should be dead!"

I cracked my neck and glared at him. "I'm a hard person to kill."

"W-Wait-!"

I swiftly stabbed him in the chest, then stabbed him a second time in the heart. Slowly, but surely, Klaus fell unconscious and died from his wounds.

I threw the dagger away and grabbed my sword. After cleaning it with a rag, I placed it back in its sheath.

"No one deserves to be a slave. Especially not to fools like you."

*****

Celeste

I stared at Felix—the baron's knight who stood in front of me. He was a young man with long dark brown hair tied in a ponytail. He wore steel armor over black leather clothes similar to the other knights, but he had on a green cloak on his back. In his hand, he wielded a sword, which looked to be a common steel sword.

"Blacksmith-sama told me to stop the baron," I said. "If you're in the way, I'll have to take you down first."

"Hah! A woman like you isn't strong enough to face me!" he said, giving me a grin. "Giovanni-sama doesn't need someone like Klaus to do the work when I can easily do it. Once I take you down, I'll give you to him, and I'll be rewarded!"

I placed my foot backwards and pulled my arm back, clenching my fist. Mustering strength into my foot, I launched myself forward.

"...!"

Felix quickly stepped to the side and avoided my attack. In doing so, my fist hits a building, demolishing it completely.

"Y-You're joking...there's no way you're this strong...!"

"Hmph!"

I lunged towards him and extended my arm to punch him in the face. He quickly moved his head to the side and managed to avoid my second attack.

"Tch...!"

Felix backed away and swung his sword at me, but I parried it with my bare hands. He swings his sword again and again, only for me to parry every one of them.

"How...? How are you this strong?!!" he shouted. "You're not even using your sword! I can't be this weak...! I can't!"

Confused, I tilted my head. Was it really that difficult to understand the difference in strength between us?

"Icicle Shot!"

Felix raised his arms and cast a low-tier ice spell, launching an array of multiple icicles towards me. I crossed my arms in front of me and took the attack, but Icicle Shot did nothing against me.

"N-No damage...? Impossible!" he shouted, baffled. "Cryo Burst!"

This time, he casts a mid-tier ice spell. It causes an explosion of ice near my feet and encases me in a large crystal of ice.

"Ha...ha ha ha! How's that?!" The crystal of ice suddenly cracked. "Eh?"

In an instant, his smile disappeared. As I mustered my strength to move my body, the large crystal of ice began to break. In an instant, it completely shattered and I was freed. The remaining ice on my body slowly melted away thanks to the White Flame within me.

"D-Damn you...!!!"

Felix rushes towards me and leapt upwards. He comes down and swings his sword directly at me.

"I won't be defeated by someone like you!!!"

I moved my arm in front of me. The instant Felix's sword touched my arm, it immediately snapped and broke apart.

"M-My sword..." Felix said, his voice broken and body trembling. "How...how?!!"

I swung my arm and punched him in the face, shutting him up and knocking him straight into a building. I brushed off my clothes, then I walked over to the destroyed building. Once the dust cleared, I saw Felix's injured body underneath all the rubble, twitching.

He's still alive at least.

I turned away and looked at the women and young girls shackled in chains, left behind by the baron and Klaus. I walked over to them and took a look at their chains.

"W-Who are you?" they asked.

"Celeste," I replied. "Don't worry, I'll free you now."

I grabbed the chains with my hands and broke them apart. The women and girls all looked at me with their eyes widened, shocked to see my strength. I continued breaking the rest of the chains, and eventually, they were all free.

"T-Thank you. Thank you for saving us!"

"Hm."

"Celeste!"

I turned around and saw Blacksmith walking towards us.

"Are you finished over there?" he asked.

"Hm. But the baron escaped. I'm sorry for letting him go."

"It's fine. I have a feeling we have no need to worry about him anymore."

*****

"Ha...ha...ha..."

Running back up the stairs, the baron pushed through the wall and through the door, finding himself outside. He stops and takes a moment to breathe, exhausted from all the running.

"C-Curse those adventurers...curse that blacksmith!" he shouted to himself. "They ruined everything! I could've had my hand on a slave!"

"Oh? You mind repeating that?"

"...!"

Upon hearing an intimidating voice, he nervously looked up and found himself in front of a few people he did not expect to meet. Basitan, the gold-ranked adventurer; Markus, Windebenen's guild master; and Duke Bastian Weichweizen of Blitznacht. Behind them were knights from Duke Bastian's castle.

"Baron Giovanni Orodente. In the name of the king, Freidrich Schwertmeister the Fifth, you are placed under arrest."