The Villainess in the Romance Fantasy Is Strange

7. Childhood (3)

“──Ria!”

My left hand popped out on its own. Between my wrist and palm, something sharp and stingy dug into it.

Instinctively, his gaze turned back. The identity of what flew in from somewhere and stuck in my left wrist was none other than a thin, black needle.

I immediately drew my sword, aimed it at it, watched my surroundings, and carefully drew my needle. The white discoloration at the tip does not seem to be a simple black needle.

“Ka, Cain! What was that, what… !”

Lea grabbed my sleeve. A quick glance at his expression shows that he is very surprised, but it is dangerous to act hastily in this situation.

I raised her left hand as a sign for her to remain dead.

“Lea, shh. Quiet now….”

…… No, I was trying to listen. It would have been if her left arm hadn’t been much heavier than usual.

Belatedly feeling something strange, I flicked my left index finger.

“… ….”

The reaction is slow. Also very much.

This is similar, similar to when you try to force yourself to move while receiving an anesthetic needle….

“Huh, to be able to move your body even with that acupuncture needle.”

It was then. At the bottom of the garden, under the shade of a leafy pear tree. A man wearing a suspicious mask walked out slowly.

The face is covered with a mask, so you can’t see below the eyes, but all you know is that the face is strangely drained of blood.

“Not only tolerable wild beasts, but even their ferocious silver mane were applied with enough saliva to put them to sleep, which is amazing. Who are you?”

“…… Who are you?”

I let go of Lia’s hand and took a step forward.

I can’t feel any blood, the masked man looks at me with emotionless eyes.

“Brother and sister…. Doesn’t seem to be Is it Lia von Eleves’ lover? Or, her butler?”

I have no intention of mingling with such a suspicious guy, but right now the priority is to recover my left arm, which has been dulled by the paralyzing needle.

In this way, I have been accustomed to resistance training against manual manipulation that dulls my body. It should be back to normal in about 5 minutes.

So until then, let’s spend as much time as possible talking to him.

“I am neither a Jeong-in nor a butler. An escort knight.”

“…… An escort knight?”

A man muttering a puzzled look looks me up and down.

“You, young and blue, are Lia von Eleves’ escort knight?”

“Yes, but is there a problem?”

“hehehe, no problem. But it seems that the head of the Eleveth family has gone as far as they can go. Let alone an escort, such a kid who couldn’t even control himself. Attaching her own precious daughter as her escort.”

“Do you know the head of the Eleves family?”

“Well, you know.”

For an instant, a blue light emanated from her man’s eyes.

“…… The person who changed my whole life and threw it into the gutter, that hateful person. How can you forget me?”

At the words of the man, who seemed to have strong resentment, my head started spinning rapidly.

This, maybe I didn’t know. So, it is clear that there is a background setting that did not appear in the original work.

I’m not sure since there’s only fragmentary information yet, but I guess…. This man had a grudge against Leah’s father, the head of the Eleves family, for some reason. In order to resolve that resentment, wouldn’t he kidnap Lia and harm her?

Having reached that point, I opened my mouth to look at her man.

“In other words, it’s a resentment, right? The head of the Eleves family doesn’t have the strength to even ask for water. Instead, kidnap her daughter to quench your twisted vendetta. Am I right?”

“Heh, revenge. Well, at one point, I joined the church with such a small purpose.”

The man pulled down his mask.

…… Except for the eyes, every part of the face was distorted terribly, and it couldn’t possibly look like a human.

“Ka, Cain…… !”

Perhaps frightened by the look on her man’s face, Leah clung close to me with an almost tearful expression. She held onto my sleeve as if she would never let go.

You don’t have to be afraid of a wolf monster with a silver mane and red eyes, but a mysterious masked man with a grotesque face is scary.

“…… Not now. My body and soul, I have already dedicated to him.”

“I don’t know who he is…. If revenge isn’t your goal, why are you attacking us?”

“Yes, the woman behind you. Leah von Eleves, he foretold…….”

The corner of her man’s mouth was grotesquely distorted.

I can’t be sure because the shape is unclear.

“——Because it’s a sacrifice.”

Looks like he’s laughing.

“…… Hick!”

Lea made a noise and hid behind my back.

I couldn’t even think of grabbing hold of her sleeves, and I was shaking with only the hem of her clothes. She seemed genuinely surprised by the man’s words that he would offer her as a living sacrifice.

To reassure Lia, I put my left hand behind her and held her by the back of her hand.

“Lia, calm down. Because nothing will happen.”

“But, Cain. That person just said to make me a living sacrifice…….”

“Look at me, Leah.”

Leah slowly raised her head.

Because she took off her boots, she tucked a little above normal. Lia’s light blue eyes capture my image.

“I was always like that to you, right? I’ll protect you no matter what, so don’t fall from my side.”

“Yeah, I know. I know…….”

“Ria. Trust me.”

It would be crazy to look away from her enemies in front of her eyes, but she reached out her left hand and stroked Lia’s head nonetheless.

…… The truth is, she was confident.

She is confident that if she moves only her left hand like this, she can win no matter who comes.

“I’ll finish it soon, so let’s go home and have dinner. …… Understand?”

“…… Yea, I got it. I will only trust Cain.”

Lia’s trembling stopped like a lie.

The man who was watching the conversation between me and Ria let out a silly laugh.

“Seeing that she endured the paralyzing spittle, it seems that her skills are quite good, but she is a child. Can you still defeat me?”

“I’m sorry, but a guy like you can’t beat me even if ten people come?”

“…… hehehe, is it?”

That’s right, the man snapped his fingers.

Then under the shade of a tree other than the one the man was standing on. Nine more masked men in similar outfits appeared.

“Like you said, kid. There were ten shooters with skills similar to mine. What are you going to do now?”

“Ka, Cain… !”

“… ….”

They really come out.

To be honest, I was dumbfounded, but this is within the acceptable range.

It’s paralyzing spittle. It’s because Leah ordered something strange, and she was caught off guard for a moment. As long as I don’t get distracted, I’ll be fine.

…… Even so, think about it. I’m not even an adult, I’m just a 10-year-old child. What is the reason you can take on the role of an escort knight for the daughter of a wealthy count?

It’s hard to say with my mouth, but the reason is.

“It’s useless, even ten people come. Whether a hundred come.”

A strength that doesn’t matter about age.

“Because I will win.”

In other words, overwhelming force.

* * *

A place tens of kilometers away from the outskirts of the village where Cain and Leah are. Deep in the ground. The center of the underground labyrinth, Lirinthos, which has yet to be revealed to the world.

In that dreary space, where you can’t feel the presence of living beings at all. The demon Grace was truly astonished.

──Deng Gang!

Degur, boom.

The man with whom Grace shared the same view, or more precisely, the ‘what was the man’, was decapitated, and he tumbled on the ground.

‘Fourth in ten seconds. No, the fifth… ?’

The killers who share the same perspective as Grace are those who have their souls pledged to the church. He gained strong power on the condition that he could not attain Buddhahood even if he died.

It’s not exactly accurate, but if you compare it to the realm of the world, it’s probably halfway between swordsmen. So, since he is somewhere between the sword expert and the master, he is definitely not an idiot.

That young kid is cutting the necks of those guys like a radish. Even five of them in just 10 seconds. That’s one every two seconds.

‘What is this… ?’

The world is wide and there are many strong people, but is it okay? Is it okay for that kid who hasn’t even had a coming-of-age ceremony yet to be ruthlessly trampled on by the power of the church?

Grace blankly looked at Cain’s sword, which was crude but restrained and even slightly beautiful. When the ninth man’s neck rolled on the ground, he came to his senses.

‘…… It can’t be like this.’

It’s true that a kid’s swordsmanship is worth seeing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t just watch it. It was her oracle and request to kidnap Lia von Eleves and make her a living sacrifice.

Grace stuck the tip of the staff she was holding into the dirt. Then, by infusing her own mana into the man connected by the magic formula, her man’s physical abilities were dramatically increased.

Of the eight levels of black magic, high-level black magic that corresponds to the 6th level. Strengthening the body. It requires a large amount of mana from the caster, but the effect is considerable as the price is high.

Through the physical strengthening, the strength of the remaining man’s body increased by approximately three times. So now it’s time to compete with that little boy for supremacy.

After Grace shared her perspective with the rest of her man, she gave a strange smile.

‘It seems that there are quite a few leftovers, but it’s over now. Little boy.’

That was the moment.

──Zeuong!

The man who received Grace’s physical enhancement and Cain’s sword clashed. There was a terrifying roar, like a hammer hitting an iron door, and the man’s sword was cut in two.

‘No, that’s ridiculous…… !’

Grace was shocked again. However, something even more astounding happened moments later.

[Uh, what is it? This?]

A little boy who cut the man’s sword in half and then cut his throat. Cain tilted her head.

As if something was suspicious, Cain said, ‘This, no way… muttered, she crouched down right in front of her man’s neck, who had already fallen and tumbled on the ground.

[Hey.]

‘… ….’

[Hey, over there. The wizard behind this guy. Can you hear me?]

‘…… What?!’

Cain, who met the severed man’s neck with his eyes, is an existence that she would never be able to find out. She had spoken to Grace “Directly” Behind the man… !

She didn’t know that Cain would recognize her existence, so her shocked Grace froze.

Cain thrust her index finger right in front of her man’s eyes, as if giving Grace herself a warning. She muttered, pointing.

[You mean, what church do you belong to? I don’t know who the person you are talking about is or what purpose the church has….]

[…] … If, from this moment on, if you touch Leah one more time.]

[Cain-! It’s okay, aren’t you hurt?!]

Lea, who came running in a dainty manner, held on to Cain’s sleeve and asked. Cain looked at Lia and told her that I was fine, so be at ease.

She turns her head around the severed man’s neck, so Leah can’t hear. She spoke only in mouth form.

[I will definitely find it and destroy it all.]

──Creepy!

“…… Whoa, whoa!”

Grace’s hamstrings collapsed.