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nThe men surrounding the door were equipped with swords, chain mail, and matching coats with falcons embroidered in golden thread, indicating that they all belonged to the same group.

nIf my memory hasn’t betrayed me, they should be the escorts that Serge-san hired. I recognize that design on their coats and the man that called out to us.

n“Sorry for keeping you waiting. Oh, right, Ryouma-sama.” Serge

nAfter responding to the man that called out to him, Serge-san turned to me.

n“I believe I’ve yet to introduce them to you. These are the members of the Wild Golden Falcons, the mercenary group that I hired to guard my store and ensure my safety.” Serge

n“The deputy leader of the Wild Golden Falcons, Yashma, at your service.” Yashma

n“Thank you for the courteous introduction. I am Ryouma Takebayashi. I believe we’ve met once before in front of the Morgan Company. I barged in so unexpectedly that time, yet you still treated me with civility. Thank you for that.” Ryouma

n“At the time, our duty was to guard the Morgan Company. It’s only natural that we interfere as little as possible in the operations of the company while we tend to our duties.” Yashma

nUnless they see a need to, they won’t say anything and won’t do anything. That was the sort of professional attitude that they had. The eyes of all five mercenaries, including Yashma, felt a little harsh, but that was probably because they were still at work. It’s not as though they were being hostile, and their attitude wasn’t bad either.

nWe didn’t speak any more than that, and the Saionji husband and wife, Serge-san, and I, all went outside with the five escorts. Along the way, Yashma naturally walked next to Serge-san, while I walked on the other side, and the remaining four mercenaries walked in a formation that surrounded us.

nThey put special attention on the space between us, making sure not to interfere in our conversation, while they quietly worked together and kept a watchful eye on all the people around us – those passing by and those somewhat hidden. They did their work so naturally that I couldn’t help but be impressed. So this is how a first-rate mercenary group works.

nEventually, we arrived at the entrance where the general reception was. It was then—

n“――”

n—That the air suddenly changed.

nAs though the stench of garbage had suddenly mixed in within that fresh air, sending a faint jolt of electricity to run up me, like a bug crawling on my body.

nIt was such a slight yet intense discomfort that – before I knew it – my thoughts were blown away.

n‘Someone is targeting us.’

n“On your guard!” Yashma

nThe leader of the mercenaries noticed something too, and he immediately gave out a sharp order.

n“On the right!” Ryouma

nThere were several aquariums planted by the entrance as decoration. In the space between those aquariums was a human-shaped mana that couldn’t be seen・・・・・・ with the human eye. Within that human-shaped mana’s hands was a knife, and it was going straight for Serge-san・・・・・・・.

nWhile reflexively calling out, I drew the wire slime, that was coiled around my left arm, and threw it like a bolas. The enemy fell forward to dodge the wire slime, but in doing so, he gave rise to an unnatural sound.

nA normal person might not be able to make anything of that, but to the first-rate mercenaries of the Wild Golden Falcons, that was more than enough to tell where the enemy was.

n“Halt!”

nThe two mercenaries guarding our flanks formed a wall to protect us, but they couldn’t precisely・・・・ pinpoint the location of the enemy. A beast man could probably pinpoint the location from the sound and the smell, but the enemy has already realized that he’s been noticed and has changed the way he moved.

nThe mercenaries couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the enemy, so they couldn’t charge in recklessly, but because of that, an opening was made, giving the enemy a chance to attack.

nHaving given up on approaching, the enemy tried to throw the knife at Serge-san instead.

n(Not on my watch.)

nRight before I pulled out the Iron Slime in my belt, Yashma, the deputy leader of the mercenaries, stood in front of Serge-san. Upon seeing that the knife’s trajectory was now blocked, I pulled out my katana and threw it.

n“GUU!”

nAs the sound of metals clashing resounded, fresh blood scattered.

nWith that, the spell should have been dispelled too. True enough, the space distorted, and a man in an outfit resembling full-body tights appeared.

n“Secured!”

nThen a mercenary wrestled the man and choked him from behind.

nUnable to offer any resistance, the man was knocked out and apprehended.

nI found it strange how smooth everything went, but I couldn’t find anyone else with my Mana, and I couldn’t sense any other enemies either.

nFor the meantime, there should be no more trouble. If so, then what comes next would be the aftermath.

nThe problem may have been settled quickly, but there was still no changing the fact that a battle had just broken out in broad daylight right in front of the busy entrance.

nNaturally, the people would clamor.

nSerge-san and the Saionji husband and wife weren’t making a racket, but they were visibly surprised.

nYashma of the Wild Golden Falcons was also looking at me.

n“…Shall we go back for now? We can’t leave this man here either.” Ryouma

nFor the mean time, I told them that we needed to discuss how to approach this.

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