Chapter 20: Sierra Confronts.

“S-Sierra-san…?”

Arna still hadn’t grasped what was happening; the sudden turn of events had left her stunned.

Sierra, on the other hand, had noticed the moment they reached the plaza.

They were targeted; and not Sierra, but Arna.

(This 《Needle》 was aimed at Arna. Why?)

Needles came flying from several directions, and Sierra stopped them effortlessly.

One caught between her fingers, another blocked with the ice-cream cone in her hand.

The thin needles were coated with liquid; Sierra instantly recognized it as poison.

(Six… no, seven people.)

She counted the hostile presences locked onto them.

Clear killing intent; unmistakable.

Sierra moved at once.

She tossed the ice cream aside and touched Arna’s body.

“Arna, hold on tight.”

“W-wait, all of a sudden; kyaa!?”

Sierra didn’t wait for an answer. She scooped Arna into her arms.

Arna was taller, but Sierra lifted her as though she weighed nothing.

She kicked off the ground and accelerated.

In the blink of an eye, the two shot out of the plaza and vanished like the wind, leaving the onlookers gaping.

“S-Sierra-san!? What is going on!?”

“Arna, calm down.”

“How am I supposed to stay calm!?”

Arna was already shocked that Sierra could carry her at all, but the movement itself was beyond human.

It wasn’t just running; Sierra leapt, used the roofs of stalls as springboards, bounded from rooftop to rooftop, then dropped into a narrow alley with few people and accelerated again, treating every obstacle like it didn’t exist.

To spare herself the trouble of explaining that inhuman movement, Sierra simply told the truth.

“We’re being targeted.”

“!?”

That single sentence was enough. Arna’s face filled with shock, but she seemed to understand the situation.

Which probably meant she had some idea why someone would target her.

(Three pursuers… the other four are trying to cut us off.)

The moment she realized that, Sierra stopped in a wider street.

She gently set Arna down.

“W-what are you planning to do?”

“Fight. Arna, don’t move from here.”

“No… that’s dangerous! With the way you were just moving—”

“That’s exactly why I’m telling you. They’ve already caught up. And Dad always said if someone’s chasing you like this, you have to deal with them or they’ll never stop. 《Assassins》 are like that.”

“…! Sierra-san, just who exactly are—”

Ignoring Arna’s stunned expression, Sierra began to move.

But first, there was something she had to do.

“Arna… please, listen to me.”

That was how Sierra began.

“They stopped a 《Poison Needle》? Seriously?”

A man wrapped in a dark robe muttered.

Two others dressed identically followed the escaped 《targets》 with light, nimble steps.

“Sierra Arknis… according to the intel, she’s a student, yet she defeated the mage House Magnis.”

“Who the hell is this House guy anyway?”

“One half of the client who placed this request. Sending seven people after two schoolgirls; what’s the meaning of this?”

“You already know. The primary target is Arna Cartol; the precious daughter of House Cartol.”

Exactly. The assassins were after Arna, not Sierra; that’s why the first poison needles had been aimed at her.

But that had failed.

“She stopped poison needles with her fingertips; from four directions at once. Stay sharp.”

“Sure, she’s a little abnormal for a student, but the fact she ran means she’s not that strong, right?”

“Who knows. That footwork wasn’t normal.”

“Doesn’t matter either way. The most infuriating part is that assassins failed to kill the target in one strike. They should just die already.”

“I said don’t let your guard down—! Stop!”

The assassins halted.

Besides the three of them, four more had moved to intercept the escape route.

Yet the two targets had stopped midway.

They wouldn’t approach carelessly; they kept their distance so their positions wouldn’t be revealed, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

They could see the girls had stopped and were talking about something.

“…Are they planning to split up and run? That would actually be convenient.”

“Then I’ll take the silver-haired one. She looks pretty strong.”

“We mustn’t lose sight of our duty.”

“Exactly. All of us together, make absolutely sure the target—”

One of the assassins’ eyes widened in shock.

They had been watching from the shadow of a distant building, yet the silver-haired girl; Sierra; locked eyes with him.

“Impossible…! She’s detected us from this distance…?”

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a chance the target has pinpointed our location. Change positions.”

“If we do that, we might lose sight of them.”

“Yeah, quit saying stupid shit. Even at our level, we can sense presence from this far, but figuring out exactly where someone hiding—”

“The silver-hair’s gone…?”

“Found you.”

It took only a few seconds.

While the assassins were discussing their next move,

a girl holding a 《Crimson Sword》 softly landed in their midst.

It was Sierra; the very target they had been chasing.

The three instantly readied for combat.

Assassins weren’t meant to fight their targets head-on.

They existed solely to kill.

Yet even among this thoroughly trained group, one man;

“H…huh?”

tried to draw his weapon, only to realize his arm was already gone.

“M-my arm—”

A dry crack echoed around them.

Before the assassins could even move, Sierra had ended one of them.

Fresh blood dripped from the crimson blade in her hand.

The remaining two immediately created distance.

“Daddy told me to avoid killing whenever possible… but this is a job.”

In a voice utterly devoid of emotion,

“I’m going to kill you.”

Sierra declared.