Rose of Hell [1-20] Use Carboard

“You must be Mrs. Diaz and her son?”

This was a slightly dangerous part of town.

On the third floor of an ordinary office building, a room with iron bars like a locked prison cell suddenly appeared.

The mother and son, looking frightened, hugged each other as they stared back at Iris Lune, who was peering in.

“Um, who are you…?”

“Forgive my tardiness. I am just a passing Ninja. Nin nin.”

Iris Lune, having snuck out of bed in the middle of the night, had once again become a Ninja.

As usual, she hid everything but her eyes. She layered some clothes to conceal her figure and used a hastily made magic item to deepen her voice. While she couldn’t do anything about her short stature, she wore thick-soled shoes to try and compensate.

Basically, all that mattered was that she was something that didn’t resemble Renée at all, a “what is that” type of figure. Surely Lawrence wouldn’t imagine that Renée would be rescuing hostages from a criminal organization in a ninja outfit… Looking at it from a detached, third-person perspective, even Iris Lune herself was starting to think it was ridiculous, so she decided not to dwell on it too much.

“I have no connection to you whatsoever, but I will help you.”

With those words, Iris Lune began a somewhat lengthy incantation, re-casting the spell she had used to infiltrate, ≪Shadow Infiltration Merry Behind,≫ and expanding its area of effect.

“≪Area Camouflage Field Stealth≫ crossed with ≪Silence Silent≫ crossed with ≪Area Presence Blocking Field Sneak≫. Assembled Spell… ≪Shadow Swarm Infiltration Merry Swarm≫.”

A wave of magical power enveloped Iris Lune like bubbles.

This would make anyone within a certain radius of Iris Lune invisible, inaudible, and undetectable from outside the area of the magic’s effect. With such weak security, where even watchmen and mages weren’t employed, she could sneak in undetected even to the deepest parts.

“Now, come. Your footsteps will not be heard, nor will you be seen. You can walk right out of here now.”

“Really? What’s going on?”

“It’s just a little ninjutsu.”

Opening the prison cell with a key that was hanging on a nearby wall, the two hostages hesitated for a moment before standing up and following Irislune.

Magic lamps flickered in the moonlight-filled hallway, where a menacing-looking man was maintaining a longsword.

“Eep…”

“It’s alright. As long as you don’t touch him, he won’t notice you even if you trip and fall right in front of him.”

Iris Lune gently soothed Mrs. Diaz, who had stifled a scream.

–If I could just kill the guards and everyone else here, it would be faster, but I’m worried the country will notice my existence if I go too wild. Ugh, what a pain.

She grumbled inwardly.

Even in her mysterious Ninja guise, she couldn’t get too carried away.

Despite the late hour, there were quite a few people inside the building. And none of them noticed Iris Lune and the hostages. They passed a man coming up the wide staircase with plenty of room to spare, and then, they were outside.

Once they were out of the building, the hostages’ expressions visibly relaxed.

However, they couldn’t let their guard down yet.

The street was lined with obscure craft (zakka-ya) stores and suspicious-looking bars. About half of them were still quietly open despite the late hour. Night Python’s influence definitely reached every nook and cranny of this street. It wasn’t a place where women and children could walk around safely, even if they weren’t escaped hostages.

Maintaining the magic, the three of them quietly made their way down the street. Iris Lune tried to walk on the balding cobblestones as much as possible, so as not to leave footprints in the melting snow.

“Alright, you should be safe from here.”

Finally reaching the main street, Iris Lune dispelled the magic.

Even on a main street, there were hardly any people walking around at this hour. The biting cold wind swept through, and the hostages shivered, hugging themselves. The brilliant moon illuminated the freezing night sky.

“Where are we? Are we still in Eltaref?”

“This is Kolga, the town next to Eltaref.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The two hostages, who had been kidnapped in Eltaref, had apparently been transported to the neighboring town.

Mrs. Diaz seemed relieved, as if thinking, “It was closer than I thought.”

Considering how easily Iris Lune had located them with magic, Night Python seemed careless. However, simply moving them to the next town would significantly reduce the chances of being found by magic. Not everyone could use wide-area searches so easily.

“There’s a guard post over there, so you should seek protection there. If you tell the lord about the location of this hideout, he’ll take care of smashing it to bits.”

“Thank you so much for everything.”

“T-thank you, big brother…”

Mrs. Diaz bowed deeply, almost prostrating herself, and her son, still looking nervous, gave an awkward bow as well.

Thanks to the voice-changing magic and the concealing of her figure, the son seemed to think she was a man.

“We’re grateful that you saved us… But who exactly are you…?”

“Didn’t I tell you already? I’m just a passing Ninja. My hobbies are playing with the Night Python folks and rescuing hostages.”

Iris Lune vaguely brushed off Mrs. Diaz’s curious question.

“We can’t possibly repay you for this…”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t rescue you for the sake of getting repaid.”

“What a noble person… Surely God sent you!”

Mrs. Diaz probably meant it as a compliment, but Iris Lune’s heart was not at peace.

–Ugh. It’s annoying because she doesn’t mean any harm… If that “God” includes evil gods, then she’d be spot on, though.

For now, the thing called God was an irreconcilable enemy.

Iris Lune’s primary targets of revenge were the people who caused her death, but she wouldn’t let the Great God who had tricked her into being reborn in this situation off the hook either.

Well, considering the opponent was a god, even going to slap them once would be a grand adventure, so she’d put it on hold for now. Even a hero starts by fighting slimes, as the saying goes. First, she would destroy the Ciel-Teila Kingdom.

“Now, hurry. Before you catch a cold.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

The mother, not even dreaming that the ninja before her was an apostle of an evil god plotting to overthrow a country, gave her thanks. The two hostages then hurried away.

Watching them go, Iris Lune made a small fist pump.

–Alright… This way, the location of the hideout will reach the Count. It’s all the work of a mysterious Ninja!

There was no way Iris Lune could say, “I snuck out of the castle in the middle of the night for a walk and happened to find Night Python’s hideout.”

She had to arrange for someone other than Iris Lune to naturally deliver the information to the Count and incite him to fight (although the phrase “mysterious Ninja,” which was completely unnatural, would come up in the story).

This way, the Count would obtain the hideout’s information. Even if he already knew about the place, the course of the battle would change depending on whether or not there were people who would be caught up in it (or used as shields on the spot).

“Well, it’s not dawn yet… But someone might come to the room. Better head back quickly.”

Hiding in the shadows of the building, Iris Lune chanted a spell.

“≪Camouflage Stealth≫ crossed with ≪Flight Fly≫. Assembled Spell… ≪Cloud Diver Flight≫.”

Her figure began to disappear from her fingertips as if melting, and at the same time, her body was freed from the shackles of gravity.

Iris Lune became an invisible wind dancing in the night sky.

Some magic spells, once cast, required no further control and had a long duration. However, most magic users can only use one spell at a time.

So how was she doing this? She was chanting the incantations for two spells in advance, mixing them together, and then casting them as if they were a single spell.

This was the technique of Assembled Spell. The long incantation made it unsuitable for melees, and the magic consumption was more than just adding them up, but in this case, neither mattered.

By the way, the names for these combined spells weren’t set in stone, and the caster was free to name them as they pleased.

The town of Kolga, sinking into darkness, spread out beneath her.

Few people were so odd as to use lights and work in the middle of the night, so she could only see the unevenness of the buildings illuminated by the moonlight.

The unevenness was surrounded by city walls, and beyond them stretched a desolate, snowy field. There was a faint, moonlit glow reflected off the snow.

Expanding her sense of emotional detection, she traced the two hostages.

She was concerned that the city guards might be in cahoots with Night Python, but judging from the emotional reactions of the people who had taken the hostages into custody, her worries were unfounded. Irislune then began her flight back to Eltaref.

The cold wind blew against her, and Iris Lune cut off her bodily sensations. The main body was, after all, a possessed spirit, so she could shut out the cold and pain if she wanted to.

However, that didn’t mean she was preventing the negative effects of the cold on her body. She had pre-emptively defended herself with a long-lasting enhancement buff spell, but she would definitely catch a cold if she didn’t return to the castle soon and take care of her condition with recovery magic.

“Looks like I won’t be getting much sleep today either…”

She muttered, looking at the moon.

The current time was probably around one in the morning. It was doubtful whether she could get a proper amount of sleep between now and waking up.

She could use magic to mask her fatigue without sleeping, but if she didn’t sleep properly, the magical power she needed to use that magic wouldn’t recover.

Iris Lune, whose main body was an undead being that didn’t need sleep, was less susceptible to the effects of sleep deprivation even while possessing a body, but there were still limits.

The reason she was sleep-deprived wasn’t because she was doing ninja activities in the middle of the night. She didn’t sneak out of bed every night. It was simply that Iris Lune didn’t want to sleep.

She almost always had nightmares when she slept. That’s why she didn’t want to sleep if possible. Besides, she was also afraid of “fatal failures.”

Therefore, she often spent her nights in bed thinking.

–But pulling all-nighters over and over is rough… I guess I’ll have to get some sleep tomorrow. I wonder if there’s a spell that prevents nightmares? Even if there is, would it work on an undead like me? Also, depending on the situation, I could dry the sheets with fire magic… No, even if they’re dry, the stains won’t have gone away. Damn it, is there no magic for laundry?

Iris Lune, seriously thinking about such things while flying, noticed that she was seriously afraid of sleeping for even one night and gave a wry smile.

–What’s with me? I’m feeling like rescuing hostages from a criminal organization is less of an adventure than getting a good night’s sleep…

The dark city walls and the town of Eltaref were beginning to appear in the distance.

In the middle of the night, a mother and son suddenly appeared at the Kolga city guard station seeking help.

They identified themselves as the family of a servant working for the Kealy Count family.

Upon receiving the report, the Count immediately investigated and discovered that one of his servants had been leaking information about the Earl’s surroundings after Night Python had taken his family hostage.

The Count was surprised, but the information provided by the mother and son revealed one of Night Python’s bases. The next morning, he launched a sudden raid. He killed or captured the members present and seized documents and other items.

Seized items included drugs and other merchandise, a small number of weapons, and combat-related magic items such as gofu charms and potions that seemed to be intended for the members.

This base was equipped with facilities for detaining hostages and interrogating prisoners, and it was also a logistics base for the surrounding area. In the sense of getting them onto the logistics line, it seemed that Night Python treated hostages and goods in much the same way.

“I had grasped that there was probably a logistics base somewhere nearby… I can’t believe it was right next door. Really.”

That night, after the captured members had been taken away, Oswald made a grimace while looking at a report in his office in the castle.

However, there was not much seriousness in his voice. He had been fortunate enough to discover and destroy an important base.

“What a wonderful achievement. As expected of you, Count Kealy.”

Benedict had come to the office.

The Count waved his hand dismissively at Benedict, who was praising him unreservedly.

“It’s not my power. Something I don’t understand is pushing me forward.”

The plan, which had been moved up due to the coup, had been causing problems everywhere due to a lack of preparation. It was only natural since he had launched a pre-emptive strike on what should have been more investigated and prepared.

However, aided by strange coincidences and a mysterious third party, the purge operation was proceeding unexpectedly well.

“It may be my fault that Night Python was able to live peacefully in Kolga. I had always left Kolga to a knight under my command.”

“Sir Ritz, perhaps?”

“You knew? But regarding him, I had received an opinion from the captain of the Kolga guard that he was ‘uncooperative in the Night Python investigation.’

Just as I was about to investigate, this happened. He apparently left even his family behind and disappeared from Kolga this afternoon.”

“Oh my…”

In other words, the knight entrusted with the city had likely been bought off by Night Python.

And he had been protecting Night Python in the city.

“But who on earth rescued the hostages?”

Benedict asked, twitching his triangular ears.

They had been able to destroy Night Python’s supply base and advance the battle in their favor, but it was completely unknown why the mother and son who had been hostages had escaped. The Count himself had initially suspected it was some kind of trap.

They had said that they had been “rescued by a mysterious Ninja.”

“They say that they disappeared with magic and made the two escape. I wonder if it’s a magician after all. The same as the people who attacked the Eltaref base…?”

The Count had no idea either.

He couldn’t just be thankful. It was an uncertain element that had suddenly fallen onto the strategic map.

“It sounds awful to say, but I can’t imagine anyone else in this country who is as fond of fighting Night Python as I am.”

“Night Python must have earned the resentment of all the good people in the country. Perhaps those people have responded to your call, Count Kealy, and have begun to move.”

“If that were the case, they would likely rush to my side.”

“Everyone has their own circumstances.”

Benedict licked his nose and then said, as if reciting poetry.

“Justice was not dead in this country. Isn’t that what it means?”

The Count grinned at those words, and the two laughed nihilistically.

Somewhere between the resignation that “there’s no way things could go that well” and the hope that “it would be nice if that were the case.”