The Hero's Party had to face more than just monsters and the Demon King's army.
There were also events where other countries sent assassins, fearing the Empire's growing influence after we defeated the Demon King.
Since the Hero couldn't be assassinated—and their death could change the continent's fate—I was usually the target.
You might wonder if there were really fools who would send assassins despite knowing it could weaken our party and jeopardize the Demon King's defeat.
There absolutely were. Countless times.
Some had political motives, like wanting to replace me with their own healer to gain merit.
The assassins who came belonged to a group simply called "Shadow."
They were the most skilled assassins operating across all nations on the continent.
If they killed me, I would face the "Shadow Assassin" bad ending.
That's why I always insisted on having someone stand guard for our party. On days when everyone was exhausted, I had to stay awake myself.
It wasn't particularly difficult to avoid this bad ending. Eventually, I became familiar enough with their methods to capture and interrogate them.
They were mercenaries who worked for whoever paid them. Their clients varied: kingdoms, law states, magic nations, duchies, underground nations, water kingdoms.
I was targeted by every kind of nation imaginable.
But once, even the Empire sent an assassin.
"Argh! I'll tell you everything! Asella! Emperor Asella sent me!"
"Stop lying. What would the Empire gain by sending assassins after the Hero's Party?"
"The target was just one healer! She pretended not to know you during the last audience...!"
Despite all that talk about former fiancés while threatening execution.
I realized Asella truly despised me.
At least I learned that Asella had connections with Shadow.
And now I understand why.
Asella had nearly been assassinated by Shadow agents hired by someone else.
She must have learned about the organization then and decided to use them rather than punish them.
"Even if I do nothing, Asella probably has some chance of survival."
[No. 101: Mana Overload 4% → 52%]
According to my status window, Asella has a 52 percent chance of dying in this incident.
About the same odds as flipping a coin and getting heads.
Power struggles for succession within the imperial family happen frustratingly often.
It's surprising Asella survived to become Emperor.
Ten years later, I must have been living in a timeline where she had already overcome all those probabilities.
I can't just stand by when there's a coin flip's chance of death.
I need to throw that coin into a lake somewhere.
"Young Lord, what's wrong?"
Asella looked confused as I grabbed her wrist.
"We need to move to an open area. Knights, stay close to the Princess and watch our surroundings. There's an assassin nearby."
"Yes!"
Currently, two Wolgwang Palace knights were escorting us. They immediately followed orders, drawing their swords and scanning vigilantly.
"An assassin?"
"I'll explain later. It becomes dangerous when darkness falls. We need to get outside..."
Whoosh!
Before I could finish, all the lights in the ballroom went out.
My eyes couldn't adjust to the sudden darkness, leaving me blind in the pitch black.
"Kyaaaah!"
"The lights! Turn on the lights!"
"Servants, where are you?!"
The ballroom, already tense from the poisoning incident, was completely engulfed in fear.
The room was designed for acoustic resonance to carry music well. The screams and footsteps echoed chaotically, making it difficult to perceive our surroundings.
"Young Lord!"
"Princess, stay with the knights."
Since I was holding Asella's arm, I could roughly sense her position. I pushed her between the two knights who formed a solid barrier.
"Young Lord, you too...!"
I felt Asella pulling at my body with her other arm. In the darkness, she seemed to have grabbed my collar in her haste.
"They're coming!"
The knights were excellent. One sensed killing intent or presence in the pitch-black darkness and took a defensive stance to protect all directions.
"Kuh, kuhk!"
But that lasted only a moment.
I felt the strength leave one knight's body as his weight pressed against us.
A hot liquid splashed onto Asella's dress. It was clearly blood.
"Baron!"
The other knight gripped his sword more firmly upon sensing his comrade's death.
"Haa, haa."
I could feel Asella's hot, ragged breath close by.
Her adrenaline had spiked from fear, putting her in an overly excited state.
That's not good in a crisis. I wrapped my arm around the back of her neck and pulled her close.
"Hic...?!"
"Princess, stay calm."
At my words, Asella tried to steady herself with deep breaths, but it didn't seem easy.
This is Shadow's primary assassination method.
They prefer to assassinate in places full of light rather than darkness.
Naturally, people are most vulnerable when suddenly plunged into darkness after being in bright light.
The poison must have been their technique too.
The servant who brought the champagne was likely a disguised assassin.
Given the imperial setting, they tried safer methods first before resorting to their specialty.
But I've faced them countless times.
Shadow is fundamentally an organization of dark mages and thieves.
Their method involves dark mages enhancing thieves who then carry out the actual assassinations.
Deadly poisons and darkness-inducing spells are all dark magic-based.
Their darkness is special—light doesn't spread far and floats like fog.
We need to eliminate this first.
"Princess, we need light to survive."
"Light, light."
Asella muttered before immediately drawing a magic circle.
Her trembling hands couldn't draw a perfect circle, but it was sufficient for casting.
"Enchant, Light."
—Flash!
Intense light burst from the fallen knight's sword.
In that moment, we saw the assassin's face, transformed to resemble a skull by dark magic.
—Clang!
We also witnessed his vicious dagger clashing with the knight's sword.
"Huh, ugh...!"
Asella squeezed her eyes shut and trembled upon seeing the assassin.
This weakened her spell, making the light dim.
"Asella is afraid of assassins?"
That surprised me somewhat.
I could understand her fear of the four-headed dragon at the tournament.
After all, if you live in a city, you don't often encounter monsters, let alone dragons.
But this opponent was an assassin—a human.
Yes, we were in danger, but...
The Emperor Asella I had known was arrogant, haughty, and confident in everything.
The Asella before me now was so frightened by this sudden crisis that she couldn't properly use her magical specialty.
She seemed like an ordinary girl her age.
"This isn't the time for reflection."
I picked up the sword Asella had cast her light spell on.
The light was gradually fading.
"She must have transformed the blade's surface into a luminous material."
Magic is difficult for me to understand, but I can grasp it through chemical formulas.
While I can't fully comprehend how mana works, I can enhance luminous properties through alchemy.
"Kuhk!"
The last knight fell to the assassin. He collapsed with a short scraping sound.
Asella would be the next target.
"Lars!"
As she called out, I swung the sword while casting a spell.
The shape was a 64-sided polygon, just as Asella had taught me.
"Enhance!"
—Flash!
A blinding flash erupted as I struck the assassin's abdomen.
"Ugh."
The assassin let out a short groan. Though I hadn't caused real damage, he was suffering with blood flowing from his eyes.
These assassins enhance their eyes' light reception to identify targets in darkness.
That makes strong light their weakness.
Excessive exposure causes them such pain that they bleed.
After all, their very faces and bodies are essentially puppets reconstructed through dark magic.
"Princess, run!"
With the glowing sword in my right hand, I grabbed Asella's hand with my left and ran.
The light level was perfect for us. We could see the path to the building's exit.
—Rustle!
The momentarily stunned assassin immediately pursued us.
The ballroom was still in chaos and darkness. There was no one to ask for help, and no one had even noticed the assassin's presence.
"Faster!"
I moved my legs desperately. Even if my thigh muscles burst, we needed more speed now.
"Hah!"
After confirming the route to the exit, I threw the sword at the assassin.
Taking advantage of his confusion from the disorienting light, we turned a corner.
Ten meters to the exit.
"Lars...!"
"We're almost there!"
Our steps quickened, and finally...
Boom!
Asella and I successfully made it outside the ballroom.
Outside, torches were sparsely placed, but it was still dark as night.
The summer cicadas assaulted our eardrums with their loud chirping.
"Just a little more!"
We didn't stop.
Shortly after, I sensed the assassin had caught up behind us.
"Tch."
—Whoosh!
I twisted my body, grabbed Asella's shoulder, and dove with her into the bushes.
Simultaneously, the assassin's sharp dagger grazed past my ear.
"Good reflexes. I didn't expect this much trouble."
The assassin glared at Asella and me with his gaunt face.
"Your assassination has failed. The knights will swarm here any moment. You won't escape with your life."
"That's true. But we can still complete our mission."
The assassin swung his dagger toward us without hesitation.
He intended to finish his mission for the Shadow organization even if it meant his capture and death.
"Lars!!"
Asella clutched my collar and squeezed her eyes shut.
And then...
—Clatter!
"Ugh... huff...!"
The assassin dropped his dagger and staggered, clutching his chest.
Asella slowly opened her eyes.
"Lars? What happened?"
"This is as far as we needed to come. That was close."
I looked up at the goddess statue above us.
"How... kugh!"
The assassin slowly backed away. He couldn't approach us any further.
[Injury Status: Burns]
[Injury Location: Entire Body]
His entire body would be roasting like chicken.
The pain must be excruciating.
The strategy against Shadow is simple.
Since they move using dark magic enhancements, holy effects completely neutralize them.
Near the goddess statue, several beneficial effects occur, including low-grade dark magic dispelling.
Ever since learning of their existence, I've always carried artifacts with holy abilities.
"Over there!"
The sound of knights rushing toward us in clanking armor could be heard.
The assassin fled in panic. The knights pursued him.
[No. 040 Poison Trap 86% → 0%]
[No. 086 Shadow Assassin 75% → 0%]
[Deleted]
[No. 101 Mana Overload 52% → 4%]
The crisis had passed.
All my strength drained away. I collapsed onto the grass, resting my head there.
"Lars, Lars."
"Let me sleep a bit. I'm exhausted."
"What? Wait. Hey, Lars!"
I closed my eyes with Asella's cries as my lullaby.
It wasn't very helpful since it was so noisy.
***
"Hmm."
When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar sight.
My room, my bed.
More precisely, the room in Wolgwang Palace, but it had become familiar enough to feel comfortable.
"Actually, no, it's not comfortable."
My body felt heavy, as if something was pressing down on me.
There was that assassination attempt.
Did I get poisoned after all?
Thinking this, I raised my head to look down, and froze at an extremely strange sight.
Asella was hugging me in her sleep, breathing softly.