"What did you say? Humans can really transform into creatures as small as birds?"
Hearing Noah's firm words, Gozuki suddenly realized that deep down, he had suspected the same thing.
He simply had not been able to convince himself that something so absurd was actually the answer.
"Gaea Foundation. I've seen descriptions of this Teigu in certain records. The user can transform freely, whether into cats, dogs, birds, or fish."
"Hey, hey. It can really do something like that? Teigu are truly incredible."
Hearing Gozuki's amazement, Noah could not help reminding him, "Aren't you a Teigu user yourself? What standing do you have to say that?"
In terms of outward impression, a Teigu like Gaea Foundation, which allowed transformation, was indeed far more miraculous, while Murasame's one-hit-kill ability seemed less eye-catching.
But that was only in terms of presentation.
For a combatant, a blade capable of killing with a single strike as long as it merely grazed the enemy could no longer be described as merely excellent.
Any enemy with a body of flesh and blood would have to be a hundred times more cautious when facing that blade.
Moreover, not everyone knew Murasame's ability.
If someone treated Murasame as an ordinary sword, then the blade's "first-encounter kill" performance was utterly heaven-defying.
In battle, exchanging wounds or even exchanging injury for victory was hardly rare.
In fact, the more experienced and powerful a fighter was, the more decisive they tended to be.
If parrying an attack would cause their skin to be grazed, but would also create an opportunity to kill the enemy in one strike, ninety percent of fighters would do it without hesitation.
Another nine percent would hesitate for an instant, calculate the gains and losses, and then still do it.
Only one percent would let that opportunity slip away, and more than half of that one percent would be rookies who simply failed to react in time.
It was precisely because of that confidence that they died.
The moment they were scratched by Murasame and disregarded such a tiny wound, the curse poison would end their lives.
"Thanks to that Teigu user, I'm currently hiding in a cave with the children and don't dare go out. Damn it." Gozuki laughed as he cursed.
The reason he could still laugh was that he had finally taken the first step toward reversing their disadvantage.
That was understanding one of the enemy's abilities.
"I need reinforcements. Sending a letter would be too slow, so I have to ask you. Go to Koken Temple and find Sten and Suzuka of the Four Rakshasa Demons. I'll tell you a code word only we know. They'll understand immediately." Gozuki's expression was grave.
Even now, he still had not grasped the enemy's numbers.
The people they had killed today could be counted as professionals, but they clearly could not be considered assassins. Based on his experience, those people were probably mercenaries.
They were entirely different from the one in the sky.
The rumor of Oarburgh's involvement had yet to be confirmed.
If this was truly Oarburgh's doing, then they were in danger.
As the strongest assassin society, Oarburgh's internal intelligence was completely unknowable to outsiders.
That transforming Teigu user knew they had at least eight people, yet did not retreat, instead carrying out a second investigation.
That also proved one thing: they had not given up on the idea of eliminating Gozuki and his group.
There were two possibilities.
First, the enemy's forces were not inferior to theirs.
Second, the enemy was confident that the difference in strength between both sides was enough to wipe them out.
To Gozuki, ordinary civilians had no chance of matching the elite unit he had personally trained for eight years.
If there was any existence that made him wary, then it was undoubtedly the uncrowned king of assassin organizations—Oarburgh.
"Reinforcements, huh."
The corners of Noah's mouth suddenly lifted.
He readily agreed to Gozuki's request.
After the communication ended, Gozuki looked at the black brick in his hand, which had once again concealed all its light, and clicked his tongue in wonder.
"This thing really is convenient. That guy really is a genius."
...
The next day, Noah arrived directly at Prime Minister Honest's mansion without making any appointment.
One of the guards standing at the gate saw him approaching, and his expression darkened as he prepared to step forward and question him.
But just as he was about to move, another guard beside him paled and immediately reached out to stop him.
"Hey! New guy! Don't interfere with that person!"
The newly assigned guard looked confused, but in the end, he did nothing.
He looked around and discovered that no one intended to stop that boy.
He immediately understood.
This was an important person he could not afford to provoke!
Only after Noah disappeared from view did he ask, "Senpai, who was that just now?"
"Shh. Don't pry into matters concerning him. How do you think you got in here?"
Being the gate guard of a great noble household was a cushy position.
There was no need to act as a thug, nor any need to carry out dangerous missions.
One only needed to stand at the gate.
Besides, in this world, no one would dare cause trouble in front of Prime Minister Honest's home.
For such a job, countless people used every connection they had and still could not obtain it.
Yet he had suddenly been assigned here.
It was pure dumb luck.
Because he did not want to lose this opportunity, his attitude was extremely earnest.
The moment he heard his senior's words, he understood.
Could it be that the previous guard had failed to recognize a great person and offended that person just now, so the Prime Minister had him killed?
That was why one guard was missing from the gate, and he had become the lucky replacement.
That was close.
Far too close.
"Thank you, senpai. If not for you, I would've been finished."
"Heh. I wasn't entirely doing it to help you. Also, I'm not some senpai. I only arrived two days earlier than you. Everyone here is new to this post."
"Hah? Why? Would anyone actually give up a job like this…"
The new guard's words stopped.
Right.
No one would give it up.
Unless it was not voluntary.
For example, if they were dead.
His eyes widened further and further, and he swallowed hard to ease the dryness in his throat.
Could it be that because the others had failed to stop that incident, the Prime Minister had not merely killed one person, but the entire previous batch of guards?
Having figured that out, the new guard finally understood.
The other man had stopped him not only to prevent him from seeking death.
But also to save himself.
...
After meeting Prime Minister Honest, Noah told him about Gozuki's request for support.
Because the Four Rakshasa Demons were essentially the Prime Minister's personal executioners, obeying his orders to kill people for him, if Noah wanted to borrow the Prime Minister's subordinates, it was better to come directly to Honest and ask to use them rather than go to Koken Temple, find the Rakshasa Demons, and have them request orders from the Prime Minister.
"Hah, Professor Noah, you came all this way for something like that? Isn't that too much trouble? I understand. I'll dispatch Sten and Suzuka immediately. How does that sound?"
Without the slightest hesitation, the Prime Minister decisively agreed to Noah's request.
He summoned Sten and Suzuka.
Before long, a very burly man and a young woman walked in through the door.
Noah naturally used appraisal on the two of them.
First was the extremely eye-catching burly man.
Sten
・Born in the Empire.
・Koken Temple martial artist.
・One of the Four Rakshasa Demons.
The burly man's entire body was covered in solid muscle.
His head was smooth, with black hair growing on both sides.
His face was fierce and dignified, giving off the feeling of a wrathful guardian deity descending into the world.
The other person was almost the complete opposite of him in build.
Even among women, she belonged to the very slender type.
Suzuka
・Born in the Empire.
・Koken Temple martial artist.
・One of the Four Rakshasa Demons.
・Possesses a special constitution that enjoys pain.
"..."
The corners of Noah's eyes twitched twice, and he looked a few more times at Suzuka, who currently wore a completely serious expression.
Black hair, black eyes.
Her appearance was not bad, but there was a scar on her face, and her chest was as flat as a man's.
Just by looking at her like this, who could possibly imagine that she possessed such a special preference?
After appraising the two, Noah directly spoke the code word Gozuki had told him during their communication last night.
After exchanging a glance, the two nodded.
"That is indeed Gozuki's code."
Noah explained Gozuki and the others' current situation to Sten and Suzuka, while the Prime Minister listened from the side in confusion, not particularly interested.
He stood up and said, "The palace is still waiting for me, so I'll leave first. Sten, Suzuka, from now on, you are to obey all of Professor Noah's arrangements. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Yes!"
...
After the Prime Minister had been gone for a while, Noah finished relaying everything.
When Sten and Suzuka heard that their opponent might be Oarburgh, they understood why even Gozuki had no choice but to request reinforcements.
"In that case, Professor Noah, we must set out immediately to support Gozuki…"
"Wait."
Noah suddenly interrupted them.
Then he said, "Don't be in such a hurry. I'm also one of the people going to provide support this time."
"What?" Suzuka looked stunned.
She wondered whether she had misheard him.
"You mean you're going with us?"
What kind of joke was that?
This was an urgent matter, and the place they were going was extremely dangerous.
No, leaving aside the danger of the destination itself, even the road from the Imperial Capital to the White Wolf River on the northeastern border was filled with countless dangers.
With her and Sten's strength, that would be fine.
Even if they encountered some petty criminals, the unlucky ones would be the criminals.
If they encountered an enormous bandit group, with their strength, they could still retreat unscathed by avoiding it directly.
But if they had to bring along a burden, that would be different.
Even in a battle where they had the advantage, having someone to protect would make it impossible to use their full strength.
And if they were at a disadvantage, the need to protect someone could even lead to their own destruction.
Besides, how could a normal scholar possibly keep up with their movement speed?
Under her worried gaze, Noah shook his head.
Seeing that, Suzuka immediately relaxed a little.
Then she heard him say, "Not me going with you. You are coming with me."
"..."
Suzuka froze.
She did not know how to respond to that sentence.
In any case, she only knew that she absolutely could not let this young man risk his life with them on a whim.
Otherwise, the Prime Minister would definitely fly into a rage.
Even though they were the Four Rakshasa Demons, first-rate experts, they would still be finished if they angered the Prime Minister.
As his close aides, they understood better than most how much importance the Prime Minister placed on this young genius scientist.
Aside from the emperor, this boy was the only person the Prime Minister was willing to treat calmly.
Prime Minister Honest was a man who could kill his own wives and children without changing expression.
If he killed several wives one day simply because he was in a bad mood, it would not be strange at all.
Based on Suzuka's understanding, even if it were his own father, the Prime Minister could smile while throwing him into a pot of boiling oil.
He was that kind of absolute egoist.
In other words, this boy carried a weight equal to the Prime Minister's own interests.
"Professor Noah! Please don't act impulsively. This operation is extremely dangerous. First of all, we won't be using a carriage."
In Suzuka's view, this alone should have been enough to discourage Noah.
A scientist was just a kind of scholar, right? In any case, he was surely the type who could not carry anything on his shoulders.
People like that usually got tired even walking when they went out and always rode in carriages.
Once he knew the journey was far and that he could not ride in a carriage, he should give up.
Instead, Noah looked at her with complete agreement.
"That's right. A carriage would be too slow."
"Huh?"
"So we'll fly."
"..."
What in the world was this person talking about?
How could humans fly?
She looked blankly at Sten beside her, but the burly man also wore an expression that said he had no idea what was going on.
Noah walked out of the room in a few steps and pointed one hand toward the sky.
"You should have heard of them too, right? Special-class flying Danger Beasts."
Suzuka and Sten were startled.
Could it be?
"Air Manta?"
The two hurried outside as well and looked up.
They did indeed see a black object in the sky.
But at that moment, Noah denied their guess.
"It isn't an Air Manta."
That made the two even more confused.
If it was not an Air Manta, then was it some other flying Danger Beast?
There were many types and numbers of Danger Beasts.
Ordinary people might not see more than a few kinds in their entire lives, and the moment they did see one might be the moment death came for them.
Moreover, the two of them were martial artists.
Since childhood, they had undergone brutal training deep in the mountains of Koken Temple.
Aside from training, their knowledge of the wider world was not especially broad.
They could only learn about this familiar yet unfamiliar world while carrying out missions outside.
Following Noah's words, "Come."
The black object in the sky paused for an instant, then suddenly began to descend with a roar.
Seeing the black object in their field of vision draw closer and larger, Suzuka and Sten also realized that it was indeed not an Air Manta.
No, it did not even look like a Danger Beast.
"That's… a ship?"
The jet-black warship fell from high altitude, slowing as it neared the ground.
It was a huge object at least over seven meters long, and it gleamed with a metallic luster.
"Hey… I'm not dreaming, am I? What in the world is that? A steel ship flying in the sky!"
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