She was young herself, but the way she spoke to me, who was even younger, seemed so out of place that I looked at the others. Every one of them made a point of looking away. What was going on now? One baffling thing after another. Still, on the surface, the meal ended peacefully.

"I've kept our tired guests too long. You have to leave tomorrow, so we'd best call it a night." With that bewilderingly courteous remark, everyone rose.

When we left the dining room for the lobby, I saw two people I hadn't met before: a young man and woman who looked like travelers. The man bowed to the baron as he came out of the dining room.

"Thank you for your hospitality. We'll be going now." "Of course. You've done well." The baron saw them off with a satisfied smile.

The others were standing together to one side, while I stood a little apart. The pair happened to pass me on their way to the front door. Both were quite good-looking. They wore ordinary clothes, but neither their bearing nor their faces suggested ordinary people. They had nothing to do with me, though, so I dipped my head and paid them no further attention.

But things didn't end there. As the man passed me, I heard something unexpected. "You'd be wise to leave this place as quickly as you can." His voice was so low that I could barely make it out, but I couldn't ignore what he'd said. Startled, I looked up. He walked straight out the door without a flicker of expression. Watching the two of them leave so calmly, I could almost believe I'd misheard him.

* * *

Once they were away from the mansion, the woman, who had been walking in silence, shot the man a sidelong glare. "Why did you do that when we'd finished the job so well? What if something goes wrong?"

"Oh? Did I give you a scare? It's a contract—no, a job we're getting paid for. We've taken the money and done everything we were supposed to. That's the end of it. Whether it succeeds or fails has nothing to do with us." His teasing answer made her eyes narrow.

"How can you say that? It may not be organization business, but if it fails, our reputation will obviously suffer!" "Well, one little remark isn't going to make it fail that easily." At last, she shook her head and sighed. "Then why did you say it?"

"He's the duke's illegitimate son. We failed with House Hierro, but we talked an illegitimate son there into helping us and put him to good use. If this one makes it out alive, he'll remember what I said. A small connection like this could come in handy later." Apparently impressed with his own reasoning, he nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hmm. I really am an excellent strategist, always thinking of the distant future."

The woman put a hand to her forehead. "As if. You've taken a liking to him again, haven't you?" "Well, that's part of it." He grinned at her.

"Remember when we first met? That boy had quite an interesting look on his face. He didn't seem like some jaded noble's child, or an illegitimate son full of anger. I thought it might be very entertaining to see what becomes of him." He glanced back. "Assuming he gets out safely, of course."

After the two left, I was so distracted I barely knew how I'd been shown to my room. Hearing the man's voice had made a message appear before my eyes for the first time in ages.

[An event has occurred. A new "save point" has been set.]

I certainly hadn't died, nor had I awakened an ability. All I'd done was meet a stranger.

* * *

Though I was still young, the baron's household had given me a reasonably large room to myself. Late that night, I sat on the bed, deep in thought. The baron and his family's strange behavior, the stranger's warning, and a "save point" appearing at such an unexpected moment—none of it was ordinary.

"I suppose I've had it too easy lately." Ever since the tomb expedition, life had been one peaceful stretch after another. I hadn't even died. "Damn. If not dying is my standard for an easy life, something is seriously wrong." I sighed at my predicament and got up.

Something was wrong, and I couldn't just sit around waiting. "No sense waiting until I get killed." Maybe dying when I was little, unable to do anything about it, had left me traumatized. I had skills well beyond my years now, so I probably wouldn't die easily, but I had no intention of sitting there and letting something happen to me.

"I'll say I went out for a moonlit stroll." Or that I'd woken up needing to pee. 'Yes, I'm still just young enough to get away with that excuse. I'll use it.'

I rose, drew up the mana held deep within me, and spread it through my surroundings.

HUMMM.

Nothing caught my attention. At least, no one seemed to be hiding nearby to watch me.

I checked the dagger at my side. I'd brought my greatsword too, but I couldn't carry it into someone else's home, so I'd left it in the carriage. This dagger was a remarkable weapon in its own right, despite its appearance. I wrapped the mana I'd roused around my body, making myself lighter, and stepped into the corridor with my footfalls muffled.

The corridor was dark and quiet at this late hour, though the lamps spaced along it gave me enough light to see. 'But what am I looking for?' I'd come out into the corridor without deciding where to go next. Even if something was wrong, there was no guarantee I'd find anything overnight—or that anything would happen tonight at all. 'Well, I can always make it a moonlit stroll.'

Since my awakening, going without sleep for a night had barely strained me. And if I left my room empty and nothing happened, that wouldn't be so bad either. Feeling more at ease, I walked down the deserted corridor. Mana muffled even my own footsteps, and only the wavering lamplight dimly illuminated its lavish decorations. I was strolling along when I heard something.

"... Do we really have to do it?" The voice was so faint I wouldn't have heard it without enhancing my hearing with mana. A young woman's voice, full of complaint. I couldn't help sighing. Of course things weren't going to end quietly.

I followed the voice past the guest rooms to the family's private quarters. As I'd expected, it was the baron's daughter, speaking from her room. I pressed myself against a corner of the corridor, a little way from the door, and listened.

"You said all I had to do was pretend to be friendly, get close to him, and keep him from leaving. Wouldn't broken arms and legs, or some other serious injury, be enough? Even if he's illegitimate, you can't expect to get away with a death!" As I listened to her protest, I sent mana into the room. It met a strange resistance, then seeped through. There were two people inside. One would be the baron's daughter.

"I'll take care of that. You don't need to worry. Just do as you're told." The other voice belonged to the baron. Were they talking about me? Was he ordering his daughter to kill me?

"Honestly, why was I born into this family? I have no idea what you're thinking." She sounded thoroughly fed up, and her father answered bluntly. "If you remembered how much trouble I've gone through cleaning up your messes, you wouldn't dare say that. Without me, you'd have been executed long ago." "Hmph. I was little and didn't know any better. I don't do things like that anymore."

CLICK.

The moment she finished speaking, the closed door opened. Huh? There definitely hadn't been anyone beside it. "See? Even while we're talking about this, I'm keeping a proper watch on our surroundings. I found the little rat listening in right away, too." 'Damn it. Did she spot me?' I didn't know how, but I needed to retreat at once.

I circulated my mana and pushed off the floor.

THUNK!

Huh? My foot sank deep into it instead. It had definitely been stone. As I struggled to pull my leg free, the corridor and ceiling began to ripple. From where I stood to the far end of the corridor, the walls and floor moved as if they were alive. Was it an illusion? No, I could feel that it was solid.

This was clearly someone's ability. There were no windows in this corridor, and illusion or not, running down it now would be too dangerous. 'Damn it. I hate this, but there's no other way.' My only option was to force my way through. Bracing myself against the undulating floor and wall, I leaped through the open door.

Beyond it was a sitting room adjoining a bedroom. It was remarkably large and lavish for a baron's daughter, and unlike the corridor, it looked perfectly normal. As I'd sensed with mana, two people were inside: the baron and his daughter, sitting opposite each other in their outdoor clothes at this late hour. Her eyes widened when she saw me burst in.

"Oh my! Well, look who it is. You gave your big sister quite a fright." Her tone was completely different from before. Even by lamplight, though, she looked quite pretty with her eyes wide like that. In a few years, she'd surely be a lady who drew attention at noble parties. The baron turned to look at me, and an odd expression crossed his face. Was it disbelief?

What now? Should I fight? The moment didn't feel right to strike first. No—as soon as I considered attacking, a warning sounded from deep within me. I quickly changed my expression. "The corridor outside was moving! I couldn't sleep, so I got up, but I got lost while I was walking around. Then the floor and walls started moving like they were alive. Is this place haunted?" I poured out the words in a fluster, looking thoroughly frightened.

"Oh! Did it scare you badly, young master? You must have seen things in your half-asleep state." She rose with a sympathetic expression. The baron frowned at her. "Come with me. I'll take you back to your room." "Would you? Thank you." I smiled and talked with her, but the closer she came, the stronger my sense of danger grew. "Here, take my hand." She reached out.

At that instant, I swung the blade at my waist with all my strength and hurled myself toward the window.

BANG!

My blade never touched her. Her body slid sharply backward as the stone floor surged up to block my strike. The stone was cut apart, but that was all. Just as I'd thought, her whole manner had been an act.

"Ho ho ho. I knew you wouldn't fall for it. Your acting was excellent too. I wanted to give you a hug." Her laughter came from behind the wall that had risen between us, but I kept running for the window. Wrapping my entire body in mana, I threw myself at it with all my strength.