🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 90
“The roads will be closed for the next thirty minutes.”
Albus Oceanus explained this to Noah and Leto as they prepared to depart.
In this operation, he was responsible for rear support.
Partly because of an unintended kidnapping attempt, but mostly because he was such a famous figure with a striking physique, he decided to take a step back.
Still, using Oceanus’s immense wealth, he provided all the necessary resources.
From the ice cream truck stolen by the spies for disguise, to the bike Noah and Leto were riding, and even the black magically-powered car the spies had taken from the hotel.
Albus had even done a little tinkering with the vehicles.
“I intentionally weakened the joint on the upper left wheel.”
“…….”
“Could you manage?”
“Don’t worry, General. We won’t disgrace your name.”
As Leto smiled, a helmet was lowered onto his head.
“Ahem, my granddaughter-in-law.”
“Grandfather?”
“Is that enough for you?”
Albus pointed to the rod on Noah’s back. Though roughly wrapped in plain cloth and hard to see, it was clear at a glance that it was a sword.
A sword, while they were supposed to track and intercept a vehicle.
Albus wished Noah had a gun. He glanced at Leto, but Leto only shrugged.
He had already coordinated with Noah beforehand.
And, in a way, he was more anxious than Albus himself.
“…Did you two fight?”
“No, we didn’t.”
“Grandfather.”
Noah said this and put on her helmet.
“I’ll be back soon.”
The two then sped off on the bike, chasing the black car.
As Aitra had predicted, the black car was heading toward the city, where the ice cream truck had stopped.
Just then, a small commotion occurred in front of the ice cream truck, and Noah was relieved to see Clare and Arty at the center of it.
She increased her speed and quickly closed in on the black car.
As soon as they left the estate, a gunfight broke out, but Noah and Leto’s protective magic easily blocked it.
Taking advantage of the moment, Leto veered left. After exchanging a brief glance with Noah, he drew a hidden revolver.
Click!
Aaaah!
The spies hesitated after just two shots from Leto, and Noah surged ahead.
Once she judged she had put some distance between herself and the car, Noah quickly dismounted the bike.
Without a driver, the bike couldn’t maintain its speed and rolled forward until it hit a nearby tree.
“…….”
Seeing Noah, Leto holstered his gun and stepped aside.
Noah drew her sword.
The plain cloth unraveled, revealing a red scabbard. Noah had brought Mars.
Mars soon enveloped itself in a blue aura. The moment the lightning-like aura appeared, the forest erupted in chaos.
Birds and small animals that had been silently watching the earlier chase and gunfight sensed the violent energy and fled immediately.
Rabbits, deer, squirrels, and dozens of birds scrambled for safety, disappearing into the foliage and sky.
Amid it all, Noah slowly lifted the tip of her sword.
“…….”
Leto, having completely stopped the bike, watched Noah silently.
Even missing a wheel, the black car kept heading straight for Noah, its horn silent.
In fact, it accelerated.
It meant to ram through.
Noah didn’t particularly care.
Though her smile was hidden beneath the helmet, she was indeed smiling.
The sword lifted above her head had now fully absorbed the aura. Its blade glowed blue, and an engraved emblem at its center flashed.
“Strike the wicked.”
For the Pieta family, who had lived as the Empire’s swords, “wicked” referred to enemies attacking or obstructing the Empire.
But now, it was different.
For Noah, the last heir of the Pieta family, “wicked” referred to the Empire itself—the Empire that had betrayed her and her family.
Thus, the Empire’s spies charging toward her were included in that definition of wicked.
There was no hesitation as Noah swung her sword.
The black car, racing toward her, split perfectly in half, sliding to crash into a tree while leaving Noah untouched.
The spies, knocked unconscious by the impact, didn’t understand what had happened before losing consciousness.
The two spies who abandoned the ice cream truck and hid in the massive warehouse district near the harbor managed to escape to the forest outside the estate.
But as soon as they stepped into the forest:
Bang! Bang!
The forest shook with the massive sound.
“Wh-what is that?!”
Startled, the spies barely had time to react before animals began fleeing from the direction of the noise—birds, rabbits, squirrels, even deer, all ignoring them.
It looked like a scene straight out of a disaster horror movie.
Sensing something amiss, the spies cautiously moved toward the source of the noise, only to be horrified.
They hurriedly retreated.
“The Navy’s mad dog!”
One spy shivered.
“The man without a helmet! It was Vice Admiral Oceanus!”
“So that’s why the White Lion went south…”
“It wasn’t just a simple family trip!”
Their late realization was too late to matter.
The two spies, finally aware they’d walked into a trap, moved even faster.
They didn’t notice Noah and Leto glancing at the spot where they had hidden.
“…The operation’s a total failure.”
Thinking they’d put some distance between themselves and danger, the two spies hid and discussed their plan.
“At least we have to get back to the Empire.”
They had split the duke’s reward into five parts, each carrying a share, leaving them with two bags totaling 300,000 Pina.
“But how do we return? We can’t get a ship right now.”
“That’s not the main concern. We have to survive first…”
Thump thump thump thump!
The small sound immediately put them on alert.
Something unknown was charging toward them. They quickly drew their guns and aimed.
Rumble!
And what appeared before them was…
“…….”
“…….”
Nothing.
Ba-dum ba-dum baam!
But startled by the loud music coming from the ground, they finally looked down.
“…Fur?”
A round white clump of fur lay there. At first, they thought it was just animal fur shed during summer.
Ba-dum ba-dum baam!
The fur clump was producing music.
“What the hell is this?!”
Cursing, one spy stomped on the fur clump.
But his foot was stopped by some force. And the fur pushed back with greater strength than his stomp.
“Wh-what the…!”
The spy fell backward, and the music grew louder.
Simultaneously, the fur clump began to take shape.
[Knife Bunny! Knife Bunny!]
The righteous avenger, Knife Bunny!
[The illegal butcher who killed my parents! Stain their blood on your knife!]
Matching the chilling lyrics, the fur clump grew larger.
Leg-like appendages, barely visible before, lengthened and thickened into limbs.
[Justice will be served! Illegal slaughter means execution!]
The enlarged fur clump split into two parts: body and head.
A gleaming knife gripped its right hand.
Long white ears shot up from its head, with X-shaped black eyes drawn on its face.
[Righteous and invincible!]
Knife Bunny!
Friend of the children in Sharp Estate and the southern region.
Knife Bunny slowly lifted its head in front of the spies.
“…….”
“…….”
Even seeing it, the spies couldn’t believe their eyes. Perhaps they were dreaming.
Then, a monotone mechanical voice echoed from what seemed to be Knife Bunny’s mouth:
[…Target confirmed.]
[Beginning location transmission.]
Knife Bunny bent its legs like a sprinter preparing to launch.
“…Damn it!”
One spy grabbed the other and fled.
He had realized whose handiwork this absurd technology was.
The center of Adlavor.
Ruler of the south.
Source of the Magi Tower explosion.
Knife Bunny turned toward the fleeing spies, crouched again.
[Escape confirmed.]
Another knife appeared in its left hand.
[Hunting begins now.]
Knife Bunny raced through the forest, kicking up dust.
Adbelvo’s period for capturing the spies was five days.
But Noah and Leto caught all five spies in less than thirty minutes.
The captured spies were transported in a vehicle sent by Adbelvo to Oceanus Mansion in Sharp Estate.
The driver was Ameta Adbelvo.
“…….”
“…….”
Inside the car, an awkward silence hung in the air. More accurately, Ameta was awkward because Noah and Leto weren’t speaking.
‘…Did they fight?’
Normally, the annoying but friendly son-in-law would have spoken first, and the daughter would have chattily asked questions.
“Ugh……”
The three remained silent all the way to Oceanus Mansion, leaving Ameta miserable.
“Dad, thank you.”
“Thank you for coming.”
At least, upon arriving at the mansion, Noah and Leto expressed their belated gratitude.
“Did you two fight?”
Ameta asked hastily.
“No, we didn’t.”
“That’s not the case.”
Their answers were honest, but unlike before, they didn’t cling to each other or meet each other’s eyes.
“…Alright, understood.”
Ameta didn’t ask further. For married children, she only intervened in cases of divorce, domestic abuse, fraud, gambling, or similar issues.
After Ameta left:
“Noah.”
Leto finally asked what he had been wanting to know.
“…Are you a descendant of the Pieta family?”
Noah shook her head. Leto’s question had a slight error.
She corrected him.
“I’m their biological daughter.”
Not a descendant, but the true daughter of Count and Countess Pieta.
