Rebecca pushed open the tavern doors, watching as passersby left one after another with gratitude on their faces. She reminded them gently, "Be careful on your way home, everyone."
"Thank you, Rebecca—and Mr. Yuuki as well."
"That was terrifying. Who would've thought the capital would be invaded?"
"There's no more commotion now. It should be safe."
"What were the Magic Knights doing, letting something like this happen?"
"Come on, that's not something we can worry about. Mr. Yuuki was really reliable."
"Rebecca, Mr. Yuuki—when the tavern opens, we'll definitely come by."
Voices of thanks echoed one after another.
Once the last of the people Yuuki had helped left, Rebecca closed the tavern doors again. The tension in her face finally eased a little.
"It's unbelievable… an invasion of the royal capital, of all things."
A trace of lingering fear remained in Rebecca's teal eyes. But when her gaze fell on Yuuki—leaning against the table in the common room, drinking water—her heart settled.
"The explosions in the distance have stopped. And all those controlled corpses were taken down,"
Mariella, who was impersonating Yuuki, spoke calmly, a hint of contemplation hidden deep in her eyes.
"The invasion should've been stopped by the Magic Knights."
To cause such chaos in the Clover Kingdom's capital—this was a truly terrifying force. The calm could mean the invaders had been stopped… or it could mean they had already achieved their objective.
As an elite member of the Diamond Kingdom's Assassination Unit, Mariella possessed keen analytical instincts.
Recalling how Yuuki had prepared in advance, a thought surfaced in her mind.
Could the mysterious force bold enough to invade the capital… be connected to Lord Yuuki?
There was one thing she was certain of.
Lord Yuuki had known the invasion was coming—he had even confirmed it days in advance.
"What just happened was far too dangerous,"
Rebecca said as she walked over, her expression gentle as she spoke softly to Mariella.
"No matter what, that's supposed to be the Magic Knights' job."
Mariella raised her head and looked at the red-haired Rebecca. Her gaze instinctively swept across Rebecca's neck and heart—two vital points.
Too weak.
If she acted, she was absolutely confident she could kill the red-haired girl instantly.
Mariella held her cup and didn't speak right away.
She didn't understand the relationship between Lord Yuuki and this girl. To avoid suspicion, silence was sometimes the best option.
Just then—
A knock sounded at the door.
Rebecca froze and turned toward the entrance, only to find no one there.
"I'll take a look,"
Mariella said, quickly setting her cup down and heading outside.
Rebecca watched her swift movements, a hint of confusion on her face as she murmured,
"Yuuki's acting a little strange today… Is he worried about Asta and Yuno?"
Mariella stepped out of the tavern, scanned the surroundings, then quickly made her way into the alley where she had switched places with Lord Yuuki earlier.
"Thanks for the trouble,"
Yuuki said with a light smile when he saw her.
"This is my duty, Lord Yuuki,"
Mariella replied at once. She removed the mask-shaped magic tool from her face. Her figure shrank back to its original form, and she respectfully handed the mask to him.
"Nothing unexpected happened, right?"
Yuuki asked casually as he took it.
Mariella swiftly reported everything that had occurred.
After listening, Yuuki nodded lightly.
Mariella had been a bit taciturn, but it hadn't caused any issues. Rebecca wouldn't notice anything amiss. More importantly, the civilians Mariella had rescued could indirectly serve as proof of his presence—that alone was sufficient.
"Have you identified all the bases of the Assassination Unit?" Yuuki asked.
"Almost, Lord Yuuki. There's still a bit left,"
Mariella replied apologetically.
"Hurry," Yuuki said evenly.
"While the Magic Knights are distracted and not paying attention to your Assassination Unit, we'll wipe them out in one go."
The Diamond Kingdom's Assassination Unit—an organization that struck fear into countless mages—was spoken of by Yuuki as if it were nothing more than ants to be crushed at will.
For some reason, Mariella felt no doubt at all when she heard those words.
"Yes, my lord," she answered respectfully.
Not long after—
Yuuki returned to the tavern and saw Rebecca pacing back and forth in the hall, waiting anxiously. He smiled warmly.
"I didn't see anyone. Probably just someone playing a prank."
"You just fought those invaders in the capital, used up so much stamina, and then ran out again,"
Rebecca said as she stepped forward, concern shining in her youthful eyes.
"What if you ran into danger?"
"Things like that should be left to the defense force and the Magic Knights."
Yuuki strolled into the hall, pulled out a chair by the dining table, and sat down.
"Some things have to be done personally," he said softly.
"The Magic Knights may be trustworthy—but I'd rather hold our safety in my own hands than leave it to others."
Then his tone shifted, and he smiled.
"Looks like deciding to delay the tavern's opening by a few days was the right call."
The change of subject worked perfectly. Rebecca's attention immediately turned to the opening of the tavern.
"Definitely," she nodded.
"If we'd just opened and then something like this happened, we'd probably have to close again right away."
She patted her modestly full chest, relief written on her face.
"Still, we might have to delay the opening a few more days," she added.
"It's just a shame about some of the ingredients we bought earlier. If we leave them too long, they'll lose flavor—or even spoil."
Thinking of the cartloads of ingredients they'd purchased, Rebecca couldn't help feeling a little heartache.
"In that case," Yuuki said with a grin, slapping the table,
"let's cook them now and eat them ourselves."
"Let's treat it as a celebration—celebrating the fact that after something this big happened in the capital, none of us got hurt. I'll go call Marco and Luca down."
With that, he stood up decisively and headed for the second floor.
"Honestly… there's no way we can eat all that,"
Rebecca muttered as she watched him go, exasperated.
Even so, she had already started thinking about what dishes to make.
(End of Chapter)
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