The next day, after rescuing Sieg and his friends from the labyrinthine Tomb of the Deep Sea.

I'm sorry, I'll leave you guys alone for now.

　Gran and I saw to it that Mize left before we did.
　He said he was going shopping in the castle town because he was running low on seasonings. .......

I'm sure you'll be able to understand why. ...... It's nice to be homey, isn't it?

　Ignore the muttering Gran and think.
　Should I follow him? I suppose I should as a guard, but ...... I had a bad feeling.

　Just before leaving the classroom, Mize looked at me for a moment.
　Her eyes were as if she was trying to assess me.

　--Did she sense me?

　It reminded me of the other day.
　Instead of rescuing Sieg and the others in the labyrinth of the Tomb of the Deep Sea, I fought openly in front of Mize. As a result, she began to suspect that I was her bodyguard.

　If she's trying to find out who I am, I have to be careful not to get pushed around too much. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea to let her go alone.

"I remembered something urgent too. I'm going home first.

What?　Hey, Twight?

　I'm going home first." "Hey, Twight?" I said to Elysia and left the classroom.
　If there is no suspicion, you can continue to approach Mize under the guise of coincidence, but this time it would be better not to. I take out a miniaturized black cloak, put it on, and start following him under my breath.

　So far the mise-en-scene is heading for the castle town as we explained.
　While following her back, I took out a "communication paper" from my pocket.

　In this situation, I can't guard her well. I'll call Oz for support in case of emergency.
　But...

"Oz: ......?

　No matter how long I waited, I couldn't hear Oz's voice on the comm.

　--What's going on?

　I can't reach Oz.
　I'm on a mission. I told Oz to be as responsive as possible.

　Is there something unexpected going on?
　Or is it really just a coincidence that Oz is unavailable for communication?

　I don't have time to worry about .......

　I may be unsympathetic, but I'm putting Mize first right now.
　I've been following a small girl walking in front of me, and suddenly she starts running.

　--Did she find out that I was following her?

　He hurriedly chases after Mize, who suddenly starts running.
　But on the way, another possibility occurred to me.

　No, this is not--

　This isn't the movement of a tail.
　This is a move to see if there's someone following you. It's not a move to be sure of a tail.

　Mize turned right at the corner as he ran.
　She'll probably be waiting for you around the corner.

　I'm not going to take that chance.
　I stopped chasing Mize and took the corner before she turned and went ahead of her.

　As a member of the royal family, I wonder if she has been educated as a gifted person. Mize seems to be quite resourceful.
　As I walked down the alleyway and waited for Mize to come to me...

"Let go of me!

　I heard Mize's desperate voice.

"Who are you people?

"Who are you--" "Shut up!

　Immediately after hearing the man's small voice, Mize stopped speaking.
　He seemed to have been threatened with a blade or something.

　I made various plans in my head.
　Is there any way to save her without revealing her true identity?
　Is there any way I can get Oz to come here now that I've lost contact with him?

　This is a situation that requires calm thought. But my head was boiling hot.
　Mize might have been hurt by the men while I was doing this.
　As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I snapped out of it and headed for Mize.

Let's get out of here before the guards find out.

We can't let them get away.

　I made my appearance before the two assassins and Mize.
　My face was hidden by a black cloak, but Mize would have recognized me immediately by my voice. I turned my gaze away from the wide-eyed and astonished Mize and looked at my two enemies.

"d*mn, it's you all the way!

There's no way out!　I'll take you down somehow...

　The man who had been holding Mize's mouth took out a poisoned dagger and approached.
　He dodged the dagger and slammed the man to the ground with a throwing motion while tightening his wrists.
　He shot the man in the brain, who moaned as he was struck in the back.

　--It's easy.

　I don't mean it's easy to defeat the enemy.
　Now that I was prepared for Mize to find out that I was an escort, I felt -- I felt better.



　Ever since the day the agency was dismantled and I pursued a normal life, my first priority has always been the life in front of me. I was sick and tired of having to figure out what was going on in the Bureau, whether it was secret escorts or not allowing interrogations.

　I wanted to immerse myself.
　I wanted to protect what I wanted to protect. That's all I want to fight for.

"Twight, are you ......?

　After effortlessly killing the second man.
　Mize asked in a shaky voice.
　I lifted the black cloak that covered my head and answered.

"Yes.