"What?　How was I supposed to know? I was in the mansion you guys are using, I just told you the names of the woman and the dog. Stop making weird accusations.'

　Pierre's line as he got into the arrogants, Marier, who was in the audience, turned over.

　Around him, Greg was blushing in anger.

'Bastard, you've got to be kidding me!

　Zilk's eyes narrowed, too.

'Would you go that far?'

　Chris could hear the gnashing of teeth from his fists, which were also clenched in anger.

　Kyle blurted out something like, "Brad's name is missing," but the people around him didn't say anything in response.

　Brad still couldn't get up.

　He must have been left behind in his room.

　Julius looked down at Leon.

'I hope we can help you,'

　At such words from Julius, Marier quietly looked up.

　

'Guys, don't think that you can help me. We're going to help. We're going to save Kara and Noel-chan and bring them to this place no matter what.

　They're all "Huh! He was surprised, and stood upright and unmoving at Marie's words.

'Don't be chickening out just because you're in the Republic!　That's what you guys do!　When are you going to hang on and not hang on here!　You can't look good with a lick in your hand!

　The faces of the five people who were here huffed as Marie shouted at them.

　They realized that while they were thinking about diplomatic issues and other things, they were apparently becoming weak-kneed.

　Julius nodded.

'Marie is right. We will find them at any cost!　We can't let Baltophalt get in the way.

　Zirk agrees.

'Yes. It's Count Bartophart. He must have some secret plan in mind for sure.'

　Chris also straightened his glasses.

'Right. When it comes to the game, there's no way Baldfalt can lose.'

　Greg slams his fist into the palm of his left hand.

I'm going to bring Kara and the doggie to this place, one way or another.

　But Kyle was the only one who mentioned a real problem.

'But we don't even know where he is,'

　Then, the terminal that Rion threw from the dueling arena fell on Marie's head.

''Ouch!　What are you doing, you son of a b*tc*.......Mr. Rion.

　Resisting the urge to call him a frigging brother, Marie picked up the device and looked down at the dueling grounds.

　Rion was giving him instructions with gestures and mouth movements.

　Marier could immediately sense what Rion was trying to say from his movements.



　Marie grabbed a device that resembled a smartphone.

(If I play an active role here, all my runs will be a charade. That doggie was so cute, my brother loved him, so if I save him, he'll get points. If I'm going to live, I'm going to have to be active here!)

　Here I want to remind you that Marie is Leon's sister in his previous life.

　They are similar siblings.

　Operating the terminal, Marie checks the information sent to her one after another.

''Everyone, we'll be back to the mansion soon.

　Kyle is surprised.

'What?　Aren't you going to look for it?

　Marie is

I'll check on Brad. Besides, I need to get my stuff back.

　The six of them, including Marie, headed from the dueling grounds to the mansion.

◇

　I threw the terminal and nodded at Marie and the others as they left the audience.

　They had a look on their faces that understood exactly what I was trying to say.

　It was right that I was pushing them.

　No, I was just teasing them a bit, but that guy was showing a lot of motivation, so I left him alone.

　Narcissus-sensei-sensei is going to check with me.

''........Are you going to continue?''

'Of course. We have a little more time before the duel, so let's just wait it out.

　Dr. Clement was taken aback.

'Knights of the realm are so belligerent, aren't they?

　You're wrong.

　I am a gentleman, a knight like my master.

'That's rude. I'm still a kind-hearted knight in this.

　Dr. Clement denies it.

''A good-hearted knight wouldn't use a holy tree sapling to fight a duel.

'It's a difference of opinion. You're so kind-hearted that you can't leave evil behind.

　Pierre was annoyed at being called evil.

'I'm going to kill you. Don't think you can die easily.'

　.... you're really great.

◇

　Marie's mansion.

　In the doorway, there is Brad's battered and bruised form.

　When Marie runs to pick him up, Brad looks frustrated.

I'm sorry, Marie. Kara and Noel have been taken. They just rode in at the drop of a hat.

　The vandalized front door bore the marks of a gun.

　Brad would have resisted, but he was too sick to move satisfactorily, or he would have been beaten into a sack.

'It's okay. We'll take care of the rest.

　When Brad felt relieved and passed out, Marie had the other guys carry him to his room.

　Kyle looks at the ransacked mansion and lets out a sigh.

'Who do you think is going to clean it up?　I can't wait to help Miss Carla and set up the cleanup.

　He is not a good talker, but you can feel his concern for Kara.

　Marie was silent.

　And--.

''Ah, um~.......Here's a delivery for you.

　The men who called out to me from outside, apologetically, were the ones who carried a large wooden box.

　They seemed to be carrying a delivery addressed to Marie.

　Marie signs to receive it.

　When the men left, Marie opened the lid of the box.

　What was in there was a machine gun.

　Kyle took a bullet in his hand.

'This is no ordinary bullet.

　It was a rubber bullet for anti-personnel use.

　However, if it hit, it usually hurt.

　Marie held a short machine gun - a gun that looked like something a gangster would have in an old movie, with a drum-type magazine that looked good.

'This ... is nice. Kyle, tell everyone to get ready at once.

　The sight of a young girl with a machine gun is somewhat unrealistic.

　However, Marier's stance is like a uniform.

　The information terminal in her pocket trembled, so when she took it out, Marie saw an image.

　It's the figure of Kara being held captive by a gang-like group.

　She's holding Noel in her arms.

　Marie had a blue streak on her forehead.

'You do-gooders I'm going to make you regret going after women and doggies. And I'm going to make you all go away so I can live.

　Kyle muttered as he looked at Marie with a dark smile on his face.

'Master scares me today,'

◇

　An abandoned warehouse.

　The men from the organization that was making backroom deals with Pierre were grinning around Carla.

　Some of the men were dressed in suits, but most of them were dressed like thugs.

　They held pistols and knives in their hands for show.

　Shaking, Kara held Noel in her arms.

　Noelle was chirping at Kara's face with her tongue.

　It was a gesture that made Noelle seem more worried about Kara.

　Kara was rattling her teeth and looking scared.

　A man with a large belly takes off his hat and looks at Kara.

'Little girl, I hear you're an exchange student?　If you find out that Arzel is a scary country, don't ever mess with the six noblemen again.

　The men are laughing.

　Kara is strong.

'Oh, you guys think you're going to get away with this?　This dog is Count Baldfart's--

　The man with the belly was the boss.

　The boss snickered.

'You may be great in your country, but this is Arzel, the center of the world. I don't want you to think that the nobles in the countryside are going to be weak-kneed. You'll understand if you don't want to, though, once you're in a bit of pain.

　I reach for Kara.

　Then the door to the abandoned warehouse blew open.

　The dust in the room rises and glistens in the light coming in through the entrance.

　Men point their guns at the incoming figures and fire at them.

　The sound of dozens of shots echoed in the room.

　But they were all bounced back by a barrier of light.

'Wha, what?'

　A slender girl steps in front of the startled boss.

　Kara starts to cry.

'Lady Marie!'

　Marie held the short machine gun on her shoulder.

I want Kara back!

　He pulls the trigger and fires at the men.

　The anti-personnel rubber bullets hit the men, and then the men jumped in from behind Marie.

　It's Greg and Chris.

'You dirty bastard for messing with a girl!

Be prepared for the rough stuff!

　The two men beat the men down one by one with sticks and wooden swords.

　The boss took out a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Kara.

''Ugh, it moves--ah!

　It was Zilk, who shot the boss in the arm with a gun at the ready.

''I can't allow you to point a handgun at a woman.

　Kara thought.

(Everyone ... is so much better looking than they usually are.)

　Although Julius and the others had very low life skills, they were very dependable in these situations. To begin with, they were rich, aristocratic monks.

　It was inevitable in a sense that their life skills were low.

　They've been educated as users of people, not as the ones being used.

　Carla runs up to Marie as she approaches.

　She had tears in her eyes and looked terrible.

''Marie, you look terrible!''

Kara, you did a great job. Noel looks like he's okay.

　Marie smiles, but the boss yells at her, holding his right hand with his left, while he yells at Marie.

'You little brat!　When you do this and you and your country get a free ride - yikes!

　Marie held her short machine gun at the ready without question and then pulled the trigger to continue attacking the boss.

　When the magazine is empty.

Master, I'll trade you.

　He handed Kyle the short machine gun, then picked up the pistol.

　He deactivated the safety and slid it out to load the bullet.

'Thanks, Kyle. Julius and Jirks, take Kara to the dueling grounds right away. That should be fine.

　Julius was troubled.

'No, shouldn't I stay behind too?'

　Marie stomped on her boss, who was crying out in pain, and replied as she pulled the trigger of her pistol.

'I'll be quick!'

Okay, okay!

　Zirk and I take Kara outside.

　There's an air bike outside, and the three of us get on it.

Hold on tight, both of you.

　Marie smiled as Zirk floated his air bike through the air.

◇

　Marie looks down at her stomping boss.

'Well, what shall we do now?'

　The boss was in tears.

'Ta, please. Forgive me. We were ordered by that bastard in Pierre to-- yikes!

　At the boss's face as he said this, Marie pulled the trigger of her pistol.

　She kept firing until the magazine was empty, and then grabbed her hair and lifted it up as the boss jerked and twitched.

'That looks painful. Let me fix you up.'

　Marie tricked the saint, but her healing magic was real.

　The boss's injuries are healed.

　The boss, who thought he was forgiven, makes a flirtatious face.

''Hehe, thank you, young lady--Ugh!

　Marie put the muzzle of her pistol into his mouth.

'No need to thank me. You beat Brad in the sack, so I'll have to pay you back twice as much.'

　Greg looked uneasy.

'Marie, isn't that about right already?　She's crying.

　Marie turned back to Greg.

'Don't be a spoiled brat!　This one had Kara kidnapped and Brad injured her. Don't you guys feel any regret that some lickin', rotten Alsel thug did this to you?

　Kyle silently offered Marie a replacement magazine, and she quickly replaced it.

　The boss was shaking.

'Wow, I'm sorry. I'll be sorry.'

　But Marie didn't stop.

'Chris, you brought it for me, didn't you?

　Chris took out a knife.

'I brought it with me, but is this what you want?　It's a cheap knife, and it's got a battered blade. It's easy to get injured with an unsharp blade.

　Marier smiled at Chris, who was concerned.

'It's all right. Because this will help with your ears and nose. He said it hurts a lot. I read that in a book in the Republic library.'

　It was written in a book that I happened to pick up.

　It wasn't a technical book, but it happened to be about torture.

　The boss shuddered.

'Please!　Forgive me. I'll tell you everything!

　But Marie was humming and looking at the knife.

'It doesn't look very sharp,'

　He looked like he was having a lot of fun.

　The boss cried out.

'I'll say anything!　I know that Pierre's weaknesses, too. So just listen to me anyway!

　Marie pointed her pistol at the crying boss's face and pulled the trigger.

　The boss's screams echoed through the abandoned warehouse, and the boss's men were shaking as they watched.

'Kyle, if anyone makes a funny move, shoot them. I'm not going to relent. If you get hurt badly, I'll fix you up, so don't worry about destroying it.

　Kyle straightened up.

'Ha, yes!'

　The boss cries out.

'Please!　I'll talk about anything!

　Marie stomped on her boss's face.

'Why don't you go ahead and talk on your own?　If I'm interested, I'll stop you. As best you can, you'll keep talking about topics that interest me.

　When Marie laughed, the boss cried instead.

　But inwardly, Marie thought.

(I know the book said something about torture, but is this the right thing to do?　(I don't need and don't want to do the ears or the nose or anything else... I've helped Kara and Noel, and it would be helpful if my brother could talk about any topic that would interest him.

　The bosses don't know what's going on inside Marie, and they go to hell in an abandoned warehouse.