---

Three years ago, after the invasion of Griffin Academy, the continent was engulfed in chaos.

Fortunately, the Demon King has yet to regain their strength, but the Demonic Race has begun to run rampant.

The Demonic Race, which typically shunned forming groups, started to band together and began invading the territories of other races.

While cities deep within territories may be less affected, the merchants traveling between cities have frequently fallen victim to attacks, leading to considerable disruptions in logistics.

This would have been a considerable hardship for commoners, especially those who live day by day.

However, thanks to the Sword Master and the ruler of the continent’s largest merchant guild, the Golden King, who proclaimed war against the Demonic Race and gave up a significant profit opportunity, it only resulted in a slight price increase.

No matter how large the merchant guild is, opposing the Golden King would be burdensome. Rather than create a formidable enemy, they chose to conscientiously reap reasonable profits.

Yet, how could human greed be restrained?

The situation in the merchant guild was an exception; even amidst the continent’s crisis, those who did not hesitate to satisfy their greed existed everywhere across the land.

Particularly, the farther one moves from the Empire’s center, the more severe this greed was, especially in areas with relatively less scrutiny from the royal family. No matter how absolute the Emperor’s power, basic hands were lacking to cover even the fringe cities.

Even the Empire, despite being less severe due to the Emperor, was ineffectual in comparison. Other countries, especially small ones, were dire.

One of the southern cities, Sahalan, was no exception.

“The meal is prepared, my Lord.”

“Has it already become that time? No wonder I’m so hungry.”

In typical corrupt noble fashion, a man with a bulging stomach promptly got up from his seat at the butler’s words and headed to the dining room.

Upon arriving at the dining room, the Count sat alone at the table, dining by himself until dessert was served.

Originally, the meal should have been shared with his wife and children, but they had long since become strangers to him. They merely lived under the same roof out of obligation.

However, the Count preferred things this way.

Thanks to forming an alliance with the Demonic Race, despite having to obey a few commands, he was welcomed by a life more abundant than before.

He no longer had to worry about stealing from his territory’s citizens, and with his wife, who was now more like a stranger, no longer meddling, he could indulge in various relationships and live as he pleased.

“Ah, by the way, I heard some new servants joined today?”

“Please wait a moment, my Count. I will fetch them shortly.”

Leaning back in his chair and burping, the Count looked towards the butler standing by him.

The butler left the dining room and soon returned with several young women dressed in maid outfits.

The Count’s mansion was already overflowing with maids, making it unnecessary to hire more.

Furthermore, everyone knew that the newly arrived maids were all of prime age without needing to state the obvious.

Even the maids who had just entered the dining room understood this.

“Hmm… It seems there are quite a few promising ones among this batch.”

As the Count’s gaze scanned over the maids, one girl, seemingly clueless, lifted her head, trembling as she met his eyes.

“Oh?”

The Count would not let this moment slip away.

With a heavy gait, he approached the girl who had made eye contact with him.

Though the girl eventually lowered her head, the sight of the Count’s polished shoes glaring at her from the ground instilled sufficient fear.

“Lift your head.”

In contrast to the trembling blonde girl, the Count became even more pleased.

As the blonde girl slowly raised her head, the Count brazenly examined her face and body from top to bottom.

“Good. I’ll take this one. Provide her some basic training and bring her to my room.”

A sigh of relief escaped the other girls standing nearby. Although their turn would come eventually, at least the knowledge that it wasn’t today brought them comfort.

Just then, one girl, sighing for a different reason, raised her hand.

“I-I’ll go instead!”

It was the silver-haired girl who had consoled the youngest blonde girl a moment before.

The Count, irritated by her audacity, turned his gaze to the bold girl who dared to interrupt him.

Normally, the Count would have slapped her immediately, but upon seeing her silver hair, he momentarily paused.

It was due to the rumors that had been circulating around lately.

Rumors of a silver-haired Assassin who had been slaying corrupt nobles.

He wasn’t afraid of an assassin. The parasites implanted in his body due to dealing with the Demonic Race kept watch over him while simultaneously protecting him. There was no reason for him to fear an assassin.

Some rumors even said the Assassin killed Demonic Races or was, in fact, a Hero disguised as an Assassin.

Of course, the idea of a Hero being an Assassin was ridiculous, so he brushed off the thought.

However, such rumors could be a good source of entertainment.

If he were to view the silver-haired girl standing in front of him as a Hero, it would mean he was trampling over a Hero. Imagining a Hero groaning beneath him? Just the thought made his lower half tighten.

Thus, the Count decided to reverse his earlier statement and gladly permitted what the silver-haired girl suggested.

“Ugh… Your selflessness resembles a Hero like your silver hair. Fine. You shall take her place. Today will be quite entertaining.”

As the Count left the dining room, leaving behind his greasy voice, the blonde girl, relieved to have escaped a crisis, approached the silver-haired girl who had volunteered to take her place.

“Why are you stepping in? It’s my fault that you’re…”

“Haha… Ria, looking at you reminds me of my little sister.”

As the silver-haired girl replied with an awkward smile, Ria, the blonde girl, instinctively chastised her.

“…But Rose, you only have your brother. You two just argue constantly.”

“Oh, right. I mentioned that before. Anyway, don’t worry about me. It’s still appropriate for the older one to step up here.”

She patted Ria on the head lightly, reassuring her. However, even such a conversation wasn’t destined to last long.

“Come now. We can’t keep the Count waiting.”

At the butler’s words, Rose removed her hand from Ria’s head and waved goodbye with a cheerful face.

But Ria understood. That bright smile was forced for her sake.

As she watched Rose being led away down the hallway, Ria stared for quite some time.

—

“Well, I never knew there was such a decent girl in our city.”

Rose’s outfit was neither the maid’s dress she had just changed from nor the light clothing for the upcoming events ahead.

She wore suitable armor. Even her waist bore a decent sword.

Of course, they couldn’t equip a girl with heavy armor, so it was merely light armor made of leather.

All this was merely for the Count’s amusement. With the intention of imagining this silver-haired girl as a Hero, he decided to dress her accordingly.

Even when Rose drew the sword at her waist, prepared for death, and aimed it awkwardly at the Count, the Count found the scene rather delightful.

“Ugh… Yes. Keep it up just like that.”

As the Count approached, Rose swung her sword at him.

However, her lack of strength and the fact that she was close-eyed, swinging without any accuracy, could not harm the Count. There was no need to utilize the parasite’s power; his significantly larger physique and swordsmanship learned from youth were more than enough to subdue a girl.

As the Count grasped Rose’s wrist, the sword in her hand lightly flew away, landing in a corner of the room.

Though she forced herself to exhibit strength toward Ria, she was just as terrified as Ria.

Waiting for this nightmare to pass, frozen in fear and unable to shed a tear, Rose heard a voice from a dark corner that should not have been there.

“Well… I had to dye my hair to avoid rumors lately; if I had known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have dyed it.”

Why was Ria’s voice resonating? Wondering if she was merely hearing things, Rose cautiously opened her tightly shut eyes.

However, it seemed the voice was not a figment of her imagination, as the Count, who still held her wrist, also turned his head towards the source of the sound.

“You… from earlier…”

“Shh. It’s disgusting, so just shut up.”

At her delicate yet chilling words, the Count’s mouth immediately snapped shut.

He didn’t just refrain from speaking; even his body couldn’t stand upright, collapsing to the floor and shaking uncontrollably.

Instead, it was Rose, standing right next to him, who looked on in disbelief, awkwardly frozen.

“I suppose I’ve generally heard some rumors, and my reason for being here doesn’t really require explanation, right?”

Emerging from the shadows, Ria slowly crossed the room and retrieved the sword that Rose had dropped earlier.

Unlike the maid outfit she wore last time they parted, she was clad in a tight black outfit clinging to her body.

“What… If I were to ask who the Demonic Race is that you made contact with, you probably can’t say due to your binds… But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you go without pain.”

Slowly stepping forward, Ria approached the Count with the sword in hand.

“Still, I appreciate you preparing this sword. I was worried about how to appease that bloodstained Holy Sword that would whine again.”

At Ria’s words, both Rose and the Count’s gazes shifted to her waist. Just as she mentioned, another sword was resting at her side.

Is that the Holy Sword?

If it’s the Holy Sword, isn’t that the Hero’s weapon? According to Ria’s words, she would be, in fact, the Hero.

Ria, who should never have been here, had appeared out of nowhere. Furthermore, she effortlessly subdued the Count with just a single word and approached him with a sword drawn, leaving Rose’s head spinning.

Hearing the mention of the Holy Sword only served to confuse Rose’s already swirling thoughts.

“Oh, Rose. Could you close your eyes for just a moment? Just a brief moment will suffice.”

Unlike when she spoke to the Count, her voice was incredibly gentle. Rose could feel an inexplicable sense of relief from Ria’s sweet tone and obediently squeezed her eyes shut again.

An unsettling dragging sound could be heard. Soon, the dragged sound stopped, replaced by a short groan from a man. That was all.

“You’re good. You can open your eyes now.”

As soon as she opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings, a lump covered by blankets caught her eye in a corner. Though unspoken, it was evident that it was the Count… the Count, at least Rose could tell.

“I’m sorry. I ended up giving you a horrific memory for no reason.”

When they were far apart, the dark room concealed his identity, but now in the light of the moon, Ria’s hair had turned silver, much like Rose’s.

“I, I don’t… No, I don’t mind… But Ria… I mean, Ria, you’re in danger…”

Still fretting over whether to speak informally or formally, seeing Ria worrying about her made the girl once called Elysia let out a chuckle.

“I’ve already sent word to the Emperor, so someone will come to inspect this territory soon. So, neither I nor you, Rose, need to worry.”

In a tender voice, Elysia reassured the scatterbrained Rose.

Thanks to this, as Rose’s face eased, Elysia also smiled back at her. Though masked, she was probably smiling genuinely.

As Rose continued to gaze at Elysia, she nodded.

“Thank you for stepping up for me earlier. It must have been tough for you…”

Just as Rose had done, Elysia slowly reached out a hand and gently patted Rose on the head, almost as if praising her.

Having her head patted by someone who appeared younger should have been infuriating, but instead, Rose accepted Elysia’s touch obediently.

“Then take care of yourself. You should act a bit selfishly going forward.”

Now that her objective was achieved, and the young girl who had been unwittingly swept up in the ordeal seemed settled, Elysia stood up.

As she moved towards the nearby window, Rose, sensing her departure, urgently called out.

“Wait!”

As Elysia drew back the curtains blocking the window, she turned to look at Rose at her cry.

“Um… well…”

Being unable to articulate what she wanted to say after calling out, Rose stammered.

But then, as if she remembered what to say, she called out once more towards Elysia.

“When you’re done… when everything is finished, could you come back to the city? I can only say this now, but I want to express my gratitude.”

At Rose’s words, Elysia offered a smile, lowering her mask. Though she didn’t verbally respond, the smile sufficed as an answer for Rose.

Finally, illuminated by the moonlight, her appearance that had been hidden in the darkness revealed itself.

Her silver hair was so beautiful one might mistake it for pure white, with ruby-like shimmering red eyes, and a cheerful smile that naturally complemented the sword at her waist.

It was an image that bore no resemblance to the naive demeanor she exhibited while in maid clothing.

Confirming Ria’s smile directed her way, Elysia leaped through the window.

“She seems quite flustered after almost being assaulted by that pig of a man, yet she managed to stay calm to the end. Rose, you truly are a strong person.”

With yet another bizarre thought flowing through her mind.

 

---