No More Kennedy

On that day, her job as a double was finished.

A carriage with a lacquered texture slowly made its way through the city. The carriage was not decorated more than necessary, but it still had a luxurious appearance.

People on the road saw the great appearance and the family crest engraved on the side of the abdomen, and they bowed their heads and took off their hats. The reason is that this is the carriage in which the Earl of Keely, the lord of the territory, was riding.

It was surrounded by three guards and members of the “Dragon’s Throat”.

During the battle against the Night Pythons, the Earl of Keely kept to himself as much as possible in the castle, keeping himself as close to his office as possible in order to prevent any retaliation. However, as the lord, he could not stay confined for long.

In order to manage his territory smoothly, it seemed that there were people he had to meet and meetings he had to attend outside of the castle.

And Iris (René) was to accompany him as an escort. The presence of a magician was important, simply because the “Dragon’s throat” could only exert its maximum power when all the members were present.

–Perhaps the strongest force the Earl had available was the “Dragon’s Throat”. That’s why we were called. The Earl seems to love his daughter dearly, but he prioritizes his own life. He always puts himself first.

The reason I usually have to play the role of the lady’s double is because I can go protect the Earl in case of an emergency in the castle, I guess. In effect, I am forced to protect both of them.

If Catherine were to die, the family and the territory would not be so badly damaged, but if the Earl himself was killed, the very foundations of everything would be shaken. So it was natural for the Earl to prioritize his own life.

This was not a good thing or a bad thing, but something that he needed to think about as a lord.

Day in and day out, he wore clothes that were beautiful but hard to move in, like armor, and he had to be careful about his manners, down to the tips of his fingers, so as not to make a mistake. There was no time for relaxation.

Perhaps because of this, she felt as light as a feather in her adventurer’s gear, instead of those dowdy robes. She felt as if she were walking around naked and was not at ease.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since the four of us were together.”

Hugh whispered, and Benedict nodded.

“How’s work?”

–How’s work? Benedict’s fatherly move, as he sometimes does when he tries to have a conversation with his daughter and doesn’t know where to start, is to say something very vague and difficult to answer, like, “How’s school going?”

Benedict suddenly asked Iris (René) a random question.

If she searched Iris’s memory, she would find that he was always like this. He was not a good talker. Hugh was in charge of speaking and negotiations.

This kind of naivete and earnestness might have been Benedict’s charm. Iris (René) also answered him without being too noisy.

“It’s all right. I was a bit confused at first, but actually there is not much I have to do. All the teachers know that I am pretending, and if I speak in front of other people, they will know by my voice anyway, so all I have to do is to keep quiet and walk with a straight back.”

“I understand that the young lady tries not to speak either. Pfft, there was a maid who said she couldn’t tell which was which.”

Diana seemed more pleased with herself despite the praise.

Iris (René) couldn’t help but grin.

“You’ve changed, haven’t you? You have a strange elegance, or is it because of the way you walk differently? You used to look like an energetic kid, but now you look strangely mature.”

“Yeah, your steps have changed.”

“There you go.”

The men were impressed to see Iris (René) not dressed as a young lady for the first time in a long time.

Iris (René) noticed for the first time when she was told.

The first time Iris (René) noticed it, she thought she was walking comfortably, but then she realized that she had gotten into the habit of walking with her back straight and walking on a thread.

–Is this the kind of thing that fools the people who are working in the underworld? I’m a pretty good … lady, but I’m not sure how I could have been so good at it for a fake. I wonder if I should be happy about that, though “Chojiro” is lamenting in my head.

“That’s the way it is. Women transform themselves at the first opportunity. Iris has a lot to learn from this job, don’t you think?”

Diana commented, but it was a little strange that she seemed to have a favorable impression of “this job”.

“Umm, yes… they tought me lessons, manners… Um, but, you know, didn’t Diana hate this assignment?

“Even now, I’m against it. Such an absurd job. But that being said, if this experience will benefit Iris in the future, then I’m grateful for it. It’s a poor bet anyway, so let’s make a little money out of it.”

“Hey, hey, you can’t call it a bet.”

“It’s a poor pick. The danger is biased toward Iris.”

Diana, of all people, proudly remarked and snorted while guarding her client’s carriage.

She was not willing to budge on this point.

“I think we’re pretty much the same, but Diana’s got a soft spot for Iris.”

“Yes, she is sweet as can be.”

Hugh said with a wry smile.

Diana took it in stride and thumped her violently protruding chest.

“If we continue to work smoothly, no matter what I do, I will retire before Iris does, and I will die before she does. So, at least while we’re still adventurers together, I want to protect her and leave her as much as I can, don’t you? Experience, knowledge, that kind of thing.”

“Oh dear, that’s for sure.”

Hugh laughed without irony at Diana’s unabashed declaration of pampering.

All of the “Dragon’s Throat” members are fourth-class Guard adventurers, but Iris, the youngest in terms of both career and age, was treated like a younger sibling or daughter to everyone else.

“Iris” was annoyingly grateful for this and adored them all…

Iris (René) felt a pang of pain in her chest.

“What’s wrong?”

Diana looked anxiously into Iris’s (René’s) face.

She did not mean to show it on her face, but she seemed to have an unhappy expression on her face.

“If I were not … Iris, the companion of the “Dragon’s Throat”, but someone else, I don’t know, I wonder if Diana would say the same thing to me. I wonder…”

She didn’t know what she wanted to say, but when she tried to put it into words, she found the question terribly worrisome.

Diana, who looked puzzled, eventually walked over and suddenly embraced Iris’s (René’s) head as hard as she could.

“You little brat! Can you not say something cute?”

“Hyaaaa!”

Diana rubbed Iris’s (René’s) head with her hands. Her whole body was tingling.

“No matter who it was, since you are who you are, if you had met someone like me, you would have become good friends with them. I’m sure of it.”

“So what if someone else was Iris, companion of the “Dragon’s Throat”, and I was someone else who wasn’t Iris?”

The words that Iris (René) uttered as she was being hugged were like those of a spoiled child.

–What am I talking about, I …

Iris (René) was asking as if driven by anxiety. Her heart was beating uncomfortably.

She wondered what was so unsettling about it.

Diana thought about it for a moment before answering.

“I’m not sure I can imagine something so far removed from reality… I’m sure that if you, not Iris, wanted me to take care of you, I would do it.”

Diana said it casually, like it was a matter of course.

Hearing that, Iris (René) suddenly felt tears welling up, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

–If we had met in a different way…?

Would she have been as compassionate to René as she was to Iris?

… That’s only IF. Rene is helplessly an enemy of Diana.

“You should leave it at that. You know, if you talk too much, the enemy might take advantage of it.”

“Well, that’s right.”

“Yes…”

Benedict told them to break off.

Although she felt like she wanted to be held by Diana a little longer, she also felt that it was a good thing that Benedict had stopped her. If she had stayed like that, something in Iris (René) would have been broken.

It was not that she had been on her guard while they were having this conversation.

Iris (René) continued to probe her surroundings with the help of her emotional perception.

She was aware of the presence of something nearby, something that the other three and the guards were probably unaware of…, something inorganic and coldly hostile.

–It’s here, but it’s not coming this way… What is this?

She was quiet because it would have seemed unnatural if she noticed someone too far away from her.

It was as if it was simply doing its job to observe, something that seemed to be lurking on top of a building on the side of the road ahead, watching.

–… On top of a building?

If this were on Earth, this position would be the first to be checked as a security measure.

That’s when.

Even though the distance was still quite far, the hostility of the someone lurking on the roof swelled up like a balloon filled with gas.

“≪Wind Shield≫!! “

Before she could confirm the situation, Iris (René) used her magic.

Immediately after.

Something flew in from diagonally forward and upward, splitting through the air with a roar.

“What!”

Finally, the people around her reacted

But by that time, the flying object was approaching the carriage and was caught up in the wind magic that… Iris (René) had released, hit the carriage, bounced off it, and hit a nearby building while rotating.

It was outwardly just an arrow. But it had impossible speed and power. The arrow was aimed at the Earl, who was inside the carriage, through a window.

The arrow was repelled because the trajectory was changed by wind magic to hit the hard exterior, and the arrow’s power was somewhat reduced. However, the carriage had a deep gouge mark on it. This would have been enough to break through the window and pierce the occupants’ body. Moreover, the arrowhead emitted an eerie, slimy glow. Poison.

–Oh, how good! You should be glad I’m here! You’d be dead if I hadn’t left it alone!

She didn’t care if the Earl was dead or alive, but she couldn’t let him die now.

“Sniper!?”

“Where are you from!”

By the time the others looked up at the top of the building, the sniper had already begun to flee.

The hostility was gone, and they were slightly bewildered and humiliated, their pride severely wounded.

Such was the emotional reaction as he ran across the rooftops to get away.

–I’m not going to let you get away with it!

“≪Leg Entanglement≫! ≪Leg Entanglement≫! ≪Leg Entanglement≫!!”

Iris (René) slammed her wand to the ground with a clack and unleashed a flurry of magic.

“Did you catch him!?”

“I don’t know! I just shot randomly!”

Big lie.

It may have looked like she fired randomly because she couldn’t aim, but in reality, she was aiming perfectly, following the emotional reactions. The first two shots burned through the protective charms, and the third restrained him. The assassin was stuck to the rooftop level and his feet stuck to the roof, and he fell down in an unceremonious manner.

Benedict grabbed the unevenness of the building’s wall, pulled himself up with all his might, and scrambled to the top of the building.

The enemy was already in no position to move. Since he couldn’t shoot at Benedict unless he turns around, there was no problem in leaving the rest to him.

–But really, everyone has a protection charms. However common these items may be, they are not cheap. As one would expect from a criminal organization, they have a lot of money.

Although she had from the “Dragon’s Throat”, she usually kept it out of action because it was too expensive to be used regularly, and she only equipped it when she thought she would need it.

The carriage turned on the spot and increased its speed as far as the escorts on foot could follow.

Everyone seemed alert to their surroundings, but when Iris (René) traced the emotions in the area, she could not find any further reactions from attackers.