"W, what is this…?"
The remaining soldiers raised voices of confusion.
Rather than fear, it seemed more like they couldn't comprehend what happened.
I casually walked forward.
Though my stride was frail, my opponents' legs were frozen in fear.
I was able to easily close the gap.
"Gah…!"
"Gyaah…!"
Each of the soldiers within 10 meters of me cried in agony as they vanished.
"W, who…are you…?"
The bewilderment of the remaining knights had now turned into fear.
"Disappear."
I took another step forward.
The remaining knights vanished without being able to scream.
"Are you alright?"
I called out to the girl who had collapsed.
"You are?"
She looked up at me with a stunned expression.
She slowly got up, using her sword to support herself.
"Thank you. I am Shea Framwright."
The girl named Shea politely bowed.
She seems to be about seventeen years old.
Her knight's armor and helmet were quite chipped, but when looking closely, I could tell that they were top quality.
"Chrome."
I gave her my name.
I kept my last name a secret for the time being.
"U, um, could it be that you killed those soldiers back there with your magic?"
"Magic…you say?"
I lightly sighed.
I lost all of my magic on that fateful day two years ago.
All I have now is this "darkness" skill.
However, I didn't feel like giving such a drawn-out explanation.
"…Something like that."
I gave a concise answer.
"Um…!"
Shea once again spoke to me.
Her tone of voice was stronger than before.
"I have one request. Could you listen to what I have to say?"
"A request…what is it?"
"Actually──"
Shea suddenly went down on her knees.
She looked up at me with vigor while kneeling on the ground.
It seems that she has her circumstances.
※
-Shea's Side-
"Sister…?"
Shea Framwright was frozen in shock while in front of her older sister's corpse.
It seemed that she had suffered an immeasurable amount of torture.
She suffered the violence of Duke Riotte and his henchmen, and was deprived of her dignity as a woman and as a human.
Her tidy and beautiful face was warped with fear.
Her limbs were bent in the wrong direction, she was covered in blood.
"Agh…uuh….aaah…."
Shea threw up right then and there.
She kept throwing up until she had emptied the contents of her stomach.
The figure of her older sister remained in her mind.
Her sister had raised Shea like a parent when losing both parents early on in life.
She was a gentle, brave beauty.
She was intelligent, had skill with the sword, and was active within the Kingdom's chivalric order.
Have a year ago, she was scouted by Duke Riotte and worked as the leader of his knights.
She had been proud of her sister.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Shea kept crying until she ran out of tears.
Blood fell onto her sister's face from her biting her lip.
It formed a red streak, as if it were a falling tear.
"I will never forgive him…I'll kill him…!"
After that, only a hatred and desire for revenge towards Riotte remained.
※
"──I'm looking for revenge against Duke Riotte."
While kneeling in front of me, Shea had explained her circumstances.
"I suppose it's revenge on behalf of my sister."
I've got the gist of her story.
Shea's older sister was working as the leader of the duke's knights.
The duke, Riotte, basically indulged himself in gold and women while charging heavy taxes on the citizens.
His greed knows no end, how expected.
When Shea's older sister criticized him for that, Riotte was angered.
He and his henchmen then tortured her in all sorts of ways before finally killing her.
Shea vowed to get revenge.
During that time, Riotte noticed Shea's beauty and sent his henchmen to have her for himself.
She refused Riotte's offer and fought with the sword and armor her sister left behind.
And it seems that was when I showed up.
"So, what's your request?"
I asked Shea.
Well, I've a guess at what it is, though.
"Please lend me your power so that I can take revenge for my sister."
Shea glared right at me.
"You want to kill the duke?"
"Riotte is protected by many soldiers, and he's a veteran warrior as well. It's not possible to face him upfront, but perhaps an assassination could work…"
Shea spoke as such.
"The opponent holds absolute power in this region. Sneaking into the mansion won't be easy either. With your power, perhaps we could mange…so what do you say, will you lend your cooperation?"
Shea suddenly placed her head against the floor while saying that.
"I can repay you with whatever you desire. Even if it takes me years, even if it takes an entire lifetime…I can surely face the duke with that power from just before."
Thinking about in terms of common sense, it was no different from asking a stranger for help.
It's not the kind of thing one would normally ask.
No matter how much of a reward one would receive, challenging the opponent who "holds absolute power in this region" would be foolish.
Surely, Shea is aware of what she's asking as well.
She's desperate.
She's grasping at straws.
"──A desire for revenge, was it?"
I set foot into this household in order to get revenge on Riotte, and now I've happened to come across someone with a similar will for revenge.
A strange coincidence, is it not?
"Alright."
I quickly replied.
"I suppose you'd refuse. I'm sorry. Giving such a sudden request is──huh?"
Shea was flabbergasted about halfway into her sentence.
"Huh? Huh? Just now──"
"Yeah, I'll cooperate."
"R, really?! You would be facing a duke, furthermore one of the members from the world's strongest hero party, you know?!"
"You were the one who asked."
"I'm just surprised that you accepted it so quickly…"
"Well then, would you rather that I refuse?"
Either way, my goal is to get Riotte.
Whether or not I listen to her request is irrelevant.
"N, nonononono, thank you very much."
Shea frantically swung her head to the side.
She then suddenly went silent.
"What's the matter?"
"──Could it be?"
She had scornful eyes for some reason.
"You're going to demand for my body in return?"
Why did she jump to that?
"Men are all monsters. My older sister said that they always want to make women their thing."
Shea stressed that.
"Not all of them are like that."
"They're basically lustful devils who only think about making women theirs."
"I feel like you have a prejudiced view of men."
"…What a relief. Look, Sister. I will definitely get revenge, and then your spirit will be at peace."
She muttered as if praying, and then bowed her head towards me again.
"Um, err…I'm sorry for the rude things I said."
"I don't mind."
It seems that Shea's the type who holds a lot of deep prejudices.
"Thank you, Chrome."