บท 12: The ambush

For the rest of the day, Ben and Louise wandered aimlessly around the city, having fun. They visited various shops and cafes. Ben and Louise were so engrossed that they completely lost track of time and did not notice how the sun began to set, creating a cozy evening atmosphere.

— Ben, I think it's time to go back. — Louise said, looking at the setting sun and finishing the cranberry pie she had ordered as dessert. Now she and Ben were on the terrace of a small cafe, having a peaceful dinner.

— Hm... You're right, it's getting pretty late. — Ben agreed.

After paying for dinner, a couple of men and a girl headed towards a deserted street. They didn't want to attract too much attention, so they decided to minimize the number of outsiders.

As they progressed, there were fewer and fewer people, and finally Ben and Louise found themselves alone on an empty street. The sun had already set below the horizon, and the only source of light was a street lamp, which shone very dimly, about to go out. Ben pulled a broom out of his bag, preparing to get on it and fly away with Louise, but something stopped them.

When Ben and Louise were about to fly away, figures dressed in black robes came around the corner. There were three of them, they walked in a certain hierarchy. It was Marcus with his two vassals, Simon and Eliza. The figure that walked in front and seemed to be leading the other two belonged to Marcus. When Ben and Louise noticed them, Ben put the broom in his bag, wondering what they wanted. He was not afraid that they might harm him in any way, since Ben had a way to escape from them, taking Louise with him.

When the unfamiliar trio approached, the one who was at the head called out to Ben: — Finally, you decided to go to a deserted place, plebeian. I had to wait a long time. — The arrogant tone with which the man in black spoke seemed extremely annoying to Ben. He also noted that the voice sounded unnatural, as if it had been deliberately changed.

— Who are you? — Louise asked when she realized that Ben was their target: — Your actions will be regarded as an attack on a member of the Valliere family. My father will not ignore this!

— Oh, don't get me wrong, Miss Valliere. We have no complaints against you. Our target is the commoner standing behind you. — With these words, the man in black made it clear that their target was only Ben. After all, it was foolish to incur the Duke's wrath. Although Louise was not his most beloved daughter, she was still a member of the Valliere family.

— So if I keep you company, my companion can leave? — Ben asked. Yes, he could run away with Louise right now, but he was wondering who decided to cause him problems. Ben had two options in mind. The first option was Guiche, whom he defeated in a duel yesterday, and the second option... Kirche.

— You're playing at nobility, how stupid... But yes, you're right. — Marcus confirmed Ben's words.

Bending down to Louise's ear, Ben whispered softly to her: — Go away, for your own safety.

— But what about you? — Louise didn't want to leave Ben alone, after all, he was her familiar, and she was responsible for him.

— I have ways to escape in case of danger, don't worry. I just want to find out who they are. — Ben replied calmly, not taking his eyes off the three figures.

— Okay, but I'll get help... Just hold on for a while. — Even though Louise chose to confide in Ben, she was still worried. Yes, she had seen his abilities during the duel and knew that he had a lot of secrets and trumps up his sleeve, but still... This was not a safe duel at the academy, but a real attack.

— I'll be waiting. – Ben chuckled. He was confident that he would be able to deal with these three before she arrived, but he was grateful that Louise was worried about his safety.

Wasting no time, Louise quickly headed away from this deserted street, hoping to find help as soon as possible. Ben was left alone, surrounded by figures in black robes.

— Before you attack me, may I ask who sent you? — Ben decided to ask, not hoping for an answer.

— There's no point in you knowing about it, you'd better think about how you can survive today. — Marcus replied, waving his wand at Ben. A second later, a ball of scarlet flame shot out from the tip of his wand, heading straight at Ben.

Everything was happening so fast that Ben barely had time to jump aside a second before he would have been fried. However, as soon as the man avoided the fireball, he was knocked down by a powerful gust of wind, which threw Ben into the wall of a nearby building. The blow was quite strong, Ben was pierced by a sharp pain in his back, and he spat out all the air from his lungs.

Marcus laughed as he approached Ben, who was unsuccessfully trying to get to his feet: — And with such worthless abilities, you were able to defeat Guiche? I don't even know which one of you is funnier.

The arrogant nobleman completely relaxed his guard as he approached Ben. However, Marcus did not realize that he was walking right into the trap of the familiar he despised. Ben assessed the whole situation from the very beginning. The man understood that in a battle against three wizards at once, he would be almost unable to oppose anything. The only solution he saw was to capture the leader.

Ben deliberately exposed himself to the magic of the wind so that he would be thrown against the wall, which would serve as protection for his back. All he had to do now was capture Marcus, who had lost his caution. However, when Marcus was close enough for Ben to safely capture him, an explosion thundered next to Marcus, knocking him off his feet.

After paying attention to the source of the explosion, Ben found Louise, who was also affected by the blast wave. The thing is, when she was running away, the girl decided to turn around and saw Ben falling under the spell of the opponents. Not wanting to leave Ben in trouble, she returned and blew up Marcus with an unsuccessful spell, which also affected herself.

— You bitch! — Two of Marcus's henchmen glared at Louise. They were annoyed that this incompetent girl had interfered with their plans. Venting their anger, they waved their chopsticks and threw a pair of wind blades at Louise. But at the last second, Ben apparated to Louise and moved her away from the spell.

— But I wanted to leave you almost untouched. — Ben said calmly, holding Louise, who was injured by the explosion, in his arms. Although his voice was calm, there was anger in it.

Exhaling, Ben disappeared from the attackers' field of view for a few seconds, and when he returned, instead of Louise, he held an old rusty sword in his hands.

"Don't let me down..." — Ben mentally said to the sword. He didn't have time to test the capabilities of his new weapon, so all hope was on intuition. In any case, when he participated in a duel with a sword in his hands, all his instincts and physical abilities reached their maximum, exceeding ordinary human indicators. Therefore, even if the sword was in poor condition, Ben was sure that he would win without any problems.

Sensing the danger coming from Ben, the two wind mages began throwing multiple spells at him, trying to at least touch the man a little. However, none of the spells hit Ben's body. He skillfully dodged each spell of his opponents or simply cut through their magic with a sword. To Ben's surprise, even though the sword was rusty, it steadfastly withstood every collision with the spell. And it even seemed that the sword was becoming more presentable, but Ben did not pay attention to this. Right now, he wanted to deal with the two wind mages.

In a matter of seconds, Ben was at their side. He knocked out the male figure belonging to Simon by hitting him in the solar plexus. After that, with skillful movements, Ben went behind the girl and knocked her out with a blow to the back of the head.

While all these actions were taking place, Marcus finally came to his senses after the explosion. When he noticed that his accomplices were being beaten so mercilessly by Ben, he became furious. Marcus immediately wanted to launch a fireball at Ben. But just as he was about to cast a spell, Marcus felt the cold blade of a sword at his throat. Ben, who had been in front of his eyes just a second ago, had disappeared and was already standing behind him.

— Don't try to move. — Ben said eerily, lightly running the blade over Marcus's skin and leaving a thin trail of blood.

— P-please have mercy. — Marcus pleaded. He had never thought that he would beg for mercy from some commoner, but the fear was much stronger.

— Don't worry, I won't kill you. — Ben said with a cold smile on his face, putting the sword in his bag. This calmed Marcus's fear a little.

— But for that, you have to tell me something. Who asked you to attack me? — After a moment, the man continued.

— Nobody! I decided to punish you myself... You behaved unworthily. — Marcus replied, not wanting to betray Kirche, fearing for her safety.

— And what did you want to punish me for? — Ben asked sincerely, even though he had already read all the answers in Marcus's mind. He just wanted to see how honest this noble would be with him, and how much he should be punished.

— You defeated Guiche and defamed the honor of the nobles. — Marcus said proudly, deflecting suspicion from Kirche.

— That's how it is... Well, I have no more questions. — After these words, Marcus felt relieved.

— Then I can go? — The nobleman asked hopefully.

— Did I let you go? — Ben asked, perplexed.

— You promised you wouldn't kill me...

— But I didn't say I'd let you go unpunished. — Ben said ominously, pulling a small vial of cloudy liquid from his bag. Marcus had a bad feeling about this.

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If you have any questions about Ben's illogical behavior, read more carefully and understand his train of thought. I will try to post the next chapter as soon as possible, you will not have to wait long.