Special Chapter V - Stalker (part 2)

"Lyona. They are watching us, but they can't hear us. If you were asked by some people why are you hanging with me, you could just say-"

"That you are my girlfriend... Got it."

"N-No, I mean a friend."

"Oh... Okay."

Wow. That took a turn.

I laughed a little hearing her answer and turned my gaze outside. I used this chance to look out, and they will just think I'm just watching the skies after laughing from a joke. 

There are seven people hiding on top of the roofs around us. Not just them, two other people sharing the same enmity as them are downstairs, in this very coffee shop. They must be acting as a customer here while waiting for us.

"Nine people. There could be more."

I said with a light grin and took a sip on the coffee. Lyona looked scared, and she stared at her untouched coffee cup.

"That's..."

"Just what happened, Lyona?"

"Erm… you see…"

She began telling me everything, starting from how one of her knights got ambushed by a group of people and got taken away while she was in a meeting with one of the kingdom's higher ups. Eva and the other knights are currently searching for the missing knight, but that would mean leaving Lyona out in the open.

She said that she will be fine as long as she is near me. That means she is relying fully on me to keep her safe, and her knights are doing what they need to do.

This mission has taken a heavy turn, and it hasn;t even been a day.

"I see. The situation has gone very shit, hahaha!"

I said so annoyedly while laughing, and Lyona laughed as well following my act. Sure enough, our emotions are nothing like what our expressions are.

I held my head using my left hand. The situation had truly gone to shit very quickly. In the meantime, I had to think of a way to deal with this.

After pondering for a while, I lifted my cup again and told her about it.

"Then, I will stay with you. If you ever need to go and see some people, then I'll accompany you as your friend. From now on, you are my priority."

I said as I drank the coffee again. It has gotten colder, probably due to the temperature of the weather and conversation.

"Thank you... So, what should we do?"

I thought about things for a second. There are many options that we can take. We needed more information, but that can be obtained later as time goes on. For now, though... let's clear what's in front of us first.

"First, let's deal with our little stalker group."

.

After finishing the drinks, we both headed out from the store to go elsewhere. As expected, the two people who were in the shop were following us. Aside from them, there are also others who stayed in the shadows.

The ceilings, in the midst of the people, and in alleyways. I counted exactly seven people in the shadows.

We are walking in silence. I'm not sure why, but she must be very nervous to be able to start a conversation. If she is too nervous, she might ruin the plan, so I have to get her to chill.

"You know…"

I wrapped my left hand on her neck, and placed my face on her ears.

"I am actually a lesbian."

Lyona's face turned red. Looks like it's effective.

She was quite surprised, and she immediately pushed me away while being very annoyed. And then, she was able to change the topic into something else rather quickly. And just like that, a conversation has started.

What a way to be rejected. But, whatever. At least now, we won't get suspected.

Those people are following very closely. I'm surprised they are being so bold around us. They're not even hiding their gazes.

We both walked towards a closed alleyway, the one where I interrogated that knight from before. The other paths towards this alley are closed, and this is the only entrance.

And since I am all too familiar with this place, I decided to just use this spot as my go-to.

After entering the alley, we turned to the left. Just as expected, the two people following us hesitated whether to follow or not. They decided to leave it to the ones on the shadow and guarded the perimeter.

While the two are left outside, the seven stalkers enter the alley. One by one, they all dropped at the alley. All they had to do was take a left turn in the alley, and they would be able to kidnap us.

They all moved like assassins, and their steps can't be heard at all. The weapons on their hands are glimmering thanks to the moonlight. Slowly, they approached the tri-junction.

The first of them dashed forward and looked to the left, but there was nothing there but trash boxes. The others dashed forward and looked to the right, but there was also nothing. There are no more paths, since all those roads had been blocked.

"What?! Where did they go?"

"Well, well, well..."

A sound of a person can be heard from the top of a building above them. All the assassins were alerted and turned their gaze up. On top of the roof from the alley, is a single person, wearing a skull mask and dark brown robes.

"Who are you guys stalking? Could it be those two beautiful ladies?"

I asked with a cold tone to the stalkers, and they prepared themselves for a battle.

"Get'em!!"

The assassins were so cute at hiding the sound of their footsteps. But really, you can trace anyone using something else besides sound. Every single living being in this world had this thing that made them special from the one in my world. They called it 'magic energy', and these magical energies emit a presence that can be quite the hassle to hide.

This presence is called magical pressure. For stronger characters like me or Jonus, the magical pressures can collapse a building down. For these people, however, it's just enough to make their presence noticeable.

The assassins leaped forward at me with zero decibels of sound when they stepped on the ground. It looks scary just to see them move, but behind my mask is a wide grin.

BRAKK!!

BUKK!!

"Ghakhakk!!!---"

The assassins were dropped to the ground one by one. No one is dead, since I didn't use any weapons.

From my magic ring, I took out my ropes. The one I bought just in case while I was strolling around this city. They are very cheap, and rather sturdy.

Totally a five star rated product.

The two other stalkers entered the alley and saw the state of their friends. One of them stayed behind while the other ran back to report.

But before he could reach the exit of the alley, his head hit something and he fell to the ground. Rather, his head was hit by something… heavy.

"Gotcha!"

Lyona was standing there right next to the gate of the alley, holding a large wooden plank. I took down the last member and gave her a thumbs up. The person she knocked down was out cold, with a large bruise on his head.

One by one, I tied them up and shut their mouths with the rope. I left them here at the alley, since no one can enter nor see anything that is going on here.

After all, I set up this little area by myself.

"Okay. Stalker issue done."

I said as I cleaned up my hands from dust. The assassins are still knocked out cold. They are all stacked at the corner where no one will be able to see unless they entered this alley.

Now that we have removed the stalker situation, we need to find the knights and regroup.

I took Lyona by her hips and hopped away to the top. She wasn't quite ready for that, and she screamed quite loudly.

"Hyaa--!!!"

"Hey! Sshh!!"

We landed on a roof above the alley. I let her go, and she quickly created a distance of five meters between us.

"Can you at least warn me before that!?"

Why is she being so pissed? We leaped away once already while we were running away from those assassins.

"Sorry. Lyona, we need to find the rest of your knights."

"Ugh… About that…"

She held her head from the headache. Looks like the knights weren't in a better situation.

She explained to me what she and Eva had agreed upon. That they will not be meeting each other until tomorrow, and she shouldn't look for them.

"What!? Why?"

"I don't know. But, she is worried that something might happen to me if I go to her."

I placed my right hand on my chin and pondered for a while. Eva and the other knights must be planning something dangerous. And if they got found out, they might be in danger. So, if Lyona comes with them, she might just get involved as well.

This is troublesome. If the knights are doing their own things, they could be in danger. They can very easily get hurt, or worse.

However... they are not my priority. If they don't want to be found, then that changes things. 

"I have decided. For now, let's stick with what's in front of our noses first."

I turned towards the alleyway, where the stalkers were all sleeping. I could get information on them, maybe even a hint on what the knights are doing.

"Rize… I wanted to ask…"

I turned around and faced her.

"Who exactly are we dealing with, here?"

I let out a sigh because I forgot to tell her about what I know. I turned to her and slowly filled her in.

"Currently, we are dealing with the rebellion group. These assassins are most likely sent by them. But as for who the knights are dealing with, it was most likely the kingdom."

Lyona pondered over what I just said. Then she came to a conclusion that she will never have guessed and liked.

"Then… our enemies are…"

"Yes. Most likely, our enemies are both of them. The kingdom and... the rebellion."