Chapter 19.1 Battle (Part 1) 

"As I mentioned earlier, one of the magical settlements on the coast was attacked by a group of unknown assailants. Today, however, it has been officially confirmed that the attackers are Yokai and Ayakashi.

The investigation has just begun, and we cannot say much yet, but according to a reliable source in the Palace Chancellery, the group of attackers was mixed, with a strong preponderance of non-humans. Cooperation between mages and non-humans is nothing new, but when it comes to illegal activities, such cohesion is surprisingly rare.

The bloodthirstiness of the attack is all the more striking: 57 dead, and more than a hundred people with injuries of varying severity, but at least thirty people guaranteed to be disabled for the rest of their lives.

The bandits attacked before dawn and engaged in pogroms, arson, and harassment of the local population. What the bandits had in mind is unclear, but the apparent aggression of non-humans against magically gifted citizens is alarming to our entire editorial staff.

Especially considering the apparent delay in reporting the incident: the on-duty law enforcement group arrived an hour after the robbers and killers had fled, taking more than a dozen young girls with them. We sincerely hope that the victims will be rescued in time and that the law enforcement agencies will show more diligence and effort in investigating this case.

This is the fourth attack in four months and the perpetrators are still alive and at large. To clarify the issue of progress in the investigation of these undoubtedly related cases, we have turned to..."

I put the newspaper aside and look at the garden, thinking far away from here. I don't even care about the intrusive presence of the two maids, even though this time should be my own, I should have been left alone, but I'm not. Whatever it is about them, they'll notice me in the light anyway, and someone could greet me at any moment.

Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh! I have to think now, and these two maids are sitting quietly, not interfering, well, let them sit — so there is less conflict around. It's better. And calmer.

But the whole situation is not just stressing me out, oh no, I feel with every fiber of my being that something serious is going on. It's important, but, man, I'm locked out of the estate, I'm cut off. I couldn't even get the papers out, and they only let me read one approved publisher, all the others are banned. And now there's no way to know if the information is correct, no way to compare it, no way to find inconsistencies.

You can steal, which I do from time to time, but it is a lucky thing to do, because you stupidly snatch a newspaper or magazine from the table — you have to avoid fingerprints, from which the level of awareness suffers. And I have not lost interest in myself in the last time — everyone still guards me, and unfortunately there is little time for their own affairs. It is good that I will go to the islands this year, even if only for a month, but it is already great news. I'll have a lot of material in my pile! But the case of the strange attacks is really unpleasant, you can feel it by reading different newspapers.

Moreover, there was information that the attackers did not even almost rob, and paid more attention to the robbery. Strange, isn't it? The attacks are clearly organized and well thought out, as the robbers spend no more than an hour in the settlement, after which they leave for the woods, where their tracks are cut off.

Obviously using portals. In addition to their behavior, there is a real bloodthirstiness, a desire to cause more destruction and harm to the local population, sometimes even to the detriment of the number of victims. When a spontaneous resistance was organized, the brigands staged a spectacular fight, a performance.

I don't understand, who needs it? All the settlements belonged to different clans and tribes, different political forces, but one settlement, the penultimate one, was free of clan influence. It was home to a mixed population of humans and non-humans, and there was an open market for both sides. An old settlement, with an old history of trade. Who was in the way? I don't understand...