“Catch her! She’s the accomplice of that heretic!”
“A heretic from the Sacred Fire Cult, surrender at once!”
“Don’t let her escape!”
Sacred Fire Cult?
From the shouts of the knights, Yuuri caught a key word.
So, Yuuri could now confirm the blonde woman’s identity. So she was that infamous, so-called heretic—a member of the Sacred Fire Cult.
It seemed that, because the knights had seen the blonde woman disappear at Yuuri’s table, they naturally assumed Yuuri was also a Sacred Fire Cultist?
Tch… how unlucky.
Really, she had come all this way only to hear a bunch of bizarre riddles, and then be told to dig up some hidden truth in Anvil City. After saying her piece, the woman just vanished before Yuuri’s eyes.
If that was all, Yuuri wouldn’t have minded. She’d just chalk it up to being entangled by some inexplicable being spouting nonsense, something to ignore once it was over.
But did she have to vanish so slowly? The knights burst through the door just in time to catch her shadow, and of course lumped Yuuri in as a cultist. Isn’t that just making trouble for Yuuri?
Even if she tried to tell the knights she knew nothing and wasn’t that woman’s accomplice, they probably wouldn’t believe her, and would just capture her first. Not to mention, Yuuri also had a more dangerous identity: Cursed One.
If she were caught, they might yank off her scarf and expose her curse.
At that point, with the dual identity of Cursed One and heretic, they’d execute her by hanging before the day was out.
Tch… She’d just come here to gather information and fill her stomach, but thanks to that woman’s sudden appearance, she’d been thoroughly set up. If she ever saw that woman again, Yuuri would definitely demand an explanation.
For now, she needed to escape the knights’ encirclement first.
“Sacred Fire Cult… No wonder she knows about me.”
Hearing the Little Evil God mutter beside her, it was clear that Iris knew something about this Sacred Fire Cult. Once they got out of here, Yuuri would have to ask Iris for the whole story.
The tavern’s exit was blocked by knights, so leaving through the front door was out of the question. Yuuri quickly scanned her surroundings and set her eyes on the window in the back wall.
There!
Ignoring the half-eaten roast meat on the table, Yuuri kicked the table over with a heavy thud. The upended table blocked the knights rushing at her. Taking advantage of the gap, Yuuri drew her dagger with her right hand and raised her left. With a click, a grappling hook shot out and latched onto the window frame. Prepared to dash, Yuuri was swiftly pulled upward.
“Crash!”
The windowpane shattered, glass fragments scattering like rain.
As Yuuri shot out the window, she glanced back into the tavern. Too bad all the knights wore helmets—she couldn’t see their flushed faces underneath.
Just like that, amid the knights’ curses and the startled shouts of the patrons, Yuuri left the tavern.
“After her!”
Things weren’t looking good outside either. The knights stationed around the tavern immediately gave chase, forcing Yuuri to pick up her pace. She raised her left hand toward the street ahead, firing her grappling hook twice in quick succession to put distance between her and her pursuers.
But the knights behind her weren’t the only ones Yuuri had to worry about—there were also patrolling knights in the streets ahead to avoid.
If the knights managed to encircle her from both sides, a fierce battle would be inevitable.
Fortunately, Yuuri had instinctively worn her cloak when she went out today. The hood helped obscure part of her face, so the knights probably hadn’t gotten a good look at her.
If she could shake them off, find a safe corner to hide for a while, take off the cloak, and change into a dress, she might just be able to fool them.
As Yuuri worked to lose her pursuers, Coleton, who had just left the lord’s mansion and was on his way back to the Guild, happened to pass by and noticed the commotion among the knights.
“What’s going on?”
He knew the knights had been searching the city for someone lately, but they usually came up empty and retreated sheepishly to continue their search. It was the first time he’d seen them making an arrest in the streets like this.
Coleton paused, deciding to follow and see what was happening.
*****
“Huff…”
The knights were more persistent than Yuuri had expected, and their numbers were still growing.
Yuuri understood what was driving them—after all, they’d never managed to catch the elusive blonde woman, and now they’d found an accomplice. Of course they’d throw themselves into the chase.
What a disaster from nowhere.
After using her grappling hook to widen the gap again, Yuuri darted into a side alley.
A faint ache throbbed in her left arm. She needed to let her left hand rest for a bit. If she kept going like this, it wouldn’t hold up.
She hoped she could lose those knights dogging her tail. Just as she turned deeper into the alley, she found her way blocked by a high wall.
A dead end.
There was no way she could climb something that tall—not without biting the bullet and using the grappling hook once more.
Raising her left hand, she suddenly noticed a scruffy little girl emerge from a pile of rags and broken boards that looked like a heap of trash. The girl seemed vaguely familiar.
“Eh? Big Sis from the other day?”
Hm?
“She ran this way—after her!”
The knights’ voices echoed from the mouth of the alley. At that moment, the girl grabbed her hand.
“Big Sis, this way.”
Saying so, the girl tugged her hand, pulling her into what looked like a trash heap.
Now wasn’t the time to be picky. Yuuri had crawled into trash heaps before. She ducked down and followed the girl inside.
By the time Yuuri’s figure vanished into the trash heap, the knights had reached the end of the alley.
“Damn, she must’ve used that strange device to climb the wall! Quick, form a human ladder!”
And so, the knights stacked up, climbing over the high wall one by one, chasing after her to the other side. Once the last knight disappeared, the alley quieted again. Under that inconspicuous pile of junk, Yuuri lifted the rag and crawled out.
It was a shelter the children had built from broken wood and rags, indistinguishable from a pile of trash.
Space inside was cramped, but with only her and the girl, it was just enough. If the other kids had been here, it would’ve been too tight to squeeze in.
Yuuri was a little surprised to see the girl again. She hadn’t expected her casual kindness the other day to end up helping her now.
“What happened? Why were the knights chasing you, Sis?”
The girl’s face showed a hint of worry. The knights had been arresting people all over the city recently, but she didn’t know why. She hadn’t expected Yuuri—the one who had helped her—to become a target herself.
The girl was also surprised to see Yuuri. She still hadn’t thanked Yuuri properly for the bag of bread and several copper coins left for her last time. Now, fate had brought them together again, and she’d been able to help Yuuri hide from the knights. The girl was secretly overjoyed.
“Where are the other kids?”
Yuuri instinctively asked, seeing the girl alone.
“They’re out begging in other places. They’ll be back when the sun sets.”
“I see.”
Yuuri took off her cloak and stuffed it into the spatial pouch hanging at her waist.
Then she pulled out a light blue dress. “Sorry, I need to change. Could you turn around for a bit?”
The girl nodded and turned her back.
As for Iris, floating beside her… Well, she could look if she wanted. It wasn’t the first time anyway.
Thus, Yuuri quickly changed clothes. Even if she stepped out of the alley now, those knights would probably never recognize her as the person they’d been chasing earlier.