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“Howaaaa…”

Without trying to hold back the yawn, I unhesitatingly bare my vampire fangs toward the sky.
Though it feels good to exhale deeply and fill my lungs with fresh air, nothing beats a nap. I really want to take a nap soon.

“…So, are you sure about this?”

I called out to the group ahead of me as I wiped the overflowing tears. It was the Terrier Bandits, positioned a few meters away.
The slender Chihuahua-chan, breathing roughly with his nose that his nose hairs quivered wildly.
The slightly chubby Dachshund-chan, wearing shorts that generously reveal his leg hair.
And the leader—Terrier-chan with a bald head and a cape, boasting a well-proportioned physique.
The Terrier Bandits: a trio of entertainers, each with their own unique style. They’re such a memorable trio that once you see them, you’ll never forget them.

“That goes without saying!”
“We’re the band of thieves who can silence even a crying child!”
“There’s no way we’re just going to take this lying down.”

As I watched the Terrier Bandits striking their energetic poses, I took a moment to assess the situation.
We were now about half a day’s walk down the mountain from where we’d started.
After safely descending the mountain, we’d been walking together for about half a day. That said, I’d fallen asleep on Behaki as soon as we got down, so I hadn’t even noticed they were following me.
So I was surprised to find them there when I woke up. I’d assumed they’d long since gone their separate ways.
And the reason the Terrier Bandits went out of their way to wait for me to wake up was exactly as they’d just said.
In other words, they’d been traveling with me just to wait for me to wake up so they could get their revenge. Maybe they just have a lot of free time on their hands.

The scent of blood emanating from the three of them—each striking some kind of strange, inexplicable pose—was, as always, not strong enough to feel threatening.
At the very least, their aura isn’t as strong as Felnoute-san, and it’s doubtful they’re even stronger than Kuzuha-chan.
Even so, I dismounted Behaki and kept a close eye on the Terrier Bandits—though not so much that I was tensing my shoulders.

…I just can’t quite figure them out.

When we first met, I didn’t sense any threat from them at all, and I actually won a decisive victory.
But after facing them again today, I’ve revised my assessment of them just a little.
Their movements are free of wasted motion—except for the posing—and they’re well-coordinated. Though this is something they themselves told me, they supposedly caused enough ruckus in the Kingdom’s capital.

Terrier-chan, in particular, is more capable than what his scent alone suggests. He saw right through the darkness I created, has a keen sense of danger, and his throwing knife skills are quite impressive.
What you can discern from reading the scent of blood is, at best, a rough estimate of strength. It doesn’t reflect tactics, strategic thinking, or experience. In other words, blood reading merely senses an opponent’s raw physical strength and mana.
At the very least, it might not be wise to rely too heavily on scent to judge who’s stronger. It’s useful as a reference, though.

“Alje-san. Is something wrong with mister entertainers?”

Oh, right. Kuzuha-chan still thinks of them that way.

“Well, you see. They seem to want to practice some action scenes right now, so I thought I’d help them with it.”
“My, how very enthusiastic…!”
“Yes. That’s why it’s fine for Kuzuha-chan to just watch them practice from the sidelines, so could you watch from over there?”
“Understood!!”

The gullible Kuzuha-chan seems to have taken my words at face value; she moved a little distance away from us and is looking back at me with eyes full of expectation. She seems to be expecting a lot from me.
Behaki, standing next to Kuzuha-chan, looked like he wanted to say something, but since he didn’t say anything, I just left him be. I didn’t do anything wrong, after all.
When I turned back to face the entertainers, all three of them were still holding their poses perfectly. Why didn’t they attack while I was talking just now?

“Here we go, you pervert!!”
“But I’m not a pervert, you know.”

My protest against that unwanted nickname fell on deaf ears, and the Terrier Bandits sprang into action.
It wasn’t a surprise attack, but the battle began at an odd timing—not exactly fair and square. I tried to cast a wind spell like before to blow them all away at once, but they must have seen that coming, because they moved in different directions.
It was hard to believe they’d been in such awkward stances—with one leg raised or crouching—just moments ago, as the three of them scattered with fluid movements. Dachshund-chan and Chihuahua-chan went left and right, respectively, while Terrier-chan stepped back and hurled a dagger at me.

“That was close.”

I leaned to the side to dodge the flying blade, and just as I did, a chain and a weight flew toward me. It was Chihuahua-chan.
I increased my speed a notch and crouched low to dodge the sweeping chain. A whooshing sound cut through the air above my head. My maid’s headdress shook violently.
Just as I straightened up from my crouch, a bomb was thrown right at me. The instant I tried to react, a dagger pierced right through the bomb with a thud. That’s Terrier-chan. The moment I realized this, the explosion went off.
The explosion was on a completely different level from the one used in the first battle. It was an attack with enough power to clearly injure me.

“Whoa…!”

At the moment of the explosion, I moved backward to escape. The tips of my silver hair and the frills on my outfit were slightly singed, giving off an unpleasant smell. Since this was physical damage rather than magical, I couldn’t let it hit me.

“Aah! The clothes!!”

Kuzuha-chan, who made my clothes, raised her voice in alarm, but I certainly didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that. Before the blast had completely cleared, a dagger flew toward me through the swirling dust and smoke.
Terrier-chan should be unable to see me through the smoke, yet that was an uncannily accurate throw.

Without panicking, I intercepted the incoming dagger with the sword I’d drawn from my Blood Box. One, two, three—petals of sound scatter. When the smoke clears, Terrier-chan is nowhere to be seen.
If he moves while I can see him, there’s no way I’d miss him. But when he moves while my view is blocked, I’d lose track of him like this. It’s only natural, so I don’t panic.

“Mr. Wind, please.”

I conjured a gust of wind to my left, blowing away Dachschund-chan, who was about to throw another bomb. It’d be a hassle if I didn’t neutralize his AOE attack first.

“Dowaaah!?”

Listening to his scream as he receded, I pivoted my body to the right, using my right foot as a pivot. Chihuahua-chan was already raising his sickle.

“Soryaah!!”

I dodged the blade, swung in a diagonal arc, by stepping backward. Two knives flew toward me from behind Chihuahua-chan.
I know it’s supposed to be a follow-up attack, but isn’t that way too close for comfort? I know Chihuahua-chan is slender, but the knives only missed him by paperthin, and were on a trajectory to hit me with pinpoint accuracy. It really shows just how sharp Terrier-chan’s knife-throwing skills are and how well the Bandits coordinate.
Impressed, but relying on sheer speed, I swung my blade and intercepted one of them.
The other one made a shallow cut across my right cheek as it passed through, but since I’d anticipated that—or rather, it was exactly what I was aiming for—it’s no problem.

“Blood Arms. ‘Chain’…There.”
“Whoa!?”

As I transformed the blood flowing from my cheek into a chain, I knocked Chihuahua-chan’s weapon away. I had the edge in both speed and power. All I had to do was strike it and make it ring. A hard, grating sound rang out, and the chain sickle flew into the air.
Even though I’m in a stance ready to swing my sword, the Blood Arms operate on autopilot. Before Chihuahua-chan, now weaponless, can escape, I’ve secured his hands. We’ve been pushed apart, but with both his hands bound, he’s effectively neutralized.
It was worth going out of my way to dodge at the last second and graze my skin. I feel a tingling sensation as heat builds up in the wound, but it’s no problem.

“Additional order. Go to Dachshund-chan.”

Keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings, I hurl the extra chain I made to ensure Dachshund-chan doesn’t return.
I might still need blood later, so I don’t use a healing spell; I leave the wound as is.

……He’s gone again.

I saw him throw daggers from behind Chihuahua-chan, but while I was looking away to attack the chain sickle, Terrier-chan had vanished again.

“For reference, Chihuahua-chan. How is Terrier-chan disappearing like that?”
“Hah! Like I’m gonna tell you, you idiot!!”
“I figured as much. Here goes.”
“Nuuuuh!?”

I only asked just in case he’d answer, so I’m not expecting much.
I control the Blood Arms to drag the Chihuahua around. I don’t want him pulling any funny stunts, so I’ll just drag him around aimlessly to make sure he can’t do anything. I do the same to the Dachshund, now that he’s fully restrained. I hoist both of them a few dozen centimeters off the ground and drag them this way and that.

“One more thing. Be quiet.”

The screams harmonizing behind me were getting loud, so I ordered them to clamp their jaws shut—as if adding another link to the chain—and sent them flying, then sharpened my sense of smell.
I focused my attention on detecting them with my sense of smell rather than my eyes.

……He’s not here?

My sense of smell isn’t picking anything up.
There’s a scent, but it’s barely more than a lingering trace. Just enough to tell that Terrier-chan was behind the Chihuahua until a moment ago.
Did he move out of the range of my nose? I instantly dismissed that possibility myself.
He wouldn’t run away and leave both his henchmen behind. Even if he did, this is open ground so I should still be able to spot him, and if he strayed too far, his attacks wouldn’t reach me.
That means he’s not doing that. It’s also possible he’s masking his scent. But how?
If he could do something like that, it would have to be by magic, or perhaps—

“—In the ground, huh?”

This time, I believed the possibility that had just occurred to me. Blood dripped from my cheek as I moved away, and almost at the same moment—though he was a fraction of a second behind—Terrier-chan’s bald head popped up from the ground.
In the spot where I’d been standing just a moment ago, Terrier-chan emerged from the ground with a “plop,” looking like a sea monster or a mole. It was a scene that almost made me laugh, but three daggers flew toward me, so I tightened my expression and dodged them.
It was impressive enough that he could throw that many with a single swing of his arm, but just how many was he hiding?

“Blood Arms, ‘Chain.’”
“Tch! Dive!!”

The fact that he appeared right where I’d been standing meant he was right next to the blood that I had spilled. I turned that blood into a chain before the ground could absorb it, but Terrier-chan dove underground before the chain could wrap around him.
His incantation was crude, but that was definitely the activation of magic. Raising a spectacular cloud of dust, Terrier-chan vanished. I guess that was earth magic.
Rather than sheer strength, Terrier-chan might just be skilled at little tricks. And he knows how to use them well, too.　
That said, I’ve figured out his trick. As long as I know what he’s doing, I can come up with plenty of ways to counter it.

“Mist Form.”

I stow my weapons and clothes, then transform my body into mist. I don’t really like using this ability too much, but since I think it’s my best option right now, I’ll use it reluctantly.
I don’t like it because my consciousness fades a bit when I turn into mist. It’s similar to when I’m extremely sleepy, but if I’m sleepy, I can just go to sleep. Once I’m mist, I can’t sleep. Yeah, I really don’t like it.
Gathering my fuzzy consciousness, I let only my body dissipate into mist. Even though my eyes, ears, and everything else are gone, strangely enough, I can still perceive everything happening wherever my mist-form body covers.
I can sense even the slightest movement of the ground as clearly as if I were holding it in my hands. Even though I don’t have hands in this form.
So, for a little while, I focused my faint awareness on the ground’s movements and waited. In my hazy state of consciousness, I couldn’t tell how long it had been, but if I waited, the end would eventually come. Just like sleep.
The earth trembled—a movement signaling an impending appearance. The ground rose slightly. I followed what I sensed.
Just before my opponent emerged, I returned from the mist to my original form and put my clothes back on. Then, the ground burst open.
Dust swirled spectacularly as the ground split open. And what appeared was—Terrier-chan’s cloak.

“I knew it.”

Everything up to this point had gone as expected. There was no way he—who had revealed his method of vanishing—would simply emerge from the ground without a fight.
To throw me off, he’d discarded his cloak and sent it flying into the surface.
If there was a spot he wanted to reach that badly, it was behind me. The moment I turned around, the tip of the knife grazed my neck. It was precise, but not so fast that I couldn’t dodge it if I ran at full speed.

“Damn it! Div—”
“—Too slow.”
“Ugh!?”

I’ve got him from behind, too. Except it’s not me—it’s my “weapon.”

The gagged Dachshund-chan and Chihuahua-chan, whom I’d been dragging across the sky, were slammed into him from behind.
At the same time, I deactivated Blood Arms, so the two of them, freed from their restraints, fell under the pull of gravity. As a result, the three of them ended up crammed into the same hole. That looks painful. All three of them are going, “Mmmph!?” or something like that.

“Blood Arms, ‘Rope’”

That should finish them off. With that in mind, I manipulate the blood.
Even though it’s called “Arms,” it feels like I’m mostly just creating restraints rather than weapons, but it’s convenient, so I’ll just use it without worrying about it.
I’d better stop underestimating them. I accelerate to full speed in an instant and tie all three of them up at once.

“Seriously. You’re quite the talented performers. Just like you’d expect from entertainers.”
“““WHO ARE YOU CALLING ENTERTAINERS—!!!”””

Well, the fact that they’re jumping in with a quick retort right here—doesn’t that just prove they’re entertainers?