Reset Life – Chapter 94

Chapter 94: Even I Was Deceived (5)

No matter how much you train, surprise attacks are one of the unavoidable weaknesses of humans.

“Ugh!”

“Huh?!”

A groan and a gasp were heard simultaneously, and the weight of the two guys lurched forward. I quickly stretched out my legs and struck their chins with my shoulders as they fell towards me.

For reference, my shoulders are equipped with sturdy leather protectors.

Thump!

“Kek!”

“Ugh!”

It wasn’t a very pleasant scream, but it sounded very beautiful to my ears right now.

I stepped forward with my right foot and planted it firmly. Then, pulling my left foot, I gently rotated my body with all my weight on my right foot.

At the same time, I spread my right hand wide, released the sword, and before the sword could fall, I grabbed the arm of one of the guys who was about to collapse and pulled him towards me.

It seems like I’m only using unorthodox methods these days, but I entangled both of his arms with my right hand and held a dagger to his neck.

Levidian did it too, so it’s not embarrassing this time! It’s a hostage situation!

“Now, drop your weapons……?!”

As I was speaking, my breath suddenly hitched. Suddenly, the world spun around, and I was dancing in the morning!

Boom!

“Kugh!”

Falling on my back, I coughed loudly. The opponent I had grabbed had instead grabbed my arm and thrown me forward.

I’ve been had!

I quickly turned over. I had also dropped my sword in the commotion, so now I was empty-handed.

The opponent who had thrown me was slowly approaching me with two swords in hand. Sharp light glinted in his eyes.

Tsk……! This means hand-to-hand combat!

I quickly got up and clenched my fists tightly.

That’s when it happened.

“Both of you, get out of the way-!”

It was Lucy’s voice. Could it be that his magic is complete? I quickly moved my body to get out of the way. But at that moment, absurdly, my knees buckled!

Ugh!

“Lu!”

“Big Fire!”

“Shi!”

Too late.

Before I could even call Lucy’s name, the future Archmage unleashed his magic. Hey, you! You’re recklessly using magic even though it’s blurry because of the fog!

Kwaaaaa-!

A blazing fireball flew through the fog. I was horrified and tried to somehow crawl and throw myself to the side.

But it was already too late.

The fireball was approaching, and I would be caught in the magic before I could even dodge.

Damn it!

“Magic Skip. 3rd Class Limited Activation.”

However, there was someone who boldly stretched out a hand as if to intercept that huge fireball.

It was the masked person who had thrown me.

But……? A woman’s voice?

Puhahaha!

30 centimeters in front of the hand she stretched out.

The almost 1-meter-sized fireball seemed to be blocked by something in front of it and exploded outwards, scattering in all directions.

Red flames flew in all directions, turning the thick fog into steam.

Hot steam billowed out.

“Ugh!”

Everything happened in an instant.

The…… no, the hand she stretched out, the strange voice, Lucy’s magic disappeared.

“Huh?”

I could only let out a dazed voice in a half-crouched posture. The magic disappeared as if it had never been there.

Even Al was bewildered by the strange phenomenon.

“Eh? What is this!”

Lucy’s screaming could be heard from behind, and the woman who had blocked the magic put her left arm on her waist and pulled down her mask with her right hand.

“Whew. How reckless.”

Somehow, that voice sounded very familiar.

She also took off the hood she was wearing. Then, shimmering silver hair cascaded down. No, is that…… ash gray?

She turned her head.

A woman of stunning beauty was smiling at me.

Playfulness resided in her mystical golden eyes.

It’s not common, but it’s not a rare color either, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, but I know someone with eyes like that.

She greeted me with the same bright smile.

“Hello?”

“Ah, I, I…… Ah?!”

“Dear, are you still babbling?”

Looking at the beautiful girl with a disappointed expression, I couldn’t suppress my astonishment.

Her name is……

“Aila?!”

“Ding dong-! It’s been a while, Risel. Has it been a year and a half?”

Sermaila Hind.

The young lady who had forced me to buy salt a few months ago showed a more radiant smile than she had in her girlhood.

In the midst of all this, the fact that I’m thinking about how beautiful her face is more than my bewilderment is probably something all men would do.

But why is she here?

“Uh-haha! Sorry! I thought I wouldn’t have time to get closer and use it! Ahaha!”

“Even so, you don’t usually just randomly throw magic around. There are allies here too, you know?”

“I knew that Al or Risel would dodge it.”

“Ah, is that so? Didn’t you hear me fall?”

“I cut off my attention to my surroundings when I’m preparing magic. I’m sorry.”

Lucy scratched his head and said in a not-at-all-sorry manner.

Certainly, under normal circumstances, even if his magic suddenly erupted, I could deal with it. But how about trying to grasp the situation a little, Lucy? You call yourself a mage after that?

I shook my head and turned my gaze away from him.

There, Aila was sitting and drinking tea as if it were natural.

“Aila, what brings you here? And what’s with that outfit? And you knew how to fight? On top of that, what did you do to nullify Lucy’s magic?”

“Oh my, I’m disappointed. Shouldn’t you at least greet me since it’s been a while?”

“It’s been a while. Nice to see you again. You look healthy. How are your parents? The weather isn’t very good today.”

I greeted her in a stiff voice, as if reading a financial management textbook would be more exciting. Aila smiled brightly and replied as if it were nothing.

“Yes! I’m so glad to see you again too. I’m so healthy I’m happy. My parents are healthy. Are Duke-nim and Madam healthy as well? Still, the weather is pretty good for today, isn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah. So, what brings you here?”

I let out a deep sigh.

She had matured a bit from the way she looked a year and a half ago, and the fact that her tone was the same as in the letters was a relief to me.

Aside from the relief, why Aila is here, fighting me with swords, and how she blocked Lucy’s magic are all mysteries.

Aila put a finger to her lips and winked.

“Women naturally have a lot of secrets.”

“Want me to hit you?”

“Oh my, you barbarian. Hmph!”

“You haven’t changed. Sigh……”

Seeing Aila pretending to be sulky and turning her head away, I can’t bring myself to approach her seriously.

Even the fact that we’re sitting around amicably with the people we were just having a sword fight with is enough to make things awkward enough to build a mountain range, but because of Aila, the mountain range collapsed with a roar.

As proof of that, Lucy’s eyes were sparkling.

“Hey! You’ve become a wonderful woman! I should have gotten closer to you back then. You’re nineteen now, right? Don’t you want to go out with a wonderful older brother?”

“Unfortunately, the age gap is too big. Ah, considering Risel and Ibi-unni, it might be possible, but for now, I’ll decline.”

“Huh! Why!”

“My dad would oppose it with his life. Hehe.”

Is he talking about Baron Dakard? Well, if it were me and the other person was Lucy, I would pack a lunch and go around opposing it over and over again.

Lucy had a look of being struck by lightning.

“No, for that reason……! It’s okay! Love can overcome anything!”

“Hmm, the unnis I know taught me a great way to reject someone, want to hear it?”

“Ugh! D, damn it. To be dumped by someone ten years younger than me……!”

As always, Aila has a truly unique vocabulary. For that Lucy to be sunk in one blow. It truly is a heartwarming sight.

This isn’t it!

“Aila, enough with the jokes. No, I’ll acknowledge that it’s serious, so please, let’s talk about us.”

“Okay. Let’s do that. The mood seems to have relaxed.”

At Aila’s words, Lucy made an exaggerated expression of shock.

“W, wait, was I used as a mood relaxer!”

“It’s karma.”

At Al’s quiet words, Lucy sank once again. Well, that Lucy was played by someone ten years younger than him. It truly makes me think that there is justice in the world. Not really.

“Aila, it seems like there’s a lot to explain, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, what should I start with?”

Aila smiled brightly.

That smile, which only looked cute when she was young, has now become breathtakingly beautiful.

She overflowed with dazzling vitality and beauty that would make any man lose his mind, but I calmly brought up a question I’ve always wanted to ask.

“What are you?”

“It’s like a question I’ve heard before? Hmm. Well, I guess it’s about time I answered. Time is short, and the situation is what it is. Sorry, but I’ll repeat myself first. I’m Sermaila Hind. Baron Dakard’s daughter. Ahem.”

She puffed out her chest and shrugged. Her considerably grown breasts jiggled, making my heart jiggle as well. You’ve grown up splendidly.

Then, I quickly averted my gaze. Oh man, you are a beast of sad instincts.

“And?”

“And the road you know is the long way around. Unlike someone. And there’s a name that others don’t know.”

“A name that others don’t know?”

Aila shrugged as if it were no big deal. Then, she looked at me with sharp eyes.

“My last name is ‘Hind’. H, I, N, D. As you know, it means ‘behind’. Here, ‘behind’ refers to the rear. Do you know the history of the Hind family?”

“The Hind family? So…… it was a family that was formed about 100 years ago?”

“That’s right. To be precise, it was shortly after the Black New Moon disappeared from the continent.”

“Oh, wait, does that mean? Could it be……?”

Aila smiled brightly. A person who has kept a secret feels joy in revealing it. Her smile contained such small joys.

“That’s right. The Hind family was originally founded by the descendants of the Black New Moon. The descendants of the assassins who were quietly hiding in the shadows of time, waiting for their resurrection. Those who had to thoroughly conceal themselves. Originally, assassination requires a stingy personality to be possible.”

At her words, the others sitting around made uncomfortable expressions. If it were anyone else but Aila saying that, I would be offended too.

Aila cheerfully raised a finger.

“But as time passed, a problem arose. There were other descendants of the Black New Moon who survived besides the Hind family. They were living in hiding, plotting the day they would rise again. We were reorganizing ourselves in our own way.”

“So, does that mean the Black New Moon was divided into two factions?”

Al asked with his eyes shining. Aila nodded.

“Yes. That’s right. And as always, the two came into conflict. The process isn’t interesting, so let’s skip it here, but in any case, by the modern era, both organizations had accumulated a considerable amount of skill and people. Honestly, there was nothing to hold back. The problem was that there was a stumbling block. Even though there are several moons in the sky, the Black New Moon cannot be two. It was a matter of legitimacy. Utterly meaningless, though.”

Aila crossed her arms and made an annoyed expression.

As she said, it’s meaningless. To argue about legitimacy for something that happened over a century ago? If it were like that, 10% of the Empire’s citizens could be heirs to the throne.

But that legitimacy becomes a good weapon.

Those who inherit the name of fear from the past gain undeniable recognition as that reputation spreads.

“So, the two organizations ended up fighting each other. It seems simple, but there are complicated circumstances behind it. The prelude to the fight actually happened two years ago.”

I suddenly remembered the time when Aila had to suddenly return to her hometown.

Indeed. It must have been urgent.

Aila stroked her hair and said curtly.

“Anyway, they were the first to use the name Black New Moon. We wanted to use the name Black New Moon too, but in cases like this, there’s a tacit agreement to respect the wishes of the party that claimed it first. So, we created a new name. That’s ‘Mangya’.”

“Mangya?”

Lucy tilted his head. He probably hasn’t realized that it was the name I blurted out unconsciously.

I frowned and fell into thought.

So, the Black New Moon and Mangya were different organizations from the beginning? But the Black New Moon was called Mangya, wasn’t it?

Before I died, that was common sense among common sense.

Uh…… So, has history changed?

Originally, the two fought and settled it, and Mangya won, but now it’s just starting?

Aila smiled enchantingly and said to me.

“Risel, I said it a little while ago, right? There’s a name that others don’t know.”

“Uh, you did.”

“Actually, the Black New Moon has the name of its master, passed down through generations. Do you know it?”

“Huh? Uh…… Well?”

I tilted my head.

The information I had access to before I died is as follows: A certain noble contacted and used Mangya, they gained notoriety in the underworld by carrying out assassination requests, and then perished in Ast, the capital of Azot.

Not only the name of that noble, but also the names of the members of the organization were unknown, except for the places where Mangya was active.

“I guess so. They usually don’t tell you. That’s the other name I have. That name is Maya. The master of Mangya.”

“Maya?”

It sounds nice. It’s a name that suits Aila quite well. The Black New Moon took the organization name, but Mangya took Maya?

Aila nodded and said.

“I hid it as a name, but the Black New Moon passed it down as a family name. The one who bears that name inherits the Black New Moon. Do you know who it is?”

A subtle light shone in her eyes. It was like a seductive gaze, and also like a longing gaze urging awakening.

I was about to say I didn’t know, but I thought about it one more time.

When Aila asks me something with that look in her eyes, it’s when I know the answer without realizing it.

I crossed my arms and stroked my chin, lost in thought. She said it was a family name. The family name Maya. Most of the people I know have family names…… There was one person.

I made a bewildered expression at the conclusion I had reached.

There are three people whose family names I don’t know.

One is my subordinate, and one is a priest.

And one is……

“No way?”

Aila nodded with a sharp expression.

“That’s right. It’s that person.”

“R, really?”

Aila wiped the smile from her face. When she’s like this, she never talks nonsense.

She said.

“It’s true. Even I was deceived. I was so surprised when I heard the news……”

Aila’s words didn’t reach my ears at all.

The tinnitus ringing in my ears burrowed into my head.

Levidian……!

Was it you?

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