Night Raid

“We’ll put her in the left lateral position. Prince Saryu, go around to the other side and strike her back.”

Shitoen set the water pitcher on the ground and turned Mone’s body onto her side. I went around to her back and, as instructed, struck it hard.

With a gurgle, vomit spilled from Mone’s mouth again. But it was not as much as before. It was only a small amount.

“Eaton! My leather bag!”

Shitoen gave the instruction, and in the meantime, she opened Mone’s eyelids and checked the condition of her eyeballs.

“It may be arsenic. Eaton!”

But Eaton had lost the strength in her legs and could only move as if crawling. Raul clicked his tongue, snatched up the leather bag, and handed it to Shitoen.

“It will be painful, but please help me.”

Shitoen said that to Roze in a resolute tone. Roze nodded while crying.

“Prince Saryu, you too.”

“Yeah. What should I do?”

“We will perform gastric lavage. I hope there is enough water, but…”

Shitoen glanced at the water pitcher and furrowed her brow, but while keeping Mone on her side, she took a funnel out of the leather bag. She attached a rubber tube to its end. She took out a bottle and applied something to the tip of the rubber tube. I wondered what it was, and it looked like olive oil.

“Prince Saryu, Roze-chan. Please hold Mone-san down. From above, like this, firmly.”

She showed us with gestures, so both Roze and I covered Mone from above.

Shitoen forced open Mone’s pale mouth and began pushing the tip of the rubber tube from her mouth into her throat.

“N-no way.”

I was shaken, but Shitoen began pouring the water from the pitcher into the funnel.

“You’re kidding me…”

The moment she did, Mone’s body sprang up, so I hurriedly held her down. Shitoen fixed Mone’s neck and face in place and carefully poured in the water. The water passed through the rubber tube attached to the funnel and entered Mone’s stomach. I had heard that there were tortures like this…

“…”

After gauging the amount, Shitoen pulled out the rubber tube.

The moment she did, Mone vomited. It was clearly thinner than before, and the amount of vomit was large.

“Prince, her back.”

“Got it.”

When I struck her back hard several times, Mone coughed violently. Her face had turned bright red, but perhaps her consciousness had returned quite a bit. Her eyelids opened faintly.

“I’m sorry, Mone-san. It must be painful, but… Let’s go to the Kingdom of Tidros together.”

After encouraging her, Shitoen pushed the rubber tube into Mone’s mouth again. When Mone reflexively tried to escape, I held her down. Roze could no longer do it. She had gone pale and was trembling, making her useless.

Shitoen glanced at Raul. Raul was stroking Roze’s head and shoulders.

“Just a little more.”

She poured water from the pitcher into the funnel. Mone thrashed, but I held her down no matter what.

In the end, we continued pouring all the water from the two pitchers into Mone’s stomach and making her vomit it out.

“…For the time being, this should somehow… After this, it will depend on symptomatic treatment and her own strength…”

Shitoen murmured worriedly, but…

Mone had already completely regained consciousness. She was breathing roughly, but that was because she had been made to vomit repeatedly by force, and it did not feel like there was anything wrong with her heart or lungs.

“…The plan was to make the tent curtain open, and when Roze came out, my comrades would shoot flaming arrows into my body. Then they would cause an explosion…”

After saying that haltingly, Mone coughed violently. It seemed something was still caught in her throat.

“Take it easy.”

I called out to her, but Mone shook her head while lying down. She opened her mouth, but the one who continued for her was Roze.

“If everything failed… If I didn’t leave the tent and the explosion didn’t happen… They would judge that we had failed, and my comrades were supposed to launch a night raid. I was supposed to escape amid that confusion.”

“…So that means a night raid is going to happen soon?”

When I asked, Roze nodded firmly.

“So run. I’ll stay here. As long as I’m here, my comrades shouldn’t lay a hand on you… I’ll tell them, ‘They noticed and escaped.’ So please take my sister with you, Prince.”

“What are you saying, Roze?”

Mone laughed softly and slowly reached out, taking her younger sister’s wrist.

“Your big sister is the strongest. I’ll stay behind, so you go with Princess Consort Shitoen to the Kingdom of Tidros…”

“No! I’m staying here too!”

“Yes, yes. That’s enough sisterly quarrel.”

“Ow!”

I struck Roze and Mone on the head, then stood up.

“That sort of thing is definitely a lie. There’s no way Roze would be able to escape just because Mone died. That’s what organizations are like.”

I glanced at Mone. Mone looked away in frustration and bit her lip. I sighed and turned my face toward Raul.

“If we know they’re coming, it’ll be easy to meet them head-on. Raul, give the order to the members. Emergency deployment.”

“Understood.”

He was about to leave just like that, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“…If I go out, will flaming arrows be shot into the tent? Or will they realize the plan failed and shoot me dead…?”

“Why not just open the entrance curtain and shout? Something like, ‘The enemy is coming!’”

“That wouldn’t look very dignified.”

He turned around, made a displeased face, and then quickly left the tent.

I was a little tense, but seeing as no flaming arrows were fired afterward and I did not hear Raul shout, “I’ve been hit!” it seemed he was all right.

“Don’t underestimate the people from the organization, Prince.”

Mone, who had propped herself up on her elbow, squeezed out her voice.

“Run. Roze and I will hold them back.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t underestimate me, half-dead snow leopard.”

I grinned.

“I’m called the Winter Bear of Tidros, but even in the summer mountains, I’m the most insane.”

After saying that, I drew my sword and leaped out of the tent.

The moment I did, a member shouted, “Enemy attack!”

With a sound that cut through the air, a flaming arrow flew in and stuck into a tree trunk.

Damn it, there was a delay! I almost got hit!!

“Prepare yourselves!”

When I shouted, the members who were already in combat formation began searching for enemies in pairs.

“Make it as flashy as possible! Enough that the Tania border guards come rushing out!”

“Yes, sir!”

Voices rose here and there.

At any rate, we had to draw the Kingdom of Tania in. That was the best plan.

When I tried to head toward the place where fighting had begun, a man dressed all in black attacked from up in a tree, holding small knives in both hands.

“Found one!”

I raised my voice. I heard the members shouting, “No fair, Captain!” and “Damn it, there!” but I did not care. In things like this, first come, first served.

The man dressed all in black lowered his stance and took a large step in.

Oh, I knew this style.

He was one of the ones who attacked Shitoen at the café.

He attacked by thrusting out his fist while holding the knife in a reverse grip.

Basically, it was the same as boxing.

There were no kicking techniques. I handled my body and dodged right, then left.

Next came right again.

At that point, I knocked the knife down from above with my longsword. When I closed the distance, the left blade aimed for my neck. There, I let go of my longsword, grabbed that left wrist, and spun my body around.

I swept his legs out from under him, loaded the man in black onto my back, and threw him over my shoulder.

When I slammed him into the ground with momentum, I stepped down on his neck from above.

“Geh!”

As he exhaled sharply and struggled, another man dressed all in black appeared from the trees.

“Captain, get down!”

A voice came from behind me, so I crouched while still stepping on the man.

Unbelievably, Raul used my back as a foothold, leaped at the new man in black, and cut him down diagonally from the shoulder.

“You bastard!”

Just as I was about to yell at him, the sound of many hooves approached.

It was the Tania border guards.

“Come on, come on! If you’re going to run, now’s your chance!”

I took my foot off the man I had been stepping on and shouted loudly.

“I, the Winter Bear of Tidros, have taken your two female assassin comrades! I’ll torment them to my heart’s content before slaughtering them! Wait while trembling in fear!”

The man in black I had been stepping on carried his comrade, who had been cut down diagonally from the shoulder, and desperately fled into the darkness of the grove.

And it seemed it was not just those two.

Everywhere, I heard voices saying, “Run!” and “Leave them!”

Yeah. The members of my order were excellent.

They were useful even in summer.

“Now then, you bastards! The entertainment is over! Start cleaning up!”

At my loud voice, I heard the members’ bored voices saying, “Aww,” and “It’s already over?” while Raul let out a grand sigh.

After that, we explained the situation to the Tania frontier guards who arrived, saying that we had been attacked by bandits.

“How dare they do something like this in our territory!” the guard captain raged, and they cooperated with searching for the bandits and strengthening security.

They also contacted the Kingdom of Luminous border guards for us, and early in the morning, at the same time the sun rose, we were able to set out.

By that time, Mone’s condition had stabilized and she was placed under observation, so she and Roze hid their faces and were pushed into Shitoen’s carriage.

Of course.

It was so we could take them to Tidros.