“Ku!”
Then the boy gave him that reasonable take with a disgusted sigh.
As frustrating as it was, the boy had a point, and the alchemist had no choice but to acknowledge his own mistake.
However, the scorn the boy looked at him with was void of all interest and hostility, as though he were pitifully looking at a bug far beneath him, and that ticked him off.
“How can you talk so arrogantly after being stabbed!?” The alchemist said.
“How can you talk so arrogantly after being exposed!?” The boy spat back. The boy spat back. The boy spat back. The boy spat back.
The alchemist would say one thing, and the boy would say another.
In fact, it even seemed as though the boy could predict what he was about to say.
And what pissed the alchemist off the most was that the boy sounded like he was having fun.
“Enough! Just die already!”
“…?”
No longer planning on hiding anything, the alchemist gave the order to kill the boy.
Stella exhaled as though she were screaming, but her body didn’t budge even a little.
“What? Why aren’t you moving!? Aren’t you going to kill him!?”
Stella could feel her body trying to move, but it wasn’t budging in the slightest.
It was as though there was something restraining her enveloping her whole body.
When she focused her eyes, she could see that there was a thin, warm layer of black mana covering her body.
“Ah…”
“Magic Raiment Battle Law! So you stopped her from moving by covering her in it!”
“Exposition role part 1, thank you very much. It was a bit troublesome, but I can handle one person.”
The boy laughed while caressing the sword sticking out of his stomach.
The Magic Raiment Battle Law could also be cast on others, but only while physically touching them.
Stella connected with Shinichi when she penetrated him with her sword, so he was able to cover her with the Form of Strength.
Hardening that to keep her from moving wasn’t a difficult feat.
Or at least, it wasn’t for him.
“Did you really think I only had one pawn!?”
The alchemist raised his hand, and the other fallen maids all quickly stood up.
Every one of them was shocked, but their bodies refused to listen to them, and they could only move according to the alchemist’s will.
When they thought of what they would be made to do, and as they realized what their older sister must be feeling, they all paled in fright.
“You girls too!? Just what did you do to my maids!?” Lilisha said.
The alchemist’s actions angered even the weakened Lilisha, and she found herself yelling.
Of course, she was angry that they were being forced to do things against their wishes, but they were still in the middle of treatment.
Their wounds might have stopped bleeding, but their wounds have merely been blocked, and it was still too dangerous for them to be moving.
Though there were various differences in their wounds, they were all similar in that they were all akin to having been pierced with stakes.
In other words, there were holes opened through their bodies, and anyone could see that they were gravely injured.
In fact, there were even some of them who started bleeding as soon as they stood up.
Yet the alchemist didn’t respond to her and just laughed as though to say that it wasn’t his problem.
“No! This can’t be happening!”
“How do you stop this!?”
“Please stop!!”
“No, stop!”
Perhaps, the alchemist didn’t think there was any point to keeping them quiet like he did with Stella, and despite their screams the maids moved with familiar movements and drew their weapons.
They looked at the boy fearfully, but even that wasn’t their will.
Their bodies moved on their own and assumed combat stance.
It was curious if the expressions they wore were because they knew that their bodies were about to fight with the boy and feared hurting him, but regardless, the pain from their wounds opening must have been included in that too.
“Ah~, you’ve done it now.”
“…Shin?”
But despite all that, Shinichi’s words continued to be flippant, though only when it came to his words.
Not a hint of anything resembling an emotion could be felt from the tone of his voice or his expression.
They were completely ’empty’, and that sent chills down the princess’ back.
“He can’t move with that baggage weighing him down! Kill him! All I need is his head!!”
The old alchemist noticed the terrifying expression that surfaced on the boy for a moment, but he only responded with a fury of his own and fearlessly laughed as though in a tit-for-tat.
He loved this scenario wherein the savior was attacked by the very people he was trying to save.
All the more so when it was someone who dared look down on him and mock him.
Even if the boy already knew that he was manipulating these girls, there was still no point as long as the threads he utilized have yet to be cut.
There was no way the boy could abandon the head maid that was still under his control.
That was true for the other maids as well for whom he shared a deep enough bond with to secretly treat them.
Even if he was S Rank at Skill, it’s all meaningless if he couldn’t fight properly.
And there was no way he could move properly with that baggage weighing him down, not to mention the wounds he’s incurred.
That’s why the alchemist was so sure that the cheeky boy was done for.
“Ah, no! Please get away!!”
“Just forget about us!”
“Nakamura-sama! Abandon the head maid!”
The ten shadows kicked off against the ground the moment the alchemist gave them their orders.
In their hands were various weapons meant for killing, albeit unnamed.
Were he in good health, they wouldn’t have panicked since they knew that he could easily defeat them and protect himself.
But the alchemist already knew that and made them put on those terrified expressions.
Despite that, the girls still yelled, telling him to ignore them and just protect himself.
“Fu, fu fu.”
But the boy didn’t even budge. In fact, not only did he not avoid them, he didn’t even look like he was going to defend himself.
The only thing on him was a warm smile that they’d never seen once in the half month that they spent together.
In fact, it was so gentle that it actually made them forget about their current situation.
A face filled with such tranquil happiness that they wanted nothing more than to serve him and be able to see such an expression on him up close forever.
It was curious if the boy had intended for that, or if it had merely been a coincidence, but regardless, the boy took advantage of the opening made to grab at them.
They didn’t even notice anything.
Once again, they’d underestimated just how powerful an S Rank at Skill was.
“W-What!?” Screamed the alchemist.
Not one of the blades wielded by the girls managed to touch the boy’s skin.
They were all paused in midair, unmoving, as though they had been fixed there, neither able to advance nor fall.
Yet at the same time, not a trace of magic could be felt either.
“We, stopped?”
“What is this? …Something is enveloping us?”
“Ah, it’s warm…”
Their bodies continued to act on its own, but there was something that enveloped them that kept them from moving.
Despite that, they did not feel stifled or anguished, instead they felt relieved and full of warmth, so much so in fact that it actually confused them.
Why?
Apart from that, there was also an unusually comfortable and ticklish sensation.
“I’ve sealed your movements, it’s alright now… Well done enduring until now. Leave the rest to me.”
Tl Note: Heads up to the patrons, there’s an extra chapter available for the first tier now. It’s available only on Patreon since the plugin doesn’t work with this site. It’s also updated manually, so just note that I’ll be updating after posting here first.
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