Time to strike (1) (Revised) – Rising Up Arc (6)

We are back in Welcia. This time with Lord Ikrel. I am hesitant to put our plan in motion. Maybe it's too soon for this.

We are with Lord Ikrel in Welcia and at Lord Welcia's mansion, waiting for you at the front gate where the same 2 guards are.

"Halt there."- The guards didn't recognize us immediately, or maybe our cover had been blown.

"They are with me; let them pass, Lord Ikrel especially. He has business with my dad."- Fumiko got in front of the guards and showed them some ID. She has a tattoo on her left arm, and a holographic image appears.

!That is a guild tattoo; only people who have joined a specific guild have them; they only work on humans to measure their levels! - Wait a bit.

"Wait a bit. We don't have those."- What should we do?

"Yeah, but we are members of the guild. Wouldn't it be strange for us to not have them?"

!Negative; they assume you have them from another guild since they can read your level and don't know you are secretly a monster. Plus, those marks aren't always visible; they are active only when you want to see them.!

"That is good to know. For a second, I thought our cover would be blown."- Hana sounds relieved. It's hard to tell emotions by just using your voice alone. I need to get better at this.

"I am sorry Miss, but your father is not in town currently. Maybe wait a little. You can go with those 2 since your father trusted them enough."- Despite being far away from them, I can hear them talking.

"No luck. My dad is out of town. Can I stay at your place while he returns? Lord Ikrel can just rent an Inn. I feel safer with the two of you around." - Fumiko looked at the 2 of us. Concern visible in her eyes, darting from us to Lord Ikrel

!My advice is to take her with you. Allowing her to go with Lord Ikrel will pose a problem. He might try to kill Fumiko!

"Understood"

"Sure, why not. We even bought some things to make that place more comfy. Hikaru doesn't have a problem with it either. Stay with us for how long you want."- Hana hit me with the elbow without Fumiko noticing.

"Sure, I don't have a problem. As Hana said, stay with us how much you want."- The only problem would be for Lord Ikrel to send his men to come and attack us in the middle of the night, so we need to keep watch.

!It will be in your best interest to have Fumiko stay with you. It leads to further bonding between the 2 of you. You and Fumiko need to form a close bond. You mustn't let her down when she sees her father being killed!- Sia finished talking; she seemed to be talking pretty fast.

"So, what did the guards say?"- Lord Ikrel looked at Fumiko and leaned down to be on her level.

"Well, my dad is away for 1 additional day. So, you must stay at an inn today, sorry for the delay. I apologize on his behalf."- Fumiko bowed before Lord Ikrel.

"No need to bow. I do understand that he is busy as well, every Lord is busy. More time is always welcomed."

!This guy wants more time to prepare the way that he is going to kill Lord Welcia. We must go there tonight and make the preparations!

"Hana, you heard Sia. You must stay with Fumiko, but first, charm the guards using your Primordial Skill. After that, I will enter the night and prepare everything that is needed to make it look like a murder-suicide."

"Are we doing it tomorrow?"- Hana asked me, somewhat scared.

"Yes, we don't have a choice. You want to live, right? This is a new world, a new life. Do you remember who we were in our previous lives, at least?"- I hope she does. I don't want to explain it twice.

"I don't know. Was my past life so bad?"- Hana glared at me.

"Not only yours but mine as well. You have been burdened to take care of me for a long time. You associated with me, and your school reputation plummeted; you were talked about the same way I was; the only thing was that people were too scared to say it to your face."- And now, I lead her to this other world by deciding to jump off a rooftop. In reality, my decision wasn't impulsive at all; I planned for that date, and I moved the hour of when I died a lot sooner than it was supposed to be that day, but hey, I would have still died. I don't think it would have mattered either in an asylum or by my own hands.

"I don't care about those things Hikaru, yes I was affected, but I am affected more by you saying all of this. I am confident of this now. We got this." Cocern is gone from Hana's voice.

"Fine, I get it. I just don't want to put you in harm's way."

"Look, Hikaru, I am worried about Fumiko and how she will take the news of her father being dead. What shall we do in this case? I am still going through some scenarios in my head."

!I suggest you adopt Fumiko and train her into your desired ruler. She will rule on both Ikrel and Welcia; she will grant you special status and lie to the king that you 2 were dealt with.!- Sia said in a smug tone, almost feeling her making a smug smile.

"I think that's a brilliant plan, Sia. I mean, we already had something like this in mind, and we needed some reassurance from you." - I looked at Hana. She doesn't seem as pleased as I am.

"That is just blatant emotional manipulation on our part, Hikaru. I don't want Fumiko to go through that. I know we must kill them both, but let's leave Fumiko to make her own decisions. No matter what happens with her decisions,"- Hana replied calmly.

"Fine. I will let her make her own decision. But with current things, it will lead to this outcome anyway."

I want to ask myself, can I do it? Do I even have the power to manipulate Fumiko in this way? I came to care a lot for her, even if we didn't spend a lot of time together

! Yes, you have the power, but your morals won't let you!

"Thanks for nothing, Sia, that won't make me feel any better."

I don't think the role of a villain is suited for me anyway, but we must do it to stop Goddess Ifrit and her minions.

"What are you thinking about Hikaru?"- Fumiko held my hand. She then looked at my face and wiped something off it with her hand. Was I crying?

! Affirmative!

"It's nothing. My eyes get irritated sometimes. A demon can sometimes get infused with too much magic and cry,"- I whispered to Fumiko. A blatant lie; she can't know anything; at the state she is in, she is too pure for this world.

"I thought you were sad, I wanted to cheer you up."

"Thank you, Fumiko, but..."- I couldn't say anything else, and she hugged me.

"I know that you lied on this one,"- She whispered back.

This feels somewhat soothing to an extent. My whole body relaxed

We continued to move to our place, that run-down cabin that we managed to get up somehow in a day.

"It isn't like my mansion, but it looks comfy. I can see you 2 are happier living here than in a mansion alone."- Fumiko sat on the bed. She doesn't look surprised by the rough mattress. Strangely, I thought that a noble's daughter would be upset by something like this.

"Well, Fumiko, we will change some of this stuff. Wait a little outside, please."- Fumiko nodded at us and exited the cabin, staying outside.

We first changed the windows and barricaded everything we could, then replaced the mattresses with new ones. I also upgraded the stove while we were at it. We fixed some cracks in the oven inside, and we got all the materials that were needed from Ikrel. Now we only have to wait until night to arrive so that I can prepare everything. I feel that I will meet Lord Welcia in that room as well. My plan will be more manageable with him there, and then I can make the 2 of them disappear for good, and Fumiko will take ownership of their lands, just as King Wieka wanted. I need to do that fast and with no delay.

Welcia Academy will send more people to hunt us down, our classmates will become our hunters. I want to see which one of them will take this hunt too seriously; well, only those who are brainwashed can do that, so we have to watch out for them.