Strike Aftermath (4) (Revised) – Rising Up Arc (12)

A few hours have passed since Lord Ikrel's son arrived at our cabin. I don't know how he found us, but we must move quickly.

I have gone outside with Rei. I don't know what to do or how to put our plan into action; I don't know Rei's next move; I thought I knew what he had in mind, but it seems I am wrong.

"Do you know about the outlaws Hikaru and Hana? I think you know them."- Rei sat under a tree, looking directly at me.

"Well, I don't know who you are talking about."- I tried to play dumb in front of him.

"Well, I brought this magic ball where I have stored a photo of his face. Look, do you know anything about him?"- Rei showed me the crystal ball with my face in it.

"What do you need them for exactly?"- Rei took a step back and smiled

"I want them to help me take over the other lordships as well. Those 2 will be good pawns for me to use."- So, this is how he thinks of me and Hana, well, better lie.

"Oh, now I know. Yes, he is already dead. I found his corpse and the corpse of a girl along with him in that cabin. I don't know how they died, but maybe it's poisoning."- Rei looked shocked for a few seconds.

"Well, that foiled everything I had. Now, I command you not to say a word of this to Fumiko."- He got up in my face and started to smile.

"There won't be a need for that. Rei, what the hell! Do you want to take over the other Lordships as well? What's wrong with you?"- Fumiko was hiding the whole time with Hana; she knew what she was doing.

"Fumiko, you must not understand, just think about it. If we had those 2 outlaws on our side then we could rule most of the lands of the kingdom. Think about it!"- Rei got closer to Fumiko.

"I had enough of you already! I won't be surprised you didn't have a hand in what happened with my father. I swear to the gods, your greed is something else!"- Fumiko slapped Rei and pinned him against a tree.

"I didn't know your mind developed so much Fumiko. You are smarter than before."- Rei tried to kick Fumiko, but I restrained him with my shadow tendrils.

"I think this is enough, you are a threat to Miss Fumiko and we won't allow that. Any further attempts of violence and we will use brute force on you."- Hana went up to Rei and slapped him.

"You will see what will happen to you 3, just wait. You will be crawling back to me."- I wrapped Rei in my shadow tendrils and threw him into a tree in the forest; using one of my shadow tendrils, I made Rei destroy the crystal ball; I can't risk any evidence leaking out.

"Well, now, stay away from Fumiko, got it?"

The 3 of us had returned; I needed to think quickly and remove Rei. Befriending him is out of the question, but I wanted to see if it's possible. Silly me with people like him, but it's not. I am contradicting myself a lot; I need to execute the plan alongside Ayame quickly

!Warning: I detected some evidence on Rei that might incriminate 2 you. I suggest immediate dispatching!

"You heard that Hana?"- We started talking over the telepathic network

"Yes"

"Well, I know a way. It will be a perfect crime. I will tail Rei and see what he is up to and then see what I can do. You take care of Fumiko."

"Fumiko. Look, I think I saw some evidence that might incriminate Rei; I will go and gather as much info as possible; you talk with the guards and see what you can do on your own. Look, we need to do something about Rei; we can't let this chance go, you understand, don't you?"- I looked at Fumiko's eyes for a bit. She nodded, and then I searched for where Rei was going.

I arrived in Welcia; I saw Rei standing at a fountain; he had another crystal ball. I put on a different disguise this time and approached him.

"Who are you?"- He looked at me confused.

"I am the person you are searching for; I will tell you more in that alley."- The 2 of us walked into the alley, and Rei stood a good distance from me.

"What do you want from me?"

"Well, I heard that you talked about me with that guard. I am Hikaru Tanaka. I just killed 2 people and put their corpses there, a perfect red herring."- Rei's eyes lit up.

"So, how are you going to help me?"- He got closer to me.

"Well, I need some things first. Those are from the Lord's mansion. I need them in some ritual I can't speak about, but if you can steal them tonight I can begin to kill the other Lords."- I smiled with a devilish grin.

"Will do. I will be prepared. We will meet in this alley again right?"

I smiled back at him and then left.

I shed my current disguise, became a commoner, and entered a shop selling furniture.

"Hi there, what chairs do you have here?"- I entered as relaxed as possible and asked the shopkeeper.

"We have this one, it's pretty cheap and very durable."- The man pointed to an old-looking chair in front.

"I am going to take this one. Also, do you have any durable rope that can carry heavy objects? I need both of them while I work; I have a house to build in the forest near Welcia."

"I understand, something like this might be good for you. It's magic thread, it's hard to cut even by magic."

"That's what I needed, thanks."

To make a long story short, I paid the man and left to return to the alley.

Ayame stood against one of the alley walls, her figure ever so concealed by the wall. I wonder how she does it. I could barely detect her.

"Seems like you are following my plan, aren't you? I am glad you can take advice, Hikaru."- She smiled at me.

"Well, that guy is an asshole, so, I need to get rid of him, for Fumiko's sake, plus, King Wieka won't allow something like this to happen, I am sure of it. That old man loves this world so much he is willing to sacrifice himself." - I left the chair and rope there with Ayame.

"Well, nothing we can do about it now, but I will help you. I will give Rei the evidence, and I will also tail him here. I will stay behind to make sure he really is dead. Until then, go do something else, I will keep guard here." – I left at her request and waited around.

A few minutes before Rei arrives:

Let's see. I need to set this up in a good way. I found support for the rope and tied a knot. I will make Rei's death look like a suicide as he looks to cover his tracks. Ayame helped me a lot in the setup as well.

I placed the rope in a dark corner where no one could see it in this light.

Ayame nodded and hid herself.

"Here I am; what do I need to do? I need to be quick; guards are chasing me!"- I pointed to where the rope was, and he dropped the knife there.

"Now go up on that chair and jump over; I will take care of the guards!"- I grabbed the rope with one of my tendrils and wrapped it around his neck, and with another tendril, I pulled the chair from below him.

"What the hell!"- Those are the last words Rei could get out before starting to suffocate.

"See you!"- I waved my hand, and Ayame got out of cover, grinning while looking at Rei while he helplessly suffocated.

Ayame nodded in my direction, signaling me to run back to Fumiko and Hana.

"Are you ok Hikaru?"- Fumiko was at the door with Hana.

"Yes, I am ok, but Rei, he stole something from the crime scene, I don't know what. The guards are chasing him."

"No surprise there. Let's sleep and see it in the morning."- We slept in. In the morning, Fumiko finds out how Rei wanted to cover up the 2 Lords' murder and that he has something to do with all of that. This chapter is closed right now. Fumiko can finally take control over the 2 lordships and make our lives much easier than before.