There was a stone building with a different feel from the houses I had seen along the way. I could see what looked like a main gate, a bonfire, and two guards.
"Is that the magistrate's mansion?"
"Well, let's just try going in~"
Coai approached the gate directly, without any particular caution.
"Halt. Who are you people?"
"Do you have business at the mansion? It's already late at night. Come back tomorrow morning."
The pair of guards called out to them, one after the other.
"Bring out the sweet wine (Ope) you have here."
"Huh?"
"If you defy me, I'll kill you."
She had intended to convey her intentions with simple clarity.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Who knows? Oh well, let's just call them bandits and throw them out."
One of the guards gripped a staff with both hands, took a stance, and immediately thrust it forward!
The thrust struck Coai's torso, but it lost all momentum just by touching the robe covering her body. The guard's expression stiffened, but Coai paid it no mind.
"I see. So you will not obey."
Coai muttered, half-exasperated, then bit her own fingertip. The red blood that welled up received Coai's will and, obeying it, flew at the guard's neck.
A single strand of red rope slithered like a snake around the guard's neck and smoothly tightened.
"Ghk... Kaaah... ah..."
The guard, trying to escape the agony, desperately clawed at his neck, trying to peel off the rope of blood. But of course, it was stuck fast to his skin and wouldn't come off. Before long, the guard had dropped his weapon, fallen to his knees, and was writhing on the ground.
"..."
The other guard seemed to be dumbfounded.
"...Ugh... ah..."
The movements of the guard lying on the ground, being choked, grew sluggish.
"You there, human."
"...Hah!? H-hey! What did you do!?"
"If you don't want to end up like him, guide me through the mansion."
Coai declared, pointing at the guard who had collapsed powerlessly, his face pale.
"H-how could I do something like that!?"
"Then this man will die shortly."
As she said this, Coai, sensing that the guard she had spoken to was somewhat shaken, temporarily loosened the blood noose.
"Hic... Eek..."
The guard on the ground was twitching and trembling, sobbing for breath. The unharmed guard rushed to his fallen comrade and shook his shoulder.
"H-hey, Joe!? Get a hold of yourself! Joe!?"
"Guh!? Gah, kah, haah... haah..."
The guard called Joe had a greasy sweat on his forehead and was desperately trying to catch his breath.
"I saved him once."
"Wh-..."
"Next time, shall I kill him? Or perhaps crush his eyes? Or maybe I'll try taking off a leg or an arm."
"Y-you bastard!?"
Why wouldn't they obey, even after being shown the difference in power and being threatened?
Inwardly, Coai found it troublesome, but she understood that she shouldn't use too much magical power to resolve the situation.
Normally, she could have blown away a gate like this with ease using magic. However, if she misjudged the power even slightly, her magic would be enough to destroy the entire mansion. If that happened, there was a risk that the Ope she was after would also be lost.
That would be an easy way to attack, but it would only make her sad.
"Why do you resist so much? Don't you understand the consideration I'm showing by offering to spare your lives?"
Coai glared at the guards.
"...What did you say?"
"Wait, Bill."
The guard who had been out of breath until a moment ago stopped the other one.
"You, you'll guarantee you won't kill us if we obey?"
"Joe!?"
"That's fine with me."
At least, that's what she was thinking for now.
"...I understand. Where should I guide you?"
"I only want the Ope. I have no interest in your lives."
"I see. Understood."
"Joe..."
The more understanding guard opened a side door next to the main gate. Coai beckoned to Snow, who was a short distance away, and stepped into the mansion with the guards.
"Joe, is this okay? Won't it be bad if the magistrate finds out?"
"Either way, we can't defy this person. Even if we called for reinforcements, we'd be killed before help arrived. It's better to bet on this possibility."
"A possibility?"
"You promised you'd come back alive, didn't you? To Meg."
"Wh- H-how did you know about that?"
Overhearing the guards' conversation, Coai waited for Snow to pass through the side door.
Coai and Snow, along with the two guards, were heading to the underground food pantry.
"Aaal-co-hol~, aal-co-hol~, lots of aal-co-hol"
"Is that sweet wine, the Ope, really that delicious?"
"Beats me. Never had anything to do with stuff like that."
"I don't know what it tastes like, but it's really expensive. If it were me, I'd sell it in the capital instead of drinking it."
They walked through the mansion, making idle conversation. Amidst it all, Coai sensed a being endowed with magical power gradually approaching.
They probably noticed something was wrong by sensing my magical power within the mansion. And that magic showed an unnatural fluctuation. They must have the aptitude to sense my level of power... Coai felt a slight sense of anticipation for her encounter with this being.
However, before Coai and the others encountered this being, they arrived at the food pantry. Inside were dried meats, salted meats, root vegetables, pickled vegetables... and lined up were barrels and bottles of alcohol.
