24. Russia does not need a cowardly emperor, henshin!

As for the direct assault aimed at the Emperor of the Russian Empire, Ivan Letty, I wasn’t foolish enough to just stand by and watch while saving my own skin.

The response began in an instant!

The appearance of the magic sword Alsace allowed Kephir to take down several attackers causing chaos in the venue, directly repelling the “boss” who had just targeted Letty’s life; the originally chaotic venue gradually quieted down, with some “students” displaying an agility and discipline that students would never possess, working together to subdue the remaining attackers and calm the scene. Finally, the venue’s main door was kicked open by Rasputin, who hoisted her flintlock over her shoulder and stood as a gatekeeper, coldly glaring at the interior.

This sudden and decisive response threw the attackers into disarray!

“They… they were actually prepared!? What’s going on!?”

Of course, that’s exactly what happened. Just as you see, Letty might have genuinely been frightened by your attack, but… the rest of the Russians were just waiting for you to make a move!

After all, I couldn’t just stand by knowing that Letty was in danger today. There was no way to convince Letty, so I settled for a compromise. After Rasputin gave me the finger several times, I finally got her to believe me and arranged for some fake students to be in the venue.

As for us, I asked Rasputin for a set of academy uniforms, then had Alsace disguise herself as a student in fairy form, openly bringing this “weapon” inside, ensuring Kephir wouldn’t be empty-handed.

Though… looking at it, it seemed like Kephir could handle things even empty-handed.

With the attack failing, unexpected events unfolded. The attackers had lost their earlier organization and could no longer hide among the now quiet crowd of students, beginning to expose themselves.

At that moment, the attacker who had just targeted Letty, after being knocked down by Kephir’s sword, finally crawled up between the tables and chairs. This one clearly looked like the “boss,” but… capturing her was certainly not going to be easy!

“Failed! Get out quickly!”

In the next instant, she fished something out of her pocket and tore it apart, her figure quickly becoming blurry!

[Attacker A is preparing to use a prepared disposable magic scroll to escape!]

[Attacker B is using…]

Not only had they planned the attack and coordination, but they had even thought ahead about escape routes in case of failure! These attackers did not seem like hasty, panicked extras rising in rebellion!

However, as a student of the Lubyanka Academy, and not just some extra…

I didn’t have time to think much, because Kfeir beside me immediately reminded me!

“It’s a pre-set teleportation spell! We can’t just stand here!”

Capturing the person is the priority! If I can’t catch them, it’s pointless to think more about my script!

“Rasputin!”

I immediately shouted at the Rasputin sister, who was still cosplaying as Chu Yunfei by the door, “Stop posing! They’re using magic! Don’t you know!?”

“Ma. Magic?”

【Rasputin really doesn’t understand magic.】

Damn, what the hell!?

“Hurry up and resolve it before they finish casting and disappear!”

Kfeir had already taken action! She was targeting the leader who had just said “retreat.” It seemed that like me, Kfeir also thought this person had the greatest suspicion and identity! However, the trouble was: compared to the other attackers who were still a bit flustered, this guy’s actions were the most decisive and smooth, and he had enough magical power!

Take out, tear off, chant quickly, and then… at the moment Kfeir reached out, he vanished!

【Attacker A successfully escaped!】

The most dangerous one got away, but fortunately, the followers arranged by Rasputin sister were also quite agile. Although a few managed to escape, some attackers were already subdued by various bear hugs and tackles while nervously using magic! The security personnel who rushed in from outside quickly activated what was probably a barrier to temporarily nullify magic, leaving some attackers who couldn’t use their scrolls to start more frantic actions in despair!

【Attacker C took a hostage and escaped!】

This was a situation I had anticipated from the start, but… it was also something I could do nothing about! Just as I was about to remind Rasputin sister to “make it quick,” I couldn’t help but be distracted by Letty’s state beside me.

Even the script didn’t explain why the usually domineering little midget looked so dejected at this moment. I could only find some generic words to try to comfort Letty.

“It’s okay, Letty. The Rosia Empire is so vast; if there aren’t any people opposing you, wouldn’t it be like paradise? Anyway, we’ve stopped them. We can just catch a few later and ask them why.”

Clearly a student of Lubyanka Academy, and possibly even a noble from the Rosia Empire, why would someone with such a privileged identity engage in such risky and unbeneficial actions!?

In fact, my doubts were not small at all.

On the other side, Kfeir was swiftly taking down one little attacker after another, and Rasputin sister, along with her followers, had subdued quite a few as well. Although a few had indeed taken students hostage, such stubborn resistance in this situation would only mean it was a matter of time before they were resolved and captured.

Now, this “attack incident” concerning Letty’s life should be temporarily over, right!? However, the next moment, I realized I was being too naive.

【Ivan Letty did not heed Oujilide’s comfort!】

A strange script appeared, and when I turned to look, what I saw was… perhaps even stranger than the script itself—Letty herself!

“Sympathy? What’s there to sympathize about…”

At that moment, Letty was holding “Zhou Si,” her whole body crackling with golden lightning, and the murmured voice coming from her lowered head felt eerie to me because: it was clearly Letty mumbling, yet occasionally familiar voices echoed through, as if from an old television switching channels, occasionally producing “crossed signals”!

“Just a bunch of servants, a bunch of livestock. As an emperor, what’s needed is an iron-fisted approach to rebels.”

“But her… what are you sympathizing for? Because they are students? Because they kidnapped other students? Because it’s hard to act?”

With the crackling of lightning, in a daze, it seemed I was seeing not Letty, but…

That fairy—Zhou Si—who was far more ruthless and merciless than Letty!

She did not possess Letty’s body, but the still-midget Letty had already raised her sword!

“Hesitating, huh… You really never grow up.”

Could it be that she was about to…

From a distance, Rasputin’s voice called out: “Lady Letty! These people have taken hostages and are making demands! What should we do!?”

Suddenly, Letty lifted her head, but at that moment, her expression was already as frenzied as that of the Tsar of Russia who once wanted to set me ablaze!

“Hah? Of course, we just kill the hostages too. The Russian Empire doesn’t need weaklings who can be taken hostage…”

Lightning flashed, and it seemed as if the thunder would fall indiscriminately at any moment!

Feeling an overwhelming urge that I absolutely could not wait any longer, I took the risk and grasped the arm of the hand Letty was holding the sword with!

“Ivan Letty!”

Finally, her movements paused for a moment.

“What are you doing!?”

——

The illustration is almost done, gugu gugu

Color illustration: The Fairy of Thunder, Ivan Letty

This image is huge, join the group for the full-size version; this one is just a thumbnail.

As promised, here’s the color illustration. If you like it, please give it a lot of love.