They proceeded to undress the other assassin and store his gear with Donna. It had some wear and tear, but not from his battle with Elaina. She had cleanly killed him with a slit throat.

  Maybe they fought in the capital, too. Wraiths? Maybe at the royal castle? These wounds were probably not from Reginold.

  With a healthy wrapping of rope, the assassin was dealt with. Damian and his party were now stuck with a group of soon-to-be undead.

  Ah, how do we want to deal with this? It'd be a pretty dick move to leave them here for someone else. And we can't just bring them with us using our flying method. I'm pretty sure all the bodies would go splat.

  'sigh'

  Elaina spoke up, "Donna, could you be a dear and create a platform on wheels made of ice? We'll have to drag them behind us until they turn. It'll only be a couple of hours, given their tiers. It'll also give us a moment to rest."

  As Elaina coached Donna on creating a simple cart with ice, the rest of the party kept a watchful eye.

  "Do you think that there are more? Actually, a stupid question. How many more do you think there are?" Alex asked.

  "An assassin group of two would be strange in my opinion; three should be the minimum. One archer and one healer with high defenses doesn't make for the most cohesive group. We should expect a melee fighter or a spell caster. My money would be on someone with stealth that could hide from Big Sis." Frey helpfully provided.

  "There was just an attack on the city. Maybe the other members of their group perished at the castle." Fergus suggested.

  "That's a good point... But we should stay cautious." Frey warned.

  "Um, neither of them seemed to be military, though. Their equipment wasn't standard at all, and neither have any tattoos that are common with my men."

  Higgins was making a valid point. These men were likely not actively enlisted. A hidden force. Although what assassin would leave behind clues about their origin?

  "What do you think about Reginald?" Alex offered another question that had been on everyone's minds.

  "Either they attacked Ms. Sanderson in the Spire, or she had him leave to do something else." Damian offered. "Do you know if he has a spatial skill, Higgins? I thought that it was strange for them to bring a body all the way out here with them. If he does, then..."

  "Oh! Yeah, he did have a spatial storage skill." Higgins confirmed.

  "So then..." The group looked over at the body. They would be holding onto two sets of evidence if their guess were correct. Damian had thought it strange that Ms. Sanderson had taken two of the bodies inside the Spire with her. The pieces started to come together.

  She really thinks of everything as a misdirection. I guess you shouldn't expect anything less from an illusionist. Although sadly it didn't work this time.

  Maybe these assassins were waiting by the castle? That still left the question of the other members of the assassins' troop. Hmm, we'll be in trouble if one of them flees to report our location...

  "Ready!" Donna declared at her ice-made creation. It was a simple cart, nothing special except that it was made entirely of ice. She could even move it along with her water control, but Elaina took the reins. She had another red cord tied to the front, and she started pulling it along.

  "We'd best hurry along now."

  ***

  It was standard procedure that if you killed a person, you were responsible for their rites. But as they carried the bodies along with them at a quick walking pace, Damian was starting to question whether or not they should follow this rule, or if it was going to get them killed.

  If a tier 6 wraith or undead that could send tracking arrows was unleashed nearby, far too many people outside the castle walls would perish. He didn't think that he could live with himself knowing that.

  But that started to make him question Elaina's choice in the matter. Part of him thought that she would have recommended that they tie up the bodies and leave them behind. If they created a signal fire, someone else would have come along to take care of them. But instead, she was the one to recommend building the cart.

  Should I just ask?

  "Big Si– Ouff!" Frey swiftly dealt with Damian, and a well-placed jab at his side.

  "... Elaina, why did you suggest that we watch over these bodies? Aren't we in enough danger as it is? Couldn't we have created a signal fire and left them behind?"

  "? Oh. Yeah, that was certainly an option, but may I ask how often your plans work out?"

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Ah... Sometimes?"

  "Exactly, I've been on the receiving end of a similar plan before. When I reached the signal fire, the undead had already awakened... Given the heightened tensions in the capital, people might even think that it was a trap. Having two tier 6 undead isn't a light matter."

  "Ah! Thank you for your insight."

  "Anyway, if worst comes to worst, we could just give our pursuers the bodies. If that doesn't work out, I'll knock Frey out and run away with her. Ah, don't get me wrong, I do like you all, but family comes first."

  "..." It seems that Elaina's brutal truth had just been laid out. She didn't hide her own thoughts on the matter. The only person who truly mattered to her here was her sister. Damian couldn't really blame her, though. They had only met a few hours ago. But he appreciated the honesty.

  "Sis! You... You can't do that!" Frey yelled in a panic.

  "I will, and there's nothing you can do about it. That's the right of the strong... And big sisters."

  "Bahahaha!" Alex began to howl.

  "Oh, oh, this is too good. No hard feelings, Elaina. I get it. Can I still call you Big Sis?"

  Elaina smiled softly. "Sure."

  *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

  'sigh'

  Reginald's body began to convulse, turning into an undead.

  "I'll take care of it." Damian declared.

  SKREEE--- The screech of the undead was cut short. Damian had stabbed the man from the top of the skull with the dagger Robby had given him before the battle at the wall.

  A much cleaner rite than the ones they had witnessed the other day. However, those rites were done for much higher-tiered individuals.

  Higgins had said that Reginald had only been tier 4. He would definitely ask Elaina to take care of the tier 6s. If he were even a moment late and the teleporter got free, they'd be in a heap of trouble.

  Before Damian could ponder their situation any further, various items started to slip into existence behind Damian. Reginald's spatial storage was opening up.

  Before they could check any of the items Reginald dropped, a whole headless corpse dropped onto their cart.

  Well, that proves it... Do we bring both with us? I guess that Donna has the space. What about Reginald? His body doesn't help us, but it doesn't feel right to leave him behind.

  After a little discussion, they decided to leave poor Reginald behind. He had risked everything carrying the evidence with him, but failed. They had just enough space to hold both him and the imperial soldier's body, but carrying around dead weight wasn't going to help them.

  Adding insult to injury, they had Donna tuck away Reginald's dials. He wasn't a wealthy man. Looking through his other trinkets, they found a pocket watch, an enchanted lighter, and... Oh! Wow! An enchanted shower head! What I've always wanted!

  After a moment of letting the excitement simmer, Damian came to a sad conclusion. We should get these things to his family. But one day you'll be mine~.

  Before they continued, Elaina took the imperial soldier's headless body and began to inspect it. "Hmm. Malnourished. Signs of recent combat. Nail marks on some of the extremities. Shackle bruises on all limbs and around the neck. He'd been shackled for at least a month. Hmm?"

  She was crouched down, inspecting around the soldier's neck. She was making Damian a bit nervous as she leaned in closer to the body. Her back was completely exposed, almost inviting someone to attack her from behind.

  "Partial writing on the neck, enchanted ink? Did any of you see what was on his neck before the rite was completed?

  Damian had to admit that he was too flustered at the time to inspect the high-tier bodies. He had only gotten a glance at their fronts before they were laid down and tied up.

  On the neck of the imperial soldier were a couple of straight lines that could be the bottom half of writing, or more likely numbers. There was only a sliver of the inked skin left. Most of it had gone with the head during the overzealous rites.

  "Donna, could you store this body and then take out the other?" Elaina requested.

  After a quick swap, not letting both bodies out at the same time, they made closer inspections of the tier 6's body. He had the same kinds of wounds as the other body, no notable difference.

  Surprisingly, though, most of his neck was intact, but they didn't find any traces of the enchanted inc. What's up with the ink on the tier 5 and not the tier 6? Maybe a last message? What about the other bodies?

  With no further clues, Donna stored everything away, and they continued down the road, making some small talk. Elaina had suggested that, if they were ever able to return to the city, which restaurants they should visit.

  Alex had asked if their cooking was as good as Fergus's, and she responded with a surprising yes.

  Liar! Heretic! Pagon! Deceiver!

  The Cult of Fergus has competition! Damian jokingly thought. There was clearly no competition in his own mind; Fergus's food reigned supreme. Professional chefs wouldn't sway him from his faith in Fergus's cooking.

  Focus on the way of the Fergus. Don't be swayed!

  *Poke*

  Damian was jolted from his daydreaming by a familiar poke to his side.

  "Hey, I just wanted to check to see if you were alright. What my sister said earlier was pretty crass."

  "Huh? Oh. I don't fault her for it. Um, but what is your family situation? It seems that you have another sister?"

  "I have several older sisters... I'm actually the 13th..."

  "13th! What? Sorry, I think I misheard you."

  "Bahahaha! What! No way! Our Frey is part of a Baker's Dozen! Bahahah!" Alex was keeling over, holding her stomach from laughter.

  "Hey! It's not funny! Do you know what it's like being one of the middle children!"

  ...Middle child? As in, there are more younger ones? No, she's probably meaning the 12th and 14th... Surely.

  "Bahahaha! Oh! Oh! Elaina, how many sisters do you have~ You've got to tell me."

  "I'm the proud older sister of 47 younger sisters and the younger sister of 1."

  ... Huh? Wait... What? Did I suffer a head injury? 47 + 1 + 1? So 49 children? And did she say sisters? Are there no boys?

  Damian had to look over to Donna and Fergus. Both of their eyes were as large as saucers. Higgins was smiling along. Clueless about the absurd number they just heard. Did she think this was normal? He'd have to check in on that later. Looking back over to Frey, she was covering her face with her hands in humiliation.

  "Kekukuku!"

  Huh? An unfamiliar laugh rang out from the tree line nearby.

  In an instant, Elaina dashed into the forest with her daggers at the ready.