Dream Life Vol 3 Chapter 28.2: “Knight Harrison Gunnel: Part 2”

　The man once again throws a thrust with his dagger.

　It was a sharp thrust, but as a man who specializes in evasion, I didn’t feel much of a threat. I succeeded in evading and had enough time to try to counterattack with the kunai.

　Perhaps because I had more time to spare, I felt a burning pain in my shoulder. While enduring the pain, I checked the face of the man who had slashed at me.

　The man was, as expected, Harrison Gunnel. He had dyed his hair black, but his sharp eyes were distinctive and matched my memory of the man who had been standing behind Baronet Gateskell.

　I tried to strike out, protecting my aching left shoulder.

　But Gunnel turns on his heel without slashing at me again.

　For a moment, I thought it was a trap and hesitated to chase after him.

　In a flash, Gunnel was about to disappear into the crowd.

　I shouted loudly, “Somebody! Call the Order!” I shouted. I fired my best magic, the [Swallow Cutter], somewhat impatiently, before he disappeared into the crowd.

　There were already many people between me and Gunnel, but I still have him in my vision.

　The magic swallow flies through the people who are surprised by the sudden Swallow Cutter as if it were slipping through them. Gunnel was almost out of sight, but I could see the magic swallow slice his left thigh wide open.

　I stepped out to catch him, relieved that it worked. At that moment, I felt a pain in my left shoulder, reminding me that I had been wounded.

(I thought it was just a scratch, but it seems like it was pretty deep…) (Zack)

　I rushed to cast a healing spell. But then nausea hit me, as if I had had too much to drink, and the ground began to spin around and around.

　Before I knew it, I was lying on my back on the ground, looking up at the sky that kept spinning.

　My consciousness faded away. The buzzing of the crowd around me reverberated in my ears like background music from an old movie.

(Poison… I let my guard down…) (Zack)

　In my fading consciousness, I cast a chantless detoxification spell. I could faintly hear Liddy calling my name from the distance.

　I feel a softness in the back of my head and regain consciousness. I look up and see Liddy’s face, and she is cradling my head with tears streaming down her face.

　The detoxification magic seemed to have worked. Liddy had also cast a detoxification spell on me, and the discomfort I had felt earlier was gone.

　The bleeding had already stopped, and my clouded consciousness caused by the poison was gone, but I was still unable to free my body.

“Gunnel… What happened to him…” (Zack)

　I said to Liddy, who was cradling my head in her arms.

“You’re okay! Oh, good! Really…” (Liddy)

　Her face immediately lights up. And she murmured that I was alright many times over and hugged me even more.

“How long was I out? Anyone else injured…” (Zack)

　Liddy seemed to have regained her composure a little as she looked around.

“Five minutes, that’s how long. And no one else…” (Liddy)

　I heard footsteps and a knight in his thirties called out to me.

“Are you okay? I’m calling a healer right now… Oh? Have you already been treated?” (Knight)

　He doesn’t seem to know who I am and looks confused.

“My name is Zacharias Lockhart. What happened to the person who attacked me?” (Zack)

　I asked the knight named Southall what happened to Gunnel.

“Was it you Sir Zacharias? We have already secured the person who attacked you.” (Knight)

　I stood up while holding onto Liddy’s shoulders,

“Thank you. I think that person is Harrison Gunnel, Baronet Gateskell’s subordinate. Please report this to the Governor’s Office as soon as possible.” (Zack)

　Southall’s face changes when he hears the name Gunnel. Then, after bowing, he ran off with great speed.

~Gunnel’s Perspective~

　I, Harrison Gunnel, failed to assassinate Zacharias Lockhart. No, I should have almost succeeded, but somehow, I failed.

　But right after I cut him down, I never doubted the success of the assassination.

　Immediately after leaving the store, he let his guard down and approached the woman named Lydiane, using her as a wall. I erased my killing intent and attacked from a blind spot, but he was indeed a skilled swordsman. My thrust aimed at his heart was dodged, only leaving a thin wound on his left shoulder.

　Furthermore, as I was about to leave, he instantly released a spell and seriously injured my left leg.

　I gave up trying to escape and fell to my knees on the spot.

　Around me, the screams of women running away and the shouts of men trying to protect their families were mixed together.

　I noticed that the ground at my feet was stained red with blood.

　I fell on my back on the spot without stopping the bleeding.

　A blue July summer sky stretched out before my eyes. White cotton clouds were drifting by, and I watched absentmindedly as a small bird flew away.

　My heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment. For even though I was not a member of the Count Roswell family, I had been able to take him down.

　I had not confirmed his death, but I had succeeded in wounding him with a dagger coated with a deadly poison. That poison is so deadly that it can kill even an ogre in an instant. In fact, when I was in the imperial capital, I killed several people with this poison. This includes a strong beastfolk, who was found dead within seconds. The poison’s effectiveness has been proven and there is no doubt about it.

　After several minutes of looking up at the sky, the sound of clanking armor echoes through the city as a group of soldiers come running.

　People around me seemed to point at me, and several soldiers roughly pulled me and tied me up. I had no intention of resisting; I had let go of the dagger I was carrying before I knew it.

　I could clearly see my surroundings.

　There was a crowd of people surrounding me, keeping me at a distance. Not only here, but also where I had slashed Zacharias, there was a crowd of people.

　I turned my eyes casually and suddenly a sound similar to cheers arose.

　I wondered why they were cheering. No one had ever survived being wounded by that poison. That poison is a special poison developed at Lux, and it is so fast acting that even a slight wound to the fingertip of an ordinary human would be too late in a few seconds. This time it is not the fingertip, but the shoulder near the heart. In that position, it would be too late in ten seconds at the most.

　Zacharias’ companion is Lydiane Dupre, an elven magician. According to the information, she was a magician who could use the four attributes of magic and was good at healing magic, but the poison would kill him in a short time. There was no way she would make it in time.

　I thought so, but then I saw Zacharias walking on his own feet, albeit unsteadily, through the crowd. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Why are you alive… How…?” (Gunnel)

　I had unintentionally uttered that.

　And I felt fear towards this man.

　He had easily won against three times their numbers in the forest, and not even a single battalion of the Knights could kill him. And even my trump card, Lux’s poison, could not choke him.

　Zacharias approached me and said my name, “Harrison Gunnel, right?”

　I neither affirmed nor denied, but said, “How are you alive? What are you?!” I shouted. Then, forgetting that my leg was injured, I must have tried to jump on him.

My memory of that moment is vague, but the moment I tried to jump at him, the soldiers hit me, and I fainted.