The Bad Things Keep On Coming
「Yo Bro, hold up for a second」
In order to return to the Guild with Dowan’s request, we got on board the wagon. When we did, a voice called out to us from behind.
I sort of have a bad feeling about it, so I told Melissa to stay on the coachman’s seat, and I turned around towards the source of that voice.
When I did I found a trio of three men standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
There was a reasonable amount of s.p.a.ce surrounding Dowan’s shop, but the roads leading away are pretty narrow so the wagon won’t be able to get past them.
Seriously, guys like these are usually nothing but trouble. To make things worse, their faces made them look exactly like evil villains.
I’m not entirely sure what they’re up to. You don’t often see other people around these parts after all.
The slums aren’t too far from here so maybe there’s a large number of bad characters because of that.
But still I wonder what to want. Are they going to ask for money? If they ask something like that then let’s immediately Cancel it and save ourselves the trouble.
「By “Bro”, did you mean me?」(Hitto)
When they heard my question, the man in the middle took a step forward and opened his mouth.
「Ain’t no one here except you right?」
Well I guess that’s true.
「So, what you want?」(Hitto)
From the looks of it they each have short swords on their waists but they aren’t wearing any kind of armor.
They don’t really look like adventurers huh.
They seem more like a bunch of no-good hoodlums.
「Oi Oi, don’t be all scaredy like that. It ain’t like we’re here ta steal a meal off you, ya know?」
He waved both hands side to side in a joking manner as he said that.
「We all just thought that we’d give ya a warning」
「A warning?」(Hitto)
I unknowingly knitted my eyebrows in doubt. What exactly is there to warn me about? Are they going to say that they own this turf or something?
「You guys just came out of that dwarf’s store right?」
Hmm?
「Yea, that’s right. We came to look at some equipment」(Hitto)
For the time being let’s just go along with it and give appropriate answers.
「Hold up Bro, are you for real? Seriously, to actually go and buy equipment from that store」
「There’s a rumor going around that that store’s merchandise is the absolute worst, ya know? Everyone knows that if you buy the goods here then ya’ll be stuck crying over their overpriced and inferior products」
…… Somehow it sounds like they rehea.r.s.ed those lines beforehand. Feels like they waited for the perfect time to say it together.
Well, I bet it really was rehea.r.s.ed.
But still, it wasn’t an extortion type of scam huh. It seems like their goal is not to harm us, but rather――
「Well it’s pretty much like that. So Bro, it’s best if you don’t buy from that store anymore ya hear. Ya shouldn’t get equipment repaired here either. According to the rumors, this store is having so much trouble staying afloat that they cut down on the materials they use. They don’t do a proper job at all. Ya wouldn’t want ta sell stuff at a store that’s gonna go bankrupt at any moment. If ya leave your equipment at a store like that then ya never know, maybe they’ll just up and disappear the next day, right?」
「Please stop spouting such――」(Melissa)
From the coachman’s seat, Melissa seemed like she was going to cut into the conversation, so I held out my hand to stop her.
Maybe she understood my intent, but she didn’t continue any further than that.
「What’s this, you’re walking around with quite the cute slave aint’cha 」
「Well pretty much. So, is that all you wanted to say?」(Hitto)
I more or less figured out what these guys were after, and also who was pulling the strings behind the scenes, but, well, I asked in a way that didn’t give me away.
「Well yea. We’ve been going trying to prevent people from being tricked by that store. We want to lower the victims of that den of scams. But if you’re suddenly told something like that, then you’d be at a loss at which store to go to next time, right?」
「……I guess」(Hitto)
「So das why, instead of going to a damp place like this, you should go to the stores that are around the main street. All the weapon and armor shops over there are affiliated with the Bungle Company. They have a different level of credibility compared to that store run by a filthy dwarf」
…… They really are an easy to understand bunch huh.
In any case, those bad points that they brought up about Dowan’s store, I’m sure that they all actually apply to Bungle’s stores instead. Except for the financial difficulty one.
Well, I’m basing all of this on what I’ve heard from Melissa though.
But if you ask me to choose between her words or this dimwitted trio then obviously I would choose to believe Melissa.
Well with that being said let’s just obediently nod our head.
「That so. Well, I’ll take what you said about the store under consideration. Thanks for the info. Well then, later」(Hitto)
Saying that I turned back and was about to get back on the wagon when.
「Hey wait, hold up a sec Bro. Like we told you the management of that store is bad news. That’s why it’s best if ya go ahead and rip up that request that ya got from there. We can’t have any requests from that store reaching the Guild, right? We’ll even dispose of it for ya, so why don’tcha hand it over to us?」
……I see, so it’s like that.
I turned around and returning to where I was, I confronted the three again.
「I can understand why you think I’m an adventurer based on my outfit. However, why is it that you think I have a request?」(Hitto)
「That’s cuz, well, we’ve got sharp ears ya know」
……One of them is a Thief cla.s.s huh. No, there’s the possibility that all of them are Thiefs.
The reason why I thought this is because there is a Thief skill called “Keen Hearing”.
In the game it was a skill that let you do things like figure out if there was someone on the opposite side of a door. However, in this world that skill might also allow you to hear conversations being had behind said door.
If it’s a Thief then they could also mask their presence to a certain extent.
「I haven’t received anything like a request. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?」(Hitto)
「It’s not good to lie ya know. We’re pretty confident that you accepted a request」
「I see. But, even if that was true, I am under no obligation to hand it over to you guys. I will be the one to decide if it should be disposed of or not」(Hitto)
「Oi Oi, are you planning on spitting in the face of our kindness? In that case we’ve got a couple of ideas of our own ya know?」
Looks like they’re finally showing their true colors. At the same time it looks like my a.s.sumption that they were Thiefs was correct.
After all――
「Naa!?」
One of the three men let out a surprised cry and with wide open eyes he fell back some distance. At his feet, a knife was stuck in the ground.
「That just now was a warning. What did you plan on doing next after trying to go after my Melissa?」(Hitto)
While we were preoccupied with our conversation, one of them activated the skill “Stealth Steps” and tried to slip past me. Were they planning on taking Melissa as a hostage or something?
Unfortunately for you, I’ve got much higher abilities.
If they use such a low level skill like that then I’ll be able to see through it right away.
「Tsk. Even through the last guy easily handed it over」
「……By that do you mean Ragna?」(Hitto)
「What, so you know the guy? In dat case you should know exactly how foolish of a thing you’ve done」
It’s not like I knew him or anything though. I only heard about him just now from Dowan.
「Cowards who have to resort to taking Melissa hostage, I don’t think those words pose much of a threat」(Hitto)
「Hmph. That was something we planned to show you at least a little bit of mercy. I didn’t think things would have to get serious though――」
As if in response to the man’s words, a bunch of guys came out of the shadows from behind several buildings.
In total their numbers were…… I guess they were about 30 guys? The three men also fell back and mixed into the other waves of people.
「G-Goshujin-sama, I shall also lend a hand!」(Melissa)
「No, it’s all right. I don’t want my precious Melissa to get hurt so it’s best that you don’t. For the time being just sit tight where you are」(Hitto)
The wagon was currently located in front of Dowan’s store. The groups of men were facing me from upfront, so there was still some distance in between us. If it’s like this then they won’t be able to reach Melissa who is staying by my side.
Even a Thief wouldn’t be able to pa.s.s through.
「Hmph, if only you obediently handed over the request, that way you wouldn’t have to experience pain」
A guy who seemed like their leader quickly unsheathed the blade on his waist, and he earnestly took a stance in front of me.
From his stance I could tell that he was pretty skilled, the air he carried around him also gave off the feeling of experience.
「Should I say it one more time? If you quietly hand over the request form then you won’t get hurt」
「h.e.l.l no」(Hitto)
I stuck out my tongue as I replied.
「Tsk, In that case we’ll take it by force! You lot, get ’em!」
On the man’s orders everyone drew their swords all at once. Great, if the situation turns to this then I can legitimately say it was for self-defense.
That’s why, my own twin swords―― I did not draw them. From the Magic Bag I pulled out the Heavy Crossbow and braced it against my shoulder.
And thus――a commotion broke out.
「Y-You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! What the h.e.l.l is that!」
「Who knows, why you ask?」(Hitto)
I accidentally let a devilish smile surface on my face, and then―― Let’s start off with the 1st one, SHOOT!
The moment I pulled the trigger a soothing breeze brushed past my hair, and the fired bolt flew towards the frontlines and bore a hole into a man’s chest. It kept on going and pierced another 4 men, it flew straight through the stomachs, hearts, and necks, of a total of 5 men.
And then, once I confirmed that it had finished penetrating through the bunch, I used Cancel on the bolt and it returned back to me.
After all is said and done, the main appeal of this weapon is it’s incredibly high piercing power.
That’s why when it is paired with my Cancel it becomes a dominating force when it comes to group combat.
「W-What the h.e.l.l is that weapon! It killed several guys in an instant!」
「D-Don’t start panicking! Take a look at that weapon! It’s firepower if really high but it is still just a crossbow! After it takes a shot it will take some time to reload the arrow! It can’t shoot a second time!」
At the time almost everyone was frozen in astonishment, but after the leader-esque man said those words they were able to regain their composure.
Yeah, that’s right. If this was a normal crossbow then I think that logic would work.
But not showing any sympathy for the bunch, I let loose a second shot.
Another “BAAAANNG!” As if it was the sound of a good instrument, about 5 more men fell dead in a pool of blood.
A look of fear and dread spread across their faces.
「H-Hey, what the h.e.l.l do we do? This guy is definitely dangerous!」
「Kuu! C-Can’t be helped! Temporary retreat――」
Haa? Retreat? You must be joking, right? I finally got the just cause of using self-defense too.
Also, at the very least, doing this will cause trouble for the Bank.
As such, there’s no way I can let you escape you know!
As the bunch tried to turn their heels and run, I mercilessly continued to Cancel Shoot; the bolts pierced through their heads and guts, esophaguses, and even their nasty a.s.sholes.
「HIGIiiIIIiII!!」
「MY a.s.sSAAaAAaAAaAAAA!」
「FWORGYIEVEAMEEEeEEeEE!」
Unsightly cries of death rang out in this narrow alleyway. Leaving behind only the guy who looked like their leader, I fired off Cancel Shoot 4 more times as the bodies of all the men piled up.
Of course, I left one of them behind on purpose.
「Y-YOU b.a.s.t.a.r.d! WHAT THE h.e.l.l ARE YOU!」
The last man left, with his spine bent back he scowled at me with a distorted looking face. It was only him pretending to look tough, I could tell by the way his hips were shaking.
「Nothing much. Just a Beginner adventurer 」(Hitto)
「T-That’s a f.u.c.king lie! J-Just a Beginner ranked adventurer, T-There’s no way that’s true, No way can you have a weapon like that!」
Oh, this guy. So he thinks its because my Weapon is special huh, I see.
「Why is it that you think you lost because of this weapon? That’s fine, have a try」(Hitto)
I lowered the crossbow from my shoulder, and told the man while holding nothing in either hand.
「See. How about it? A complete Beginner like me is going to take you one like this. Don’t you think you have a tiny chance of winning now?」(Hitto)
「F-f.u.c.king looking down on me……」
Looking at my pretty much completely defenseless figure, he quietly mumbled those words. Biting his lip the man glared at me with serious eyes and raised his sword overhead as he approached.
But, I effortlessly undid my opponent’s stance with Cancel.
Even though I was defenseless I never said I wouldn’t use skills.
「Eh? Na, Wha――」
And as my opponent was still baffled I took out my twin swords, and hit him with a [Fang Slicer].
That should be enough to at least cut off the guys arm.
And sure enough, his right arm that was holding the sword was sent into the air.
「GI,GIuUUeEE”e”E”e”E”E”E”E”e”」
The man let out a scream as he fell down to his knees.
And using his remaining arm, he tried to apply pressure to the spot that where his right arm once was.
「AAa, Guu, aarm, My, arm is……」
「It’s pretty impressive that you haven’t pa.s.sed out. But, you know, if you’re in a state like that then you can’t even fight back. You’re nothing but an idiot now」(Hitto)
「Ah, gi, S-Spare me, I-I beg you――」
He looked up at me with eyes pleading for his life, but, Fumu――Then, first is.
「In that case, answer my questions. The one who hired you guys was Bungle, right?」(Hitto)
「Th-That, I can’t- GihIIiIIiiII!」
For the time being I cut off his right ear. This time he placed his remaining hand on the part where his ear used to be, but I continued to point my blade at him.
The current me is really heated up after all.
「Didn’t I say to answer my question? You have no other choice but to answer you know. Are you stupid? Here, let’s have another go, Was the one who hired you Bungle?」(Hitto)
「Y-Yeah that’s right! Bungle hired us」
「I see. What was his objective?」(Hitto)
「I-I have no idea! Hiii! I’m telling the truth! We were only told to lower this shop’s reputation and make sure they can’t send out requests!」
Fumu, with the blade pointed at him he’s really shaking huh. Hmmm~ doesn’t seem like he’s lying.
「Were there other’s besides you who were hired?」(Hitto)
「I-I don’t think there’s others besides us. If there were then we’d probably end up competing against each other」
I see, that’s certainly true. Fumu――
「So? Did you receive your compensation already?」(Hitto)
「Th-That is- OWwWWwWww!」
This time I cut into his left foot with my blade.
「Quit stalling. Just answer」(Hitto)
「No! We didn’t! We were planning on getting the reward after we finished the job. I’m telling the truth, please spare me」
Tsk! I thought that I might be able to make some money back, but seems like I was too naive……
「H-hey, that’s enough right? J-just let me go this one time」
「……Yea, you’re right, I’ll let you go」(Hitto)
The piece of s.h.i.t let out a deep sigh, seems like he felt relieved.
「That’s why, I’ll make your death a swift one」(Hitto)
Saying that I sliced the neck of that piece of trash. Seriously, didn’t I tell you that I was worked up? That being said, with my money all gone my rage is justified.
In the first place, if I let you go then you might just come back a second time looking for revenge.
If that happens then, leaving me aside it, would also cause trouble for Dowan.
……Well, there’s plenty of other stuff to focus my attention on though.