Once the shield was successfully completed and I could finally relax, my stomach started growling.
When that happens, there's only one place: "Cider-tei."
Hydrangea would definitely pick "Cider-tei," too.
Of course. I ordered a large butter rice.
Butter rice loaded with vegetables and meat.
Seasoned with a hidden blend of black pepper, garlic, and onion sauce.
Since I'm alone today, I took a seat at the counter instead of the second floor.
"Hey, you know what — lately... Kuun Hunt's been pretty quiet, huh?"
"They keep failing. They're too embarrassed to show their faces."
Behind me, at a table, some men who looked like delvers were chatting.
Kuun Hunt. I pricked up my ears a little.
"They got wiped out at Heizen's Forest Wave — the big flashy one."
"And Alveld's stepping down as clan master?"
"I mean... aren't they just gonna disband at this rate?"
"Could be. The nobles who had their backs have gotten fed up and bailed."
"Alveld's Lutebelt family, right?"
"The real backers were there, though — the Bardslate Grand Duchy."
"Isn't that basically game over? Speaking of which, the Hiarn Trading Company couldn't do anything either, right? Their backers were the Tassan Duchy. The Tassans and the Bardslates are famous for being mortal enemies. Yet the Grand Duchy couldn't lift a finger."
"They used to use Kuun Hunt to harass people, so..."
"In some cases... they even buried them. That happened."
"Yeah, it did."
Buried — as in assassination.
Kuun Hunt. So that's what they were doing.
Well, they probably did. Those guys.
So the Tassan family and the Bardslate Grand Duchy, mortal enemies. I had no idea. First time hearing about that.
Also, folks behind me — don't you know a little too much?
Where do people even get that kind of intel?
I know information brokers exist, but I don't really need one right now.
While I was thinking, my large butter rice arrived.
Alright, eavesdropping's over.
First time alone in a while. I'm going to savor every bite.
I've got plenty to do. The dungeon's still unfinished. Isibara's body.
Once those are done, I'd like to visit a dungeon again for the first time in a while.
Come to think of it, the earth dungeon. I've never actually been inside.
It's the most popular one since you can mine all sorts of ores, which is why it's always crowded — I've been avoiding it.
Thinking it over, I silently cleaned my plate, then drank my post-meal apple juice.
I let out a breath after finishing. What is this? I think this is what people mean by happiness.
I left "Cider-tei" in a pleasant mood.
I was heading home... when I stopped midway.
"............"
I used the Relic "Danger Discernment."
It was so obvious I probably didn't need to, but verification is always important.
Five red responses... just as expected. I sighed.
I lured them into a nearby alleyway as if beckoning.
Five people came shuffling after me. I entered the alley and walked a little further.
It opened up into a clearing, and I turned around.
Six people stood there. Men of varying heights and ages.
They looked like delvers on the surface, but every one of them had a nasty face.
I'd heard somewhere that a person's deeds show on their face.
Looking at them, I could only agree.
"So what do you want with me?"
When I asked, they grinned and snickered.
The kind of mocking, contemptuous laughter you'd give someone you think is beneath you.
Their attitude pissed me off, but I held back and waited to see what they'd do.
"You're... Wouf?"
"That's right. And you are?"
I addressed the man who'd stepped forward.
He was tall and lanky — thin body, thin limbs, thin face.
His hair grew in a scraggly pineapple-like tuft.
His eyes were murky and unfocused. My gut told me he wasn't right in the head.
"I'm Bobbigg. You remember Bobbis, you little shit?"
"...Who?"
Bob... b... Hard to say. Remember him?
How could I possibly remember?
"He was my brother."
"And?"
"You killed him."
"...So this is revenge?"
I honestly couldn't remember whether I'd killed him or not.
But the hostility and killing intent radiating from them was unmistakable.
Talking this out wasn't going to work.
"Revenge — sure, that's part of it... but it's really just a bonus. My brother — well, he was scum. Weak scum who could only get picked on by kids... a disgrace."
"I see."
The guy in front of me didn't seem any better in the scum department.
If revenge was just a bonus, then what was the real objective?
"Heh heh heh heh heh — I hear you've got some high-priced women at your beck and call."
"...That's what this is about?"
"Heh heh heh — you don't wanna die, right? Even as we look, this is a gathering of Class IV and Class III delvers."
"Just hand over the women nice and easy... and we'll spare your lives..."
"............"
"I — I want the 'Torquetam'!"
"............"
"I want the witch! Heh heh heh — that one's one irresistible vixen."
"............"
"The maid. Hand over all the maids!"
"............"
"There's a real prize called Mineha, isn't there? She's a fairial, so I can't imagine how much she'll fetch. Not that we won't have a taste of her first before we sell her off."
"............ Is that your last word? Trash."
I lost my temper — quietly.
"Huh? What did you just say?"
"Don't speak. You're rotting the world."
I drew a knife. Agaro-san's Knife Modified III.
The blade gleamed with a liquid-crystal luster, glinting red and green as the light caught it.
I thought about annihilating them in an instant with Generous's Fantasmagoria.
But I didn't want to dispose of them through something so anticlimactic.
All of them drew their swords at once.
Someone thrust out their hand.
"Take this!"
A ball of fire was launched.
I reflected it with "Blue Saint's Gauntlet," and it hit the man who'd fired it, engulfing him in flames.
A filthy scream echoed. That was number one.
"Tch — surround him!"
Bobbigg barked a pathetically embarrassing order.
The men obeyed without question.
"[Slash]!"
A slashing attack flew from a sword. I didn't use the gauntlet.
"One-Blade Demon Severance!"
I cut through the slash with my knife.
"Wha—!?"
"[Banish Knuckle]!"
I drove a fist charged with Banish into the man who'd launched the slash.
He tried to block in a panic, but I erased both his arm and head.
Hmph. Even that Jinryu guy had managed to cancel out Banish. At least put up that kind of fight. That's number two.
"This guy!?"
"Don't get rattled over something like this."
I stabbed from a blind spot. He was wearing leather armor, but the blade punched through easily.
That's number three.
"What the — what's going on?! How are we losing this easily?!"
I was wondering the same thing, honestly.
For Class IV and Class III, they were absurdly weak.
Their movements were slow to begin with.
Every action was too sloppy to call them veterans.
Their weapons were wooden-handled spears. I switched to "Wood Flash."
"You little brat!"
The man swung a crude sword. I brought the tip of Wood Flash to meet it and deflected it.
"Your sword's in terrible shape."
The edge looked dull.
"Shut up!"
"Take this!"
Bobbigg launched a lightning strike.
I dodged in the nick of time, and the man was electrocuted through his own sword, turning charred black.
That's number four.
"Don't you dodge that, you little shit!"
A Relic user with the Lightning attribute? Even so, his proficiency was terrible.
I used "Blue Saint." My mind rapidly cooled to calm.
At the same time, time slowed. I dodged every lightning strike Bobbigg launched.
"——Thrust-Split Slash."
I thrust into Bobbigg's abdomen and split him open diagonally downward.
"I... impossible..."
Bobbigg collapsed.
That's number five.
"Mm. As expected, they were weak."
I'd actually felt it before the fight even started.
I couldn't sense any aura of strength — any vibe of being formidable — from a single one of them.
Was that really the case? I tested it by fighting them plain and simple, and...
"Well... I suppose I should clean up."
I used Banish to erase the bodies one by one.
Among them, I found their delver tags.
Bobbigg was Class III and the rest were Class IV. They were genuine.
"And yet they were this weak..."
Still, I let their disgusting trash talk get to me and lost my cool.
With this level of ability, what they were plotting was impossible anyway.
Those girls are strong.
Some of them might even be stronger than me.
Why do guys like this always fail to gauge their opponent's strength?
And so they end up dying just like this — almost too easily. I don't know what to think about that.
"——Hey. Don't you think so too, Alveld?"
I stood up and turned around.