I looked at the two of them and spoke.
"Excuse me, but who are the two of you?"
"Hah!?"
"Hey, hey. Piesu. What's going on here? This guy, huh..."
The drunk squirrel man spoke. He was of the squirrel variety, but he wasn't particularly short.
If anything, he was tall. Nearly 190 — about the same height as Megadia.
His appearance was nothing out of the ordinary. He wore typical delver attire.
"Ah, well, Lord Leord. This is—hey, you. We met at the Junkyard yesterday, didn't we? Have you already forgotten? There's a limit to how stupid you can be!"
"...I'm sorry. Anyone unremarkable who doesn't leave an impression, I forget about them right away."
"Wha—!?"
The boy in the military uniform went red in the face and fell silent. Ah, right, I remember now.
He was the leader of the group that was pestering Juicy at the Junkyard yesterday.
Some hired hand from Kuun Hunt, a clown or something.
If I hadn't been there, they all would have been hunted down by Juicy.
Come to think of it, what happened to his lackeys? Those two who knew way too much about me.
"Taha, he says. Piesu. He says it doesn't matter."
"And you?"
Not a clown but Piesu, huh. What a confusing name.
"I'm Leord. I'm a delver affiliated with Kuun Hunt, for what it's worth."
"You're one too?"
"Yeah, I'm a drop-out. Tah-ha."
He laughs for some reason. What a weird old guy.
"You—how dare you forget me, Piesu, captain of the 37th Hired Dog platoon, you brain-dead fool!!"
He suddenly points at me and shouts at the top of his lungs. "How dare you" — what is this, some manga villain?
Several people nearby rustled and turned to look our way.
Whispered murmurs drifted over: Hey, that's Kuun Hunt. Those guys again. Get lost. Don't want any part of that.
Something like that — whispers and muttering, carried on the air.
The voices laced with disgust, the glances the kind you'd give a nuisance.
Piesu — seriously? He grips the hilt of his sword. Leord sighs and scratches his head.
"Piesu. Calm down. This isn't Kuun Hunt territory. We're outside."
"Tch. Brain-dead trash."
With a venomous look, he lets go of the hilt.
What is this guy even thinking.
"Ah, you were Wof, right?"
"What is it?"
"I hate to ask, but would you mind coming with us for a bit?"
"...No."
"Yeah, figured as much..."
"You. A brain-dead gutter rat like you, putting on airs? Shut your mouth, apologize, and follow us. I'll kill you right here. Brain-dead."
"Keep your mouth shut. Pies."
Leold spoke in a low voice, intimidating Pies.
For a dropout, this guy's got some nerve.
"But Leold, sir!"
"Do I have to say it twice? This isn't Kuun Hunt. We're outside."
"I know that."
"Then don't say stuff like that. We can't afford any more damage to our reputation outside. We're the top clan in this city."
Kuun Hunt was certainly the top clan in this city.
But when it came to being hated, they were probably number one by a mile too.
Especially recently, with that whole hired-hand-dying incident, things had gotten really bad.
Their rep had been lousy before, but after the hired hand died, the number of people who loathed them had only multiplied.
Yeah. At this rate, I'd stand out too. Great.
"I understand. I'm sorry. Where are we going?"
"Oh, my bad. This way."
"If you'd just done that from the start, we wouldn't have this problem. Idiot trash."
"Sure, sure."
Pies sure loves throwing around the word "idiot." He's probably been on the receiving end plenty of times.
When people hurl insults, they tend to overuse the words that cut the deepest to their own hearts.
As expected, we were led to an empty lot in a deserted back alley.
Hydrangea had plenty of these little vacant spaces scattered throughout its backstreets, if you just ducked into the side paths.
Now that I think about it, when we dealt with Bob whatever and his cronies, it was a place just like this.
I happened to glance up at the sky. Clear skies. Blue sky and white clouds.
“Here should be fine.”
“…”
Somehow, I kept a little distance.
These two, frankly put, were enemies in my book. It was only natural to be cautious.
A little curious, I asked.
“Hey, Pierce.”
“Don’t call me by my name, you imbecile.”
“Pierce-san. What happened to your followers?”
“Those guys? They tried to stop me, spouting some worthless drivel.”
“Told you it was a bad idea, huh?”
“How should I know. Those cowardly imbeciles. You can die too, you imbecile!”
The moment he screamed that, Pierce suddenly drew his sword and lunged.
“Huh?”
“Ha?”
“Dieeeeeeeeeee!”
Both LeoLD and I were stunned. Wasn’t even a conversation an option?
I blocked Pierce’s sword with my knife.
In the spur of the moment, I’d drawn the simple knife I’d bought earlier.
"Just like that?"
"If I kill you, my ties to the Tassan marquisate become mine — along with the credit!"
"Huh?"
How does that follow? There's no way that's true.
I deflected Pies's sword while still reeling.
Pies and I put distance between us. LeoLD spoke.
"Hey. Pies. What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Shut up! Just think about how we clean up after I kill this idiot!"
"What did you say?"
What kind of logic was that?
Pies raised his sword. I caught it with my knife again — and let go in an instant.
With a sharp *crack*, the knife that had taken the blade's impact fell, and I leaped back.
"...!"
Damn it. The knife! I need to pick it up — Pies spoke.
"Tch. Even a moron like you noticed, huh?"
Pies's sword was sparking with something. Electricity. The blade was charged.
I'd only made it because I'd seen that flash of light earlier.
That was close. I almost got electrocuted.
"...Is that a lightning attribute?"
"That's right. Something a moron like you could never have. It's my power."
"......"
Pies raised his sword and charged. Then he jumped.
"Take this — Thunder Flash Slash!"
I braced for lightning to strike the moment he swung down, but that wasn't what happened.
He'd charged his blade with electricity and was swinging on momentum — that was it.
Well, Relics grant power. I'm not going to deny that.
I calmly used the Relic [Still One] to house [Banish] in my dominant hand.
The instant he was about to cut me, I matched the timing and erased the electrified blade with [Banish].
It's a difficult maneuver that demands precision and speed, but in [Still One] mode, it's possible.
"What the—!?"
Pies was so shocked he left himself wide open.
I grabbed his arm as he stumbled from the landing, and threw him to the ground.
"A trick passed down by the Witch! Inside-Out Slam!"
It's a technique where you flip your opponent over and slam them into the ground.
On hard ground, it hurts enough to knock you unconscious. So go to sleep, Pies.
"Gwaahhhh!!"
His back hit the ground with tremendous force. His body bounced once from the impact, then went still.
I moved to finish him off with Agaro's knife, but someone called for a pause.
It was Leold. Somehow, I'd more or less expected this.
"Wof... the match is decided."
So what. I clicked my tongue inwardly, frustrated with myself.
It couldn't be helped, but he'd seen Banish too. What do I do?
"..."
"Your Relic—"
"!"
"
I
—
didn't
—
see
—
any
—
thing
"
"What are you getting at?"
"Can we just say the match is settled?"
"..."
"Can't trust me, huh? To you, I'm—"
"Hah... hah... don't screw with me."
That was when Pies slowly stood up.
Was the attack too shallow? He hadn't lost consciousness. Careless.
Leold laughed, exasperated.
"Give it up, Pies. You've lost."
"Lost...? Don't screw with me! Don't you screw with me! Idiots... who do you think I am... I'm the captain of a mercenary squad... I'm not... an idiot!!!!"
He roared and pulled something from inside his clothes.
A small, ominous-looking horn. A charm of some kind? He suddenly swallowed it.
Leold shouted.
"What the hell are you doing!! Pies, what did you just swallow!?"
"...Shut up. You idiots... every last one of you... ugh, ahhhhh!"
Pies let out a scream as the white horn on his head began to grow with a series of cracking sounds.
"...What is that...?"
Seriously, what was it?
It was the first time I'd seen a Fawn's horn grow like that.
"That guy. What was just now..."
"What is that?"
"A Demon Horn Shard. No, even that's too abnormal. Could it be Amalthea!?"
"Amalthea?"
"Yeah. That abnormal horn growth. There's no doubt. Amalthea. It infinitely extends a Fawn's horn... it's forbidden. Did he get his hands on it during the last dungeon exploration?"
"Forbidden...?"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Piesu's horn grew at an unbelievable rate, branching out.
At the same time, dark clouds drifted across the sky, and several streaks of lightning crackled through the air. What was going on all of a sudden?
Reoruld clicked his tongue.
"Tahaa, this is bad. Hey. Lend me a hand."
The dark clouds spread, and streaks of lightning struck the ground all around.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Piesu's horn was branching out spectacularly and still growing.
Nearly all of Piesu's head was consumed by the countless branching horns.
Unable to bear the weight, Piesu collapsed to its knees.
"What do we do?"
"Kill Piesu. That's the only option. I was only supposed to be a witness here, though..."
"...That's the only option?"
"If we don't act, the damage will only spread. It's gone berserk. Look at the sky. How many people will die from the lightning falling out of those dark clouds? Are you fine with that?"
The sky was covered in black clouds flickering with lightning.
"...Understood."
"Gaaah... Teinou is... damn Teinou... Teinou. Teinou. Teinou. Teinou. TeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouTeinouGAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Piesu thrashed its arms in agony. A bolt of lightning was unleashed. The wall of a building shattered.
What incredible power. If that hit you, death was certain.
"I'll be the decoy."
"Are you sure about this?"
"I'm partly responsible for bringing you here. So I don't have a choice."
The swirling dark clouds expanded further, and lightning struck all around. The thunder was deafening.
Leold moved into action. Come to think of it, I don't think this guy even had a weapon.
<Tahaa... I can't believe it came to this. What a terrible Kuun Hunt this turned out to be.>
His inner voice. Complaining about the Kuun Hunt, I suppose.
Leold pulled something from inside his coat. A sword hilt?
"Well... guess there's no helping it."
Leold gave it a light swing and a blade emerged. Seriously? It's like that saber thing!
No wait — it was crystal. A jagged, uneven crystal straight sword.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"
Piesu swung its arms. Lightning bolts and thunder strikes zeroed in on Leold. But none of them hit.
Because of [Still One], I could tell. Dodging lightning at the last possible moment — at least for a human, that's impossible.
Unless you were carrying a Relic that let you do that — but Leold was moving just before the lightning struck.
He was reading every strike. Even with [Still One] mode, I couldn't see how.
Where does he get off being called a dropout? Leold kept dodging lightning while slicing off the horns.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!"
Piesu screamed.
"Now — go! Stab it!"
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH-HHHTSSTS!"
Amid bolts of lightning crashing down, I charged in a straight line.
Piesu looked at me. Bloodshot,
pale
purple
—
eyes
glaring right at me.
And then his horns came straight at me. Countless razor-sharp blades of pure white hurtling my way.
I erased every single one of those horns with Banish. And I did it by punching them away.
In moments like these, the name just rolls off your tongue naturally.
—Banish Knuckle!!
The horns vanished just before reaching my fist.
I loaded Banish onto the backs of my fingers and punched. That's all there was to it, but the power was every bit as impressive as advertised.
Until now, I'd always used it confined to my palm. But the fight against Crown had taught me something.
Even if I couldn't release it from my hand, there were ways to get creative with how I used it.
I'd inflate the Banish I formed in my palm, let my fist pass through it, and transfer it to the back of my hand.
After that, I just punched. Punched. Kept on punching.
And then I reached him. Piesu. What a sight he was.
His overgrown horns looked like wild white hair. His bloodshot, pale purple eyes were utterly inhuman.
"GAAAAAAAAH, TEINOUAAAAGA!"
"Piesu!!"
I drove the knife Agaro had given me into him.
His horns got in the way, but I stabbed deep regardless.
"AAAGHAAAH... Teinouga... Teinouga... You... imbecile..."
Piesu stopped moving. His horns faded away.
The dark clouds dispersed, and the moment I pulled the knife out, Piesu crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
"...Phew... that was close..."
"...Why did it have to come to this?"
I looked up. Clear sky. Blue and white clouds.
The dark clouds from moments ago felt like a lie.
Piesu.
I have no particular grudge against him, the person I killed. No particular hatred, either.
Honestly, it felt bad. But not to the point of any real revulsion.
I know this world isn't like that, but if I can help it, I'd rather not kill people.
The moment I set foot in that back alley, I knew there'd be no peaceful negotiation.
I figured I'd probably end up fighting Piesu.
But I didn't think it would turn into a fight to the death.
Still, he was the one who made it one.
So I tried to kill him. Once.
In the end — well, it's hard to say how things turned out like this.
Anyway, I gave a flat stare.
"Leold. How did it come to this?"
"...Pies said he could establish a connection with the Tassan Marquis family. He said there was an annoying insect in the way and wanted to do something about it. He asked me to help."
"That annoying insect would be me."
Being called an insect left me with nothing but a wry smile.
"Yeah, that's right. But listen. I never agreed to any killing. It doesn't take a genius to know that murder in the city is strictly forbidden. Besides, Kuun Hunt already has a bad reputation in Hydrangea. And on top of that, his opponent was a child. So I stepped in as a witness to make sure it wouldn't turn into a fight to the death."
"But—"
"Tch. To think he'd just go and attack out of nowhere."
"...What is an Amalthea?"
"Not a question I want to answer, but well, I've already dragged you into this. Before that — do you know what a Demon Horn Fragment is?"
"No."
"I see. Well, it's something that shouldn't be used. A Demon Horn Fragment is a consumable Legacy that can make a Fawn's horn grow. Fawn horns have the property of amplifying a Relic's power."
"So if the horn grows, the power increases too?"
"That's right. But there are risks. The horn grows and the power increases, but... the body and soul can't withstand that power. That's why it's forbidden to consume one."
"So it's basically a dangerous drug."
Is it something like narcotics or stimulants?
"If you want to put it that way, yeah. The Amalthea, as far as legendaries go, actually isn't that rare. Of course, it's not easy to get your hands on. And being a legendary means — you understand what that implies, right?"
"The horn grows without limit and without end...?"
Leold gives a small nod.
"Recently, Pees led a hired squad into the dungeon together with some delvers. Apparently, there were floors related to Fawn in there. He must have found it then. And he kept quiet about it. A tale as old as time."
"...So his body and soul couldn't withstand the power. If left alone, he would have died?"
"Almost certainly. But the damage was already extensive."
That much was true.
But why did this washed-up guy know so much about it?
Leold opened his canteen and took a drink. Come on. Hey.
"Pwah—how did things end up like this?"
He was putting on a strangely sorrowful air. As if there was any mystery to it.
"Isn't it because you gave him a title like leader of a hired squad, even though it came with no real authority?"
"It came with authority. He could give orders to the hired soldiers under him."
"To the delvers?"
"Obviously not. At the end of the day, a squad leader is still just a hireling."
"So then it's a title with no real meaning in the end?"
"...Yeah, I guess so."
I looked at Pees's corpse.
Pathetic and miserable. Not a dignified way to go, by any stretch.
But this might just be the reality of being a hireling.
This world was harsh, and death hung in the air.
I forgot that sometimes, but this was the world I lived in.
Still—what exactly was Leold?
No matter how I think about it, he's not some washed-up reject from Kuun Hunt.
His movements were incredible, and yet something was strange—
Leold looked at me.
"Wof.
I
didn't
see
any
thing.
—
—
—
—
"
"Huh?"
"
So
—
—
you
Huh.
I
did
n't
see
a
thing,
ei
ther.
That's fine — for both our sakes.
"...I understand."
That was all there was to say. I nodded, and Leold threw something.
I caught it with one hand. A gold coin. A single gold coin. Ten thousand oro. In other words, ten thousand yen.
"That's for your trouble — and as an apology."
"..."
"Sorry about that."
"............Yes."
I turned on my heel and walked away.
Somehow, it felt like I'd just witnessed one possible ending for a hired hand.
The boy who'd been proud to lead Kuun Hunt's squad of hired hands — a squad that never stopped calling people idiots.
Pierce — full of pride, looking down on everyone else, yet in the end nothing more than a hired hand.
I've never been a hired hand myself.
But maybe that could have been me.
It left a bad taste in my mouth.
I made my way home feeling only mildly dejected, letting out a sigh along the way.
As I drew near, I noticed an unfamiliar, lavish black carriage with gold trim parked in front of my house.
What now?
——————————
This story has been revised and expanded from a rewrite.
Thank you for your understanding.