Slums. The neighborhood where I lived.
My part was a residential area, so the crime rate wasn't that bad.
The worst part of the slums in terms of crime was probably the entertainment district.
Deliberately convoluted illegal buildings packed with illegal brothels, illegal shops, and illegal gambling dens all jumbled together.
Shady characters who made their living off those places kept getting into skirmishes with each other.
One corner of it suddenly exploded, sending up a column of black smoke.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hey, hey Wof!"
"Don't stick to my face. You smell like a rabbit. That's why I had a bad feeling."
I peeled Hiarne off, exasperated.
That corner building turned out to be the headquarters of Dragon Fang Rou.
Riv and the others had headed straight for it.
Since they came without hesitation, they must have known about it beforehand.
They mowed down the men who gathered without question, barged in, and then an explosion happened.
Why an explosion? Either way, we needed to hurry too.
The entrance of the building was devastated.
Riv and Bido were fighting six men. The rest were already down.
A rough count put the total at over ten for sure. There were that many?
"A raid? You gotta be kidding me!"
A man with a bare upper body, a wolf tattoo, and a distinctive dreadlock hairstyle picked up a stone and hurled it at them.
It exploded.
"Whoa, what was that?!"
Dust and shockwaves shook the building.
"That's a Relic [Explosion]!"
"You know about it, Hiarne?"
"It can turn anything it touches into an explosive. The larger the object, the greater the blast."
"Just by touching it? Isn't that the worst thing ever?"
And the bigger the object, the bigger the explosion. That made it basically overpowered.
"However, the user takes damage from the explosion too. Also, the bigger the object, the faster it detonates."
"Hmm?"
So it was one of those Relics where you couldn't tell if it was strong or not. It was definitely rare, though.
Also, the fact that the user takes explosion damage... and it detonates quickly... huh, that pretty much meant it was only good for self-destruction.
Oh my, maybe it wasn't that strong after all.
And with a small pebble explosion, it couldn't break through the green barrier Riv had set up.
When the barrier dissipated, Bido vanished, slashing a man who had dodged to the side.
Oh, Relic [Swift Step]. A footwork technique that lets you move instantaneously over a very short distance.
And she'd mastered the Swift Step Sword that wielded that Relic.
"Damn it, stop squirming around!"
"Boss, at this rate, we'll—!"
"Shut up!"
"Gwaaaah!"
The boss—the dreadlocked man—used [Explosion] on his own subordinates.
How cruel. And that was the boss?
He was tall, and the wolf tattoo carved across his body stood out.
He gave off the impression of being strong, but what he did was just the typical behavior of a small-time gang leader.
And he himself was small-time. The classic petty villain who'd casually sacrifice his own men.
"Tch, trash."
The boss pulled out a small vial and poured it over his blood-covered hand. The wounds healed.
A potion. So he really did take damage. That must make it unwieldy.
"B-Boss, what are you—"
"Shut up. Go get me that thing. Or I'll blow you up too."
"Y-Yes sir!"
That thing? The man quickly ran over and grabbed a jet-black rod hanging on a nearby wall.
The tip had several thick spikes attached to it. An iron club? He could tell it was metal.
The boss took it and swung it, charging at Riv.
Since it was a blunt weapon, it wasn't particularly fast. Riv caught it with her blade.
It exploded.
"Riv!"
"What the—?!"
Bido cut down the man who'd brought the iron club and turned around.
When the white smoke cleared, Riv was gone.
"......Phew, that was close."
Riv had dodged backward at the last moment.
Good, she was safe.
"So that's it. That's an OOPArt!"
Hiarne suddenly shouted.
I wished he wouldn't shout right by my ear like that.
"An OOPArt?"
"Mm. It's an OOPArt that corresponds to the Relic [Explosion]. With that, you can use it without taking damage from the explosions. Plus, the swinging force would increase its power."
"The swinging force, huh?"
"Indeed."
"I see. In terms of threat level, it's really not that much. If that's all it is, Riv can handle it easily."
"Oh?"
She must have noticed too.
She dodged and dodged, then grinned at the boss's offensive. He probably thought she couldn't do anything about it.
But Riv stepped forward, raising her blade with both hands.
"Hm...
Mid-air...
Subaru......Electra Blade......"
The blade glowed white and melted through the black iron club.
"Whaaaaat?!"
A buzzing sound rang out.
"What?!"
"What the hell?!"
No way. That was... that was... a laser blade?!
"A l-Light Sword!" Bido said after finishing off the last man.
So they really did exist—space weapons! Space-age weaponry!
The boss stumbled backward in shock, but it was already over.
"......Bye-bye......"
Riv burned and severed his head. Something about that didn't seem right.
"That's terrifying..."
"......"
There was no part for me to play.
And just like that, Clan Dragon Fang Rou was annihilated.
It was almost anticlimactic.
There were no survivors. Bido made sure to finish off everyone.
Being merciless and unsparing like that—this world was different from the norm.
In broad daylight, you couldn't normally do this, but in a place like this, killing was considered par for the course.
Also, the men had been underestimating them as women.
Since they had a specific target, they'd been trying to capture rather than kill.
They probably thought skill didn't matter.
What would they have done to them once captured? If they could have imagined even a fraction of that, wiping them all out was justified.
Bido grumbled.
"Somehow it felt anticlimactic."
"Mm......Bido......you got way stronger......especially [Swift Step]......incredible."
"Really? If that's the case, it's all thanks to Wof!"
She flashed me a bright smile and gave me a peace sign. I blushed at the energetic beautiful girl's beaming face.
"Guh, so jealous..."
I wished he wouldn't grumble jealously from the top of my head.
Despite the brutal atmosphere, things had somehow turned oddly pleasant.
"Now then, next is inside the building."
"Mm......documents...confiscate..."
"It'd be nice if there was treasure too, while we're at it."
"You want to steal it?"
"Hmph...salvage..."
Well, whatever. It didn't look like there'd be much of value.
I'd use the Relic [Wheel of Fortune] just in case.
That's when it happened.
"Oh my, this one turned out quite well."
"Truly pathetic."
We turned around.
There was a maid. Yes, a maid.
Neatly trimmed short golden hair.
Slender eyebrows and sharp, piercing blue eyes. A dignified and beautiful face.
She wore a black-and-white maid outfit without a single wrinkle.
She was tall, and even through the loose-fitting maid outfit, the swell of her chest was clearly visible.
Even without seeing, you could tell she had a figure as alluring as a woman could possibly have.
Her cold beauty and composure made her look like an exquisitely crafted doll.
But here, amid a pile of corpses, she stuck out far too much—obviously out of place.
And beside her... was a drunk man. Yes, a drunkard.
He was hunched over with messy, unkempt hair and a face full of stubble. A middle-aged man who looked like he'd given up on everything.
He held a silver flask. His entire aura screamed resignation.
His clothes were utterly plain—just a shirt and pants. Round animal ears and a distinctive tail revealed him to be a squirrel.
He stood nearly 190 centimeters tall. Standing next to the maid, he was like the contrast between light and dark in life.
This person, this man—I knew him.
"Oh my, what a splendid cool beauty, and a maid at that. Indeed. Full marks."
From the top of my head, Hiarne praised her from who-knows-what angle.
Would that rabbit please get off already.
"Mm......who......incredibly......strong-looking."
"He's...not...an ordinary one."
I could feel that too. This cool maid.
She was far stronger than the boss Riv had just fought.
And why the heck was this man standing next to her?
"Leold."
"Well. Fancy meeting you here."
He gave a wry smile.
He was Leold, a delver affiliated with Kuun Hunt.