There were about ten of them. Maybe a few more.
You could call them thugs. You could also call them delvers.
Honestly, not much difference either way.
When I tossed the Hiyān at them, they panicked.
Can't blame them. If someone suddenly chucked a rabbit at you, you'd be startled too.
"What the hell?!"
The shaved-head man who got hit by the Hiyān was furious.
He raised his saber — didn't look like it had much of an edge.
The Hiyān, meanwhile, had already fled. Like a startled rabbit bolted from a snare.
"Why are you guys after me?"
I didn't remember giving anyone a reason to... or did I?
Wait — did I?
Hmm. If we're talking about grudges, the Kuun Hunt comes to mind, but these guys don't look like that.
The delvers from Kuun Hunt had solid gear, regardless of actual skill.
After all, they were the top clan in town, even if they'd gone to rot.
But these men — neither their looks nor their equipment was anything to speak of.
"We've got a bone to pick with you."
"A grudge?"
I genuinely had no idea what they were talking about.
"So you. Is it true you're the witch's apprentice?"
"It is."
"Cut the crap!"
"Um..."
Why do I have to get yelled at.
"You're that apprentice of the big-boobed, big-assed, plush-thighed, tail-bearing, smexy witch's apprentice! I'll never forgive you!"
What is this guy saying. Actually, he's not really wrong.
"Oh man. Looks like you're real buddy-buddy with Torquetam."
"Well, yeah."
"And you're tight with Pakira the tail girl, Riv the ecchi one, and... Lupinus!"
What is this guy saying. Also, what did Lupinus ever do?
"And apparently you're close with Mineha too!"
"I am, but—"
"That Mineha, with the rich honey-like, sultry, bewitching, all the sex appeal in the world, plump and squeezable Mineha, you're... close with her?! I'll never forgive yooooou!"
These muscle-bound middle-aged guys. Seriously, what are they saying to a ten-year-old?
What are these guys. What is wrong with them. Creepy.
"I heard you're tackling the Impregnable Fortress!"
"That's not true."
"You've already got halfway through, haven't you!"
"I have not."
"I saw you go to the second floor of 'the Immortal White Rose Princess' and 'Cider Pavilion'!"
"That is a fact."
When I answered that, the crowd let out a sudden cheer.
What was this, a press conference-style Q&A? Were these guys reporters?
But I was starting to understand.
Their words were all jealousy, and every bit of it was about women. So that was what this was about.
They didn't like me being surrounded by beautiful women and lovely girls.
I could understand the feeling. I could, but there were things you should and shouldn't do.
Besides—
"That's exactly why you can't get girls."
"The hell did you just say to meeeee!!"
"There are things you should and shouldn't say, you knoooow!!!"
"Just because you're popular doesn't mean you get to act all high and mightyyyyy!"
"You goddamn womanizer!"
"Night Conquest King!"
"The Night King!"
"Utmost pervert!"
"I'm seriously gonna stab you, you bastard!"
"Yeah, yeah! We'll shank you, c'mere!"
"Let's do it!"
"Yeah, yeah! We're gonna mess you up, you little shiiiiit!"
"Prepare yourself for the bitterness of being unpopular!"
The men lunged at me with that kind of energy. So it came to this after all.
By the way, regarding Hayan being among the crowd. I didn't miss it, and I won't let him get away.
Well, if I used Banish all at once, that would be the end of it.
It'd be over in an instant. But I'm not going to do that.
There's something I want to check. The strength I gained from fighting Alverd.
The power I'd acquired to defeat Alverd. How much stronger I'd gotten compared to ordinary people.
Even so, they all charged at me together, weapons drawn, this many against just one.
Don't they find it pathetic? Also, are they trying to kill me? Trying to kill me? They're probably trying to kill me.
That's why you're unpopular. And if you've got killing intent, I won't hold back either.
Battle start.
First, I moved in front of the men... the one at the front, Man A. One step.
"Whaaaa!"
I punched the surprised Man A in the gut while sweeping his legs out from under him.
One step to the next man, Man B. I punched him in the face, grabbed him, and threw him.
"Whaaaattt!?"
"Whoooaaa!?"
A few of them went down with him. I heard the sound of Hayan getting crushed. Got him.
Immediately after... one step to Man C. I brought a knife-hand strike down on the side of his neck, knocking him unconscious.
Three down. Having gotten this far, I start to wonder.
This One-Step. I wonder if I can chain them together.
Something tells me I can. Alright, let's try it.
First, I One-Step to man D and knock him out with a punch, then Two-Step to man E and kick him down.
I Three-Step to man F and punch him out, then Four-Step to man G and kick him down.
That's when I discover a fatal flaw.
"Phew... haaah, huuuh, haaah... I give up. This is more tiring than I thought..."
The fatigue is brutal. Of course it is.
Adding attacks to instant chained movements more than doubles the strain.
The rest are... still quite a few of them. Oh well.
"---[Rave Move]---"
I'll finish the rest with this. Take them all out in the blink of an eye.
In my past life's memories, they apparently called this something like "full acceleration." I see.
Then I guess this is the "Acceleration Step."
So, combining the witch's directly-taught combo and all, I took down the unattractive guys in one go.
That rabbit on the enemy side who kept screaming "kill, kill" got caught up in it too, but that was probably my imagination.
"Now then, time to clean up."
Killing them from here would be a hassle, so I'll just leave them alive.
First, I Banish their weapons and take the knives. Consider it a hassle fee.
The first one. The wooden handle is easy to grip, but the blade is short. Maybe it's a fruit knife.
They got the drop on me right out of the gate.
Never mind. On to number two.
This one is... a unique blade with a comb-like ridge along one side. This is a sword breaker.
One side of the blade has jagged, saw-like teeth — you catch a sword on them and snap it. It's a knife.
"Interesting find."
Not something you'd buy at a regular shop. They probably got it in the dungeon.
And then... number three. Oh-ho, a black-bladed knife. That's rare.
Nothing else. That's all the knives. Good.
According to the goddess of knives, if you touch one, you become its owner.
So in this case, I have no choice but to carry them. But my carrying capacity is limited too.
The real work starts after I collect my trouble fee in currency.
Strip off their clothes and Banish them... get them completely naked... this is rough.
But I don't have rope, and calling the guards would mean leaving this spot.
If they wake up and escape in the meantime, that'd be even more of a hassle.
I have no choice but to strip them bare.
But undressing them... what a pain.
"...Can I use a pinpoint Banish to just take the clothes off?"
Let me try. I aimed the light point from the Relic Deep Quiet at the clothes and used Banish.
Oh, it worked! Only the clothes vanished. Nice, nice. I'll keep going like this.
"Banish... Banish... ......Banish..."
And so, one by one, I blandly banished their clothes and underwear.
Before long, I'd finally gotten everyone completely naked.
They kept waking up midway through, so knocking them out again was a pain.
On top of that, it was mentally exhausting. Stripping men naked is rough work.
And most of them were old guys. I couldn't take it.
Ugh, I'm wiped.
"I'm starving. Let's go get some food."
I was so hungry I was getting dizzy.
At this point, I could probably demolish a mountain of butter rice.
I left the naked men behind and walked out of the back alley.
What would happen to them once they woke up?
Well, they'd definitely get picked up by the guards, at least.
After that, without incident, I arrived at Seedle-tei
a
l
o
n
e
.
For once, the restaurant was nearly empty.
I could probably just sit at a table or the counter like normal.
"Wof."
I was called out to. A familiar voice.
Looking around, I spotted Megadia on the second floor.
She was smiling enchantingly.
————————————————————————————————
Everyone. How are you doing? Are you well?
It's already June. I'm doing great today, too.
Thank you, as always, for your readership.
So, everyone.
I know this is sudden, but I have some publication news — Announcement #0.
The label will be SQEX Novel.
Yes, that Square Enix.
The illustrator will be Haneda Hazane.
Thank you.
You can find the publication details on the SQEX Novel homepage.
It's tucked away under "New Releases Planned for Next Month."
"Sore-nari Boku no Dungeon My Life — SQEX Novel"
If you search for that, it should come up at the top.
We'll be releasing further details including illustrations in due course, so please look forward to it.
Please. Thank you for your support.
With that in mind, in celebration of the book publication announcement, it would truly encourage me from the bottom of my heart if you could give this a star rating. Heheheh.
If you're someone who thought, "Come to think of it, I still haven't given a star," and just now remembered, I'd be overjoyed if you clicked that star.
Star ratings from readers are the greatest source of motivation to keep writing.
Thank you for your continued support.