The Combat Formula of Household Magic
The boy tried to get back on his feet several times, only to slump down again each time.
His eyes were so badly swollen and split open that they were almost unrecognizable.
His face was smeared with blood from one end to the other.
"Gh... ngh... p-please... save me......"
Just as he was weakly dragging himself across the ground, one of the thugs kicked him hard in the side.
Thud!
"Aaaah!"
The boy curled up like a shrimp and rolled across the floor.
...You filthy bastards!
I trembled with rage.
It surged up to the very top of my throat.
Five of them. Daggers and clubs.
I threw a ragged old piece of sacking over my clothes and smeared charcoal soot around my eyes.
If they recognize my face, it'll only cause trouble.
Then I wrapped my face completely with a strip of woven straw matting.
The perfect image of a vagrant.
"Damn it, I'm already sick of beating him. Laka, hold his legs tight."
"Paim, you really gonna break 'em?"
"I'll take the legs, you take the arms. One side each. Clean and neat."
"Kheh... good. Hurry up and swing! Nothing sounds better than bones breaking."
Paim raised the club high over his head.
The instant he brought it down toward the boy's leg, I snapped my fingers and thrust my hand forward.
1st Tier Transformation Formula: Mana Needle
With a flash, a thread of mana condensed into the shape of a needle and shot through the air.
"Aaaagh!"
Paim screamed and dropped the club.
It had pierced his right shoulder.
Blood spurted out in thin, threadlike streams.
"W-Who the hell are you?"
"Over there!"
All of their eyes snapped toward me at once.
"What did that beggar just do?"
"Kill him!"
Two of them drew their daggers and rushed me together.
Fast.
Too fast for my ordinary eyes to follow.
If I can't see it, I'll make it visible.
I focused mana into my eyes.
A household spell originally created to find loose threads in fabric and the tiniest pinholes.
[1st Tier Transformation Formula: Ultra-Precision Vision]
In an instant—
"...!"
—the movements of the charging thugs expanded in sharp, painstaking detail before me.
The ripple of their clothes, the flick of their pupils, even the faint sway of their shoulders.
Everything was clear, and everything was slow.
I can see it all.
The thug on the right was lifting his shoulder and stabbing straight ahead.
The one on the left stomped hard and cut in from the side.
Whoosh.
Without panicking, I twisted my body just a little.
The dagger on the right grazed my collar at the very edge of contact.
At the same time, the blade on the left stabbed toward my side.
Skreee!
The knife pierced my outer garment, only to skid away as it struck the protective shirt underneath.
"Huh? Why didn't it go in?"
That moment of confusion exposed everything.
I poured mana into my foot and stamped down on the right thug's toes.
[1st Tier Transformation Formula: Compression]
A household spell inspired by the pressure of an iron pressing wrinkles out of cloth.
Except this time, instead of flattening fabric, I put the weight of my entire body into his foot.
Crack!
"Kyaaaagh!"
With the sound of broken toes, the thug collapsed.
I was startled too.
What the hell? Why is it so strong?
I had only pressed down the way you would with an iron, and yet a man's bones had snapped like crackers.
The combat application of household magic.
It was far more terrifying in real battle than I had imagined.
"T-This monster!"
While the remaining thugs hesitated in fear, something invisible swept across the ground.
Translucent Threads.
The clear strands released from my bracelet.
Whoosh! Fwip!
"Wh... what was that sound...?"
Slash—
The flesh of Laka's leg, which had been rushing toward me, was torn away.
Blood sprayed and flowed down the alley.
"Aaaagh! My... my leg...!"
He recoiled in terror and dropped to the ground.
"Wh-What is it? What's there?"
The others panicked and hastily backed away.
But they, too, were already fish caught in a net.
Thunk.
The ankles of two men were snagged all at once, yanking them upside down into the air.
"Aagh! Help me!"
"W-What is this?"
I hoisted the thugs upward, then reeled the lines in and slammed them straight down onto the ground.
Thud! Thwack!
"Ghk!"
"Aaaagh!"
"Be... be careful. There are invisible lines in front of us..."
Laka clutched his leg and crawled across the dirt.
I walked over and cast [Compression] on his leg.
I pressed down hard, the way you smooth a wrinkled cloth.
Crunch!
The sound of bone grinding apart.
They had wanted to hear it, so I made sure they got their fill.
Rrrrck!
"Kraaaagh!"
Laka foamed at the mouth and passed out.
In the blink of an eye, four of them had been neutralized.
That left only Paim, clutching his shoulder and groaning.
"Y-You... who the hell are you...."
Paim staggered backward in fear.
Then, quick as a flash, he snatched up the dagger that had fallen to the ground and hurled it at me.
Shit!
I was caught off guard.
Through my Ultra-Precision Vision, I could see the blade spinning toward me.
But my eyes were fast while my body was unbearably slow.
Even though I could see it coming, I couldn't get out of the way in time, and the knife struck my chest.
Ting—!
Fortunately, the dagger bounced harmlessly off the protective shirt.
"No way..."
Despair flooded Paim's eyes.
Fwish—
In that same instant, the space-stitching needle I fired pierced one of his eyes.
"Aaaagh! Why are you doing this? What did we even do wrong?"
Clutching his left eye as blood ran down his face, Paim asked in a stumbling voice.
"You didn't do anything wrong? Think carefully."
"A-Alright. I was wrong... How much do you want? I'll give back the money I stole, okay?"
Paim had no idea who I was.
Of course he didn't.
I had my face covered.
Even if I showed it to him, he still wouldn't remember me.
To him, I was just one more prey among many.
"I'll make sure you never touch someone else's property again."
I gathered mana into my fingers and pressed precisely against the joint of Paim's right wrist.
[1st Tier Transformation Formula: Knot Severing]
Using the technique for breaking a thread knot, I severed the body's connected links.
Snap.
Something loosened inside the wrist joint.
Paim's right fingers went limp.
"K... Kyaaaagh!"
A beastlike scream burst from his throat, but I didn't stop there.
Crack.
Then his ankle tendon, too.
"Kyaaaargh!"
He thrashed like a wild animal, then collapsed and passed out on the ground.
He would never again be able to hold a knife, or chase after anyone, for the rest of his life.
"Ugh..."
The boy lying on the ground groaned.
I approached and checked his condition.
Thankfully, none of the bones are broken.
Just then, around ten men appeared from both ends of the alley.
"There he is! The bastard who touched my little brother!"
The leader looked like a burly young man.
He had the body of a brawler, covered in scars, the sort of underworld boss you saw in dirty back alleys.
"B-Brother...!"
The boy burst into tears.
"Leo! You alright?"
The young man rushed over and pulled the boy into his arms.
"Sob... hngh... those bad guys were going to break my arms and legs... that man saved me......"
"Those Red Scorpion bastards... how dare they!"
The young man's eyes burned with killing intent as he looked down at Paim's gang sprawled across the ground.
"Take those bastards away and lock them up."
"Yes, sir."
The men dragged Paim and the others off like dogs.
The young man glanced at me, then walked over.
"You've got serious skills. To do this to the Red Scorpion boys all by yourself..."
"It was nothing. I'm leaving."
"Wait. I'm Bargo, and I run this district. The one you saved is my only little brother. Since you saved him, I'll repay the favor."
"I don't need repayment."
I turned away, not wanting any entanglement with the underworld crowd.
The night wind blew hard.
In that instant, the loose knot came undone and the mask covering my face slipped off.
"......!"
I hurriedly lowered my head to hide it, but Bargo was staring straight at my face.
"You're that tailor from the Valderk family."
So he had seen through me at a glance.
"You've got the wrong person."
"Come on, no need to hide it. There isn't a scrap of information in this city that doesn't make its way to my ears."
Bargo gave a meaningful smile and stepped closer.
"Until not long ago, that spoiled brat Felix had his eyes blazing while he chased after you. And I heard a rumor that the assassin Jacob went into the Valderk mansion and vanished without a trace."
"......!"
I froze.
Just how much did this man know?
"Surprised? When you live in this world, there isn't anything you don't hear about. I even know your name is Hans. Since we're at it, should I tell you one more thing? That punk Felix from the Bergen family—the one who sent Jacob after you—ran off in the middle of the night."
Felix had fled in the dead of night?
"Is that true?"
"He went to the Kran Kingdom. Probably headed for his maternal family's estate. House Broy."
Bargo laughed heartily and slapped my shoulder.
"But don't worry. I keep my debts and favors straight. You saved my little brother, so you're on my side. I'll take your secret to the grave."
He pulled a crude wooden token from his pocket and tossed it to me.
Carved on it was the name Bargo.
"You'll find a use for it. Bring that to me, and I'll help you with anything in my territory. Whether it's a fight or information."
Information.
That word lodged itself in my ears.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A little while later, I returned to the Valderk family's annex.
I had accomplished quite a lot during my vacation.
I had made a huge profit from stocks, and I had also taken care of Paim's gang.
"And I got this, too."
Bargo.
The name was carved there in rough strokes.
He had shown me goodwill.
He had said he would provide information in return for me saving his little brother.
There hadn't seemed to be a hint of falsehood in his eyes.
There's nothing wrong with having a way to gather information when I need it.
Still, the underworld was the sort of place where yesterday's benefactor could become today's enemy if the profits changed.
He might be grateful now, but there was no telling when his mind might change.
It's better to keep some distance.
I set my thoughts about Bargo aside and recalled the battle from earlier.
I won, but there were plenty of dangerous moments.
My absolute memory replayed them with brutal clarity.
A dim alley.
Paim's henchmen rushing at me.
By any objective measure, it had been one hair's breadth from disaster after another.
Especially the combat applications of household magic I had used.
[Ultra-Precision Vision]
[Compression]
The results had been devastating.
I had dodged their attacks and crushed bones in the same breath.
"I got lucky."
It had only worked because my opponents were nothing but back-alley thugs.
Their movements were big and sloppy, full of holes.
What if they had been properly trained knights or mages?
They would have taken my head off before Ultra-Precision Vision even finished reading their movements.
More than anything, my biggest mistake had been the dagger Paim threw.
I had stood there blankly even after watching him pick up the knife.
I never imagined he'd actually throw it.
Above all, my reaction speed was too slow.
My eyes could see, but my body couldn't keep up.
What if I hadn't been wearing the protective shirt?
I would have died instantly.
What if the blade had been aimed at my head or my thigh?
I would have died, or been crippled.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
"Hah..."
Any thrill of victory had been wiped clean away.
The upper-body protective gear I was wearing now wasn't enough.
I needed to make trousers, too.
But I couldn't rely on equipment alone.
Even if I wrapped my entire body in mana armor, it would all be meaningless if my movements were still slow as a slug.
"I need preparation."
I stood up and moved to the center of the hidden room.
Then I closed my eyes.
Training through imagination.
I reconstructed the alley from earlier inside my head.
I called Paim and his men back once more.
Let's fight again.
They charged.
I activated Ultra-Precision Vision.
A blade came in.
I dodged.
I stomped down with Compression.
That part was the same.
The problem came after that.
Paim picked up the dagger.
Now.
This time, I reacted at once.
[Space Stitching Needle]
Thud!
Before Paim could throw the knife, it pierced his shoulder.
No. Too slow.
I shook my head.
By the time I activated the bracelet, the blade might already be in the air.
Let's try again.
This time, no tools.
I gathered mana at the tips of my fingers.
[Mana Needle]
I fired before Paim could even crouch, aiming for the middle of his forehead.
This is dangerous too. What if he dodges?
Dozens of times. Hundreds of times.......
I fought the enemies in my memory over and over again.
It was only an imaginary battle, but the strain on my body was intense.
"Huff... huff..."
I was drenched in sweat from head to toe.
That's enough combat training for now.
On the workbench, mountains of cloth awaited me.
Time to make the Cleanliness Handkerchief.
That, too, was training.
It meant sending mana through every stitch of thread and carving the circuit in place using nothing but my senses.
.
.
Time passed faithfully.
It was the fifth day since I had started working day and night, moving between the underground chamber and the annex.
On one side of the workbench, five hundred finished Cleanliness Handkerchiefs had been stacked neatly in a pile.
Then—
Tap, tap.
"Hans, are you in there?"
A calm, refined voice.
It was the maid, Nene.
"Come in."
I hurriedly tidied the things on the workbench and opened the door.
Click.
Nene entered with the warm afternoon sunlight behind her.
In her hands were a bundle of newspapers and two envelopes.
"I brought the newspapers. And there's mail too."
No matter when I saw her, Nene was never anything less than perfectly composed.
Her steps were controlled.
Even the way she held out an item had the crisp precision of someone who never wasted a motion.
"Thank you, Nene."
"No need to thank me. It's my job. There are two letters here."
The first envelope Nene handed me was white.
The seal of the Rowen Magic Tower Branch was stamped on it.
"It's from the Rowen Magic Tower. I hope it's good news."
Nene said that with a gentle smile.
"Thank you."
I returned her smile and accepted the envelope.
But when she took out the second one, Nene's gaze sharpened for a moment.
A plain brown envelope.
"Hans."
Her voice dropped low.
"This seems to have come from the underworld."
Her fingers tightened around the envelope as though she were holding something dangerous and inspecting it for hidden blades.
"Have you been threatened?"
"Pardon?"
"An unfair debt collection, perhaps, or someone pressuring you into doing something troublesome. If that's the case, tell me. I can handle it."
Handle it.
She didn't sound as though she were simply being polite.
Deep in her eyes, a cold killing intent flickered.
It was the silent resolve to sweep that organization away if need be.