The 8 Copper Duo
With Rydia around, things should work out somehow. Clinging to that optimistic thought, I arrived at the scene—only to find an unexpected sight waiting for me.
The first thing that caught my eye was two naked elf women, tightly bound and rolling around on the floor.
“Gail! You tricked us, you bastard…!”
“We trusted you! This is too much!”
In front of them stood a man swinging a sword with a face that looked sleazy by my standards and downright lewd by the standards of this continent.
“Heh heh. Women who think with their tits instead of their brains are so simple. Oh, wait—elves have small chests, don’t they?”
A little farther away, five women were watching the whole thing unfold while cackling.
“Kill them! Kill them!”
“No, just killing them would be such a waste.”
“What? You crazy bitch, don’t tell me…”
“They came here hoping to get fucked by Gail, so we should at least show them their lower halves before they die!”
“Genius. I like it! Strip, Gail!”
It felt like a festival. Everyone treated the idea of stripping someone as nothing more than light entertainment. The overall situation and the snippets of conversation made the picture clear. The two captured elves wore expressions full of betrayal. This was the classic setup: a guy wormed his way into an elf party by flirting, only to turn out to be a scout for a raider group.
Good grief. So that’s what a real snake looks like. I only go after money and bodies in a wholesome way—why go after lives too?
I shook my head for a moment, then felt a strange sense of déjà vu while looking at the two elves rolling on the floor. Even though they were naked and my eyes should’ve wandered, for some reason I couldn’t look away from their faces.
Those two… I’ve seen them before…
“…Huh?”
It hit me. They were the thuggish elf duo who’d swiped my eight coppers! I’d run into them by chance yesterday, declared tenfold revenge, and emptied their wallets—but they were also the reason I ended up treating Rydia to a meal and racking up a massive debt. In a single day, I’d been forced to spend two gold, thirty-eight silver, and seventy-six coppers on a date! Rydia had generously knocked it down to two gold and thirty silver, but that was still enough for two hundred and thirty gacha pulls!
Of course, Rydia wasn’t the type to demand immediate repayment or exploit me when I had no money. She just needed an excuse to keep me around longer. I’d heard that a rookie Rydia had received a lot of help from Elly. Maybe she was trying to repay that old debt through me.
Well, that was that. The fact that those two bitches had increased my debt was a separate issue. The blood of the Tang family (or not) flowing through me whispered that I had to collect tenfold vengeance…!
I wanted to just leave them to die, but Rydia probably wouldn’t allow that. If I had to save them anyway, I might as well get something out of it. But right now, the women who still owed me a lot were about to die at someone else’s hands. The thought made something deep in my gut bubble and boil—until it became unbearable.
So I stopped holding back.
“Gail!!!!”
“Yona?!”
Rydia, who had been hiding to assess the situation, cried out in alarm and tried to stop me—but it was already too late. I’d kicked off the ground and charged forward long ago.
“Who’s there?!”
Gail’s sleazy expression instantly turned cold as he scanned the surroundings. The moment he spotted me, his face visibly relaxed.
“What the—? Even kids are coming into the labyrinth now? Pretty face like that would fetch a nice price… huh?”
Of course, the moment he saw the dagger in my hand, he pointed his sword at me. This Gail guy had way too much makeup and an annoyingly flirtatious expression for a man, but he’d clearly eaten his share of sword fights. Even though I’d caught him off guard, his stance was stable. Still, if I couldn’t find an opening, I’d just make one.
“How dare you touch my twenty-three gold…!!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
Gail looked dumbfounded. That was the reaction I wanted. While his focus wavered, I aimed my wrist crossbow and fired.
Whoosh!
“Hah! Pathetic trick.”
He snorted and knocked the bolt aside with his sword. I’d expected as much. Operating in this area meant he was confident enough to handle Horn Rabbits with ease. Of course he could deflect an arrow like that. But the motion still cost him an opening—and that was all I needed.
I crouched low, shifting my center of gravity until my body tilted forward. Just before I completely toppled over, I exploded upward, using every bit of stored elasticity like a released spring. My small frame shot forward with explosive force.
Thud!
“What the—?!”
Panicked, Gail swung his sword again in an awkward stance. It wasn’t a clean strike, and the tip wavered. Dodging it was easy—I simply twisted my waist at the right moment, letting the blade whistle past my face. Then I closed the gap in half a step and drove my knee straight into his groin.
Thud!
“Guh!”
Something hard blocked the blow, so I couldn’t crush it properly.
“Are you wearing a chastity belt?!”
“It’s a groin guard, you stupid brat!”
Gail snarled, his heavy makeup twisting as he brought the pommel down toward my head. He really hadn’t learned from watching my earlier speed. I leaned aside to dodge, then slashed my dagger across the inside of his exposed wrist. Leather gloves might protect fingers, but they didn’t cover the wrist. He should’ve worn better gear.
Slash!
“Aaaagh!”
Blood sprayed from Gail’s wrist like a fountain. The tendons were severed, forcing him to drop his sword—though his other hand was still fine. Maybe that’s why he kept swinging with his remaining hand, eyes filled with venom.
“Die…!”
“Hmm.”
He wasn’t going down easily. Then again, his life was on the line, so that was only natural. I’d have to cripple him more thoroughly.
I took a deep breath, stepped on his thigh, and jumped high. Twisting in midair, I flipped my body upside down. The sword swept through the space where my torso had been. While inverted and airborne, I swung my dagger at his remaining wrist. The angle wasn’t great, but my real target wasn’t the wrist anyway.
“You think the same trick will work twice?”
Gail snorted and twisted his wrist to dodge. I sneered back and reached out with my empty hand.
“It will. Because it’s a different trick.”
My empty hand went straight for the sword he was holding. Already using only one hand, and with his wrist awkwardly bent, his grip was barely there. I slipped in and snatched the blade right out of his fingers.
“Huh…?”
He made a dazed sound as his sword was stolen. Right in front of him, I crouched and flipped again. My head came up, the sword rising even higher. As I fell, I brought the blade down on his last remaining wrist.
Slice.
“Kuaaaagh!”
While Gail froze in panic, his wrist severed by his own sword, I landed, crouched low, and spun in place.
Slash!
“—Aaaagh!”
Before his scream even ended, his ankle was cut. He could no longer stand and collapsed. The cut wasn’t as deep as the wrist, but it was still severe. Without treatment, he wouldn’t walk again.
“Aah… I-I have to run…!”
Gail still hadn’t realized his genre had changed to “limb amputation.” He tried to force himself up, but only flopped uselessly in place. Even while struggling, he managed to crawl a little, desperately trying to drag himself away from me just like the two elf women he’d betrayed.
I watched him quietly for a moment, then raised the sword I was still holding. A proper longsword really was heavy. My body swayed for a second before I steadied myself and brought the blade down on his leg.
“Hah.”
Thud!
“Kk, aaaagh!”
Now pinned to the ground like an insect specimen, Gail finally began begging in a ragged voice.
“P-Please spare me! I’m sorry! No—please forgive me! I’ll do anything, just spare my life…”
“No. Who said I was going to kill you? And we just met today—what did you even do to me? I’m honestly baffled.”
I shook my head, and he froze with a blank expression. His heavy makeup had run with tears and snot, leaving him looking quite ugly. But once he realized I wasn’t going to cut his throat, his eyes darted around before he asked,
“Then… you’ll spare me?”
“A grown man blubbering like that. Shut up before I actually kill you. Shut it!”
“Hic… sob…”
At my sharp reply, he only cried harder, though quieter. Seriously, if a man’s already been castrated, the least he can do is keep some dignity. …Not that I wouldn’t have wailed like a baby in his place.
I clicked my tongue and looked behind me. The five women who seemed to be the main force of the raider party—probably much stronger than Gail—were over there. The situation wasn’t much different. Rydia had already neatly decapitated them with her translucent single-edged sword.
Good grief. Another sword? And that one looked expensive too. How obsessed was she with gear?
I waved casually to signal that I was fine. Rydia let out a deep sigh and waved back. Good. That wrapped things up here.
I nudged Gail’s side with my foot while he continued sniffling quietly.
“Everyone over there’s dead, so you know what you have to do, right?”
“Y-Yes…?”
“First, cough up every bit of hidden loot. Then confess everything—what happened, whether you have other comrades, any other plans. Do that, and I’ll take you to the guild.”
Raiders were normally executed on the spot, but if you brought them out alive, other options opened up. The guild bought raiders as slaves, just like monster byproducts. These were criminal slaves, so they could never buy their freedom. They’d live as slaves for life… but at least they’d live.
“Y-Yes! I’ll tell you everything! Everything, so please…”
“Smart choice. Tell the scary redhead walking over here all the details. …Oh, and just in case—try flirting with her the way you did with those elves, and you’ll die by my hand instead.”
“……!”
Gail nodded frantically. He’d gotten the message. After handing him off to Rydia, I crouched in front of the two elf women, who were still trembling for some reason.
Blonde hair, green eyes, slender beauties—the classic elf look. They even looked alike, as if they were related. The only difference was one had long hair and the other short. Up close, I remembered the day they’d stolen my eight coppers. Annoyed, I gave their characteristically flat elf chests a few sharp slaps.
“It’s been a while, pretty ladies. What did you do with my eight coppers?”
“Huh?”
“That time, the…”
They still remembered me. Good. Both of them started trembling violently. I smiled brightly at them. The blood drained completely from their already pale elf skin.