A Fleeting Dream (2)
I was immediately mistaken for a battle-crazed boss. Or should I say "girl-crazed" here? "Not bad…"
Receiving their wallets like some kind of initiation fee felt good, of course. But the real thrill wasn't just the sudden weight in my pocket. How should I put it? I never planned to end up in this situation, yet the more I thought about it, the more something deep in my chest started to boil over.
Just a few months ago, these were the kind of people I wouldn't even consider facing head-on. At best, I'd only ever thought about pickpocketing them. But not anymore. The local thugs no longer filled me with fear…!
Strength, reach, power—most of my specs were still lacking. But so what? I could beat them in a fight anyway. I'd only fought monsters until now, and the first bandit I encountered had been half-crippled by a surprise attack. With Elly or Rydia always nearby, I hadn't noticed, but… I had grown stronger. Strong enough to have already shattered the walls of my past!
Once I realized that, the whole world started to look insignificant. "So this is how the strong see things…"
"Ah, Yona's saying weird stuff again, sir."
"Shh. She's definitely thinking about which organization to devour next, sir."
Lemon and Apple couldn't stand watching me set the mood alone and chimed in with their own comments.
"…Lemon. Apple."
"Yes, sir?"
"Did you call us, sir?"
The twins scurried over obediently and stood in front of me. I immediately started stomping on their feet, alternating between them. Stomp. Stomp.
"You ruined the mood, so take responsibility!"
"What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden… sir."
"I wish you'd stomp harder, sir."
Lemon tilted her head, either not hearing what she'd just said or genuinely confused. Apple, on the other hand, was clearly enjoying herself. I hadn't stomped that hard on purpose, but I didn't expect her to like it this much. After a few more deliberate stomps, I finally let the elf twins go.
"Haa. Fine. I'll let it slide this time."
"I don't know what that was about, but thank you, sir."
"Rewards are always welcome, sir."
"Enough nonsense. Go fetch those growling punks over there."
"Oh! Are we finally going to hunt the next target, sir?"
"I'll be right back, sir."
Lemon and Apple dashed off toward the thugs with cheerful grins. The moment they spoke to the group, the tense atmosphere dissolved, and the punks started approaching me amicably. When our eyes met, they immediately bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
The two former leaders of their respective gangs spoke in an even more respectful tone than before.
"You called for us."
"Please tell us anything you need."
"Yeah. I called because I have a question… but first, let's clear something up. Why were you two glaring at each other earlier?"
"Um… actually, we've never really gotten along."
"It's just that we've both been crammed into this small area, so… yeah…"
They answered awkwardly. For the record, the leader of the first gang I'd met was still unconscious, so I'd laid him down in a nearby alley and covered him head-to-toe with leaves so he wouldn't catch a cold. I'm such a warm-hearted guy.
"Is that so? The past can't be helped, but from now on, get along. At the very least, don't fight in front of me. You understand what I mean, right?"
"Yes. If we cause trouble, you'll eliminate one side so there won't be any more fighting."
"We'll correct our behavior."
"……"
No. I just meant stop pointlessly bickering. What kind of person did these girls think I was? Scratching the back of my head, I got to the point.
"Good. Let's do our best. …By the way, do any of you know other thugs besides yourselves? Not small fry—I want the ones worth shaking down."
"As expected…"
"So you were planning to take over this entire street from the beginning."
"???"
They were impressed again for no reason. I couldn't be bothered to care anymore.
"So? What's the answer?"
"If you're looking for easy targets… then Chloe from the south would be the one."
"She's one of the Four Heavenly Kings like us, but she's no match for the boss. If you go three blocks that way, you'll find her, sir."
"……"
Four Heavenly Kings in this tiny neighborhood? I let out a long sigh and poked Lemon, who was still hovering right next to me.
"Lemon, Lemon."
"Eek… My sides are an erogenous zone, sir… Please touch them more gently, sir."
"Stop talking nonsense and crouch down for a second."
"Understood, sir."
True to her somewhat dim but obedient nature, Lemon immediately squatted down in front of me. I climbed onto her shoulders—piggyback style.
"O-Oooh…! Thighs on both sides! And that soft sensation on the back of my head…!"
"I'm jealous of Lemon, sir. Don't I get anything, sir?"
Lemon made a fuss while Apple looked at me with pitiful eyes. I waved my hand dismissively.
"Lemon, get up now. And Apple… I'll do something for you later, so back off for now."
"Understood, sir!"
"I'll be waiting, sir!"
I could feel the former bosses staring enviously at Lemon and Apple from behind, but it wasn't important. "You heard her, Lemon. She said to go that way."
"Understood, sir! I'll become Yona's legs and run with all my might, sir!"
"Then I'll become her hands, sir. …Huh? Does that mean if she wants to jerk off, it'll be mutual, sir?"
Ignoring Apple's nonsense, I grabbed Lemon's long hair and pulled.
"Go, Lemon! Full sprint!"
"Lemon, Lemon!"
The overly excited Lemon took off running with me on her back. Apple and the others chased after us a moment later. They were slower than me, obviously, but being carried was comfortable, and the air felt fresher from up high. It wasn't bad at all.
After enjoying the cool breeze and giggling for a while, we rounded the corner three blocks away and found another group of thugs huddled together, snickering. They looked startled at the sight of our combined forces. I stood up on Lemon's shoulders and kicked off, launching myself into the air.
"Hup!"
Spinning midair, I slammed a spinning kick into the nearest thug's head, channeling all the rotational force into it. Thud!
"Gah!"
After taking one down, I pointed at the rest with my index finger and shouted, "If you hand over your wallets quietly, there won't be any bloodshed!"
"…This crazy brat! Do you even know where you are?!"
Anyone watching would think I'd beaten up royalty. The thugs reacted violently, only to notice Apple and the others who had just arrived. They were overwhelmingly outnumbered. Yet, instead of surrendering, they chose to fight to the end.
"How could a woman bow her head to a man?! Don't you have any pride?!"
"Pride is far away, but fists are close, sir."
"Pride doesn't make money, sir."
Lemon and Apple nodded calmly. The others seemed to share the sentiment, even if they didn't say it aloud. The last remaining boss—probably the self-proclaimed Four Heavenly King called Chloe—looked me up and down before licking her lips.
"A man should be pinned under a woman, whimpering. Today, I'll make you into a proper man!"
"Whoa! Did you hear that? I've never seen anyone actually say something like that before!"
"Doesn't she feel embarrassed saying that, sir?"
"She's just someone who doesn't understand that men prefer being pinned down rather than doing the pinning, sir."
"?"
"?"
Lemon and Apple stared at each other like they were looking at lunatics. They were just being their usual idiots, but maybe it came across differently to the enemy. Chloe (a muscular pig in her mid-thirties) furrowed her brows and swung a thick bat while shouting, "What are you waiting for?! Go crush them! The first one to catch him gets to have him after me!"
A truly vulgar reward. But it seemed enough to motivate her underlings. After all, I was an incredibly handsome young man. Five thugs rushed at me all at once. I waved my hand to signal that I didn't need help, then threw myself into the fray.
The spatial awareness bonus from my Pathfinding skill let me perceive everything around me and find an opening. Relying on the agility from my Pickpocketing skill, I simply moved my body along the path I needed to take.
Whoosh! Swish!
"Huh…?"
"What the—?"
No matter how they surrounded me, I could slip out unscathed. This was my first time properly using the Pathfinding skill in combat, and it was surprisingly useful. …Not that I'd ever used it for its actual purpose of finding paths!
Keeping that sensation in mind, I steadily took down the nearest thugs one by one. Unlike the others, these had committed serious crimes, so I didn't use my bare hands—I drew my dagger. Slash—
I didn't cut too deeply. But I deliberately targeted vital areas to show them that I could kill them anytime I wanted. The thugs clutched their necks or chests with dazed expressions, either slumping to the ground or retreating into corners. None of them peed themselves like Lemonade Dispenser, but their will to fight was completely broken.
The last one left, Chloe, swung her bat desperately, but… "You're dead."
I dodged by a hair's breadth, snatched the bat with Pickpocketing, and slammed it into the back of her head. Crack—!
She must have gained some experience, because this time she went down in one hit. Thud!
I stepped on her plump, twitching body with one foot and declared victory. "I won! From now on, this place—the Fourth Commercial District—belongs to the Yona Family!"
"Waaah!!!"
The narrow alley echoed with cheers for a moment. Just as I was about to start farming wallets again, thinking this was enough—Click.
With a clear metallic sound, a red-haired bikini-armor weirdo stepped into the back alley. "I received a report and came to check. I see someone I know."
"……Ah."
She was wearing unusually decent clothes for once, but how could I forget that expressionless face? "Explain what this is about, Yona."
The weirdo's name was Rydia. "Well, you see, Rydia… I somehow ended up unifying all the thugs in this neighborhood…"
"Disband them."
"I just unified them, though. Disbanding feels a bit…"
When I protested weakly, a fist came flying. Bonk!
"Disband them."
"Everyone, get lost! The Yona Family is disbanded as of today!"
The moment those words left my mouth, the thugs scattered in every direction. They were probably terrified of Rydia, who clearly looked like a high-ranking adventurer. Even Lemon and Apple had already fled. Those disloyal girls.
"World domination… was such a fleeting dream…"
As I stood there with my eyes closed, sighing, Rydia grabbed my ear and pulled. "Yeah. Good job. Now let's go."
"Owowow! W-Wait a second!"
"What now."
"Even if we're leaving, I still have to collect the wallets!"
"……"
I wish she wouldn't look at me with those eyes. I'm just trying to make a living here.