Excellent Means of Negotiation (5)
“Y-You—you, how do you know that?! How the hell do you know!!!”
Blood gushing from his wounds, Sion suddenly let out a feral scream and lunged at me.
Whoa, that startled me.
I reflexively swung the shotgun I was holding. The hefty lump of metal smashed right into his face.
Thwack—!
“Huh?”
Oh, damn. I’d misjudged my strength.
With a crisp snap, Sion’s head jerked back, and he tumbled across the floor.
“O...phe...lia...”
Even as his jaw trembled uncontrollably, Sion crawled along the ground, mumbling.
“Sion?”
“Ophe......”
Thud.
His arm went limp, and his head hit the floor. He was out cold.
“Sion!!!!”
Emergency. Full-blown crisis.
“Professor! Quit spectating and get over here with some healing!”
“Ahh...... Truly, a splendid strike.”
Lucius emerged from the shadows, his flushed face cradled in both hands.
I’d dragged this lunatic along when we signed the contract, asking him to clean up after the mess we were about to make in the commoner dormitory soon enough. But instead of handling cleanup, he’d just watched the fight in ecstasy and collapsed into rapture.
Lucius twisted his body like a serpent, his gaze flicking obsessively between me and the double barrel in my hand, as if he wanted to lick them both.
“And that beautiful hymn you called out earlier... ‘Hide away tight, or your hair might show’? That verse was truly profound. Please, brother, grace me with its teachings.”
This guy’s a real nutcase.
I suppressed the goosebumps prickling my skin and jerked my chin toward the fallen Sion.
“Heal this guy quick and calm down the students who ran off. That was the deal, right?”
“And the promise to provide me with this wondrous double barrel as well... Heh heh.”
As he caressed Sion’s body, a radiant golden divine power enveloped him entirely. Crack, pop. His shattered jawbone clicked back into place, and fresh flesh rapidly knit over the bloody mess on his abdomen where the shotgun had struck.
No need for esper powers or mana. Divine power was clearly the most broken thing here.
What if holy warriors blasted away with double barrels, healed themselves on the fly, and mowed down enemies?
A chill raced up my spine, goosebumps erupting.
...Did I make these guns for nothing?
I silently wished peace upon the demons and heretics.
Kidding. I didn’t actually.
The demons around here were all raving lunatics anyway. They needed to go extinct fast if I wanted a peaceful retirement.
Shaking off the nagging guilt of unleashing Pandora’s box, I tossed the double barrel into Lucius’s arms.
“The double barrel! A tool that can subdue even an esper...”
Lucius rubbed his cheek against the still-warm barrel, reeking of gunpowder, his face alight with rapture like he owned the world. It was a grotesque sight no sane person could watch with eyes open.
Averting my gaze, I hoisted the sprawled Sion onto my back.
“Handle the dormitory commotion like we agreed, Professor. I need some private time with this guy.”
“Ahh, worry not. Such a trifle is no trouble at all......”
Leaving the muttering zealot behind, cheeks still flushed, I carried Sion out of the slaughterhouse scene.
A while later.
In the engineering department lab, thick with the stench of gunpowder and metallic tang.
Sion and I faced each other.
I hadn’t tied him up with rope or shoved a gun in his face. He seemed to have business with me too, staying put quietly.
“How’s the face? Jaw on straight?”
At my dry question, Sion’s shoulders twitched.
He unconsciously touched his jaw, lips quivering.
“......What do you want.”
His tone had changed. Gone was the smug leisureliness; now it was sharp and feral, like a trapped wild animal.
Perfect.
“Work with me.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Hear me out first, then decide.”
Sion paused, then spoke.
“I have no clue what you’re about. No idea who you’re with, who’s backing you, or how you know my secret. You expect me to team up with a shady bastard like you? Might as well jump into a trap myself.”
“Fine by me. Refuse then. Whatever.”
“Refuse......”
“But you’ll be searching for your little sister alone forever. You won’t find her without me.”
Sion’s mouth snapped shut.
“What exactly do you know?”
“Who knows.”
I shrugged indifferently, and Sion started piecing it together himself.
“Right, you’ve got some detection ability or whatever. That explains it. Digging into my background, predicting my teleport paths perfectly and countering them every time...... No, that doesn’t fully add up...”
Detection ability? Nah, I just read the original novel cover to cover.
But no need to correct him. If he wanted to mistake me for some OP esper, fine by me.
Propping my chin, I chuckled.
“Don’t overthink it, Sion.”
“......!”
“Whether it’s detection powers, a devil’s pact, or I’ve seen the future—doesn’t matter. What you need to remember is I’m the only one who knows where your sister is.”
Another long silence fell.
I shot up from my chair.
Nothing breaks a waffler like walking away.
“10.”
“9.”
“8.”
“Wait, Flint.”
I kept walking.
“7.”
“6.”
“Hold up!”
Hand on the doorknob.
“5.”
“4.”
“3.”
“2.”
“I’ll do it! I said I’ll do it!”
Sion squeezed his eyes shut and yelled like it was a death sentence.
“Good boy.”
I grabbed one of the two double barrels neatly lined up in the corner of the lab and handed it to him.
Sion flinched like he had PTSD, but I had no time to baby his mental health.
“Let’s move. You know where that old man is, right?”
“You’re using me just to find that guy?”
“Obviously.”
“Then just commission the Information Guild.”
“Oh.”
A short sigh escaped me. Fair point.
Any normal thinker would’ve just paid the guild. No need for bloodshed.
But I didn’t bat an eye, brazen as ever.
“I’m a bit short on cash right now.”
True story. I’d worked the artisans to death making spare double barrels, leaving me with only about 400 gold coins. So damn poor.
“......What?”
“Plus, guild fees are a rip-off. Right?”
Sion’s jaw dropped.
Horrified that I’d blasted his gut and trashed the dorm just to save a few coins, he looked genuinely shocked.
“Y-You crazy psycho bastard......”
Click—.
As I toyed with the double barrel in my hand, Sion hastily swallowed his curses.
“Anyway, saved on fees, quick turnaround. Perfect. Lead the way.”
* * *
We’d just exited the engineering building and reached a dingy alley on the Academy outskirts.
“No carriage? You’re not saying we’re running a marathon from morning, are you?”
“Marathon? What’s that.”
At my shameless question, Sion pinched his temple.
Having to guide the psycho who shot his gut to save pennies clearly grated on him.
But he exhaled deeply, his eyes turning icy.
“Wait here.”
Sion approached a thick, rusted pipe grotesquely jutting from the alley wall. He pulled a blackish coin from his pocket and slipped it into a narrow slit at the base.
Clink, click.
Gears meshed inside, the sound echoing through the pipe. Kinda cool, like a secret agent.
Before my brief admiration ended.
Shh—.
A plain-looking carriage rolled in from beyond the alley. Horse, driver, exterior—all utterly ordinary. Ninety percent of carriages looked like this.
The driver, wide-brim hat pulled low, gave us a curt hand signal.
“Kinda plain for an Information Guild ride, no?”
I whispered to Sion.
“Shut up and get in.”
I boarded with a bored expression.
“Gonna shatter my ass saving pennies...... Oh.”
The moment I stepped inside, an involuntary gasp slipped out.
Unlike the shabby exterior, the interior was lined with top-grade velvet seats, the air itself different. Perfectly soundproofed from the outside world.
Sion crossed his legs arrogantly opposite me, opening his mouth.
The guy trembling at gunpoint moments ago now puffed up in his element.
“Information Guild covert carriage. Double soundproofing magic, top-tier resistance to detection and tracking spells.”
“You’re really guild brass, huh?”
Ignoring my jab, Sion continued.
“Driver’s a guild vet with the tightest lips. Even if I killed you in here, he’d pretend not to hear and keep driving.”
“What reassuring service. Real comforting.”
I nodded contentedly, and Sion’s brow twitched faintly.
Probably cursing me out inside, but he showed no more emotion, just fiddling with the shotgun I’d handed him.
Must burn, but what could he do? The weak and compromised had to bow.
Ignoring him, I leaned back comfortably and stared out the window.
The carriage lurched toward the Lawless City.