Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I've Got a Badge - 1
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Cheshire Cat's direct subordinate, Brad, twisted his face with all his might.
"...What the hell are you?"
He was no small man. No, it was more accurate to call him a giant.
Most people averted their eyes from Brad before he even revealed he was from Wonderland.
But how could this guy be so brazen?
'He had three badges.'
Put another way, it meant he had the skill to take down those three.
But even with that kind of skill, acting like this in front of Brad was pure arrogance.
In Wonderland, even a single digit difference in the number on the emblem meant a massive gap in power.
Yet the guy in front of him was displaying exactly that arrogant attitude.
'His mana presence isn't anything special either.'
Silver hair and golden eyes. A decent height and a decently solid build.
He was staring at Brad right now without a hint of fear.
Of course, absolute powerhouses sometimes deliberately suppressed their mana aura, but this guy didn't even have a sense of force to begin with.
He just gave off a bit of a thug or delinquent vibe.
"What the hell are you?"
"Ellis's fiancé."
"Bullshit."
Ellis, who had more lust for power than most men, putting a marriage shackle on herself? Absurd. Was this guy lacking in prior investigation?
"Top of Elfriede Dice's direct Shadows."
"Bullshit."
He's lost it. At this point, Brad saw through the bluff.
No idiot would dare utter the Queen's name unless they had a death wish.
"Commoner. Academy dropout."
"I see."
"......?"
What? When he nodded in acknowledgment, the man in front of him suddenly looked offended.
People die in all sorts of ways.
Disease, accidents, and so on... But this guy's cause of death had just been decided.
My last words. He'd accepted them so naturally. That was why he was dying today.
But he broke the silence first.
"Three Wonderland grunts."
"Why them?"
"Did you kill them?"
I shook my head.
"I didn't kill them. But I'm going to kill you."
"Crazy bastard."
With those words, a dagger flew at me. A powerful thrust augmented by mana.
But I could match that speed without mana enhancement.
'Drawing a weapon quickly from my pocket.' I'd practiced that over ten thousand times.
Clang—!
The metallic clash rang out.
I didn't worry about damaging the pistol. It was made of Ermetilene.
Weapons forged from Ermetilene were objects of envy for these guys.
And sure enough, the opponent's eyes went wide.
"That...! Where'd you get it?!"
"Elfriede gave it to me."
She didn't give it to me specifically, but it was mine anyway.
"Let's see if I can win without pulling the trigger."
Muttering that, I closed the distance with him.
He swung his dagger frantically, but I dodged and struck, parried and struck, blocked and struck.
It didn't take long for that massive face to be drenched in sweat.
He must be panicking. If he wasn't just a Wonderland grunt, he probably had plenty of murder experience. This must be his first time facing someone so tenacious.
'But that's the key to your defeat.'
Put another way, it meant they'd only ever fought weaker opponents.
Pop—!
I shot at his feet as he backed away in panic.
"Keep your distance, and I'll shoot."
No one else would be this considerate to someone wielding a close-range weapon.
"Kuh...!"
But even after I gave him that advantage, he turned to run.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
I deliberately fired five more rounds around him.
Only then did he realize escaping the bullets was impossible, and he turned back to charge at me.
"What the hell are you?! What?!"
Pop! Pop!
I fired two more, blowing off both his ears.
"Argh!"
"You wouldn't believe me anyway. You don't need ears."
Instead of clutching his ears, he swung his dagger.
"Finally! Eight shots! I win!"
"No."
Whoosh!
The sound of a bullet piercing flesh, and blood sprayed from his shoulder.
His face going dumb was the natural progression.
"Wha... what? That's definitely eight shots...? When the hell did you..."
"When did I reload?"
Bang! Bang!
This time, I infused more mana and shot both his thighs. He tried to hold out but finally collapsed.
"I didn't. Reload."
"Wait, I get it, just wait a sec. Just a moment!"
"One, two, three."
Bang!
After counting to three, I shot his forehead.
He collapsed with an indignant expression, eyes still open, but I'd waited long enough for "just a moment" since he had time to hear the count.
Thud!
The body fell limply backward.
"Should've asked me to wait longer, you uncivilized prick."
Whatever else, I had to throw the insults back at the source to feel at ease.
"Clean up this trash."
I ordered the maids to dispose of the body.
Watching the bunny girl maids carry out the corpse felt strangely off.
"Wait a sec."
I hurried over to the body they were dragging.
Gotta loot the possessions.
I was roughly wiping the blood off me when Ellis suddenly came running up, toddling along with teacups in both hands.
"Master, have some of this."
She fidgeted, unable to stand still, so it didn't seem like she was just bringing tea.
"You drink it. What's up?"
"Well... I was thinking. The guys who came to check on the mansion..."
"You don't have a mansion."
Eeeek. Ellis puffed out her cheeks like she was sulking.
"...The Wonderland members who came to check on Master's mansion. That okay?"
"Yeah."
"You took out all three Wonderland members who came to check on Master's mansion. Won't they notice something's off and send a higher-up? What do we do now?"
"Just killed him."
For reference, that guy was a Two of Clubs.
"Oh, right. You just killed him."
Ellis nodded and took a sip of tea.
Then she spat it out with a pfft. Her eyes went wide as she asked me.
"You killed him? Just now?"
Smack! I kicked her ass. Ellis hopped up.
"Kyaa!"
"From now on, believe what I say unconditionally. If I have to explain twice, you're dead."
"Y-yes. Sorry. Tohihi..."
What to do. What to do. Ellis spun in circles before stopping abruptly.
"Master. What are you going to do now?"
"Meet Cheshire Cat."
"Can you? Sure, you could... after all her subordinates visit this mansion once each. Meanwhile, me and the servants all die. This is bad. What..."
I lifted my foot slightly, and Ellis shut up.
Rabbits might not be smart, but their survival instincts are sharp.
"...Right. We need to meet Cheshire Cat, Master. Could you explain the process to a lowly worm like me?"
"How much tribute for joining Wonderland?"
"60% of profits. Half in gold coins, half in drugs."
"Whore as expected, spending so lavishly."
Really. New recruits only got skimmed 40% at most.
"Master, I'm a virgin. I can't take you saying that."
I drew my pistol.
"Heart or hymen. Which hole should I make?"
"I'm a whore."
Ellis's bunny girl outfit was especially thin and skimpy.
Hardly clothes... more like barely-there coverings, and she claims virginity. Makes me want to kick her ass again.
But I held back. She's my slave after all. I continued the explanation.
"How long till tribute?"
"Three days."
"Prepay the gold today. Skip the drugs."
"Then the whole mansion gets blown up."
Fair point. If we just skipped tribute outright.
"Prepay the gold today and say this: Out of gratitude for recruitment, we'll deliver five times the promised drug amount."
"Five times...? We don't have that much. You weren't planning to tribute at all, were you?"
"Exactly. And promising five times will make Cheshire Cat show up herself."
If there's more profit than reported to the higher-ups, Cheshire Cat won't report the difference to keep it for herself.
Why? It becomes her pocket money if unreported.
She's not loyal enough to report that, nor incorruptible. If she were, she'd be a public official.
"We won't tribute, but showing we have five times the amount is key. Halt all drug distribution and pile it up in the warehouse."
"But then how do we make money? We need money."
Smack!
"Tohiit!"
"No more crime for cash, even if we starve. Got it?"
"Y-yes..."
"We'll rob Wonderland guys for money, don't worry. Elfriede's money is mine. Just do as told."
"Got it... Making and stockpiling drugs is my specialty anyway. Start now?"
"Obviously."
Three days till tribute. Time to hustle.
Hone shooting skills, inspect the territory, meet key people, check what needs managing.
I stared blankly for a moment at Ellis's swaying hips as she walked the hall.
Kept eyeing the little bunny tail on her bunny girl ass.
"Ellis."
She turned at her name.
"Yes?"
"On second thought, why are you walking on two legs?"
"......"
Haaa. Ellis sighed deeply and dropped to all fours.
Rabbits are prettiest and cutest on all fours.
'Fine, fine. Whatever. Tohihi~'
"Fucking asshole."
"What did you just say?"