The Funny Show of the Circus (7)

“Gyaaaaaaaah!!! Fraaaaaaaaang─!!!”

I screamed my girlfriend’s name at the top of my lungs as I fled down the alley!! The only one who could save me from those lunatics was Franc!! I dashed in the direction the mana rune was pointing. But the road ahead held even more guards than the ones chasing me!

“You bastaaaaaard!!! You’re not getting anywhere near the children─!!!”

“Protect the children─!!! Don’t let him take any hostages─!!!”

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!”

These empty-headed bastards were way too competent! With no confidence in breaking through their disciplined formation, I cut a sharp curve into the side alley!! Franc! Franc would clear up the misunderstanding!! All I had to do was stay in one piece and keep running until then!

“Kiyooooooooot!!!”

“Take this!!! Heisvent Guard Style Three-Man Spear Formation Secret Art!!!”

“Why the hell are you guys even here!!!!”

I protested as the same bastards I’d seen at the Mages’ Guild last time leaped from the buildings, aiming right for me. They must have been reassigned because of my complaint! Look at these sons of bitches, even updating their technique names after the transfer!

Tudududu─! I rolled across the ground to dodge the spears! I had become a criminal (falsely accused) being chased by guards through the moonlit alleys!!

“Heek! Heeheeeek! Heeek!!”

After sprinting at full speed for roughly thirty minutes, my lungs were burning. It wouldn’t have been this bad if I’d activated Beast Regression, but the green mana coating was far too conspicuous.

If I got caught up in this mess, I was truly screwed! Until the situation was resolved, I would be forced to keep Beast Regression sealed in front of other people!!

“Hey!! Over here!!”

Just then. Deciding that being wanted was better than dying, I was about to activate Beast Regression when I spotted a man shouting from the alley.

“Get over here before the guards catch you!!”

He looked vicious as hell. But whatever this guy did for a living, as long as he wasn’t with the guards, I could turn on Beast Regression and fight! I squeezed the last air from my lungs and sprinted toward him.

“From anywhere! Come in proudly! Get in here!”

Medadadadak! Using every ounce of strength I had left, I leaped into the building.

Bang! The moment I was inside, the man slammed the door shut and locked it.

“Huuuuurk. Huuuuurk. Huuuuuuuuurk……”

“Looks like you’ve had a rough night. You should’ve been more careful.”

The man clicked his tongue. I couldn’t figure out who the hell this guy was, so I stared at him. He sat down in a chair and spoke.

“I don’t know who you are, but your information’s outdated. Haven’t you heard the thieves in Heisvent stopped selling brats? Why are you still chasing after kids’ tails?”

“Huuuk… huuuk…. What did you just say?”

This bastard had just said something I couldn’t ignore. Forgetting to catch my breath, I glared at him. The man raised both hands.

“Whoa, don’t look at me like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that. You don’t even know how to repay someone who saved you.”

“Repay you? Huuuk, my ass……”

“Kkhhahaha!! Hahaha!! Exactly!! That’s how a proper thief should act!! In that case, you’ll understand if we do this, right?”

Snap! The moment the man flicked his fingers, knife-wielding men burst into the room. The guy who had let me in grinned wickedly.

“Who told you to provoke the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guards? I don’t know which group you belong to, but you’re gonna taste something spicy today.”

“Group? Huuuk, huuu…… I’m from the Adventurers’ Guild. Why?”

“Huh?”

I ignored the man’s dumbstruck reply and straightened my back. My breathing had finally settled. The rune I’d engraved on Franc had lost effect because of the distance. Still, I decided to trust her. She was probably explaining the situation to the guards right now. With the cat there too, I’d believe she would track my location and come find me. After all, I couldn’t let go of the tail I’d finally caught.

Thud! I slammed my fists together and activated Beast Regression.

Shwaaaaaah─! The moment green mana surged out, the thieves recoiled in shock.

“Wh-what the hell is that?”

“What do you think, you bastards? It’s your funeral.”

I bared my teeth, extending the claws of Beast Regression. “Thanks, you moron. Shall we have a little chat?”

“K-kill him!”

At the man’s command, the armed thugs charged. I observed the crude blades flying toward me and focused. My dynamic vision measured the weapons’ quality, speed, and the power behind them. Cheap. Slow. Weak. In other words, exactly the idiots I expected.

Claaaang! I swung both arms. The gauntlets and Beast Regression mana coating shattered every single one of their swords.

“Huuuuurk!!”

“F-fuck!! Theodore, you son of a bitch!! This guy’s a monster!!”

The thieves panicked the moment their weapons were destroyed without me even drawing my own blade.

“Idiots.”

I whispered. Those cheap knives weren’t even worth ten coppers. They were basically kitchen knives with extra length. A decent hammer blow would shatter them easily.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!”

I knocked the men down with controlled punches. I left out the one who had let me into the building. I could have killed them, but they were too pathetic to interfere even if left alive, so I spared them for now.

“Hiiiiiiik!!”

Thud! The bastard collapsed on the floor after watching me drop four men in three seconds. I stepped on his solar plexus, pinning him down.

“Kehek!”

“From now on, answer every question I ask.”

“Krrgh…!! You think you can pull this shit and walk out of here alive──”

“Answer!! The damn question!! You stupid prick!!”

I kicked the man in the ribs as he tried to spout clichéd lines. I held back, but to him it must have felt like being hit with a hammer.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Shh! Shut up, dumbass. You said it’d be annoying if the guards show up. Let’s just say what we need to say and part ways.”

Crack! Thud! Smack! Slap! Over the next three minutes I made sure this bastard clearly understood his position. It was a one-on-one CC skill: Vector Super Corporal Punishment.

“Ahhh’ll tell yuu anythin’!!”

The man screamed. His pronunciation was completely wrecked from losing teeth, but his enthusiasm came through. I sat down on a nearby chair.

“Huu, good. So, about kidnapping the kids or whatever—you guys the masterminds?”

“N-no! We arrre juuust middlemennn!”

“There’s a separate buyer for the kids? What kind of people are they?”

“Mennn in rrrrobesss!”

“What did you say? You stupid fuck, speak clearly!”

“R-r-robes! Robes! The mennn in rrrrobes who hang arrround with the earrth guy and the marrrauderrr!”

The man spoke while spitting blood onto the floor. They were people I knew. Or rather, I didn’t know exactly who, but their description matched the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ones who had traded with the previous bandit group.

“Right. So you sold the kids to them?”

“N-no! When we went out tonight the guarrds were on patrrol so we gave up!”

“Goddammit. I told you to speak properly. The guards were patrolling so you gave up?”

“Yesss!!”

“What about the other thieves? You said you pulled out of the kidnapping business earlier. Can I assume the rest did too?”

“Yesss! We’ve been lying low so the guarrds wouldn’t catch us!!”

“Got it. Then──”

I was about to knock this guy out with a light tap to the jaw when I frowned and jerked my head aside.

Thud! A knife aimed at my head embedded itself in the wall behind me.

“Is that a housewarming gift? Try throwing a little softer next time.”

“I didn’t think you’d dodge it.”

The man who had thrown the knife at me wore a black robe. So that’s why the guards attacked first without asking questions. This bastard looked suspicious from head to toe. The thought of beating him first and talking later felt completely natural.

‘Do I look that suspicious too?’

As I shuddered at the thought, the man I had beaten screamed while spitting out teeth.

“Alton!! Kill him!! Kill this bastard!!”

“It’s nighttime, so let’s keep it quiet, dumbass.”

I casually smacked the guy’s head, knocking him out, then drew my sword. The black-robed man simply watched.

“And who the hell are you to butt in? If you’re the one buying the kidnapped kids, I’d be incredibly grateful.”

“Hehehe. Earlier you called them brats, now you’re calling them children? Your cover is rather sloppy.”

This son of a bitch had sharp eyes. I clicked my tongue.

“Whatever. Let’s trade questions. Since we’re both clearly ready to kill each other, we might as well speak honestly.”

“I must decline. In my line of work, a loose tongue means a short life!”

Whoosh!! A knife flew at me mid-sentence. Two blades thrown with a timing delay aimed for my stomach and head. I deflected the stomach knife with my sword and twisted my head to dodge the other. My limbs, now capable of far more precise control thanks to acrobatics training, succeeded at the reckless maneuver with ease.

“Hmm?!”

I charged at the startled man. His name was Alton, right? Didn’t matter. If I could subdue him, I would. If not, I’d kill him. I was about to swing my sword when I changed my mind. My sharpened senses told me he was still too far away. Even if I attacked now, he would dodge or the blow would miss.

‘In that case.’

Thud! I kicked the man lying on the floor. The body I had skillfully launched flew quickly. Alton, who had only been watching for my direct attacks, reacted too late.

“Kugh?!”

Alton stumbled as he collided with the unconscious man. In that state, he wouldn’t be able to dodge an attack.

Whoosh! My fist, locked onto the killing angle, slammed hard into his solar plexus.

“Hurgh…! How is your strength so……”

The moment my fist sank into his solar plexus, Alton dropped to his knees. I immediately moved to break one of his arms by striking his shoulder, but pulled my head back again.

Whoosh! A knife Alton had fired using only wrist strength passed right in front of my nose.

‘This guy’s pretty good.’

Alton had pretended to be hit by my attack while attempting a counter in one-on-one combat. So the villainous lines he’d spouted earlier were all an act too.

Grab! My hand caught the dagger that had flown past my face. Then I drove the thrown knife I had caught deep into Alton’s shoulder.

“Mister! You forgot this!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!”

With both his solar plexus and shoulder disabled, Alton fell to his knees. So he wasn’t all that special after all. I shook out my hand and looked down at him.

“Still don’t feel like talking?”

“Khhk, khaak……. This changes the conversation, doesn’t it?”

“Look at how fast you switched sides. I like it.”

Since the guy who had ordered him around so arrogantly was unconscious, there was no need to stay loyal. The more someone belonged to the mafia, yakuza, or organized crime, the more they pretended to value loyalty only to stab you in the back when it benefited them. They only preached loyalty and faith because that was the only way to control their underlings. But the moment real profit appeared, they betrayed faster than anyone! That was the true nature of the underworld in any world.

Alton smiled and said, “There’s no way betraying trash like them would bring any bloody revenge. However, contrary to what you’re hoping for, I am not the buyer of the kidnapped children nor one of their associates.”

“Ha. Another miss? This is pissing me off.”

It was good that he had quickly figured out why I was here and answered, but the content was too weak to be useful. As I clicked my tongue and raised my sword, Alton hurriedly shouted.

“B-but I can still tell you about them!”

“What do you know? I already heard their description.”

“They have left Heisvent!”

Clunk! The sword I was bringing down stopped. I had been about to smash his skull with the pommel, but it seemed he thought I was going to kill him and frantically spilled information. I raised the sword again and asked. The blade I held up as a warning that any nonsense would mean death gleamed like a guillotine.

“Proof?”

“I-it’s simple logic. If they were slave traders, there would be no reason to obsess over Heisvent. They already caught five and the security has become this tight. Why would they stay?”

“So it’s just your speculation?”

“I am a thief whose livelihood is escorting and assassinating in the underworld. I’ve been in this business over ten years. I may not know elsewhere, but within Heisvent I have my own information network.”

Alton spoke while his knife-pierced arm trembled. “Yet the merchants capable of paying the high prices for illegal slaves had mostly already left Heisvent, or had no reason to hire thieves in the first place.”

“You shook down your connections and no plausible suspects remained?”

“Exactly. The Theodore lying over there hired me as insurance against being eliminated after the job, but the ones who said they would buy the slaves were foreigners.”

It matched what I had heard from the bandit leader. The man who had handled the negotiations had spoken with a foreign accent.

“All the illegal foreign merchants or wealthy traders left before and after the security tightened. I investigated this to protect my own life, so it is certain.”

Noticing I was waiting for him to finish, Alton concluded with those words. I listened to the end and lowered my sword. I didn’t completely believe the bastard, but Robert had also said the crimes had entered a lull. Whether it was a lie or not, there didn’t seem to be any more information I could squeeze out of him through intimidation. I let out a small sigh and smacked Alton’s head.

“Gek.”

Thump! Alton, struck on the temple, lost consciousness. I left the unconscious Alton where he was and sheathed my sword. Among the information I had gained today, only one thing was useful.

‘The culprit has already left the city… or isn’t a merchant.’

This could be considered fairly important information. ‘My list of suspects has been narrowed down considerably.’

In any case, threatening back-alley thugs or using Franc as bait from now on probably wouldn’t yield much. Although I had luckily found this out, the only information gained after turning the entire back alley upside down for thirty minutes was this.

‘More importantly, fuck, I don’t want to be chased by guards anymore.’

The moment I thought that.

Tatata-tak! I flinched at the sound of footsteps running toward the building. Shit! Were those the guards? Where the hell do I hide?! This tiny building had no windows, which made sense for a thugs’ hideout!

Creak! The door burst open and someone rushed in. It was Franc.

“Wayne!!”

Franc had the sense to shout my alias. She smiled in relief upon seeing I was unharmed. But I couldn’t smile at the sight of the guards behind her. I hurriedly deactivated Beast Regression in shock. Franc spoke.

“Ah, it’s fine! I explained the situation! I even told them where this child was!”

“Nyahung! (Be grateful!)”

The one bragging was the damn cat that had abandoned me. Considering how that furball had ditched me and run, it had somehow managed to find my location and bring them here. The cats of this other world must have strong wild instincts; it seemed they had excellent noses too.

“W-what the hell is going on?! And who are these guys?!”

A guard shouted. Shit. They had seen the scene.

“These men tried to kidnap the city’s children. They aren’t the masterminds, but seem to be accomplices.”

“What? Whaaaaat?!”

Seeing the guards’ startled reaction, I decided now was the time. I quickly asked the bewildered man.

“I’m truly sorry for causing a disturbance this time. Will you need to summon us for questioning later because of this incident? If so, I’d feel a bit bad……”

“What? Ah, no. Since it was our misunderstanding that caused all this, we should be the ones apologizing. We won’t be questioning or visiting you.”

Okay. Confirmation received. I casually lifted Franc into a piggyback.

“Understood. Then I’ll leave the cleanup to you.”

“What? N-no! Wait! Even if questioning isn’t needed, at least let us explain about these men……!”

“Just arrest them as I told you! Sorry, but we didn’t mean to escalate things either, so please understand! We’ve caused you a lot of trouble!”

Tatata-tat! I fled from the place with Franc on my back. It was obvious that getting caught and interrogated would only make everything more annoying. The cat? It could handle itself. I’d give the reward later when we met.

Once I reached a suitable alley, I activated Beast Regression only on my legs and chanted the spell.

Fwooooooooosh!! I created clouds beneath my feet as I jumped. Adding the compressed steam pressure of Beast Regression’s leap, I landed on the roof of a nearby two-story building.

Tap! I set Franc down after landing on the roof.

“Huu, that was almost a disaster.”

“Nor. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“Yeah. Completely fine.”

I stroked the worried Franc’s head, and we waited until the guards calmed down. Thanks to the acrobatics practice, I had moved with surprising agility and precision in today’s battles. However, to escape that encirclement, we had no choice but to hide on the roof and stay up all night.