15
Chapter 15
"Whoa......."
Rien looks around at the scenery with wide, sparkling eyes. Looking this way, then that. Her head constantly swiveling back and forth makes her look pretty funny, though.
Well, to be honest, I'm not really in a position to judge her.
It's only natural.
Scenery I had only ever seen through a monitor.
Seeing it with my own eyes, feeling it, and walking through it with my own two feet was certainly a unique experience.
"......Have you been here before?"
Rien asks me.
Well, it's not unreasonable for her to think that.
Somehow or other, I ended up being the one guiding us.
I looked around here and there, muttering about how some things were still here while others had disappeared.
Besides, well, it's not exactly something I need to hide.
Claiming I've never been here while knowing the layout of the area perfectly would actually be more suspicious, wouldn't it?
"I came here once a long time ago."
"T-Then have you ridden something like a train before too? I heard they move on their own! You don't even need to talk to them!"
Rien got overexcited and shouted out loud, but upon drawing the attention of the people around her, she blushed as red as a tomato and hung her head.
The people nearby were staring at her with eyes that radiated a sense of chosen superiority.
A country bumpkin getting excited, or an uncivilized commoner. It was painfully obvious what they were thinking.
'......Well, it could just be my paranoia.'
If the problem outside the capital was the terrible security, then here the security was good, but something else was the problem.
No, should I say the problem is that the security is too good?
The criminal arrest rate is incredibly high.
It probably wouldn't even compare to the statistics of any modern developed country.
That's because they arrest people who aren't even criminals, too.
Should I say being a commoner is a crime?
It wasn't for nothing that I spent a fortune to replace my tattered clothes.
In the previous game, wandering around the capital in clothes with zero durability increased the chance of triggering a bad random event.
Those noble bastards would pick a fight just because they felt disgusted that a ragged beggar like me was walking on the same street as them.
Of course, if you said even a single word back, it was straight to prison for insulting them.
'And that was an instant game over.'
The mysterious Imperial prison was famous for its inmates suddenly dying of chronic illnesses.
The guards would collude to sell organs. In some places, they made prisoners fight each other to the death for entertainment. There were even stories that if you were pretty or handsome, they would play with you before killing you to destroy the evidence.
'Why the hell is a country like this so prosperous?'
I couldn't help but think that.
In the previous game, I just brushed it off because it was a game. But wouldn't there be some kind of reason for it?
After all, this was a world where real gods and magic truly existed.
Perhaps they were maintaining an Empire that should have collapsed long ago through some sort of means...
"Ciel, Rien."
A presence approached from behind.
I stopped overthinking and quietly whispered to the two of them.
Maybe it was because both of them were quick on the uptake.
It seemed they caught on to what I meant without needing an explanation.
'Take a right at this alley... then left again here...'
Weaving through the streets like that, I frantically recalled the map as we moved.
And then... we arrived at a deserted intersection.
"...Hey there, miss. Could you spare a moment of your time?"
As if he had been waiting for this, that sticky voice echoed from behind us.
Yeah, I knew this would happen.
This was exactly why I purposely chose hooded outfits for the two of them. It seemed there was no avoiding trouble, even when their faces were hidden.
"Don't worry. It'll be over in a second."
Treating me like I was completely invisible, the large man said that.
His gaze was incredibly blatant.
'And he's even a guy I know.'
He was one of the masterminds who turned Bone and Blood into an R-18 game.
A perverted noble.
A villain who vented his lust on commoners right on the streets. A total scumbag who leveraged his status to commit crimes out in the open without ever getting caught.
He looked older than he did in the previous game, but it seemed he was still actively operating.
Well, even I had to admit Rien's reaction from earlier did make her look like a country girl who had just arrived in the big city.
Anyone could tell she was a commoner from the sticks sightseeing in the Capital, so he probably figured he could mess with her without consequence.
But...
'Did it never occur to him that he was the one being lured into a trap?'
It seemed the thought that we had intentionally relocated to a deserted alley to avoid witnesses when disposing of him never crossed his mind.
Of course, I wasn't the one doing the disposing.
Rien and Ciel.
Even if I couldn't handle it, there was no way these two couldn't take down a guy like him.
I sent a look full of trust toward the two of them, and...
"......?"
I couldn't help but panic.
Why on earth were they just standing there blankly?
"I-If I touch him, I feel like I'll end up killing him... what should I do..."
Noticing my gaze, Rien said awkwardly, not knowing what to do. It seemed she meant she'd lose her mind and beat him to death if she laid a hand on him.
"I can't swallow anything alive right now."
Ciel also shook her head as she said that.
The implication was that her physical condition hadn't fully recovered, even with medicine.
Instantly, my face turned pale.
Don't tell me... is this party weaker than I thought?
"Stay out of this, kid."
With those words, a dull impact snatched away my consciousness.
*****
'I'm in luck today.......'
The man smiled as he leered at the two women, scanning them from head to toe.
He had confirmed they were fair game, and since he had gotten rid of the nuisance, there was nothing holding him back anymore.
Excited at the thought of savoring the massive catch he had reeled in, he slowly approached them.
"......Ian?"
The man realized something was wrong the moment the white-haired girl spoke up.
Eyes filled with hatred.
Yet, for some reason. The corners of her mouth curled up, looking more delighted than ever before.
"Ah. Thank goodness."
The man felt a sense of terror as he looked at the girl.
A primal terror.
The fear prey feels toward a predator.
"You're... not human."
Slowly, the girl approached the man.
"Someone who does this kind of thing can't be human. Someone who hurts Ian can't be human. So.......
It's okay to play with you, right?
With those words, the man watched the girl approaching him.
His humanity crumbled away.
The very components that made up his body were reduced to mere lumps of meat.
Losing his mind, the man screamed in terror until his very last breath, bringing his miserable life to an end.
*****
Ciel stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
However, she felt no particular emotion about it.
It was a gruesome end. But a natural consequence.
If anything, he had committed sins worthy of a far more horrific death. Getting off this easy was a luxury.
"......Are you okay?"
She asked, but Rien was still staring blankly, as if lost in another world.
Ciel recalled the story she had heard from Ian last time regarding Rien.
Putting that together with the stories Wolf was happily chattering about, the answer was simple.
The girl named Rien was a dangerous existence.
One who might lose her mind like this at any given moment.
But.
'What does that matter?'
To the girl, none of that mattered.
She didn't care if Rien went on a rampage and slaughtered every last person in the world.
As long as Ian was alive, it was none of her concern whether the world ended or not.
'Because I'm happy as long as I'm with Ian. Though it'd be better if she could spare me too, if possible.'
Anyway.
Even when she lost her mind like that, Rien didn't harm Ian. She actually tried to protect him.
That was more than enough.
"Devour it."
Ciel squeezed out just enough strength to dispose of the corpse.
She washed the blood-soaked black robe with magic she learned from her mother, then woke Ian up.
*****
I rubbed my eyes and stood up from the ground.
Thanks to the Healthy Body trait, I didn't hurt anywhere. It didn't even seem like I was injured.
"......Why are you sleeping like a baby again?"
I woke Rien, who was lying unconscious next to me, and tried my best to piece together the situation.
Fortunately, it wasn't difficult.
I just had to ask the person involved now that she was awake.
"He ran away?"
Another vague explanation this time.
I asked Ciel again for the detailed situation.
"I kicked him."
......It was another vague explanation this time, too.
But it was easy to understand.
I mean, getting kicked hurts.
There's a reason vital spots are called vital spots.
Besides, there was no way Ciel understood the kind of pain only men could relate to. It must have been a merciless full-powered swing.
Doing something like that made me worry he might try to retaliate later, but what was done was done.
'Well, it's a relief either way.'
Rien finally woke up, belatedly asking what happened and if everyone was okay.
Judging by her appearance, Rien had taken a hit too.
If it hadn't been for Ciel this time, it really would have been a disaster.
'So it's come to this.......'
Somehow, it feels like everyone who gets involved with me takes a wrong turn on their skill tree.
Rien can defend but can't attack first, and Ciel is wasting her talent by making a contract with some low-ranking demon from who knows where.
A sigh naturally escaped my lips.
Was this really the right call?
Should we have come to such a dangerous place like the Imperial Capital?
Our party seems a bit weaker than I thought.
Worries wash over me, but....... we've made it this far, so turning back isn't an option.
In the end, it just means we have to give it a try, even if we're anxious.
I pulled Rien to her feet and started walking toward our destination once again.
Seriously, the problem with the Imperial streets is that there are way too many vicious thugs around.
I don't know how innocent citizens like us are supposed to live without being anxious.