89
Chapter 89
I had clearly only swung the sword a few times, yet the smithy was suddenly sliced in half.
The eyes of everyone watching the building instantly collapse filled with bewilderment.
I was no exception.
'...No, didn't you say you understood my intentions?'
What exactly did you interpret to pull something like this? I just wanted to separate that swindler Dwarf appropriately.
I looked at the swindler once again.
The Dwarf was staring at his smithy... or what used to be his smithy, with a devastated expression.
"W-What do you think you're doing right now?!"
The guy shouts tearfully.
However, Lucy opened her mouth with her usual nonchalant expression.
"You said I could swing the sword as a test, so I merely swung it once."
Nonsense that made me doubt her sanity.
Perhaps he was completely shocked by the reality of his smithy instantly turning into giant trash.
"I-I'm going to report you to the Garrison right now! You've just made a huge mistake!"
The Dwarf shouts with a flushed face.
Certainly, Dwarves are somewhat high-tier personnel.
If reported, the Garrison would dispatch immediately.
It was doubtful if anyone who came could beat even me, let alone Lucy. Still, being officially wanted in the Empire wouldn't be good.
"Is that so? I wouldn't know."
But Lucy said that and walked towards the Dwarf.
Things would get annoying for both of us if I let this continue. I was just about to suggest we leave.
"We aren't fools, so do you think we'd be wandering around without using Disguise Magic?"
Lucy spouted lies without changing her expression.
Naturally, my words died in my mouth.
Very skillful bluffing.
Lucy preemptively blocked the possibility of him reporting us with a simple trick.
"Besides, even if you call the Garrison, it would take quite a while for them to get here...."
Saying that, Lucy grabbed her sword.
In an instant.
A sword strike was executed in literally a fleeting moment.
A Quick Draw so fast it even gave the illusion that the sword had never been drawn from its scabbard.
Instantly, the Dwarf's beard—his very identity—was sliced off.
"I assure you, the likes of the Garrison won't be able to guarantee your safety."
The Dwarf's face turned pale.
"Therefore, from my perspective, it seems the one who made a mistake wasn't me, but you."
Looking at the swindler collapsed powerlessly on the floor, Lucy made her declaration.
...Certainly.
It was a perfect incapacitation.
For one thing, the swindler wouldn't be pestering me anymore.
"Lucy, try not to use such violent methods if possible."
But this felt a bit too ruthlessly efficient. I called her name and warned her not to go overboard.
"Understood, Lord. Please do not worry. I am fully aware of the purpose of your visit here."
Lucy said that to me... and then her eyes gleamed.
A dagger was rolling on the floor.
Lucy swiftly picked it up and threw it.
"Hieeeek!"
A scream that would only suit a five-year-old girl burst from the mouth of the roughly-bearded Dwarf.
It was only natural considering the situation.
They probably came to see what the commotion was about, realized something was off, and tried to leave.
Only to suddenly have a dagger barely graze their heads.
"I do not recall giving you permission to leave. Please cooperate so I don't have to resort to violent methods."
The Dwarves from the neighboring smithies, who had come to watch and were suddenly taken hostage.
However, not a single one of them expressed any dissatisfaction.
Actually, it would be weirder if there was an idiot who saw that and still chose to resist.
Like that, a dreadful silence stretched on for a while.
The one to break that silence was.......
"T-Take this, please!"
It was a somewhat sly-looking Dwarf.
He had been glancing around sneakily for a while before finding me and handing over a heavy pouch.
The contents were... gold bars sparkling as if to say, 'Hello! I'm a gold bar!'
"Please understand that I only knew how to bang on metal and didn't know how the world worked. A new organization moved in, and I didn't even know......."
Those words.
Hearing that, my head naturally started to spin.
No matter how I looked at it, this was a protection racket.
The kind thugs take by force.
They were clearly looking at us like we were some major crime syndicate.
As if to prove my thoughts right, the other Dwarves carefully rummaged through their pockets as well.
The Dwarves hesitantly flocked towards me.
They were trying to pay me protection money.
"...I don't need this. I didn't come here to do something like this."
It certainly wasn't a small amount of money.
But I wasn't so desperate for cash that I needed to earn it like this. So I naturally refused, but.
They wouldn't listen to me.
The Dwarves kept shoving things into my pockets, begging me to accept it and asking for my favor in the future.
I sent a look to Lucy, asking her to do something about this, but....
"Stop. Are you insulting my Lord right now? He did not visit this place for such petty reasons. Do not tarnish my Lord's noble intentions."
I immediately regretted it.
I had clearly chosen the wrong person to ask for help.
Noble intentions?
I just came to shop while looking for the Holy Sword, so what was all this about being noble?
What in the world was she thinking? I looked at her with worried eyes.
"Do not worry. I already understand why my Lord has sought out the notorious Blacksmith Street."
The words she had spoken just now.
The notorious Blacksmith Street.
That part sounded strangely grating when I heard it.
A strange intuition washed over me. A gut feeling that I was missing something important.
I quickly enhanced my vision and hearing with Mana.
Somewhere further away, not this mess of a place.
I looked at the people who still didn't know what had happened here.
To observe the ordinary sight of Blacksmith Street.
And.......
My face filled with horror.
-W-Why are you doing this? I just asked the price once!
-Do I look like someone who satisfies customers' curiosity? Seeing this over and over is really pissing me off. Follow me for a second.
Here too.
-W-Wait a minute, I'll go look around somewhere else first!
-I told you it's the same everywhere else! Are you saying you don't believe me right now?!
And there too.
-What kind of nonsense is this? I just touched it once, and you're asking me to pay for it!
-Haa... Customer, do you want to be punched?
A dizzying scene unfolding wherever I looked.
It was an incredibly bizarre, yet strangely familiar sight.
To put it another way....
'Why is Yongsan here?'
In the past 10 years, Blacksmith Street had inexplicably turned into Yongsan Electronics Market.
A headache naturally washed over me.
The Dwarves were definitely a more serious and dignified bunch.
They were a race overflowing with craftsmanship, refusing requests even if offered a fortune unless they acknowledged the person.
Having seen that side of them in my previous work, this was a change I simply couldn't accept.
But no matter how much I rubbed my eyes, the scenery before me didn't change.
'...Did they get a taste of money and collectively fall from grace?'
They originally lived in a closed-off society and only started interacting with the outside world about 10 years ago. I guess they just got corrupted by the real world way too fast.
The romantic Blacksmith Street had devolved into a fantasy version of Yongsan Electronics Market.
While I stood there, unable to hide my shock and left dumbfounded by such a bizarre outcome.
Lucy continued to speak.
"You all look like you feel unjustly accused. I can see you think you were just unlucky to be caught without having done anything wrong."
She was saying that she would show them the very sins they had committed themselves.
Lucy brought out a Shield from a nearby smithy.
And... dropped it on the floor.
It hadn't even been dropped that hard, yet it was slightly dented.
It had such poor durability that it was hard to even call it a Shield.
"On the battlefield, a trivial thing can mean the difference between life and death. That is why people are willing to spend a fortune to get their hands on good equipment."
Having said that, Lucy glared fiercely at the Dwarves.
"But you played dirty tricks with something so vital."
Using cheap materials just to save on raw material costs. And deliberately selling swords imbued with a Corrosion Curse just to pocket the repair fees.
They prioritized lining their own pockets over human lives.
"Killing someone directly isn't the only form of murder. You have snatched away the lives of countless people for your own greed."
With a slightly sad expression for some reason,
Lucy, who had said that directly killing someone isn't the only form of murder, fell silent for a moment before... continuing her speech.
"Therefore, under normal circumstances, you should all die right here."
She had sworn that she would never again let innocent people die due to her own negligence.
If they were going to continue committing such mass murder, she had no choice.
Lucy declared calmly.
However, no one tried to run away.
Everyone realized that resisting would be futile. That the being standing before them was an overwhelmingly powerful foe.
Just as a dreadful silence and despair hung in the air.
Lucy opened her mouth to speak once more.
"However, my Lord is merciful. He has instructed me to deal with sinners through other means rather than violence."
...I did say something like that.
But that wasn't what I meant.
"So please make your choice."
But without even giving me a chance to explain, Lucy pulled a Contract out of her cloak.
An item used for Slave Contracts.
One that was frequently used in malicious contracts that completely ignored the human rights of one party.
"Whether you die by my hand right here, or gladly accept the chance at rehabilitation bestowed upon you by my merciful Lord."
Everyone's gazes focused on me.
They looked at me as if I were a mad Villain Boss who had planned and ordered all of this.
......For now, one thing was certain: no one would believe me even if I said I didn't tell her to do that.