Wrecking the Amour Gang (1)

Sion had risen early to prepare breakfast when she suddenly froze, a jolt of surprise running through her.

"Oh my... in my belly...?"

Perhaps it was thanks to yesterday's fierce coupling with Lashu. She could sense something unusual stirring in her abdomen. A warm smile spread across her face as she stroked her stomach.

"I can feel the breath of life... in my womb. Hehe. I'm so happy♥"

Something extraordinary was unfolding inside her.

I barely dragged myself out of bed and sat down to breakfast. Lumina kept twitching her ears and glancing around, looking for all the world like a puppy left out on the porch.

I figured I ought to say something. Was she still not used to living in a house?

"Lumina, this isn't the forest. You can relax."

But her expression was dead serious.

"No. The air's no good."

"The air...? What, is there a draft?"

This house was built solid — it wasn't like we had wind leaking through the walls.

"That's not what I mean... Ah, forget it. Something's gonna happen today."

"What are you, a prophet now? Heeeng, Lumina-chaaaan, you're so talented~!"

"Ugh."

Truth be told, something was happening today. There was an important meeting at the lord's manor.

I stood up after eating my fill, and Mom came sidling over with a sheepish little grin.

"Son... honestly, I've got a bad feeling too. Do you really have to go out today?"

That bright expression of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hers had gone completely dark, like storm clouds rolling in. Even her gaze had turned tender and pleading. Meeting those eyes, I wanted to pin her down right then and there.

Ah, that adorable look. Even the way she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clasped her hands together. I want to throw her down and wreck her this instant, fuck.

I swallowed the thought, smacked my lips, and shook my head. I was a hero candidate, after all.

"There's a meeting today with the Acting Lord about the Amour Gang. The Guard Captain will be there too, and I provided the critical intel, so I have to go."

"Mm, then I'll wait for you. Son!"

"Yes! Mwah!"

I gave her a light peck and headed out. The weather was overcast for some reason, like rain might come pouring down any second. Still, a cool breeze was blowing, pleasant enough to make me want to sleep in.

If only the sun were blazing, it'd be perfect weather for outdoor sex. Sigh.

I loosened up my body as I made my way to the lord's manor. I tossed a quick greeting to the guards, crossed the garden, and stepped into the office.

Abeiru and Jeira were already there when I arrived. The Guard Captain pointed me to a seat, and I went over and sat down.

The atmosphere was properly grim. Fair enough — this meeting would decide the fate of our territory.

Once I was seated, Renata opened her mouth.

Her voice was dignified and precise. The unshakable cadence of her breathing and diction drew a genuine note of admiration from me. She sounded like a commander ordering an all-out assault. Older women really were the best!

Totally different from how she is during sex, our Mama Renata.

I watched with a private grin. The Guard Captain stepped forward first and laid out the overview.

"Now that the Amour Gang's position has been established, we will move north..."

He preached the necessity of a general strategy and of seizing key points. It was the same stuff he always said during our training, but hearing it now, it sank in far deeper. Normally he tossed these things out like we should just keep them in mind. When he was this serious, he actually explained them properly.

And he had a point. This wasn't some minor issue — we had found the stronghold of an underworld outfit that was rotting our territory from the inside out. We couldn't just sit on our hands, even if the place turned out to be a trap.

Jeira stepped up to offer her own opinion. She was as pretty as ever. The light caught on her chest and made it gleam.

Everything they're saying is right, but it's not enough. Time for me to step in.

The details were lacking. At this rate, we'd get carved up like a disorganized mob. I raised my hand and stood.

"The Amour Gang is a force that rose out of the underworld. Their influence may well extend into other territories."

I swept my gaze around the room as I continued. Having everyone's attention locked on me was way too much fun.

"But they are, at the end of the day, nothing more than an unrefined rabble. There are only two people who actually matter — the boss, Koldo, and the man who backs him up, Boldga."

From the intel I'd received, it was no exaggeration to say the entire Amour ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gang ran on those two. A structure with precious few useful bodies, but overwhelming presence and authority at the top. Then again, this wasn't the Three Kingdoms — it would be weird if some back-alley outfit were crawling with talented people.

So I lined that up against what I'd already been thinking and laid out my take.

"If we mass our forces to draw their eyes, then take their king and queen, I believe we can win this in a single decisive stroke."

I closed it out cleanly and sat back down. That had come out pretty much exactly the way I'd pictured it. Not that I was likely to fumble my words in the first place — I did have a title for that, after all.

"Ohh. Impressive."

"Lashu, this kind of insight..."

"It may well be sound."

While everyone was murmuring in admiration, a sound like a bucket of cold water hit the room.

"Pfft!"

Abeiru. The bastard was staring at me with open mockery. I'd been wondering why he'd been so quiet. He let out a huge sigh, like he was desperate for someone to look at him.

"Bro, please live in the real world, you absolute loser. This is reality, not a tactics game. You think the other side's just gonna play along if we do this? Classic loser move, I swear. You just wanna play commander."

"Abeiru. Shut your mouth."

Jeira cut in with a single line. Abeiru flinched like he'd been slapped across the face.

"Y-Yes?!"

"You are in the presence of the Acting Lord. If Lashu is to be criticized, the Acting Lord will do it. It is not your place."

Abeiru's eyes darted around with nowhere to land under Jeira's icy words. The Guard Captain piled on.

"Abeiru, you should be grateful you were born in this territory. If this were a fief anywhere near the capital, a half-baked Runner Mid like you wouldn't even be allowed in this room!"

Abeiru wasn't just getting dunked on — he was being ground into powder. And it was all true. The fact that a guy who couldn't even properly use the power of a Runner Mid was sitting here at all was a joke in itself.

As Abeiru's face crumpled in panic, Renata, by contrast, smiled with genuine pleasure. She looked at me and crinkled her eyes.

"Our hero candidate Lashu has quite the strategic mind. Good. It's a sound proposal. I want the opinions raised so far synthesized and put into action. Guard Captain, I leave it to you."

"Yes, ma'am!"

So my suggestion had ended up as the main plan. They looked ready to smash the Amour Gang today. We were actually doing this today?

I felt a pointless flutter of nerves. I'd been waiting for this day, but I hadn't really expected the day we'd finally crush these underworld thugs to actually arrive.

Do this right. I need to shine here and become the icon of this entire territory.

Sports clubs have what they call a franchise star — a player so symbolic that you think of him when you think of the team, and think of the team when you think of him. I needed to become that kind of existence. Recognition works the same way anywhere people live. Take a shit and they clap. Commit the same mistake as anyone else and they rush to defend you. That's just how humans are.

And I was going to use that to screw MILFs.

There are no limits for the Beastly Hero!

Picturing all the fun waiting in the future almost made me smile. I locked my expression down. Even so, I didn't want to look like some cheap punk.

We all headed outside. On the way out, Jeira sidled up beside me.

"Thanks."

"Huh?"

Thanks for what? Jeira offered a faint smile.

"What, I told you to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠talk casual."

"Ah. Yeah. Jeira-noona."

"Anyway, thanks for helping my errand boy. He's a really dedicated servant."

"Right, yeah. No, I just did what anyone would. A person was about to die right in front of me."

She must have liked that answer, because Jeira beamed, her helmet tucked under one arm. Wow. A woman like her smiling that brightly was genuinely beautiful. I could have stared at her forever.

Her pale lips moved.

"Honestly, Lashu, I can't figure you out at all."

"Me?"

"Sometimes you seem like you just do whatever gets you off. Other times, you actually look righteous. It's strange."

Strange, huh. Heh. That was a better review than I'd expected.

"I'm not that good of a guy."

I said it honestly. I wasn't that good of a guy. I just ran the numbers, and if there was something in it for me, I'd jump in even if it was a pit of fire. Like I said.

What matters is a cock that never breaks.

A Beastly Hero is, in the end, someone faithful to his desires. Infinite desire. Endless desire!

Jeira nodded. Her deep silver hair drifted in front of my eyes.

"I know. Who in this world is nothing but kind? Still, I like your diligence. And your persistence."

"Yeah?"

"You changed yourself, after all. From a bullied little runt to a proud hero candidate."

Jeira pulled on her helmet and strode ahead. I stared after her in a daze. So she had seen all of it. From the original Lashu all the way to who I was now.

And she had acknowledged it. I'd figured she didn't care about me at all.

My chest pounded. Walking ahead of me, catching the light of the chandelier, she seemed to glow — like a chosen holy knight.

Not bad. Show me a side like that and I start wanting to have you, you know?

I'd already had her mother, Renata. Taking her wouldn't be that hard either — but for now, I needed to focus on the situation at hand. I could do the build-up anytime.

Outside, the rest of the guards and every available hero candidate had gathered.

"Yo, Lashu. Long time no see."

"Damn, this bastard's looking sharp."

"I wanna explode in growth like Lashu already. I'm dying over here."

It had been a while, and the conversation bloomed instantly. The Guard Captain gave a short speech, then added:

"We will buy time. I will now name those who will go after the main target and the sub-target."

A feint from the east, a strike from the west. The idea was to pull aggro with soldiers from the east, then have a small elite unit appear from the west to take down the boss and the mid-boss.

I glanced around. Abeiru had his nose in the air, looking supremely confident.

The Guard Captain called out.

"Lashu Leonhart, and Jeira Gailwards. Step forward!"

"Yes!"

Jeira and I were named. Abeiru started twitching his shoulders and making a fuss.

"Huuuh? Hold on. What about me? I'm a top-tier hero candidate — isn't that why I'm even here?"

"You're in the upper ranks because there aren't many people better than you, not because you're actually competent."

"Deh?!"

"Go run errands for the soldiers!"

Abeiru plunged into misery in an instant. Everyone started snickering. Always so full of himself — served him right.

"Abeiru, that dumbass."

"Why'd he even go study at the academy?"

"The academic consensus is he went there to screw girls."

"What's the point of being Runner Mid if you can't even use it properly? Embarrassing."

The Guard Captain looked at the two of us and spoke with complete seriousness.

"I am giving you two a special order. Capture the main target and the sub-target. If circumstances demand it, killing them is acceptable."

He laid out the operation. Listening to the fine details, I was impressed. This Guard Captain was more of a strategist than I'd expected.

Most of the time, the NPCs in the protagonist's starting village were just set dressing. This Guard Captain was laying out strategy and tactics in detail, like a head coach on a soccer team, and it all slotted right into my ears.

As if to acknowledge the Guard Captain's hard work, a quest even popped up.

Nice. Now I was really heating up.

Jeira and I listened to the rest of the plan and moved out. All right.

Grit your teeth, you Amour Gang bastards.

We're coming for you!