Now It's Time to Sleep
"Alright, now it's time to sleep."
Days with zero harvest....... Sigh.....
Ruby Scarlet? Difficulty is actually insane;
Would've been better if she was a shut-in heroine like Elara......
Holy shit this is hard..
I had no idea how many days it had been.
Where on earth had she hidden?
For a while there had been no terror attacks or raids of any kind. Peace held.
Given her personality, I was certain she would be out smashing something somewhere……
Oh……
WhiteMage, this bastard had started helping me out a lot lately.
"……Moonlight Tavern, huh."
Putting the gallery guys' info together, the possibility was more than solid.
I couldn't just keep wandering forever.
For now, I would head for the Moonlight Tavern.
I closed the holographic window floating in midair and swallowed a dry chuckle.
I turned on my heel and made for the center of the city.
An elegant interior, a tavern of real scale.
Moonlight Tavern
Lush vine decorations and soft magical lamps seemed to be the signature touches.
Ding-a-ling—.
A clear chime of a bell accompanied the opening door, and the fragrant scent of fruit wine mixed with the elegant strains of a harp tickled my eardrums.
The inside was a world apart from the noisy beer halls of reality.
Instead of drunken bellowing, only the artificial laughter of nobles and their pretentious conversations filled the air.
Truly a place where only elites would drink…… their own private world.
I claimed a seat at a corner table.
"May I take your order, sir?"
"Ah……."
Scanning the menu, I let out a short gasp.
A bottle of the finest wine for ten gold.
Converted to my points, a mere 10 PT.
Convenience-store gum money.
I set my gentleman's top hat on the table and let out a low laugh.
"One bottle of the most expensive thing you have, please. And the finest appetizers to match."
I tossed my coin purse onto the table so it clinked heavily.
At the solid sound, the elf server's eyes glittered with naked greed.
"Ohhh, y-yes, of course…… I'll prepare it right away."
The elf server's eyes sparkled shamelessly in front of the gold coins.
As expected, financial therapy worked wonders regardless of race.
Soon a crystal glass filled with shimmering golden Nectar was set before me.
I pretended to bring the glass to my lips and opened the gallery window again.
Came to the Moonlight Tavern, and the elf bastards' faces look real bad.
Like they're all hush-hush and watching each other? Came to dig up Ruby info and now I'm the one getting nervous.
……So, to sum it up, a warning letter?
I pricked up my ears at WhiteMage's words.
Maybe some elf would mention a warning letter……? With that thought I scanned the surroundings.
And in the middle of it, something out of place caught my eye.
This was supposed to be a cheerful drinking party, yet the elves' pupils were trembling with unease.
I focused on the conversation at the next table.
An elf man and woman in lavish clothes were whispering with grave faces.
"Did you hear the rumor? That red calamity bitch…… is supposedly targeting the Moonlight Tavern tonight."
"What? Impossible……! Do you know where this is?!"
"It's just a baseless rumor, right?"
"Fuck, it better be a baseless rumor of course……"
"Besides, we've got guards posted everywhere. She won't even dare show her face."
"Yeah, yeah. I want to believe it's just a rumor…… but still, I'm nervous. Seeing how my cousin's flower bed got completely torched yesterday……."
From the looks of it, they were all shitting bricks the same way.
Outwardly sipping wine with elegant airs, yet inside fretting over when the sparks might fly.
……Tonight, huh.
A solid lead. Smiling faintly, I typed into the gallery again.
Hmm…… sure enough, her body and looks were pure fire just like WhiteMage said.
If only her mouth weren't so rough, she would have been perfect.
I uploaded the screenshot the system had automatically taken earlier to the gallery.
God of Underworld's auto-capture function was honestly pretty handy at times like this.
I clicked my tongue, yet I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.
Sharing moments like this really was the best part.
Instead of standing, I sank deeper into the chair and simply waited for her to arrive.
Time flowed on, and as night deepened and the tavern's atmosphere grew ripe—
"Just when the hell is she going to show……"
Crash──────!!!!
That was the moment. A sharp shattering sound ripped the elegant harp melody to shreds.
The massive plate-glass window by the entrance exploded, glass shards raining down like daggers.
"Kyaaaaaaah!!"
"W-what is happening!!"
The peaceful social gathering turned into pure pandemonium in an instant.
And through the broken window, thick black smoke rolled in along with a small sphere that tumbled across the floor.
Clatter, clatter.
The sphere stopped under a table and began to glow a vicious red.
KABOOOOOM──────!!!!
"Uwaaaaaagh!!"
Explosion. The glittering chandelier came crashing down, and fierce flames surged up across the velvet carpet.
A hellscape of screams, shouts, and shattering glass all mixed together.
And through the heart of that chaos, someone strolled in with casual ease.
"Kyahahahahaha!!"
A mad, wild laugh.
Standing against the backdrop of roaring flames, she wore the most alien color in the entire city.
Hair red as fresh blood.
Ruby Scarlet.
"You retards. Playing around like humans…… and now you're all acting like total trash."
"Y-you…… half-breed bastard!"
"The half-breed is here! Guards!!"
"……Ha?"
Her eyebrows twitched.
— Zzzzzzt!!!
A sharp burst of noise exploded in my ears.
This was no ordinary anger.
At the single word "half-breed", her emotional lines were thrashing like mad.
"Shut the fuck up, you pointy-eared bastards!"
Boom!
Crash!
She hurled fireballs from her hands like baseballs, flinging them wildly at the elves.
The luxurious marble floor cracked and burst apart, and the elves fled screaming in the most undignified way possible.
"Tch…… that boring 'Esther' bastard isn't even here. What a letdown……. Did he chicken out? I was gonna snap his staff at least."
Esther.
Was she looking for that gentleman elf I met the first time?
From the looks of it, with her target missing she had already lost interest.
Even amid the chaos I stayed seated, watching her rampage.
With Psychological Insight now at Lv.2, her colors burned even more vividly onto my retinas.
Red and white. On the surface she laughed while burning the world, yet her inner self was completely hollow.
Like…… a child desperately hoping someone would stop her.
Then a sharp whistle cut through the air from outside.
Fweeeeeet—!
"Surround her! Don't let her escape this time!"
The guards were swarming in.
Ruby clicked her tongue, then without hesitation yanked a smoke bomb from her coat and smashed it on the floor.
Puff──!
Thick gray smoke blanketed everything.
She slipped through the broken window frame as quick as a rat.
"Ha, this got boring. I'll play with you again next time, you softies!"
Her crimson hair vanished into the darkness.
I shot up from my seat.
"Not letting her get away."
I pushed against the panicking crowd and headed for the shattered window she had disappeared through.
Acrid smoke blocked my vision, but it didn't matter.
Right in front of my eyes a vivid red aura was still visible beyond the broken glass.
The dense trail of rage and loneliness she had left behind.
It pointed out her escape route as accurately as a navigation system.
……This time I would definitely catch her.
I jammed my top hat down and vaulted over the window frame.
From here on, it was a chase.
I sprinted through the dark.
The glittering lights of the city center fell farther and farther behind, and the smell of decaying alleys grew thicker.
Ruby Scarlet racing toward the secluded backstreets was nothing short of a phantom.
……This way?
I descended a sloping path and slipped between abandoned buildings covered in chaotic graffiti.
There was nothing there.
Damn…… did I lose her?
I panted hard, scanning the surroundings.
— So someone was following me, and it turns out to be that fraud bastard?
Swoosh! Thud!
A cold presence brushed against my back.
The instant I spun around on pure reflex, a red flame flared in the darkness like a lighter being struck.
Beneath the wavering firelight, Ruby Scarlet stood at a cocky angle.
Those were not the eyes of a fugitive.
They were the eyes of a savage predator looking at prey that had walked right into her jaws.
"What? It's that human brat from back then? Why the hell did you chase me all the way out here?"
The flame in her hand danced threateningly.
"Seriously, no fear at all. Hey, little teacher? I don't know how old you are, but there are no eyes watching here. Meaning I can burn you to ash without a single trace and nobody will ever know. You get what I'm saying?"
Step. Step.
She approached slowly, pressing in.
This was the critical moment. I had White's Oath, and I had Salamander's Gills.
All I could trust were my items and my tongue.
If I flinched here, it was over.
I had to wear the mask of professional counselor Aris Mardia until the very end.
"……My, I've been looking for you for quite some time. Allow me to introduce myself properly once more. My name is Aris."
I tipped my gentleman's hat slightly and bowed with perfect courtesy. And then……
"Ha? Introducing yourself like a fucking idiot……."
Ruby let out a low, contemptuous snort as if the whole thing was absurd.
"You know you're pretty famous, right? I looked into it…… apparently you're a counselor who's quite popular even among young humans these days? But……"
Ruby paused for a beat, then smiled with her eyes.
"Too bad. Looks like you're about to disappear real soon?"
Her pupils lost focus, and she growled with dead eyes.
"Alright, now it's time to sleep. Shall we just burn to death……?"