Ep.4 - Two Wanted Criminals
Ep.4 - Two Wanted Criminals
Kkumppeok, kkumppeok—
The knight and the thief stared at the beastman with those suddenly prominent ears, then exchanged a glance that said neither had the faintest idea what was going on.
"Do you know her?"
"No. I don't."
Had that blunt "I don't" been too rude?
The beastman blocking their path immediately drew her greatsword with both hands, gripping it tightly, and shouted.
"What discourteous rogues you are! Cease this absurd pretense that you have never once heard of Kaede of the Gale, the S-rank adventurer known to every soul on this continent!"
It was an utterly embarrassing line to deliver with one's own mouth, yet she flushed scarlet and personally introduced herself to the knight and the thief!
Kaede of the Gale!
"...?"
"...???"
Naturally, Philmark and Neva still had no idea who she was.
At that genuine bewilderment, Kaede stared blankly at the two of them, coughed awkwardly a few times, composed herself back into a dignified posture, and introduced herself again.
"Ahem... My name is Kaede. My swift, wind-like movements—and of course the way I wield this massive greatsword just like a gale—have earned me the epithet 'Gale.' Everyone calls me that, and I, too, am deeply satisfied with the name. It is a title I received upon becoming an S-rank adventurer, and ever since receiving it, whenever I meet someone for the first time... Oh?"
But when the beastman opened her eyes again, the two women were no longer in sight.
"Stupid beastman bastards. I'm telling you, they all get that dumb with two extra ears stuck to their heads!"
Philmark had seized the opening while Kaede was distracted, grabbed Neva, and ran.
"I get it, so let go already! I can run on my own...!"
Somewhere in that desperate flight, Neva had dropped the formal speech with Philmark, shook off the thief's hand that had been yanking her collar, and started sprinting herself.
She couldn't very well sit there forever, could she? She was running to rescue Delin again and spend a love-filled old age with him!
But had the title of S-rank adventurer not been false after all?
"I have found you. You filthy, petty humans...!"
Before they knew it, Kaede had planted herself squarely in their path again.
Right in the middle of the main street,
thus the standoff between the three women began!
The first to speak was Kaede.
"Listening to the words of others is a virtue a true gentleman ought to possess! I had acknowledged your strength, yet you...!"
Of course, once again Philmark struck before the words were finished.
A stone flew at Kaede the moment her mind was preoccupied with speaking!
Tak—
Kaede caught the slimy stone with absurd ease.
"How filthy. Can you not win without such dirty tricks? If you were truly those who once made a name for yourselves... Hm?"
Slimy?
By the time Kaede gathered her wits and looked at the stone again, it was far too late,
and her right hand was already drenched in a wet, purple poison!
"Keuhaak!"
The moment she registered the poison, a stinging pain shot through her.
Neva lunged at the woman who could no longer grip her greatsword.
"Sorry, but we don't have time to play with you, so I'll end this immediately. Don't die."
Neva's steadfast arms wrapped tightly around Kaede's waist,
then Kaede's body was pulled up and lifted,
her bewildered tail thrashing in midair,
and then,
Kkwang—!
A perfect suplex.
Kaede, whose fluffy, fur-covered animal ears were driven directly into the ground, twitched a few times before going completely limp.
"Huuu..."
"She dead?"
"Even if she were, it can't be helped. Delin comes first. Hurry up and..."
we have to go.
Kaede's tail twitched again.
"...You planted her too gently. You stupid bitch."
"No, I didn't plant her gently. That beastman is quite strong."
Of course, Neva and Philmark wouldn't lose,
but others began gathering around them one by one.
It didn't look like a crowd that had simply run over to watch the fight.
One among them shouted at Neva and Philmark, who were scanning how many had gathered.
"Better come quietly. You'll have people chasing you until you drop dead anyway, y'know?"
The rough, bulky woman, who looked like she'd been through every hardship imaginable, tapped her iron mace—tuk-tuk—as she slowly approached the two of them.
"Two wanted fugitives! They said I can take the thief bitch's head off or leave it, whatever I fancy, so I'll just kill her, and I'm to bring the Knight Commander-nim alive, so I'll just cut the tendons in both her legs."
"What? Pfft!"
Philmark heard this and couldn't hold back her laughter.
Next to her, as if the laughter were infectious, Neva also couldn't suppress a chuckle and covered her mouth with the back of her hand, laughing quietly.
"You're laughing...?"
"Yeah. It was just too funny, couldn't help it. Sorry. But what's the basis for that confidence you're spouting, all by yourself?"
"What're you on about? The hell are these two saying?"
The bulky woman turned her head to look at her gang. The nasty gang members simply giggled and muttered lame lines like, "Boss, just kill 'em already!"
Of course, the others around them gulped dryly, all tensed up and bracing for a fight. They had long since heard the rumors about Philmark and Neva.
"Everyone's all scared, huh? If I catch 'em, I take everything, so don't even think about touching anything!"
The bulky woman finally swung her mace.
No, she tried to swing it.
"Huh?"
Ting, tiding...
The mace, separated from its owner, laid its body powerlessly down on the ground.
Of course, the ferocious metal weapon was still clutched in its owner's hand,
but unfortunately, that hand had parted ways with its owner.
"About 15 kilograms lighter, I'd say. Since it's dragon-sourced, think of it as a special weight-reduction treatment. Congratulations."
Philmark wiped a cheap dagger, barely stained with any blood at all, against her thigh with a swish.
Her weapon, which had cut through at high speed, bore only a few drops of blood even after piercing a human body.
Due to Neva's concern, she had purchased only the cheapest, nastiest weapons,
but for a thief, the quality of the weapon in her hand did not matter.
"Kkeuaaaaaak!"
The woman who had been holding the mace seized her severed arm and screamed.
That scream awakened the combat senses of everyone around them.
A bloody battle, where losing focus meant getting hurt, began that way.
----------------------------
"What the fuck! How many of them are coming!"
"Shut up and, keuheut...! Just block the rear properly!"
The two women, whose very lines were increasingly mirroring each other, continued to fight without rest.
When they took someone down, someone else joined the fray and attacked them,
and when they took that someone down, another new person grabbed a weapon and rushed in.
"Beat 'em till they can't get back up! Because we're not finishing them off properly, they keep...! Coming at us!"
Back-to-back, in the continuously unfolding battle, the two gradually grew exhausted.
In particular, the beastman warrior who kept charging in no matter how many times they cut and slashed was immensely troublesome.
Kaede had already been knocked down dozens of times, but after a brief rest she immediately got back up and attacked.
"Ah, c'mon, just die already!"
Philmark aimed for her heart and thrust her dagger.
The crude dagger plunged precisely into the center of it,
but Kaede did not fall.
"A beastman will not die from such a paltry thing."
"Wasn't really curious, y'know?"
Philmark snatched up a weapon dropped by the other adventurers and bounty hunters, and this time aimed for her throat.
No matter how outstanding one's regenerative power, a blow to the throat or head would make it difficult to shake off that impact.
But,
Ting—
"...!"
The muffler Kaede wore around her neck was apparently no ordinary scarf, as it deflected the dagger.
No matter how low-quality a weapon it was, to deflect Philmark's monstrous strength and skill—it was truly hard to believe.
"Philmark!"
Philmark had been momentarily thrown by the combat prowess of this woman called Kaede.
Neva, breathing heavily, called out her name.
"Haa, haa..."
Their eyes met for a moment, and both shared the same thought and nodded.
The prolonged battle, the people gasping and heaving...
In the blood-reeking, exhausted battlefield, only Kaede, utterly unexhausted, spoke boldly.
"Pick up your weapon again, Philmark! I shall settle this with you today, right here. Cease your ugly flailing and die in an honorable battle."
Kaede, who just wouldn't die even after being stabbed several times in the arms and legs already.
Poison didn't work well on her either, and unless her body was cut completely through, she possessed a monstrous recovery ability that pieced her back together.
Kaede of the Gale, my ass. A name like Kaede the Leech would suit her better, wouldn't it.
"..."
Philmark sent a signal to Neva.
In a voice that others wouldn't hear, but Neva would!
"(Hold your breath.)"
"Neva. You, too, shall meet your end today by my magnificent greatsword and the sword techniques I have honed for so long. Henceforth, the title of the mightiest sword in the Albator Kingdom shall also refer to me, Kaede... Eum?"
Philmark's cheeks puffed out.
Seeing her cheeks bulging round, stuffed full of something, everyone around briefly tilted their heads in confusion,
"Puuuuuuuuuu..."
but soon, thick purple smoke billowed out from that mouth,
"P-poison! Everyone get back!"
The annoying adventurers scrambled back in panic, fleeing the poison that blanketed the area like a smoke screen!
"Everyone, do not retreat! This is our only chance to corner the criminals...! Etchu! Eeettchu!"
And Kaede, sneezing repeatedly as she inhaled the poison, her nose tickling!
The keen sense of smell of the beastman instead only made her more sensitive to the gas-based poison.
"Etchu, ehet... Etchu!"
Even for Kaede, with her outstanding regeneration, due to the beastman's inherent traits, she had no knack for enduring poisons that entered in gaseous form. A stimulation comparable to Delin, under the Sensitivity 5x Magic, receiving a handjob!
The gases, striking the sensitive mucous membrane of her nose, very nearly knocked Kaede's soul right out of her.
"Kkaeng! Kkaekaeng! My nose...! Nose hurts! Etchu!"
Leaving Kaede behind, throwing aside all courteous decorum and running amok with kkaeng- kkaeng- cries,
Neva and Philmark vanished leisurely.