Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Unconscious Flag Planting
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Where had the people who weren't in the village gone?
That this was all my spur-of-the-moment action?
I erased those thoughts from my mind.
Only one thing echoed in my head.
A voice telling me not to get screwed over like an idiot.
To repay malice with malice.
The expression vanished from Sor's face.
A brief silence.
Then came the sound of a stifled snort.
A chuckle.
"Holy shit. Figures the loser kid would say that. What was it... that chuunibyou crap outsiders are always on about?"
"......"
This world even had a word for chuunibyou?
Even in this situation, I couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded.
"Kill us all? What a bluff."
"......"
As I stared silently, Sor ramped up her mockery even more.
"What? You think coming on strong like that will scare us into begging? Think about your level, you moron."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, you loser."
She flashed a taunting smile, but I ignored it for now.
"So, what's the explanation for this situation?"
"Come on, what do you think it is?"
Ha. Sor let out a scoff and pointed at me with her finger.
"You, huh. Word is you've been messing with a ton of kids from our school since you got here."
I've only been in this village for a week?
"Evidence?"
"Evidence? These girls are bravely testifying themselves. You need more than that?"
The delinquent girls all pointed at me in unison and shouted.
"You groped my ass!"
"You said if I listened well, you'd make me rich... Sniff..."
The fake tears were obvious.
A closer listen made their stories sound utterly ridiculous.
An outsider who's barely been in the village promising big money? No one would bite that quick.
But I was, literally, an outsider.
In name and in fact, just some stranger to the village folk.
But what about those girls?
I didn't know how many Miak Academy students there were, but they were people from their own village they'd known for years. Of course their loyalties bent inward.
Soon, the villagers' eyes began filling with hostility and disgust.
But instead, I raised my voice.
"So, no physical evidence?"
"Ha. Shameless, aren't you?"
Sor plastered a grin on her face. Then she glanced at Lamnerth. Like passing a baton, Lamnerth stepped forward proudly, puffing out her chest.
"You probably didn't know, outsider Yedre."
"Know what?"
"That among the ones you dared touch were several noble heirs."
Nobles?
"To think you'd be stupid enough to reach even for them... Really, do rapists like you not have a single brain cell?"
"You're the rapist, you shota-raping bitch."
"Wh-what...!"
I'd blurted it out without thinking.
Lamnerth flinched visibly before regaining her composure with a leisurely smile.
She probably figured no one would believe a word I said.
I sighed and asked,
"So, what are you planning to do with me?"
"Arrest you, of course. And you'll confess every detail about the backer behind you... the driving force that's let you run wild with all these crimes so far!"
"I've only been in this village for about a week, and you're talking about 'crimes so far'?"
The whore-like woman ignored my words and continued.
"Oh... and of course, I'll be handling the interrogation."
Lamnerth smirked slyly at the end.
One thing was clear amid all this.
Sor and Lamnerth were old acquaintances.
They had a business partner vibe.
The delinquent girls were too proactive to just be coerced.
They were collaborators... probably her underlings.
Think about it.
I'd traveled with companions.
People who knew my actions. What made them think they could pull this off?
The sealed girl, Asita, and Clarir were currently missing. High chance they'd been captured.
The dirtbag girl El... She'd been unconscious from the start, so they figured they could just gloss over it.
But Flat?
He'd definitely brought the dirtbag girl to the village entrance. I remembered it clearly.
.....
Had he been turned?
The Lamnerth in front of me was a key figure in a merchant group that controlled not just this historic village but several cities. And Sor and the girls. Miak Academy had nobles—the power players.
Compared to that, what was Flat's position?
He was on the run with the dirtbag girl, and his own strength wasn't anything special.
Plenty of reason to flip.
At least his absence here might be proof he had a conscience and couldn't face me.
This world was such a shitty place.
How were they all conspiring to frame me like this?
"I don't know how a piece of trash like you sweet-talked Gold, but you spouted some ridiculous lies about our Kiss Merchant Group?"
"Lies?"
"Yes. Lies."
Lamnerth bellowed triumphantly that I'd have to apologize for that too.
Yeah. They outnumbered me, so of course they were cocky.
Sor and Lamnerth. They saw Milf Village as their turf, lording over the locals and travelers alike.
I glanced at the onlookers watching the scene.
Fear and other emotions flickered on their faces.
No point waiting any longer.
Shing.
As I slowly approached, sword in hand, Sor furrowed her brow.
"What're you doing? Haven't you figured out the situation?"
"I have. I know you're the ones spouting nonsense."
"Nonsense? Who's spouting nonsense? Hey, you. Think anyone in this village will side with you?"
Sor spread her arms dramatically. As if on cue, Lamnerth scanned the crowd, and the delinquent girls launched into another round of method acting.
"Sh-she... asked for my panties after I'd worn them for days..."
"Told me to walk around panty-less on the roadside..."
"Sniff... Sob..."
Worn panties for days, no panties. Was their repertoire just panties?
Hearing it out loud, it was kinda hot, though.
Sor now wore a face full of smug victory.
"Hey. Kneel. Then maybe we'll spare your life..."
Sor stumbled back as if shoved by someone.
A whoosh of wind passed where she'd stood.
"?"
Coincidence? No, something had pushed her.
Saving her life.
"...What the hell?"
Only when she saw her hair fluttering in the air did Sor grasp the situation, her face twisting.
"You crazy bastard! You just attacked me?!"
"Yes. I did."
As I cracked my neck and answered, Sor broke out in cold sweat, chills running down her spine.
Her face screamed this isn't how it's supposed to go.
...Right before the attack, something had jutted out from her neck. Probably the golem.
That tattoo.
The one on her neck came to mind.
No wonder. A golem summoning magic circle?
"You pervert!"
Lamnerth spat in fury.
"Do you have any idea how many brave knights and adventurers are here right now?! This act of yours is rebellion against the authorities! Against the kingdom itself!"
Damn, that auntie could inflate things.
"I'm just trying to cut down my accusers. That makes it treason?"
"It sure does!!"
Lamnerth shrieked.
"Well, we can sort that out later when the investigators from the capital come and hear my side."
"Ha!!"
Sor scoffed again.
"Let me spell it out for a retard like you. You think anyone will believe you? Support you??"
The attitude of those two bitches, as if it was all over.
They'd probably pulled similar stunts, big and small, many times before.
But... you know what they say?
If your tail's too long, it gets stepped on.
"I believe you!!"
The sudden shout made both women whip their heads around.
There stood an ordinary middle-aged man I'd never even met, gripping a farming tool with a resolute expression.
"...? Who the hell are you, mister...?"
But that was just the start.
"I believe him too!!"
"Me too! Don't worry, outsider bro!! We'll testify you're innocent!!"
"Those Kiss Merchant bastards...!! Stop your manipulations!!"
Cheers erupted from all around, making the two women flinch in panic.
The cheers quickly turned to condemnations against them.
The juice-squeezing delinquent girls panicked and were dragged forward, forced to their knees.
"Wh-what...?"
"You lot...!!"
As Sor and Lamnerth gawked wide-eyed at the surroundings,
Snikt!!
"...Huh?"
Lamnerth's index finger was severed.
Of course, by me.
"KyaAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
Sor froze, watching Lamnerth writhe on the ground in agony.
She stared at me in disbelief, and I smiled.
"You... what did you do."
"Cut off her finger."
"Not that!!"
Sor glared at the angry crowd.
"What bullshit did you feed these trashes!!"
"I didn't do shit. It's just your karma."
"Whaaat?!?!"
She was trying to puzzle it out with her dim wits.
At that moment, Lamnerth screamed.
"ApizIIIIIIIAAAAAA!!!!!!"
The moment she called the guild branch chief's name, an overwhelming presence emerged from the guild entrance.
Branch Chief Apiz Leisia was already standing there ramrod straight.
For some reason, a tense-looking Flat was beside him.
"A-Apiz... Ahaha...!"
Lamnerth flashed a confident smile through her cold sweat, as if it was all over now.
The chief glanced at her, then at me.
Step. Step.
He walked quietly to stand opposite me.
...What if I fought this guy?
Assuming... there's some distance, but we're both aware it's within striking range.
Problem was, my only ranged skill was Space Sword.
Facing someone with diverse, powerful ranged attacks, close combat would be my only option...
Unlike Yulis, this guy seemed a monster in melee too.
High chance I'd lose.
But no sense of crisis hit me.
Because he was on my side.
Apiz turned his back to me and coldly looked down at Lamnerth.
"Lamnerth Vicia. For bribery, human trafficking, drug distribution, and various other charges, you are under arrest."
".........What...?"
The chief must be something else.
Even Sor staggered when he turned hostile.
I recalled the conversation from earlier.
Before leaving Milf Village, what Apiz had told me.
"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
"......"
I was puzzled.
Apiz had pretended to attack me but slashed something else.
"Sliced the eavesdropping spell."
"Eavesdropping?"
"Yeah. An amateurish one, the kind idiots think knights are clueless about magic."
A magic circle shimmered into view in the air before crumbling like mist.
"Now, the real talk."
Back to polite speech.
I perked up my ears.
"Everything said so far was disinformation for the enemy."
"Enemy? Disinformation?"
"Kiss Merchant Group. Their accountant, Lamnerth Vicia. And some unidentified figure. They're our foes."
It wasn't that surprising as I listened.
I'd suspected Kiss myself midway. No way the guild chief, with his experience, hadn't noticed their dirt.
To sum up the chief's words:
The mysterious bandit leader fueling Kiss Merchant Group's rapid growth.
They'd bided time to catch that leader, but Lamnerth Vicia's abuses against Milf Village merchants had grown intolerable.
Lamnerth mistakenly thought she had dirt on Chief Apiz and thus made subtle requests without spilling everything.
One request: intel on the Ten Great Families' heirs.
At first, Lamnerth had shown no interest in them—practically begging them to leave Milf Village. So this was likely the bandit leader's orders via her.
Use El and Clarir as bait to draw out the hidden enemy. Even if the core didn't show, they'd nab Lamnerth for sure.
And they'd frame the relatively vulnerable me as the culprit if they kidnapped the heirs.
Everyone in on this: all escorts except Flat and Clarir, and every merchant family in the village.
Cooperators: Milf Village itself.
That was the full picture.
I scratched my head.
Even with the advance warning, ending up framed again had my blood boiling, making me act a bit rough.
Still, seeing Lamnerth and Sor's dazed faces was satisfying as hell.
Unlike Sor, seething with rage, Lamnerth looked terrified, realizing the gravity.
"Apiz... You... My hand holds your shot at central command..."
"I never planned to rely on you for my personal matters. But do you think a mere branch chief like me can cover up kidnapping Clarir right now?"
His cold voice stated facts plainly.
Lamnerth paled.
"W-wait-!! I didn't know it'd go as far as kidnapping...!! I just did what that woman told me...!"
Lamnerth glared at Sor, who shot back a murderous stare.
That bitch really had no brains.
Sor. She was probably the bandit leader.
Who'd suspect a schoolgirl as the head of a vicious crime syndicate?
If she'd kept quiet, she might've gotten away. What the hell possessed her to pull all this today?
How had this idiot evaded capture so long?
"Fuck. It was you? We've been suffering because of this bitch?"
The warrior punks, led by Bentler, stealthily closed in on Sor.
The few Kiss escorts had already turned, swords aimed at her.
I casually walked to the chief's side.
Flat scurried over in the meantime.
"Flat. You're safe."
"Y-yeah, yep...!"
Why was he sweating bullets...?
"What about Clarir and Asita...?"
"...They were captured. I carried El and fled to the village, but got subdued by her and her goons. Then they threatened me to give a statement..."
Apiz spoke as Flat glanced nervously at Lamnerth.
"That's why I kept him close. He'd already submitted to Lamnerth Vicia—no choice."
Submitted...?
I stared blankly at Flat, who averted his eyes.
"Sorry... They held a knife to unconscious El's throat, and I..."
"He wasn't in on the plan. No helping it."
So Flat really had been turned...
Weak bastard...
No, I got it.
With his lover captured and the village bosses threatening his life, who wouldn't fold?
"Apiz. Sor has a powerful golem at the nape of her neck. Extremely strong."
"......Understood."
The chief's eyes narrowed.
He seemed to guess that thing at her nape was the culprit.
And then.
Creak. The guild door opened again.
Out came a staggering girl with a childlike small frame, golden hair, and unyielding poise.
A girl so beautiful she drew every eye in this chaotic scene.
El.
"E-El! Your body's still unstable!"
"...Plan working as intended?"
She hurried to me, asking anxiously.
"...Sorry. I was supposed to rally everyone at the key moment, but I passed out."
"If we're counting that way, I got knocked flying far off myself."
This girl was incredible.
Even desperate for achievements, she'd boldly baited the enemies in a life-risking ploy.
And now, the bandit leader was right here.
Her coming to apologize to me first, despite craving the credit, washed away any lingering grudges.
I smiled and said,
"Good work, El."
"...! E-E-El?"
El jerked her head up, mouth agape.
"...? Yes. El."
"...Uh, y-yeah. Yedre..."
El brushed her hair back, a bit flustered.
Meanwhile, Apiz approached Sor, who stood frozen amid encircling knights and adventurers.
She spat at the approaching Apiz.
"Apiz, you. Think you'll get out of this unscathed...? I have mountains of underlings in Sers too."
Apiz ignored her rambling.
"Never dreamed you were the backer. Suspected a student since students were mobilized, but the reckless you? No way."
"......"
Damn. Straight facts.
Unlike my guess, it wasn't because she was a student. Sor was just such a thick-skulled idiot that they'd dismissed her with a laugh.
Impressive!! Sor!!
"Where's my daughter, bandit leader—or rather, human trafficking boss."
I gripped my sword hilt, ready to unleash Space Sword anytime.
Target: Sor's nape.
The golem was there.
"...Aha."
The moment Sor muttered that, chills ran down my spine.
This aura.
Definitely from when she took my Space Sword last time.
Far from weakened, it was much stronger now.
I fired a Space Sword that warped space for pinpoint attack, but it disintegrated against the power bursting from her nape.
"Chief!"
I urgently called him as Apiz drew his sword. Sor laughed.
"Pisses me off."
Whoosh!!
A sudden gust, and Sor's nape peeked through.
A red, dragon-like rune glowed crimson.
Groooar!
.....
But come to think of it, whatever came out, just smash the summoner, right?
I reused Space Sword instantly, aiming near her face.
Intended to slice off half, but it only crunched against her nasal bone.
"HiiiAAAAAHHH?!?!?!"
Sor shrieked and dropped to her knees.
Trembling, she pulled her hand away—her nose was smashed red, blood pouring.
...And that's all the damage?
Not even broken, just a hit?
Space Sword was perfect.
Her aura was just beyond common sense.
Even now, inorganic power poured from her nape, ku-ku-ku, forming a shape.
It was... that golem from before.
As expected.
So what?
Here I was spec'd up and ready, plus the pissed-off stronger Apiz.
Golem looked buffed, but I was confident.
What could one do?
Looking closer, my attack had landed—deep gashes on the golem.
It rolled its eyes, assessing, then spotted me.
[...You!!]
The golem bellowed at me.
[You startled me! What the hell did you hit me with?!]
"Stick to the plan."
Sor ordered the golem, poised to charge, her voice shaking with rage.
The golem clicked its tongue but scooped her up with one hand, bolting for escape... toward somewhere.
Toward...
"El!!"
"......!!"
El prepared a spell, but the golem did something and she staggered, eyes glazing.
She held on with mental fortitude, but that was it.
Flat moved to protect her, but he was too slow. The chief's sword flashed, severing the golem's legs. But not enough.
Slash it?
No, it'd keep moving.
Then...
I dumped all skill points into one skill and activated it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill effect activated! Read the mind!] [Wha-! Tou...]
Shut up! No time to listen!
I grabbed Sor's neck on a gamble, pure luck—and the next instant, felt my arm nearly snap from the force shaking me off.
Fucking hurts.
But worth it.
The golem's arm that flung mine away scooped El, its lower body morphing into wings, rocketing skyward at insane speed.
And in the sky, a fleeting firework shape.
Really just an instant, but I saw it clear.
...A dragon?
Similar to the mark on Sor's neck.
It vanished in a flash.
They were gone just like that.
...But didn't matter.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill effect activated! Read the mind! 'Finish it there, and start over...' Learned Sor's hideout!] Damn useful. 'Wha-! Just touching makes it go!!'
Then Apiz approached me.
"You did something."
"Yes. Let's pursue now. They're probably heading to their hideout."
"Don't worry. My daughter will tell us where."
"Asita...?"
"Sent her with a tracking magic device."
"...Ah."
So that's why Asita joined the op—to find the hideout.
Beep beep beep.
A strange noise from Apiz's pocket.
He pulled out a round plastic-like device.
A voice leaked from it.
Like a walkie-talkie.
"Report."
Apiz spoke into the comms to his subordinate.
And.
[Ch-Chief...! The tracker...]
"......"
...Voice trembling. Bad sign...?
[The tracker... was discarded midway.]
"...Tracker intact?"
[Yes. Seems they dropped it after spotting it...]
Apiz cut the comms without hearing the rest.
"...Asita. That girl...!!"
Clutching his head, Apiz finally looked human.
I smiled and said,
"I know the location."
As he stared in surprise, I vowed.
Sor.
That fucking bitch who dared frame me again—I'd make her beg for death by my hand.