If You Don't Leave Now, This Happens
If you don't leave now, something like this is going to happen.
The continent of Devil of Angel was vast.
I didn't know the exact figures, but they said it was roughly the size of the Asian continent, if not larger. Because of that, plenty of unexplored regions still lay scattered across the continent itself, and as for what kind of lands might exist across the sea — not a single player had any idea.
"...And this is the very first time it's ever opened. Three-year anniversary special! Beyond the continent!"
Yena spread her arms wide with a flourish.
A harbor scented with salt air. A cool breeze carried the cries of wheeling gulls, and before us stretched a horizon of rich, bracing blue — the kind of view that cooled you just by looking at it.
I looked around. Massive ships sat at anchor here and there, apparently preparing to set sail. Since the game's setting was fundamentally medieval, most of them were wooden vessels, though the ornamentation and refined detailing here and there gave them a slightly more modern feel. Players and NPCs alike were boarding and disembarking, and deeper inside the harbor, goods from countless regions were being bought and sold in the markets.
"Are we taking a ship?"
"Yep! The dungeon that just opened is on a different continent. Well, 'continent' might be overselling it a little — it's on the small side. Anyway."
Yena — who apparently had all of this prepared in advance — plopped a straw hat on her head and pulled a chilled drink out of her inventory, handing it to me.
A blue drink, hm.
"Go ahead and drink it. We'll be departing soon, so we've got a bit of a wait."
"Thank you."
"Oh! I should give you one more thing."
Another straw hat dangled from her hand. Like the drink, I accepted it naturally and set it on my head. Mm. It had been a while since I'd worn a hat. I could barely remember putting anything on my head since I'd quit being a saint. Looking at Yena through the sliver of sunlight the brim now shaded away, I gave an awkward little smile.
"How do I look?"
"...Thumbs up."
"Sorry?"
Yena thrust her thumb skyward as if delivering a solemn verdict, then took a long slurp of her drink. I tilted my head slightly and turned to look at my own camera — the one pointed at me, and me alone, not at Yena.
"Is it okay if I don't share my avatar settings?"
So they were fine with it. Just the usual fawning — I gave a small chuckle and a nod.
"Of course not. I have no intention of sharing them."
After all, the current Lily was the real me. I wasn't about to let some copies of myself go wandering around. Even if I'd wanted to share them, I never actually touched the avatar customization in the first place, so I wouldn't even know how.
"Hey! Ladies!"
"?"
Just then, a cluster of swaggering men emerged from between the ships across the harbor and started toward us. They looked like sailors — the loose, airy clothes of the medieval style — but their unkempt beards and brown, dirty-blonde hair were far from easy on the eyes. Looking closer, I spotted a few well-worn, nicked blades tucked at their hands and belts.
Yena went ugh, sidled up to me, and whispered.
"NPCs. It's a harbor event — if your beauty stat is high enough, they come pick fights with you. It's a rotten event."
"A fight? So can I just subdue them, then?"
Fights were old hat to me. I'd just break an arm or a leg or two, moderately—
"No! No, no. Do not attack them."
Yena waved her hands frantically, shaking her head. Why not?
"Those men belong to the Empire, which has jurisdiction over the harbor. If you hurt them for no reason, things get inconvenient."
"So we're just supposed to sit here and take it?"
"Not exactly — usually you just pay them off. If you get on the Empire's bad side, things like harbor access and shop taxes become a real headache."
In other words: for the sake of convenience, put up with it.
The chat seemed to be rooting for bloodshed.
"What are you two whispering about so much?"
They'd closed the distance before I knew it — five or so men in all. The largest of them, evidently the leader, looked Lily and Yena up and down and curled his lips into a faint, oily smile.
"Pretty ladies. You need a ship, don't you?"
"...We do."
"Well, what a coincidence — we've got one right here. How about it? We'll give you a good deal."
As long as you sweeten the pot a little, of course.
Snickering among themselves, the men spread out and encircled us. The sight of them, deliberately boxing us in so we couldn't run, drew a sigh out of Yena.
Men who'd drop in a single stroke of the blade.
Her heart wanted nothing more than to carve them all down with her dagger and walk away, but running a guild meant, inevitably, dealing with the Empire. If trouble arose with basic facilities like the harbor, or with taxes, it would be a disaster.
Of course, all that said — this was, at the end of the day, a shabby little 'event,' so nothing genuinely violent or truly ruinous would actually happen. At worst, a few words and leering looks designed to sour a player's mood.
Frankly, going along with these men and taking their ship was far more profitable. It was nearly an eighty percent discount off the usual fare — apart from feeling absolutely disgusting, there was nothing wrong with it at all.
There are even people who wander the harbors specifically hoping to trigger these jackpot-discount harassment events.
Just let it slide, Yena decided.
She was streaming, after all, and Lily didn't look thrilled either. Toss them a few silver coins and they'd happily shuffle off.
"Huh?"
That was how it should have gone.
"What do you think you're touching."
Right up until one of the sailors was driven face-first into the harbor floor.
I slammed the man in his sailor's garb down into the creaking wooden boards. The reason was simple: he'd tried to grab my arm.
"What the—! You! You dare lay hands on Charles?!"
Furious at the sudden sight of a man named Charles becoming one with the floorboards, all four of the remaining sailors drew their weapons at once.
Yena whipped her head back and forth in utter incomprehension, looking at me with an expression on the verge of tears. I drew my green spear and, leveling the blade sideways, gently pushed back Yena as she moved to step in front of me.
"Go on."
"Huh? Go where?"
"It would be inconvenient. No?"
Yena had said that relations with the Empire mattered. Better that she stay uninvolved with what I'd done than get tangled up in it at my side. The sailors had already seen her face, sure, but this was still my mess — I was the one who'd started it, so I alone should bear all of it.
"I'm sorry. I meant to keep my nose clean."
Old habits.
I returned the straw hat to Yena, where she stood frozen, flashed a light smile, and hurled myself at the sailors.
Fights were old friends of mine.
Wherever I went, I had been someone's enemy, someone's target. Countless people had aimed for my body, or my life. In the first five years after I quit being a saint, I avoided ambushes — when someone with a connection to my old enemies came at me wielding their grudges as a cause, I chose to simply step back rather than bother responding.
In the first ten years, I responded to ambushes.
Running from them accomplished nothing. Even if they had their tragic stories, none of it amounted to a legitimate reason to attack me. Anyone connected to those old foes was never a match for me anyway.
But that was strictly a matter of defense. I never went further than that.
From fifteen years after quitting the saints onward...
"Ah. My mistake."
I'd only meant to break their arms.
Somehow I broke their legs too.
The sailors groaned — uuugh... — dragging themselves across the boards. Perhaps because this was a game, there wasn't much blood, and it wasn't particularly repulsive either. More like paint, somehow.
Twirling the spear in my hands, I did some light stretching and turned around.
Yena stood there, staring blankly.
"...? You're still here?"
You have become an Outlaw.
Favorability with the Empire decreases by 10.
Taxes within the Empire rise by 20%.
Harbor access is restricted, with limited exceptions.
You have gained 15 Outlaw Points.
You have acquired the title: Outlaw of the Port.
If you don't leave now, something like this is going to happen.