What the Hell, That Thug Bastard
"Why do people always have to get hit before they listen?"
Linvel shook her head after knocking out two burly men in an instant.
"Wow!"
Marine, who had watched the whole thing live, clapped like a seal without even realizing it.
She had never expected such monstrous strength from a girl so much smaller than herself.
The praise came naturally.
"You're seriously amazing!"
Marine's eyes sparkled.
She grabbed Linvel's hand and fired off questions without pausing to breathe.
"How old are you? What's your name? Where are you from? Huh? Tell me!"
"Uh? W-well..."
Linvel's face colored with embarrassment under the sudden barrage.
...What is this kid?
Did people normally react by getting suspicious first?
Linvel was at a loss when an unexpected voice cut in.
"What, Linvel? You already started a fight?"
Her companions began entering the shop one by one.
"You're the one starting something! This time it was self-defense. They picked the fight first!"
"Haha, I'm not scolding you. Calm down."
"Kraaaah! Bram! How many times do I have to tell you not to talk to me like I'm a little kid before you get it?!"
"All right, all right. But we only got here and you've already made a friend?"
Bram looked at Marine.
His huge frame stood in stark contrast to his gentle face.
Marine stared at him for a moment, then smiled brightly and said, "Yes! We just decided to be friends!"
"What?! Hey! Since when was I your frie..."
"...Wasn't I?"
Linvel, not Marine, looked flustered when Marine made that sad little face.
"Th-that's not what I meant..."
"Linvel, you shouldn't hurt a friend."
"Bram! You be quiet for once!"
Bram and Linvel bickered as usual.
Watching the scene with a bored expression as if he were used to it, the red-haired man, Varen, spoke up.
"We're looking for someone. Have you ever heard the name Kael?"
Marine, who had become the focus of attention, nodded obediently and answered, "Mr. Kael? Ah! Are you maybe Mr. Kael's friend? That makes sense! You even look a little alike!"
"L-look alike?"
"Yes! Mr. Kael has a really fierce look in his eyes too, just like you. Like this!"
Marine stretched the corners of her eyes upward with her fingers and imitated Kael's face.
At the unexpected remark, Varen was left staring blankly for a moment.
"...Pfft."
"...Kuh."
Seeing his expression, Linvel and Bram struggled desperately to hold back their laughter.
These damn...?
Varen felt a little irritated, but he also knew how childish it would be to lose his temper here.
"...I see. Do you know where that man is now?"
"How would I know? He's probably at the guard office."
"...And where's that?"
"Ah! I guess you're not from around here, mister. Ahem, I don't usually go this far for people, but I'll guide you there specially. And for free too!"
Marine shrugged and went on, "But! You have to eat dinner at our shop tonight. Promise!"
"W-wait..."
"Come on, I'm even guiding you for free. You can do that much, can't you? Right?"
As Marine kept up her relentless sales pitch, the flustered Varen found himself blurting out an agreement before he knew it.
"Mister! We don't have time, so hurry up and follow me!"
Before anyone realized it, Marine had already gone outside and was waving them over impatiently.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Haaah..."
Kael let out a long, lazy yawn.
He was currently spending a very "dutiful" day as the captain of the guards.
By that, of course, he meant dumping every scrap of tedious work on his subordinates and enjoying his own leisure to the fullest.
Sinking into a plush chair, Kael propped his legs on the desk labeled Kael, Special Guard Captain of Nox and idly read the newspaper.
...Dammit. It's all about Balmung.
The expression on Kael's face twisted.
The pleasant mood he had been enjoying just a moment ago plunged straight into the dirt.
Don't these bastards know when to stop?
At this point, they should've given up already.
Obsessive didn't even begin to cover it.
The Empire Daily, Aether Times.
The Empire's search operation for the missing national treasure Balmung has now entered its second month.
The Imperial Court has dispatched additional troops to the capital and along the entire border, and it has been reported that the Court's 13th Special Task Force has also been committed to the operation.
A Ministry of the Interior official stated, "The thief will pay the proper price. This search is a matter of imperial pride," and added that "even information that seems useless will be thoroughly investigated without omission," showing the Empire's strong determination to apprehend the culprit.
Meanwhile, criticism is also mounting that the excessive searches are wearing down public morale.
It utterly killed his appetite.
That line about "will pay the proper price" especially stuck in his throat like a fish bone.
It hadn't even been him who stole it, and yet he was so wronged he could practically die of it.
...I was trying so hard to forget about it, too.
His head throbbed.
He hurriedly unfolded another newspaper.
An investigative paper, Lumen Report. "Where on earth is Balmung?" A focused exposé on various theories and conspiracy claims...
Go Away, Into History. "A Deep Dive into the History of Balmung..."
Weekly Night Tongue. "The Balmung Theft That Shook the Empire: What Sentence Will the Suspect Face Upon Arrest?"
Today's Economy. "Balmung, the Starting Shot for a Life-Changing Windfall?" As mercenaries and merchants from across the continent flood into the Empire, the volatility of capital...
"...Hah, haha."
At last, Kael's patience snapped, and he tore the newspaper in his hands to shreds.
He ought to burn these damn newspapers to the ground, all of them.
At this rate, he felt like he'd keel over from rage.
"Damn it... my blood pressure."
Kael held the back of his neck and swallowed down his irritation.
Then he heard someone knock on the door.
When Kael told them to come in, Luke opened the door.
"...Captain, we have guests."
"Guests? Who is it?"
"I'm not sure myself. They said they were here to see you.... They seem to be rather dangerous types."
A trace of tension hung on Luke's calm face.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
They had been living together long enough for him to think he'd seen all kinds of expressions from the man, but this was the first time he'd seen him look this tense.
...What a pain in the ass.
Scratching the back of his head, Kael stood up with irritation written all over his face.
"Lead the way."
He was already looking forward to seeing what kind of shabby guests had come calling.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"What? This is the guard office? It's nothing like what I heard."
Linvel looked dumbfounded.
She had been surprised when she first entered Nox, but this was even worse.
The guard building was far too normal.
From the rumors floating around out there, Nox was supposed to be a place no human being could live in.
They said pickpockets were part of daily life, drunks and homeless people crowded the streets, and murder, kidnapping, and robbery broke out at the drop of a hat. In other words, a living hell.
But once they'd actually entered the city, it was nothing like the stories.
She hadn't seen a single drunkard or homeless person.
The streets were clean, and the people passing by looked perfectly ordinary.
How is this a criminal city? It's just normal.
With that question in mind, they'd come all the way to the place called the guard office.
And this was just a mansion.
A very well-kept one, too.
This is the guard office? It's better than the inn we're staying in.
She didn't like it.
She was already annoyed enough about having come this far, and now the people she had expected to be crawling in the dirt were living this well?
Linvel, thoroughly put out, began scanning the surroundings carefully for anything she could nitpick.
Seeing that, Marine explained with a proud voice, "How is it? Pretty building, right? This used to be a mansion where some bad uncles lived."
"Bad uncles? Figures. So it was used by a criminal organization. But why is it the guard office now?"
"How should I know?"
"..."
Marine wore an expression that seemed to say, Why are you asking me that?
Linvel was left speechless and simply shut her mouth.
For some reason, talking to this kid always made her feel like she was being led around by the nose.
Something's wrong. No matter how I look at it, something's wrong!
While Linvel was fretting to herself, Bram opened his mouth.
"By the way, that man we ran into earlier, is he a guard too?"
"Ah, Mr. Luke? Yes, that's right."
"I see. Thanks for telling me."
"Not at all. You'll all have to buy a lot from us later, okay?"
"Haha, I'll do that."
Bram scratched his cheek and gave an awkward laugh.
It had been a long time since he'd met such a spirited girl with such a strong personality.
"Interesting."
Varen, who had been silent until now, let out a faint laugh.
The young man in the guard uniform they had just met.
He knew it the moment he saw him.
The guy knew how to handle a blade.
At Varen's level, he didn't need to cross swords with someone to judge their ability.
The way they stood, the look in their eyes, the development of the muscles, the width of their stride and the rhythm of their breathing, even the position of their gaze.
The man wasn't fully mature yet, but he clearly had sharp fangs.
Did he deliberately hide his mana output?
That didn't surprise him much.
If someone wanted to hide it, there were plenty of ways to do so.
What mattered was that a swordsman with that level of skill was playing guard in a backwater place like this.
A guy who wouldn't look out of place as vice-captain of a prestigious knight order is only a guard?
Honestly, it was enough to make him laugh.
His expectations of Kael kept rising.
If the man was keeping a beast like that around him, then he was definitely the real thing.
Just then, a man came down the stairs.
His black hair was unkempt and messy, and his slightly furrowed eyes carried both sharpness and irritability.
He had a solid build and walked at an unhurried, easy pace.
The moment Varen saw Kael, he thought, ...That guy looks like me?
And at the same time, Kael had a similar thought.
What the hell is that thug bastard?
Their gazes collided in midair, and sparks flew.