Weeding Out
After releasing Cacciola, I tossed her a potion.
She caught it without resistance, though her narrowed eyes glared daggers in my direction.
"Poisoning the well and offering the cure. You really do it all, don't you?"
"Haha. If you want to live a long life, I'd suggest fixing that tongue of yours first. Though I do have to respect the guts it takes to talk like that to direct ducal blood."
"Shut up. I wouldn't change it even if I died, so keep dreaming."
"Didn't you just beg for your life a minute ago?"
"..."
Seeing her clamp her mouth shut when she ran out of words, I let out a dry chuckle.
"Is it because of what your father always drummed into you? To walk tall with confidence, never bowing your head? Pretty sure he didn't mean you should be a rude prick to everyone you meet, though."
"...?! You even know about that...? How in the hell...!"
"Told you, I just know."
When I smirked slyly, she glared at me before letting out an exasperated sigh.
"...Fine, whatever. It just means the rumors were true. Shouldn't come as that much of a surprise."
"Hey, I keep telling people, I'm neither a prophet nor an avatar."
"Ha, sure you're not."
Downing the potion in a single gulp, her eyes widened in surprise as she looked down at herself.
"What is this? The potency is insane...!"
"Naturally. It's not just any brew; it was handcrafted in the Duke's Castle."
"With this, I can move without any issues."
Testing her limbs with a few light stretches, her gaze drifted toward the bracelet hanging from my wrist.
"So. When are you giving that back?"
"Hmm? I have no idea what you're talking about. Why on earth would I give this back?"
"Kh...! Hand it over right now! You know damn well it's my family's heirloom!"
She snatched forward, but before her fingers could even reach, Muriel and Rebecca intercepted her, pressing a dagger and a sword against her throat simultaneously.
"Cacciola. Trying to take this back is rather shameless, wouldn't you say?"
"Say whatever you want! But that... that's the one thing—!"
"Because your mother handed it to you when she helped you escape? A family heirloom and a keepsake of the dead... quite a lot of sentimental baggage on this thing, isn't there?"
"If you know, then hand it over, you bastard!"
"Calm down, Cacciola. You know as well as I do that you have neither the standing nor the right to demand anything. I spared your life because I have work for you to do. That has nothing to do with this relic."
"..."
Knowing she had no leg to stand on, she bit her lip in bitter silence.
"Mmm, it's such a fine artifact that, frankly, I'd love to just pocket it for good, but..."
Grrrk!
Looking down at her as she ground her teeth again, I flashed a brazen smile.
"Since I decided to spare you, keeping it forever might become a royal pain in the neck. I'm well aware of just how obsessive and stubborn you can be... Fine. Cooperate properly with this job, and I'll return it. Let's call it a hostage until then."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. I don't lie about things like this."
"...Understood."
"Well, actually, that was a lie."
"You son of a...!"
"Khehe. Man, teasing you never gets old. Your reactions are priceless."
Chuckling, I took a swig of booze, exhaled a plume of cigarette smoke, and turned my head. There, lying prostrate on the forest floor, were the adventurers who had come alongside Cacciola.
"I'm counting on you boys too, all right? Cooperate, and I'll line your pockets with plenty of gold."
"O-Of course, my lord!"
"Just leave it to us, Young Master!"
"Right, right. Get up, then."
Scrambling up like greased lightning, they stood ramrod-straight in stiff postures, anxiously watching my every expression.
"Now, get moving."
"Yes, sir!"
"C-Cacciola! Let's go!"
"Haaah... Dammit. How the hell did things end up like this...?"
Grumbling under her breath, Cacciola set off, the adventurers scurrying behind her. And behind them, our party followed at a leisurely pace.
"Muriel. Conceal yourself."
"Understood."
Watching Muriel sink into the shadows without a sound, I gestured toward Rebecca.
"Rebecca."
"Yes. Do you have a command for me?"
"Come over here and support me. Ugh, think I drank too much..."
"..."
Her eyes narrowed skeptically, but I blithely ignored the look and leaned my weight against her shoulder, tottering along.
After we had walked a fair distance, Cacciola pulled out a finger-sized whistle and blew into it with a rhythmic pattern. By the time the sharp, clear notes died away, figures began emerging from the surrounding brush. Adventurers stepped into view from every direction, fanning out until they had us surrounded. There were easily fifty of them, each radiating a menacing, cutthroat aura.
Impressive. With numbers like that swarming all at once, even with guards as formidable as mine, somebody was bound to slip through the gaps.
"...Cacciola. What's the meaning of this?"
The man who stepped out first glared at her, his eyes brazenly raking over our group.
"...What do you think happened? The job's blown. We're disbanding right here."
"What kind of nonsense is that? You'd better give us a proper explanation."
"Fine. How should I put this... Well, to keep it simple, we picked the wrong targets. Allow me to introduce these folks—"
The moment Cacciola gestured toward us to reveal our identity, a roar erupted from one corner of the crowd.
"Don't give us that bullshit! What did we burn our time and coin gathering here for?! Disbanding before we even draw a single blade?! You think we're just going to swallow that?!"
"He's right! Just because you got caught doesn't mean the rest of us will! At the very least, we take their valuables!"
"With these numbers, we can slaughter them in an instant! There's no reason to be scared!"
The nameless instigator spewed venom as if gripped by sheer outrage, and the loud shouts echoing in agreement around him shook the forest leaves. Cacciola stole a discreet glance back at me, signaling with her eyes.
I see. So it's them. The count was... five? No, six.
"Hah... If you're so tough, why didn't a single one of you step up when I got taken down? Wasn't it because your gut told you something was off? Or were you just chickening out, you wretched bastards?"
"Shut your mouth! Why the hell should we help a bitch like you?!"
"You're basically a criminal yourself! Watching you play pretend adventurer is sickening!"
"Don't forget there are plenty of people here who'd love nothing more than to see you dead!"
"You probably had some shady scheme in mind when you rounded us up anyway!"
"Did you really think we'd just roll over?!"
Clang! Shing!
Crushing Cacciola's counter with flimsy, emotional sophistry, they drew their weapons, and a suffocating tension settled over the clearing.
"Have they lost their minds?"
"What's wrong with them? Why are they going off all of a sudden?"
"Well, they're not entirely wrong, though."
"What? You serious?"
"Dead serious. To be honest, I never liked that bitch anyway. Besides, dragging us all the way out here only to tell us to pack up and leave... you really think that makes any sense?"
"...Mm, fair point."
"Cacciola was never trustworthy. Massive tits, sure, but that's about it."
"They're nobles, so every scrap on them is worth coin. If we can take them down, we hit the jackpot."
"Their clothes, their jewelry, even their bodies... nothing to throw away."
A few frowned at the sudden escalation, but the majority were swayed by the rabble-rousing, their hands drifting toward their weapon hilts.
"The average adventurer really never changes, does he..."
I chuckled derisively and tipped my bottle back.
"Pheeew..."
Pushing myself off Rebecca's shoulder, I swept my hazy gaze across the crowd, fixing a crooked glare on the instigators driving the mob.
"Do you bastards even know who I—"
"Shut up, noble dog! You think we're going to listen to a word you say?!"
"All you'll do is brag about your title! A useless brat riding on bloodlines without accomplishing a damn thing himself!"
"Kill him before he tries anything!"
"..."
Ah, right. I get it.
They were deliberately riling up the crowd to force an attack before the rest realized we were from a ducal house. From their perspective, our gathering all these adventurers together probably seemed like the perfect opportunity dropped right into their laps.
"Heh. And yet you're not actually rushing in..."
"Even if the undiscovered dungeon is out of reach, stripping that noble bare will set us up for life!"
"Look at that woman's dress! It looks outrageously expensive!"
"The guard knight's armor looks top-shelf, too!"
"..."
Stop cutting me off, you annoying bastards.
Giving up on holding a conversation, I sighed and waved a hand. It was a signal to the adventurers who had quietly slipped behind the instigators while they were busy screaming their lungs out.
"Die, you motherfuckers!"
"We almost died because of you bastards!"
"How pathetic did you assassin scumbags think adventurers were?!"
CRUNCH! RIIIP!
"Gaaah?!"
"Aaargh!"
The sound of shattering armor and tearing flesh rang loud and clear, snapping everyone's attention toward them.
"W-What...?!"
"What the hell are they doing?!"
"Why are they attacking our own—?!"
While the bewildered adventurers scrambled back to put distance between themselves, Rebecca darted forward with the blinding speed of a whirlwind.
"Hup!"
Like the fangs of a beast snapping shut from above and below, her twin swords struck. Two of the lead assassins dropped dead on the spot, while her blade severed the arm of the final instigator and carved a deep trench into his thigh.
"Kh...!"
"Good. Situation resolved. Weller, sis. Could you do me a favor?"
"Haaah... Here."
Though Weller scowled in blatant annoyance, she still raised her hand and manifested a spell.
SCREEEEEECH!
"Aaaagh?!"
"What is this—?!"
"Ugh...!"
Bombarded by a piercing, sustained screech that threatened to rupture their eardrums, the adventurers clamped their hands over their ears or collapsed to their knees on the spot.
"Ah, thanks, Muriel."
For the record, my ears were shielded by Muriel's aura-coated hands. As for herself, she had warded her own ears with a thick layer of aura.
"It seems there was no need for me to intervene."
"Indeed. They're weaker than expected... Well, no matter how rich a merchant is, this is about the ceiling for the caliber of assassins they can hire."
Shrugging, I waited for Weller's spell to subside before casting my eyes over the stupefied crowd. Wow, a few were already fleeing. Cowardice aside, these guys really didn't have a grain of camaraderie or loyalty in their bones. I knew that from the lore settings, and I'd seen glimpses of it while playing the game, but witnessing it in person was almost awe-inspiring.
"Ahem... Listen up, everyone!"
Against the background groans of the surviving assassin, the adventurers turned their tense, petrified gazes toward me.
"I am the third son of the proud Ducal House of Stanashila! Stanashila Aljen!"
"...What? A ducal house?"
"The Duke...? That ducal house headed by Urtega?!"
"W-Wait! Couldn't this be a lie?! And if he's the third son, isn't that him?! The one the rumors are buzzing about—the prophet, the avatar!"
"A lie, you say... Do you really believe that, Sarba?"
"What?! How do you know my name...?!"
Savoring his flabbergasted expression, my lips curled into a smirk. Because they had a decent amount of skill and frequently associated with Cacciola, quite a few of them were mentioned in the setting compendium.
"Sarba, sixth son of Baron Bekal's household. Seems you've gotten pretty used to the adventurer life, haven't you? Been sending enough coin back to your family?"
"...!!"
"What? Sarba, you were a noble?!"
"Nobility?! Bullshit!"
"N-No... wait, that's..."
Watching him squirm under his companions' stares, I rattled on.
"Stressed out by your parents' lavish spending, aren't you? But you can't bring yourself to sever ties completely because of the lingering benefits... By the way, has that leg injury healed up? You'll be dealing with aftereffects for a while. That's what you get for being careless in dungeon exploration. Oh, and you must have met your sweetheart by now. Keeping it secret from everyone around you, but right about now, you ought to be courting her with all your—"
"S-Stop! I believe you! Yes! You truly are the person from the rumors!"
Smirking at Sarba as he waved his hands in frantic surrender, I glanced around the crowd and rattled off the personal backgrounds and past secrets of a few more individuals.
"A-A prophet...!"
"The rumors were true after all..."
"Wait a second. If he's really from a ducal house, aren't we completely fucked?"
"...Gasp."
"Holy shit..."
"S-Spare us! We had no idea!"
"Have mercy, please!"
Thud!
The moment one of them took the initiative and threw himself flat onto the ground before me, the rest quickly caught on and prostrated themselves en masse. Ah, as a side note, the one who led by example was one of the adventurers who had come with Cacciola earlier. Surprisingly quick on the uptake, and quite the actor. ...Or maybe it wasn't an act?
"Normally, having insulted and threatened to attack nobility, I'd have your heads severed and mounted on pikes. But today, I will grant you special mercy."
Having said that, I pointed toward the fresh corpses.
"See those dead bastards over there? They're assassins hired to murder me. You saw how they played you just now—they tried to use you as pawns to take my life."
"To think...!"
"Fuck, no wonder they were acting so strange!"
"I had a bad feeling about this job from the start! There were way too many red flags!"
"Fucking bastards...!"
Raising my voice over the cursing adventurers who finally realized they'd been played for fools, I called out:
"We are about to interrogate the surviving assassin, so get the hell out of my sight this instant. Do that, and I'll pretend this never happened."
"...T-Thank you!"
"Hey, run!"
"Dammit! We barked up the wrong tree of all trees!"
"Just be glad we made it out with our heads still attached!"
Watching the adventurers vanish into thin air in the blink of an eye, I couldn't help but laugh. Frankly, I thought there'd at least be a minor scuffle, so seeing it wrap up this easily was almost anticlimactic.
"Now then..."
Approaching the surviving assassin, I shoved the neck of the liquor bottle straight into his maw.
"Ghk?! Coff?!"
After watching a healthy dose of alcohol slosh down the man's throat, I pulled the bottle away and jerked my chin toward Muriel. Nodding subtly, she drew her dagger and stepped toward the assassin. Just then, Weller also stepped forward, tracing a magic circle in the open air.
"Hm? Sis, you interrogating too?"
"Yeah. I happen to know a few spells meant for occasions like this. Why? Am I not allowed?"
"Would you stop if I said no?"
"No."
"Then knock yourself out."
"B-Brother..."
Right then, Vivian tugged at my sleeve with a frightened look on her face.
Ah.
Come to think of it, I hadn't been considerate of Vivian. Was this kind of scene a bit too inappropriate to show a kid?
...Nah, in a world like this, she needs to learn early. You've got to grow up tough, Vivian.
Patting her head as I pulled her in, she naturally snuggled into my chest.