Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Guess Who?
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After finishing dinner with Luna, I returned to the inn to rest my weary body.
"Hah~ I'm stuffed."
Today was a day of zero income and nothing but spending money like water.
I bought wire rope and stakes but didn't even get to use them, paid the round-trip carriage fare to the Zoven Plains, and spent money on crafting a weapon.
Since it wasn't a quest, there was no money coming back in.
No wonder people don't hunt them, saying there's no money in it.
Still, the good thing is that the money I scrounged up at the restaurant last time was more than enough to let me laze around for a week without a care.
As I lay there, wondering what to do tomorrow until I could pick up my weapon, Luna quietly approached and called out to me.
"Sir Luke."
"Huh?"
"We were followed."
Followed? Out of the blue?
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. At first, I heard footsteps behind us, and later, the sound came from the rooftops. The last I heard was from the roof of our inn."
Why didn't you say so earlier? Why tell me now?
And you call it 'following,' but isn't that just stalking?
I've never really understood the difference between being followed and being stalked.
"Hmm... I haven't done anything to deserve being followed."
Who would follow someone who's lived as kindly and honestly as me?
Ah! Could it be!
"Is it an assassin sent by one of my admirers?!"
'If I can't have you, I'll kill you!' Is it something like that?
The world is a scary place.
"From what I've seen, Sir Luke, I think you've given plenty of people reason to hold a grudge..."
"Luna. Just adding 'Sir' to my name doesn't make everything okay."
Looking at her, she seems less like a slave and more like a friend who just happens to use honorifics.
"Anyway, the point is we don't know the reason."
I said, rolling over once on the bed.
At that, Luna raised a hand as if taking an oath and spoke cautiously.
"...I believe it might be because of me."
"And you're just now telling me this?"
"More importantly, aren't you curious about the reason..."
"Nope. Not really."
Why do I need a reason?
Honestly, I feel like thanking them.
They're walking right into my arms, offering their lives to become my experience points. What a wonderful housewarming gift!
Right after confirming that I gained experience from killing, I decided not to stop anyone who came at me.
It's less efficient than hunting monsters, so I don't go around slaughtering people, but there's no need to turn away experience that comes knocking.
"So, what are you planning to do now?"
I grinned at Luna's question and shot one back at her.
"Luna, what do you think I'll do? Take a guess."
"...If it's you, Sir Luke, I think you'll lure them in."
***
For that reason, I lured them in.
No, to be precise, it was less luring and more waiting.
Since they came to kill me, they'd show up on their own even if I did nothing.
I cleverly disguised two pillows under the covers to make it look like I was sound asleep, then hid in a blind spot until they entered.
And as time passed and all the light from outside faded...
'They really came.'
As if to prove Luna's words about being followed, three figures dressed in black slipped through the window, right in front of the room's owner.
Then, thinking the lump under the covers was me, they all stabbed it at once. I guess that's what you call shadowboxing.
'It's like watching a bunch of idiots put on a talent show.'
I could see the men who'd stabbed the bed looking puzzled, as if they sensed something was wrong.
I gently stepped forward and covered the eyes of the one closest to me with both hands.
"Guess who~?"
A prank you might play on a close friend.
But what if the prankster and the victim are complete strangers?
"Wh-who are you!"
You'd get a reaction like that.
They're the ones who came looking for me, so why are they asking who I am?
"The correct answer is... a stranger~"
-*Crack.*
With the sound of breaking bone, the neck of the man whose eyes I was covering twisted in an impossible direction.
Seeing their comrade die before their eyes, the remaining men tried to rush me at once, but one of them was stopped before he could even move.
"Isn't that a bit too anticlimactic?"
"You're the strange one, Sir Luke."
Because Luna, who had been hiding on the ceiling, had slit the throat of the man farthest from me, sending him to the next life.
And so, only one man remained.
He was now in a situation where he could neither advance nor retreat.
Me in front, Luna behind.
Escape was not an option. The moment he turned his back, death was certain.
They say a creature facing death will make a final, desperate struggle. The man before me must have thought I was the easier target, as he lunged at me.
"Hah? Look at this bastard."
How dare a scrawny rogue like him attack a true warrior?
If he wanted to live, he should have assessed the situation better. Look at him, charging without even knowing if he can win.
This is why rogues die young.
The rogue thrust his dagger, filled with the will to kill me and escape.
He was certainly fast, as expected of a rogue, but after all the monsters I've fought, there's no way I'd get hit by something like that.
A dagger is a short-ranged weapon; a simple step back is enough to evade its reach.
Of course, it would hit me if I stood still, but what kind of idiot would just wait to get a hole punched in their chest?
"Take this! A man's weak spot!"
A shot to the balls.
I lifted my foot and kicked the man's testicles.
"......!"
"I don't get why people attack anywhere else when there's such a perfect weak spot right here."
A man's weakness is in plain sight, so why bother with such troublesome methods?
The kick must have landed squarely, as he clutched his stomach and collapsed.
Killing him cleanly for experience would have been nice, but they weren't coming all at once. If they were going to send people in dribs and drabs like this, it would be a pain, so I decided to leave one alive on purpose.
I needed to interrogate him to get information on who was behind this.
With that in mind, I raised my fist and slammed it into the man's face.
"Who sent you!!!!!!"
-*Smack!*
"Keok!"
"Who sent you!!!!!!"
-*Smack!*
"St-stop!"
"Who sent you!!!!!!"
-*Smack!*
"......"
"Who sent you!!!!!!"
-*Smack!*
Don't they say real men talk with their fists?
I was also having a conversation with my fists about who sent him, when Luna snuck up behind me and grabbed my arm.
"Uh... Sir Luke."
"Don't stop me, Luna. Can't you see we're having a man-to-man talk?"
"He's already unconscious..."
At her words, I looked closer and saw that the man I'd been "conversing" with had his eyes closed, sleeping in a comfortable position.
"Ah."
To get tired and fall asleep after just a few rounds of conversation.
This is why rogues are no good.
"Tsk. Tie him up for now, Luna."
"Yes."
Let's save the rest of the fun for when he wakes up.
***
"......Ugh."
When he opened his eyes, he saw a wooden wall painted white. Shifting his gaze, he saw a bed and a desk.
The strange thing was that even after sleeping, his body felt stiff, and his hands and feet were uncomfortable, as if tied to something.
The uncomfortable sensation brought back memories from before he lost consciousness, jolting the man from his groggy state.
"......!"
He had come to assassinate, but instead, he had been captured.
He didn't know how much time had passed since he fainted, but seeing that the room was still dark, it probably hadn't been too long.
Just as the man was trying to grasp the situation and attempt an escape...
"You're awake~?"
"......!?"
Luke's upside-down head descended into the man's field of vision from above.
The startled man struggled, but his entire body was bound, so only the chair he was tied to rattled.
"Now, now. Why are you fussing again~"
-*Thwack!*
"......!"
As if fixing a broken machine, Luke smacked the struggling man on the head with his fist, and he quieted down.
"Luna! He's awake!"
At Luke's shout, Luna, who had been outside the door, opened it and came in.
"...Did you really kick me out just to do that."
"Yep. If you were here when he woke up, he wouldn't have been as surprised."
The man shouted at the approaching Luke and Luna.
"Torture is useless! I won't say a thing!"
"What are you talking about."
He's talking just fine now, yet he's pretending to be tight-lipped. What a funny guy.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of torturing you."
What is torture, anyway?
Isn't it inflicting physical pain to force a confession?
I'm not going to do scary things like stabbing his legs with a knife or dunking his head in water. I just want to torment him.
"Heheheh."
Luke took out a leather pouch that was tied to his waist.
"I was originally going to use this on Luna, but thankfully, you came along."
"...What is that?"
"Mosquitoes."
I had captured the annoying mosquitoes from the carriage one by one and put them in this pouch.
As payback for making a fool of their master in the carriage today, I was going to let them feast on Luna's fingers and toes while she slept, but now that a good punching bag has arrived, I'll use it on him instead.
"You were going to use that on me...?"
Luna stared at Luke with a look of disbelief.
"I didn't use it, did I? So it's fine."
Luke responded with a light shrug.
While it might be a big deal to some, Luke dismissed it with a single phrase and brought the mouth of the pouch to the man's ear.
"Wh-what are you trying to do!"
"Luna. Hold his head."
Luna held the frantic man's head still.
-*Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.*
That sound, the kind that even someone insensitive to noise would instinctively recoil from.
Not one, not two, but dozens of them were buzzing inside the pouch.
"I'm going to put these in your ear, one by one."
"You crazy bastard...!"
"Thanks for the compliment."
Luke slightly opened the pouch's mouth and let a mosquito fly into the man's ear.
And as soon as the mosquito was in, he took an earplug from his inventory and immediately blocked the ear.
"......! Stop!!!!"
"I've only done one side. What's with the 'stop' already?"
Luke immediately moved to the other side, put a mosquito in the opposite ear, and plugged it with an earplug.
-*Bzzzz. Bzzzz.*
The sound of wings beating, echoing inside his ear canal.
The exit blocked, the mosquito moves deeper, its movements felt vividly.
"Stooooooop!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Uwahahaha! It's mosquito ASMR!"
Luke, laughing heartily next to the tormented man.
Luna, watching this from the side, thought to herself.
'...I can't tell who the real villain is here.'