Chapter 155: The Educating Guard (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: The Educating Guard (10)
Perhaps I had been a bit too enthusiastic after reaching the level of a High-Rank Aura User, because by the next morning, women who could walk properly were few and far between.
Tanya and Erwi, who had to be mindful of their families, left while pretending to be fine. The mother and daughter from the Lily of the Valley Inn and Greystar drank enough stamina potions to bloat their stomachs before heading back, grumbling that they’d lose all their customers if they didn't stick to their announced business hours.
The rest of the group took the day to rest. Serika, Mehya, and Rena were all taking a day off. I have no idea how they’re going to fill those vacancies.
"Sma."
"So... Senior Margherita?"
"Just call me Noona. Mehya calls me Unni, too."
"Yes, Margherita Noona. What brings you here? Are we working together today?"
"No. Five people requested leave on the same day, so we're short-staffed. You've been assigned to cover Mehya's duties for today."
"Ah."
So I’m the substitute. Three of them are my women, but who are the other two? Anyway, I suppose I reaped what I sowed. If I hadn't been so good at sex, I wouldn't be out here pulling double shifts.
Actually, wait. If I weren't this good, I’d probably be buried in a nearby cemetery by now. As I followed that train of thought, I noticed Margherita watching me.
"Am I working with you, Noona?"
"No. You're on your own."
"Huh? But I don't even know what... Senior Mehya usually does."
"It's just a simple patrol, so just walk around as you see fit. Normally, someone would be paired with you, but it's my turn for rotation duty, and there's no one else available to train you."
Margherita looked apologetic as she spoke. It wasn't even her fault, so I didn't know why she felt so bad. With a heart that soft, I wondered how she managed to function as a guard.
"Eeeek!"
"It's Margherita!"
Seeing the "Monster Fuckers" in the front row scream and bolt at the sight of her, I realized she probably wasn't that soft after all.
"And I heard you ran into Mehya while she was on night patrol recently?"
"How did you know that?"
"Mehya and I spend a lot of time together. When we're on night patrol, we talk about all sorts of things. Like how you're her lover, for instance."
"Is that all she said?"
"Hmm? Uh, yeah? Why? Is there something else?"
I guess she didn't mention the part about me having many women. Come to think of it, Margherita didn't show up to the housewarming party yesterday.
Maybe Mehya didn't invite her. I’ll have to ask why when I get home.
"It's nothing. Anyway, I understand. Should I focus my patrol on the back alleys and slums?"
"It might be dangerous alone, so just stick to the busy districts. You only recently became a Mid-Rank Guard, so you're probably still weak. I heard you haven't even entered a dungeon yet?"
"That's true."
"You haven't done patrols before, so be careful. Oh, and if you catch any petty thieves, that's great. But if things look dangerous, just stall for time and wait for backup."
"Understood."
"Good luck, then. I'll take care of this dungeon for today."
"I'll come by tomorrow."
"Sure."
I left the checkpoint and began wandering through the Hugo Kingdom. Come to think of it, it had been a while since I’d walked around in the morning. Guards work seven days a week, so unless you take leave or a vacation, you can't really wander around at this hour.
During the Dungeon Freezing week, I was always stuck to the women, so I never got to go out alone. Since there wasn't any particular place I wanted to see, I had just followed them around like a puppy.
Usually, when people are reincarnated into a game, they go looking for hidden items or famous landmarks. But an eroge isn't a game about finding secrets or sightseeing; it's a game about sleeping with women.
I’ve been living exactly according to the purpose of an eroge. Walking with a confident stride, I eventually arrived at the plaza market. I’d come here often to shop for groceries, so I’d ended up here out of habit.
"Oh my! Look who it is. If it isn't Guard Sma!"
"Seed Merchant Auntie. It's been a while."
Did she always have a bit of a country accent? It had been so long since her last appearance that my memory was a bit fuzzy. Well, I’m sure it’s fine.
"Ain't it, though? You're a busy man, after all. I heard you moved into a real nice house?"
"Did you hear that from the Captain?"
"I got more than one ear, y'know, but I heard it from Lady Serika. She was so excited about planting trees in the garden. I even introduced her to my husband who runs an orchard."
"Ah... no wonder."
The trees planted in the garden weren't ornamental; they were fruit trees.
"Oh, look at me. I had somethin' I wanted to tell Lady Serika, but I plum forgot."
"What is it?"
"Now, this is a secret..."
The auntie glanced around before whispering in my ear.
"There's been a lot of suspicious folks around lately."
"Suspicious folks?"
"New faces on the streets I ain't never seen. I figured they were hunters since they're always comin' and goin', but they don't carry no gear. That means they ain't hunters. And they don't even work. They just walk around, glancin' here and there. At first, I thought they were just crazy."
"That does sound suspicious."
"And since it's summer, everyone's wearin' light clothes, right? Naturally, the men's eyes are wanderin'. But those fellas, they just scoff and say, 'Is that all?' They even did it while lookin' at a harlot in a miniskirt with her chest all out."
"Aren't they just perverts?"
They don't hunt, they don't work, and they just sit in the plaza judging women? At best, they're "pickup artists"; at worst, they're just creeps.
"No, sir. You'd know if you saw 'em yourself, Lord Sma. They're real suspicious."
"I see. Are they here now?"
"Not right now. They're like ghosts—they vanish the moment they spot a guard."
"Then I'll go somewhere else and try to sneak back later."
"You do that."
Once I left the plaza, I realized I had nowhere else to go. Since I was on patrol, I couldn't just go home. I decided to take the opportunity to check out the other dungeons.
There were almost no lines at the Low-Rank Dungeons. Even if there were, it was only a single party waiting.
The Mid-Rank Dungeons had a fair number of hunters, but it was nothing compared to the dungeon where I worked. Was I just born to be a workhorse? While I was busting my ass, the other guards were having a total cakewalk.
I want to have a cakewalk, too.
"Woof? I smell something good, woof!"
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
"This is why beastkin are..."
"Caw! Caaaaw!!"
"What's wrong with this bird-brain now?"
I want a cakewalk, not these annoying beastkin. The crow beastkin had wings instead of arms, which was a bit off-putting, and the dog beastkin was a male, which I liked even less.
Since beastkin mostly clustered around the dungeons, I decided to stop my dungeon tour. Seeking peace, I wandered through the alleys, causing beggars to scatter like mice.
A few of them gave me greedy looks when they saw I was alone.
"What are you looking at, you punks?"
As I kicked my way through the alleys, the OST of a drama I enjoyed as a kid came to mind.
"Don't call me cowardly~ Don't curse me~ Even if I wander through these filthy alleys~"
I was tone-deaf in my original world, but this reincarnated body could give any professional singer a run for their money. My vocal volume was overwhelming, and my high notes seemed to have no limit.
I could finally forget the past where I couldn't even sing a ballad without straining my throat. As I was getting into the rhythm, the appearance of the beggars around me changed.
Their clothes were dirty, but they didn't look like they had been worn down by time; they looked like they had been dirtied on purpose. My keen eyes, developed through my work as a guard, detected something strange in the frayed fabric.
The cloth wasn't rotted. Nor was it torn from being caught on rocks or corners. These were marks made by human hands, rubbed down with something like sandpaper.
Most importantly, I didn't see the usual signs of inferiority complexes or defeat. They thought they were hiding it well, but the deeper I went into the alley, the thicker the bloodlust became.
If I kept going like this, I’d get stabbed in the back. So, I’d strike before they could.
"You beggar brat! Why are you sitting in the middle of the road getting in my way?!"
I threw a kick, and the beggar hurriedly dodged. An ordinary beggar could never have dodged that. As I thought, he wasn't ordinary.
"I'm sorry!"
He screamed, but his eyes were darting around. He was looking for an opening. Time to test the technique I learned from Rainie.
"Shut up!"
I feinted another kick, leaving my chest wide open. Falling for the bait, the beggar pulled a shuriken from his sleeve and threw it. I expected that, you bastard.
I dropped my raised foot, stomping hard on the ground as I twisted my body. The shuriken grazed my chest. My uniform might look like an ordinary coat, but it was a piece of equipment designed to protect the guards responsible for public safety.
The shuriken didn't even leave a scratch on the fabric.
"What?!"
"Yeah, I know."
I tucked my arm to protect my chest and simultaneously slammed my elbow into the beggar's face. Since the attack was infused with Aura, the beggar's face collapsed inward.
"..."
"..."
As the beggar collapsed, figures radiating bloodlust sprang out from all directions. Some of them weren't wearing rags, but were dressed in all-black short-sleeved shirts and shorts, with stockings to prevent any skin from showing.
Seeing that, only one thing came to mind.
"Ninjas?"
"A citizen of the Hugo Kingdom knows our identity?!"
"Capture him! We must interrogate him to find out how he knows!"
I mean, you're making it pretty obvious with those outfits. I dodged the shuriken and throwing stars flying from all sides while counting their numbers.
Two Mid-Rank Aura Users and eight Low-Ranks? The moment I confirmed the ninjas' strength, a vision of the future flashed through my mind.
'Come here, my boy. Grandpa's going to tell you a legendary story.'
'Is it the one about how you fought ten ninjas and won?'
'That...'
Swish—
Whoops. I almost got hit while daydreaming. I hurriedly jerked my head back, and a shuriken grazed past, clipping a few strands of my hair.
Seeing the shuriken embedded in the wall, a sense of alarm finally kicked in. I drew my sword, channeled my Aura into it, and shouted.
"You ninja bastards! Bring it on!"