Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Side Story - Meeting
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"Hey, a new face?"
A rough-looking man with a scarred face kicked open the inn door and swaggered inside.
"When did this place turn into a playground for bratty kids? Innkeeper?"
The man rubbed his completely bald head and sneered at the boy standing by the entrance. The boy was a child who barely came up to the man's chin.
The innkeeper, who had been about to show the boy to his room, glanced nervously at the bald man with a flustered expression.
"N-no, that's not..."
"You got a drinking problem? Or is it your eyes? Your head?"
The atmosphere turned icy. Sweat beaded on the innkeeper's forehead.
"...Hey, kid. What'd you say?"
"Now your eardrums are busted too?"
"You little shit...!"
As another thug stepped forward, the bald man blocked him.
"He's just a kid, so I'll let it slide once. Pay up the toll if you don't wanna die."
"I already paid the inn."
The innkeeper clutched the coin pouch the boy had paid with trembling hands, fearing it might get snatched away.
"Ha... hahaha! What a joke. You know whose turf this is?"
"Dekal or whatever, some beggar gang."
"...What'd you say?"
The man's crew scowled as their boss was insulted.
"Why ask when you heard it? Did you shave your head bald and your brains into noodles too?"
A few underlings stifled laughs, but to the bald man, it was pure provocation.
"Grab him and kill...!!"
Leonardo picked up a teacup from the innkeeper's table.
Splash!
"Aaagh!!"
Scalding hot tea poured over the bald man's face. It was freshly boiled and steaming, so burns and blindness were inevitable.
"Boss?!"
Clang!
Thrifty as ever, Leo hurled the empty cup at another thug.
"Gaaah!!"
Shards embedded evenly in his face, including his eyes. Far more painful than the tea burns.
"Outta my way! That brat's mine...!"
Stab.
This time, he stabbed the throat of a thug charging with a sword. The boy's smaller frame gave him the edge in surprise attacks.
"He's just a kid!! How do you let one brat...!"
Whoosh, thud.
The boy snatched the club from the stabbed thug and hurled it with spin at the yelling one.
"Keurgh!!"
The "club" was reinforced with iron spikes for lethality. It caved in the thug's face on impact, crushing his skull.
"Uwaaah!!"
As the boy stabbed the face-wounded thug's throat, the last uninjured one screamed at the sudden reversal.
"Shut up."
He threw a dagger.
A hunting knife from his pocket.
Thud. The screaming thug collapsed.
"...You...! What the hell are you...!"
Overcoming the burns somehow, the bald thug glared at the boy with watering eyes.
"Finally, the boss shows up? Took you long enough, Dekal."
The boy grinned coolly despite the killing intent and glanced behind him.
"B-boss?!"
The bald man whipped his head around.
Thump.
A sword plunged into his chest. The boy had stabbed during the turn.
"Idiot."
The boy twisted the blade in the chest. He hadn't expected the thug to die so easily.
"...Ah... uh... that..."
The innkeeper stared in bewilderment at the blood-soaked scene.
"Sorry about the mess, old man. Got a bit carried away."
"...You... what have you done?! Do you even realize...?!"
Regaining his senses, the innkeeper shouted in panic. Dekal's gang ruled this street and massacred anyone connected to those who killed their men.
"You asked for it. I came here for this."
"What nonsense?! I never...!!"
The boy rummaged casually in his pouch and pulled out a metal tag on a chain.
"A few days ago, you put in a guild request to exterminate a bandit gang. Heard you were the client."
The mercenary tag bore rank, name, and verification stamp clearly.
"...So those Dekal bastards showed up half a year ago, and the guards said they'd handle it but went silent?"
"...Yes. They claim they're seeking support or methods, but..."
"They won't help even after a year."
Leonardo cut in confidently.
"P-pardon?"
"This inn and the other shops are all in the back alleys. Guards only care about results, and helping here costs them nothing."
The guards existed only for the "proper" townsfolk in the main streets.
"Seeing the security here, they might even be taking bribes from Dekal's crew. I'd do the same."
"No way... the guards colluding with bandits..."
Leo paused, then spoke seriously.
"...Colluding? What's that? Don't use hard words with a kid."
The innkeeper suddenly remembered the young mercenary's age.
"Then..."
"Dekal's crew—any more besides the ones I killed?"
"Yes, collecting tribute now. Dekal's at their hideout..."
"Gotta head there."
Leo dusted his pants and stood.
"Pardon?"
"Easiest to take the head. Straight to the lair."
"...Wait, is it okay to rush in like this?!"
"Surprise attacks are all about speed. I got the location roughly."
He showed the map and key from the dead thug's pocket. The faint pen marks hinted at the bandits' low caliber.
"Plus, these idiots don't look too bright."
"...B-but..."
"I'll take the advance with this."
Leonardo pocketed the inn payment casually.
"...That's originally..."
"Separate from room fee. Pay what's due, take what's mine. Kid or not, I know merchant ways."
With that, Leonardo opened the inn door.
"Oh, prep a proper meal. Nothing sadder than hard work ending in gruel."
The phrasing was oddly twisted, but before the innkeeper could argue, Leo was gone.
Time passed. Leo didn't return until dusk painted the sky red.
The tense innkeeper had cleaned the bloodied interior and gone about his business casually by then.
'...Did he die...?'
As that thought crossed his mind, the door opened.
Drip...
A face leaking blood—Dekal's, slightly swollen.
"...De-Dekal...!?"
"It's me. Face looks okay, huh."
Then entered the boy mercenary holding Dekal's head.
His arms were swollen like hives, injuries severe.
"...That..."
The innkeeper gaped at the head of the bandit boss he'd paid tribute to for half a year.
"Dekal's head. Killed him as requested."
"...Alone... Dekal..."
"Got lucky. Only him and close aides there, didn't face them head-on."
Leonardo explained casually how he'd taken a bandit leader.
First, he went to a nearby forest with beehives. He gathered herbs and flowers, rubbing them on his body.
"Keeps bees away. They hate the smell."
Then he wrapped a whole hive in cloth. He'd get stung, but the herbs reduced stings, pain, and swelling.
"Tossed it at Dekal's place. Even a tough guy can't kill hundreds without bug spray."
The rest was simple. As stung Dekal burst out the door, off with his head.
Aides died in exit traps or bound by ankles then killed.
Request complete.
"...I-is that so...?"
The innkeeper's speech turned reverent. The boy's skill and cunning shamed adults and pros.
"Yeah. Brought the head for proof. Better than just saying it, right?"
True, but plopping it by the table was chilling.
"Prep meal and balance due. Be back soon."
"...Pardon? Going out?"
"Gotta advertise I killed him carrying this."
"...Pardon?!?"
The boy's calm mad plan shocked the innkeeper into protest.
"Dan...! Dangerous!! Survivors will...!!"
"That's for them to see."
"Huh?"
"Whole town sees. Less banditry that way."
Dekal ruled the back alleys, colluding with guards as Leo guessed.
"But a kid kills that Dekal and parades his head? What happens?"
"...A warning? To other bandits."
"That too. Folks relax, thinking 'Dekal's no big deal.'"
It'd tank the gang's rep, set an example for guards and thugs.
People could resume work safely. Not while Leo paraded the head, though.
"...But if remnants revenge..."
"Fine. Left all the loot in the hideout. Real bandits grab that first over revenge."
Bonus if they fought internally.
"...I see..."
"Use your head. Without it, you're a corpse. Like this."
Leo quipped darkly, standing at the threshold with Dekal's head.
"Oh, one thing."
The innkeeper braced.
"Who's the toughest around here?"
The innkeeper pointed shakily at Dekal's head. Coincidence? Leo tsked.
"No rumors? Like a vigilante or wandering knight."
"...Come to think, the Hero Family's lady came here."
"Hero Family?"
He'd heard. Line from hero Ruben Reinhardt, world-savers.
"That lady's that strong?"
"Rumor says she slew an orc at 10, wyvern at 13..."
Leo snorted.
"Bull. How could a person—a kid—do that?"
The innkeeper eyed him dubiously. He bit back words.
"Anyway, got it. Meeting her sounds fun."
With that, the 13-year-old mercenary stepped out, head of a boss who'd slain hundreds in hand.