Two days passed.
The thug life trio had made a scene five times, but we sent them packing every time, so the mob’s plan never paid off.
That trio wasn’t really meant for a life of crime. Once, they’d tried kicking over the monument Tama had made and placed outside the front doors, but lost their nerve and toppled over themselves instead. If they’d broken it, there’d have been hell to pay, so perhaps luck was with them.
“It’s been ages since I went shopping with you, Satou.”
“We’ve been leaving these errands to the new hires.”
Roro and I were out in the market today.
Fen was watching the shop, and there were guard golems. They wouldn’t move unless someone drew a sword or threatened staff directly, so they hadn’t yet been required.
“Don’t wander around here, smooth-skin,” some tiger dude growled.
“Yo, he went after the young master!”
“Is he thick?”
“Must not be from around here. Any takers on the outcome?”
“It’s a foregone conclusion.”
My “Keen Hearing” picked up the whispers of the market workers and adventurers in the crowd.
The tiger dude heard them, too, and looked slightly concerned, but came after me anyway.
“Sense Danger.”
Not from the tiger in front of us, but from the other direction—behind Roro.
I grabbed the tiger’s outstretched arm as I turned, moving Roro behind me and throwing the tiger into a ratfolk disguised as an old woman—and about to use a paralytic poison.
There was a dogfolk behind the rat, carrying a big bag—likely planning to haul Roro off in it.
That dog turned to bolt, but the crowd around stepped in, capturing them both.
“You got brass balls trying to lay a hand on Roro!”
“I’ll say. And with the young man around? I almost pity the fools.”
I thanked them for their help, took the criminals, and bound them up with rope the stallkeepers handed over.
We sure had made a lot of friends around these parts.
Some guards passed by, so with a little help from my “Fabrication” skill, I convinced them I’d seen these guys around Jigoco’s place. His men had been watching the commotion from nearby, so I didn’t think I was framing anyone.
“Roro! Are you okay?!”
Tia came bursting in that evening.
She must have heard about the mess earlier.
“Hello, Tia. I’m fine. Satou kept me safe.”
“Oh? Well, good. If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
She seemed rather beside herself, so I handed over a supplement.
She took it and drained it without even checking what it held.
“But why were they after you?”
“The Gorgoru Trading Company are plotting to buy up all the land around here and hired Jigoco’s crew to browbeat everyone into it.”
“Gorgoru? They’ve always been scumbags. You have evidence?”
“I’m afraid nothing definitive. I overheard Jigoco say they’d hired him, but if Gorgoru cut him loose, that’ll be the end of it.”
“True. In that case…”
A nasty gleam in her eyes, Tia grinned.
✦ ✦ ✦
“We just have to make some proof they can’t deny.”
✦ ✦ ✦
That sounded pretty scary.
“Rimi.”
“Right here.”
Tia called a name, and an instant later, a woman dressed just like Tia was standing beside her. This was Arcatia’s head apprentice; she had a gift for Short-Range Teleportation.
“Crush the Jigoco family. Let Jigoco alone escape. Keep him on his heels till he flees to the Gorgoru Company.”
“Understood.”
With that, Rimi vanished.
“That should do it. We’ll have proof by morning, so get a good night’s sleep.”
“T-Tia…?” Roro said.
Tia distracted her with a head pat and sailed out of the shop.
The guards she sent kept watch on the Hero’s Rest vicinity and would step in if Jigoco tried to attack in force.
“Satou, what should we do?”
“I’m okay with letting Tia handle this one,” I said.
The hamsters were asleep at my feet, so I scooped them up and carried them off to the bedroom.
I was free to spend the night enjoying a little crafting while watching Jigoco and Gorgoru get wiped out.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Boss! We’re under attack!”
Late that night, Tia’s forces began their raid.
“Damn it! Who are they?!”
“I dunno! They’re all well trained…you’d better escape down the tunnel!”
“Holy—that’s a golden lion! A high-rank adventurer!”
Any criminals that went up against the adventurers on the suppression squad did not last long.
It had been a while since I’d received such a pointed reminder of how little life meant in this world.
“Why are the rankers here?!”
“You went after the wrong people, scum.”
Please don’t turn Roro into an untouchable.
The blood-spattered suppression squad was fraying my mind, so I switched my view to Jigoco’s escape.
“Boss, where do we go?!”
“The hideout near the wall!”
They were dashing down back roads and made it to the destination—to find another squad had already occupied it.
“Shit, they found this one?!”
“There they are! After them!”
“Damn it! I’ll handle them, you go hole up with a lady friend!”
“All right, but don’t die here!”
Leaving his minions behind, Jigoco scurried off alone.
“Midami, it’s me. Lemme in.”
“Darling, run! They’re already—!”
“Who’s that? It’s him! Jigoco!”
They’d already found his mistress, and Jigoco was forced to burrow through the trash in the back alley to escape.
“Gonna have to ask the Gorgoru Company to hide me!”
Exactly what Tia wanted.
Watching his six, Jigoco hustled alone, shaking his tail before he reached the Gorgoru back door.
Naturally, Tia’s agents were only pretending to be shaken and actually kept a close eye on him.
“It’s me, Jigoco! Lemme talk to Gorgoru!”
The servant peering through the slit in the back door went to fetch a clerk.
“The owner’s busy. He has no time to meet with a complete stranger.”
I figured they’d cut him loose.
“You sure? You think I’ll let you just drop me? I’ve got plenty of evidence of the work you had me doing. Cut me loose, and I’ll take Gorgoru down with me.”
“……One moment,” the clerk said, voice icy as any assassin’s. He went to check with Gorgoru in person.
I shifted the focus of my Clairvoyance and Clairaudience to the clerk.
“Boss, Jigoco says…,” the clerk said, relaying the threat.
“No need for a dog that bites his owner’s hand. Call the master to the storeroom; we’ll rub him out there.”
Gorgoru and his secretary moved to the storeroom, and the clerk brought Jigoco along.
“…Sir.”
“You blew it, Jigoco.”
“Yeah…all we did was try and snatch up the owner of the Hero’s Rest. Didn’t think that would provoke a response like this. But I can do better! I’ve got plans to—!”
“No need.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re done. We’ll have someone else finish the land grab.”
“Cutting me loose?! You know how many people I killed for your stupid land grab?!”
✦ ✦ ✦
