Because Weiss was my favorite character, Barbaro had left a deep impression on me. He was the villainous leader of this territory’s mafia when he appeared in the game. In the end, he found himself cornered and told the hero’s party about the secret passage where Weiss was hiding in order to save his own skin. His words reminded Firis about the passage, ultimately leading to Weiss’s demise. He was a traitor.
“Aaah! Stop it, Sir Barbaro!”
“Shut your trap. You know what’ll happen to you if you defy me!”
I heard both terrified and angry screams coming from inside the guest room, so Rosalia and I exchanged glances before rushing into the open room.
As soon as I stepped inside, my nostrils were filled with the fierce smell of alcohol. On top of the sofa at the back of the room was a bearded man with a perverse look on his face and a bottle of booze in one hand. With his other hand, he was pulling Meg’s arm.
This was Barbaro, the man who sold out Weiss in order to protect himself and the leader of this territory’s mafia.
He was currently in charge of public safety, but he was likely using his authority to hire soldiers who’d follow his orders so that he could do whatever he wanted. I was pretty sure that he would eventually use those men to found his criminal empire.
In other words, he was one of the reasons Weiss failed at running this territory.
“Ah, my lord,” he said to me, “I just got some great booze in. Why don’t you skip that dumb meeting and join me for a drink?”
“Barbaro, let go of Meg,” I replied.
“Hah! What’s with that scary look you’re giving me? Oh, right, right.” He looked surprised for the briefest of moments when we made eye contact, but then he put on the kind of smile meant to flatter me. “I taught you about booze, but I haven’t taught you how to enjoy a good woman yet. How’s about you take her to bed? Prostitutes are great and all, but fresh ones like this are the best.”
“Eek!” Meg managed to squeak before he covered her mouth.
When Weiss was given his position and things reached a breaking point, he must have let himself believe this man’s sweet words, leading to his alcoholism. Weiss had trusted the rat bastard, allowing him to gain actual power.
“I will only say this once more: Barbaro, let go of her. We have a meeting to attend, and you’re the topic of discussion.” I drew my sword and pointed it at him.
“My lord, what are you thinking, directing your blade at me?”
“Today, we will be discussing the crimes you’ve committed. You threatened merchants in order to buy their goods at low prices, used false accusations to take their earnings, and then used that money for yourself. You will not be forgiven for your transgressions!”
“Huh? Don’t get ahead of yourself, you goddamn brat!”
Barbaro’s face distorted with rage as he yelled at me. Needless to say, there wasn’t a lick of respect in his voice. He was probably fuming that the stupid kid he’d been using as a puppet was turning around to damage his pride.
However, he wasn’t getting away with what he’d done!
“Lord Weiss, allow me.” Rosalia started to cast a spell, without any emotion on her face.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll handle this.”
“Handle what, you stupid brat?!” Barbaro spat as he threw Meg at me like an object.
Meg cried out, but I caught her. I tripped a little while I made sure she didn’t get hurt, and Barbaro didn’t let that opening slip past him. With a show of tremendous strength, he hoisted the sofa he had been sitting on and was on the cusp of swinging it down on us.
“Eat this!” he shouted.
He may have been strong, but that was all he had in his favor. “You fool. How do you intend to defend yourself when you’re using both hands? Heed my words, shadow hand!” I called.
“What? You can’t use magic—urgh?!”
My shadow fist delivered an uppercut to Barbaro’s chin, causing him to spin in the air while croaking like a frog that had been crushed. Eventually, he crashed back on the floor.
“Lord Weiss, what was that?” Meg asked in a quavering voice.
“Just my magic. Rosalia, tend to Meg’s wounds, please. I’m dragging this filth to the meeting.”
“Understood. Good luck, Lord Weiss.” She nodded, looking proud of my initiative, before she turned to call to Meg, “Meg, are you okay?”
“Lord Weiss!”
Right as I was starting to drag Barbaro toward the meeting with my shadow hand, I heard someone call my name. I turned around and spotted Meg holding back tears.
“Thank you so much for saving me! I-I was wrong about you. I said all sorts of terrible things about you behind your back…”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” I said. “I know how I was. More importantly, you’re not hurt, are you?”
“I’m fine! I was a little scared, but…now that you’ve saved me, I’ll be fine. Um, I think everyone will come to recognize you as the true lord of this land. Good luck!”
“I see…” Her words nearly had me in tears. Someone other than Rosalia recognized Weiss’s hard work! Still, this wasn’t over. If anything, it was only just beginning. “Thank you for understanding. Weiss is really incredible.”
“Um, I’m talking about you, you know? Why are you acting like you’re someone else?”
“Ah, pretend I didn’t say anything. Just ignore me.”
Crap, I’d let myself get overly excited that someone else was appreciating my fave. I shot her a smile and quickly left for the meeting.