“Stop!” Lealis’s voice rang out from the audience seats. “Enough. That’s… enough. Please, no more…”
“You’re not the one who hired me, so…” Renya looked at Azu, who was standing beside Lealis. “Well?”
“You’ve done enough. I think they learned their lesson.”
“All right. Well, if the boss says it’s fine, then I guess we’ll call it a day.”
He casually threw his sword on the ground in front of Natalia and the girls. Then, he turned to their deathly pale faces and fixed them with a glare.
“Now, remember this, girls. All of this has been child’s play, and if I ever have to do this again, then you’ll see why.”
The students vigorously nodded their heads up and down, their hands clutching desperately at the door. Renya had just begun to wonder whether he overdid the intimidation a bit when an explosion sent the door, the girls, and a whole lot of something else flying over his head. They all landed with heavy thuds behind him, and he stared astonishedly at the gaping hole in the wall that was once a door. Frau appeared in the opening with her hands in the air. She beamed at him.
“Yay! Master did a great job!”
“Frau… was that you just now?”
“Taking down the barricade was too much work, so Frau just blew it all away! Frau doesn’t waste time because she’s a good girl!”
“Uh, okay then. Sure, I guess?”
He glanced at the pile of door and barricade behind him but could find no trace of Natalia or the girls beneath the rubble. They were inside the force field, so they shouldn’t have died, but it did raise the question of which was a worse fate: being flattened by debris or beaten to a pulp by him. The answer, he supposed, would now forever elude him.
“All right, Frau, let’s go home.”
“Yay! Home time! Also, Master needs to change his clothes because he’s all yucky.”
“Hold on a minute, Renya. What are you going to do about this door you just broke?”
“Just add it to their medical costs. They’re going to demand a fortune anyway, right? I’ll let you handle that.”
“Azzy… we need to talk, okay?”
Azu’s expression stiffened when he felt Lealis pull on his robe. Renya shrugged and left. Whether Azu was about to be thanked or scolded, he did not know, and should not know.
“Good luck, Azu.”
“Make no mistake, Renya… after this, we’re going to have a good talk, too.”
“If I feel like it, sure. Oh, and make sure you pay me, okay? I get upset when I’m not paid. And things get broken when I’m upset.”
“Master, home time! Less talk, more walk!”
Renya and Azu parted ways, each dragged away by their companion. Before the mage even disappeared from view, Renya’s thoughts had already turned to more important matters.
Like, for example, how terribly unpleasant it was going to be to walk home with his clothes thoroughly soaked in blood.