I’d taken the day off from dungeon exploration and headed into town for supplies. Milène had handed me some cash and even told me which stores I could shop at safely—no more sneaking around and getting chased down after being mistaken for a thief.
With Carolina stuck in bed thanks to the lord, someone had to handle the shopping or we’d run out of everything. Milène had been such a huge help.
Oh, it wasn’t like I was getting the money for free, though. I had her buy a bunch of magical beast materials I’d been stashing—of course, I’m sure she gave me a generous deal.
Shiro and Kuro were back at our hideout, training. That’s right, we were still living in the sewers. Milène had offered to let us stay at the lord’s old mansion, but Shiro and Kuro had refused. Apparently, the smells and sounds made it clear to them that it was the same place they’d been held captive in the past.
They also didn’t like having unfamiliar adults nearby. They were fine with Milène and Geos, but the mansion had too many strangers. That’s why living in town wasn’t really an option either.
Honestly, the sewer isn’t bad. It’s right next to the secret entrance to the dungeon, so for adventurers like us, it’s basically like living in a house that’s next door to the workplace. Still, I wish I could give Shiro and Kuro a better life.
“Let’s see, the shop Milène mentioned should be around here somewhere.”
Word was, crime was getting bad in town after the lord’s rampage had killed off a bunch of knights and soldiers. The atmosphere felt more tense than usual, but I barely knew what the town was like before, and to me, it’s always been a dump full of kidnappers and corrupt soldiers.
“Hey! Quit screwin’ around, you bastard!”
Whoa. Was I thinking too hard about the town’s safety? Because right on cue, something’s going down.
It sounded like a commotion just around the corner. A moment later, the crowd began to stir.
What to do? Charging headfirst into trouble is a pretty stupid move, but...
“Well, I can at least see what’s going on.”
I pushed against the flow of fleeing townsfolk and headed toward the noise. There, a full-blown fight was underway between some rough-looking men in ragged clothes.
Some sort of scuffle between thugs?
No, that wasn’t it. Looking past the nearby adults, I saw a man and woman being attacked by a group of men. It was two against ten, but five of the attackers had already been taken down, with only half of them remaining.
“Ah, crap, it’s those two.”
I recognized the man and woman: the duo with the black hair and dark eyes I’d run into in the dungeon.
The delinquent was punching out thugs left and right, knocking them out cold. It probably didn’t even take thirty seconds to drop the remaining five. This world was like something out of a fantasy story, but what the guy was doing was straight out of a delinquent manga.
“Take that, you weaklings!” he shouted, kicking the fallen men. “Ha! I’m a cheater! Chosen by a god! I’m on a whole different level from the people of this world!”
Huh? Cheater? That’s a weirdly Earth-sounding word. And he was talking about a god and “this world,” and he has black hair and dark eyes, which you rarely see around here. Is that delinquent a reincarnator? It wouldn’t be too surprising, considering Ares’s existence, but if he is, he’s the most stereotypical-looking reincarnator. It’s like a web novel cliché: the cocky character who causes a scene before meeting a horrible demise, all just to show how strong the protagonist is.
You’d think, with how many people read reincarnation stories back on Earth, they’d know that a reincarnator acting like a jerk is basically a death jinx. I mean, I’m not saying he’s definitely gonna die, but...
“Next time you show your face around me, that’ll be the end of you!”
Yikes, the fight’s over, and now the black-haired duo’s scanning the area. Probably checking for any other thugs. I’ll get spotted if I stick around. I’d rather not get dragged into whatever mess they’re stirring up. Luckily, I was able to slip away before they noticed me.
“Cheater, huh... What’s their deal?”
Their words left a weird feeling in my gut, but I went back to shopping. I can’t exactly go home just because I ran into a couple of weirdos.
I grabbed some stuff like salt, powdered herbs, and flour, and started heading back, only to be blocked by some guys in my path.
Kidnappers? It’s been a while. I guess I let my guard down. With the town’s security in the gutter, it’s no surprise there’s more creeps around.
They were definitely thugs, but they didn’t look like they were trying to snatch me.
“There he is!” said one of the men. “It’s gotta be him!”
“Huh?” said another. “Isn’t he a little too young?”
“You don’t find black hair and dark eyes just anywhere! He’s gotta be connected!”
“Quit yappin’! Just grab him and we can use him as a hostage!”
So they’d been looking for me—or rather, for someone with black hair and dark eyes. I thought back to that delinquent’s rampage earlier. The guys he was fighting were probably low-level grunts from some organization, just like the ones in front of me now.
“Kid, just come with—”
Fat chance! But I couldn’t go full magic mode in the middle of the street. I cast a light body enhancement spell—just enough to not draw any attention—and bolted. I wasn’t going to go down any alleyways, since they were sure to know the terrain better than I did. It was definitely better to use the crowd as obstacles and weave my way through.
“Get back here!”
“Dammit! Hold it, you little shit!”
Thankfully, this world was full of races where even kids have high physical abilities, so me sprinting at a speed that’d normally be impossible for a five-year-old didn’t raise any eyebrows. Although, if they thought I was some rare species, that could cause problems too.
I kept running. My destination was just ahead: the noble district. There wasn’t a proper entrance with a gate or anything, but the place was lined with the homes of low-class nobles, along with the lord’s mansion and other mansions that belonged to knights.
Even in a backwater town like Erunst, nobles are still doing their thing. Geos and Milène’s subordinates—baronets, knights, etc.—are technically nobles too. With the recent chaos, more soldiers have been posted at the noble district’s edge. Protecting nobles is more of a priority than protecting commoners—a classic feudal society. Even Geos and Milène, who seem like decent people, made that call, so that must be how things work here. Well, if something happened to the nobles, they might stop cooperating with Geos, so I suppose it makes sense.
I dashed past the soldiers and into the noble district. The thugs tried to follow, but the soldiers stopped them. They were there to maintain order; there was no way they were letting a bunch of angry lowlifes storm through.
It seemed even the thugs couldn’t act tough against soldiers. They pointed at me and shouted, but the guards didn’t budge.
Besides, Milène had given us official passes to enter the former lord’s mansion, which were effectively passes into the noble district too. There was no other way to reach the mansion anyway.
The guards already knew my face. Milène had introduced me personally, and a kid like me certainly left an impression. At this point, I could just breeze right through—well, I’ve only actually been here three times, though.
“Whew. That was close.”
Seriously though, what did those self-proclaimed cheaters do? A street fight wouldn’t trigger this kind of manhunt.
“Maybe I should avoid town for a while.”
Well, I’ve finished my supply run, and I was planning to hole up in the dungeon for a while anyway. Not a problem.
“I just hope that black-haired duo doesn’t drag me into anything else...”