He’d reached his hand out to her shoulder with a look filled with lust, so I stopped him. I couldn’t let him do as he pleased. I drew my wand and was ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice.
“I-I’m just joking!” he sputtered. “No firing any shots around here!”
“It’s up to you whether you live or die.”
I was in charge of guarding the mansion—the slaves were included in the products under my protection. Should this man make any wrong moves, I wouldn’t hesitate to use magic against him.
“Come on, it was just a joke!” The man raised both of his hands up in surrender, so I put my wand away.
“Mr. Abraham,” he started again after taking a breath. “I have a question.”
“What?”
“Is it true that you’re able to cast Grade 3 magic?”
I didn’t answer. The truth was, I could use higher than that. Did he think I would reveal all my cards to him, a person I didn’t even trust? The quality of the Adventurer’s Guild had surely fallen if someone like him was considered an A-rank.
“You’re so quiet, sir. We’re working together, so we should get along.”
There was no point in responding.
He sighed even deeper than I had. “You’re a boring guy, y’know that?”
Despite that statement, he clearly had no intention of ending the conversation. He opened his mouth yet again, all while knowing it was a fruitless effort.
“Oh, speaking of women we can’t touch, do you remember that one brat? The one we were told would get us tortured and killed if we even laid a finger on her?”
I did, in fact, remember that girl. According to this mansion’s owner, a special order calling her the “highest of the highest” had arrived. We already weren’t allowed to do anything messy with these products, but her treatment in particular was exaggerated. The order was so thorough, stating that men couldn’t even be in the same room as her, much less touch her. She’d been shipped off a few days prior as a special delivery, meaning she was undoubtedly related to the Gods in some fashion. Of course I remembered her.
We heard a dry thunk from outside. Then the breaking of glass.
That was when the brigand shuddered. When I looked more closely, I saw a small hole had been made between his brows.
“Hwah...?” His eyes rolled back into his head as blood gushed from the hole like a fountain. He crumpled to the ground nicely, starting with his knees. An instant death, for sure. A second later, a piercing scent tickled my nose. The smell of gunpowder.
It was the same scent as the one from all those years ago when I’d watched fireworks in the capital. Why was it here?
The brigand had died from a single hit, by an attack that very clearly was not magic, but a physical one. It wasn’t an arrow either. What in the world...?
That was when I found a small lump on the floor. “A shard from a stone? No... A metal ball?”
More noises echoed throughout the room.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Light popped from outside, accompanied by the same sound of glass shattering. One by one, the other men in the room had holes appear in between their brows.
This sound was the harbinger of death.
Thud, thud, thud. The lives of these men dissipated as they fell.
Bang.
A final dry noise. The signal of death, paired with a hot sensation on my forehead.
That was the first time that I, Abraham, would have my heartbeat stop in my forty-five years of life.
†
Shinobu Iijima
I kicked the mansion’s window at a good speed, and it went down with a shrill noise. Entry into the main hall, complete.
Dead bodies were already strewn about the room thanks to Alice’s sniping. Everything seemed to be in order already.
“Wh-What’s going on?!” Ms. Mimi shouted hysterically upon seeing the fallen men.
“Alice put an end to them.”
She screamed even louder upon hearing that. I was hoping she could help with the rescue part instead of being surprised. All the enemies in the room had been suppressed, but reinforcements were probably already on their way.
Mr. Hannibal gave directions while still looking shocked at the bodies. “Ms. Mimi! Hurry and check!”
As expected of an A-rank adventurer, he was experienced on the battlefield and could give out precise orders. Ms. Mimi managed to calm down after hearing him, quickly turning to the women off to the side of the room, who were all panicking because of the sudden events. Some had fallen on their butts, while others were trying to crawl away. It was a really pitiful sight. They couldn’t run because of the shackles on their ankles, and to be frank, I was thankful to the slave merchants for that. Getting them back would be a hassle if they managed to run and scatter.
“Th-The princess is here! Right there!”
I looked to where Ms. Mimi was pointing. A single harpy was crouched there, in an undignified position, trying to crawl to the door.
Unfortunately for her, that door opened.
“Wh-What is all this?! What’s happening?!” Five more guards had leaped in.
“Ms. Mimi! I know these men—they’re A-rank adventurers!” Mr. Hannibal couldn’t mask the distress in his voice and features. The situation was definitely bad, but our positions made it even worse. The harpy princess was the closest to the door.
The men stood dismayed for a moment at the disaster in the main hall, but they were A-ranks like Mr. Hannibal. After taking a second to confirm the situation, they sprang into action, bolting straight for the princess.
One of them, a red-haired man, pulled out a knife. The princess was lying still on her stomach, and he aimed right for the back of her neck. He grabbed her and hauled her up from the floor.
“Urgh... Get... Get your filthy hands away from the princess!”
Hang on, Ms. Mimi. That’s a bad move, one of the worst things you could possibly do in this situation.
As if proving me right, the man had a nasty grin on his face that said “gotcha!”
“I’ve got a lot of things to ask you,” he spat while holding the knife to the princess’s throat and glaring at us. “First things first, disarm yourselves. You know what’ll happen to this girl if you resist.”
Mr. Hannibal looked toward Ms. Mimi. Her face twisted bitterly.
“Do as he says,” she ordered.
“But Ms. Mimi...” Mr. Hannibal muttered weakly. “If we do, we’ll all be destroyed.”
“I already told you—our princess’s life takes priority over anything else!”
Mr. Hannibal shook his head at her protest. “Please, calm down. These men have to treat the slaves with the utmost care. They wouldn’t actually do anything to her.”
“Well... That’s true...” A spark of hope flashed through Ms. Mimi’s eyes.
The red-haired man’s next words changed that hope to despair in an instant. “Ha ha! You all may have to prioritize her safety, but for us, our lives come first before anything else. You all slaughtered our comrades in seconds. We have no reason to hold back.”
Mr. Hannibal looked confused. “But if you don’t, won’t you all get killed?”
“It’d be ideal to not let the products get any scratches on them, sure. But right now, both pulling back and pushing forward lead to hell. If the products have to be damaged in order for us to get away, we’d let that happen and run without looking back.”
Ms. Mimi bit her lip and Mr. Hannibal went silent. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke.
“Master Hannibal... Do you really think these men would do that?”
“They’re undoubtedly A-rank adventurers. They’re currently affiliated with a criminal’s guild, so they aren’t lying when they say their own lives take priority over everything else.”
Silence took Ms. Mimi over too.
These guys are willing to use classic tricks like taking hostages, huh? Doesn’t matter, though, since I’ve finally finished preparing this spell. Let’s do it!
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“You’re asking me what I’m doing? The answer is that I’m Shinobu Iijima.”
“Shinobu Iijima...?”
Though the man took a bit to process what that meant, Mr. Hannibal and Ms. Mimi reacted immediately.
“Wait, Iijima! There’s five of them! Not to mention all the hostages!”
“Master Iijima! Please, don’t put our princess in danger! Anything but that!”
They could beg all they wanted, but that wouldn’t stop me. It was plain as day that leaving this situation to these two wouldn’t lead to a favorable outcome for us.
“Um, if you two could just get down on the ground for a bit...” I eyed them.
They didn’t. All I got in response was two blank expressions.
Okay, then. I’ll try saying it a bit more forcefully this time. “Get down!”
Still nothing.
Of course they wouldn’t. I knew this would happen, I grumbled in my brain as I finished preparing and released my magic, no incantation needed.
It was a Grade 3 gravity control spell. Pressure was applied above the two of them. I needed them to get their heads on the ground no matter what.
“Wh-What’s going on?!”
“A-A Grade 3 spell?! But I didn’t hear anyone chant! Where did this come from?!”
Me, obviously. I thought while controlling their gravity. At the same time, I put the final touches on the spell I was trying to get to.
The red-haired man cackled. “Grade 3 with no chant? Can’t believe Abraham jumped in without even showing himself! What a guy!”
Mr. Hannibal yelped in horror. “A-Abraham?! You all have the Vagrant Grand Sorcerer on your side?!”
“That we do! What’re you gonna do about it?!”
“We’re in trouble, Ms. Mimi! Abraham is bad news!”
“I-Is this Abraham really so threatening?”
“He’s an S-rank adventurer, said to have ascended beyond humanity. Our common battle techniques won’t work against him!”
“But you’re so strong yourself! He even makes you fear him?”
Mr. Hannibal nodded seriously. “He’s not just dangerous. We might as well be dead already. Our only option is to run!”
The cackles got even louder. “I was so worried when I saw he wasn’t here, but I guess I didn’t even have to take a hostage in the first place. Ha ha, ha ha, hah hah ha!”
All right. The two of them seem to be firmly on the ground now. All that’s left is to cast my Attack Magic.
The red-haired man’s laughter got even wilder. “Ha ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha! Hah hah ha!”
Let’s see. I guess I should aim about 130 centimeters up?
There we go. Let’s start spring-cleaning.
“Grade 4: Death Scythe.”
My whisper summoned a giant reaper’s scythe into the air.