LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 172
Chapter 172.The Bumpy Family and the Out-of-Place Guest
Morning arrived, but as expected, Yaralai had not returned. The investigation must be dragging on. Since I’ve already given him money, there shouldn’t be a problem. By the way, I’m not worried at all. I can’t even imagine a situation where he’d end up in trouble.
The morning training continues with yesterday’s spear techniques. According to Faf, spear techniques can also be used as staff techniques. Since they are useful for dealing with opponents you don’t want to kill, I feel more motivated to learn them than I ever would with a sword.
It’s frustrating, but Faf seems to really understand my personality.
After finishing the training and the distribution, it was time for breakfast. I had replenished the rice and other supplies for the day. A set costs 24,867 yen.
The added breakfast items cost 295 yen, 285 yen, 379 yen x4, 3 yen, and cigarettes. 4,600 yen. So, the total comes to 6,699 yen + 24,867 yen = 31,566 yen.
Remaining balance: 1,676,422 yen.
Quest: 2,041,010 yen.
Now, as I stood up to head toward the Adele Trading Company, the noise from the deeper part of the slums caught my attention. I glanced at Hagg, and silently, he headed toward the makeshift base. He knows exactly what’s going on.
“Lalaila, keep an eye on the camper for me.”
“Okay, but…”
“I’m just going to check things out.”
But trouble came from the other side.
“Hmm… this is beautiful.”
Pushing through the crowd was a group of five armed bodyguards, followed by a pompous-looking man. The three men being guarded were clearly led by the central figure, who was the VIP. He approached Lalaila and his first words were:
“…Do you want to be punched in the face?”
“Eh? I-I…”
Ignoring Lalaila’s flustered response, the man continued.
“I never thought I’d actually find an elf girl in a place like this… Good. State your name.”
“Eh? Eh? I… I’m…”
I stepped in between the man and Lalaila, who was trying to take her hand.
“You don’t need to say anything. This girl is with me. What do you want, old man?”
“What!?”
The shout didn’t come from the man himself, but from his followers. The armed guards reached for their swords.
“I only called him ‘old man’ because he’s old. Got a problem with that?”
“You! Don’t get cocky! Hurt him!”
As the man shouted, three soldiers stepped forward. The remaining two were staying close to protect the man. They seemed fairly skilled.
“Akira-san!?”
“It’s fine. Stay back.”
The three muttered something quietly, and I could sense the energy around them shift. I’ve grown a lot too.
One had a spear, two held swords, and they took a defensive stance. They were told to hurt me, but they looked ready to kill.
I adjusted my stance, moving in sync with their energy fluctuations and closed the distance quickly.
“Eh!?”
The soldier with the spear probably thought I suddenly grew huge. I closed the distance so fast, he probably lost his sense of depth. That disoriented him, and I took advantage of the opening in his energy.
“Good work.”
I gently pressed my palm into the chest of the spear guard, but I infused it with a spiraling wave of energy.
“Gugh!?”
Contrary to how it looked, the guard clutched his chest and collapsed, rolling on the ground gasping for air. It wasn’t just the air that left his lungs, his heart probably stopped for a second too.
I glared at the remaining two guards, and they backed away, pale-faced.
“Hey! You guys, don’t just stand there! Why aren’t you attacking!?”
Of course they weren’t. I just took out the strongest one in one move. They understood that and weren’t foolish enough to charge in.
“You guys… you think you can just attack without any reason? Are you idiots? Don’t you have any common sense? I could wipe you all out, you know?”
I spoke in an exasperated tone, and the armed guards, now sweating and pale, backed off. The spear guy was still writhing on the ground.
…Wait, did I really hit him that hard?
Looking at the energy fluctuation, he shouldn’t be dying, but…
“Enough. Stop it. This is pathetic.”
The most pompous one spoke up to stop things.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm. I was only trying to protect myself. Please forgive me.”
There’s no way I’m forgiving you, you idiot. I thought about just knocking them all out, but that would cause more trouble, so I held back.
Shifting my attention to Lalaila, she nodded slightly, and I calmed myself.
“Fine. But if you want someone to introduce themselves, at least introduce yourself first.”
“Ah, you’re right. I’ll do that now.”
Does he not even realize the sarcasm? I’m telling him to go away.
“I am Dezion Sandel, a city councilman.”
“City council?”
“You don’t know? …You country bumpkin. The city council is the body that governs the politics of this country. In a typical kingdom, I’d be someone of royal stature.”
So, he’s a big shot in this country. I heard that Pilatus… now Tessah’s Blow-Soar, was really interested in the political system of this country. I thought it was a democratic, non-monarchical system…
I sighed as I looked at the noble-looking man dressed in high-class attire. It seemed like Blow was way off in terms of what political system he should be looking up to.
“So, Dezion-san, what brings you to a place like this?”
“You! Don’t address me by my name!”
“I don’t care. There’s no point in lecturing common people on manners.”
I know what I’m doing, but seriously, this guy just doesn’t get sarcasm!
“…So? What do you want?”
I was getting pretty fed up.
“Hmph. I came to take the elf.”
Alright. Time to kill him.
Before my killing intent could erupt, Lalaila stepped in front of me.
“Excuse me, but I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
Lalaila answered politely, no longer using her usual casual speech.
“I mean exactly what I said. I heard an elf came to this slum. You don’t want to stay here, do you? I’ll take you to a life of luxury.”
I cracked my knuckles. The energy from my arms spiraled.
“I don’t quite understand, but… I am here by my own will. I appreciate your kindness, but I must decline.”
“What…?”
For the first time, Dezion’s expression faltered after seeing his guards go down.
“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. I won’t treat you like a slave. I’ll treat you as my concubine. What’s the problem?”
Is his brain boiling or something?
“No. No matter the conditions, I’m not going with you. I’m sorry, but please leave.”
Lalaila glared at Dezion with intensity, and finally, Dezion sighed.
“I see… It seems there’s some misunderstanding. I’ll leave for now, but think about it carefully. I’ll come back.”
“No, don’t come back.”
Dezion shot me a glance but said nothing as he turned to leave. Two of his guards picked up the spear guard and followed him. They pushed through the crowd just like they had when they arrived.
…What the hell was that about?
“Akira-san.”
Lalaila stood beside me.
“This kind of thing happens sometimes.”
“What do you mean?”
“In human society… especially among the nobility, having an elf as a concubine is a huge status symbol. Elves don’t often leave the forest.”
And they’re all beautiful and cute, so that makes it even more coveted.
“Women aren’t collectibles.”
“Yeah.”
“Honestly…”
I was feeling the weight of the situation. If Yaralai were here, I probably would’ve killed them all for real. But maybe it was a good thing he’s not here.