Chapter 90: This is the Dark Guild!?
The Chamber of Commerce President’s voice rose, “I’ll give you ten Large Gold Coins!” but nothing happened.
“Are you saying that to me?” I feigned ignorance and tilted my head.
Apparently, the amount wasn’t enough.
“Alright, twenty coins! Hurry up!”
At that moment, those who had been hiding began to move.
Four from the ceiling, and two from the walls, appeared gallantly, clad in Maso.
“…They’re just showing themselves normally, huh,” I muttered unintentionally.
“This is where you’d expect a surprise attack, right?” I asked Yuri, and she also tilted her head, “Perhaps they’re that confident in their skills?”
“It seems you’re confident in your strength, but if you think you can match real Assassins at your age, you must be pretty dim-witted.”
“Heh, for a prince’s attendant, she’s quite a catch. Let’s have some fun with the woman before we kill her.”
“You like a kid with no chest at all? Well, if she’s all there is, I’ll use her too.”
Huh?
Discussing raping Yuri in front of me? Even if it’s a joke, that’s way beyond what I can forgive…?
“Hey, Yuri… at times like this, is it wrong to want to make them suffer instead of just killing them outright?”
“No, I think it’s fine…” Yuri nodded with a frightening smile. “Alright, here I go!” I stood up and lunged, deciding to go with the style of making them understand with my fists.
As I closed in, they naturally moved to parry with their swords, but it was too slow. I sent the man who said he’d rape Yuri flying with a punch, and it seemed his head was crushed; he was dead.
“Ah well, I got angry and put too much power into it. I messed up and killed the most infuriating guy instantly, but oh well. You’re next, okay?”
Next, naturally, was the man who had mocked Yuri’s lovely body. This time, a full-power punch to the solar plexus. This one seemed weak too; my fist pierced through his chest while he was too stunned to move, and my hand became bloodied.
“Wh-What is this guy?! He’s a monster!!”
“Who… Who are you calling a monster?!”
An enraged Yuri cut down all four remaining men with a single stroke of her sword.
What remained was silence and the Assassins sprawled on the floor.
But why did Yuri suddenly snap like that?
It was a bit late if it was because she was called flat-chested…
Ah, that’s right.
Viscount Oldam had said she was called a monster and bullied in her childhood.
Is that word taboo for Yuri? I should remember that.
“So, you’re the only one left…” I sent a glance towards the remaining Chamber of Commerce President.
“Th-This is some kind of mistake! I don’t know anything! It’s not me!”
“It’s useless whatever you say, we’ve been acting with full knowledge from the start. If you don’t want to be beheaded on the spot, first bring the ledgers of this company and documents that identify the members of the Assassins.”
When I asked, “You’ll cooperate, right?” he obediently complied and handed over the documents from his safe.
“Alright, now I can pass judgment without reservation,” I said, wrapping the Chamber of Commerce President in Maso and taking him outside.
Those who were likely company members watched with dumbfounded faces as their president was dragged out, bound and crying, but I ignored them and continued.
“Hic… F-Fo-Forgive me! Please have mercy!”
“There is no mercy for you, who sent Assassins after Rui,” Yuri stated coldly.
I had the soldiers who were waiting in front of the company set up a cross-shaped stake, adjusted to the Chamber of Commerce President’s height for crucifixion.
I crucified him there, wrote down his confirmed crimes, and added, ‘Anyone who frees him will be deemed an accomplice and punished with the same crime.’
Since it’s the same crime, it means beheading. No one would dare help him knowing that.
This was an example for the residents.
Normally, I should have delivered judgment quietly under the law, but if I was going to kill him anyway, I thought I’d do it spectacularly in front of the Townspeople.
I decided to thoroughly implement a reign of terror, personally meting out punishment to these rotten people.
At first, I thought about establishing good governance and creating a town where residents could live comfortably, but it’s impossible for someone like me with no experience when dealing with people who completely look down on me and have no intention of listening.
So, I decided to do something straightforward.
First, I’ll thoroughly and clearly punish criminals, and make the residents understand that getting cocky will lead to trouble.
Yes, before morality, instilling a spirit of lawfulness comes first. I have to start by making them follow the minimum rules.
Once that takes shape to some extent, it should be fine to hand it over to a successor.
If the Leben Company had been managed more seriously and had listened, I might have found a more peaceful solution, but since that was impossible, I decided to go with this plan and consulted Yuri, who seemed concerned, asking, “Is this still okay?”
“I don’t like you playing the villain, Rui… but I suppose it can’t be helped. However, won’t most of the residents become Sinners then?”
“That’s unlikely. People flip-flop quite easily.”
They probably think they’re just doing what’s permissible because they’re siding with the strong.
If that ‘strong one’ is thoroughly crushed, they’ll understand a little.
“So, we’ll just clearly punish the Sinners without worrying about it. I think we’ll repeat that.”
“Though, they’re the ones who’ll be doing the catching,” I said, turning my gaze to the soldiers.
“Yes, sir! Capturing Sinners is our duty!”
To them, who saluted and stood at attention, I instructed, “If you know there are strong individuals among the Sinners, you are to request our cooperation.”
They have, at best, strength equivalent to high-ranking soldiers, but the fact that there isn’t a single high-ranking Knight worries me a little.
Until my own troops arrive, it’ll be dangerous if I don’t provide backup.
These men who work diligently are my only allies in this town.
I strongly conveyed that there was no need for hesitation in that regard.
After that, Yuri and I organized the information on the Dark Guild and made an assault plan.
Since the guys the Chamber of Commerce President kept by his side were only at that level, there seemed to be nothing to fear. So, after discussing it with Yuri, we concluded we should just crush them quickly.
“Now then, what should we do about the treatment of the Dark Guild members…”
“Are we not subjugating them?” Yuri asked.
If we could do that, it would be the quickest, but there are no clear charges yet.
I looked through the Leben Company’s documents, and while there were assassination requests for individuals, there was no roster for the organization.
In that case, we can only capture and punish a few of the perpetrators.
Of course, we can arrest those at the place that accepts assassination requests, but legally, that’s as far as we can go.
I could stretch my authority as Lord to do whatever I want, but I shouldn’t, as there’s a risk of involving innocent people.
Then again, if we act half-heartedly, they’ll just disappear.
“Unlike with the Chamber of Commerce President, they can easily run and hide.”
“…It’s frustrating, especially for a town that doesn’t feel worth the effort,” Yuri sighed.
Oh dear, Yuri seems quite fed up.
As for me, I was told I could do as I pleased, but I’m more anxious about whether it’s okay to continue these self-righteous judgments.
I don’t feel there was a problem with executing the Rioters, but my handling of the company was based on the premise of cornering them.
In other words, from the beginning, my plan was to use my position as Lord to drive them into a corner.
In a situation where those who intentionally don’t pay taxes are rampant, I have to break the town’s system at that level once. With my abilities, I couldn’t think of any other way to achieve some improvement in the short term.
Well, all of that was only up until they resorted to threats or sending Assassins.
As expected, they sent Assassins, so now I have no hesitation in executing them.
“This is far more troublesome than Monsters…” Yuri murmured.
“You’re right. Maybe we should just casually crush the Dark Guild and be done with it.”
Yeah. I don’t want to see Yuri’s dejected face.
We’ll weaken the Assassins as much as possible and leave them be. Then, we’ll crush them whenever they make a move. That’s the way to go.
Fortunately, unlike during the war, it seems there are only small fry here.
Well, if they were strong enough to rank high in a war, they could earn money without resorting to hidden misdeeds.
The only ones who’d willingly go that route are probably psychopaths.
“Alright then, Yuri, you stay here and watch the house. I’ll go crush them casually.”
“Eh?! N-No, I don’t want to!! Why?!”
I mean, you look like you’re having a hard time.
I was trying to be considerate of Yuri, but if that was the reason, she clung to me, saying she wouldn’t leave.
When I hugged her back, saying she was more than welcome, she seemed surprised and pulled away.
I don’t get it, but I’m happier if we’re together too.
“Well then, shall we go put on another little act?” I said, taking her hand and heading out.
I took two soldiers with me and headed to the Hunter Guild.
Yes, this was the Dark Guild’s headquarters. I have to say, it’s completely rotten.
I immediately summoned the Guild Master and had him take a seat in a corner of the cafeteria.
“If it’s for the Lord-sama, you could use the reception room on the second floor, but?”
“Hahaha, I can’t go to such a terrifying place! There are Assassins lying in wait there, aren’t there?”
When I pointed at him with both hands and deliberately replied in a loud, cheerful voice, the cafeteria lady and the surrounding Hunters shot startled glances at the ominous turn in our conversation.
Yuri, perhaps surprised by my high spirits, was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression, but I decided to continue the charade, hoping she’d enjoy it like a little play.
“No way, that can’t be true. I’ve been keeping a close eye on things, you see.”
The Guildmaster shot me a cold, piercing gaze.
“There’s no need for such tedious back-and-forth! We already have proof that you’ve been accepting assassination requests, you know!”
After brushing my hair back with a flourish, I spread out the Leben Company documents with one hand, winked, and snapped my fingers. He finally showed a hint of panic.
“Lord-sama, you are mistaken! That request form is a forgery!”
“Hoh… You dare lie at this stage?! Do you think this is all the evidence we have?!”
Suddenly shifting from a cheerful demeanor to one of overt anger, I slammed my hand on the platform, drawing everyone’s attention as I stood up. He kicked his chair back, jumped away, and reached behind him to grab the hilt of a knife.
“Hoh, you want to do this? Even so, I graduated from the Hunter Academy at the top of my class, skipping grades. I won’t lose to someone who’s merely a bit skilled, you know?”
The moment I said that, he snorted and slightly lowered his guard.
“You seem confident… This lovely girl next to me is also a prodigy, hailed as a genius, you know? There are two soldiers as well. Do you really think you can win in a four-on-one fight?”
“Come on, bring it on. You think you can take us down, right? Hurry up and show your strength,” I goaded, but he took his hand off his weapon.
Why…? The Chamber of Commerce President fell for this.
Play along…
I’m starting to lose track of where this act is going myself.
“I see. If you’re that confident in your skills, then the reception room should be no problem. I’d like to have a thorough discussion upstairs to clear these false charges.”
Just as a young Party, likely fed up with the shady talk, tried to quickly leave the guild, they were stopped by a man blocking the entrance, and an argument began. Looking closely, it seemed the area behind the reception desk was also blocked off.
“Hoh, so your plan is to eliminate all witnesses? And you think that will just make what I’ve said here disappear…”
“Hmph… If you’ve seen through that much, then it can’t be helped. Alright, men!”
As the Guildmaster shouted, a dozen or so men came trooping down.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t expect us to have this many people?”
“Kuh… I’ll resist to the very end! I won’t lose!”
Having lost my direction, I inadvertently replied in the cheerful, manly tone I’d used at the start, and Yuri let out a “Pfft” and stifled a laugh.
“…First, if we silence that little girl and the soldiers, perhaps we can make you stop that insolent tone?”
He gestured with his chin to the men behind him, and the battle began… or so I thought, but Yuri cut them all down in an instant.
I really didn’t want to play the fool this much and have no chance to shine, I thought, as I used my Maso to restrain those blocking the entrance and exit.
“Wh-what… the…?”
“I told you, didn’t I? She’s a prodigy.”
Yuri was staring at me with a face full of expectation.
“No… I think we can end the little play now, right?”
“Is that so? So that’s all for this time…”
Yuri looked dejected, but frankly, it was getting tough to continue the act. So, from here on, it was time to get serious. I stopped the exaggerated gestures and faced the Guildmaster earnestly.
“If you have any more cards to play, I’ll wait. Next time, I’ll take you on by myself.”
“Kuh… Hey! Gather all the executives here, now!”
A man who seemed to be doing paperwork behind the counter dashed out through the back door. Apparently, that man was also a Dark Guild member. From the looks of it, all the receptionists except one seemed to be clean.
I righted the overturned chair, sat back down at the platform, and looked around. It was a gruesome sight. A dozen or so corpses lay scattered about, and the unrelated people who were restrained looked terrified. I wanted to let the uninvolved ones out, but considering they were about to be silenced, it was safer for them to stay here, so I had them restrained along with those who had blocked the entrance.
“What’s wrong? Sit down. They won’t be here for a while yet, right?”
“You’re telling me to sit at the same platform in this situation? Are you… insane?”
“Hey, hey, don’t lump me in with you guys. True, I’ve gotten somewhat used to killing, but that’s because your country started a war with us.”
He, with his back to the wall, knife coated in what looked like black poison pointed at me, continued to be wary, looking utterly confused by the fact that I remained seated.
“Why… wait for our reinforcements…?”
“That’s obvious. It’s to crush every single member of your Dark Guild.”
When I said that, the man regained a bit of his composure. It seemed he thought he could win if his forces arrived. There must be some pretty strong guys among them.
“You guys don’t need to fight, so just stay behind us. We’ll have you help with the cleanup later, so you can leave this to us.”
Just in case, I told the two soldiers to move to a safe position so I could use my magic at full power. I thought they’d be fine since I’d shown my strength when suppressing the Rioters, but they looked somewhat worried. I wanted to tell them there was no problem, but it would be troublesome if the Dark Guild members shifted their escape route towards them, so I just whispered that it was okay.
While we were doing that, their reinforcements seemed to arrive surprisingly quickly.
“You bastard, what the hell are you doing, creating such a troublesome situation on your own?!”
“It wasn’t me! The Company leaked the request form to the Lord!”
I wanted to finish things while they were arguing over there, but only one person had arrived so far.
“They’re taking their time, aren’t they… I want to go home soon,” Yuri muttered.
“Hey! That’s right. When the situation calms down a bit, why don’t we bring Raku and Fuu over?”
“Ah, that would be wonderful! Let’s do that!”
As I picked up on Yuri’s murmur and started chatting, a man who was likely an executive walked over to us.
“Hey, you look pretty damn relaxed.”
“Yeah. I’m so relaxed that I’m telling you to wait until all your forces gather. Otherwise, your chances of winning will be zero, you know?”
Saying something like that was a bad idea. The moment I did, he shifted into a combat stance.
“Hey, they’re also waiting for their reinforcements to arrive! We don’t have time!”
“Wha-?! S-So that’s it! Then I’ll kill the Lord!”
Oh dear… I acted too confident, and they overthought things strangely.
“It seems whatever we say now will be useless,” Yuri commented.
Just as Yuri said, they maintained a stance that looked like they could attack at any moment.
“A little longer should be fine, right?” I said, activating Light Magic and stripping the Maso from the two of them.
In that instant, Yuri moved and knocked their knives away. I used my Maso to grab the knives that had been sent flying and stuck into the ceiling, then placed them on the platform.
“Yuri-chan, you’re amazing!”
“Fufu, are we resuming the little play?”
“No, that’s not it! This is me being genuine!”
When I gave her a look that clearly said “That’s uncalled for,” Yuri laughed and said, “Fufufu, I’m just kidding.” The Guildmaster and the executive stared at us, dumbfounded by this exchange.
“Hey, what just happened to us…?”
“I don’t know! Dammit… Is that bastard Minoru still not here?!”
Speak of the devil, a man walked in with a bow-legged, gangster-like swagger. This was probably Minoru.
“What’s this? Oi, oi, this is an interesting situation, ain’t it! Hey Tsutomu, let’s see what you can do right away, eh?”
“Wha-?! You are…?!”
“Hyo-! What’s this? Can I do whatever I want with this woman? I’m Tsutomu, nice to meetcha!”
Following Minoru into the Hunter Guild was an unattractive man with a flippant air about him. Yuri seemed to recognize him. When I bluntly asked “Who?”, she said he was apparently a subordinate of the scumbag who had hurt her.
Why was an Imperial Army guy here…?
While I was thinking that, Yuri lunged at him, and a sword fight began.
The man called Tsutomu, though startled by the sudden attack, quickly reacted and managed a proper defense and offense.
Huh? He can actually fight Yuri seriously? Isn’t he crazy strong?
I had to help her! I hurriedly stood up, but three men blocked my way.
“Oi, oi, your opponent is over here, you know?”
“What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to take us on by yourself?”
“You’re in the way. Get out of my wayyy!!”
Yuri’s in danger, don’t you dare get in my way!!!
This was no time to hold back. I conjured a Magic Circle large enough to encompass all three of them and unleashed a full-power Lightning Strike. The three men were obliterated without a trace.
In fact, even the scattered corpses were blown away, and the room was enveloped in smoke.
Once the swirling dust settled somewhat, I could see a small crater had formed.
I looked towards Yuri and was relieved to see she had put some distance between herself and her enemy.
No, wait. Seeing the dirt on her, it seems I accidentally blew her away a bit too.
I was glad it didn’t put Yuri at a disadvantage in her fight.
Just then, the man called Tsutomu, who had been staring this way dumbfounded, cried out in panic.
“Huh? What’s with that power… You’re that super crazy dude from back then! No way, no way, no way, no way, no way!”
Even as he shouted, the guy fled like a startled rabbit. I wanted to catch him and make him spill what he knew, but Yuri was more important, so I checked if she was alright first.
“Any injuries?”
“Yes. He was pretty tough, but if it’s him, even I can beat him, so you don’t need to worry.”
“This is your fault, Rui,” she said, brushing off some dirt and giving me a reproachful stare.
Sorry… I was just worried.
After that, I healed the two injured and frightened soldiers and decided to help with the aftermath as well.
Iād half-wrecked the guild, so I couldn’t just dump the rest of the work on them and leave.
Actually, the inside of the guild was full of injured people.
I have to heal them quickly…
I used magic to heal the remaining guild members and Hunters who were injured, explained what happened to the residents who had gathered, and then returned to the Lord’s mansion.