Episode 23: Armed Multi-Seeker SGS-118B
“Well now, are you ready, kid?”
“Aren’t you ashamed of ganging up on a child?”
“It’s a job, you see.”
Twelve adult men surrounded me. Most of them were nothing special, but there were a couple of decent fighters mixed in.
The guy talking as their representative was probably the second-in-command.
“So, what’s your business?”
“…We know you’re the ‘transporter,’ see? The Adventurer’s Guild is in Iserina’s hands, so we can’t touch it.”
“I see. So you’ve done some investigating.”
“The requests increased suddenly. You can tell if you show your face regularly.”
“Since you’re serious enough to show your face regularly, wouldn’t it have been better to be a serious adventurer?”
They could make a decent living without having to surround a kid like me.
“Is ‘this’ what you’re after?”
“! That’s right! Hand it over!”
“Oops, my hand moved on its own.”
Crash!
I dropped the bottle of Hair Cleansing Liquid onto the ground. The bottle shattered on the cobblestones, scattering its contents beautifully.
“Oh, what a waste. I was so scared that it slipped out of my hand.”
“You little brat! Do you know how much that’s worth!?”
“I have no idea… Who exactly is buying it, anyway? I think it would be better to negotiate directly.”
How much are they willing to spend on mere Hair Cleansing Liquid?
“Besides, you guys are something else too. I’m sure this is a request from some noble, but why are you so serious about something that just makes hair pretty?”
“Sh-Shut up!”
“And now that my stock is gone, what are you going to do?”
“Hah! We’ll just threaten you and make you get it again!”
“So, you’re going to show your faces at the Adventurer’s Guild with me?”
“Guh.”
At that point, they were at a loss for words.
“Why don’t we just call it a day and pretend nothing happened?”
“Enough, isn’t it? He’s just a kid. He’ll be obedient if we beat him up.”
“Grant-san.”
“You were the one who said you didn’t want to hit a kid. That’s why I entrusted it to you, but this brat is resisting. I won’t give you any more time to negotiate.”
“W-Wait a minute! How can someone as strong as you be bothered with a kid like this?”
“Even if he’s a kid, he’s guarding a noble’s daughter. He must know how to fight.”
Something’s starting to happen.
“…Still, I can’t do it! I can’t bring myself to use violence against a child! I just can’t!”
“How annoying. You guys, shut him up.”
“But, Grant-san.”
“Can’t you listen to what I say?”
“…You’re strong, sure, but hitting Boris like that…”
“Are you planning to betray me too!?”
“He’s not the leader!”
“You’re just a bunch of losers who listen to whoever’s strongest.”
“What was that!? You can’t take back what you said!”
It looks like some kind of infighting has started… Well, whatever, I’ll go home while I can.
“Ah, I should probably attach a Transmitter, just in case.”
I took out a small Transmitter from my Spatial Storage and used Telekinesis Magic to slip it into the other party’s pocket. It was so small that you wouldn’t notice it even if it was on your fingertip. The reception range was narrow, but it could cover an area as large as the Royal Capital.
If I investigated their location with this, I should be able to find out which noble is after the Hair Cleansing Liquid. I can also eavesdrop.
“It’s there.”
Good evening from the rooftop. It’s Cladfield in Onmitsu mode. I covered my entire body with a robe that had color camouflage and illusion magic cast on it, and I’m hiding near a large chimney as a shield.
I’m using a palm-sized one-eyed scope called Watcher 8000 to peek into a certain mansion. This Watcher 8000 is a military-grade scope that tells you not only the zoom but also the distance to the target. It has functions such as magnification, heat detection, infrared vision, and oxygen concentration display.
The distance display reads 1003 meters. It’s within the range of the weapon I’m going to use.
I investigated the movement of the Transmitter and identified the noble’s house that the other party was going in and out of. I also eavesdropped to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.
“Earl Lucrut House, huh.”
The reason I didn’t immediately take action after identifying the location of the Transmitter was that there were no people of the Young Lady’s age in that house. There were some connections between the families, but the Young Lady’s social circle was centered around the academy, and she had almost no connections with other houses.
It would be different if she showed her face at a party, but at least since she started using the Hair Cleansing Liquid, the Young Lady hasn’t gone to such places.
In the end, it took quite a while to conclude that the wife of this house heard a rumor somewhere that the Young Lady’s hair had become beautiful, and she wanted it but had no connections…
“I don’t know them, and it seems like they’re doing other bad things, so I’ll deal with them properly.”
During the eavesdropping, it became clear that the current Earl and his wife were quite the villains. The people working in the house were also naturally complicit in their evil deeds. Perhaps only people who could tolerate such things remained because of what they were doing.
First, the sale of addictive illegal drugs. They buy them from other countries and sell them in the Royal Capital.
And the securing of slaves. In the kingdom, only criminals are slaves. And only serious criminals. But there are many slaves captured in the basement of their house. They were either slaves obtained from other countries or people kidnapped from within the kingdom.
“It’s a pain that I have to specify the bombing positions.”
Fortunately, I was able to obtain a floor plan of the Earl Lucrut House’s mansion through Iserina-san’s connections. If the mansion itself hasn’t been significantly remodeled or the materials haven’t been changed to extremely strong ones, I should be able to deal with it.
“There are fewer people coming and going at this time.”
There are only the Earl’s family and their ‘guests.’ It’s good that I won’t feel bad even if I blow them all away. Besides.
“This is also part of my escort duty.”
This time, I was targeted. It was only an attempt, but the Young Lady might have been targeted as well. And if I left it as it was, that possibility would only increase.
Fortunately, the commercialization of the Hair Cleansing Liquid has been decided. A factory will be built in a certain place in the Cybarossa Territory.
Of course, it will be sold to the nobles on a priority basis. If the real thing becomes easier to obtain, the Young Lady will no longer be targeted.
I’ll also get royalties, but I told them to give it to Dad and the others in the village. Thanks to Iserina-san, I’m not short on money, and it’s closer and safer to have it brought to the village than to have it transported all the way to the Royal Capital. I also want them to deliver the Hair Cleansing Liquid to Mom. It’s a waste to keep using Flame Trumpeter Oil on her hair.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
I took out eight flying Drones and a Head-Mounted Display for control from my Spatial Storage and equipped them.
I turned on the power and used brainwave control to float the eight flying Drones into the air.
This is the ‘Armed Multi-Seeker SGS-118B.’ It’s a flying attack Drone developed by Sorcerer & Gunsmith. You can choose from three attack methods: machine gun, mortar, and laser irradiation. First, it’s the mortar’s turn.
I issued instructions from the Head-Mounted Display to the Drones, which have a control range of 1200 meters, using brainwaves.
Six of the eight Drones followed my instructions, flew through the dark sky, and fired mortars after arriving at their destination.
Each Drone fired six mortars, for a total of thirty-six mortars fired. Each explosion was about 7.3 meters in diameter, turning the mansion into a sea of fire.
“There are fewer casualties than I thought.”
Many people in this world can use magic, and many people are sturdy in the first place. I thought they would die if they were hit directly by the explosion, but I confirmed with the Head-Mounted Display that a considerable number of people were running around trying to escape. I issued a return order to the Drones that had finished their roles, and sent the remaining two to the scene.
I checked the situation of the mansion through the newly arrived Drones. The walls and floors of the third and second floors were blown away, and a certain part of the first floor was clearly visible as planned.
“Machine gun fire.”
What I saw there was a sturdy iron door. It was the door to the stairs leading to the basement. The slaves inside probably couldn’t get out even in this situation, but conversely, they would be safe if they were in the basement.
I instructed the remaining two Drones to fire machine guns. I thoroughly destroyed the door leading to the basement and its surroundings to make it stand out so that the Knights and soldiers who went to rescue the mansion could find them.
“With this, the mission is complete.”
I issue a recall order to the flying Drones. Once I retrieve them, I’ll head back to the mansion quickly. Sneaking out of the mansion in the middle of the night would probably get me a good scolding.
The next day at the academy, everyone was buzzing about the attack on Earl Lucrut House, the discovery of illegal drugs, and the protection of illegal slaves.
Everyone’s got the info so fast, huh? Our Young Lady is just standing there dumbfounded.