Episode 11: Night Visitor
I quietly move to the side of the bandits and wait.
Once a dozen or so have entered and it doesn’t seem like any more are coming, the guy who removed the bar returns and moves to the front of the group.
It’s only a small light, but the magic-infused eyes of the cat-person are sharp.
Since it’s dim, I’ll light up the area so I can see my feet as well.
“Oi! Seems like we have uninvited guests, but no greetings?”
Surprised by the bright light and my voice, they all turn towards me at once. I unleash a three-shot Flash.
Even though I closed my eyes, I’m half-blinded too, but I fire Ice Bullets into the men who are standing there, unable to see.
The fist-sized chunks of ice shatter on impact, but when fired into their stomachs at the speed of a bullet train, they display tremendous power, blowing the men away one after another.
Bash! Thud! Gyaaa! Rattle rattle rattle! The fallen men make a variety of sounds, but none of them can get up.
“What was that?”
“What happened? What’s going on?”
“What is this?”
“Suspicious fellow!”
Guards in their underwear and sleepwear, swords in hand, come rushing out, pointing their blades at me when they see me.
“Don’t panic, all the bandits are lying right there. Go get the Butler and the Chairman. And don’t let any of the servants get close to this place.”
I instruct the stunned man to go get ropes to tie them up.
Having seen me during the day, they lower their swords, and at my words, they rush back into the store in a panic.
The guys on the ground are all wearing masks so their faces can’t be seen, but it’ll be a pain if they make a fuss, so I rip off their masks and stuff them into their mouths.
“Did you capture the bandits?”
“Just the ones who helped them and the ones who came inside.”
“You did this alone?”
“There wasn’t time to call the guards. If we hand these guys over to the city guard, they’ll be free right away and come back for revenge.”
“What should we do?”
“Let’s wait until dawn. If the city guards don’t come by dawn, we’ll clean up and pretend tonight never happened.”
“And… do you think they’ll back down?”
“It’s difficult to say. They’ll either pick a fight or pretend nothing happened. More importantly, I’m going to interrogate these guys a bit, so move them all to the back warehouse. It’s good to have some leverage over the enemy.”
I had the guards who were sleeping soundly do the interrogation, but there are only two things I want to know, and before that, I’ll tell them a little something.
“Unfortunately, I was told about you guys in advance. And we’re tracking the carriage that escaped, so we’ll know who it belongs to soon. There are only two things I want to know. Who ordered you to do this, and who’s the commander here? You can choose whether you want to talk after being hurt, or just die.”
I nod to the guards behind me.
The men who were sleeping soundly, unaware of the bandits’ intrusion, begin to beat them mercilessly, as if to redeem themselves in front of their master.
There’s plenty of time until dawn, so they slowly beat and kick them, imbuing their bodies with pain.
Those who die or are on the verge of death are finished off and moved from this world into the Magic Bag.
There are no curses or angry shouts, just a steady stream of punches and kicks, and when they stop moving, they are strangled.
When three people are stored in the Magic Bag, they seem to realize we’re serious, and everyone turns pale, looking at the next victim.
I have no intention of showing mercy to the guys who were going to barge into the store and kill everyone, including the owner.
When eight people became residents of the Magic Bag, I found a man who had wet himself.
“It’s easier to talk than to be beaten to death. Nod if you’re willing to talk.”
He shakes his head vigorously, his complexion improving as he seems to think he can survive if he talks.
I take him away from his companions and ask him.
“Who ordered you to do this?”
“I don’t know the ultimate boss, but the guy who hired us… is the one after the next one being beaten. His name is Gazelda. There should have been another one, but I can’t see him, so he must have run away.”
“What’s the other one’s name?”
“Kadif. He boasted that he had connections with the lord. Hey, I talked, so you won’t kill me, right?”
“I know. Let’s go to Gazelda.”
I take the pee-pants guy with me and stand in front of Gazelda, looking at his face carefully.
“Gazelda, huh? Kadif seems to have run away, but should I report this to Honings?”
“So we were ambushed. Hand us over to the guards.”
“You’re not listening, are you? If Honings finds out, he’ll torture you to death for sure. What do you think they’ll think if you’re the only one unharmed after being captured and tortured?”
“I’m going to die anyway, do whatever you want!”
“If you don’t want to talk, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll wring Kadif out later, so you can die in peace!”
“Do you know where he is?”
He seems to be prepared to die, so I smile and shoot an Ice Arrow into his stomach.
If I can find Kadif, there’s no doubt that the Marquis is pulling the strings behind the scenes.
I shoot the pee-pants guy in the heart with an Ice Arrow and let him die peacefully.
Seeing what I’ve done, they realize there’s no way to survive, and some of them start thrashing and crying, even though they’re tightly bound and gagged, but the commotion quickly subsides.
Gazelda, the last one, is soon sent to join his companions.
Since no city guards show up, we’ll say the bandits tried to break in but were stopped by the guards and scattered.
Chairman Kokkola, who had heard the details from the person who guided them, follows my advice, but says he can’t bring himself to kill the servant, so he’ll just banish him. I give the man one piece of advice.
“If none of the guys you guided come back, they’ll think you betrayed them. If you don’t want to die, get out of town on the first carriage in the morning.”
The man, who had been relieved that he was saved, turned pale when he understood my words, but that’s not my problem.
Live well… if you can survive.
* * * * * * *
“Thank you very much. You saved us and the store. We will never forget this kindness. If possible, could you tell me your name?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t reveal it in this Honings territory. I’ll be leaving this town in a few days after causing trouble, so I’ll rent the attic room until then.”
I got permission from Chairman Kokkola and decided to get some sleep.
I asked him to wake me up when the morning work was done, so I wake up to the sound of knocking.
I confirm that the person who knocked is returning without saying anything, hide my presence with magic-infused Stealth Skill, and leave the Kokkola Company.
It takes more than an hour to get to the Honings Marquis’s mansion’s service entrance, but I can’t just tell them my business and ask to be let in, so I wait for a tradesman to arrive.
Following the tradesman into the mansion, I follow a servant and come to a place with a wide corridor and carpets.
Using the mansion map that Chairman Kokkola wrote for me, I go up to the second floor from the entrance hall and head for my destination.
The place where the guard knights are standing at the end of the passage is Honings Marquis’s office, but I can feel the presence of many people and a sense of tension.
The two knights standing in front of the office are in the way. I was wondering how to get inside, but I couldn’t think of a good idea, so I decided to take a hard-line approach.
I unleash a directional Flash on the two knights in front of the door, then quickly go to the luxurious door and knock.
Listening to the sound of the doorknob being lowered, I go behind the knight who is holding his eyes after being hit by the Flash, grab the back of his sword belt, and kick him into the opened door.
I immediately grab the other one by the arm, pull him in, and throw him in. After a moment of silence, I hear an angry shout, “What’s going on?!”
From the shadow of the opened door, I float a brightly shining light in a slightly higher place in the room, take a breath, and then unleash a three-shot Flash with a firm magical power.
“What is it?”
“Uwaaah!”
“What is this?”
“I can’t see anything!”
I hid in the shadow of the door before the Flash, so I can see clearly, I answer in my mind, and step into the room.
There are some idiots who are drawing their swords even though they can’t see, but when a few of them see me, they draw their swords and say, “Who is it!” “Intruder!” So I unleash a directional Flash on them right in front of their eyes.
I close the door, fix both knobs with Earth Magic so that no one can enter the room, and then shoot Ice Bullets into their stomachs one by one.
Once I’ve given them all an Ice Bullet greeting, I use Earth Magic to fix their hands and feet, and stuff Stone Bullets into their mouths as gags so they can’t make a sound.
They’re about the size of my fist, so they may not fit in their mouths, but they’ll have to be patient.
Having found three well-built men and an acquaintance, I lined them up on the sofa.
After waiting for a while, they blinked, peering around as if trying to see through something, confirming that they could see and marveling at their unmoving limbs, realizing they were restrained.
Now that the three well-built men and my acquaintance could see, it was time to begin the interrogation.
I started with the eldest of the Black Dragonkin.
“You must be Norka Honings, Marquis. Thank you for sending such boorish men in the dead of night. Surely, with that, you understand why they’re here?”
“Mmmphhh!”
Oops, I’d stuffed a fist-sized bullet in his mouth. I placed Earth Magic collars around the necks of all four.
I tightened and loosened the collars two or three times, demonstrating that I could control them freely.
“I’m going to take the thing out of your mouth now, but if you speak out of turn or shout, the collar will tighten and send you to the afterlife. Nod if you understand!”
Two of them nodded, but the other two glared at me, so I tightened their collars until they were just barely able to breathe.