Chapter 187

Maybe it’s a double personality.

As if the courtesy he had just shown was an illusion, the man approached with a disgruntled expression, cutting off the cultists’ robes and wiping off their swords. In response, Merdella, who reflexively jumped forward, slowly opened her mouth.

“...There’s no excuse. You’re right.”

Merdela clenched her fists to hide her trembling hands, but the man’s reaction was indifferent.

“What am I thinking?”

“...Trying to use you and your party to help us survive. All I...” ”

I thought it was shit, I didn’t think of it. What the fuck did you say I was right about? . It’s completely different.”

If it was the usual Merdella, it was a remark that would have trembled in a frenzy, asking why she kept bringing things that didn’t exist and holding on to the horse’s tail, but naturally, now she couldn’t refute anything.

“...sorry.”

“Sorry? Even if you got caught up in them and we died, ‘I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.’ You must have finished with the same voice and won your mind. No, is that enough to be worth watching? Adventurers are originally like that. Think you were unlucky. It must be high, isn’t it?”

Merdella couldn’t answer. It was because he had nothing to refute, but it was also because the man who took off one gauntlet and approached right in front of him slapped his cheek with the palm of his hand without warning.

Damn! With the sound of a shout, the eyes of the party were stained with astonishment, but returned to normal with a sigh of relief.

The reason was simple. Because Merdela was standing on her own two legs.

Judging from the previous appearances, it is clear that the man would have died if he had beaten him with all his might. Rather, he deliberately took off his gauntlet to slap him, so there might still be hope.

Of course, Merdella, the person involved, is in so much pain that she can’t even think of such a thing, and tears are dripping down her face. Even though my legs were shaking, I didn’t sit down because it was pure fear.

In the meantime, the man’s words continued.

“That’s not what I’m trying to hear, you selfish bitch. I’m trying to hear something other than your Shadow Claw acquaintance, Pulling, that makes you feel like I should keep you all alive. To me, you’re more important than those cultists or masquerade fighters I don’t know. Didn’t you think that would be seen as more hostile?”

The man continued talking while glaring coldly at Merdella, who was trying to refute reflexively, feeling the pain in his cheek that instantly swelled up and the taste of blood in his torn mouth. That alone made Merdela’s mouth shut and the trembling intensified.

“Well, everything was judged by you, so just kill yourself and ask me to finish it? Don’t even think in vain that you can save your colleagues through self-sacrifice. As long as it’s a party anyway, you’re accomplices, and all of them are bastards who threatened our lives. From my point of view, you are just one of them, so why save the rest just because you volunteered to die? Even if you struggled and resisted, it would have been the same that you would die, but what is the meaning of that?”

The man wearing the gauntlet again had a relaxed attitude, unlike his stern expression and tone. Of course, what he said was bloody content that was the opposite of that attitude.

“I will never overlook the bastards who are willing to put my life on the scales. And if it goes on like this, that will remain the biggest reason you all died.”

And as if inversely proportional to that, the limited leisure of Merdella and the others gradually disappeared.

“First of all, we are class adventurers mainly active in Englem, the southern gateway city. Our performance is not bad, but it is close to favorable reviews. I pride myself on penetrating information and geography.”

monetary reward? With that level of skill, they can earn more money in a shorter period of time than they have accumulated in their entire lives.

their skills? Is there Charlie in the castle? Even if they attacked right now, the man wouldn’t even pull out his knife and could split four people’s skulls with just a punch.

But information and experience are different. The things that can be said to be the most valuable among the things accumulated so far. At least if you do adventure work, it helps in some form. Sen tried to arouse the man’s interest by presenting the most valuable things he had.

“From this moment on, I’ll give you all of that experience and information whenever you need it. If you ask for money, I’ll prepare it as much as I can. To be honest, I don’t think you’ll need our skills, but we’ll need someone to do our best. As long as you tell me when the time is right, I will do everything to help, to the extent of my ability. I will not ask for anything in return, nor will I have any complaints.”

A man clearly distinguishes between those who threaten him and those who do not. This has been proven in the way they treat cultists and themselves.

Even though they had the ability to unilaterally slaughter them, the reason they politely tried to talk to avoid a conflict was because the cultists’ intentions came out politely anyway. If they hadn’t drawn their swords or had someone put down their weapons midway, as the man had suggested, they would have let them live.

But because he attacked, he killed without remorse. Even though I gave advice, I didn’t try to persuade and killed them.

“Merdella is also a wizard with a promising future. If you keep her alive, we can provide great help in any form. If you don’t trust us, we will convince you to sign a contract through magic engraving. In fact, you don’t even need to persuade me. It doesn’t seem like it, though.”

On the other hand, now they are giving me a reprieve to say something. I’m not deliberately bargaining in a coercive way because I want something. If there is a better use, it is close to saving and using it.

If that’s the case, there’s no other way than to appeal that you can live up to those expectations. A contract through magic imprinting would never be an issue that Merdella would take lightly, but right now there is no option.

She tried to use magic. I just don’t know if it’s protection magic or offensive magic. If a man digs into that part, no matter what he does, he won’t be able to save Merdella. It is better to live than to die like that, even with the restrictions of a slave contract.

“What about the rest of them?”

Unlike the previous contents that he proudly claimed, Sen also had to fall into anxiety this time.

In order not to be misunderstood, she took out the dagger she was wearing on her back in a very slow motion. It was a dagger that had always been with him ever since he received it when he first left home dreaming of becoming an adventurer. And the meaning of the dagger with the family crest among the poolings is by no means light.

Sen politely held out his dagger to the man, praying that he would understand the true meaning of what he was about to say.

“I will vouch for them. My name is Kikuidel Sen. I will risk my life to keep my oath not to dishonor the name of the god who protects us and my family. I will pay.”

An inexplicable spasm occurred in the corner of the man’s eyes. Is it because you think it’s the same? Or is it because he knows what he means?

Whatever it was, there was nothing Sen could do, given everything he could offer.

‘It’s paradoxical that to proceed with the story at the end with certainty and present it to drive the final wedge is the least certainty.’

I tried to think of something stupid to relieve tension, but it didn’t help much. Sen decided to just look straight at the man.

After a suffocating silence, the man’s hand moved slowly.