Chapter Volume 2, 28: Earl Mansion’s Raid?

Volume 2, Chapter 28: Earl Mansion’s Raid③

『Leave it to us, lad. We’ll get your revenge.』

The young man in bright green clothes took over the difficult challenge with ease while patting the head of the crying kid.

『Are you sane? Guild Master-dono. One small mistake will turn us into criminals. In the worst case, this city will fall under the attack of those ogres. Even if we accomplish this mission, Earl Mondo will surely keep an eye on us.』

The handsome old swordsman spoke with an amazed look on his face as they began their preparations.

The old swordsman was helping the guild master of 『Bow of Blue Sky』, the guild which was rumored to be the strongest guild in Barreira City.

He used to work as a soldier of a noble family.

Although he wanted to spend his old days in retirement, he decided to pick up his sword again due to the influence of a young man who was born with talent, guts, and the gift of leadership.

Currently, the old man—along with many others—volunteered themselves to negotiate again with the noble who made such a contract. They rebuked the strong-willed young man’s rash decision along with the other main forces of 『Bow of Blue Sky』.

『No problem. No matter the result, we will become a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, it’s worth taking this risk since no other guild is willing to take the risk. I mean, that’s what being a hero means, right? If you’re unwilling to get involved, I don’t mind even if you leave the guild, you know?』

『…Good grief, I guess there’s nothing to stop you anymore. Well, I don’t think Earl Mondo is also stupid enough to punish you if you succeed. Then, let’s gain recognition from the earl who prefers to play it safe by slaying that overgrown, man-eating ogre.』

After getting permission to assist their guild master, the adventurers in the guild stood up from their chairs, raising a war cry.

『As expected of Robin Hood-chama~! You really are kind toward children, troubled people, and cute women like me~! I mean, this will turn into a really nice tale.』

The young guild master skillfully dodged the charge of a girl who came to hug him.

『Please stop saying something that will make people doubt my personality, Shalna.』

The young man spoke with a smile on his face.

The girl called Shalna was one of his subordinates.

She specialized in close combat by using her claws.

As she leaped at him from his blind spot, she slightly regretted the fact that her guild master easily dodged her tackle. Even so, she felt proud of her guild master for the latter’s skill to dodge her tackle.

In her case, her adoration was bordering on faith.

A few days later―all members of 『Bow of Blue Sky』 were executed.

The reason: blinded by their greed for fame, they ignored the ban imposed by the earl to not touch the ogre’s flock. After failing to subjugate the ogre king, they caused the king to move its flock to raid Barreira City, resulting in numerous casualties.

◆

「It took a really long time for me to crack down on the one who ordered those guys to disturb our work. After all, that group was composed of the people with a grudge against me and fallen adventurers. I never expected that you’d go that far to hide your identity. I even ended up killing innocent people, you know.」

Robin Hood looked at Eunos with a look filled with madness and enmity.

「You’re not even hesitant to kill to achieve your goal, huh. Maybe you’re quite similar to me, Hero Robin Hood.」

Eunos spoke with a provocative smile on his face.

「I won’t deny that. I doubt I’ll die in peace, but I won’t let that day come until I take you to the grave along with me.」

「Demanding compensation for a misdeed is a sign of weakness. The harsh reality will let the weak die pitiful deaths over those of the strong one. Though you became an outlaw to avenge your comrades, in my eyes, it’s a worthless reason—cheap desire and self-satisfaction unworthy of my time.」

Eunos’ lips twisted into a grin as he readied his sword.

He sent a mocking smile as he looked at Robin Hood’s face.

「I was born in the slums, you see. The kid who snatched my bread would be found in a tragic state a few days later, eaten by a stray dog alive. But I survived. Though outside the slums are beautiful, I’ve had no time to worry about it. Reality won’t change unless I do something!」

Eunos closed in toward Robin Hood.

Robin Hood prepared three arrows in his hand and fired them in rapid succession toward Eunos.

Due to Robin Hood’s godlike archery skill, the three arrows he fired toward Eunos looked like they were fired at the same time.

Eunos dodged two of the arrows, crushing the last one with his sword.

Even the fourth arrow that was fired right after that still failed to inflict a wound on Eunos’ body.

The arrows that were struck down by Eunos’ longsword fell on the floor.

Finally, Robin Hood entered Eunos’ killing range.

「『Bow of Blue Sky』’s members were also slum children who stole bread from me. I was born in the slums like you.」

Eunos tilted the edge of his sword toward himself, pushing it out toward Robin Hood with a flick of his wrist.

Robin Hood dodged that attack with ease.

He dropped the bow in his hand, taking out a knife hidden in his clothing with his other hand and clasping its handle with natural ease.

The shape of the knife’s blade was quite peculiar. It was curved into almost a circle.

Naturally, Robin Hood’s knife was shorter than Eunos’ longsword.

Seeing that, Eunos was convinced of his victory.

Eunos’ victory had already been decided the moment Robin Hood, an archer, entered close combat against Eunos.

Worst of all, Eunos was a swordmaster. On the other hand, Robin Hood was forced to abandon his bow in close combat.

Eunos readied his sword to the point that its edge almost touched his skin, using his longer weapon to corner Robin Hood.

Against that onslaught, Robin Hood didn’t even care to use his knife for defense.

…Neither did he make an attempt to attack Eunos. He was fully devoted to dodging Eunos’ sword.

「Then, let’s see how you handle this!」

Seeing Robin Hood’s action, Eunos leaped back for a moment. Then, he leaned forward.

「Wind, Carry Me!」

A magic circle appeared on the tip of Eunos’ sword. Then Eunos’ feet stomped on the ground.

The power of his spell pushed him from behind. As he moved randomly all over the place, he readied his sword, aiming to end Robin Hood’s life once and for all.

Eunos’ special skill, Dancing Sword, was a skill that combined Eunos’ sword arm and wind spell. It was an attack that was hard to predict and avoid.

As he flew around due to his magic, Eunos’ gaze was always met with Robin Hood’s own.

Eunos tried to persuade himself that such a thing was impossible.

Even Eunos, the creator of this skill himself, needed a few years of gruesome training to master this skill.

After all, he needed to grasp his surroundings while activating this skill to prevent any mistake that could kill him in the process. But reality was far harsher than theory.

Robin Hood’s eyes could easily follow Eunos, whose body was moving around all over the place. It was a fact that Eunos couldn’t believe no matter what.

Robin Hood’s dynamic vision was trained to the extreme since childhood to perfect his archery skill.

No matter how fast Eunos swung his sword around, it looked like he had stopped moving in Robin Hood’s point of view.

And it still didn’t change even after Eunos used his Dancing Sword.

「TCH!」

Eunos moved at high speed toward Robin Hood’s flank, planning to swing his sword the moment their figures passed by each other.

But right at the last moment, he bent his outstretched arm to protect his body from Robin Hood’s attack.

Eunos, who never expected that he would be struck with a counterattack when flying in the air, fell on the ground right after he received Robin Hood’s counter.

He kicked the ground in a hurry, trying to get away from Robin Hood.

‘To think that he can force me into a corner with such a knife… It turns out he is quite skilled in handling other weapons. But there’s nothing to fear as long as I keep my distance from him. Robin Hood without his bow won’t be able to attack me from lo—’

The moment he thought this, an arrow pierced Eunos’ abdomen.

Eunos retreated from that place at once, falling on his knee right on where he landed.

‘I-Impossible… he shouldn’t have had the time to prepare an arrow…’

Upon raising his face, he saw that Robin Hood stood still in his place, not moving an inch from where he was previously.

And then, Eunos squinted his eyes, looking at the knife in Robin Hood’s hand. He finally noticed the strange thing about that knife.

Upon closer inspection, there was a string attached on the side of the knife with that strange shape.

Finally, he realized that the strange knife was made into the shape of a makeshift mini bow.

「I underestimated you, huh. Dammit… this me…」

When he raised his body, the back of his hand was trampled under Robin Hood’s sole.

Eunos raised a scream.

「Eunos, you said that you didn’t care about whether others lived or died as a result of your actions. I had no intention to care about your philosophy, but now, in this place, you’ve finally stumbled on your own.」

「W-Wait, Robin Hood! Let’s make a deal!」

「The one who decides whether you live or die isn’t God. It’s me.」

Robin Hood stored his knife again, picked up his bow and an arrow that dropped on the floor.

He nocked an arrow and pulled his bowstring to its limit, aiming at Eunos’ back, the place where his heart should be.

「WAIT! I-I DON’T WANT TO DIE YET! MY GREAT TALENT! GUILD MASTER OF A GUILD IN THIS CITY IS TOO SMALL POSITION FOR ME— I DESERVE A BETTER PLACE! THIS IS THE IMPORTANT POINT OF MY LIFE! I WO—」

Eunos crawled on the ground, trying to get away from Robin Hood.

Robin Hood fired his arrow. The moment the arrow found its target, a rain of blood erupted from the balcony.