Volume 9 - CH 6

A group of mercenaries who seemed to have been hired by White Dog attacked us.

There were over fifty of them.

If the level of the mercenaries was equal or higher that us, it would have been a tough fight, but it seems that there are no mercenaries of such a high level.

Letty's explosive magic knocked out about five of them with a single shot, but when I appraised one of them, he was level 15.

Level 15?

I've been underestimated.

Do you really think that you can crush the Black Cat of the Wind with this level of strength?

"Darling!"

Saki was the first to jump out from inside the inn, but she was in full gear. She seemed to have already noticed that the people who were hanging around in front of the inn were hostile.

If that was the case, the others would come out soon, all ready to go.

"Get Yumi inside!"

Leaving the non-combatant Yumi to Saki, I drew my sword to block the mercenary from slashing at me.

"Hey!　We don't accept guests with their swords pulled out!"

The proprietor of the inn, Ada, also wielded a spiked iron rod and blew away the mercenary who tried to enter with a single blow.

It would be a shame if she charged me for the repairs later, but I guess we'll have to subdue this place first before we can negotiate.

"Don't let them get near the inn!"

I'll be sure to say something auspicious.

"Tsk, what's going on here? Alec, explain it to me."

The other guests, Murphy from the C-rank party, also joined us, though he's complained.

"Maybe later. But there's nothing wrong with us."

"I hope so."

In a melee, it's important to identify friend and foe alike.

But between the guests, who knew each other well, and the hastily assembled mercenary army, we clearly had the advantage.

Of course, party mates can work well together.

"Serina, behind you!"

"Thank you, Saki!"

"You owe me one."

"Sure."

"Ouryaa!　Hey Murphy, take it easy. We'll take care of it."

"Shut up, Jouga!　We're paying for the lodging, and we fought, so you're the one who's gonna lose!　Ada!" (?)

"Well. I think I can take care of this by myself."

"Aahh?　Damn, you're a strong innkeeper for nothing."

Murphy complained, but even though she's retired, she's still a level 39 former A-rank. She's also a warrior and a tough warrior.

"Starlight Attack!"

"Waterfowl Sword Ougi!　Swan Leaves!"

"Circle Wave!　Circle Wave!"

"――I am redeemed. I seek redemption in a pact not of master and servant. Efreet, god of rage, destroy your foes with the fires of your fury!　Flame Spear!!!"

"Hawawa, F-Fireball!"

"Oryaa, Oryaa, Oryaa, Oryaaaa!!"

"JajajaJajajajajajaJavelin!"

In less than a few minutes, we had wiped out the mercenaries.

"Th-That's ridiculous, you can't get that many people to ...... in that instant."

I left one of them to talk, but he opened his mouth as if he had seen something unbelievable.

"And, you're going to tell me who I've been fighting with, right?"

"N-no, that's..."

"If you don't want to die, just tell me who hired you!　You attacked a guest in front of my inn, you're going to pay for that!"

Ada also brandished a bloodstained metal rod and snapped at him. Yeah, she's the scariest.

"Eekk!! I'll tell you!　I'll tell you! It's Balm-san from White Dog."

"Issuer of Cacoo coins? Well, I guess that's about it."

"O-Oi, oi, Alec. "White Dog" is a bad."

Murphy's starting to panic, though.

"Really?　It's no big deal that they only send mercenaries of this caliber."

"Fools, they're connected to the adventurer's guild, merchant's guild, and even the nobility. You'll never be able to stay in this town."

"Hmph, I haven't done anything wrong. If that's the case, I'll go against the grain and destroy all the fraudster clans and guilds."

Yeah, it's decided on the fraudster clan.

They attacked us without returning Serina's money, so it's definitely a scam.

At this point, it doesn't matter if they were planning to cheat or not.

I'm the victim here.

"All right, Serina, I'll get your money back."

"Hmm, I have a faint feeling of guilt, but I understand!　I'm ready to follow you."

Of course. I'll be a fool if I side with the merchant guild that attacked us.

"So, Yumi, which one should we destroy next?"

"It's Janatha "Dreuro". There are a lot of battle slaves there, and I think it would be best to destroy them before the soldiers move."

"Okay, it's payback. No, it's self-defense. Let's crush Dreuro."

""" O-Okay! """

Everyone seems to be worried about what will happen, but the worst thing you can do is get attacked and not fight back.

We could take legal action, but if the Merchant's Guild is the enemy, the judiciary could be bought off.

If anything, it was the other side that resorted to violence first.

"The second army should stay at the inn and defend themselves. Then let's go."

I dragged the mercenary who had just spoken out of turn and went.

"U-Uoohhh!　I-I've already said my piece, so give me a break."

"You can't do that. I don't want to get in trouble if you keep talking white. If you've spoken, you've spoken.

"Y-You've got to be kidding!　If I do that, they'll kill me."

"Don't worry, I'll hand you over to the soldiers, and I'll talk to the king."

"No, you can't, the soldiers are also members of White Dog!"

"Then we'll hide you. Ada!　That's the situation. Can you get a room for him?"

"I don't have a choice. Okay, Alec. But Murphy, if there's a leak, we'll assume it's you, so don't even think about it."

"Whoa. I'm more afraid of you than to White Dog, so I'm not gonna talk!"

"That's fine. We'll take care of this. Go on, Alec."

"Yeah, I'll go."

We headed to "Dreuro" with our swords pulled out.