Volume 13 - CH 18

「F-forgive me! I was paid to do this!」

I grabbed the guy who shot me in the back with arrow, but it looks like he was just an errand boy.

「Who asked you to do that?」

「No, uh, that's...」

The way he was looking at me, I'd say he knows the client's name and identity.

「If you don't tell me, here's what I'm going to do.」

「Gyaaaaaa!」

Before I can do anything, Meena is stabbing the guy in the stomach with her sword. Wait a minute, if you kill him, I can't make him tell me his client name.

「Here's a potion. If you don't tell me soon, She's going to kill you because she's got a temper, dude.」

I don't think Meena has a temper, but I'll say so.

「Eeeekkk!, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, it's Zorome-san.」

「Zorome?」

I heard that name somewhere....... I remember now. She was a marketeer in the arena who seemed to have had some sort of history with Sarah's party.

I've never met her, so I don't know what she's like, but I'm guessing she's the kind of guy who's send out someone to kill people.

「Interesting. I'll show you firsthand what happens when you pick a fight with the Black Cat of the Wind. Tell me where she is.」

I smiled fearlessly.

◇　◆　◇　◆　◇

「Anego, it seems that Alec and the others have returned to the inn.」

A man reported in a dimly lit room in the basement of the arena.

Zorome, sitting on a sofa in the middle of the room, was a yankee woman.

She was dressed in a transparent camisole, a shiny black leather miniskirt underneath, and a flamboyant feathered gown. Her taste in leopard print gowns was terrible, but she had a good face and was glamorous. She is younger than I thought.

First, let's have a look at her using [Appraisal].

【Name】 Hidaka Akira

【Age】 19.

【Lv】 25

【Class】 Hero.

【Job】 Gambler

【Race】 Human

【Gender】 Female

【Hp】 132/144

【Status】 On a diet

【Description】

A hero from another world who was summoned by the Gilan Empire.

She is active as "Zorome", the head of Grandsword Arena.

She has a meticulous personality and is quite active.

Her hair is gray, but her name suggests that she is Japanese.

Her skills and abilities are not to be underestimated as a resilient hero, but her HP is quite low and her level is not that great.

It's an easy to deal with.　

She's probably a someone who specializes in making money, judging by her job.

She didn't even know I was here, but when she heard the report, Zorome lightly waved the pipe in her hand and said evasively.

「Is that so, hmm, they're a nuisance, aren't they? It's just a little spice to make the audience dramatically intoxicated. You know, think about it. If the better player always wins, the matchup won't be thrilling, will it?」

「Yes, that's right.」

The man who seemed to be her subordinate nodded with a straight face, but it was a self-serving argument. It's just a way for you guys to make a lot of money by setting up a betting agency.

「But this time, I let the higher-ranked "Mad King" win as planned, so I'm sure our customers won't complain.」

「But are you sure? If we let the "Mad King" win all the time, it won't be good for us.」

「It's okay. Even if he wins, the odds are set at a low number, and the customers won't make any money. When the customers stop betting on the big hole because they think that no one can beat the Mad King, that's when we have our big chance.」

Zorome grinned and blew on a her pipe.

「I see, as expected of Anego.」

「However, because of the curse, the "Mad King" doesn't listen to my instructions very well. So, even if we want to make a new champ, we need to prepare a strong swordsman.」

Well, that's good to know. The curse of the Mad King. If it's cursed, I wonder if that armor is the cause of the suspect.

「I'll look for that, but what about ...... Serina and the others?」

「Yeah, let that disgusting woman eat the poisoned bread and feed it to her. I was going to take a hostage and incorporate her into the match-fixing, but she wouldn't listen to me. She's also very skilled, so it's best to eliminate her as soon as possible.」

Zorome said, but this exchange seems to indicate that they were using someone from the audience as a hostage to blackmail Serina and Ione into captivity.

They're a tricky bunch.

I walked right behind Zorome's men and decided to follow them to the room where they were being held.

I've got 【Optical Camouflage Lv5】, 【Distraction Lv5】, and 【Levitation Lv5】, so there's no need to hide.

「Here, I've brought you some food.」

In the room where the man entered, there were Serina and Ione, seated on chairs and tied with ropes behind their backs.

Their clothes were undisturbed, and there was no sign of any beating. They seemed to be okay.

「What are you going to do with us?」

Serina said, glaring at the man. This situation is intriguing.

「Well. I'll let you go soon, so eat first.」

「What? That's not what you promised. You said you'd release the hostage after Alec's fight.」

「I told you, It's soon.」

I walked behind Ione's chair and untied her.

Next, I untied Serina's rope as well.

Both of them seemed to recognize me right away and were not surprised.

「Well, maybe now.」

「What the hell!? Guehhg!」

Serina stood up and hit the man with a goofy punch.

「Tell me, where are the hostages?」

Ione asked the man who was crawling on the floor.

「It-it's in the other room.」

「Where is our sword?」

「It's in the next room. But you guys, if you go against Anego, living in this neighborhood ...... Gufughhh!」

Ione slashed the man who was about to stand up with her bare hands. That's amazing.

「I don't need your permission for me to live.」

Ione smiles and says.

「Wow, what was that technique, Ione?」

「It's the secret of Waterfowl sword, [Empty Handed Sword].」

「Please teach me that technique later.」

「Yes, I will.」

「I'll let the hostages go first, and then we'll go fuck Zorome.」

I was about to open the door, but it opened from the other side.

The enemy!? I thought, but it was an ally.

「Huh? Yaahooo, Alec.」

「Sarah, why are you here?」

「Well, I was checking to see if Zorome was doing anything strange again. And sure enough, I found out she's been taking hostage girls.」

「The hostages in this room were these guys. There must be one more hostage in another room.」

I'll explain the situation to them.

「Then we've already let them go.」

Lunette, who was behind Sarah, said. I'm sure she's very good at what she does, so I'm sure she'll be able to help.

She also seemed to have gotten her hands on Serina's sword, and Lunette handed it to her.

「Okaaay, now all we have to do is take care of the Anego.」

Serina said with a snap of her fingers. It's a refreshing but scary smile.

「As for that, it's not a good idea for us to make a flashy move here, since we're suspected of going over the king's head. As the leader of the "Black Cat of the Wind" clan, I'll take care of things, so can you leave this to me?」

I said.