Chapter 86

Chapter 86

How about I Take Care of It for You?

The Huntington Bandits.

They were a named band of thieves whod appear almost every time an arc had to do with some kind of treasure, until the story finally moved to Midland' beyond the King's Road.

The reason the Huntingtons could have such prolific appearances was, of course, because they were the authors pets, but they also had enough ability to make it plausible.

The biggest characteristic of this bandit group was that they had a number of excellent guides.

I couldn't remember the exact number, but it had to be more than ten.

The most definitive demonstration of their abilities was the case of [Adventurer Qualification Examination Centre Treasure Theft], which had made them famous.

An incident in which some of the bandits had entered as actual participants, and had stolen all the treasures hidden by the association before running away.

That was why all subsequent exams had fake treasures instead of real ones, like ice cream (and basic flavours like mint chocolate, at that).

And the woman with deep red hair had been one of the participants.

Tanya.

The eighth guide of the Huntington Bandits, and the woman with the keenest pathfinding eyes.

After she entered Leo's party in the original, there was a scene in one of the chapters where she recalled whatd happened during that event. Because her eyes were so sharp, shed been able to see all the hidden treasures. From the lowest level to the highest.

However, she hadnt aimed at the highest ranked treasure at the time. Shed gone for a small jewel thatd been in around the fourth position, in terms of value alone.

The reason was also quite simple. Not because her teammates had been too weak, or because the decipherer hadnt been good enough to face the obstacles guarding the highest level treasure.

Shed simply liked the jewel. A small, shiny and pretty jewel', in her own words.

What made it possible was her unique ability, [Master Thiefs Eye].

This ability let her see the detailed information about a target object', under certain conditions.

The detailed information here covered the object's appearance, peculiarities, abilities, and even its history'.

Thanks to that, she could even identify a treasure without seeing it in person.

And that ability was exactly why Tanya had stolen Ramirezs Treasure and run away.

The specific background was never made public, but the setting was such that shed quickly stolen the mirror and escaped once shed understood the enormity of its potential.

Of course, it mightve simply been because the mirror itself was small, shiny, and pretty.

I looked back at Tanya, who was silently wiping herself off.

To be honest, this was a ridiculous situation.

This is making me dizzy Why did that woman have to suddenly pop up in front of me?'

I supposed it was a good thing that I hadnt made any plans yet. Because then Id have had to go back and fix it all.

And the woman in question simply kept wiping herself off, as if she wasn't remotely conscious of my gaze.

So,

"Coocoo, how did this happen?"

Putting aside my sudden stroke of fortune, I decided to listen to the pigeon ahem, hawk, that I hadnt seen in a while.

"Hm? What?"

""

I could only sigh.

"I mean, how come youre here?"

"Ugh, this squat-jawed bastard Dont make it awkward! I wanted to catch up, why, is that a crime now?"

""

That stylish appearance had almost made me forget. About that cheap mouth of his.

"No, not that! How come you found me here, and why with the cat? Not to mention the redhead. Of course Id be curious as to how all this came about!"

Then,

"Oh, that? Its no big deal."

Coocoo nodded his head as if he knew what I meant.

Then, just as he was about to speak,

"Whatre you all chatting about? I need to wash up."

Tanya suddenly interrupted.

"Are you tired from the long flight?"

""

Did she think that I might drive her away after listening to the story?

Or, was she wary of me?

I looked at Tanya in silence.

Even if she was pretending otherwise, she did seem wary for some reason.

Well, it was only natural since she had Ramirez in her hand.

However, I wasnt any different.

Why did Tanya appear here of all places?

Well, naturally thered be Watsonian reasons within the scope of this world. Like she struck up a friendship with Coocoo, and then various things happened, etc.

But there was only one thought in my head.

Perhaps the author was conscious of me, and had deliberately induced this situation.

Originally, Tanya's first appearance had been in Brindisi, the southern port city of Westland. Thered been no explanation as to how shed gotten there.

In other words, the circumstances and process leading up to her appearing there were ancillary settings known only to the author.

Adjusting such ancillary settings that were invisible to the readers, had to be childs play for the author.

Why did the author send Tanya to this place, if indeed I was the reason?

Simple. Because of the goblin gang Id brought with me.

I, the thorn in his eye, one who only ever caused absurd complications, was trying to stir up even the goblins this time, so maybe he was trying to counter me somehow.

And the method that the author could take to directly control me was predetermined.

Sanctions through the preceding plot, awarding a penalty.

However, this was only possible when I belonged to an ongoing chapter, so I was wondering maybe that was why Tanya had been pointed at me like a missile.

Tanya, surprisingly, would take over the lead point of view of this chapter as soon as she arrived at Brindisi. Because she was the root cause of this incident, and a future teammate of Leo, shed be hogging all the spotlight.

If I have the lead point of view by my side'

Of course, it wouldn't really matter if I headed for some place other than the south as Id originally planned. Tanya would definitely take the White Rain to Brindisi.

But, as the author and I both knew, this was a clear-cut opportunity.

With Tanya by my side, I wouldnt have to brainstorm how to intervene in this arc. Id just have to accompany her.

Its also arouse the readers interest if I accompanied the new main character.

Hence the author mustve thrown a bait like this at me.

Asking me, what do you think about this?

I thought for a moment, then answered.

"For now, follow me."

Well, Id have to think it over a little more.

Two hours later.

I came back to the bench from earlier, sat down, and thought.

Some decisions were finalized, but still a lot of disorganized thoughts were running around in my head.

This was nothing but procrastination stemming from uncertainty.

"Hmmm"

First of all, Coocoo had explained whatd happened, and one could indeed say it was no big deal.

Coocoo said that the princess had sent him away.

" Eh?"

"It was a princess from the Mainin Kingdom who gave this to me, and now shes a general of this country, yknow? Its been about a month. She should be famous."

And,

"I was the guy who fought next to her. Look at this jaw thats jutting a bit. I must be pretty famous too by now, right?"

The salesperson's complexion turned white.

"Th-, then you must be"

"Yeah, the one who passed the Warriors Path "

"G-, General Squatjaw?!"

""

How absurd. I clearly remembered registering under the name Hiro.

In any case, seemed the Khan hadnt taken away my rank, because he didnt want to completely lose me.

Instead of answering, I stretched out my hand.

"If you understand, give me the tickets."

There was no time. I had to quickly come up with a strategy.

"Ah, right; send the bill to the imperial administration."

Ten days later.

Brindisi.

"Thank you for your time."

Tanya greeted everyone in the party, and even gave Squatjaw a wink.

He really was a good companion.

Thanks to him, she was able to travel in the comfort of a special class seat.

In addition, hed also easily defeated the pursuers whod followed her to the ship.

And, best of all, he didnt have much in the way of curiosity.

Squatjaw didn't bother to ask her anything except for the basics.

Of course, shed dropped a few hints that he shouldnt ask but she wouldnt have been able to dodge all suspicion if he had decided to ask.

But still,

"Why, isnt there still some distance before you can meet your group? Cant we help? You think so too, right, Squatjaw?"

"No, Ill be fine by myself. Ill definitely come back to repay you after I meet my party. Wherever you are."

"Well, off you go then. But remember, if you dont deliver on your promise, Ill kill you!"

"Yeah, okay, okay. Goodbye to you too, Nero. And to you, Mister Squatjaw."

Even so, she didn't want to accompany them any longer.

The reason was simple. Because she was feeling anxious.

The man with the jutting chin was completely unreadable'.

This wasnt her first time seeing a human whose history' was unreadable, but this was the first time shed seen so many fragmented pasts. The more she tried to read them, the more it felt like her brain was about to leak through her ears.

There were two possibilities.

Either he was defending himself with some ability she didnt know of, or she was simply unable to read him because of the difference in their capacity.

Of course, either way, the conclusion was the same.

She couldnt handle this guy on her own.

If there was one thing shed learned while working with those Huntington idiots, it was the spirit of if you don't like the look of something, run'.

Now was the time.

And fortunately,

"See you again when theres a chance."

Squatjaw turned around without saying anything else.

See you again?

Tanya tried to shrug off the useless sense of dj vu she was feeling from those words.

She didnt know why he said the same phrase she always used, but she never wanted to see his face again in the first place.

This was goodbye, forever.

"Huff"

Tanya sighed softly as she looked at Squatjaw and his group moving away.

Anyway, now she had to save herself until she could reunite with the Huntington idiots. Who knew when an attack might come?

Tanya hid her presence and started moving.

The southern city of Maserno.

On the fifth day after landing in Brindisi.

Weird. This was weird whichever way she sliced it.

Why were they here again this time?

Tanya couldnt hide her anxiety at the sight of familiar faces at the destination she had barely arrived at, avoiding the attacks of her pursuers.

This was the seventh time so far. Seven times in five days.

"Huh? You again?"

Tanya stiffened as Coocoo caught sight of her and said in surprise.

For some reason, wherever she went, Squatjaws group was also present.

The problem was,

"No, you say you were going alone, so why do you keep following us?"

When they said they were being followed, it meant that theyd arrived first.

It was as if theyd foreseen the path she was going to take.

"Cant you just ask us to go with you at this point? Or are you afraid itll cost you?"

""

Shed been obviously going to places with few people, so why

Tanya felt nauseous.

There wasn't really anything she could complain about, but this felt strange.

No wonder Were they aiming for the Ramirez'?

That was then.

"Theyre here again. Three of them already went into that forest nearby."

Squatjaw whod been sitting down quietly so far slowly started talking.

"You keep bringing in strange bastards, and were the ones getting bothered. This wont work, dont you think?"

He got up and slowly walked towards her.

"Uh huh?"

The momentum emanating from him was very strong.

A sense of intimidation that her pursuers couldnt hold a candle to.

Wait, wait a minute

And at the words that followed, Tanya's face turned white.

"That thing youre carrying, how about I take care of it for you?"

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.

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