Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Hahaha! What a Mess

"Back off! Im warning you!"

Although she was saying that, Tanya herself was backpedaling in a hurry.

Her extreme wariness left me staring.

Honestly, I was a little perplexed.

Is this what youre really like?'

She was definitely supposed to be a character with a strong and brazen feeling

Although, yes, shed already been attacked several times by now.

No, maybe the total number counting the times I hadnt been there to help, was much higher.

Still, that didnt mean she was in some kind of a life-and-death crisis.

As per the setting, the guys currently following Tanya were from Eastland, and their fighting power wasnt worth talking about, no better than those riffraff mafiosi from Destomb.

After a while, as rumours about the treasure spread further and further, and characters from Westland appeared one after another, theyd naturally disappear. You could say they were extras, here to set the stage for the upcoming show.

She shouldnt have become this vigilant just from being chased by those two-bit thugs.

Hmmm.

But soon,

No, no.'

I shook my head.

I was trying to judge her character with my useless preconceived notions.

My perception of certain characters didnt match the current era. I was thinking of them as theyd been at the end of the original story, accumulating power and experience along the way.

This was especially true for characters with high significance whod survived till the endgame. They had to be the ones whod change the most along the way.

In other words, I needed to take a more delicate approach here.

"Whoa, hey, calm down. You mustve misunderstood me."

First of all, it was important to reassure Tanya.

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently a lot of people are on your trail. So I wanted to help lighten the load."

Moreover, right now, she was equipped with the leading point of view.

Readers were bound to empathize with her, since they were seeing things from her perspective. Provoking her right now wasnt a good choice. Moreover, my current appearance was villainous enough that I ran the risk of being labelled as the rookie who threatens women'.

"Thats not funny. I dont need that kind of help."

"Well now, this feels awkward."

In the first place, I had no intention of snatching the Ramirez at this point.

If Id had such a plan, I wouldve snatched it right away, instead of circling around her all this time.

Right now Tanya's role was to carry the Ramirez', and it was her responsibility.

Shed been given the leading point of view at her very first appearance for a reason. Because the author wanted to imprint her character on the readers, and to slowly develop her into the heros future colleague.

If I tried to snatch that away, it wouldnt be surprising if the author hit me with a penalty bomb and stripped a lot of character levels.

But since she herself didnt know any of this,

"Go away, go away! I don't want any help from you!"

Tanyas wariness showed no sign of diminishing. Even though the hunters were sneaking up behind us, it felt like she had eyes only for me, and no attention left to spare them.

" How troublesome."

"Alright, I dont want to associate with you anymore No, I dont want to trouble you anymore. So could you please tell me where youre going? So that I can avoid going there."

"So youre serious."

Id expected some vigilance. But this was a little too much.

However, there were several reasons why Id asked if I could take over from her.

First, to elicit doubts' about me.

To instil in Tanya, or more importantly, the readers, an idea that he must know something'.

I'd been hovering around Tanya for the past few days and her eyes had been locked on me all the way, but I hadnt really taken any action. Id merely been cultivating a useless aura of mystery.

In point of fact, this wasnt a situation where I had any room to do something. If I cack-handedly tried to help Tanya out or snatch the treasure, the preceding plot wont leave me alone.

But I couldnt continue this indefinitely, either. Who knew when the readers' questions might turn into frustration and anger?

So, I had to appeal a little to them to wait'.

Second, to create a different source of tension.

Perhaps, without me, Tanya wouldve clashed repeatedly with those two-bit Eastlander hunters and cranked up the tension.

But because I was here, that tension had slackened significantly. Since Tanya's nerves were all focused on me.

If she herself didn't pay the raiders any mind, how could there be any tension in the chase?

Even now, it was me she was staring at, not reacting to their movements at all.

Therefore, I created a separate source of tension by revealing my hidden true colour'. After all, I had to make sure the readers couldnt just sit back and relax.

Although that didnt mean I could forget what needed to be done or neglect to do it on time.

"Coocoo, Nero. Take care of the guys behind us. While I have a chat with this redhead."

"Why me!"

"You do remember that Im not your subordinate?"

""

Didnt they ever get tired?

"Whoo. You keep repeating the same lines every time, but end up doing it anyway. So? Are you going to let them run rampant? Are you going to let them attack us?"

" God damn it."

"He's big like a bear, but clever like a fox."

"Hey, is that something a cat should say?"

Seeing the two of them slither into the bushes, I turned back to Tanya.

Of course, this was all pre-planned.

Shifting the source of tension to me, instead of the pursuers.

In order to keep the flow of the story stable and yet get constant reappearances, this kind of trick were essential.

However, it was also a double-edged sword.

If I took away the attention and tension that shouldve been focused on Tanya, in the end, I also had to spit out something equivalent to replace it.

Especially now, I was getting the feeling that I was toeing a line. If I kept sowing suspicion and creating tension without showing any substance, Id be ripped to pieces by the readers themselves before the preceding plot could have its way with me.

Therefore,

"Alright, I take it back. I wasn't being that serious about it, anyway. Do you really have to glare at me like that? You keep holding on to whatever it is that youve got."

" Really?"

"Cocoavi. Cocoa-vi. Yeah, we had fun."

"Cocoavi dont tell me, youre in high spirits because you saw some goblins?"

He could only respond normally.

Of course, it still felt good. Maybe shouting wouldve felt even better, though.

That was then.

"Come on, lets go now."

Cocoa said all of a sudden.

"Huh?"

"Squatjaws calling. Chop chop."

"Ah"

For a moment, Haka stiffened.

It wasn't because of hesitation or displeasure. Rather, it was because hed been on the edge of giving an unconscious yell in joy.

Haka kept a firm grip on his facial muscles to hold back his laughter. It was quite the opposite from before.

"I see. Where are they now?"

Pulling out his coat from the hanger next to him, Haka immediately stood up.

"Oh, but he told me to ask you, did you do well? On your homework."

" Homework?"

"So whatever youve managed, take it to him."

"What?"

"Those guys I saw in the back, right?"

Cocoa nodded at the gang members who could be seen through the window.

Only then did Haka realize.

"Does he need people right now?"

"I guess."

"Hmm, is that so? How many does he need?"

Haka considered whether or not to include a brief explanation of the organizational integration' that he had achieved over the past three months.

Because naturally not only Cocoa, but even Squatjaw, couldnt have guessed how big the organization had gotten. Probably, dozens of times larger than they wouldve expected.

And indeed, Cocoa's subsequent words made Haka's head throb a little.

"All of them."

Three days later.

The Roman River.

The border between the southern and central parts of Westland.

I tried my best not to laugh at the sight of the people in black suits I could see trudging along the riverbank in the distance.

Finally, it was here.

The homework sent by Haka.

The impatience in my heart was about to boil over. Tanya

Today was the limit. If they hadn't arrived by today, I mightve left Tanya's side first. I mightve pretended that something else had happened somewhere, so the tension wouldnt go to waste.

Anyway, Ive been saved from the abyss'

But I now just had some room for breath, nothing more.

Depending on the quality and quantity of these new raiders, the weight of my words would change.

If after all that fearmongering, the guys who popped up turned out to be no different from the Eastland idiots, or if they were very few in number

No, let's trust Haka.'

I violently shook my head.

As I watched the riverbank

" Eh?"

I was a little perplexed.

Why did the line of black suits keep growing?

Id thought of counting them one by one as they came, but before I knew it, the number had crossed a hundred

" Theres too many of them."

Id relayed an order via Cocoa to immediately launch an attack on arrival.

I was in a rush, so let them conduct the first raid on their own, and then we'd talk.

But Id also added that they should moderately adjust the number of attackers. Instead of attacking all at once, they should come in several waves.

Hopefully, Cocoa had delivered my orders without leaving out those words.

Surely that guy isnt trying to show off how well he did his homework, right?'

I looked at the riverbank again.

There were hundreds of black suits by now.

How puzzling.

I couldnt properly understand the situation.

This arc, quite rarely for Adventure King, had a clear structure. Specifically, the level and number of participants in this scramble were supposed to gradually increase higher and higher, step by step.

But if there were so many attackers during these early days, whatd happen to the follow-up. Just how many raiders would I have to arrange in the future to raise the bar This was a bit tough.

That was then.

"Squatjaw? You were right."

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

I turned around and saw Tanya walking out from the ridge behind me.

"Oh?"

"Save me."

"What?"

Then, once I turned my head towards where Tanya's hand was pointing

" Huff."

The mountain was full of people in masks, their dresses the same colour as those on the riverbank.

Hahaha! What a mess.

Editor's Notes:

None for this chapter.

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