Chapter 035
“Do not tell you were sent by the Black Pig Gang?”
Kalmond asked as he drew his sword.
Black... what?
For a mont, I doubted my own ears. The people in this world really did have a gift for naming things. They should have at least called it Black Pig. The mont I heard Black Pig Gang, all I could think of was Jeju black pork.
In any case, I had crossed paths with Kalmond once before. I would probably never forget him for the rest of my life. He was the one responsible for leaving with a fairly serious wound.
But at the mont, he did not recognize .
If he had, he would have rushed at before he even had ti to ask questions. It was the mont my carefully prepared Iron Mask proved its worth.
I tilted my head once and loosened my hands.
“Let us start with you taking one hit.”
“You are one of those bastards who can only run his mouth. What are you all standing around for? Sink him!”
At Kalmond’s order, the n ca charging at like hounds.
Without the slightest hesitation, I drew the mana pistol at my waist. I set the mana output low and pulled the trigger at the man who had co closest.
THUNK!
The one beside him too.
THUNK! THUNK!
No reason to spare the one in the back either.
THUNK!
“Guaaagh!”
“Argh!”
“Guhk!”
The n who had charged all collapsed where they stood.
The bullets fired by my mana pistol struck each of them squarely in the chest. The enormous impact drove the breath from their lungs, and they dropped to their knees gasping. A few of them had even blacked out.
It was probably the first ti in their lives they had ever experienced that kind of pain. Of course, out of rcy, I had refrained from aiming at their groins.
There was a separate reason why my accuracy remained so high even though the bastards were moving quickly.
Before coming here, I had made a small improvent to the mana pistol.
The principle was very simple. I added sothing like a laser pointer, a function that let inject mana and mark the target with a point. Thanks to that, my accuracy was now nearly one hundred percent.
As expected, they had not been able to dodge my bullets.
Of course, the close range helped too.
“What in the world... how did that happen? What is that? What the hell are you?”
“Curious?”
“......”
“If you want to know, that will be five hundred copper.”
Kalmond’s expression began to rot.
My apologies. That joke was a little outdated. I admit it.
There was one thing I needed to confirm before dealing with him.
I had been wondering why Kalmond did not appear during the festival—more precisely, during the attempt to kidnap Young Lady Sapiela.
As far as I knew, Kalmond held the rank of Enforcer Captain in the Scorpion Gang.
And yet he had not taken part in a sche that important?
Sothing about that had always felt wrong.
“Let ask you just one thing. Why were you nowhere to be seen when they tried to kidnap the Young Lady?”
“What are you playing at?”
“I ca here already knowing everything. Your Scorpion Gang joined hands with the Arkain rchant Company and tried to kidnap Young Lady Sapiela.”
At once, Kalmond’s face turned ashen.
He had already grasped my strength. No ordinary person could drop a wave of rushing n in an instant, no matter how naless the underlings were.
“So it really was the Black Pig Gang! Information must have leaked. Damn it! You bastards were the ones who stole the box from the warehouse too, were you not?”
“I knew you could use a sword, but I had no idea you had talent for fiction as well. I do not care about the Black Pig Gang or whatever else it is. Just answer what I ask.”
I quietly leveled the pistol at him.
It was a weapon unknown in this world. Naturally, there was no way he would not be frightened.
“Why did you not take part in the kidnapping operation?”
“What would you gain by—”
THUNK!
I fired a demonstration shot.
His hair scattered in the air, and a hole the size of a thumb opened in the wall right beside his head.
He jerked around and stared at it in shock.
“A-are you a mage?”
“Damn it, no! I told you that is not it. If I were a mage, do you think I would be wasting ti in a filthy place like this? If you have a brain in that skull, answer only what I ask. I am a busy man. I will ask again. Why did you not show up for the kidnapping?”
“......”
He hesitated.
Children who refused to listen when spoken to always had to be disciplined.
THUNK!
This ti, I fired at the wall to the left. Apparently the wall was already crumbling, because rather than leaving a hole, the entire section collapsed.
Only then did the bastard begin to answer.
“Th-this matter was the Underboss’s private sche!”
“A private sche? You are saying the Underboss ran the whole thing on his own?”
“That is right.”
My head nodded of its own accord. I could not tell whether it was a lie or not, but it was what I had been expecting too.
“Then tell about this Underboss bastard.”
He hesitated again. But he did not have many choices. The mont I twitched the pistol toward him, the words began spilling out.
The Underboss was a man nad Congo, supposedly the Boss’s half-brother. He was hot-tempered and stupid, but strong and highly skilled in martial arts, which was why he held the position of Underboss.
Of course, he was dead now. Kidnapping Young Lady Sapiela would already have been enough, but after insulting her too, he had been tortured to his heart’s content and torn limb from limb.
Kalmond continued.
“I opposed the plan this ti. But the Boss and the Underboss pushed it through. There was nothing I could do. He was the type who, once fixated on sothing, drove it through to the end.”
“So your point is that it was not your fault? What an unbelievably easy life you lead. Listen, you bastard. That does not erase your guilt. You are still the Enforcer Captain of the Scorpion Gang. And the Scorpion Gang tried to kidnap the Young Lady in cooperation with the Arkain rchant Company. You admit that, do you not?”
“......Yes. I admit it.”
“That is nice. You admit it like a man. Good. I like that.”
Just then, one of the naless underlings who had been sprawled on the ground tried to reach for my leg, so I lightly stepped on him with mana in my foot.
CRACK!
“Guaaagh!”
“Stop acting like gutter trash. Can you not see the grown n are having an important conversation?”
“M-my apologies!”
“Then why did you do sothing that required an apology?”
“Uuuagh!”
His screaming was noisy. I eased the pressure from my foot and looked back at Kalmond.
“In any case, you cannot go on operating as mbers of the Scorpion Gang anymore. From what I hear, you have plenty of rival organizations nursing grudges against you too. Are you just going to go on hiding like this?”
“......That hardly sounds like your concern.”
“Bastard, you still do not seem to understand the situation.”
Click.
I turned the mana output on the pistol up to High. Now, if he got hit, he would be thoroughly screwed.
“If I wanted to, I could line every last one of you up and hand you over to the Adeline Knight Order. I have the strength to do it too. So why do you think I am wasting all this ti here? Because I wish to show you rcy.”
“rcy?”
“I will give you the chance to serve as your leader. Let us live in style once again.”
Kalmond visibly flinched. His one remaining eye narrowed sharply.
“You are saying... I should beco your subordinate?”
“That is right. This is the sort of opportunity that will never co twice. I promise wealth and power. If you obey well, you will not even need to leave this place. Anyone who tries to ddle with you, I will crush beneath my heel.”
At those words, Kalmond’s eye lit up. But only for a mont. Soon, doubt returned to his face.
“How are we to follow a cowardly man who hides his identity behind a mask?”
“There are circumstances behind that. Accept it.”
“I do not bow to anyone weaker than myself.”
“Ah, can we not make this easy for once?”
In the end, Kalmond raised his sword.
No helping it.
I will deal with you personally with the blade. It is going to be a little different from last ti. I have practiced in the anti, and I have opened my Mana Circuit too.
Shing!
I drew my sword.
Not the old worn blade this ti, but the sharp steel that Smith the artisan had refined so beautifully. The mont I poured mana into it, the blade trembled like a fish fresh from the water.
At the sa ti, Kalmond’s gaze trembled in exactly the sa way.
“An Aura User!”
Aura was the mysterious force used by knights. One might say it was a lower-quality force than mana. A downgraded version, perhaps. Strong knights were usually Aura Users, and it served as one of the basic asures of martial power.
Thank you for not asking whether I was a mana user.
“Now that you know, kneel.”
“Shut up!”
It seed that now that things had co to this, he ant to struggle to the death. He ca charging at savagely, sword in hand.
Clang!
I blocked his attack with astonishing ease.
He was agitated. It would already have been hard enough for him to face while maintaining his composure, so in this state there was really nothing left to say.
His attacks were violent, but their paths wandered through the air like a traveler with no destination.
Cursing freshly all over again, he swung his sword at once more. I leaped lightly and avoided the blow.
Whooom!
Sshhhk!
Another attack followed.
This ti, I recalled the contents of the manual and held my sword at an angle.
Ching! Scrrrape!
Sparks flew as our blades grated together. His sword slid down along mine.
I did not miss the opportunity and drove my sword forward as though shoving him.
“Guh!”
Thrown off balance, he rolled across the ground.
He tried to rise again, but the ga was already over. The tip of my sharpened blade was at his throat before he could even recover.
This was easier than I expected.
It felt as though my Martial Prowess had risen trendously.
“I will not ask again. This is your last chance, so choose well. Beco my subordinate. I will make a far better leader than that brainless Underboss bastard who had nothing but brute strength.”
“......Will you give ti to think?”
“No.”
Grinning, I delivered the final line I had been saving for last.
“I told you earlier, did I not? I am a busy man. Choose now. Or I will send you comfortably on your way. To the Boss and the Underboss.”
“Ghk.”
“I will count to ten. Ten, nine, eight...”
“......Better this than dying, I suppose. I will follow you.”
“In words only?”
After glancing at my face, he dropped to his knees and pressed his head to the ground. It was a gesture of loyalty made with full sincerity.
Smiling in satisfaction, I withdrew my sword.
Then I dragged over the chair Kalmond had been sitting in and took a seat. Things looked much better once they were in order.
“Get up! The rest of you too. Stop groaning for no reason!”
The bastards exchanged glances, then slowly climbed to their feet one by one. I had not used much mana, and in the first place, the mana pistol had never been built to kill people. None of them had sustained serious injuries.
Once the underlings had gathered around, Kalmond asked on their behalf,
“What is your na?”
“Hey. I am your leader now, so what is with that tone? Can you not address properly?”
“......I wish to hear the honored na of our leader.”
“That is better.”
Naturally, there was no way I could tell them my real na. Until they began showing proper loyalty, I needed to maintain this air of mystery as much as possible.
So I gave them the alias I had prepared beforehand.
“Iron Man.”
“Iron Man. Understood. I will rember it.”
I had considered Iron Mask, but it felt a little too long, so I shortened it. It had far more na recognition this way too. In any case, the paperwork was done now, so perhaps it was ti to move into practical matters.
“Kalmond. Co here.”
When he stepped close, I placed a hand on his shoulder. He seed slightly startled, but offered no resistance.
Do not worry. n are not my type.
○ Kalmond Chocolat
Rank: ★★★
Level: 38
Traits: Escape A, Lockpicking A, Ambush B, Daggersmanship B, Unard Combat B, ???
Status: Confusion and Suspicion
[Not Unlocked]
[Not Unlocked]
......
A mont later, his Status Window appeared.
I had expected to see sothing at least mildly favorable in the Status section, but no such luck. A sigh escaped .
So that vow of loyalty really was nothing more than a choice to stay alive.
Still, I understood. No matter how badly he had lost to , he would not be able to accept so easily.
Then I checked the other entries. There was nothing especially unexpected there. Since he showed traits specialized in Ambush and Escape, his agility was probably superior to that of most others.
Still, this is going to make raising his loyalty a troubleso task.
“Good. Move aside, and you next. Co over here.”
I pointed to the short young man next.
There were only four of them, but one of them might turn out to be useful.
With the mindset of scratching off a lottery ticket, I began checking their Stats one by one.
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