– This country, Orsongrande is the largest human-ruled highly-populated country, but young men are conscripted from the rural areas, the humans unreasonable parts emerge.
– The Adventurer refers to a person registered to a ‘Guild’ where a branch exists in each city, and their jobs involve demon subjugation, arrests etc and receive rewards for it. Kasha had registered along with Origa with a guild in this castle-town for two years as active Adventurers till the day of their mistake.
「 Guilds, huh? Then do other kinds exist, like merchant guilds? 」
「 Though there are service offices, as far as I know, other than Adventurer guilds, there are none others. 」 (Kasha)
Apparently all guilds of this world seem to be concentrated on combat related requests, there are no workforce like agencies. Though requests from the country may be received, they are not sent to war. It seems to stick to the stance that whatever the work, payment matters the most.
「 Because of that, there are no conflicts with the nobles in the country. 」
「 Requesting an Adventurer is more inexpensive than making the same request of a soldier. 」
To Origa’s explanation, Hifumi thought about the idea of outsourcing in this world.
While listening to various things, it had become quite late. The clamour from the dining room had also died down.
「 Well then, it is late. Teach me these things tomorrow. My best regards. 」
To Hifumi who stood up, Origa half rose to her feet.
「 Um…. 」 (Origa)
「 Yes? 」 (Hifumi)
「 I, sleeping with master, is not particularly unpleasant…. 」
Towards Origa, Hifumi said,
「 Though I don’t know why you are in such a hurry, at least say it without trembling next time. 」
Gently smiling, Hifumi left the room.
「 Origa, why go that far….. 」
Kasha held Origa’s shoulder anxiously as Origa quietly cried.
On leaving the room, Hifumi sighed.
Being approached by a lovely young woman does not feel bad. Before, he liked a woman, and she liked him. They dated for a while, but for some reason separated.
From now on, he has to live in this world. Other than Origa and Kasha, there is a possibility of forming such relationships with others as well. However, what to do in the future is undecided, for there is a feeling of satisfaction of finally killing someone. Hifumi decided to put it on the back burner for now.
「 Well…. 」
Concentrating his conciousness, Hifumi scanned the building and its immediate surroundings.
On the side facing the road, there is a sign of an unnaturally still person near one corner of the building. Moreover, the back of the building.
Hifumi did not return to his room, and quietly jumped out from the window of the second floor passage to the outside.
He silently approached the back of the unnaturally still person.
It was a woman. Lovely blonde hair in loose waves, glossy in spite of the night. Splendid proportions, wearing a remarkably thin almost see-through dress.
On looking at her, she seemed to be a prostitute.
Hifumi approached from the back, and at the last moment called out.
「 Do not move. 」
「 Uu…..? Wh-What, master, you surprised me. 」 (TN: Here, master is like saying boss, or sir, ‘danna’ in JP.)
Unaffected by the way of speaking, the feeling of incongruity remained.
「 Stop your unskilled drama. You are from the Knight Corps. 」
In the silent night, a gasp is heard.
「 Why…. 」
「 In the first place, no prostitute has muscles those thick at her waist and wrist. That is a characteristic of someone used to wielding something. Secondly, a prostitute is not likely to show herself off at such a scarcely populated street. More likely to earn more money in the red-light area. Thirdly, the hair. 」
「 Hair? 」
「 With lustrous hair like that, only a noble-like person can afford shampoo of such high quality. It is different from those of the people on the street. 」
On being seen through so easily, the woman regretted thinking that Midas’ reports were exaggerated.
「 Do not turn around. First your name. With it, what is the identity of the people left to Midas in the day? 」
Giving up, the woman introduced herself as Pajou from the same Third Knight Corps as Midas.
「 The corpses that Midas examined, there was a particular tattoo on all of the bodies. 」
「 Tattoo…. A slave? 」
「 There was no reaction of magic, the shape was also different. I fear that those guys belonged to an underground organisation which uses these tattoos as identifiers. There are records of them several times in the past, so it is possible that they belong to the same organisation. 」
「 Those sorts of groups, don’t you have any intelligence on them? 」
「 Honestly, they number too many. When we are able to muster enough force to crush them, they disappear. 」
Hifumi considered that. With the intelligence gathering level of this world, grasping the underworld would be quite troublesome.
「 Oy Pajou. 」
「 Yes? 」
「 From the opposite building, are those the Knight group watching you? 」
Why do you see it so easily, lamenting as such , Pajou turned her gaze towards the room where the window was opened just a little.
「 …. That is so. Two colleagues are observing from there. 」
「 Then, the two in the back of the building? 」
What are you saying now, Pajou did not understand.
「 As expected, it does not seem to be the Knight Corps. It is not possible to relay this to your companions. Come along. 」
「 Aa, wait! 」
Sending a signal to her colleagues for confirmation of contact with target, Pajou chased after Hifumi hurriedly.
When Pajou arrived next to Hifumi who had slipped into the darkness of the building’s side, he quietly started explaining.
「 There are two men. They are very likely companions of those guys earlier today. Most likely they are planning for the next attack. 」
「 Catching them? 」
「 Assuming they are caught, can you make them talk? 」
「 That is….. 」
Assuming that torture is done, the certainty is not expected. In this age where technology was not that advanced, Hifumi figured that the possibility of being killed before obtaining any information was high. From the reaction of Pajou, there seems to be neither magic nor a medicine used for such purposes.
「 One person will be killed. The other will be wounded, trace that one. 」
While saying so, Hifumi took out two 2cm masses of iron from his clothes, corners shaved to a point.
「 These are weapons from my country. It has various names, my school calls them ‘Tsubute’. Apparently, throwing weapons are not seen as important. I’ll display an interesting one. 」
Smoothly slipping half out of cover, two ‘Tsubutes’ flew up quickly.
The man who was looking at the second-floor rooms fell to a sudden impact.
The other somehow stood up and left hurriedly on seeing the first one’s demise. Holding his side where the ‘Tsubute’ grazed him, his speed was slow.
「 Lets go. 」
While chasing the man marked by Hifumi, Pajou passed the first one, and saw him dead, bleeding from a hole in his neck.
A small grain of iron becomes a deadly weapon…… Perhaps the victim himself will not know what hit him. Pajou looked at Hifumi’s back and shivered, knowing that if one was hostile to Hifumi, far from clashing with swords in a dignified manner, there will be a result in which one will be dead before realising it.
The man who escaped the sudden attack and death of a friend would be confused. Not paying attention to the surroundings, he entered the aristocratic block, not far off from the castle
and disappeared into the back door of a large mansion.
Hifumi verified from a distance that the man had entered the grounds, following him, Pajou also saw it.
「 There… that is Marquis Raghlain’s estate. 」
「 Marquis huh. That guy is a big-shot eh? 」
「 Ee, moreover…. One of the Knights killed by you in the audience room was the second son of the family head, Marquis Raghlain. 」
After saying that, Pajou realised her mistake.
The second son of Raghlain died attacking Hifumi. That time, Hifumi had made the King, the father pay for the princess’ crime. Then, what will Hifumi do in the residence of a hostile person?
Retrieving his katana from his waist, the answer is clear from Hifumi’s smile.
「 Is that so. That’s extremely good to hear. 」
Pajou regretted not having had the other Knights follow her.
「 Well then, I must warn you not to trouble me. 」
Not thinking the warning was necessary, the dress-wearing Knight shook her head.
Chapter 8: What A Fool Believes
「 Can’t you even observe properly! 」
Unable to control his anger, the current head of the Raghlain family, Karcimoral Vado Raghlain hurled a stunningly decorated earthenware cup at a man kneeling in his presence. A small amount of wine pooled around the remnants of the broken cup.
Dripping blood, the man who ran away from Hifumi’s attack silently crouched. His side was lightly bound with cloth.
「 Could you leave it at that? In addition, the number of people have decreased, I am embarrassed. 」
「 Orbas. No matter the circumstances, think about dealing with the Hero as soon as possible. 」
The man with honey-coloured, shoulder-length hair called Orbas gave a faint smile, and sighed. The man writhing with pain on the floor was kicked away.
「 Oi, head to the standby room, wake everyone up and arm them. 」
He said in a low voice that did not seem to match his face.
「 Really, I have to deal with your mess. Work yourself to the bone and redeem your worth. 」
The man on watch frantically left the room.
The Marquis made an unpleasant face on watching this and turned to Orbas.
「 Now, what to do? 」
「 Um, that is….. 」
Out of habit, playing with his hair, Orbas shook his head.
「 Hero-san’s skill, Marquis is aware of it yes? Come to think of it, it seems impossible for that fool to escape with only a slight injury. 」
「 Mu….. Then 」
「 Clearly, that fool was deliberately let go. Panicking, he was most likely to come here in a hurry. Most likely he was followed and we will have company soon. 」
「 Hmm. Your soldiers and those of the territorial army are here too. In any case, a skilled magician is also hired here. That much should be enough to handle that one guy. 」
Laughing scornfully while drinking his wine, Karcimoral looked at Orbas with cold eyes.
That sort of easy opponent, it is not too troublesome.
Hifumi did not hesitate.
「 The guy that escaped is here. The fellow targeting me should be here. 」
Two soldiers stood at the gate of the Raghlain estate.
Walking forward, Hifumi casually walked over to the soldiers as though they were acquainted.
Behind Hifumi, Pajou followed.
「 What are you saying?? This is the Marquis’ estate! Leave, leave! 」 (Pajou)
「 Hmm, such a reaction was expected. 」(Hifumi)
Though understanding, Pajou showed a cramped smile while speaking to his back.
「 Haa~ 」
Letting out a quiet shout, Hifumi pinched the guard’s throat with his fingers. Falling against the gate behind him, the guard collapsed, unconscious.
「 …… Didn’t kill. 」
Pajou said, surprised. Annoyed, Hifumi replied,
「 I don’t murder everyone. Killing is a weapon for me, only fit for those hostile to me. 」
Saying this while approaching the other confused and stock-still guard, Hifumi knocked him out in a similar manner, the guard collapsed powerlessly next to the wall.
「 By the way, why should I follow? 」
「 You will be my lookout. Besides, to prove to the people tat come along that this slaughter was due to legitimate self-defense. 」
Though you arrived at the enemy gates voluntarily, thought Pajou, refraining from voicing her thoughts.
Though Pajou thought Hifumi would surely walk in through the front door, unexpectedly, Hifumi soundlessly headed towards a bungalow built separately from the main building.
There was no one patrolling around it.
「 Are you not meeting the Marquis? 」
On being asked in a low whisper, Hifumi replied without turning around.
「 The guys that attacked me, they will not be a noble’s subordinate. It takes regular training for them to be that inconspicuous. Most likely, there is a group on the premises used by those underground organisations. I want to hear the story from them. 」
I see, thought Pajou.
If nobility have a degree of financial power and territory, they have private soldiers such as the territorial army. However, because there is a law that the King must be informed the details of the territorial army, they cannot be used for any covert work. Unlike normal troops, they can only be used for ‘disposal’.
「 Imeraria has given a strict order that I am not to be touched, yes? Additionally, I am sure you want to keep the death of your King concealed. Even if you know the circumstances, this incident can be used as potential to start a war. So this can be left to people from the underworld. 」
The entire wing of the bungalow came into view. There were a few windows, the stonework was of simple make. In front of the wooden door, a disagreeable-looking man stood.
「 Well then, time to greet them. 」
「 Oi, you, is your boss in there? 」
「 Aa, who…. eh……eh? 」
On seeing Hifumi’s face, the man’s voice gave out. Apparently the man seemed to know Hifumi’s face.
「 The man you people have been looking for is here. 」(Hifumi)
「 You bastard! Nonchalantly walking in! 」
Coming to his senses, the man struck without a weapon. With his good physique, it was a good punch, Hifumi evaluated disinterestedly.
However, it did not connect.
The punch was easily avoided by a slight movement of the head, Hifumi was already facing the guard’s back. Hifumi hit the back of the guard’s knee with his toes, when he dropped to one knee, grabbed his jaw and the back of his head and twisted.
*Gugyo* , a damp, unpleasant sound was heard, Pajou turned her eyes away instinctively.
Killing like this…..
Too cruel, Pajou, who did not think she could do it, felt her stomach tremble.
Near to where the corpse was discarded, a person with shoulder-length hair called out to Hifumi.
「 Do not decrease our numbers any more. 」
「 I thought someone was here, are you these guy’s boss? 」
「 I am the leader. But how were you able to understand that? 」
Orbas dared to show himself frivolously while touching his hair.
All, to induce negligence in the opponent.
「 Positioned as you are, the opponent’s weapons can be confirmed and any movements can be seen. The point of you touching your hair is to unfasten your weapon, yes? 」
On being seen through, the smile on Orbas’ face disappeared.
「 The presence of the guys inside, also, those guys that attacked in the day, their movements were monotonous and their scheme was insufficient, although not bad. Their co-operative movements also, it felt like they learned from someone. Not you. 」
「 Yareyare…. As expected of Hero-sama. 」
Orbas faintly smiled again, and pulling out the knife from his back,
tossed it aside.
「 I give up. Even a squad of 10 people were defeated, the tables have turned. The levels are just too different. 」
Giving up, Orbas raised his arms with his palms showing.
「 As you can see, weapons have been discarded. Just my life, can you please spare it, Hero-sama? 」
「 No. I was attacked by your instructions. I will not allow it. 」
To Hifumi not showing any mercy, Orbas could not conceal his bewilderment.
「 Wait a minute, you would kill an unarmed man? 」
「 What are you saying. 」
Hifumi smoothly stepped forward, his hand on his katana.
「 You have a weapon. 」(Hifumi)
「 Chii! 」
Orbas immediately took out a small knife from the cuff of his raised arm, and instantly swung downwards at Hifumi.
However, Hifumi was no longer there. Orbas tried desperately to turn towards Hifumi, who was already behind Orbas, but to no avail.
The separated left arm and head fell to the ground, followed by the rest of the body.
「 His performance was so-so, should have hidden his bloodlust better. 」
Though Hifumi was about to pull out the kaishi tucked in his kimono, with a single shake of the katana, the blood was cleared off, without a trace remaining.
Is this the God’s influence? Truly convenient, muttered Hifumi as he sheathed his katana.
The door was kicked open, and about 20 subordinates of Orbas stared at the entrance, unable to move.
At the entrance stood Hifumi, holding Orbas’ head.
「 B-Boss!! 」
「 You’re the bastard that killed Ain and the others! 」
A man nearest to the entrance leaped at Hifumi. In a single movement, Hifumi drew his katana and sliced him to pieces.
「 Yeah yeah, quiet down. 」
Confirming that Pajou was behind him, Hifumi pulled his katana out of the body while imposingly standing in the doorway.
The instantly enraged people instantly became quiet.
The beautiful blade crest shimmered in the light of a candle on a table.
「 If you don’t want something similar to happen to you, answer my questions obediently. Resist like that guy, or not answer appropriately, everyone dies. 」
Summoned Slaughterer - Book 1 Page 6
