Slap slap. Slap slap.
“Shun, wake up, wake up!”
“Oniichan, time to get up!”
Ugh… what, what is it?
After everything that happened with the bandits last night, I am completely sleep-deprived. Forcing my eyes open, I found Fran and Horn straddling me, their little hands patting my cheeks.
“Fran, Horn..? What’s wrong? Let me sleep a little longer…”
“Shun, breakfast!”
“We’re hungry!”
“Ah… so that’s what this is about. Alright, give me a sec.”
Groaning, I pushed myself upright and gently set them down. Considering what went down last night, I doubted the inn’s dining hall would be operational. Might as well whip up something simple for them.
“Zzzz… suuu…”
Meanwhile, Sue, Shiro, and Ao were still fast asleep in the neighboring bed.
Once I finished breakfast, I planned to go right back to bed myself.
—or at least, that was my plan.
“I’m thinking of resting again but…. Sigh.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. The lord of this territory has summoned you.”
Right after we finished breakfast, a soldier showed up looking rather apologetic. He told me that the baron wanted to see me and asked me to come to the mansion immediately.
Ugh… I could’ve squeezed in a few more hours of sleep.
“Still… I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Oh! Me too. Just to be safe, I think it would be best to have the coin with the crest that the Margrave gave you at ready.”
Sue added.
Intuition like this is the worst—because it’s usually right. With heavy steps and heavier hearts, we made our way to the baron’s mansion.
As soon as we were led into the reception room, a loud slam echoed behind us. A man with all the class of a third-rate gangster barged in.
“You lot seem pretty capable. I’ve decided—you’ll be working for me now!”
“““““Ah?”””””
This man… he’s the baron?
Slouching onto the sofa like he owned the place (well, technically he did), he didn’t waste a second before dropping such a bombshell.
Not just me and Sue—Shiro, Fran, and Horn were all too stunned to move. But I could already tell. This guy was definitely connected to the bandits and that shady guy from last night.
“You want us to pretend last night’s incident never happened, don’t you?”
“Well, well, aren’t you sharp? That’s exactly right.”
I narrowed my eyes and asked the question. The baron gave me a smug grin in return.
Even the local lord is trash huh.
“You’re a clever one. You’d make a fine advisor. Hmmm… as for that girl over there—she’s a bit flat, but her face is nice. I’ll take her as my woman—”
Smash!
“Ha…?”
“““Ooohh—”””
Hey, this idiot is saying something outrageous. Even I was beyond furious at that point, but it was Sue who snapped first. Without a word, she crushed her empty teacup with one hand.
For some reason, Shiro and the others clapped for her.
Guess I’ve got no choice—it’s time to bring out that coin.
Flick.
“What’s this coin? Hah? Wait… What? W-why do you have this!?”
The idiot stared in disbelief at the coin I placed on the table—the one engraved with the crest of the Eastern Frontier Margrave. His eyes darted between us and the coin, over and over again.
Slowly, his face turned pale.
“Let’s pretend none of that ever happened, shall we?”
“…Eh?”
“P-please pretend none of that ever happened.”
“…Huh?”
Sue stood up with a sweet smile and repeated herself, but the idiot still wasn’t getting it. Sigh. Guess it’s time for a little visual aid.
Crackling, crackling.
“W-what are you—!?”
I silently put the coin away, stood up slowly, and let lightning magic crackle menacingly in my left hand as I smiled.
That was enough for the fool to finally start panicking.
I spoke in a calm but threatening tone,
“We may not look it but we’re titled adventurers. If we went all out… well, let’s just say this mansion might not be standing afterward. Got it?”
“Awawawawa—”
Still smiling, I let my killing intent seep into my tone. The baron practically collapsed, flailing in terror.
That’s when Sue, ever the picture of grace and poise, gently followed up,
“So, let’s pretend this conversation never happened, yes?”
“Yes, yes! Absolutely! I’ll forget everything! Just please, don’t destroy the mansion!”
“Wonderful. I’m so glad we could come to an understanding.”
Seems like he finally realized he’d stepped on a dragon’s tail. Flustered beyond words, he nodded nonstop at Sue’s gentle threat.
Satisfied, I let the lightning in my hand dissipate.
“Shiro, Fran, Horn—we’re leaving.”
“Right. We still need to get to the next territory.”
“““Okaaay!”””
With that, Sue and I gathered the others and walked out of the reception room.
Behind us, the baron was left slumped over, trembling and ghost-pale.
Turns out, he was all bark and no bite.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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