A lot had happened, and we were finally making our way back to the manor.
But an incident occurred partway along the road home.
“Oh, we just have to deal with that slime, huh?”
“Haha, they look weak.”
“Easy job.”
Suddenly, men who looked like a textbook thug appeared in front of us. They are grinning stupidly with a knife in one hand.
Uh-, what the hell are these guys?
“Strange outfits.”
“They are wearing glasses too.”
“He’s bald.”
“Hey! Don’t single out just one person with your insults!”
Shiro and the others were pointing at the thugs and commenting, but Horn was only pointing at the only bald head guy.
….Sigh. What kind of chaotic situation had we wandered into?
“Ahh, I see. So you’re after Ao, then?”
“Nice, you catch on quick, kid. Yeah, we’d appreciate it if you’d play along with us.”
“““You’re bad guys!”””
“Hahaha, you’ve got some spirit, young lady.”
Who’s backing these guys? Were they trying to sabotage the tournament, or did they have some other agenda?
“Ei!”
“Ya!”
“To!”
Crack—thud—bang.
“““Gyaaah!”””
Honestly, setting Shiro aside, if they were getting taken down in a single blow by Fran and Horn, there was no way they could ever hope to defeat Ao.
Well, they’d threatened us with knives, so this clearly counted as self-defense.
Sue, Silvia-san, and I split up to tie up the unconscious thugs.
“Hey, I heard a loud commotion coming from over here.”
“Oh, it’s Shun-san and Sue-san.”
“What’s going on here?”
The thugs had shouted and then collapsed, just as some patrolling soldiers arrived at our location. Since they were people we’d treated for free before, they recognized us immediately.
Well, honestly, most of the soldiers in this territory had been treated by us at one point or another, so they knew who we were.
“These guys threatened Shiro and the others.”
“They said they were going to take down Ao.”
“They were weak, though.”
Shiro and the others told the familiar soldiers what had happened.
After hearing their story, the soldiers’ expressions visibly changed.
“That means there’s a possibility that suspicious individuals have approached the other participants who made it to the quarterfinals.”
“Since we don’t yet know the background of this incident, it’s hard to say for sure.”
“I’m going to the barracks to check things out.”
I spoke with the soldiers as well, but the thugs who had attacked us were completely unconscious, so there was no way to question them. Still, it is best to take precautions.
We left the thugs in the soldiers’ care and headed back to the manor.
“I’ve heard what happened. Things are starting to get a little suspicious.”
“Yes. We need to confirm exactly what’s going on.”
When we arrived at the manor, the Margrave approached us. He had most likely heard the soldiers’ report.
“Given how strong Ao has been during the tournament, you’d think no one would pick a fight with her so casually.”
“They may not have watched the matches at all. I’m guessing they only received instructions. Either way, we’ll need to get information out of the men we captured.”
“Agreed. We’ll have to wait for the interrogation.”
And so, we decided to ensure our own safety while waiting for the results of the questioning.
Hopefully, by tomorrow morning, the thugs who’d been knocked out would be awake and ready to talk.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 