Chapter 76
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Nero, who confirmed that I was really “Mose,” brought along 2 close friends and pulled my cart to carry the magic stones to the warehouse.
I held the bag filled with things other than magic stones and waited in front of the entrance for the cart to return when Ms. Monoka came out from inside.
”Ah, Mr. Mose. It seems you brought even more today than last time… Thank you.”
”…No problem.”
Ms. Monoka bowed her head while thanking me.
I couldn’t help but be drawn to her swaying chest, but noticing my gaze, Ms. Monoka spoke softly.
”Um… this might be a bit difficult now, but would it be okay if I came by tomorrow while it’s still bright?”
”While it’s still bright, huh?”
”Yes. You see… Nero and the others are suspicious about the reason I stayed over on your place the other day.”
”Oh…”
Before, I had to quickly clean the building managed by “Hooters,” which had been helping me with various arrangements for my deals, and she said she would help since I usually take care of her. She came to my room under that pretense.
That was just a made-up reason for the orphanage, and of course, we only did a little tidying up in my room…
”What do you mean they’re suspicious?”
When I asked, Ms. Monoka’s face turned red.
”Well, um… it seems that when I came back in the morning, I had a satisfied or happy look on my face. Especially since I was in a really good mood that day.”
She fidgeted, pressing her arms against her chest, and in a way, it was a bit alluring, but I decided to think about the concerns that could arise from being caught.
”Well then… if there’s any suspicion about me and you, is there a problem?”
”Mainly Nero, but I’ve also heard you say something about it, Mr. Mose.”
”Hmm… if that’s the case, they might start following Ms. Monoka next. It might be better to avoid doing it in my room, even if we do.”
”Oh, that’s why I said earlier that it would be fine during the day. I feel a bit hesitant, but if I’m working, they probably won’t follow me. It does mean I can’t take too long, though.”
Ms. Monoka looks a bit apologetic, but she seems more disappointed as she says this. I respond to her.
”I see. Well, I don’t intend to force you, so you don’t have to push yourself…”
”No, I’ll try to make time to meet with you.”
Before I can finish my sentence, Ms. Monoka replies with determination, and all I can say is, “Ah, okay.”
Well, if I had to choose, I do want to, and it seems like Ms. Monoka wants to as well, regardless of any contract.
After discussing it, we decided that Ms. Monoka would come to my room the day after I return from the dungeon.
Since I always deliver magic stones to the orphanage when I come back from the dungeon, I’ll check my schedule and condition then.
Just as we finished that conversation, Nero and the others returned, so I got the cart back and left the orphanage.
* * *
I thought about bringing mini tomatoes to “Hooters,” but since it was evening, there would be a lot of customers, and Ms. Wendy, the manager, would be busy.
Getting extra work right before the end of the day is really draining on my mental state.
I’m technically part of “Hooters,” so it’s better not to upset my superiors.
Thinking that, I decided to go to “Hooters” tomorrow and was looking for an alley to head back as “Koji” when I heard faint arguing voices coming from a hidden spot not visible from the main street.
”…stop it…”
”I told you… the money…”
It sounds like a man and a woman, but it doesn’t feel sweet at all.
I heard something about money, so maybe they’re fighting over a loan?
Just then, a loud angry voice rang out.
”That’s why! I told you to get lost with the money and the girl!”
*Thud.*
”Ugh…”
*Crash.*
Right after the shout, I heard a sound of a hit, followed by someone collapsing.
Hmm… I don’t want to get involved, but with my Magic Armor, I might be able to handle it.
If I ignore this and someone gets killed, even if it’s not my fault, I’d feel guilty.
So, I decided to enter the alley and used magic to silence my cart.
As I got closer and peeked from the shadows, I saw a guy and a girl surrounded by 5 or 6 men. The guy was slumped against the wall.
The woman was trying to help him up, but one of the men surrounding them grabbed her from behind and pulled her up.
”Hey!”
*Grab, squeeze…*
”Ah!? Wait, stop…”
”Ugh… let go of her…”
The man, with a smirk on his face, was groping the woman’s chest, enjoying the feel of her body in what looked more like a magician’s outfit than regular clothes.
The guy, who had been knocked to the ground, tried to speak up at the sight of the woman being molested, but another man kicked him in the face.
*Dug*
”Guh! Ugh…”
The guy groaned, his head hitting the wall from the impact, as the other man, with a lecherous smile, whispered to the woman.
”You see, if you don’t behave, his injuries will only get worse.”
”Damn…”
The guy was wearing armor, suggesting he was an adventurer or something similar, but even with protection, a head injury could be devastating.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, the woman grabbed the man’s arm, who was groping her chest, but with a frustrated expression, she let go and dropped her hands.
”Hehe, that’s good.”
*Sss*, *Knead knead*…
”Ugh..”
Encouraged by the woman’s reaction, the man moved his hand towards her crotch, massaging and rubbing it… The woman kept her hands down, clenching her fists in restraint.
”Ugh… Kokol…”
The name uttered by the guy on the ground sounded familiar, and it reminded me the onlooker of the woman’s face.
She was the female magician from the team I had observed when I first entered the dungeon, in the 2nd District.
The faces of the surrounding men were not clearly visible, but the armed guy must be a member of the same team as the girl.
Even though they were armed, the fact that they were in this situation meant that numbers were against them. It seemed they couldn’t avoid this situation, even with their weapons.
”Hey, let me touch her too.”
”Me too.”
”Sure thing, bro~♪.”
”Ugh.”
Another man reached out to the woman named Kokol, and the man holding her responded with a sense of ownership.
As a result, Ms. Kokol was now being touched by two additional men, and she let out a small moan.
The number of men who had to deal with her was reduced, but the guy was barely able to move, so it was judged that it wouldn’t be a problem.
Now… it was not ideal for the situation to escalate further, but it was unclear if the cause was on Ms. Kokol’s side, so it was not possible to blame the men outright.
I had been observing the situation to determine the cause, but at this point, I couldn’t confirm it.
As someone who had been shown around the dungeon, I thought it was okay to be a little biased, but I didn’t feel like unconditionally taking the women’s side.
Generally, I believed that the one who caused the trouble was at fault, and I had no certainty that it wasn’t Ms. Kokol’s side.
So… even though it was an alleyway, it was still a public place, and it was not good for them to engage in such acts here.
I wanted to change my appearance, but to do so, I would have to enter the path where the group was, which would make me visible from the main street.
Even if I became transparent and changed my appearance, the main street was busy at that time, and being seen in the act of becoming transparent could lead to strange rumors, which might reach Ferris’s ears, who had mentioned their upcoming return to the city.
It was not hard to imagine that she would remember the “transparency magic item” from the rumor, and from there, she might suspect that “Koji” had been lying, which could lead to trouble.
So, I decided to enter the alleyway, keeping my appearance the same, and using a voice changer, I spoke to the men.
*Zzz*
’Maybe you should stop there.’
”Eh? What do you want, get lost!”
The man glared at me like I was an annoying pest… which I guess I actually was, and he replied with a scowl.
The other men looked at me suspiciously too, but one of them tilted his head.
”Hm? That guy is…”
”Huh? Do you know him?”
”Well, not really know him, but… remember the message? The one about the guy who survived getting beaten up by that ‘Murder Princess’?”
””!!?””
When the questioned man said that, all the other men suddenly got nervous.
What do they mean by a message?
As I wondered about this, the men lowered their voices and continued their conversation.
”I think I heard something like that… but if he got beaten up, he can’t be that strong, right?”
”No way, just surviving against her is already crazy. That’s why the higher-ups warned us not to mess with him.”
”Ah… yeah, I remember hearing that.”
”Wait, is this guy really the one here?”
”I saw a picture of him at the office. He looks just like this guy, and if he survived against that woman, he probably has some serious armor, so he wouldn’t just lend it to anyone.”
”So that means it’s really him… what should we do?”
”What do you mean, what should we do? Are we just going to let this woman go, after all the effort we put into capturing her?”
”But just because your favorite girl was already booked, doesn’t mean we should let this one go. She’s just a random woman we picked up to ease our frustrations. We can’t afford to waste the money we spent on her, still we certainly can’t ignore the orders from above. Do you think they’ll buy the excuse that we didn’t know?”
”…”
It seems that Ms. Kokol is not at fault, and even if things got rough, it looked like I could handle it without hesitation. However, when one of the men spoke, his companions fell silent, and after a moment, they released Ms. Kokol.
”Tch, I’ll let you off this time.”
*Bam!*
”Aaah!”
The man who had been holding Ms. Kokol pushed her away while saying that, and taking advantage of the moment, he disappeared with the other men in the opposite direction from me.
Hmm.
I don’t know who those men are, but it seems the incident with Ferris has already spread, and being in this Magic Armor has acted as a deterrent.
It might have been better to capture them for safety, but since they seem to be sharing information about “Mose,” if I acted carelessly and made them resentful, it could lead to trouble later on.
Once the area was secure, Ms. Kokol stood up and bowed her head to me.
”Um, thank you very much.”
”No, more importantly, what about him? He’s your friend, right?”
”Ah, yes. This is Lyle, the representative of my team. Lyle! Are you okay!?”
Ms. Kokol, who answered my question, rushed over to a man named Lyle and tried to lift him up, but…
”…”
”Lyle? Hey, wait!?”
*Shake, shake…*
”…”
Lyle didn’t respond to her calls, and Ms. Kokol started shaking him.
Uh, is this situation worse than I thought?
I stop her.
”Wait a minute. Does he have a pulse?”
”Huh? Ah, um…”
*Suu… Suu…*
”I think he does, but…”
Hmm… This is just my guess, but since he has a head injury, even if he’s breathing, we can’t be too optimistic.
It can’t be helped.
’Well then… here you go.’
I handed a small bottle to Ms. Kokol after checking his breathing.
She looked at it with a puzzled expression.
”What is this?”
’Umm… to put it simply, it’s a really effective healing potion. I don’t know how much it will help his injury, but it should buy you some time until a Cleric can heal him.’
At this time, the Clerics are usually gathered in the square in front of the dungeon, ready to assist returning adventurers.
I heard that while there are clinics set up by the church in various places, they don’t keep the holy water, which is the catalyst for healing magic, there, so you can’t receive healing magic at those clinics.
That means we have to keep Lyle alive at least until we can get him to the front of the dungeon.
I think it’s reckless to make and give this potion right now, but… if I just leave him here and feel bad about it, it might be worse to deal with problems later because of this potion.
”A really effective healing potion… is it really okay? I mean, we’re still newbies, and we don’t have that much money…”
Ms. Kokol reached for my words but stopped, maybe worried about the cost.
I shook my head at her.
’Of course, I won’t say it’s for free. But I promise I won’t make you pay anything unreasonable.’
”…”
*Glance.*
”…Okay then.”
In times like this, when there’s no cost, it actually makes me feel uneasy, and I think it takes longer to decide.
Maybe she trusted my words, or maybe she judged that there was no time to waste looking at Lyle, but Ms. Kokol took the small bottle from me.
”Um, how do I use it?”
’I tried it myself, and it worked just fine.’
”Y-yes. So…”
*Plop!*
Ms. Kokol, who asked me about the medicine, opened the cork of the small bottle and poured it over Lyle’s head.
Then… Lyle quickly regained consciousness, sat up, and worried about Ms. Kokol.
”Uh, huh?”
”Kokol!? Are you okay?”
”Y-yes. I was helped by that person over there.”
”Huh?”
At Ms. Kokol’s words, Lyle looked at me suspiciously.
”Um… Who are you?”
Seeing his attitude, Ms. Kokol pulled on Lyle’s ear.
”Ouch!?”
”What’s with that attitude! I said e were being helped! And he even gave us medicine!”
”Huh? Oh, now that you mention it… I don’t feel any pain at all. Didn’t the Cleric use healing magic on me?”
”There’s no way we could get healing magic at this time in a place like this!”
”But it feels like I’m healed more than just from healing magic…”
”That’s why I said I got really ‘effective medicine’!”
”…No way!?”
Realizing something from Ms. Kokol’s explanation, Lyle bowed his head to me with a regretful expression.
Why does he look regretful? I wondered, and then his words revealed the reason.
”Um, I’m sorry. Even though I received such precious medicine… What about the payment?”
’Oh, I don’t want to force you.’
”I see… Um, my sister hasn’t gotten used to it yet, so if you could take it easy until she gets used to it…”
Lyle’s words sounded like he’d given up, and next to him, Ms. Kokol started fidgeting.
I was a little surprised to find out they were siblings, but more than that…
They thought that the medicine was valuable and misunderstood that I intended to demand Ms. Kokol’s body as payment for it, which was truly unfortunate.
Well, I guess they figured it was expensive because of its effects and thought that money alone wouldn’t be enough. It wouldn’t be enough.
Of course, I decided to clear up that misunderstanding.
’No, I don’t intend to put all the burden on her!’
”What!? Wait, are you saying it’s me too!?”
’No!’
I quickly denied it because I felt they might misunderstand even more, and I properly explained the price of the medicine.
Then the misunderstanding was resolved without any issues, and after we introduced ourselves, we talked about the people the two of them were involved with.
”Mr. Mose, I know you helped us, but… are you okay?”
’Huh? What do you mean?’
As I wondered about Lyle’s question, Ms. Kokol answered it.
”Oh, Lyle didn’t hear the story. Mr. Mose, you seem to be the one who faced off against the representative of ‘Silver Orchid’ and came out okay. They say to be careful not to mess with you even among ‘Gem Snake’.”
Huh, were they Gem Snake guys?
I heard they have some kind of mark, but it was dark, so I didn’t see it.
So, Lyle was worried that I might face their retaliation.
However, I thought I had crossed paths with a group that seemed to be from ‘Gem Snake’ after I dealt with Ferris.
So, that means… the information and the picture of me reached the city through the “Golden Lion” transport team that just returned today.
Well, it’s a different story for those who can come back alone or in small groups like me.
Still, the “Golden Lion” transport team returned this afternoon, so it seems like the organization is functioning well enough to get my information and instructions down to the lower ranks.
I was thinking I should be more cautious about the “Gem Snake” when,
”‘Murder Princess’ is the one feared by the ‘Gem Snake,’ right? If someone like you can handle her and come out okay, then maybe it’s fine…”
Mr. Lyle sighed in relief while talking about Ms. Kokol, surprised by my situation but starting to complain about the “Gem Snake.”
”But seriously, haven’t things gotten worse for them in the last couple of days? They won’t pay for services from shops they don’t have connections with, and they just use women without paying. I even heard they’re forcing themselves on women who aren’t for sale. If we report it to the guards, they’ll listen, but they’re slow to act.”
”I was almost in that situation earlier… It seems like the main force of the ‘Golden Lion.’ returned today, but they don’t seem to care. I mean, the people from ‘Golden Lion’ must have seen what happened, but they didn’t help me.”
Ms. Kokol continued to complain, but… Ferris herself mentioned that her influence as a deterrent seems to be fading.
There must be some reason for that, but is it happening with the “Golden Lion” as well?
Even so, ignoring Ms. Kokol being taken by “Gem Snake” might… well, it could lead to a conflict involving the whole organization, so as “Golden Lion,” they can’t carelessly get into trouble with “Gem Snake.”
”Thank you very much.”
”Thank you.”
’Take care.’
After seeing the two of them leave the alley, I decide to step out and look for another alley.
It seems like the people around might have sensed that something was off, and since there’s a chance we’re being watched, it wouldn’t be good for “Koji” to show up here.
So, I make myself invisible right there and float away, searching for another empty alley to return as “Koji.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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