Raid

 

“Rena…just in case, take the children and evacuate to the outside.”

 

“…I understand.”

 

Elena nodded with a serious face as she understood what I meant when I said “outside”.

 

Noi, the wounded Dark Elf boy, had been treated with Elena’s light magic. We waited for him to wake up because even the inn where we were staying was no longer safe.

 

We made a simple base outside the town in case of emergencies. We had a small amount of food, so we would be fine for a few days. When Noi woke up, he told me that Chaco had been kidnapped and that he was going to rescue her–

 

“You’re a hindrance.”

 

“But, but I…”

 

Noi’s face was flushed with impatience. He probably thought that as the older brother of the little ones, he had a responsibility to help the little girl who was acting as their older sister. But that was a mistake.

 

“Your responsibility is to protect those children. Don’t make the mistake of putting your life on the line.”

 

“…I understand.”

 

The children may have developed the will to resist, but that didn’t mean their anxiety was going to disappear. Noi nodded firmly as the little children held his clothes, desperately holding back tears.

 

I watched Elena and Noi’s backs as they walked away from the scene with the children, and I turned my steps toward the other remaining person in the place.

 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

 

“You…!”

 

He was slightly out of position as he tried to escape. The tiger-patterned man, who had fallen to the ground with his right knee and right wrist bones shattered, still roared like a menacing tiger as I approached, and kicked at me with his remaining left leg.

 

In terms of fighting strength, he was in the lower rank of Rank 3. It was admirable that he was still willing to fight with that wound. However, I would give him the appropriate response.

 

I kicked his leg that was about to strike my right leg, and I crushed his ankle with my weight.

 

“G-G-Gyaaaaaah!!!”

 

“Where did you take Chaco?”

 

I asked not showing anger or hatred, just intimidation, and for the first time, the man’s face twitched with anything but pain.

 

“You bitch…”

 

“You were going to show me around from the beginning, weren’t you? And who told you that we cured the sick?”

 

“You did this to the Munza Group, and in this town–gyaaaaaa!”

 

“That’s not what I want to hear.”

 

I stepped on his crushed ankle as if to crush it, and kicked and crushed with my heel the left knee of the man who still would not open his mouth for fear of private punishment from the Munza Group, and the killing spirit fizzled out from the man as he was broken bit by bit.

 

“Gugaga…stop…stop…I don’t know… the young master…”

 

“So you did know who was involved?”

 

The shattered wrist of his left arm, the only one that was intact, finally broke the tiger-headed man’s heart.

 

After getting the necessary information out of him, I thought that the information was incomplete, so I left the man alive, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him off in the direction of the town.

 

***

 

“Aria!”

 

As I approached the town, I heard a voice calling my name from a figure rushing toward me from ahead.

 

There were only a limited number of people in this town who would call me by my name, and an even more limited number of people walking down the road to that shack.

 

“Camille and Ron?”

 

Camille was showing his face, but the other guy was probably Ron, his face hidden by the hood. They ran up to me and their eyes widened slightly when they saw me and the tiger-beastman with crushed limbs.

 

“I have heard that the Munza Group is headed to Chaco’s hut.”

 

“No way, that’s the guy?”

 

The two men had rushed to Chaco’s hut because they heard that Chaco and the others were in danger.

 

One of the men who attacked the two taunted them, suggesting that they would attack Chaco and the others.

 

“We were able to protect the children, but Chaco was kidnapped.”

 

“Chaco…then I’ll go.”

 

“Wait, Camille!”

 

Ron grabbed Camille’s shoulder and stopped him as he was about to run off, then removed his hood and turned his serious eyes to me.

 

“Aria…was it? Thank you. Camille told me about you guys. But why would you go to such lengths for a child you don’t even know?”

 

Ron’s question was reasonable. Even I wondered if there was more behind the scenes than just the fact that they were helping the children for free. But–

 

“You are asking me that?”

 

“… Ah, that was a pointless question. I’m sorry.”

 

Ron bowed his head honestly, comparing what we had done.

 

There was no exact reason. I suppose we could decorate it with pretty words, but if we dared to put into words such subtle feelings that could not be verbalized, we simply could not pretend that we had not seen what we had seen. –That’s all.

 

“Rena…if she’s there, the other children will be okay in one way or another. And I have some information here. We’ve been hostile to the Munza Group by destroying their work, but this time it seems that the Kirli Trading Company is involved.”

 

“That is consistent with our information as well. It is probably because of our involvement. I think it is because they believe a cure was made from a creation we created to treat the disease.”

 

I thought that Jed, the watchdog of the Kirli Trading Company, was a bit more of a smart merchant, but if he prioritized emotion over profit, then he was just a thug of this town, right?

 

…Or, did he come up with the town’s typical idea of [robbing everything] by considering profit and emotional benefits? Many powerful people tend to be cautious, but some idiots mistake the power of the organization for their own power.

 

It was just a precaution, but it was the right decision not to return to the inn under the Kirli Chamber of Commerce.

 

“I am now going to help get Chaco back.”

 

“Okay, Aria, we’ll go with you…”

 

“No, then I have a favor to ask of you both.”

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Also check out my other novels: Reincarnated into a Game as the Hero’s Friend, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, and A Girl Who Was Told “You Have No Talent” Turned Out To Be A Talented Monster