It has been a month since we arrived at Galderia. And after the meeting with the guildmaster a few days ago, we have been going to the guildmaster's office everyday, asking for updates about how the case was going, while continuing our everyday lives.

Today, Yuna and I finished our quests earlier than usual, and in order to not waste our spare time, we decided to go shopping for our necessities. While I did say necessities, we were only looking for ingredients and condiments we need for cooking.

「We sure bought a lot.」Yuna

「Yeah...」Grey

「What's wrong? You sound tired.」Yuna

「Well, I never thought that condiments here would be so expensive...」Grey

Unlike on Earth where everyone has access to many types of condiments, here in Merusia, some condiments like black pepper are something only rich merchants and nobles can afford.

The condiments alone cost us about 3 silvers! That's 150,000 in yen! I can't believe I spent that much money in buying condiments!

「Don't worry, Grey! It only takes a single E-rank quest to earn all we spent back!」Yuna

Well, I guess she's rigー

「And considering the difference in taste of the dishes you cook, spending all those money is worth it!」Yuna

Ah... So it's the food that she's after... I didn't think that her love for food is strong enough to affect her judgement...

「Grey, is something wrong?」Yuna

「No, I was just thinking about how much you loー no, never mind.」Grey

Crap, I almost slipped my tongue there. I should really be careful about the words that come out of my mouth.

「...」Yuna

「You're not gonna ask what I was thinking about?」Grey

「I'm curious but I don't wanna become meddlesome. I'm an adult already. I should know when and when not to ask questions.」Yuna

I see... So she's acting mature once again...

I wonder when she will keep acting like this. It's really cute to see her trying to act mature all the timeー

「Kyaaa! Help!」

I was thinking of some odd things when suddenly, a scream echoed from the alley we were passing by.

「What was that!?」Yuna

「I don't know, but it sounds like someone in danger.」Grey

Without wasting any breath, Yuna and I ran towards the direction of the scream and tried to find it's source.

While running towards the source, I quickly stored everything we bought in the storage and equipped my gauntlets. Yuna followed suit by equipping her daggers.

When we arrived at the source of the scream, we saw three people. Two men and a woman. One of the men was lying on the ground, bleeding, while the other was holding a knife covered in blood, currently harassing the woman. 

Just with a single glance, it was easy to see who were the victims and who was the attacker.

Trusting my judgement, I quickly zoomed towards the man with the and delivered a punch in his torso. The punch was strong enough to make him pass out but not enough to kill him.

Guaakkkkk

When the punch hit the man, the man passed out just like how I intended. He collapsed to the ground, with his mouth frothing.

Thud

Whew, looks like we made it in time.

Not understanding what had just transpired before her, the woman collapsed to the ground as she lost the strength in her legs from shock.

I think it would be better if the one who'll ask her what happened is a woman, so I'll just leave this to Yuna.

「Yuna, I'll heal the bleeding man, so can you please ask her what happened.」Grey

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「Alright.」Yuna

Without wasting more time, I hastily walked towards the bleeding man and casted a healing spell on him.

「《Heal》.」Grey

After casting the spell, the stab wound on the man's torso quickly closed and started to heal. A few moments later, the wound disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.

With this, he should be alright... Ah! Blood... he lost too much. I should probably cast another recovery spell on him.

「《Rejuvenate》.」Grey

After casting another spell, the man's pale complexion started to turn into a healthier one, and his breathing started to stabilize.

His blood should be replenished now. If there's no abnormalities, he should wake up in less than 3 hours.

Having checked the man's condition, I went back to Yuna, and asked her what she learnt about what happened.

According to Yuna, the two of them are rookie adventurers who just registered a few days ago. And just like most young adventurers, they registered in order to help their families earn a living.

During the times they process the completion of their quests, the man with the knife would always look at the woman with lecherous eyes. Knowing the difference in their ranks, the two ignored this and did not report it to the guild in fear of being harmed by the said man. 

Little did they know, the man planned on ambushing them on their way back to the inn they're staying at. They tried to fight back but it was useless, and the woman's companion was stabbed by the lecherous man.

A few moments later, we arrived at the scene, and I ended up knocking the lecherous man unconscious. Which leads us to the current situation.

Haah... What a scumbag. Using his rank to harass others. People like him make me sick.

「U-Umm... Thank you for saving us! I will never forget this debt!」Woman

「Don't worry about that. More importantly, you should rest your body somewhere. Umm... Yuna, could you take this two to the hospital?」Grey

「Yeah... but... you're not going with us?」Yuna

「Well, someone's gotta take this scumbag to the guards. And since I'll be heading to the adventurer's guild to report afterwards, let's meet up there?」Grey

「I see... Then I'll see you later.」Yuna

「Sure.」Grey

Having said our goodbyes, Yuna and I parted ways and headed to our respective destinations.

Yuna and the woman each lent a shoulder to carry the unconscious man, while I grabbed the scumbag in his collar and dragged him towards the guard's barracks.

Hmm... Now that I look at the scumbag's face closely, he sure looks like one of the men which made me irritated a few weeks ago. 

Ahh... I really want to deliver a good blow into his face. No, considering the vulgar things they said about Yuna, a punch in the face wouldn't be enough.

Whilst restraining myself from punching the scumbag's face, I arrived at the barracks before I noticed it. And there, a lot of guards looked at me with confused faces.

Huh? Is there something on my face?

「Umm, Grey? What the heck are you doing with that man?」Dale

Ah! So they were weirded out by this scumbag I'm dragging in the collar. I better explain things to them before they get some weird misunderstandings.

Fearing an unpleasant misunderstanding, I quickly explained what happened to Dale-san and the other guards. Thankfully, they were able to understand it quickly.

「I see... Then we're thankful that you were able to stop the crime.」Dale

「Don't worー」Grey

「Huh!? Where am I? Unhand me you bastard!」Scumbag

Before I could finish my words, the scumbag regained consciousness and started to throw a tantrum. Taking that opportunity, I once again delivered a good blow in his torso and knocked him out unconscious once again. 

To my sudden attack, the guards flinched because of surprise. And seeing the man pass out instantly, all of them were at a loss for words.

「Sorry if I surprised you.」Grey

「「「Y-Yeah...」」」

Hmm? What's this?

By coincidence, my punch also hit his pouch and things started to pour out. One item in particular caught my eye. It was a black orb with blue patterns all over it.

Hmm...『Appraisal』.

-----------------------------------

【〔Magic Tool〕】

【Name】Enslavement Orb

【Grade】D

【Description】

      An item which can enslave beasts and restrict their movements only to the master's command. The success and duration of the enslavement will depend on the strength of the user and the grade of the orb. Failure in enslavement will cause the beast to be agitated and rampage.

-----------------------------------

Huh? Enslavement?

Seeing the description of the orb, the recent beast incidents made more sense to me. Questions like "Why are these beasts here?", "Who brought them here?" , and "Who is behind this?" have been answered and many pieces have been brought together.

All this time, we've been searching for the perpetrator of the beast incidents, who would have thought they were just lurking around us.

Tsk! Calling him a scumbag is just too nice for him! And if he's involved then there's a high possibility that his party members areー No, I can't just decide that all by myself. I need to report this with the guildmaster before I start acting.

But if my assumption turns out to be right, they better start running. I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself from killing them.

Making sure none of the guards noticed, I slowly picked up the orb and stored it in my 『Storage』. Thankfully, their attention was focused on the passed out bastard.

「Grey, you're going back now?」Dale

「Yeah, there's something urgent I need to do.」Grey

「Take care on your way back, and thank you for catching this bastard.」Dale

「Sure.」Grey

With the orb in my hand, I headed to the adventurer's guild in order to report to the guildmaster the things I've just learnt.

I don't know if it was because of my terrible luck, but when I arrived there, the group of scumbags were also there, and it was easy to tell that they were drunk with just a single glance.

I really want to give them a good beating, but I need to confirm things before acting. Doing things hastily will just cause more problems.

「Tilda-san, can you get the guildmaster for me? Just tell him I've got something important to discuss with him.」Grey

「Ah... Sure.」Tilda

Without asking any questions, Tilda-san headed towards the guildmaster's office. As expected of a professional.

「Hey, boss. It's that rookie backed up by the guildmaster again.」Scumbag 1

「Huh～? Is he reporting to that old fart again?」Scumbag Leader

「Guildmaster, guildmaster, look I've finished my quest. Can you raise my rank again? Bwahaha!」Scumbag 2

「「「Hahaha!!」」」Scumbags

Ignore them... Ignore them...

「And what's this? She doesn't have that hot babe with him?」Scumbag 3

「Maybe she got tired from having fun all night!」Scumbag 1

「Hey, hey, why don't we join them next time? Bwahaha!」Scumbag 2

「Can she even handle all of us? Hahaha!」Scumbag Leader

Ignore them... Ignore them...

「Maybe we should pay her a visit next time?」Scumbag 2

「Hahaha! That's true! My son is already itching to have some action!」Scumbag 1

Bastards! Even if it's a joke, I'll never forgive them!

If only I have a reason to beat them up, I'll make sure to break their bones, and let them know what real fear is!

「Hm? Isn't it about time for Kroll to arrive?」Scumbag 1

「That bastard, forgetting our objective just because he's having fun with that rookie. I hope he didn't lose that orb.」Scumbag Leader

Orb?

I see... So they have full knowledge about how to use that thing. 

Haha... Would you look at that, a reason to beat them up just appeared before me. Why don't I give them a piece of my mind.

「Hey, is this the orb you're talking about?」Grey

I said as I retrieved the orb from the storage and showed it to them.

「Hey, brat! Where did you get that!?」Scumbag Leader

「How I got it is none of your business! But I ask you this, what are you using these these orbs for?」Grey

「What do we use that for, you ask? For killing people and enslaving beasts obviously!」Scumbag 1

「Hey～ why are you telling him that for!?」Scumbag 2

「Hah? What if I tell him that? What's he gonna do? Tell on us to the guildmaster? He'll probably pee his pants just imagining what we'll do to him!」Scumbag 1

「Guildmaster, guildmaster, a group of good-looking adventurers are bullying me～ Hahaha!」Scumbag 3

「「「Bwahahaha!!」」」Scumbags

I thought they weren't going to answer me honestly, thankfully, they're awfully drunk right now.

And now that I've confirmed it, I don't think beating them up will make up for the sins they've committed, they all deserve to DIE!!!

Swallowed up by my pent up anger, I unconsciously directed an intense bloodlust towards them. 

「What's wrong? Where did all your courage go?」Grey

The faces of the once merry group of bastards were now in a pale complexion and drenched in sweat. It was as if they were face to face with death itself. They all looked pitiable.

With the intent to kill, I raised my fist and thrusted a punch towards one of the faces of the bastards, but before it could reach...

「Grey, stop!」Yuna

... Yuna took the blow and was blasted towards the guild's walls. And seeing Yuna get blasted, I snapped back into reality.

Crap! I let my anger get to my mind!

Having regained the right state of mind, I deactivated my aura and dashed towards where Yuna crashed.

「Yuna!」Grey

CHAPTER 18 END