After arriving at the town that the dying adventurer had tried to escape to, the group began to sightsee. It was to allow them to stretch their legs and relax after being stuck in that black vehicle for hours. As a side note, they had stopped at a fair distance from the town before Ryner stored the car inside his pocket dimension to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
“Your arm is weird.” [Snow]
Snow complained as she latched onto Ryner’s left arm. When the group started walking around, she went to his side and hugged his arm to her chest. The soft bulges that were pushing against her white shirt were pressed against his arm. Truly, she was her mother’s daughter. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t feel them.
“Weird? It looks normal to me.” [Ryner]
“This part here is soft, but this part underneath is hard.” [Snow]
The fox-eared girl said as she poked the forearm that was actually a prosthesis. When she thought about it, it was from this arm that a spike came out and impaled that dog back in the noble’s mansion.
“What’s the matter, kid? You don’t look too good.” [Ryner]
“It’s nothing!” [Snow]
Having remembered some bad memories, she strongly shook her head and hugged Ryner’s arm tightly.
“Snow, do you want to hold hands with me?” [Myra]
Perhaps she knew how her daughter felt, Myra gently called out to Snow and presented her hand.
“Unh!” [Snow]
In response, Snow cheerfully nodded before going to her beautiful mother’s side and held her hand without hesitation.
“Now then, as planned, the four of us will be going shopping. I’ll call you to specify the meeting point once we’re done.” [Evelyn]
After walking on the lively streets for a while, Evelyn turned to Ryner and suddenly declared. They had stopped at what looked like a street filled with clothing shops. At the same time, Maya, Myra and Snow went to her side and looked at the black-haired man as well.
“We’ll be gone for a bit, Master~.” [Maya]
“Fufu, only girls are allowed from here on.” [Myra]
“No boys! Ryner, don’t follow us!” [Snow]
“Yeah, yeah, but will you be ok? You might run into some trouble with other people.” [Ryner]
“Don’t worry. We’re near the borders of our kingdoms. Humans don’t really mind us too much around these parts.” [Myra]
Myra reassured Ryner who seemed worry about them. They had crossed over to the Kardiunn kingdom and were currently inside a town called Estrya. All of the various human nations were grouped up in one part of the continent and the same was said for the beastmen. The towns built near their borders would see a lot of these two races mingling together.
As such, discrimination wasn’t too strong at the edge of the humans and beastmen’s lands. Everyone got used to the other race after frequently seeing them every day. Human merchants’ goods would come to these towns before circulating in the various beastmen kingdoms and vice-versa.
If one looked around town, there were a lot more beastmen walking on the streets and frequenting shops than they were in the other cities that Ryner visited so far. That was because he had been deep in human territory. It was rare to meet other races since everyone tended to stick to their own lands. That was unless they had a reason to travel far away, such as wandering aimlessly like Maya did or needing to subjugate some monsters like adventurers.
As a side note, adventurers were more free minded because of the nature of their work. They often had to travel to different parts of the world which gave them a chance to meet different people. It also often came with the risk of having to fight different enemies. They didn’t care what race you came from as long as you weren’t an enemy and that you could hold your own.
“Mom’s right. We’ll be fine. And we have Evelyn and Maya with us!” [Snow]
“No, that’s not what I meant.” [Ryner]
Ryner had noticed that discrimination was weaker in this town since the stares that they attracted had no or less hostility than usual. But, there was one thing that didn’t change about them.
“I’m saying that all of you are beauties. You’re definitely going to get hit on by a bunch of guys.” [Ryner]
Everyone was still looking at them with desires. The girls were still attracting a lot of unwanted attention.
“That blonde one’s gorgeous.” [Passerby]
“Which one?” [Passerby]
“The human with red eyes.” [Passerby]
“I prefer the beastmen. The mother is definitely my type.” [Passerby]
“Hhm? A blonde-haired foxkin mother with her daughter? I think I heard about that somewhere…” [Passerby]
“The one with the slave collar is great too. She looks sort of familiar though.” [Passerby]
Such murmurs could be heard all around them. Most of the humans were staring at Evelyn while most of the beastmen were staring at Maya, Myra and Snow. Also, the heated stares were from the men who were either blushing or wagging their tails. For the beastmen, mating season wasn’t over yet, so they were wondering if they should try their luck. It was the season of love, after all.
“We’ll be fine. If any of them comes to bother us, I’ll deal with them properly.” [Evelyn]
Evelyn said as she completely ignored the various gazes directed at her. Next to her, Maya seemed rather uncomfortable and put a hand over her ear as if she wanted to hide it.
“But still, Ryner, you should not utter such words so casually to anyone but me. Since we’re family, I won’t misunderstand, but others might.” [Evelyn]
“She’s right. You shouldn’t hit on a married woman. It’s bad, you know.” [Myra]
“So you do understand!” [Snow]
Evelyn crossed her arms and warned Ryner with a serious expression. Myra had a hand on her cheek and sported a teasing smile. As for Snow, she puffed out her plentiful chest and seemed proud.
“That’s right, Ryner! I’m not a kid! I’m an attractive woman!” [Snow]
“Yeah, you’re the prettiest girl in the world. Can you leave now?” [Ryner]
Ryner complimented her in a monotonous voice, prompting her to pounce on him. They bickered for a bit with Snow pressing her breasts on his chest. She had become quite defenseless around him. Evelyn, although a bit annoyed, knew that she wasn’t trying to seduce Ryner and let it go. She did, however, gather data on their interactions to use it for her great plan. Playing the role of the innocent and childish girl seemed like an effective approach.
Once the four were finally heading towards their shopping destination, Ryner went in a different direction. He figured that he should take this chance to relax and enjoy the town. With that decided, he gazed at the various shops as he walked around.
They were guards patrolling the streets here and there. Although humans and beastmen managed to coexist in this town near the borders, one never knew when their kingdoms would go to war. As such, a fortress was built near the town and guards were stationed there in case of an invasion.
Shortly after, Ryner arrived at a wooden bridge. The town had a river flowing through it, cutting it in two. The bridge was built to allow the inhabitants to cross from one half to the other. Ryner walked to the middle and leaned on the guardrail.
“This is a good meeting spot.” [Ryner]
Muttering that to himself, Ryner pulled out his cellphone and sent a text message to Evelyn. In it, he specified that once they were done, they should meet up with him on the bridge and gave some simple directions. If they didn’t find him, then she should contact him. As a side note, the phones allowed short-ranged wireless communication and the Avalon was acting like a relay antenna for long-range communication.
Putting the phone back in his pocket, Ryner absentmindedly watched the clear blue sky for a while and enjoyed the moment. In the past, care freely passing time like this was a luxury. As his mind drifted off, he remembered his two first friends and how the three of them had promised to do this together someday. To lie down on the soft grass and watch the clouds floating by. It made him feel like laughing and it made him feel like crying.
However, his reminiscence was soon interrupted. Someone was standing a few meters next to him with a depressing atmosphere around him. Among the people going to and fro, this red-haired man stared at the river with hollow eyes as if seeking something at the bottom. Resting both hands on the guardrail, he had a horrible complexion and looked like he didn’t eat or sleep in days. There were also various bruises on his face and his clothes were dirty. Everyone was obviously avoiding him.
“… Just to warn you, but don’t kill yourself while I’m around. It’ll ruin my day.” [Ryner]
The young man noticed Ryner with these words and looked at him from the corner of his black eyes.
“… Excuse me?” [Bridge man]
The man in his late twenties asked in a weak and almost raspy voice, wondering what this guy with an eyepatch wanted.
“Crap. Looking at you ruined it already. Can’t you pick a better time for doing this?” [Ryner]
He said as he gazed at the clear blue sky once more and scratched his head. His meddlesome nature was awakened.
“… Do what?” [Bridge man]
“Oh well. Want me to help?” [Ryner]
“… Help?” [Bridge]
“Assisted suicide. It’s not illegal, is it? Should I push you off the bridge?” [Ryner]
He said such an outrageous thing casually and yawned, but the pale-faced man didn’t react.
“… Is that so?” [Bridge man]
“Oh, you’re not mad at all. Guess you really have given up on everything.” [Ryner]
“… Why are you talking to me?” [Bridge man]
The red-haired man finally looked at Ryner again as he asked his question. The black-haired man scratched his head and thought about how he should answer him.
“Because I’ve got some time to kill and I already saw your face. It’s my damn nature. It hasn’t changed ever since I got it. By the way, it’s not pity.” [Ryner]
The sleepy-looking otherworlder stared back at him for a second before closing his white eye. His eyebrows twitched, his breathing became heavy and his fists were tightly clenched. Then, when he opened his good eye again, it caused the other to take a step back.
“Looking at your eyes reminds me of what I don’t want to remember.” [Ryner]
It had become hollow and lifeless. No light was reflected in it and the word “despair” was too good to describe it. Looking into it made him feel like he was being swallowed by darkness. It was like being on the very edge of a cliff and staring at the bottom. It was like staring at a dark and bottomless abyss where unknown monsters roamed.
“I don’t feel like looking away now.” [Ryner]
Ryner closed his eye after a short while and repeatedly muttered something under his breath. He put a hand over his strange white eye and breathed deeply. When his emotions calmed down, he looked at the red-haired man again as if nothing happened. His eye had gone back to being half-closed and sleepy-looking.
“Don’t tell anyone about this. But, you’re going to die, so I guess it doesn’t matter.” [Ryner]
“…” [Bridge man]
After snapping out of it, the suicidal man stayed quiet for a moment.
“… You look like you killed before.” [Bridge man]
“Yeah, and I’m good at it.” [Ryner]
“… There is something that I want.” [Bridge man]
He whispered those words in a cracked voice.
“… But, I’m going to meet my wife now.” [Bridge man]
Ryner crossed his arms on top of the guardrail and leaned on it.
“Tell me your story.” [Ryner]
So, the man told everything to Ryner. He told him how he and his wife had been tricked into falling in debt, how his wife had been used and how she was killed. He told him how he tried to kill them, how they beat him up without killing him every time he showed up just to mock him and how he had nothing left.
He told him everything that he had kept in his heart in a weak and broken voice. Towards the end, he ended up crying. The pain was too much for him and that was why he wanted to escape from it with death.
Once he was done, Ryner, having already understood what it was that he wanted to ask of him, stretched his hand out.
“I’m going to need and advanced payment.” [Ryner]
The man nodded and gave him what he wanted: a lock of his red hair and his wedding ring. He greatly hesitated when he was asked to hand over his ring which was his most value possession. He had kept it hidden from the thugs with great difficulty and had even gone as far as swallowing it before puking it back out at one point.
But, he accepted to use it as payment in the end. He couldn’t protect his wife, so he felt that he didn’t have the right to wear it. Besides, he wasn’t going to need it anymore pretty soon and if it meant getting revenge on those men, then he would relinquish it.
“Next, I need to know yours and your wife’s names.” [Ryner]
Ryner asked and stared at him in the eyes.
“… Armin… And Issabell Guener.” [Armin]
“Then, Armin Guener, I accept your request.” [Ryner]
That sentence sealed the deal.
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“Boss, I’ll be going out to collect.” [Thug]
“Mhhh…” [Boss]
The boss only grunted in reply to his subordinate who was a strong-looking middle-aged man. He wondered how he could be taking orders from someone younger than him.
“The boss says it’s fine. Make sure to squeeze everything out of them.” [???]
“No problem bro-uh I mean, Mr. Higg!” [Thug]
After correcting himself in a panic, he left the windowless room and joined up with his friends. The only ones left inside were five men. One of them was sitting on a couch with two men standing behind him on each side.
“Oho, you think they’ll bring us back something nice?” [Thug]
One of the remaining two who were sitting on the other couch asked the young man sitting in front of him. A small table was placed between them with three glasses and a bottle of alcohol on it.
“Most likely. Our client is a married man and now owes us ten gold coins. If he can’t pay up, we’ll take everything he has, which includes his wife.” [Higg]
The one called Higg, who was standing behind, answered in the boss’ stead. He had glasses, which were an expensive item, on his well-featured face and was in his late-thirties. He had short brown hair and green eyes that were narrowed into slits, giving him the look of a cunning snake.
“Ha! His wife, huh? Are we gonna let our boys have fun with her like with the last time?” [Thug]
The other rough-looking man that was sitting next to his colleague spoke up after downing the contents of his glass.
“And we’ll let the husband watch as we take turns! Hahaha! The look on their face is just priceless!” [Thug]
“That reminds me of one of our customers. What was his name? That red-haired man? His wife was a fine piece of work. And he was too. He kept coming back to get beaten up by us! Gahaha!” [Thug]
“Oh yeah, him. Shouldn’t we kill him? We already killed his woman. We might as well kill him too. And it’ll be safer for us like that.” [Thug]
Higg shrugged his shoulders and smiled wryly.
“There’s no need. No matter what he says, we’re doing a legal money-lending business. So long as we’re careful as to not leave behind any unwanted evidence, the guards can’t touch us.” [Higg]
“Well, it’s thanks to you that their captain is on our side too, Mr. Higg.” [Thug]
“I was just lucky to find a man that wanted more than his job could offer. Besides that, if we let our red-headed customer live, then he’ll spread our name for us.” [Higg]
“Gahaha! Free advertisement for us! As expected of bro-Mr. Higg! How crafty! Yeah! Let’s spread the fame of the Mainfroi gang!” [Thug]
“But for now, let’s kick back and wait until our boys bring back a nice toy for us!” [Thug]
The boss, who was in his early twenties, watched them happily talk with a lewd smile on their faces. They were going into their own world while ignoring him as usual. It was boring. His blue eyes that showed his boredom stared at his men that were already getting excited. A lock of his orange hair fell in front of his face, so he tried to blow it away.
“Young master Guido, no, Boss, please pay attention.” [Higg]
Higg lightly scolded him for his attitude, but Guido just waved it away and grunted again. He was pretty sure that this snake, who was his right-hand man, was after his position as the head of the Mainfroi gang, but he didn’t care. He already delegated most of his tasks to him. His family business was boring.
Lately, their influenced increased thanks to Higg and they’ve been making quite a bit, but it was still boring. He might have looked up to his deceased father when he was kid since a bunch of scary men listened to his every order, but now he was bored. He might have felt something when he first had his way with a woman who was in debt, but not anymore.
The one exciting thing about all this was the risk of getting caught by the guards, but that risk was greatly diminished when they pulled the captain to their side.
“(Guarding the border every day must be boring for him, huh…)” [Guido]
Soon, a certain event broke him out of his bored and carefree thoughts. An unknown man wearing a black vest and dark brown pants showed up at the door. The hood of the vest was pulled over his head, but his face was still visible.
“Excuse me, is this the main office of the Mainfroi firm? I’ve got some business here.” [Ryner]
He had an eyepatch over his left eye and his right eye was white like it had been blinded. The left sleeve was rolled up to show his forearm. From the looks of it, he had a black gauntlet on his left arm, but it looked weird. It was too small to fit his arm in.
“Huuuh? This is the main office, but if you want to borrow money, then there’s a guy at the reception desk downstairs. This place is off-limits, so-!” [Thug]
They wondered how this kid who barely looked twenty got past all of their men. One of the thugs politely told him to get lost in an irritated voice, but he couldn’t finish speaking. Everyone widened their eyes in shock. When the new arrival stepped through the door, they saw what he was dragging with his left hand. It was the lifeless body of the thug that had left earlier.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Oh this? I had some business with him too. It was quite hard, you know. I had to snap his neck with my right hand since my left is no good. I really need to get it fix soon.” [Ryner]
Ryner casually tossed aside the corpse while complaining about his prosthesis. It was made of carbon fiber and titanium, so it was quite sturdy. However, the servo motors used to move the joints couldn’t compete with his actual strength.
“Who are ya, you bastard!” [Thug]
“Do you know who you’re messing with?!” [Thug]
The two thugs that were sitting in front of their boss got up and pulled out a knife. Higg took a step back to protect himself while the other man who was standing by took a step forward. If those two couldn’t beat him, then he would join the fray. Guido didn’t move at all and just stared at the hooded intruder with a dumbfounded expression.
“The Mainfroi gang, right? Like I said, I have some business with you.” [Ryner]
Ryner raised his right hand and show them the bloody knife that he had taken from one of the fallen thugs.
“Nothing personal, but you’ve all been marked as my enemies.” [Ryner]
As if his words declared the start of the fight, the two thugs charged forward and brandished their weapons. Ryner blocked one attack with the forearm of his prosthesis and parried the other with his knife. Right after, he stabbed one of his assailants between the legs and grabbed the other by the throat with his left hand while avoiding the blood splatter.
“Urrrk…” [Thug]
The man with his most important place destroyed seemed to be gasping as he fell down and bled out on the floor. The pain and shock of losing his crotch made him faint with a pale complexion.
“C-Col!” [Thug]
The remaining attacker tried to cut Ryner’s hand, but it didn’t do him any good. The prosthesis repelled his attacks.
“Yeah, I can’t snap your neck. Hang on.” [Ryner]
The black-haired man let him go for a moment and lightly hit him on the chin. While he was stunned for a moment, Ryner went behind him and pulled his head back by the hair.
“Do you know what it feels like to have a knife shoved up your ass?” [Ryner]
He shoved his knife up the man’s second most important place, taking his first time.
“GAAAAAHH!!!” [Thug]
The thug didn’t look like he enjoyed it as he squirmed and screamed in pain. He went weak in the knees and was about to collapse, but Ryner held him up, skillfully stole his knife from his weakened grip and turned towards the three spectators who were watching the ruthless killing with their mouths wide opened. In one quick move, he slit his throat in front of them. Blood gushed out uncontrollably and Ryner tossed him aside like a used rag.
“R-Reeve! What are you standing around for?! You’re a C rank magic user! Kill him!” [Higg]
Higg, seeing two of his most trusted subordinates killed so easily, lost his calm and ordered the muscular bald man to attack. He was the strongest fighter of the Mainfroi gang and was a certified C rank. As such, his job was to protect the boss, Guido, which was why he never left his side.
Reeve willed his mana in his body and used body strengthening, the most basic of magic. The mana stretched outwards and went to every part of his body, enhancing every fiber to increase his strength, speed and toughness.
Now stronger than regular humans, he made his way towards Ryner as he kicked the table away and threw the couch aside. He also used mana pressure which released his mana outside his body and assaulted his enemy like waves. He would feel his body grow heavier and something akin to intimidation, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. Giving up on that idea, Reeve pulled out the sword from the scabbard hanging on his waist and tried to sever the intruder’s head.
Ryner ducked at the last minute. Reeve kicked upwards in response, but his opponent jumped back and raised his chin to dodge it by a paper thin margin. Furthermore, he grabbed the foot at the same time and pulled it upward. The force he exerted coupled with the momentum of the kick caused the bald man to lose balance and fall on the ground.
Panicking, he tried to get up, but Ryner had already kneed him in the stomach, causing him to lose his breath.
“Oh, you’re pretty tough. A C rank, huh?” [Ryner]
He said with one knee on top of him. Reeve quickly retaliated by swinging his sword at him from the side, but Ryner blocked it with the knife in his right hand and grabbed his right wrist with his left hand.
“Perfect timing.” [Ryner]
Reeve arm’s was shaking, but he couldn’t move it no matter how much strength he put into it. His opponent could compete with him in a test of strength. It would appear that he was also a magic user and had strengthened himself. So, he punched his enemy with his left hand and aimed for his ribs.
“Agh! Grrr yoouuu!” [Reeve]
Ryner diverted his blow by stabbing his wrist with the knife.
“Hmm, it wasn’t that hard to wound you.” [Ryner]
Blood flowed out from the wound that wasn’t too deep despite Ryner’s attack. Reeve struggled to get up and covered his face with his free hand in case his foe went for the killing blow, but it was useless. The eyepatch-wearing guy let go of the knife and used both his hands to dislocate his right wrist.
“Gaahh!” [Reeve]
As he screamed from the pain, Ryner knocked the sword out of his weakened grip. Then, he nimbly hugged his right arm with his entire body and wrapped his legs around it. In one quick motion, he dislocated his shoulder, eliciting another yell of agony.
He soon proceeded to do the same thing to the poor man’s remaining arm and left leg which completely immobilized him. What happened afterwards could only be described as cruel and heartless.
“GYAAAAAHHHH!!!” [Reeve]
“Your skin’s like natural armor, but it’s not that tough. It’s got a leathery feel to it when you pass a blade through it. Or maybe it’s more like cutting a stack of cardboard boxes?” [Ryner]
Ryner said in a carefree manner as he slowly cut the flesh of his forearm with a knife. He had to exert quite a bit of strength since the flesh was hardened by magic. Reeve’s body had numerous cuts as the crazed, eyepatch-wearing man was slowly carving him up.
“Whoa, watch the blood splatters. Relax your muscles.” [Ryner]
“H-HELP ME!” [Reeve]
Fearing for his life, Reeve asked the two remaining men in the room to come to his rescue. However, Higg was shaking in his boots because of the ghastly show that was playing out before him. There was no way he was going to approach that hooded intruder. He wanted to escape, but he couldn’t find a way since Ryner was blocking the only exit. As for Guido, he was still sitting on the couch with a dumbfounded expression.
“Well, that should be enough. C ranks are just about as strong as me.” [Ryner]
With his research done, Ryner raised his knife and stabbed it in the eye, granting Reeve eternal sleep.
“Weak points are still the same.” [Ryner]
He let go of the knife and grabbed the sword of his newly deceased opponent. As he approached the other two targets, Higg couldn’t handle the fear anymore and tried to negotiate.
“Wait a m-moment! I’m just a helper! This guy’s the boss of the gang! He’s the one you want! So, spare me, ok? I’ll give you all my money if you do! A-and anything else you want!” [Higg]
He pitifully sold out his boss and begged for his life as he stepped backward until his back was glued to the wall. His will to fight was completely sapped when he saw Ryner torture their strongest fighter.
“Then, how about information?” [Ryner]
“Of course! Anything!” [Higg]
Higg was very cooperative and told Ryner everything that he wanted to know. He told him how the gang worked, where they hid their valuables, where their branch offices and hideouts were as well as the identity of the guard that was in league with them.
Once he got all the information that he wanted, Ryner didn’t say anything. He moved to the side and gestured for him to leave through the door. Seeing this, Higg had a happy and relieved expression and he bolted for the door without looking back at the young man that he had just betrayed.
He obviously didn’t feel any guilt. He had planned on one day killing him and taking control of the gang once his influence was greater. Guido was simply going to die sooner than he expected, but there was no way he could die here.
He was going to live no matter what. Once the hooded man was done killing his former subordinates, he would gather new recruits and rebuild the gang stronger than ever. He would also find him and get his revenge. Just as he was about to take one step out of the door, he felt a cold, metallic hand grabbing the back of his head.
“Eh?” [Higg]
A steel spike stabbed straight through his throat from the nape of his neck. Blood gushed out like a fountain and spilled from his mouth.
“Gah… Ah…” [Higg]
His consciousness was growing faint and even the unbearable pain was fading away. His body was growing cold and he knew that death was approaching. His plans to move up in life were disappearing right in front of his eyes.
“(N-no! I’m not… Supposed… To die… Here!)” [Higg]
Those were the final thoughts he embraced before he ceased to breathe.
Ryner pulled out the spike and it retracted into his forearm. The hand moved back in place and closed the opening like a lid over a canon. He turned around and faced the boss of Mainfroi. This one wasn’t scared nor was he acting brave.
“… Haha…!” [Guido]
He was excited. With the appearance of one man, his boring life was utterly shattered and blood curling action filled his every waking moment. He stayed seated and watched Ryner with sparkling eyes.
“Are you… A hero?” [Guido]
He stupidly asked in a trembling voice as he managed to barely contain his excitement. He was a villain that was about to be taken down by a hero. He thought such a thing would be incredible. It was like a story from those fairy tales.
“I’m not a hero.” [Ryner]
But, Ryner crushed his expectations and slowly walked towards him.
“A real hero would have found a way to save him.” [Ryner]
He arrived before Guido and raised his sword over his head.
“I’m just the assassin he sent.” [Ryner]
As the hooded man swung his sword down on him, one final thought appeared in Guido’s head.
“(An assassin… Even better!)” [Guido]
His head flew through the air before rolling on the floor. Ryner took a few steps back to avoid the fountain of blood that erupted from the headless corpse.
“Fighting really is nice, but this is too easy. Get me some stronger opponents.” [Ryner]
After muttering such unreasonable complaints, he pulled out from his pocket dimension a small glass vial that contained a transparent liquid with a light purple tinge. He lightly shook it and nodded to himself.
“Now then, next target.” [Ryner]
He put it back in his pocket dimension and headed for the door, but with everyone killed and the tension leaving him, he couldn’t take it anymore and stopped at the exit. He bent forward and ended up puking on the poor dead body of Higg before leaving the place.
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Gilbert, a middle-aged man with a good physique, greying black hair and black eyes, was patrolling the town and protecting public order. At least, that was what he would be doing if he didn’t make that deal with the Mainfroi gang.
Using his position as captain, he was protecting them discreetly in exchange for a cut in their profits. He also had a free pass at any woman that couldn’t pay back their debt which was the best part. Of course, they were tied up and blindfolded so that they wouldn’t know it was him.
“Captain.” [Guard]
He came across four guards that were also patrolling the streets and nodded in greeting. These brave men and women were in charge of protecting this town and keeping an eye out for a sudden invasion by the beastmen, their neighbor.
They saluted him in respect to his rank and his abilities. Unlike those four men, the left shoulder plate of his armor had a red line painted on it. This showed his rank as captain of the guards of Estrya. Furthermore, Gilbert’s arms were bare so that he could show everyone his well-built muscles. He liked to show off like that.
“Keep up the good work.” [Gilbert]
“Yes, sir!” [Guard]
The captain resumed his patrol after that short exchange. His men moved in teams, but not him. He preferred to patrol by himself. It made him feel more relaxed since he didn’t have to deal with his subordinates. It also made it easier to sneak into one of the Mainfroi gang’s office and have a bit of fun with any woman that tickled his fancy. However, this habit would be his downfall.
As he proudly walked through the streets crowded with people, he bumped into someone with a black hood over his head. Normally, he would get angry and tell him to watch where he was going, but this time he couldn’t.
“Red paint. Captain Gilbert, right?” [Ryner]
The hooded man whispered to him before continuing on his way as if nothing happened. Gilbert turned around to tell him to stop, but he couldn’t speak. He could barely stand as well. He then noticed a stinging pain on his left hand and took a look. There was a small cut on his palm.
He was feeling lightheaded and his vision began to sway. He searched for the one that bumped into him with his blurry eyes again. He managed to catch sight of him as he pulled down his hood and took his vest off.
The man calmly walked further and further away from him and faded into the crowd. That was the last thing he saw before his vision went dark and he fell on the ground. He could hear small screams and voices of concern around him, but shortly after, he heard nothing.
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Once Ryner was done with his job, the sun was setting and the sky had an orange hue. He had gone around town exterminating a gang and assassinated the captain of the guards with poison. The fast-acting poison was something he had picked up from the chemical room in the Avalon. It had all sorts of substances that were either deadly or safe.
He had washed the blood off his prosthesis and black vest and stored the vest in his pocket dimension. Now, he was standing on the bridge once more. Armin was long gone. Ryner had already seen him off before he got to work on his request.
He put his hands in his pants’ pocket and pulled out two small objects. They were two wedding rings. One of them belonged to his client, Armin, while the other belonged to his wife, Issabell. It was taken by the thugs of the Mainfroi gang, but Ryner managed to find it.
He had acquired it from a building that was used as a storehouse for the gang to hide their loots. Luckily for him, someone was collecting wedding rings from women like trophies and wrote the names of the owners next to them. There was also an unwanted note on their personal opinion on which married wife felt the best, but Ryner tore it to pieces.
Standing on the bridge, Ryner braided the lock of hair he got from Armin into a red string and tied the two rings together. Once it was done, he lifted them up to the orange sky and stared at them for a while. The rings reflected the light of the setting sun, making it look like they were faintly shining.
“The job’s done, Armin.” [Ryner]
The one-eyed man whispered softly and tossed the tied rings over the bridge. He watched them fall until they made a splash and sank in the river. He then leaned on the guardrail and kept gazing at the sky absentmindedly. He felt like laughing, he felt like crying and he felt like puking, though he already puked.
“Ah! There he is! Ryyyner!” [Snow]
An energetic voice called out to him before his flank collided with someone’s soft body. He turned his head and looked down: the culprit was Snow who was hugging him. She took a step back, raised her hand and greeted him with a big smile on her face. Maya, Evelyn and Myra were walking towards them from behind the fox-eared girl. They were carrying multiple bags that contained various spoils from their shopping spree.
“Sorry. It took longer than we thought.” [Evelyn]
Evelyn apologized on behalf of the group. It had dragged on longer than they had initially planned because of her. It wasn’t because she was gathering information when some bad news circulated around town. It was because she had a lot of difficulty choosing her night battle dress.
“Don’t worry about it. I was enjoying the view.” [Ryner]
Ryner said and gazed at the sky once more, ignoring the smiling Snow who now stood right next to him and leaned over the guardrail.
“Oh my~, it’s quite a view. You picked a good meeting spot, Master.” [Maya]
“That’s true. It’s really beautiful.” [Myra]
“Pretty~!” [Snow]
“I agree, but we shouldn’t stay for too long.” [Evelyn]
The three beastmen also admired the view, but Evelyn wanted them to move along.
“Apparently, someone killed the captain of the guards in the middle of the streets and a lot of bodies were found around town. It seems rather dangerous, so we should leave as soon as possible.” [Evelyn]
“Hmm, yeah, you’re right, but just a bit longer. Let’s stay here just a bit longer.” [Ryner]
Ryner’s voice lacked any sort of tension when he made his request and he yawned loudly. This caused his four travelling companions to chuckle and relax slightly. Despite hearing such grim news, this man’s laidback attitude and sleepy-looking eye didn’t change at all.
“Say, Ryner, did you perhaps spend the whole day watching the sky from here?” [Snow]
Snow tugged on the sleeve of his shirt and asked with a teasing smile on her face as she looked up at him. She imagined him falling asleep halfway through and felt like laughing.
“Well, sort of.” [Ryner]
In response, Ryner shrugged his shoulders and answered her without taking his eyes away from the orange sky.
“I had some time to kill.” [Ryner]
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*Author* Anyone knows how to put up voting polls and make that line that cuts the text in sections? Besides that, chapter production will be going back to normal. It took a while to write this chapter since I wanted to avoid cliffhangers.
For those who saw the broken chapter, sorry about that and it’s been fix. The new format messed up a lot of stuff, but I’ll be sure to avoid it for future chapters.