Chapter 21
The Suspicious Tent
Translator : PolterGlast
When I glanced at
Max's face, I could see a shadow fall over his expression, and he looked
flustered.
"What's in that
tent? Are you hiding something?"
"N-no! I wasn't
trying to hide it, but... there's a person we captured in that tent!"
"A captured
person? Did you kidnap them from somewhere?"
"N-no! That's not
it! I swear! She attacked this place all by herself just before you arrived,
Graham-sama! I think you'll understand if you talk to her!"
"...In any case,
let me talk to her."
I was too curious to
let it go, so I had Max guide me to the tent.
When he opened it,
inside was a woman with her hands tied behind her back and a cloth gagging her
mouth.
She had short black
hair, and I could tell even with the gag that she had well-defined features.
Seeing this situation,
I could only assume the [Unbearable God Cult] had kidnapped her, but the
woman's clothing was quite concerning.
She was dressed
entirely in black, and her clothes were strikingly similar to those of the
[Unbearable God Cult] members.
If she hadn't been
tied up, I would have thought she was one of them.
"Did this woman
really attack this place? She looks exactly like one of your own."
"These clothes
are the proof that she attacked us! She disguised herself as a member to
infiltrate, and was waiting for the right moment to try and kill us! Anyway, I
think you'll understand if you just talk to her."
With that, Max removed
the cloth that was gagging the woman's mouth.
"Bwah! You
finally took it off! Hey, geezer, I was watching from a crack in the tent!
How'd you beat those Golems! You're no ordinary guy!"
The moment her gag was
off, the woman started talking, but instead of explaining how she was captured,
she started commenting on my battle.
Combined with a rough
way of speaking that didn't match her face, even without hearing anything else,
I was starting to believe Max's story wasn't a lie.
"Tell me why you
were captured, rather than worrying about the Golems."
"Huh? Didn't you
just hear it from him! I infiltrated this place, tried to kill that guy,
failed, and got caught! Nothing more, nothing less! ...More importantly, tell
me how you beat the Golems! From my position, it just looked like the Golems
fell apart on their own!"
I couldn't help but
give a wry smile at her confession, which was delivered without the slightest
hint of remorse.
Well, I mean... the
[Unbearable God Cult] is a bad group of bandits, and the Adventurer's Guild has
issued a direct subjugation quest for them, so it's not like the captured woman
was in the wrong for attacking them.
But in Furo Village,
we never had situations where people were enemies with each other, so it feels
incredibly strange.
"What Max said
was true. In any case, can you release her? You made a promise to me, so I
won't let you lay a hand on this woman either."
"Of course, we'll
release her!"
With the restraints on
her hands also removed, the woman in black was finally free.
I was worried she
might attack the moment she was released, but it seemed she had lost interest
in the [Unbearable God Cult] and came straight towards me without a sideways
glance.
"Thanks for the
help! More importantly, tell me how you beat the Golems!"
"I just cut them
normally. Anyway, we're leaving now, so you should leave too without laying a
hand on the [Unbearable God Cult]."
"Hey! 'I just cut
them' is not an answer for a Golem fight! You're not going to tell me, is that
it?"
"I really did
just cut them. More importantly, promise me you won't attack them."
"I see! If you're
not going to tell me—then I can't make that promise! I'm going to capture all
of them right now and hand them over to the soldiers! What are you going to do?
The only way to stop me is by force!"
She drew a dagger from
her pocket, and with a grin, took a stance against me.
She's not interested
in the [Unbearable God Cult] anymore; this is probably just a pretext to have a
fight with me.
In the first place,
she was captured because she lost to the [Unbearable God Cult]... if I left her
alone, she'd probably just lose to Max again, but it would leave a bad taste in
my mouth if someone died after I ignored the situation.
It's like I'm falling
for her ploy, but I guess I can at least give her a fight.
"Then I'll stop
you by force."
"I like the sound
of that! Alright, let's fight outside where it's more spacious!"
"No, this is
plenty of space. Let's start the fight right now."
"What, no way!
You're going to do it in a cramped place like this!?"
The fact that I didn't
sense any strong presence in the mountainous region, of course, included this
woman.
I don't need to get
ready; I can end this in an instant.
While I stood still,
the woman in black, though confused, came at me.
Even though it was a
dagger, she attacked with full force, but I simply pinched the blade of the
oncoming dagger and effortlessly took it from her.
Unable to comprehend
what had just happened, the woman in black froze with a dumbfounded expression.
I instantly moved behind her and brought a hand-chop down on the back of her
neck.
The match was decided
in that single blow.
I caught the
unconscious woman as she fell and gently laid her down in the tent.
"That was truly
amazing! That's Graham-san for you!"
"What kind of
life must one lead to reach that level... I'm ashamed of myself for running
around as part of a bandit group."
"You're praising
me too much. More importantly, just leave this tent and this woman as they are.
She'll probably head back to town on her own when she wakes up. You should get
back to the royal capital too, Max, before you're found."
"Yes, I
understand. I will never forget the debt I owe you for today. If you'll permit
me, I'd like to start my life over."
"I see. I don't
really get it, but good luck."
While casually brushing
off the words of Max, who was getting emotional, we decided to, this time for
real, get back to our quest.
Well, if he's just a
grunt, he can probably leave the group easily, and he should be able to start
his life over.
I don't think letting
them go is a good deed, but I've done what I can as a rookie adventurer.
Now then, let's get
serious and go back to searching for the Sword Hawk.
It would be nice if we
could get a reward for the Golems, but we didn't have a quest for them, so
that's probably impossible.
Searching for the
Sword Hawk from here on out will be a pain, but I guess we'll take our time and
look for it while talking with Ginia.
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