Part 4
「Ow.」
Diablo noticed Horun’s voice. His hearing wasn’t as sharp as Shera’s, but it was better than the average person’s.
It was a vacant lot where materials used in the war were piled up.
Diablo peeked into the shadows of the wooden crates.
Horun was there!
She was on the ground after falling onto her bottom.
It seemed that someone picked a fight with her.
The opponents were four man group of Pantherians.
If he remembered correctly, they were the guys that Horun was disputing the rewards of the dungeon exploration with when he had first seen her in town.
The man with a particularly good body build hung the 《Red Sword》 on his waist.
「Oi, Horun-chan? Ta think that ya were a womanー」
「Uu......」
「We went to the war, but we didn’t meet with any really strong Demonic Beings, ya seeー. Just went we thought that it’d drag on, it quickly came to an end. The feeling of not knowing what to do with this leftover power. The feeling of lacking Ｆ (Furis). You understand, right?」
「Is that so -ssu ka.」
「Then whaddya know? It was a surprise, the weakling Horun was a member of the distinguished party! I was flabbergasted. But we got lucky. Ya got a lot as a reward, right?」
「I did but......I left it back at where everyone else is -ssu.」
「Don’t go makin’ such lame lies. Come on, make with a bit of campaign funds. We’re always, lookin’ after ya, right? Show us a sign of gratitude.」
「Even if it was the same adventure......It was completely different -ssu.」
「Aahn?」
「The adventure with everyone, it was fun -ssu! All I did was drag them down, but it was the best -ssu! I was the worst and didn’t do anything though! But, everyone, was amazing......Too amazing......」
Horun’s eyes were moist.
The Pantherian man tilted his head.
「What are you talkin’ about, kora? We’re in a hurry, so leave the talkin’ to yerself for later. The chairs at the pub are gonna get filled.」
「What, level 80 -ssu ka! You guys aren’t even half as strong as Shera-san -ssu!」
「......Hohoo?」
The atmosphere of the Pantherian men changed.
From their foolishly laughing attitude, they let out an open bloodlust.
Even guys like these, they were more or less Adventurers. Only their intimidating air was strong.
Horun drew her cheap dagger.
「No more! I, I......won’t let myself be threatened to do what you say, any more -ssu!」
「It kinda feels like, yer misunderstandin’ somethin’ here, ya know, Horun-chan?」
「Uuu......?」
「I bet, ya got scared from bein’ evaluated beyond yer position, and ran away, didn’t cha? If it were true, you’d be in a seat right in the center of the victory celebration, wouldn’t cha?」
「Uu」
Horun flinched.
Her summoned up courage was easily broken by his persistent mental attacks.
The other Pantherian guys sneered.
「Ain’t that just grand! Bein’ a member of the distinguished party, that’s a lot of responsibility ta bear for you whose only specialty is ta sneak and hide, ain’t it!? If that’s the case, I’ll switch with ya! Introduce my great self to ’em!」
The four Pantherian men talked with amongst each other saying whatever they liked.
「Did ya see her, that black panther girl! Ain’t she a perfect match fer Aniki!?」「Ou, I was actually thinkin’ just that! Guhahaha!」「The Elf girl was also amazin’. Ta think that there were Elves with huge boobs like thatー」「Only problem is that High Chief Priest, even if her looks are good, she looks like pretty uptight.」
The lead man shrugged his shoulders.
「That’s it. In the end, that party is just a bunch of extras to the High Chief Priest, ain’t it? They became distinguished just ’cause of that, I bet.」
──I suppose it’s about time to come out. It feels like my head will hurt if I carelessly listen to these guys’ words any more than this.
However, right when Diablo was about to move.
「Take that back!」
Horun shouted.
Readying her dagger, she shouted once more.
「Take that back right now! Don’t make fun of m, my......of my companions! Everyone, everyone, they’re the realest of the really super duper amazing people! And then, everyone, they did their best with all of their power in order to save the town! They’re different from you cheapskates that try to earn points by showing your faces a bit in places that seem like you can win in!」
Going *un, un*, the Pantherian man nodded.
「......So, are ya okay with those bein’ yer last words? By tomorrow mornin’, you’ll be floatin’ in the central lake.」
The other three snorted.
「Ah～ah, she made Aniki seriously snap.」
「Ya diedー, Horun-chan. Ya just diedー.」
「Fer the time bein’, how about ya try takin’ out some money? Ya’ve still got one chance dependin’ on the amount, ya know?」
Horun didn’t falter.
「If I don’t fight, when my companions are being made fun of......I would never forgive myself -ssu!」
「Ya idiot! Even if ya forgive yerself, my great self won’t forgive ya! Die, ya weakling pipsqueak!」
The Pantherian man drew the long sword on his waist, the 《Red Sword》.
Flames sparkled on the blade.
He held the long sword aloft.
Diablo held back his feelings of wanting to go out. He believed in Horun.
Slash──
Horun jumped to the side, and avoided it.
「Teiya!」
She slashed at the Pantherian man’s hand with her dagger.
It hit.
A small amount of blood scattered about.
The Pantherian man threw his head back.
「That hurt! Ya damned shitty pipsqueak! Ya went and cut me!」
──Nicely done!
Diablo tightly gripped his fist.
The Pantherian man yelled out.
「Oi, guys! Pin her down on the ground! Just like always, I’ll thrust the finisher in!」
Even with that kind of pattern, would their level really go up?
No matter how much Horun fought back in confident, she wouldn’t put up much of a fight with it being one-on-four to begin with. Moreover, her opponents were Pantherian men with good physiques. They were the ones that excelled in physical strength the most among the Races.
She ended up being pinned down.
The Pantherian who had his wrist cut raised a vulgar laughter.
「Hey Horun-chan, ya’ve gone and done it now, ya know? I’m gonna strip ya naked, and thrust this sword through ya from yer ass. Hey everyone, let’s bet on how far we think it’ll go before she dies.」
*Jyari* Diablo stepped on the sand with his foot.
「It reeks. The stench of monsters is in the air, you pieces of garbage.」
The bunch of Pantherians glared this way.
Diablo stepped out in front of them from the shadow of the wooden crates.
「Horun, I cannot praise you for walking the streets at night alone. Monsters appear even in the middle of town after all.」
「D, Danna!? Why......!?」
The men shouted at him.
「You, yer part of the distinguished group!?」
「Tsk! We’ll crush this guy, and get his bounty! And while we’re at it, let’s take the black panther girl!」
「Right......Now that we’ve been seen, we can’t go back empty-handed, right?」
The Pantherian possessing the 《Red Sword》 drew near Diablo.
Going *hehe*, he stuck his tongue out and laughed.
「So what if yer distinguished. Yer a Magician, right? Against me, a level 80 Warrior, the match was decided the moment the distance was this close!」
He struck his sword at Diablo.
Diablo stopped the blow with one hand.
「......Compared to a level 160 Warrior-type Demonic Being’s attack, it’s slow, weak, and look’s like mere child’s play. It’s not worth considering.」
Right now, the armor that he had equipped, 《Gigantes Mail》, primarily strengthened his physical abilities. It was because he concluded that in this world, having that was much more useful.
It was a situation where he could immediately verify that.
Having his sword grabbed, the Pantherian man panicked.
「Wha!? Why!? Let go! Let go! Why isn’t it cutting!?」
──It’s because I have the 《Supreme Ruler’s Bangle》 that cuts damage below a fixed value equipped on me. Something like catching a blade won’t injure me.
「What’s wrong? Wasn’t I just an extra to the High Chief Priest?」
「Kuh! Screwin’ around with me......Oi, get this guy!」
The guys that pinned Horun down turned this way and drew their swords.
「Uoooh!」「Kill him!」「Die!」
「You fools, as long as you have the intent to kill, you won’t have any complaints if you get killed, right?」
Diablo chanted his magic.
The entire vacant lot was frozen.
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