Chapter 41: Extortion and Assault
For Ren, the meaning of going to the academy has almost disappeared.
It is not because he has parted ways with Kazuki and the others. It is because he no longer has anything he wants to learn. The number of books in the library is enormous, and of course, he has not read all of them. The reason why he has decided to give up studying in the library is because he has not found any knowledge that he feels he needs.
The biggest concern for those close to Ren is that he has nothing he really wants to do, but he himself is unaware of this.
Without thinking about anything in particular, he decided to devote his time to sword and magic training. Ren thus spent most of the day training, but the content of the training was the same as ever: basic training. It is difficult to spend a day with only that.
But a new routine was added.
"Haa!"
With lighthearted enthusiasm, Ren is attacked by Rin's roundhouse kick. Ren ducked by lightly bending over.
"Eya!"
Rin's front kick came at him again. This time, he ducked by raising his upper body. Ren's bangs were shaken by the wind pressure from Rin's kick. It was a close call.
Rin's center of gravity is tilted forward. The leg that she raised comes down from above his head this time. Ren crossed his arms to catch it, and then moved to counterattack.
He quickly closed the gap with Rin, who was unsteady on one leg. He then pushed her down with his weight on her.
"Ngh"
A groan escaped from Rin's mouth as she was slammed to the ground from behind.
"Give up?"
Ren, still pressed down on top of Rin, urged her to give up.
"……I give up"
"Alright! I won the battle head-on!"
"Yes"
This was the first time Ren had ever won a head-on fight with Rin.
“Do you want me to keep pushing you down?"
Ren's body was already lying on top of Rin.
"Ren-sama. Wait, it's still daytime."
"Is it okay if it's nighttime?"
"…………"
"It's a joke. I'm sorry, I can't move because I used my last strength."
Repeating the training until he can't move. Whatever it is, Ren does it this way.
"Then... let's stay like this for a while."
"……Just a little bit."
For a while, the two of them spent their time in silence. Ren was the first to speak.
“I think the only reason I won was because of Rin's self-destruction.”
While saying that, Ren stood up and held out his hand to Rin.
"Self-destruction?"
Rin also obediently took that hand, borrowed the strength of being pulled, and stood up.
"The attack was too flashy. It's easy to avoid."
"Is it no good...?"
"The one-hit kill is good, but it is only possible when there is a difference in ability. It's not going to work on me right now."
"That one blow was enough to take you down in the previous training."
Ren was easily defeated.
"I said, now. The fact that I was able to win means that I have grown a little more than Rin. Today is just barely, but tomorrow I can win more easily. The day after tomorrow will be even better."
"…………"
“If you don’t like that, Rin has to grow up too.”
"Yes"
"That said, I can't teach you. Master says that martial arts are out of his specialty. What should we do?"
Rin's way of fighting is not a sword, but a martial art using her own body. Ren heard from Rin that there are many demons with excellent physical abilities.
"It's okay. Ren-sama overtook me, but I think I'm getting stronger."
"Is that so?"
“I just don’t know because Ren-sama is growing so fast.”
"But"
Ren thinks that Rin's ability is quite low among the demon race if she lost to him. It is true that Rin is not strong, but she is not as bad as Ren thinks she is. As usual, Ren's low self-evaluation is wrong.
“Thanks to the training, my stamina has definitely improved. On top of that, I'm going to work on my skills from now on."
"I see. Well, I'll think about it too. If we work together, we might be able to do something about it."
"Yes"
"It's our first time working together."
"...Luna, you're using the wrong words."
"That can wait. There's an intruder."
"...I'm not detecting anything, though?"
They are expanding their presence detection around the cemetery. If someone had approached, they would have been caught by it.
"I don't know how they did it, but they've already gotten pretty close."
"I see."
Ren turns his attention strongly to Luna. The two of them are always connected, but the strength of the connection makes a big difference in the information that is transmitted.
"...It looks like we're going to be surrounded. I have a feeling I know somehow."
Luna's barrier catches the faint hint of an intruder. That feeling was something Ren knew.
"Are they adventurers?"
"A guild employee. Or should I say a guild soldier?"
"I haven't caught any signs yet. Could it be they are using concealment magic?"
Rin can also sense the presence to some extent. The fact that she can't feel any sign at all means that there is some kind of interference.
"They use it. Moreover, when they used it in front of me, it seems that the effect was suppressed. It's like they don't want to show their ability in case of emergency."
"Does this mean that now is the time?"
The scene where they get serious. The purpose turns out to be disturbing.
"That's what it means to not come openly. Now then, Rin."
"Yes. Please leave it to me."
Rin stepped in front of Ren at this moment, but Ren's next words were unexpected.
"Run away"
"Huh?"
"Rin may be the target. No, probably so."
"I no longer fear death"
Hearing Ren's words, Rin thought they had come to kill her as a demon.
"Perhaps you will not be killed."
"……Could I ask the reason?"
"Rin is a hostage to make Ren listen to what they say."
"Eh?"
It was Luna who answered Rin's question.
"Luna, you don't have to say it."
"It's okay for her to know now."
"Tell me please"
"...Rin's existence was discovered by the guild a long time ago."
Accepting Rin's request, Ren began to explain the meaning of Luna's words.
“And they want you to give me to them."
"No, what I was told was, if I don't want you to be subjugated, I'll listen to them."
“…They threatened Ren-sama?”
"It's not that big of a deal. I was just forced to accept a rather troublesome request."
This is one of the reasons why Ren took on such a dangerous request to escort the hero candidates, a task that has little chance of success.
"No way..."
"I didn't expect him to go this far. I was a little naive."
Ren had rejected the request for another escort. He was not willing to be taken advantage of, so he took advantage of the opportunity to play a little bargain.
The result, however, was a sudden hard-line approach. This was a miscalculation.
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why are you doing what you're told?"
"Nothing. I just thought it would be fine."
“I belong to Ren-sama. The owner does not have to bend his will for the sake of his possession."
Rin is quite shocked to learn that her existence has become a burden to Ren.
"I'll take care of what belongs to me. I promised you that."
"But……"
“And if I didn’t like it, all I had to do was set Rin free. It was my selfishness that I didn’t do that. I'm sorry for what I did, Rin."
"No way..."
"I can't be selfish in a situation like this. So run away."
"I……"
"They're coming! Run away!"
"Eh!? Ah!"
There was no need to search for signs anymore, the intruders were approaching in a position where they could be seen. The number of intruders approaching from all directions was close to 20. All of them were guild soldiers dressed in black.
"In the back. We'll break through there."
"Yes"
"Make a hole, so get out from there."
“…What about Ren-sama?”
The opponent is nearly 20 guild soldiers. She doesn't think Ren alone will be able to stop them.
"I'll follow you later"
"Really?"
"I don't lie"
These words are a lie. Ren is certainly trying not to lie, but he doesn't always make it a priority.
"……Yes"
Rin knows. She knows, but she is not confident that she can get him to lie to her. And in this situation, she doesn't want it to be a lie.
"Then I'll go."
There was no way he could understand Rin's inner conflict, so Ren rushed out.
He headed to the opposite side. The guild soldiers, about four in number, are clumped together, the most numerous in the encirclement.
"Luna! Can we do it!?"
"Let's do it!"
Several shiny black blades fly out of Luna's hands as she steps forward. The blades were headed straight for the guild soldiers, and without time to avoid them, they wrapped themselves around their bodies.
The guild soldiers rolled on the ground, their legs bound with bindings. Ren and the others ran past them as fast as they could.
The guild soldiers were impatient. They were in no hurry to shorten the encirclement because they did not think that Ren would suddenly attack.
Ren suddenly broke through the loose encirclement. The guild soldiers had to desperately chase after him.
"...As expected, it's impossible."
"Eh? What is?"
“Rin, go ahead. I'll stall the pursuers for a bit."
After saying this, Ren slowed down his momentum.
"If you keep this much distance apart, isn't it enough to...... run away?"
"...As expected, it's hard right after training."
He was training until he couldn't move, right after that. Ren's physical strength has not recovered at all.
"Then I'll stay too."
"No"
"Why not?"
"Rin is weaker than me."
"Ren-sama just won today for the first time!"
"It's okay. The enemy's target is Rin. If Rin escapes, they may give up."
Ren has stopped running. But that doesn't mean he can't run at all.
"No. Don't underestimate the guild."
Four figures blocking the way. One of them spoke up.
"Certainly. I never thought there would be an ambush here."
"I know that if you were to flee, you would choose this direction"
"That's unfortunate. We only chose this direction because there happened to be a large number of people surrounding us."
It didn't work the way they thought it would. It was a bit of a mean-spirited thing to bother telling this.
"......You're out of luck. Now, stop wasting your breath..."
The man could not utter the words until the end. Ren wouldn't allow it.
However, Ren intended to take advantage of the opening and jump in, but the man dodged the kick and slammed his fist into his stomach.
"Guh."
Ren let out a pained cry, but even so, he did not stop moving. He moved as if rolling on the ground, kicked down a man standing behind him, and then mounted him and slammed his fist into his face.
However, he was soon kicked by another guild soldier and rolled on the ground.
"You fool! That's enough! Do you know what you are doing!"
"I'm taking down the enemy."
"...You've got to be kidding me. Get him to listen honestly."
The other guild soldiers took action at the man's voice. The three of them surrounded Ren and showered him with fists and kicks. In an instant, Ren squatted down on the ground and went on the defensive.
"Ren-sama!"
In a panic, Rin tried to jump in there.
"Don't come here! Run while you still can!"
"I can't do that!"
"They're after Rin! Run away!"
“Then, Ren-sama will!”
"Run away! This is an order!"
"No way..."
Rin hesitates at the word "order". But the guild soldiers did not give her any more time to hesitate.
"If you run away, I will kill Silver Wolf!"
"It's a lie! I don't care, just run!"
"Shut up, Silver Wolf!"
A storm of even more violent kicks hit Ren. The three of them surrounded Ren and kicked him around, which was nothing more than an assault.
"Now, let's move on. I won't even take his life. We just want him to stay under the guild's control."
One of the guild soldiers spoke to Rin.
"…………"
"If Silver Wolf fulfills his duties, there will eventually come a time when you will be released."
"...I'm not going to be a burden to Ren-sama."
"If you die, I will kill Silver Wolf."
"……Cowards"
"Say what you want. This is our mission."
"Ren-sama..."
Rin's gaze turns to Ren, who is lying on the ground groaning. She doesn't want to do anything that will get Ren killed, but she also doesn't want to be a burden to him. She is at a loss to make a decision.
"...R-run, ugh!"
Understanding Rin's feelings, Ren tried to tell her to run away, but was interrupted by a guild soldier's kick.
"You shut up! You guys have no choice! I don't care, catch that demon!"
Two guild soldiers left Ren and headed toward Rin. The remaining one drew his sword and pointed it at Ren. Certainly, Rin had no choice.
The guild soldiers fit Rin with the shackles and manacles they had prepared. With that, the option to flee, even physically, was gone.
"You're making it hard for us. But... this demon woman."
The fact that they were able to restrain Rin must have made them feel relaxed. The guild soldiers expressed their desire for Rin's beauty. There is still some time left in the evening. Even so, Rin, a vampire woman, naturally emits something that attracts men.
"...Stay away."
"Have you slept with Silver Wolf yet?"
"…………"
"What kind of behavior is it for a demon to fall in love with a human?"
"It's not that kind of relationship."
"It's a waste to make only Silver Wolf feel good. Your face and body are good. It's unbearable."
Regardless of Rin's reply, the guild soldier is spewing vile words from his mouth. His eyes are now those of a man affected by the charm. The guild soldier's hands were reaching for Rin's body, seemingly forgetting that he was even on duty.
"...Stop it"
"Isn't it a little better? There will be plenty of opportunities from now on. I'm going to have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this body. Let's get along."
"Don't touch me!"
"You can't escape anymore. Give up."
"...If you put, your hand, on Rin..."
A choppy voice. Ren, still lying on the ground, was glaring at the guild soldier.
"What?"
“Kill. No... you... right now, kill."
"Ha! Don't be impudent, kid! Do you mean to kill me? Shall I kill you right here!?"
The guild soldier's foot was repeatedly slammed into Ren's body. Ren had no more strength to resist, but his gaze remained fixed on the guild soldier.
It was the voice of another guild soldier who came after him that stopped the man's violent violence.
"What are you doing!"
“Ah! No, right now, he's resisting."
"...Didn't look like he was resisting."
"No, he is."
"Still, what's this all about? Don't you understand the mission?"
Seeing the bloody Ren lying on the ground, the guild soldier who came after him expresses his anger.
"It's to restrain the demon. It has succeeded."
"It is not in our mission to injure Silver Wolf."
"It can't be helped because he tried to escape. And if I didn't do it, I would have been killed."
"...I'll hear the details later. We're in a hurry, let's evacuate."
"Yes"
The cemetery is church property. If the guild entered there without permission and also injured Ren, who belongs to the church, it would be a big problem.
"Now, someone, carry Silver Wolf."
"...Don't touch."
Ren rejected the guild soldiers who reached out to him.
"What?"
"M-me... don't touch, me."
"You can't move, can you?"
"Rin... Rin will... support... me..."
"However, the demon is also shackled."
"That, but... it's Rin."
Ren firmly refuses to ask for help from the guild soldiers.
"...Can you do it?"
If he is this stubborn, the guild soldiers will have to leave it to Rin. Anyway, they want to get away from this place before the church gets wind of it.
"If Ren-sama wishes."
"...Then, please."
Ren managed to stand up in his crippled state with shackles on, and Rin turned her back to him.
"...I-it's impossible."
"No, it's fine."
"It's... okay. Just lend me, your shoulder."
"……I understand"
He put his hands on Rin's shoulders and started to walk slowly. Ren is in pain, and Rin is bound, slowing their steps.
"Hey! Someone bring the horses here!"
A man who appeared to be the leader of the guild soldiers saw this and immediately gave the order. Ren's tongue hangs out when he hears this.
“Ren-sama?”
"T-time, earn... failure"
"...At night?"
"Yes"
Aside from Ren, the night activates Rin and Luna's power, who is now looking for an opportunity without appearing.
"…………"
Rin is a bit taken aback by Ren's waywardness, even at a time like this.
"U-until the end, don't, give up."
"Yes, I understand"
Rin gave a strong reply, but it was in vain. Immediately, a man's exasperated voice comes from her back.
"No, can you give up here? I don't want to make this any more difficult than it already is."
"…………"
“Originally, I have no intention of harming you. If you didn't resist, we won't be rough with you."
"Y-you say, that, now?"
Even if he was told that, Ren had already resisted and had a terrible experience.
"That's true, but that's because you take action without even listening to us. I thought it was an exaggeration to have this many people, but in the end, it turned out to be the right answer."
"Who's instructions?"
"Only the guild leader can give us orders."
"Is that so?"
In the end, Ren and Rin were put on the horses brought and taken to the guild headquarters before it got dark.
◇◇◇
The guild leader's back office. The only two people there now are the guild leader and Ren.
"You look pretty awful."
The guild leader speaks to him with a light smile on his face. He is not worried. He just chose it as an opening for a conversation in the heavy atmosphere.
“Thanks to your subordinates. You've got some pretty good quality ones."
Ren replied without changing his expression at all.
"It's just a little mistake. You're making an attack you don't need to make."
"A mistake... you're well-prepared for that. If you're just going to talk, shouldn't you just send a messenger over?"
"Because you won't listen to it."
Certainly, Ren, who had no intention of accepting the escort request, hadn't even tried to respond to the discussion.
"So you tried to take hostages. Now, isn't this a crime?"
"Whatever we do with the demon, it's not a crime."
"I see. Is that what the adventurer's guild was like?"
"What do you mean?"
"It means that it is an organization that has the same values as the church and the country after all."
Ren believes that the Adventurers' Guild is an organization created by people from the other world. Ren is a bit disappointed that the guild has a discriminatory attitude toward the demon race.
"......There is only one set of values in this world."
"I stand corrected on that. The human race has one set of values."
"...It doesn't matter. Let's get down to business. Do you understand what we're going to talk about?"
"No, I don't know."
This is a lie. he knows, but he just doesn't want to talk.
"It's about the escort mission for the hero candidates."
"I turned that down."
"I can't allow that. The other side has nominated you."
“Even so, don't you have the right to refuse it?”
There is no rule that says you must accept a request just because it is a nomination request. Even if there are repercussions such as loss of credibility by refusing, you have the freedom to refuse the request.
"I can't say no"
"Why?"
"It's a request from a major power. As I think I have said before, we do not intend to get along with them more than necessary, but there is even less need to antagonize them. He's a good client."
Even if Ren had the right to refuse, the guild would be in trouble if he exercised that right. That's why they used such forceful means.
“But that doesn't mean I have to be the one to accept the request. You can appoint a higher-ranked adventurer. It could even be the head of the guild himself."
"I am sending you on a mission."
"No."
"Why is it so?"
"I promised him I would never get involved again. I have to keep my promises."
Ren intends to keep his promise to Yuya. Even if half of them are just using it as an excuse to refuse.
"What is the point of such a promise?"
"I don't think these are the words of the guild leader. A promise is a contract. A contract must be kept. I don't think the adventurer's guild can exist without it."
"......I agree."
He can't find a good counterargument to Ren's reasoning.
"I can't do it. You'll have to find someone else."
"You don't care what would happen to the demon?"
“If you want to kill, kill her. That eliminates a bargaining chip for you."
Now is the time to negotiate. If that is the case, Ren can say anything as a bargain.
"I could sell her to a brothel."
"Do whatever you want. If that happens, Rin will die somehow. It's the same thing."
"...Don't pretend to be strong."
"I'm not pretending to be strong. The guild leader doesn't understand. I don't care about life. Neither myself nor others."
"…………"
Ren's bluffing and factual tactics began to bother the guild leader.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Maybe you can do whatever you want to the demon, but isn't it a crime to threaten me? In my original world, what the guild leader is doing now is clearly a crime of extortion."
"…………"
The guild leader remains silent at Ren's question. This is the answer to Ren.
"It seems that even in this world, it is a crime. Now I have one more question."
"What?"
"Accusation. Where should I go to accuse the guild leader?"
He found the guild leader's weakness. Finally, Ren launched a counterattack.
"...Are you going to threaten me?"
"You're the one who threatened me. I'm the victim."
"If you don't have any proof, you can't be accused of anything."
“Even so, the fact that you were accused by an adventurer remains. Unless you have proof that you didn't threaten him."
In fact, the mere fact that the dishonor remains does not mean that the guild leader will be dropped into the crime. However, Ren believes that the dishonor would be a problem if it were even the head of the guild. Otherwise, it's not a threat.
"...I understand. I apologize for using a forcible hand."
The guild leader actually broke down.
"So?"
“And then I want to talk about how we can get you to accept the request.”
"Are you not going to give up on that?"
"No"
"...Then I'll give you my conditions."
If you can't refuse the request, the only way is to extract as many conditions as possible in exchange for accepting the request.
"Yeah"
"Free Rin immediately. After that, she must be registered as an adventurer and her personal safety must be guaranteed by the guild."
The guild has a duty to protect adventurers. If Rin becomes an adventurer, the guild would not do anything strange to her just because she was a demon.
"Letting a demon become an adventurer?"
"I thought the guild would not refuse anyone who came, and didn't pursue anyone who left?"
"......What else?"
As Ren said. There is no rule that says it's no good because it's a demon. The guild leader accepted the terms.
“The guild soldiers who attacked me this time. Twenty-four men, right?
“Too many. You can't stick that many people on one mission."
“Half, then. But the adventurers who attacked me must be included."
"……Reason?"
"Because they're excellent"
"Is that really the only reason?"
The guild soldier who left Ren with wounds. The guild leader couldn't understand Ren's nerve to want to work with that person.
"What else is there? Being able to ambush means you're good enough to read your opponent's movements."
"I understand."
“Mion-san will be my second-in-command and Rin as my secretary for this mission. The preparations will be the same as last time."
"……Yeah"
In other words, Ren's demands were more stringent than last time.
"What about the reward?"
"Same as last time"
"It's stingy for a great power. They refuse and ask you again, so why don't they add more?"
"That's what a great power is."
The arrogance of being a great power. They know that they are the guild's top customer, so they are being selfish.
"Then the stuff I confiscated from the attackers belongs to me."
"What's in it for you?"
"I don't know. Nothing much so far."
"…………"
The guild leader wasn't so naive as to swallow Ren's words without question.
"I don't suspect there's anything going on. In fact, I don't think anything. I'll be lucky if there is."
"……I understand."
Despite his doubts, the guild leader agreed. He prioritized making Ren accept the request.
"Well, that's it for the conditions. What is the guild's answer?"
"That's fine. I'm fine with the conditions you presented."
"It's settled. When do we start?"
"......Starts tomorrow."
"I understand. Well then, this is it for today."
"Stay here"
The guild leader stopped Ren, who was about to leave his seat to go home.
"...Since I said I will accept the request, there's no need for you to worry about me escaping, you know?"
"Still."
"......Do you have a bed for me?"
There is no need to go home after negotiating forcibly here. Ren accepted.
"Of course"
"Then guide me. Bring Rin right away."
"I understand."
The guild leader's forceful measures may be said to have worked out, since he had Ren accept the request. However, the guild leader eventually learned the meaning of Ren's acceptance of the request. That Ren never gave in to threats or was persuaded to do so.
Thanks for the chapter!
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