Chapter 52 : Does This Mean I’m Screwed?
When Slad-san said he wanted to take me to clear the difficulty A quest, the guild was suddenly in an uproar.
「Who the heck is that girl?」
「Don’t you know? She’s the The Blunt Weapon Princess!」
「Seriously? That small girl?」
「I thought she was more like…. A cyclops or something.」
「She’s the blunt weapon user, Hammer-Hanna!」
「I heard a rumor about Cecil Sortlarc being defeated by her. I thought it was a lie…」
「But the Seven Spear said that! No doubt about it!」
Slad-san stood up and walked through the people toward me.
「Missy, what’s your name?」
「H, Hanna Falsett」
「What rank are you now?」
「I’m rank D…」
Hearing what I said, Slad-san tapped his forehead.
「Kaaahhー What a waste of a treasure! You actually have the ability of an A-rank adventurer or higher, right? I really want to take you to the Demon Land right away if I can.」
「Eh? Really!? Please! Take me with you!」
「Did you hear me? I said, ‘if I can’. Only B-rank adventurers or higher can go there. That’s why I want you to accompany me clearing the difficulty A quest so that you can aim for the special rank up. So? Will you accept my suggestion?」
「Atabou desu, Slad-san!」
And of course, Cecil who was watching us couldn’t just keep silent.
「Wait a minute! I was the first asking you to take me with you! So, why Hanna!?」
「Well, Cecil-chin. Because with your current ability, you won’t be useful to me.」
「W, What!? We won’t know until we try it!」
「You’re so persistent. Really… You haven’t changed at all after all these years.」
Saying that, Slad-san made an annoyed face.
Hmm… it seems the master-disciple relationship between them wasn’t very good…
Slad-san always makes rational decisions while Cecil always uses her emotions.
Cecil might be thinking if she showed her strong feelings, Slad-san would accept her unreasonable request.
It was understandable that they didn’t have a good relationship with each other, then.
By the way, I’m completely on Slad-san’s side, of course.
「Then, why don’t you two just duel?」
The one who broke in between Slad-san and Cecil was Rozelia.
「Dark Elf missy, we don’t need to duel. Of course it’s impossible for Cecil-chin to beat me.」
「No, that’s not what I meant. Slad-san, you want to bring someone useful with you, right? Then, how about Cecil and Hanna fight each other, and the winner will go with you~☆」
Huh? What is this dark elf woman talking about?
「Wait, wait! Slad-san already said he’s going to take me with him, so there’s no benefit for me if I duel Cecil!」
In the first place, Cecil and I already had a duel at Ludley Bridge.
And I’m sure Rozelia watched us at that time.
She must be the one who knew more than anyone else that I’m stronger than Cecil.
So, why is she suggesting I duel her best friend again?
「I’m down with it. You. Don’t tell me you will run away.」
This woman…
How can she say that while looking down at me?
Has the memory of me defeating her completely disappeared from her head?
「But, indeed there’s no benefit for you in fighting me. I admit it. So, how about this? If I lose, I’ll do whatever you say.」
「Hooー I never expected someone who was defeated and whose sword was broken by me would suggest such a condition.」
「W, Wha…」
Cecil immediately tilted her body to hide the sword on her waist.
However, she couldn’t completely cover it.
「That sword…..is different from the sword Cecil usually uses…」
「Did Hanna really destroy Cecil’s sword…? Seriously…?」
The classmates were saying with low voices, but they still could be heard.
「N, No! T, That time I didn’t realize that my sword had cracks before the battle! Otherwise, I wouldn’t lose to someone like her! I’ll prove it in this time’s duel!」
「Fuーn. Already had cracks, huh. Oh, well. If you will do anything I say, I will demand something that can make you experience the most embarrassing moment in your life」
「Bring it on! But if you lose, you also will do what I say!」
「No problem. I won’t lose anyway.」
The two of us got excited, but the one who would decide the winner wasn’t us, it was Slad-san, because he was the one who would take one of us with him.
「Duel, huh… It reminds me of when I was young… Alright. Since one of you will join me clearing the difficulty level A quest, I have a perfect challenge for you two.」
As everyone’s attention was on him, Slad-san wrinkled the corners of his eyes and saidー
「I can’t tell the details, but this quest’s objective is to escort “a certain person” to “a certain place”. The client is heading here to meet me, but the enemies seem to have already moved.」
It seems the details of the quest was a secret so he just said “a certain person” and “a certain place”.
「What do you mean by enemies?」
「Umm. The enemies are… guys like him!」
Slad-san pulled out a short-handled spear from his waist and threw it at a young warrior adventurer.
「Gu,ha!」
The tip of the spear pierced his head between his eyebrows, and he fell backwards.
All the people in the guild including me were taken aback by the sudden brutality.
All of us held our breath for about three seconds, and thenー
「W, What are you doing!? Why did you kill him!?」
After a moment, I subconsciously let such words come out of my mouth.
But, answering my question, Slad-san just smiled and pointed his finger at the fallen young warrior.
「Calm down. Look.」
「….Eh?」
After I took a closer look at the young warrior, I noticed something weird.
No matter how I looked at his head, the spear clearly pierced his skull.
However, no blood was coming out of his head.
Suddenly, the body disappeared and left a mysterious card that was pierced by Slad-san’s short spear.
「…..Magic? So that adventurer was fake…?」
On the surface of the card, there was a complicated pattern that was probably something similar to a magic circle.
「Yeah. Moreover, it’s not ordinary illusion magic. It’s a type of illusion magic that creates a real human being.」
I was even more surprised.
There were only a few people in the world who could use such advanced magic.
「I didn’t realize there was a guy like that in the guild. Just who the heck was that?」
「Eh? You didn’t know either? I thought he was a newcomer」
The adventurers that were standing around the young warrior didn’t seem to realize that he was fake.
Well, it was a situation whereー even if you don’t know them, you won’t ask them “who are you?” to a person who joins the crowd normally, right?
Besides, that fake young adventurer looked like just a normal adventurer that you can find anywhere.
「Right now, we are fighting against one of the Four Devil Heavenly Kings, Amuze the ‘Daydream’. That demon specializes in using traps and illusions. And the one who created that fake young adventurer was his subordinate, a demon named Doubt.」
「Wait… So that means the true enemy was the Evil God!?」
「Yeah. When I entered this city, I felt their presence right away. There were many fakes, or should I say puppets, mixed in with the people in Tiaret. They sent the puppets as spies… or maybe… to kill me and my client…」
The people in the guild erupted into furtive conversation.
I wasn’t particularly insensitive, and the other adventurers didn’t seem to notice the puppet at all either.
It would be really hard to tell the difference.
And who is the client whose life is being targeted by the Evil God?
I bet they were a really important person.
Slad-san approached the card and pulled out his spear.
「As you can see. If you defeat them, they will return to being cards. Now you two know what I meant by ‘a perfect challenge’, right?」
「Hmph. Of course.」
「I see. So the one who collects more cards wins, right?」
「Ping-pong-ping-pooong~♪ Meanwhile, I’ll be looking for Doubt’s whereabouts while hunting the puppets. Basically, whoever has more cards wins, but if neither of you can collect half of my number of cards, I won’t take either of you with me. How about that?」
So the duel turned into a competition, huh.
The puppets didn’t seem to be strong, so defeating them should be easy. Besidesー
「Even if it’s not a duel, I won’t lose!」
「Hmph. If I win, I’ll ask you to make a pledge that you’ll never use any blunt instruments ever again.」
When Cecil and I glared at each other, Rozelia raised her hand and asked Slad-san a question.
「Is it okay if I help Cecil?」
「Ah, it’s okay. It would be a pain in the butt if we have to decide the rules, so you can use any method you want.」
「Understoo~d. Well then, Hanna, do your best~ I might be helping Cecil but I am also cheering for you~☆」
This woman… Whose side are you on!? Be consistent, will you!?
I don’t understand how she thinks.
I really don’t understand what she really wants…
「The deadline will be the evening of the day after tomorrow. Both of you may start now. Well then, I’m counting on both of you to make my job a little easier.」
「Don’t worry. I’ll hunt all the puppets myself, leaving none of them remaining. Let’s go, Roze.」
「Okay~ With my ability to sense the magical power around us, it will be super easy~」
Rozelia and Cecil left the Adventurer Guild quickly to hunt as many puppets as possible.
On the other hand, Slad-san returned to the seat where he was sitting, and asked March-san for a glass of sake.
「Hyaaah~ Drinking sake while people are working for you is the best!」
「………」
When I think about it, I feel like Slad-san suggested this challenge so that he can slack off…
Noー
I shook my head.
It’s okay. I don’t mind it.
I got a chance to rank up thanks to Slad-san after all!
I can’t waste my time any longer. Alright. Let’s do it!
「Do your best, Blunt Weapon Princess!」
「I put a bet on you! Don’t lose!」
「If you lose, I’ll be penniless!」
「I’m counting on you!」
It seems that the adventurers were betting on us.
I feel strange being a target of a bet, but it’s not bad knowing that there are people who put their hopes (money) on you.
「Leave it to me! I won’t disappoint the people who bet on me!」
「「「Uwooooー!」」」
While being showered with cheers of the adventurers, I left the guild.
Alright! I’m getting excited now!
All I have to do is defeat all the puppets!
「……………..Wait…」
When I just started to run on the street, I suddenly stopped.
「How can I find the puppets created by magic…?」
Rozelia said something about sensing magical power, but…
Since I was born, I have never felt the flow of magical power around me…
This is bad… What should I do?
In the first place, this is a competition where you won’t be able to do anything if you can’t find the puppets.
「….Does this mean… I’m screwed….?」