STGB Chapter 532

Chapter 532 Escape Plan (5)

It didn’t take long for our entire exploration team to gather. It was thanks to the fact that I had already called them all together just in case.

Well, that doesn’t mean I was mentally prepared, though.

“By extension… Are you referring to weapons?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really… planning to fight them?”

“Why would an adventurer hesitate to strike down demons? Is there a problem?”

I asked those who were less prepared, and that was enough for me.

“…No.”

“What are you all doing? Don’t you follow the Marquis’s orders!”

They are reckless.

Nothing has been properly confirmed yet, and if we wait a little longer, maybe we can return unharmed.

So let’s wait a bit longer.

Although everyone might have similar thoughts internally, no one voiced them out loud.

They simply whispered to each other and prepared their weapons.

“Is it really… okay to do this?”

“Then what should we do? Speak up if you disagree.”

“…There’s no need for that.”

“What if you said something now? How would you handle it?”

“Well, it’s better to fight those monsters.”

It’s strange that there are so many people giving such snappy responses.

“Byoren… calm down your excitement. Aren’t you all afraid…?”

Suddenly, Misha’s words reached me from beside, and only then did I realize what kind of expression I had on my face.

“…!”

As I was scanning the surroundings, I met Ayun’s eyes, and she turned her head in surprise.

Inayr was similar.

“Isn’t something wrong…? Those guys… may not speak, but they are, they are good guys… Ah, I didn’t say anything! I didn’t say anything at all! I swear!”

He mumbled something and then tried to defend himself, shaking his head and making excuses when he saw me looking at him.

I confidently walked forward and stood in front.

“Inayr.”

“Uh! S-say something!”

“After becoming friends with those monster guys, have you developed some affection?”

“T-That’s not it! It’s a problem that arose in my head! That, that essence! Because of that essence—!”

Unlike usual, I couldn’t calmly listen to him until the end.

Interrupting Inayr’s words, I cut to the chase.

It’s true that it’s not entirely convincing that it’s all because of fighting spirit…

“There’s a situation where our comrades might be in danger. Pull yourself together. Before I become disappointed in you.”

“…I understand.”

Okay, his mental adjustment is done.

It seems that other adventurers have also finished their preparations.

Therefore, there was no need for long speeches.

“Let’s go.”

Let’s leave first, and dozens of adventurers followed closely behind me.

I walked almost as if I were running.

At that moment, even with my dull senses, I felt the presence.

“Sir.”

“Is it him? The one who had been observing our house from afar every day.”

“Yes. Should I capture him?”

I hesitated for a moment and then answered.

“No, leave him alone. He will guide us himself. I’ll tell you where we need to go from now on.”

“Ah…”

“Pick up the pace!”

With Erwen’s help, we chased after the surveillance station heading somewhere.

[Adventurers… They’re adventurers!]

[Equity…! G-Get inside! Back to the house!]

The monsters who had been living their daily lives in the village, now armed, discovered us moving in groups and hid in surprise.

And how much time has passed?

‘This isn’t the direction where the chief’s house is…’

Where on earth is this guy heading?

That question could be resolved soon enough.

[Today, I found a peculiar place. It was a building located about 15 minutes away from the chief’s house, but it looked like an ordinary residential building. However, there were guards all over the place.]

The suspicious residential building that Amelia had mentioned before.

“Stop.”

When I arrived at the destination, I stopped in my tracks.

[Adventurer! Lower your weapons!]

How long has it been since we gathered like this?

Looking at the swarming monsters, I muttered briefly.

[I refuse.]

I didn’t come here to have a conversation.

***

I’m looking for a person.

If you have nothing to hide, step aside.

There was no need for such words.

Besides, there was a possibility that something might happen to Amelia during the time spent in conversation.

Yes, so…

[Step aside. If you obstruct, I’ll kill you.]

This is the minimum level of courtesy I can offer at the moment.

However, Marupichichi, the village warrior who is also the right-hand man of the chief, Nwiachichi, ignored my warning.

“The chief ordered no one to enter. Step back.”

I wasn’t particularly disappointed.

Furthermore, there was no need to repeat the same words and try to persuade him again. I gave the warning, and he didn’t heed it.

Therefore, there was only one thing I could do.

[Oh, is that so?]

[Yes, it is. So calm down for now—]

[Then, die.]

As I warned earlier, I swung my hammer with determination.

“The character has cast [Giantization].”

The body swelled with surging vitality.

Gathering all that energy, I swung down the hammer with all my might.

“The character casts [Whirlwind Strike].”

Nwiachichi, an archer class, hastily retreated and pulled back the bowstring.

Just in case someone gets too fast.

Got to be quick on my feet.

“The character casts [Transcendence].”

“The character casts [Storm’s Eye].”

As I swung the hammer and simultaneously cast Grabbing Fist, a gust of wind blew, pulling Nwiachichi, who had been moving away, closer.

And…

Crack!

The hammer struck precisely on the forehead.

It wasn’t a coincidence or luck.

Fighting every day, it wasn’t particularly difficult to time it like this.

Especially for a warrior with excellent combat sense.

[…?]

In an instant, the upper part of the head turned into a crushed tin can.

Nwiachichi stared at me with vacant eyes, as if she was dreaming.

Blood streamed down from her forehead.

But she didn’t die instantly, as expected of the village chief’s trusted right arm.

Therefore…

“One more time.”

I retrieved the hammer, raised it high.

Hooouuung!

Once again, I swung the hammer with all my might.

Well, with this strike, Marupichichi will grow up as an orphan, but what can I do?

There’s nothing new now.

If he were my child, he would have had Hans A…

“That cheerful guy will probably live well.”

Or maybe he’ll join his father soon…

“…Huh?”

At that moment, when I had barely left a few centimeters of Marupichichi’s sideburns intact.

Something obstructed the path of the hammer.

“A sword.”

From my agility stat, I could tell the type of weapon.

And the fact that the weapon gleamed white.

Quaaaang!

Immediately upon contact with the white sword, a powerful recoil traveled through the tip of the hammer to my hand.

In an instant.

Although my eyes were dazzled by the bursting light, I forced them open and observed the front.

And I twisted my lips coldly.

“When you say you can’t meet because you’re busy, when would that be?”

It seems like his subordinates are about to collapse, so he’s popping out.

…

“…”

“…”

A brief standoff.

[…].

The monster warriors, who until recently had braved the rain together, now wielded their weapons, staring at us.

In fact, they weren’t different from us.

“…”

Magic, divine spells, special abilities, and more.

The adventurers who followed me were also prepared to fight at any time, keeping a close eye on the situation.

And in such a situation…

“Village Chief.”

I was the first to speak.

My patience was running out.

“Release my comrade.”

A demand uttered after cutting all the pleasantries.

The village chief didn’t question what I meant by that demand. He didn’t treat me as a strange person, saying that there might be a misunderstanding.

It was truly unexpected.

“So, you came because of her.”

The village chief uttered words of acknowledgement all too willingly.

And with that…

Crack.

My head, which had been burning hot, cooled down, and the muscles, already tense, grew even more tense.

Well, there was room for interpretation in that reaction.

It meant that he was ready to easily block our futile actions.

But, oh well, I had no intention of stepping back.

“…Is she dead?”

After glaring at each other for a while, I finally asked the question.

The village chief flicked his index and middle fingers twice simultaneously.

A gesture that was unique to this monster tribe that called themselves human.

And the meaning of that gesture was…

“Don’t worry. She’s alive.”

Yeah, it was a negation.

The tension that felt suffocating eased a little, and a sense of relief emerged. Of course, there was a possibility that the village chief was playing me.

But just hearing those words made it easier to breathe.

“Release her.”

I spoke again, this time with a stronger tone, and the village chief glanced at me and replied.

“If I can’t do that, what will you do?”

“I’ll go find her myself, smashing through anyone who gets in my way.”

“Surprisingly… it seems like you mean it.”

Well, risking a comrade’s life for a bluff doesn’t align with my creed.

“I’m stronger than you.”

I nodded.

“That might be true.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

Hmm.

“I’ve never been afraid to do what needs to be done.”

“Hmm, I see. You’re truly aggressive. Are you lovers?”

“…”

I didn’t respond to unnecessary comments.

“If that’s not the case, you must care a lot about your comrade.”

The village chief mumbled with an indiscernible nuance, then spoke to his subordinates.

[Nwiachichi… Ah, now is not the time for that. Bring any female adventurer inside, it doesn’t matter who.]

Is she really alive?

“Wait for a moment. Let’s discuss this later.”

While waiting with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation, the monster warriors appeared with Amellia.

Amellia was lying in a state of unconsciousness…

“What happened?”

“I just made her unconscious, didn’t do anything else that could cause harm.”

At least no visible injuries were apparent.

But appearances aren’t everything.

“Let’s take her away for now. Judging by her current condition, it seems impossible to have any conversation.”

After escorting Amellia, I instructed the priests and wizards to examine her condition in detail.

And…

“As the village chief said… it seems like she only fainted.”

I exhaled the breath I had been holding in response to the affirmation from our ally.

“Phew…”

Amellia was safe.

That alone seemed like a significant hurdle, but there were still challenges ahead.

The problem was that nothing had been resolved.

“Well, are you ready to talk now?”

“Why did you kidnap Emily?”

“Kidnap? That’s an unwarranted accusation. Rather, we should be the ones investigating. It was that woman who sneaked in here.”

Yeah, things went that way after all.

“But if such an incident had occurred, it would have been appropriate to inform me immediately.”

“You’re right. However, before that, I wanted to check something. Whether her intrusion was out of personal curiosity…”

The village chief looked at me.

Always with those unpleasant fish-like eyes.

“Or if it was your order.”

Before I could respond, the village chief continued.

“Oh, she said she did it on her own. She didn’t answer any further questions. Don’t misunderstand. I only gave her a little scare, I didn’t actually cause her any pain.”

“I appreciate that—”

“But you are responsible for this.”

“…?”

“As a leader, that’s your position. Whether it was your order or not doesn’t matter. Your comrade disregarded our consideration and violated the village’s rules. Moreover, not only that, she barged in without trying to understand the situation and attempted to kill the village’s warriors.”

I had nothing to say about that.

Amellia’s survival.

And how flawlessly they guided the new recruits.

It was proven that my actions were excessive.

“Well, how will you take responsibility for this?”

The village chief asked, as if delivering his final message.

His tone was devoid of any emotion, as usual, but that made the pressure even more intense.

Well, I can’t possibly know his true intentions.

“What I need right now… is not an apology, I suppose.”

I made a quick judgment and opened my mouth.

As a leader, I have no intention of evading responsibility, so let’s start with that.

“Emilia Lanes entered that place based on my instructions.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“But there’s a reason behind it.”

“I’m curious.”

I opened my mouth and continued.

Originally, I didn’t plan to be so forthcoming, but sometimes a direct approach is the answer.

“A while ago, I ‘accidentally’ discovered a dagger with the emblem of the Lion Clan.”

“So?”

“It raised some doubts. Why would their weapons, which were supposed to have left the village, be inside this village? So, I started investigating from behind the scenes.”

“I see, so that’s how it happened…”

“Since it turned out this way, tell me. What happened with that dagger, and what exactly were you hiding in that house?”

In response to my question, the village chief hesitated for a moment, as if thinking. And how much time passed?

“First, let me tell you about that dagger. I can’t say for sure since I haven’t seen it myself… but before they left, there was an occasion where they traded goods with the villagers. It’s highly likely that the dagger got mixed in at that time.”

Yeah, I expected that kind of response.

Since I couldn’t personally verify the truth anyway.

Without saying a word, I stared at him, and the village chief continued.

“And about the house you mentioned… It’s a bit of a concern… but it’s best to see it with your own eyes.”

“Fine. Show me.”

As soon as the village chief gestured, the warriors who were blocking the surroundings stepped back, clearing the way. I followed the village chief and entered the house.

“It’s down here.”

Disguised as an ordinary house, the building had a staircase leading underground. Descending the stairs, I could finally lay my eyes on what these monsters had been hiding.

“…Nimill.”

I couldn’t help but shudder at the putrid stench that wafted up from the staircase.

“Well, this is what you were curious about—”

The underground was filled with decayed and exposed corpses.

“It’s the secret of our village.”

The bodies were in such a gruesome state that it was difficult to discern their forms, but it wasn’t too hard to recognize their outlines.

“But now you know too, right?”

…They were human corpses.