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I thought while looking up at the rising smoke.

Why was he trying to call me?

The first thing that came to mind was the case that there had been a problem with the goods.

In that case, setting aside the matter of trust, there was a possibility that my scheme would collapse, and I would have to acknowledge the need to prepare a replacement for the rifle I had handed over.

It was not impossible that there was an additional transaction, but… if there was no problem with the goods I had handed over, that possibility should have been low.

Lastly, someone other than Gust――in other words, someone else wanted to meet me.

I thought that was probably the correct answer, but if so, who in the world had business with me?

(Hmm, there is also the possibility that it is Boobs Lady, who was there at the time.)

If so, what was her business?

Considering Seizeria’s national character, which emphasized magic, was it a complaint along the lines of, “Do not trade Imperial weapons”?

Or had she needed money for some reason and reluctantly decided to make a transaction?

I stood still and thought for a while, but every conclusion came out as, “I cannot ignore it.”

Reluctantly, I set down the baggage I had prepared and swapped the contents from exploration-use to negotiation-use.

That said, I only put in things like a memo pad and items I would not use for exploration, so it did not take long.

“Oops, I almost forgot.”

What I carefully stored away while saying that was the Page of Reminiscence.

If the other party was Boobs Lady, I would ask her to let me take one test shot.

The previous day, I had had trouble extending the chain of the Anti-Magic Amulet, so I had not used it yet.

As expected, or rather, this body was truly bad at fine work.

Moreover, what I had used for the extension was string, so thinking about when I would have to change this to a chain was already giving me a headache.

The fact that the amulet was completely obvious because it hung around my neck was also a minus.

I wanted to come up with some sort of trick for this eventually.

Reflecting that I had been a little too fixated on performance alone, I walked heavily through the forest.

The string I used to extend the chain was only tied on, so I limited my speed while paying attention so that it would not come undone.

After walking for a while, I thought, “I really should do something about this later,” stored the amulet in my backpack, and began running.

Then, once I reached a distance where I could visually confirm the other side of the river, I used my mimicry ability.

I had thought it would be better to confirm the other party just in case before showing myself, but… it seemed that my cautious stance had been correct.

“Hmm, there are no familiar faces.”

What I saw beyond the river were ten armed men and women who seemed to be guards, and one bald old man.

After confirming that this old man was constantly shouting, I determined that he was their employer.

Next, I looked at the guards.

There seemed to be eight men and two women, but there was only one mage.

Her outfit was the same dress robe as Boobs Lady’s, so it was extremely easy to understand.

While analyzing the other side’s forces, I also did not neglect to check the details, thinking, “She is Number Four.”

I tried checking their magical power as well, but even including the mage, there seemed to be only three people carrying magic items――in other words, the guards’ abilities were probably not that high.

With one exception, the men were frontliners.

That one was lightly equipped and carried a bow on his back, so he was probably the scout.

And the other woman’s outfit was something I had seen somewhere before.

After observing for a while, I clapped my hands as if to say, “I remembered.”

(It is the same outfit as Rena’s.)

In that case, she was a priest――in other words, a medic.

The balance was too heavily tilted toward the front line and was not ideal, but it was a party that had taken shape for the time being.

Now then, I did not know what they had in mind, but whether I showed myself or not was up to me.

As I watched for a while to see if there was anything that could serve as material for judgment, the bald head was once again scattering angry shouts, while the guards listened to it with fed-up expressions.

This gave me nothing but the feeling of trouble.

If getting involved meant it would become troublesome, then there was only one judgment to make.

Thinking that there had simply been no connection this time, I turned my back and was about to leave――when my ears caught a definite scream.

When I reflexively turned around, there was the female mage hiding her own chest.

Since the bald man was standing right in front of her, it was safe to assume she had been dragged down for some reason.

“Damn it, I missed it!”――no, what a lecherous old man.

I felt righteous anger slowly welling up in my chest.

My fist clenched unconsciously in regret that I should have watched for just a little longer.

Where should this tightly clenched fist be brought down?

That was decided――on that bald head.

However, the calm part of me held me back.

(No, no, what am I going to do if I go in on impulse and it turns into a troublesome matter?)

He was not a desirable trading partner, and if I had nothing but the feeling that he would become a seed of trouble, it was best not to get involved.

I decided that I should pretend I had not seen anything and leave, but just in case, I observed their movements.

Then that bald head slapped the cheek of the priest, who was now arguing with him.

Perhaps this angered the male guards as well, because they began closing in on the old man.

“Good, do more,” I cheered in my heart while watching how things turned out.

It seemed that the bald man had authority, and he was using it as a shield to act tyrannically, but… the guards also seemed to have reached the limits of their patience, and although I did not know what they were saying, an argument began.

Then, after that continued for a while, one man drew his sword.

The people around him probably seemed to be trying to calm him down, but the bald man pointed at the man who had drawn his sword and got even more heated.

The man was put in a full nelson, but he struggled as though he was about to cut at the bald man, though the difference in physique between him and the person restraining him was obvious, and he did not budge in the slightest.

I thought this might allow them to talk a little more calmly, but… unbelievably, that bald man took advantage of the fact that the man could not move, picked up a fist-sized stone, and threw it at him.

Moreover, whether his luck was bad or his aim was bad, it hit him in the face――and in the eye, at that.

The released man dropped to one knee and held his eye, and the female priest rushed over to him.

However, the bald man kicked that priest as if to say, “Do not do anything unnecessary.”

Just as I muttered, “Ah, it is over,” the eyes surrounding the old man completely changed.

The bald man, unable to read the atmosphere, was still saying something to the man who had received treatment with a potion.

The man who had drawn his sword silently stood up and walked straight toward the bald man.

No one stopped him.

The bald man pointed at the approaching man and shouted, but the man slashed upward at his fully extended arm.

A right arm danced through the air, and blood dyed the rocky ground.

The bald man screamed and crouched down.

Then, when the finishing blow was raised, perhaps finally understanding the situation, the bald man attempted to flee.

Of course, there was no way he could escape――or so I thought, but he seemed to have hidden something like a smokescreen, and the surroundings were suddenly covered in smoke with great force, while the swung sword cut through empty air and slammed into the ground.

The place the bald man fled to, while holding his severed arm and shedding tears, was the river.

It was obvious that there was nowhere else to escape, so that must have been the only option.

He was running slowly, splashing through the water.

The problem was that I was beyond it.

“Do not come this way,” I frowned with eyebrows I did not have, but I was currently using my mimicry ability.

There was no way they could see me, and the bald man was running sluggishly straight toward me.

Just as I was troubled over what to do, my ears caught a chant.

What kind of magic would be used in this situation, where she probably could not see ahead because of the smoke?

The moment I predicted that was the same moment the bald man finished crossing the river and threw himself down.

At the same time as my mimicry ability was canceled, countless ice arrows flew from within the smoke toward me.

I instantly guarded while taking my baggage into consideration.

Because it was an attack that covered a wide area, a fair number of arrows hit me, but of course, the damage was practically nonexistent.

If it was an attack meant for use against humans, it would be something like this.

Incidentally, about three arrows were stuck in the bald man’s rear, and after he screamed from the pain, he collapsed and stopped moving.

In order to confirm the effect of her own attack, the mage dispelled the smoke with magic, then stiffened in shock when she saw me.

In contrast, I observed her carefully.

Looking at her like this, she was quite a beauty.

(As compensation, maybe I should strip her naked and take a picture.)

I snorted, dropped my backpack on the ground, and stepped forward.

Perhaps she had realized from the ice arrows stuck around the area that her magic had hit me, because the mage was saying something, but I did not understand the Seizeria language.

Now then, I would have her quietly accept her punishment, I thought as I stepped forward――or I should have.

What lay at the end of my vision after I left the forest was the ground.

(Did I fall? No, that is not it. This is…)

Amid several voices I could not make out, in the instant before my consciousness abruptly cut off, I definitely saw it.

The hand I had placed on the ground reflected in my vision had undoubtedly been dyed black.