Chapter 87

This kind of raid was often done at night.

When I mentioned that, Gerario shrugged.

“Are you planning to set sail on a dark sea?”

“And there are beastfolk here with plenty of grudges. They’re all people who want to use the commotion as an excuse to rampage. When there are people around in the daytime, you can get all sorts of things done in the confusion.”

Roran was calm now, but when it had first been incorporated into the empire, it had apparently been a total mess, every possible kind of chaos had occurred.

The old madam, who had spent her childhood in a time like that, was even more realistic than Nodon.

As I was thinking what a truly terrifying world this was, one of the old madam’s underlings put on a pitch-black face covering and handed some to Kururu and me as well.

When I tried to put mine on, Kururu said,

“Why do I need to hide my face when I’m rescuing my master?”

True, there was nothing to be ashamed of, and there was no way to hide who the culprit was, but surely we should at least hide our faces… As I turned my gaze toward Gerario, he shrugged.

“We have no choice but to cross the river. This rescue operation is about taking back our honor. There’s no need to hide it, and we need to make them understand not to look down on us.”

Who was it that said diplomacy was nothing more than a contest of stubbornness backed by armed force?

“If a lord whose vassal magician was taken hostage is rescued in broad daylight, then not only Roran, but outside powers will also look at Jirenu Territory with respect. After we return to the island, that’ll become a treasure we couldn’t otherwise obtain.”

So that was what this was about.

“Though honestly, I wish I had the Wandering Magician outfit…”

Kururu said regretfully.

“Huh?”

At the old madam’s dubious expression, Kururu explained the situation while looking a little embarrassed.

Then, after thinking for a while, the old madam tore one of the spare face coverings by hand, wrapped it around Kururu’s head, tore another one, and wrapped it around her mouth like a gangster’s mask.

Finally, she draped a fur cloak that looked exactly like something a brothel owner would wear over Kururu’s shoulders.

“In my mind, when you say the great magician Wandering Magician, this is what it looks like.”

Standing there was a handsome chivalrous thief.

No, was she a pirate?

“Not bad.”

Gerario also admired her with amusement.

Kururu touched the thing wrapped around her head and the mask around her mouth with her hands, then finally looked at me.

“You look cool.”

At those words, Kururu nodded deeply, and her cat tail happily squirmed back and forth.

“Now, that’s enough chatting.”

The female bandit chief said.

“Leave it to me. Stand back!”

Perhaps she had completely gotten into the role of a chivalrous thief, because Kururu said that and fired off a spell.

A corner of Crape Myrtle House was blown away by Kururu’s magic.

As for the reconstruction costs, they said they would bill Bax Company for selling Kururu without even confirming she was a magician, so she had blown away an old section that apparently leaked when it rained.

At the thunderous sound, the girls who had been sleeping in the brothel in preparation for their nighttime work peeked out to see what had happened.

“Let’s go.”

With Kururu leading, Gerario and I followed.

After running through an alley, I looked back and saw the old madam and the girls from the brothel seeing us off.

“Can we…trust that person?”

After all, we had been drugged by Ostro, whom we had completely trusted, and ended up like this.

If we were attacked from behind, then this time it really would be the end.

“That part’s always a gamble.”

Gerario said it lightly.

“Trusting you was quite a gamble too.”

Kururu, at the front, said that to me.

True, I had been weak and could barely use magic, yet I had been spouting nonsense about taking down Nodon, who had effectively ruled the territory, so it was more or less the same.

“So it’ll work out somehow. This time, my master is here too.”

At Kururu’s words, Gerario looked a little surprised, then grinned bashfully.

“Eheheh. Being called master doesn’t feel half bad.”

Gerario was definitely suited to training the next generation.

“Well, in fact, we did defeat two dragons, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“So even if there’s a tiger at the front gate and a dragon at the rear gate, it won’t be a problem.”

When I said that and was thinking how reassuring it was, I noticed that Kururu and Gerario were aiming rather unfriendly looks at me.

“Japanese.”

Kururu said sulkily.

Proverb-like sayings tended to come out in Japanese before I knew it.

Translating “tiger” was difficult, but when I rendered it into this world’s language, Kururu seemed to like it.

“I’m the tiger, then!”

“If I’m the dragon, I’ve got no complaints.”

I felt like “a tiger at the front gate and a dragon at the rear gate” was a phrase describing the danger of being surrounded by enemies, but these two took it the opposite way.

As if we were the ones doing the cornering.

It was a positivity that almost seemed carefree, but at times like this, nothing was more reassuring.

“Still, there’s someone I’m worried about trusting.”

Perhaps she had pounded the map into her head in advance, because Kururu ran without hesitation and said that while catching her breath when we reached a large street.

“You mean young Master Cole?”

Gerario poked his head out onto the street and seemed to have found the person we were meeting.

He had pulled up the hood of his cloak and hidden his face.

“I still can’t believe he’s on our side.”

When I explained how we had escaped from the prison, Kururu had clearly looked displeased. In particular, she openly showed disgust at the schemes of the people of Roran surrounding Iiria, and above all at the fact that Cole wanted to marry Iiria.

“Well, we’ll know once we go there. My disciple, get your magic ready.”

If Cole had betrayed us, then the moment Gerario made contact, hidden capture forces would likely come pouring out one after another.

But as if he was not intimidated by that in the slightest, Gerario began walking casually as usual. Ahead of him was a cart, and two beastfolk were there, looking as if they were waiting for their master to finish an errand.

Kururu searched inside her clothes and gripped the magic stone she had received from the old madam in her hand.

“The synthetic magic stones were properly useful on your side, then.”

Kururu said while watching Gerario approach the cart parked at the side of the road.

“When you consider the possibility of being stripped of everything, there seemed to be room for more improvement.”

If they were metal ornaments, aside from people being wary of magic, they could also be stolen by someone after money and valuables.

“Kururu-san, yours were safe too, weren’t they?”

Perhaps because they would get in the way during battle, she had removed her earrings, but she was still wearing her necklace and bracelet.

“Making them cheap iron was the right choice. In any case, as you said, there’s plenty of room for improvement. I’m already looking forward to going back to the mansion.”

“As for me, my head hurts thinking about all the payments and preparations for war.”

Iiria was said to be imprisoned not at Bax Company, but in the building of Roran’s Municipal Council.

In that case, the judgment involved was not just Bax Company’s, but the town of Roran’s as well.

Since we were going to attack it, we would be making an enemy of this province’s entire capital.

“Gerario said it, and you heard it from that old woman too, didn’t you? If we show our spirit, Roran’s enemies will side with us.”

In this harsh world, the enemy of an enemy was always an ally.

Against Roran, which ruled this region as the provincial capital, there were properly hostile forces as well.

That was precisely why Gerario had said that rescuing Iiria also meant reclaiming our honor.

Because in this world, no lord would ally with a lord who had no honor.

“Gerario-san has learned about the synthetic magic stones. So the next time we fight, there’s no need to hold back on using magic stones. That part alone makes things easier.”

I could make second-grade magic stones and even first-grade magic stones, and since we had a mine, our arsenal was effectively inexhaustible.

If this happened in a strategy simulation, it would be unrivaled mode.

“My arms are itching for action.”

Kururu adjusted her grip on the magic stone and grinned broadly.

If anything, it looked as if she wanted Gerario to be ambushed so she could fire off magic right this instant.

However, Cole apparently had not lied.

Gerario exchanged words with the beastfolk gathered in front of the cart that was stopped behind the cathedral, lifted the cart’s canopy and peered inside, then shook hands with the beastfolk as if the deal had been accepted before trotting back to us.

“How was it?”

At my question, Gerario shrugged.

“That young master’s planning to start a war in the middle of town.”

“A war?”

“The cart’s bed was packed full of magic stones.”

My face twitched into the shape of a smile, and although Kururu looked dissatisfied, she also seemed to have reevaluated him a little.

“It seems Bax Company still hasn’t found out about our jailbreak. We’re charging in just like this. You done pissing?”

I nodded at Gerario’s rousing words, but Kururu’s eyes were cold.

“…Master really is vulgar every single time.”

“Huh!?”

Gerario, who apparently had not been aware of it at all, was genuinely shocked, and it was amusing.