29 — Chapter 29

“Welcome! Welcome to the Handyman Shop!”

The moment the door opened, a bright voice greeted us. A woman wearing glasses came scurrying out. She had wavy auburn hair and a tight-fitting green uniform. She looked to be in her mid-twenties and gave off the distinct vibe of a smooth talker.

“I have a request. Do you have a moment?”

“Yes, yes! Of course! Please, come right in.”

The high-spirited woman cheerfully ushered us inside. The smile on her face was somewhat fishy—the kind worn by a skilled merchant. In other words, she belonged to a breed of people you couldn’t afford to let your guard down around.

We were led into a spacious room that looked like a reception area. Low tables were lined with facing sofas. In the back, there was a counter that looked like a bar. A massive, muscular man was standing behind it, wearing a tank top and overalls. He looked like he could take down a bear with his bare hands.

The man directed a sharp gaze toward us.

“……”

Apparently having nothing to say, the man quickly turned his back and began wiping the counter. It seemed he had been in the middle of cleaning. He was a man of few words, but clearly a veteran. I could sense his strength just by his presence; he likely possessed combat abilities that matched his physique. He was probably the bodyguard of this establishment.

“Now, now, please don’t be shy, have a seat! I’ll bring some tea right away!”

Urged by the energetic woman, Alice and I sat down next to each other. The woman disappeared with a light step and returned shortly with a tray. She placed three glasses on the table. Sitting across from us, she placed a hand over her heart and smiled.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Letona, the owner of this Handyman Shop. That sturdy fellow over there is my assistant, Hack. I hope we get along.”

“I’m Jack. This is Alice. Good to meet you.”

“Goodness, it’s an honor to meet you. I didn’t think the person who caused that commotion on the main street would come straight to our shop. That was quite the way to swing a door. It looked painful.”

“—You were watching?”

I asked as I rested my hand on the rifle I’d brought in. My brow furrowed instinctively, and my gaze turned sharp. Letona shook her head with an exaggerated reaction.

“It was just by chance! We’ve secretly installed Far-Sight Magic Tools in that area. In my line of work, fresh information is our lifeblood. Given the poor public safety of this region, one needs to be prepared. I have no intention of using that to threaten you. It’s just small talk.”

“I see…”

Apparently, the city streets were rigged with something akin to surveillance cameras. I wasn’t well-versed in magic, but I suppose such things were possible. Knowing Alice’s versatility, I wasn’t particularly shocked. She could build homing missiles in her spare time, after all. A surveillance camera wasn’t out of the question. Besides, Letona’s reasoning made sense. If you lived in a city like this, you had to have some schemes prepared.

“By the way, what business brings you here today?”

“I want a house where the two of us can live.”

“Ho ho. Could you tell me the criteria for your desired property and your budget?”

I gave Alice a look, and she began to explain the specific requirements and our funds. Omitting the finer details, the main requests were a space suitable for magic research, high security, and the durability of the building itself. After listening to Alice, Letona thought for a moment and then smiled.

“In that case, there’s exactly one place that fits. It’s a property currently on the market. However, in this city, it’s difficult to move negotiations forward without a connection. If it’s us, we can act as intermediaries for the sale with the owner. We’ll take a commission, but we can make things go smoothly.”

“That would be a big help. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Thank you very much! If you’d like, shall we go see the property now?”

“Is that all right?”

When I asked, Letona’s smile deepened.

“Yes! I happen to have some free time.”

After that, we decided to travel in the golem car. We headed through the city with the two from the Handyman Shop on board. The back seats came in handy immediately.

Incidentally, our luggage was stored in the vehicle’s hidden compartment. This was a feature added along with the dragon materials; I’d stuffed the bombs and leftover dragon parts in there. I’d taken precautions beforehand, deciding it would be bad if any third party saw them.

“So, where did you two come from?” Letona, who had been observing the golem car with excitement, brought up the topic in a casual tone.

Deep within her gaze was a sticky, unpleasant hue. She was trying to probe into our identities under the guise of small talk. Gripping the steering wheel, I feigned a natural composure and answered.

“A rural town in the neighboring country. I’ve been interested in the free atmosphere of Eurea for a while, so I decided to take the plunge and move here.”

It was a fake background I’d prepared in advance. There was a possibility that a Japanese person was lurking somewhere in Eurea.

If rumors of the Bomber spread too far, those looking for me might realize I’m still alive and send assassins. Without having a solid counter-strategy in place, that was a situation I wanted to avoid.

That was why I wanted to conceal my identity as much as possible. I’d had that run-in with the man in the white coat during the traffic jam, but that had been unavoidable. Fights were a daily occurrence in this city; I shouldn’t have stood out too much. Regardless, giving information to these handymen was out of the question.

“I see, I see. Thank you for traveling such a long way to get here. We’re more than happy to support you in your wonderful new life,” Letona said in a theatrical tone.

She probably saw through my fake background, but I didn’t care. It was just part of the back-and-forth.

After about ten minutes of driving, we arrived at our destination. It was located off the main street—a plot of land surrounded by a fence. On the desolate ground stood a two-story house. Apparently, that was the property in question.

“It looks like an ordinary house from the outside, but it has a soundproofed basement! It’s quite sturdy and even comes with a hidden room. The furniture is a bit worn, but you’re welcome to use whatever’s left inside. The price also falls right within your desired range. If we get permission from the owner, we can head inside for a viewing.”

“Who’s the owner?”

“A criminal organization in this fortress city. They’re a subordinate group under the Representatives who rule Eurea. Apparently, they seized it from a rival organization they crushed and just left it sitting here. It has a bit of a history but that makes it a bargain.”

I made a sour face at Letona’s explanation. The owner was a subordinate group of the Representatives? It was just a property purchase, but I hesitated over whether it was a good idea to get involved. If nothing happened, that was fine, but it was a blurry line.

However, it would be a shame to let such an ideal property slip away. I called Alice over and consulted with her away from the two handymen.

“Is it a bad idea to buy this place? It seems like a good spot for a base.”

“I think it should be fine. It’s just a property transaction; it shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, the handyman is acting as an intermediary,” Alice replied instantly with a composed expression.

She was right. This was just business. It wasn’t like I was picking a fight with a criminal organization. If I stayed too guarded, my actions would become restricted and stifling.

“Besides, if anything happens, you’ll handle it, won’t you, Jack?”

“…Fair point.”

Looking at Alice as she peered up at me, I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. That’s right—I had the power to solve troubles. If push came to shove, I’d just blow them all away with a bomb. Back in my old world, I’d handled numerous assassination missions. I’d wiped out groups of ten or twenty criminals in my spare time. Excessive worrying was just poor form.

Honestly, ever since I came to this world, I felt like I’d been resorting to violent means more often. It was likely because I’d gained such overwhelming power. I wanted to exercise it and enjoy myself. Acknowledging my own childishness, I turned back to Letona.

“The final decision will wait until after the viewing, but proceed with the plan to buy this place.”

“Thank you very much! Well then, let me get some of the paperwork started.”

Letona began scribbling things down in a notebook and some documents she’d brought along. She was likely summarizing the steps for the viewing. While waiting, I decided to bring up something that had been bothering me.

“By the way. If anyone comes around looking for me, don’t sell them any information, got it? I have… circumstances.”

“Ehh? Now that’s something I can’t quite promise. We are in business, after all. Depending on the amount offered, our lips might slip—”

As Letona sat there snickering, I pressed the muzzle of my rifle against her chin. I kept my finger on the trigger as I spoke.

“Let me give you a hot tip. I absolutely loathe smart-alecks like you. The type who act like they’re watching from safety, stirring things up just for the fun of it. I wonder why you think you’re safe? It makes me want to swap my questions for lead bullets.”

“Wha—hu…”

Letona froze as if she’d been paralyzed. Hack, the assistant standing nearby, let his bloodlust flare up. He was clearly preparing to help her. Sensing it immediately, I turned and glared at him.

“Whoa there, don’t move, tough guy. You wouldn’t want to see your boss’s brains splattered everywhere, would you?”

“……”

Hack remained silent, a frustrated look on his face. He ground his teeth loud enough for me to hear, but he suppressed his killing intent. It seemed he’d decided not to attack for now. Contrary to his appearance, he possessed a functioning sense of reason.

I didn’t lower the rifle, letting out a mocking snort.

“You call yourselves handymen, but you’re just information brokers at the end of the day. Listen well. If you leak even a shred of information about us to the outside world, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth and torture you to death in the most gruesome way possible. I mean it. I’m happy to sign that contract right here.”

“Ugh…”

“It’s not like I want to go out of my way to do that. I’d like to build a good relationship with you two. So, don’t make me angry.”

“N-Now, don’t be like that. There’s no way I’d leak a precious client’s information! I want to get along with you and Alice too, you know? I fully intend to face my work with total sincerity, yes, indeed!”

Letona laughed in a joking tone, though her face had turned slightly pale. It seemed my seriousness had gotten through to her. If it had been a mere verbal threat, she wouldn’t have been this frightened. She was shaken because she knew that, depending on her answer, she really might die.

Raising both hands in a gesture of surrender, Letona let out a dry laugh.

“Ha… haha… I thought you were the violent type, but I didn’t expect it to go this far…”

“I’m a man who does what needs to be done. With that settled, I look forward to working with you. Get the paperwork for this place done, okay?”

“…You’re more than a little crazy, aren’t you?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve always been this way.”

Replying nonchalantly to Letona’s remark, I reached out and shook her hand.