Ch.31Street Methods (3)

“You want me to kill your boss…?”

I narrowed my eyes.

Honestly, who could trust a gangster who suddenly asks you to kill their superior?

When I sent that signal with my gaze, Pedro sighed and began to explain in detail.

“Do you know how old Evelyn is?”

“Hmm? Around 30 to 40?”

I had assumed she was middle-aged, as it seemed unlikely for a young woman to display such competence.

However, Pedro shook his head as if I were wrong and showed me eight fingers.

“Eighty?”

“Yes. She’s been controlling Rascal’s underworld until reaching her eighties. And after ruling for so long, it’s about time she stepped down.”

As he said this, he pulled out at least twenty pieces of parchment from his breast pocket and handed them to me.

All the requests were identical—missions in Evelyn’s name to find the elixir of immortality—and they shared another common trait: every single one was marked as failed.

“Yet that damned woman, in her quest for eternal life, is grinding down not only her own organization members but also adventurers to get her hands on the elixir that grants immortality.”

“…Is this really a problem? After all, Evelyn is still proving her capabilities.”

When I said that, he replied that he expected such a response and pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket.

…Just how much stuff does he have in there?

“This is a brief summary of the profit and loss factors in our business. It’s normally confidential, but… since we’ve come this far, I don’t need to hide it from you.”

“Let me see…”

As I examined the report, I understood why Pedro and the other executives wanted to eliminate Evelyn.

Public sector spending was decreasing, private expenditures were gradually increasing, and overall net profits were falling sharply year after year.

In short, she was managing recklessly.

“She’s gone senile, it seems.”

“The sad fate of the elderly. She needs to be removed for Rascal’s sake too. We may be criminals, but we’re not fools. We have minimal discipline and order. At this rate, our entire organization will end up on the streets because of her senile ambitions.”

“Hmm…”

I stared at the report quietly, lost in thought.

In Parcival, such things happened frequently.

Founding members would be marginalized one way or another, and organizations where the boss’s power became fragmented ultimately ended with a knife in their back—such stories were as common as dust on the streets.

“Let me ask you, is this your independent decision?”

“Of course not. I’m not that brave, nor is my rank that high. Think of me as a kind of messenger. More than ten executives have already agreed to take down Evelyn.”

I nodded.

“Alright. But I have conditions.”

“What are they?”

“Complete repayment of Seriya’s debt. Guaranteed safety within Rascal. And 1,000 silver coins each for me and Seriya.”

“Well, that’s manageable.”

Pedro said with a bright smile, and we shook hands before parting ways.

“I’ll send someone to your inn soon.”

“Good. I’ll be waiting.”

*

After deciding to make a deal with Pedro, we returned to the captain’s inn and stayed together in one room.

“I don’t think this is a good decision…”

“You should have thought about that before robbing the gambling house.”

“Haaa….”

Seriya sighed deeply as she looked at me.

We had only known each other for just over a week, but fighting together had brought us quite close.

I’m not sure if she feels the same way, but her opinion doesn’t particularly matter.

If I think we’re friends, then we’re friends; if I think we’re comrades, then we’re comrades.

“Is Evelyn strong?”

“Well, I’ve never met her, so I’m not sure… but bosses like her typically fall into two categories.”

Saying this, Seriya held up two fingers.

“One type has moderate personal strength but powerful people around them. The other type is just incredibly strong themselves.”

I nodded.

“If it’s the former, the other organization members can probably handle it well. I don’t know how strong those ten executives are, but they should at least buy me enough time to behead Evelyn.”

“Haven’t you considered the possibility that you might fail?”

“Do you think I can’t do it?”

When I said that, she grabbed her head.

“Damn… when you put it that way, I can’t imagine you failing…”

“Your faith is lacking. I’m someone who fought and won against an orc chieftain one-on-one.”

“Most boys your age would lose to even a single orc.”

“…”

I don’t know how to respond to that.

I’m aware that I’m strong.

It’s just that for me, physical power isn’t the top priority, so I don’t feel particularly proud of the strength I possess.

The most important thing to me is adventure, and power is merely a means necessary for adventure.

I find it difficult to understand people like Blade Masters, whose purpose is gaining strength itself.

Well, such people probably wouldn’t even look at me anyway.

“If there are variables, they would be artifacts or magic… It’ll be a melee, so as long as I don’t get hit, I should be fine.”

“True, if she’s desperate enough to search for the elixir, she might be wearing a few artifacts.”

If she’s equipped with artifacts that can deploy one-time shields or allow the use of lower-level magic, it could be quite troublesome. Moreover, if she can afford to wear artifacts, she could certainly employ spell casters as guards.

I have experience killing both artifact-wearers and spell casters, but I don’t recall facing both simultaneously.

“I have a plan, want to hear it?”

“What is it?”

“I charge in from the front, and you go around the back to take her head.”

“Haaa…”

When I explained my tactical approach, Seriya let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just too perfect…”

She’s probably being sarcastic, but honestly, there was no other option.

The fundamental premise—me as a battler charging from the front while she as a scoundrel goes around the back—couldn’t be broken without serious consequences.

Knock knock!

As I was thinking, there was a knocking sound.

“Who is it?”

“Sent by Pedro. Please follow me.”

*

Following the messenger, we found a fierce battle raging inside the gambling house.

The stairs had been completely destroyed to prevent anyone from going up, and in the spacious lobby, Evelyn’s forces and the executives’ faction were locked in combat. The surprise attack seemed to be giving the executives’ side a slight advantage.

“Those wearing white cloth are allies!”

After saying this, the messenger drew his sword and leaped into the battlefield to support his comrades.

“Let’s go too.”

“Right!”

Seriya took up her bow, and I drew my twin swords to face the enemies rushing toward me.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“!”

These guys, their strength is no joke.

Judging by their lack of visible muscles, they must be enhanced by magic or drugs. With multiple opponents, I gradually found it more difficult to maintain my offense and defense.

“Damn it! Seriya! Help me!”

When I called for Seriya’s help, she took out a fire bomb from her pocket, lit the fuse using a burning piece of furniture, and threw it in my direction.

“Hup!”

I quickly retreated, and the fire bomb landed where I had been standing. The enhanced soldiers who took the flames head-on began to panic, trying to extinguish the fire on their bodies.

Thunk! Slash! Crack!

Taking advantage of the opening, I was able to kill the enhanced soldiers, and from a distance, I heard Pedro’s voice.

“Victor!!! Evelyn is trying to escape! Stop her!! Stop her!!!”

Hearing those words, I looked toward the entrance and saw an old woman in a torn dress desperately heading for the exit.

“Seriya! That woman! Target that woman!”

“!”

As I pointed with my sword and shouted, Seriya nocked an arrow and fired. When the arrow hit, Evelyn’s body glowed brightly, and there was a sound of something breaking.

“The barrier is down!”

I quickly ran over and kicked Evelyn as she tried to get up, and as I brought my sword down…

BZZZZZZT!

“AAAAARGH!!!”

…I felt tremendous pain as my body became paralyzed, and only then did I realize that electricity was shooting from her fingertips.

“Spell…caster…”

Thud!

I couldn’t control my body as electricity coursed through it, and Evelyn, clutching her bleeding nose, began to launch invisible shock waves at Seriya, who had shot the arrow.

“Aaagh!”

CRASH!

The burning furniture shattered into debris, which then fell upon others.

“You damned traitors… none of you will die peacefully.”

“Nngh…”

I barely managed to get up again and poured a potion down my throat.

Once my body returned to normal, I rushed at her before she could cast another spell.

Slip!

“Whoa?!”

THUD!

But at that moment, I slipped on the suddenly slick floor and fell again, giving Evelyn time to create a fireball in her hand and throw it at me.

WHOOSH!

“AAAAARGH!!!”

“Victor!”

Fortunately, it was magical fire rather than physical flame, so the fire on my body quickly extinguished, but the burns all over my body caused me unbearable pain.

“Damn it! What are you all doing?! She’s used her spells, so she can’t cast anymore! Surround her and attack!!!”

At the voice of another executive, not Pedro, the remaining forces launched a desperate attack against Evelyn. Seriya also fired several arrows, but Evelyn deployed a linear shield to block them and created dozens of flaming arrows that turned the charging organization members into charcoal.

“Damn…!”

Pop!

I drank my last remaining potion, and instantly my shriveled skin returned to normal.

“Huff…huff…”

I could see sweat pouring like rain down Evelyn’s wrinkled face.

She probably couldn’t cast any more spells now.

I crouched low and approached her, and she was too busy firing minor spells at the approaching organization members to notice my approach.

Seeing me advance, Seriya fired all her remaining arrows to create a distraction around Evelyn, allowing me to get behind her.

“EVELYYYYYYN!!!”

“What?”

Slash!

Against a battler who had gotten close, a spell caster could do nothing.

And so Evelyn’s head fell, and I held it up with a roar.

“I have beheaded Evelyn!!!”