Ch.45Unfair Treatment-Savvy NPC (4)

After capturing that woman in another room of the inn, I was able to hear the story from Ragni and Ray.

And Ragni’s one-line summary, which even someone as dim-witted as me could understand immediately, was incredible.

“She knows Ragni is a princess. She also knows I forced you into slavery. So if I don’t want to become an internationally wanted criminal, I should sell you to her? She’s willing to pay any amount? In other words, that was blackmail earlier?”

“That’s correct if I summarize it… I’m sorry. It was completely my mistake.”

Hmm. I see, so it was blackmail. Now I understand.

“No, no!! Ragni had already noticed her scheme in that brief moment?! It was my fault for tying the scarf too loosely!!”

“No. I checked the scarf too. What you tied was securely fastened. This was just me being careless and unlucky. It’s karma.”

Ragni touches her [Collar of Servitude] while Ray gestures wildly as she speaks.

Watching them blame themselves isn’t… pleasant to see.

Anyway, if we’re assigning blame, those demon worshiper bastards are the root of all evil, and I’m the one who made her a slave.

If we’re talking about responsibility, these two aren’t even in the equation. All they did wrong was try to remain with our group through appropriate responses.

If that’s wrong, then most breathing humans would end up as prisoners.

‘Besides, that woman is a demon too, isn’t she?’

I don’t know why she’s targeting Ragni, but she’s a demon herself.

Right. The deus ex machina from episode 1.

After the protagonist and playable character defeated the demon of envy they first encountered, she memorized the resurrection spell, “Did you finish it?” When the weakened envy demon was in crisis, she dragged it into her own space and devoured it.

Clearly, what was she again if not greed? Something pathetically stingy…

Anyway, she’s a demon ranked among the lowest in combat ability of all demons. That’s the mayor.

“I’m sorry. Jack, I won’t be a burden to you. At the very least, I’ll adjust the amount so you all can live comfortably no matter which country you go to. So don’t worry too much…”

“Wait, Ragni, be quiet for a bit. Didn’t I tell you before? I get even slower when it’s noisy while I’m thinking. Don’t say weird things when you’ve been acting like you hate me so much.”

“…D-Despise? I, I was just thinking about you…!”

“Shh. Shut it.”

At my words, Ragni widened her red eyes like saucers in disbelief, but I ignore her.

What is she saying? I’m already struggling to use my rock of a brain, and now she’s saying strange things. Damn. Where was I in my thoughts?

Ah right. That pathetically stingy one.

I can’t remember what her hierarchy was, but it’s similar to greed. Hoarding wealth and not wanting others to take things… what was it again? Anyway.

“Stop saying weird things. And Ray.”

“Ah. Yes!”

“Switch with Gorg. Go keep watch in the room with Ira. Be ready to escape when I signal, so stay alert.”

“What? Oh? Ah! Hehe. Yes. Understood.”

“W-Wait! What are you saying?! Escape?!! Where to?! You!! If you become internationally wanted, there’s nowhere you can go…!!”

“Hey.”

“Hiccup?!”

When I grab her shoulder because she keeps talking nonsense, she starts hiccupping in surprise. Geez, her eyes are welling up again even as she speaks.

Ray gives us a bitter smile before leaving the room.

“I told you I’d kill that woman if you cry again, didn’t I? Are you going to cry?”

“Wh-What are you saying?! I-I’m not crying!!”

“Why not? Go ahead and cry.”

“Wh… what?”

“I said I’ll kill her if you cry. That woman.”

“…Y-You. What exactly are you saying…”

“Would you prefer to be sold to that woman?”

At my words, spoken with a raised corner of my mouth, her eyes widen for a moment, and then her eyebrows curve downward as if she immediately understands.

She really is a smart woman.

“I-If that’s the case? If I were to say that being sold to that woman could move the situation in a favorable direction for both you and me. What do you think?!”

“Oh. A guarantee from the smart princess? What kind of answer do you want from me, then?”

“…Ugh!! Why, why?! Why do you talk to me like that?! It’s strange!! It would be better to just abandon someone like me…!!”

“Sorry, but if I was going to abandon you, I would have gone to the front of that carriage that day and twisted your neck right there.”

“…!!!”

Did she not know?

Did she truly not know this option existed? I’m not sure.

At the very least, this option was already available when she was helplessly caught in my hands that day, while the queen’s delusion of “Kill him” was reaching her.

A foreign, illiterate, uneducated commoner woodsman—not even an outstanding knight from her own country with its vast territory.

According to her calculations, when a somewhat strong human came from another country, she hurriedly came to me and threw a tantrum like a child. No, truly acting her age. Her appearance was utterly miserable.

With no one of her own, no one to protect her, even when she was about to die under the snowball I had set in motion, she had never had anyone choose her.

That’s why she came to a complete stranger like me, throwing tantrums and… begging me to protect her, to stay with her.

Though she spoke as if threatening me, a threat is only possible when you’re at least in an equal position with equal power, or in a superior position to the other person.

With no power to protect herself, coming before me who was obviously much stronger than her, did she really not know that what she was saying with her own mouth wasn’t a threat or danger?

That’s crazy talk. She knew everything. I’d bet my wrist and all my possessions that she knew it all.

Yet she had no choice. Because there wasn’t a single person who would protect her, who would believe her words and take responsibility for her, she made that choice.

And now I’m supposed to just sell her?

“Why? Didn’t you know? Twisting your neck would have prevented this situation from happening, and our journey would have been safer. Did you not know that?”

“…Th-Then why. Why…”

“You said it yourself. Protect me, stay with me. That you wanted to be protected by someone stronger than you just once. So, I am stronger than you, right? Isn’t that reason enough?”

“…Ah.”

As I thought. Ragni is not the queen I know from the game. She’s just an 18-year-old smart kid with some peach fuzz.

She doesn’t know her skills yet so she doesn’t know the peak of her power, but that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s just that her emotions, her heart, her body, are in an underdeveloped state. That’s why she’s such a crybaby.

The woman who in the game would curse and drop hints without shedding a tear even as her arm was cut off and she died, is now crying again at my words.

“Oh my. You’re crying? Should I go kill her?”

“Hic. D-Don’t.”

“Why? I told you earlier I’d kill her if you cried.”

“D-Don’t! Hic!! Y-You made me… made me cry…!!”

-Thump! Thump!!

“That hurts.”

“Sh-Shh!! Shut up!! You deserve to hurt!! Hic!!”

“Is that so. Getting hit by an ugly kid makes it hurt more.”

“I-I’m not ugly! Someone like me, ugh!! I’m pretty!!”

Watching her continuously hit my arm while crying because she can’t control her emotions makes me chuckle.

But what can I do? Her crying face really is ugly.

“Stop crying, you’ll lose what little you have. Your crying face is really dog-ugly, so stop crying. I’m not going to sell you.”

“B-But!! But still!!”

“Don’t worry. Even if your smart brain couldn’t find a solution, the world’s unfairness doesn’t always roll in one direction.”

“Sniff. Huh? What?”

At my words, Ragni tilts her head as if she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. Is there no word for “unfairness” in this world? Geez. They have “sister complex” but not “unfairness,” what’s up with that?

“The world’s injustice doesn’t just target us. It’s about time those bastards who picked fights with us and attacked us first got what they deserve.”

“…Do you. Do you have some kind of plan?”

As I watch her asking while making sniffling noises, the door opens and Gorg enters carrying luggage.

Right, here comes the solution.

“Well. Since this didn’t come from my brain, it’s hard to brag about it, but this will probably be the key to solving our problem.”

“Wh-What is this…? W-Wait. This…”

She noticed what was inside what I had been preparing all night, and she unwrapped the covering.

“Th-This is… what…?”

“Now, let’s set up the game. You do the thinking and planning, I’ll handle the muscle work.”

“……”

She must have liked the gift I brought. She finally smiled faintly.

See? How nice it is when you smile? I was right—you really are dog-ugly when you cry.

“Let’s do this. This time, you’re not alone.”

I moved with Ragni and Gorg, carrying the gift for that demon woman.

*

“…Just who is that man?”

I had heard he single-handedly slaughtered those ass bugs… the apostles of envy.

So I thought he was a white-rank adventurer who just hadn’t been promoted to gold rank yet.

But.

“…This isn’t even white rank.”

My arm is bruised. The arm that man grabbed is bruised.

This body, which hasn’t been injured once in nearly 500 years, is now wounded.

“Haha. This is absurd? To think that I would be completely overpowered, even though I wasn’t using my full strength. Me of all people.”

Among the seven deadly sin demons, I might be the weakest in terms of raw power, but that’s only “among the seven deadly sins.”

Monsters aren’t even worth mentioning, and other demons naturally crawl at my feet.

I’m confident I could crush any human with decent skills with just one finger.

In fact, there were those who sent white-rank elven assassins to interfere with my city-building, and they all knelt under my authority and power before disappearing.

If asked whether I could kill and dominate all humans, I would definitely say no, but if asked whether I would lose to an individual human, the answer would absolutely be “NO.”

Until just now, that is.

“…I need to be careful. If I mess with her trying to buy the princess, it could really be dangerous.”

I’m not seriously considering the possibility of losing a fight.

While that man was certainly strong, power isn’t everything on my side.

However, having to resort to methods other than “power” would mean essentially giving up this entire city. So I really need to handle this opponent carefully…

-BANG!!

“……”

“Ah! You’re the mayor of this city, right?! Let’s talk about you sexually harassing our kid!!”

Avalitia, the demon of avarice among the seven deadly sins, could only blink at the gray-haired man who suddenly kicked open the door.

No. Earlier when he suddenly grabbed her arm, it was problematic, but it could be considered a mutual mistake. So she let it slide.

But now…

“Hey. Did you eat honey by yourself in the meantime? Your mouth seems stuck shut. So, how much are you going to pay for groping our kid’s chest? Just so you know, her body is in mint condition!!”

“Eh…? Eh?”

Avalitia was confused by the gray-haired man who started speaking like a back-alley thug or gangster, even touching his own chest as he spoke.