episode_0022

Knock-knock-

Creak-

The door opened with a creaking sound as if it hadn’t been used for a long time.

“… It’s been a while since we had a guest.”

“… I came for information.”

The joy of finding the right way was short-lived.

Irene tried hard to look composed as she gazed at the member of the Information Guild.

“What information are you curious about?”

“… Where is the mercenary named ‘Airen’ currently located?”

“Airen… Well, that’s quite expensive.”

“What do you mean? Is it so difficult to find a regular mercenary?”

“No. But with the additional information that came in yesterday, the price has gone up significantly. Seems like he’s someone of considerable value.”

“…”

If only she could have found it a day earlier, she might have been able to buy it at a reasonable price.

Irene was angry at having to pay a high price just because of a one-day difference, but she couldn’t avoid buying the information.

“I can provide information related to the hero.”

“Oh? That’s interesting. I won’t ask for the source, though.”

Muttering to himself, the guild member began to think about which information about the hero would be valuable.

“Yeah. This seems like it’s worth the price.”

“What information do you want?”

“The hero’s three sizes.”

“… What?”

The words uttered with a serious expression were simply ‘the hero’s three sizes.’

“Well, isn’t that surprising? However, this information is quite expensive. There’s someone among the big shots of the Information Guild who wants that information.”

“…”

Irene felt conflicted.

It would have been a good deal to reveal just the three sizes and find out Allen’s location a day earlier, but no matter how she thought about it, the reason they wanted to know her three sizes didn’t seem wholesome.

“So, will you pay? Or can you pay?”

“… I can pay.”

“Oh, then why not quickly tell me the information and take it?”

“…”

Irene closed her eyes tightly.

Telling herself that it was inevitable to do what was necessary to get Allen’s information, she eventually revealed her three sizes to the informant.

“… Turns out your chest size is larger than expected.”

Gulp-

Without showing any reaction to the informant’s muttering, Irene gritted her teeth.

“Alright. Tell me.”

“… Quickly.”

“The mercenary named ‘Airen’ is currently staying in a village called ‘Atolkin.’”

“… Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s certain since he sold information to the Information Guild yesterday.”

“… I see.”

It was unclear what it was for, but Allen seemed to be selling information as well.

“Allen… He’s such a fool.”

If only she had waited one more day to sell the information or hadn’t mentioned her three sizes, it would have been better. However, since she had found out the village where Allen was staying, Irene breathed a sigh of relief and left the Information Guild.

“…”

Walking slowly through the darkening streets, Irene tried to erase unpleasant thoughts from her mind.

Since she hadn’t directly revealed her three sizes anyway.

She had slightly exaggerated her chest size while transforming it, but it was unavoidable.

As usual, Allen, who distributed relief supplies, came into the inn early in the evening and studied with Lily.

“Yeah. You’re doing better than I thought.”

“I am doing well?”

“Yes. You’re learning quickly.”

“Hehe.”

Patting Lily’s head as she studied hard, teaching her various characters.

Allen diligently taught her as if he had become her personal tutor.

“Ah, Lily. Do you have any rewards you want?”

“Rewards?”

“Yeah. I was thinking of giving you a reward if you pass the test… It’s good to know what you want in advance.”

“Um… it’s difficult.”

“Is that so…”

Despite being at an age where she should have many things she wants, Lily couldn’t immediately say what she wanted, perhaps due to her challenging background.

Although this fact slightly saddened Allen, he decided to give Lily various examples.

“Like… wanting to eat something delicious. Wanting to eat cake…”

“Aren’t you too focused on food?”

“… Is that so?”

While the example was based on the fact that Lily enjoys eating, Allen decided to change the subject slightly.

“Asking for pretty clothes. Asking for pocket money?”

“If I’m with you, I don’t need pocket money anyway, right?”

“… We won’t be together forever.”

Listening to Lily’s assumption that they would be together forever, Allen was surprised, but he thought it was just childish talk and moved on.

“If there’s anything else I can do, I’ll do it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Sure. Take your time to think.”

Allen said as he looked at Lily.

“Seems like a big deal, doesn’t it?”

It hadn’t been a month since Allen met Lily, but he felt like Lily had grown compared to their first meeting.

“Is it really that big?”

Since he didn’t measure her height when they first met, he couldn’t be sure, but she probably wasn’t over 140 centimeters.

“Lily, can you stand up for a moment?”

“Sure.”

Looking at Lily standing up with a puzzled expression, Allen gazed at her seriously.

“She’s grown taller.”

When they first met, she was clearly not even 140 centimeters tall, but now she seemed to be around 145 centimeters.

“Must be because she eats well and grows quickly.”

Although Allen wasn’t very knowledgeable, based on some modern knowledge, he knew that nutrition is important during growth stages.

“Lily, you seem a bit taller.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah. About… 7cm taller, I think.”

“Oh… now that you mention it, my eye level does seem higher.”

“You’ll probably return to a normal height soon. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“So let’s start eating more vegetables from tomorrow.”

Lily looked disappointedly at Allen, but he was preoccupied with planning Lily’s growth and didn’t notice.

After finishing his writing study, Allen, who had been lying on the bed, confirmed that Lily had fallen deeply asleep and got up.

Knowing that Lily felt anxious about being separated from him, Allen waited for Lily to fall asleep first and then realized it was time for him to act.

“… The Red Fist, was it?”

Quietly identifying his target, Allen cautiously opened the door and stepped outside.

As he emerged from the inn, the chilly winter night air greeted Allen.

Feeling the intense cold, Allen headed towards the hideout of the ‘Red Fist’ he had discovered.

Fortunately, the village was quiet at night with hardly anyone around, so Allen didn’t need to hide himself as he walked.

After a while, Allen finally reached the hidden hideout of the ‘Red Fist.’

In reality, it was so blatantly obvious that it was hardly hidden; there was just no signboard.

“So, I hooked up with that woman yesterday?”

“Ha, did you call her that, you jerk!”

“…”.

Allen, who coldly eyed the organization member standing guard while exchanging trivial jokes, decided to take action.

Clang-

The sword was drawn from Allen’s waist, and he mercilessly swung it.

Swish-

“Clang…!”

“Ugh…!”

Thud-

The two organization members on guard were caught off guard by Allen’s ambush and died without even a proper response.

“…”

To alleviate his guilt, Allen had been performing good deeds, but that didn’t mean he was a pushover.

Naturally, murder was not new to him, and cutting down villains was already familiar.

Bang!

“What the!”

Swish-

As a startled organization member kicked open the door, he was cut down by Allen’s ruthless sword.

“What… What is this!”

“Enemy! Enemy!”

“… Noisy.”

Clang clang clang clang-

Seemingly prepared for an attack, Allen chuckled at the sight of the men calling for reinforcements noisily banging metal above.

Even if they brought more members, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Allen.

“What? Just one guy.”

“Damn, are all the guards dead?”

More organization members gathered, while Allen stood there with his sword.

Observing like watching how cockroaches gather.

“What the hell are you doing here!”

“… Are you the boss?”

“Yeah. What grudge do you have against us?”

“… Grudge.”

A smirk played on Allen’s lips.

Looking at his twisted smile as if mocking, the boss got angry but decided to observe for now.

“You’ve been too kind lately.”

“… What?”

However, what came out of Allen’s mouth was utterly absurd.

“… Even roaches like you need cleaning occasionally.”

“What…!”

Vroom-

An aura emanated from Allen’s sword.

‘Crazy!’

“Oh… Aura!”

“Run!”

When the powerful aura only wielded by top-tier fighters emerged from Allen’s sword, the organization members tried to flee in panic, but Allen’s actions were quicker.

Swish-

It was just one swing, but the aftermath was beyond imagination.

Following the path of Allen’s sword swing, everything was torn into pieces.

The building, the organization members, the boss.

Everything was split in half.

“You trash.”

Allen muttered with a cold face.

In his own view, Allen was not a good person.

Despite trying to alleviate his guilt by performing good deeds, upon hearing of the atrocities of the “Red Fist,” endless rage overcame him, leading to their massacre.

At least, this could be seen as part of his righteous deeds…

“… I wonder if the kidnapped residents are still alive.”

At least, Allen had only acted out of his anger.