Volume 5 Chapter 19 It's A Debut That Wasn't Meant To Be, But...
The moment I held the head-shaking man hostage, the air froze. Perhaps, no one truly understood this scene.
""......""
The same thing happened here, too. Kyunei and Aina blinked their eyes rapidly in silence. On the other hand, Mikage nodded as she put her hand on her chin. Mikage had a straightforward personality, but her experience as a mercenary made her judgments quite dry in situations like this.
"Hey, what the--"
"Whoa, don't move recklessly. If I slip, his face might end up looking like a total mess that you won't be able to show it to your children."
'I can't tell who's really the villain here!?'
I smacked the man's cheek with the flat side of my big hatchet as he tried to move in anger. Finally noticing the rugged blade glinting ominously in the dim light, the man's expression hardened.
About a minute had passed when the men finally seemed to comprehend the current situation, and their killing intent grew even stronger.
Some of them were even about to draw their weapons.
"You coward! Let go of our big bro!"
"Who's really being cowardly here, surrounding us with so many people! If you don't want to see your big bro hurt, you better stay quiet, you bastard!"
With a mocking gesture, the man in front made a frustrated face and stopped moving.
The only concern was if this man as a hostage was completely ineffective. If he was just a low-level lackey, taking him as a hostage would be meaningless, and I would end up as the fool who made a regrettable move.
'Even now, you're still a fool and a disappointment!'
Ignoring Gram's shouting for now.
For starters, it seemed that this guy shaking his head had enough hostage value to make everyone in this place hesitate to act. The one who spoke up first seems to be called "big bro" by others. It's a bit disappointing that they admire a guy like him as their big brother.
"...So Yukina-kun, what do you plan to do from here?"
Kyunei, who had recovered from her stiffness, whispered. It seems like she wants to say something, but she probably wants to get through this situation first.
However, well...
"We have no plan from here on."
"I thought so..."
Just like me a while ago, Kyunei put her hand on her forehead and deeply sighed.
"If we cut off one of their arms, they might just obediently listen to us."
"What are you talking about!?"
"Those who harm Yukina-sama deserve appropriate retribution. Rather, if losing an arm could settle things, it would be a stroke of luck for that man."
Mikage said coldly, almost as if saying, "I'll spare your life, so be grateful."
The man held hostage could also hear this conversation, and he started shaking at Mikage's indifferent words. It seemed that he felt his own life was only worth as much as a roadside pebble.
"Wait, wait, I don't intend to go that far."
"I see..."
"Why do you look so disappointed!? I won't kill you!!"
When I hurriedly denied it, the tension seemed to leave the man's body. At the same time, he became easier to restrain.
'Even without planning it, you have taken on the roles of a cruel interrogator and a kind interrogator.'
It's needless to say which role Mikage and I are each playing.
"W-well... maybe we could use the hostage as a shield to clear a path. It would be difficult to justify cutting off his arm... it would make explaining things later more complicated."
"Hostage", Aina timidly suggested, looking extremely uncomfortable. Even I have no intention of cutting off this guy's arm. At most, I might just slightly scratch his face and heal it with magic.
"If we were to cut off a arm or two, Kyunei, could you reattach them?"
"Well, it's not impossible... Wait, Mikage, you have been quite ominous since earlier."
"Well, I've encountered this kind of situation a few times in my mercenary work. If you don't establish the difference in strength from the beginning, they'll take advantage of you and get carried away."
Mikage made a disgusted expression. As one rises in rank, she receives more requests related to human relations, so she must have had experience with this before.
I was angry, but I didn't have the desire to cut off an arm in a fit of rage. Let's just go with Aina's suggestion obediently.
"Hey, come over here for a moment."
As we backed away with my hand around his neck, the men behind started to part ways, looking like they were grinding their teeth. I glared straight ahead while Mikage watched behind us. Kyunei and Aina, cautious on our left and right, gradually maneuvered out of the encirclement.
"Do you not realize there's someone behind us? You won't make it out of this town alive."
Despite looking like he was in pain from being strangled, the man in my arms threateningly confronted us. It was quite a change from when he was scared stiff at the mere mention of Mikage cutting his arm.
"Don't you dare talk back, lackey."
"So, are we going to take them out after all?"
Click--.
"Don't make the sword ring. How much do you want to cut me off?"
"There is no mercy for villains."
It's hard to tell who the real villain is in this situation. I started to wonder if they were trying to take out their frustrations from the incident with Reed on me.
What's more concerning is the man's words just now. Despite trying to brush it off casually, the content was undeniable.
'I knew from the start, but the way this guy talks makes it seem like some troublesome people are backing him up.'
It's not just a random group of thugs... I happened to interfere with two scams. And there was that incident where I was mistaken for one of Reed's companions. Both are definitely related to the "backing" this man mentioned.
'So now partner is making their debut in the underworld. Being with partner really never gets boring.'
I have no intention of making a debut there!
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