NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 33: The First Job: The Value of a Life
Part 1
The city Rikaris, house address number 2 in Kiribu's Row.
The architecture of the first floor is constructed as a long building that has 4 entrances.
The people who live in there cannot be seen as rich, but they are not poor to the extent of struggling in the slums, and are the average populace of the Magic continent.
In that place, there are 3 shadows moving about; 2 small shadows and a big shadow. They slowly lumbered around, arrogantly as if there is no one around.
And they stopped in front one of the doors without incident.
[Hello. The people from the adventurer's guild have come–]
A young boy's voice rings out loudly while he knocks on the door.
It is strange.
There are no adventurers in this area who will use such a courteous tone. Where adventurers are concerned, they are basically people who belong to the rough type.
But the resident of this house is deceived by the gentle voice and opens the door with a clank. What emerges from the door is a young girl who's about 7-8 years old, with a long tail behind her like a lizard and she has a forked tongue, carrying the traits of the Houga race.
The young boy smiles at the young girl and speaks.
[My sincere greetings, is this Meisel-san's residence?]
[Yes, w, what is this regarding?]
[Ah, my sincere apologies for not saying this earlier. I am Rudeus from <Dead End>, indeed.]
[D, Dead End?]
The girl also knows the name of <Dead End>, the evil devil from the Superd race that killed indiscriminately, accomplishing many military exploits in the Laplace war.
He is the most brutal individual.
If anyone meets him, they will only have a dead end. Anyone who had encountered him would say [If I didn't run away with everything I had, I would have died long ago].
This name is the definition of fear, and even amongst the adventurers who claim they are capable of defeating any Monsters, will tremble violently when they hear the name <Dead End>.
Meisel also knows the special traits of <Dead End>, and he is definitely not this pipsqueak.
[We have accepted your request to find your pet. I would like to inquire about the details, may I know if you have the time?]
Dead End.
This is a frightening name, and the two people behind him are also strange, but after looking at the young boy who has used excessively polite words, her fear diminishes.
Furthermore, they are adventurers who seem to have accepted her request.
[Please help me find my Mii.]
[Yes, the name is Mii-chan right? It's a really adorable name.]
[It's a name that I picked.]
[Ah, your naming sense is really wonderful.]
Meisel becomes very pleased after hearing these words.
[Well then, what does Mii-chan look like?]
Meisel slowly describes the appearance of the pet, and how it disappeared three days ago without returning home. Usually when she calls for it, it will come running, and how it should be hungry now, and so forth.
She speaks in a way befitting of her age as she doesn't get to the point.
The average adult will find her speaking manner to be annoying, and most likely return without listening to what she has to say. But the young boy finishes listening to everything that she has to say with a smile, nodding earnestly in response to every sentence.
[I got it. Then we will set off to find it. Please leave it to <Dead End>!]
The young boy suddenly gives a thumbs up, and strangely, the two people behind him also give a thumbs up. Meisel imitates them by also giving a thumbs up even though she doesn't understand what's happening.
Confirming this, the young boy turns on his heels to go back. The hooded girl beside him also accompanies him. The biggest man squats down and place his hand on her head and speaks.
[We will definitely help you to find it, please wait without any worries.]
His face has a very long scar, and there's a gem on his forehead. His hair color is a speckled blue, and his face is very frightening. But the hand on her head is very warm, and she nods lightly.
[I, I leave it to you.]
[Aah, just leave it to us.]
To the three people who are leaving, Meisel looks at their backs and asks the biggest person.
[Excuse me, what is your name?]
[Ruijerd.]
He makes a short reply and turns his back to her. Meisel's face is dyed red, and she mutters the name Ruijerd.
Part 2
–Rudeus's point of view–
After meeting with the client, I certainly grasped the crux of the request.
It seems that I had imitated the worker who does door-to-door sales in my past life pretty well.
It's fine if I get laughed at by other adventurers, but we must give the clients a good first impression.
We need to use a respectful attitude to speak with them.
[As expected of you, to have such acting skills.]
When I feel relieved over how things turned out, Ruijerd speaks to me.
[No, no, Ruijerd-san, the final thing that you did is just too amazing.]
[The final thing? What are you talking about?]
[Didn't you say something after you placed your hand on that child's head?]
That was completely ad lib.
It made me fear for a moment, but it seemed to have gotten unexpected results.
[Ahh, you're talking about that, what's so good about it?]
What do you mean by "what's so good about it"?
That young girl was looking at Ruijerd with her face completely bright red. If I am looked upon by that type of expression in her eyes, my reasoning would have flown away to the skies.
But if I say the following words with a straight face, the Ruijerd who likes kids will probably warn me with a sullen face.
[Haha, that girl is completely infatuated with Aniki, gwehehehe.]
So I pretend to use a joking tone and use my elbow to poke Ruijerd's leg, and he smiles wryly and says without confidence.
[That's not true.]
[Ohohoho, if Aniki gets serious, that lass... Ouch!]
My head gets knocked with a bashing sound, and when I turn my head back I see Eris pouting.
[Stop that strange laugh! Isn't it just acting skills?]
It seems that she's not used to my sleazy behavior. She has started to hate low-life people ever since the kidnapping incident. Every time when she sees people who look like bandits in the city Roa, she will frown.
Even though it's just a joke, it seems that she is unable to stomach it.
[I'm sorry.]
[Sheesh! The Greyrats mustn't make vulgar smiles like that.]
I nearly snort in laughter when I listen to her words.
I have heard it, Madam.
Eris is talking about elegance.
That Eris who won't give up until the door is smashed down has become so graceful.
But even if you say that, you shouldn't do something like how you suddenly assaulted someone yesterday.
No, just look at Sauros and you should understand. Is it possible that violently beating someone all of a sudden is considered graceful?
No, that can't be possible, right?
...... I'm not sure how Asura nobles classify grace.
[By the way, are we capable of finding the pet?]
Since I'm not clear about it, I'll just change the topic. From what I gather, the pet seems to be a cat. Its color is black, and it has been with her since she was young. The size seems to be large as the young girl gestured by spreading her arms wide apart. Judging from that, it's about the size of a Shiba inu, which is big enough for a cat.
[Certainly. We already promised to find it.]
Ruijerd clearly asserts it. How reliable.
Just like that, Ruijerd walks in front without any hesitation in his footsteps.
However, I am a little uneasy. Even if Ruijerd has a radar, it will not be easy to find a small animal in the city.
[Do you have a plan?]
[The movements of animals are simple, take a look.]
Ruijerd points to an area, and even though it's not distinct there, it certainly has the sign of paw prints. That's too amazing, I didn't even notice that at all.
[We can find it using the paw prints?]
[No, this is another cat, it's smaller than what she described.]
I see, indeed the size of the paw print belongs to an average cat, well, even though I think the young girl has exaggerated with her gesturing.
[Hm–]
[There's something that entered the prey's territory.]
[Is that so?]
[Absolutely. The scent has gotten faint.]
The scent? Is this guy dividing the territory using his sense of smell?
[Over here.]
Ruijerd walks in the inner alley as if he understood something. I followed him silently, even though I don't really understand it, I have a hunch that things are looking up. The assistants of famous detectives probably have this sort of feeling.
Chasing and cornering the criminal, do a frightening interrogation and use magic to torture them into confession. In any case everything will be solved quickly, meet the infamous detective Ruijerd.
Just kidding.
[It has been found, I'm afraid it's this guy.]
Ruijerd points at a corner in the alley. You found what? What do you mean by "I'm afraid."?
I completely have no idea what's going on. At least I can't see any signs of paw prints.
[Here.]
Ruijerd smoothly advances in the alley without any hesitations in his footsteps. He continues deeper into the alley that keeps on getting narrower, until it is an area where only cats can pass through.
Even though I don't know how he is able to do what he's doing, perhaps he's tracking the prints successfully.
[Look here, there are signs of a battle.]
Ruijerd stops at the end of an alley and calls me to look at it. I am unable to see any signs, there is no blood there and the ground does not seem to have been affected whatsoever.
[Over here.]
Ruijerd continues to walk in front of us. What a wonderful job this is, since Eris and I only need follow him.
Going out of the alley, cutting across the road, entering and exiting repeatedly, and finally going back into the alley again.
We hurriedly advance forward at the areas where we feel we might get lost.
After exiting a certain alley, the surroundings have started to change. There are a few more signs of desolation everywhere, the houses are more dilapidated, the walls more exposed, the building materials cruder.
There are people who glare at us with frightened expressions and many dirty kids around.
This is the slum area, but I slowly start to think that this is maybe not the case.
It feels more like we have entered a secret path and gotten lost somewhere. In an instant, my alertness level rises up.
[Eris, please get ready to use your sword.]
[... Why?]
[It's just a precaution. Also, if there is anyone who passes by, be wary of your back.]
[O, okay, I got it...!]
I caution Eris in advance.
There is also Ruijerd around so I don't think there will be problems. But the results will be disastrous if there is a mistake made due to completely relying on someone else.
One's own safety has to be guarded by themselves.
When I think up to this point, I tightly hold on to the bag containing the money. Even though there is not a lot in it, I cannot allow it to be pickpocketed.
From time to time, a few of the ruffians would glare at Ruijerd, but they would immediately avert their eyes away when Ruijerd glares back at them.
The power behind his eyes is not just for show.
Never mind about the adventurers in the city, they are probably even more wary of the strong people.
[Is it really in this place?]
[I can't be certain.]
Ruijerd's reply is really unreliable. Did you not move around without any hesitation earlier?
No... Even though he is a person with few words, Ruijerd must have discovered something, I will trust him. After walking a certain distance, Ruijerd stops in front of a house.
[This is the place.]
In front of us is a staircase going down, and at the end of the staircase is a door. It feels like a bar where the Visual-kei musicians would gather. Of course, there is no popular rock and roll music coming out from there, and there is no bald bouncer wearing a pair of sunglasses to welcome people.
Instead, what emits out from that place is the stench of animals.
It's like walking past a pet's store, and there's a certain animal stench wafting about.
And then, there's the stench of crime here.
[How many people are there?]
[There's no one inside, but there are a lot of animals.]
[Then let us go in.]
Since there is no one around, there's no special need to hesitate.
I walk down the staircase intending to push the door open. But the door is locked so I use Earth Magic to open it.
I first confirm the surroundings to ensure no one is inside and enter the room.
Just to be safe, I lock the door from the inside. It feels like we are thieves.
We continue down towards the dark corridor.
[Eris, protect our backs.]
[I got it.]
If anyone enters, Ruijerd will probably be aware of it immediately.
Under Ruijerd's lead, we enter the inner section of the house.
Deep into the corridor's area, there is a door which leads to a small room and another door. After passing through these two doors, I hear the chaotic cries of animals in my ears. In the innermost room, there are various cages placed close to each other. A large number of animals are trapped in these cages.
Dogs, cats, and animals that I have never seen before all packed densely in the same room, that's about the size of a classroom.
[... T, this is...]
Eris utters a trembling voice.
As for me, at the same time that I'm thinking on what had happened in this room, I consider the possibility of finding the pet to be high since there are so many animals here.
[Ruijerd-san, is the cat we want to find here?]
[Yes, it's that one.]
He immediately makes a reply and I follow his finger.
......... There seems to be a cat that looks like a black panther.
Huge, that's really huge, it's two times bigger than when the young girl spreads out her arms.
[I, it's really this guy?]
[Definitely, take a look at the collar.]
The black panther's collar does indeed have <Mii-chan> written on it.
[Looks like it's really Mii-chan.]
Alright, the request is indeed completed, we just need to get the panther out of the cage and finish it by bringing it to the young girl's home.
No, wait, what about the other animals?
Taking another look, there are many animals wearing collars and leg bands, and are written similarly like how <Mii-chan> is written. No matter how you look at it, they are pets.
At the corner of the room there are rope-like things placed there, and the word that I associate with ropes is "catch".
Catching someone's high grade pet, and selling it somewhere at a high price, there seems to be this form of business.
Although I don't think there's any law regulating this in this world, it's certainly not something good. If I have to define it, it's thievery.
[Hmm—-?]
Ruijerd turns his face to the entrance, and Eris also notices it.
[Someone has entered.]
I did not sense that since I am drowning in the animals' cries.
Leaving Ruijerd-san aside, Eris has also clearly understood someone entered.
Alright, what should we do, there isn't much time required to go to the entrance from here. Should we run away? No, there's nowhere to run, and there's only one single path.
[For the time being, let's catch them.]
We're illegal trespassers so the negotiation option is abandoned. This place is highly likely to be a crime scene, but it's also possible that this place is legitimate.
In any case we should tie them up, and if they are good people we will attempt to negotiate to seal their lips. If they are bad people, we will beat them up to seal their lips.
Part 3
After a few minutes.
I look at the three people lying at the corner of the room. Two men and one woman. Ruijerd knocks them out cold in an instant, and I use Earth Magic to handcuff them, and rouse them up with water.
Due to one of the men shouting loudly, I use a cloth that is lying nearby to stuff his mouth. The other two are actually quiet, but I stuff their mouths as well to be fair.
[...Hm.]
My heart suddenly has a query as to why things have turned out this way.
The request we accepted should be an E-grade job, finding a cat that has lost its way. We followed Ruijerd since he said to leave it to him, and we soon lost our way in the slums without knowing it. We entered a house, found many captured animals and when we finally come to our senses, for some reason we have tied people up.
Our request is obviously not to catch people.
The way how things have turned out is absolutely that Hitogami's fault, he must have predicted that things will end up this way.
The situation has become a little troublesome. If only we did not accept the request to find a missing pet.
Part 4
I start to inspect the three people.
Man A, Demon race.
There are no eye whites in his eyes, and he has compound eyes and looks a little disgusting. It's that guy who made a racket earlier. He gives out the vibe of a crude person who's used to fighting. I seem to remember seeing the name of the race in Roxy's encyclopedia, but I am unable to recall it.
I only remember that there's poison in their saliva, and I had a question back then which was, what's going to happen if they had to kiss someone.
Man B, Demon race.
He has a face that looks like a lizard and his appearance is a little different compared to the guard. Since it's a lizard's face, I can't read his expression. But judging from his eyes, they show signs of reasoning and he is wary of us.
Woman A, Demon race.
She has eyes that are similar to compound eyes and her frightened expression looks really disgusting. But her body figure is quite good so it sort of cancels it out.
Well then, it's useless to just stare at them. If I'm to question them, who should I pick?
Who's the one that will be most likely to spill out the information we require, the males or the female?
Woman A looks like she's terrified, perhaps if we just threaten her a little and she might confess to everything.
No, women are prone to lying. In order to allow herself to survive she might weave up some lies that don't connect things together. Even though I don't think all the women in the world are like this. At least Ojou-sama is that kind of person.
But if I listen to these lies and get angry, I will not be able to differentiate the truth from the lies. So Woman A is eliminated.
Then, which guy should I pick?
How about Man A? He seems to be easily agitated and has the strongest body out of the three, as well as a scar on his face. I feel that he's best at fighting and has a simple mind, and even said [What the hell are you doing], and [Take this pair of handcuffs off.].
How about Man B? I don't quite understand his expression and he is closely observing us. He does not look stupid and if he's not an idiot, he might think up of some lies in this situation.
I pick Man A.
Since he easily lost his cool earlier, with a little provocation and leading, I feel that he will divulge the important things to us.
Well, if that does not work out, there are the other two people that we can interrogate.
I remove the cloth from Man A, but he only glares at me without saying anything.
[I have a few questions that I want to ask, and I want you to speak honestly, and I won't— wha!?]
I get kicked flying out easily all of a sudden, partly due to my unsteady balance because I am kneeling. I fly towards to the back and roll on the ground, knocking my head onto the wall, and I feel like I am seeing stars
Damn it, that really hurt.
This person really is a simple fool. At this situation he actually dares to kick the person who captured him, it seems like he probably did not consider at all what will happen if we get angry.
[Eh? Hey! Stop!]
Eris starts crying out and I immediately jump upwards. He removes his handcuffs during the moment that I started thinking in my mind.
Man A is probably doing something to Eris, trying to take Eris hostage under Ruijerd's watch...
[Wha...!?]
No, what enters my eyes is the short spear stabbed into Man A's throat. Ruijerd has stabbed Man A to death, and Eris watches him in stark astonishment.
The short spear is twisted horizontally before being pulled out and the blood spatters everywhere, staining the walls with crimson red speckles. Man A rolls backwards, his face hitting on the ground, and his blood continuously gushing out from his throat. The blood slowly oozes out from his back and spreads out on the ground to become a red pool.
The scent that gets released to the air is the smell of blood.
That man's body had convulsed once in that single moment and didn't move again.
He died. He didn't even utter a sound and died, killed by Ruijerd.
[W... W... Why did you kill him?]
My voice starts to tremble.
It's not the first time seeing a dead person. Ghyslaine had killed someone in order to save me, but this is a little different. Why is my body shivering and my heart filling with dread.
(What's wrong, what am I scared of?)
Afraid of someone dying? That's impossible, people dying in this world is a daily occurrence, and I know that clearly. But even if my mind understands that fact, perhaps it's different in reality when I see it for the first time? Then if that's the case, why didn't I feel anything when Ghyslaine killed the kidnapper?
[Because he kicked a child.]
Ruijerd uses a matter-of-fact tone, and says it indifferently.
Ah, so that's it. I understand now, I'm not afraid of someone dying.
It's a small matter to be kicked once, but I'm afraid of the Ruijerd who killed him as naturally as breathing.
Didn't Roxy once say it before?
[The Human race and Demon race differ a lot when it comes to common sense, and something might detonate because of what you shouldn't say.]
That's right. What if Ruijerd points his spear towards me? This man is incredibly powerful, even stronger than Ghyslaine, can I win with my Magic?
I should be able to resist. I have attempted many simulation battles against the people who are used to close combat. Paul, Ghyslaine and Eris. The people amongst me are close combat experts, and Ruijerd is probably the strongest amongst them. Therefore I have no confidence that I can say that I'm capable of a [Victory], but if he really wants to kill me, I have a number of ways to resist. But, what if he aims at Eris? Can I protect her at all?
Impossible.
[Y, you can't kill him!]
I say that in a panic.
[Why is that? He's a bad person?]
Ruijerd gets a huge shock after listening to me, completely unable to understand it from the bottom of his heart.
[Because...]
How do I explain it properly?
What do I want Ruijerd to do?
But going back to the bottom line, why must he be killed? I don't have a good heart and I'll definitely snort in derision at the people who says something like [You can't kill people.].
When my parents died I was exactly like that, I thought to myself that how bleak my future will be, and also thought "what does the funeral have anything to do with me", and compared to that, fulfilling my carnal desires is more important than the funeral.
If I use an excuse like [You can't kill people!], the contents and meaning of that sentence will be distorted by my own personality.
[There are reasons as to why you can't kill him.]
I'm shaking. Get a hold of yourself.
Right now I'm at the ends of my wits, I need to get a hold of myself before thinking.
First of all, why am I trembling? Because I'm afraid. From the beginning I have thought Ruijerd is a gentle man, but he killed someone so easily. I had firmly believed that the Superd is a race that's just misunderstood.
I am wrong.
Even though I don't know what that race is like in reality, but Ruijerd isn't like that at the least. He has continued to kill the enemies since the Laplace war, and this is just another incident to him.
Also, there's the possibility that he will point his spear at me or Eris; there's no eliminating that possibility.
I'm not the pure person that Ruijerd thinks I am. Sooner or later I will anger him with my words. At that point of time I'll just leave the fact aside that he might get angry, as it's something that cannot be helped if our opinions differ. It's a type of quarrel that we might have, but I have never thought that we would fight to the death.
No matter under what circumstances there is, there's no need to kill someone. Right now, at this very stage, it's an absolute necessity to correct Ruijerd.
[Just do this, Ruijerd-san, please listen to me.]
But I have not formed my words, what can I say? What can I say to make him understand? Plead with him not to kill us?
Are you serious?
Didn't I say a few days ago we are warriors that will fight along with him and not be under his protection? We are equals, and thus pleading is useless.
I can't tell him, we have to give the other party a chance to explain himself, because Ruijerd himself doesn't recognize that logic.
Think.
Why are we with Ruijerd?
Because we want to get rid of the Superd's infamy. If Ruijerd kills someone, the image of the Superd race will turn for the worse, and that is without question.
So there is a need to persuade him not to fight with other adventurers. The image of the Superd race is absolutely horrible, and no matter how many good deeds that he does, they will not be recognized once he kills someone.
All that effort will come to naught and Ruijerd will be seen as a notorious individual.
That's right, therefore he must not kill. We must not let people associate the Superd race with the word fear.
[If Ruijerd kills someone, the Superd's infamy will spread.]
[...... That means I can't kill bad people too?]
[It doesn't matter what person is killed, it matters who the killer is.]
I carefully pick my choice of words.
[I don't understand.]
[If someone from the Superd race kills, the meaning is different, it's like a Monster has killed someone.]
Ruijerd turns a little sullen after hearing that, it might be possible that he considers that as an insult to his race.
[...... I don't understand why that is the case.]
[People consider the Superd race as a race that only kills, and they are evil devils that will immediately kill someone if they are slightly unhappy.]
I might have worded that a little too heavily, but the world does view it that way and I'm trying to change that point.
[It's easy to just claim that the Superd race are not evil devils. But if you use actions to demonstrate it, many people will change their views.]
[......]
[But once you kill someone, everything will fail to come to fruition and people will certainly view the Superd race as evil devils.]
[That's absurd.]
[Don't you have any knowledge of it? That you saved someone and become good friends with them, only to have their attitudes changed quickly?]
[...... I do.]
I finish the conclusion in my heart and round things up.
[But if you don't kill anyone at all without exception...]
[What will happen?]
[People will think that the Superd race have reason in them.]
Will it really be like that? Not killing someone in this world will be perceived as having reason?
No, now is not the time to think of this. I should not be wrong. Ruijerd has killed too many people, and they will naturally treat the Superd race as one who will kill people indiscriminately. If he doesn't kill anyone, this viewpoint should change, it's a coherent expectation.
[Please don't kill anymore, for the sake of the Superd race.]
To kill or not kill, must undergo judgment. But I do not know the standards of this world's evaluation criteria. Ruijerd's judgment is probably over the top. Amongst the two extremes, it's too difficult to see where this line lies, and if that's the case, it's better to completely forbid all future actions.
[Since no one can see what happened here, isn't it fine?]
Ruijerd's words nearly make me want to flip a table and cry in dismay.
"Since no one is watching me so I can commit atrocious deeds", may I inquire where did this elementary school student come from?
This fellow over here, have you really lived for more than 500 years?
[Even if you think that someone hasn't seen you, there will be people who have seen it right?]
[But there's no one around here?]
Oh sheet, I have forgotten about the stone on his forehead.
[There are people who have seen it.]
[Where?]
Right here.
[Didn't Eris and I see that?]
[Hm...]
[Please don't kill anyone anymore, we don't want to feel scared looking at Ruijerd-san.]
[... Very well.]
At the final end of everything, I seem to have persuaded him with my tears forming up.
I really don't have confidence in my words.
But Ruijerd nods.
[Then I shall entreat you to do this.]
I lower my head to Ruijerd and state that. I look at my hand that keeps on shivering. Calm down. This thing is normal.
Alright, breath in.
[B-r-e-a-t-h.]
But I still cannot calm down, my heartbeats are still not slowing down. What about Eris, is she afraid?
I glance at her and she looks composed, even though she was surprised at what had happened, but she soon shows an expression that his death is justified.
No, I feel that she completely doesn't think that's it's a brutal affair.
But her crossed arms with parted feet, and a jutted chin is her most common posture. Even if her heart shakes, her actions are the same as usual.
Since she's already that composed, how can I be trembling?
My hands stop shivering.
[Then, let's continue with the interrogation.]
I forcibly smile in this room thick with the stench of blood.
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