Episode 92 Was That Today? (2)
Jiselle clearly remembered the name Crank.
Because every time Claude drank, he would curse the guy who cut off his wrists.
But who knew that today would be that day!
“It’s an urgent situation, so take me to Crank right away. I’ll give you plenty of compensation.”
Then the employee shook his head with a troubled expression.
“I have work to do. Please find someone else to guide you… … .”
“Hey, noble lady. It looks like you’re from another village. Why are you looking for our leader?”
At that moment, a mocking voice from the seat next to him interrupted the employee’s words.
Jiselle slowly turned her head.
Three thugs were sitting at the table, making a racket.
They were the ones who had been cleaning up the area just a little while ago.
He approached the thugs and spoke quietly.
“I need to meet your boss right now.”
“Do you know who Nari is and are you guiding her to the boss without any consideration? You don’t even know her true identity.”
“It’s urgent. I have provided enough cases.”
“Well, if you’re in such a hurry… … . I think it would be better if you paid for the errand first. That’s the custom here.”
The man sitting in the middle of the three made a circle with his fingers and shook them.
Jiselle took a gold coin out of her bosom and threw it.
“Move quickly.”
A glimmer of life began to appear in his eyes, but the man seemed oblivious and raised his finger again.
“Oh, since you’ve already spent, why don’t you spend a little more? The cost of living is a bit high in this area.”
The other guys sitting on either side of me giggled and clapped their hands in agreement.
Scratch!
“uh?”
At that moment, something seemed to pass by and the man’s wrist was cut off in an instant and fell onto the table.
“Eww!”
The man, who had not been able to react in time, screamed and rolled around, and the table was covered in blood.
“You have to be careful about when to joke.”
Jiselle said, putting her sword away.
Only then did the people on either side startle and try to get up, but the mercenaries were moving faster.
Kwaaang!
The two people were unable to get up properly because their necks were pressed against each other and they were face down on the table.
“Everyone, what are you guys doing now… … .”
The man whose wrist had been cut off turned pale and took a step back hesitantly.
Jiselle grabbed his neck.
“Ugh!”
“Where did you take Claude?”
“They took him to the slaughterhouse! He’s on the outskirts of Austin. He was taken there not long ago!”
Phew!
Jiselle thrust her sword deeply into the man’s shoulder.
“Kwaaaaah!”
“Lead the way. If we’re late and Claude’s wrists are cut off, you’re all dead to me.”
Jiselle grabbed the bastard by the neck and dragged him outside.
And the man, shivering, began to walk straight in the direction pointed by the finger.
Soon the group entered a squalid outskirts, little more than a slum.
Unlike the bustling tourist districts, this place is full of cheap bars and rude people.
As they approached a particularly large building, the man who was being held by Giselle screamed.
“Enemy! Enemy! Save me!”
In front of the building, a dozen or so rough-looking men were sitting together and chatting.
They jumped to their feet and grabbed their weapons as soon as the man shouted.
It seemed like he had no intention of checking who his opponent was.
“Take it easy!”
As the thugs charged, Giselle threw the man she had been guiding onto the ground.
“Gillian, subdue them all. I’ll check the situation inside and either kill them or let them live.”
“Okay, have a nice day.”
While the mercenaries and thugs were clashing, Jiselle quickly jumped into the building.
* * *
Animal carcasses were hanging all over the slaughterhouse.
The smell of blood and the smell of beastly flesh filled the air.
The gang leader, Crank, chuckled, tilting his head from side to side.
My heart started racing at the thought of chopping wood for the first time in a long time.
In front of him was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, tied to a chair.
Although he looked haggard and unattractive, his face exuded an air of intelligence.
A person known around Austin as the ‘Sage of the Gambling House’. This was the Claude that Giselle was looking for.
Even though he was tied up and about to be chopped to pieces, Claude’s eyes were filled with exhaustion, not fear.
Claude opened his mouth. His tired, cracked voice echoed through the warehouse.
“Who ordered this?”
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“Who ordered you to do this? You were the one caught playing with your hands. I’ll just cut off your wrists according to the law.”
Then Claude snorted in disbelief.
“I’ve never cheated. I’m just a petty guy for being the king of the back alleys. Don’t you have the guts to tell the truth?”
“This kid… … .”
Crank gritted his teeth.
I’d rather work quickly and throw it away than mix things up any more, as it’ll just make me more annoyed.
“Hey, bring me the axe.”
A subordinate who was nearby approached him holding an axe.
Crank pointed to Claude’s wrist.
“Cut it appropriately.”
“Where?”
“Where would it be… … . Okay, give it to me.”
Crank snatched the axe from his subordinate’s hand and nodded.
“If you get down on your knees and beg right now, I’ll just give you a finger.”
But Claude still didn’t look nervous at all.
Instead, he glared at Crank in annoyance and spat out:
“If you’re going to cut it, cut it quickly. I can’t be bothered to deal with guys like you.”
“Yeah, if you cut it off somewhere, you won’t be able to move that beak anymore!”
Crank, his lips quivering, raised his axe above his head.
— Enemy! Enemy! Save me!
At that moment, a loud noise was heard from outside.
Crank frowned and looked back at the warehouse entrance.
“What? What’s going on? Go out and check.”
The nearby subordinates bowed their heads and tried to get out, but there was no need to do so.
Kwaaang!
The door slammed open and Giselle came crashing into the warehouse.
Jiselle quickly looked around and found a crank, pointing at it with her finger.
“If you move, you die. Stay still.”
A thug blocked Giselle’s path and shouted.
“Where the hell do you think you are, coming in here? You little punk!”
The thug charged forward, swinging his dagger forward.
But Jiselle wasn’t the type of person to be fooled by such clumsy swordplay.
Jiselle absentmindedly reached out and grabbed the dagger.
Kwajik!
The gangster looked dumbfounded as the dagger shattered into pieces.
“No, this is foul play! Who breaks a sword with their bare hands!”
“There’s someone like that here. It’s annoying. Go to sleep.”
Kwaaang!
Jiselle waved her hand roughly as if swatting away a bug.
The thug flew straight through and hit the wall.
With his nose and teeth both smashed in.
Crank shouted urgently.
“What are you doing, you little punks! Hit them all at once!”
About a dozen thugs in the warehouse rushed in at the same time.
Jiselle glared at them and reached out her hand.
I had no intention of dealing with them one by one. I was too impatient to waste time.
Bam!
The thread of mana bound the thugs. Everyone’s movements stopped.
Wood crack!
“Kwaaaaah!”
As soon as Giselle clenched her fists, all the gangsters fell to the ground with their limbs broken.
“What, what is it!”
Crank took a step back, lost in thought.
He had seen all sorts of hardships in his life, but this was the first time in his life that he had seen such a strange phenomenon.
“Oh, are you a wizard?”
When I see him throwing punches, he looks like a knight, but I’ve never heard of a knight doing such a bizarre thing.
Claude, who had been deliberately keeping his expression stiff to avoid showing his fear, also opened his eyes wide.
I’ve seen many knights and wizards while studying at the Academy, but none of them have used techniques like that.
Claude looked blankly at Giselle as she approached him and asked.
“Are you here to save me?”
“okay.”
“Why on earth? We don’t know each other.”
“Let’s just say we’re getting to know each other from now on.”
Claude grimaced as if he had seen the madman before.
Giselle giggled and released Claude from the chair.
“I am Baron Giselle Fenris of the Kingdom of Rutania. Feel free to call me Giselle.”
At that moment, Crank, who had been watching blankly, belatedly intervened, muttering.
“T, what is a noble from a foreign country doing here? Even if you are a noble, you shouldn’t act this way.”
But even the talking crank himself doubted whether the interest would listen to him.
It’s not just commoners who enjoy the pleasures of Austin.
It was a well-known fact that there was an unspoken agreement among the nobles not to make a fuss, lest they lose the playground.
But the interest came in without any hesitation as if it didn’t care.
Would you just back down if someone like that said that?
It was just as Crank had thought.
Jiselle answered nonchalantly.
“I will take Claude with me.”
“He, he played with his hands. It’s the law here that a guy like that gets his wrists cut off.”
“Don’t mess with me. Do you think I came here without knowing anything?”
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard Claude lament that his hands and feet were unjustly cut off.
Crank glanced out the corner of his eye at the shattered door.
All the men were either lying down or on their knees.
When I didn’t know what to do, Giselle came over and grabbed my shoulder.
“I’m feeling good today, so I’ll go back now. Since Claude’s wrists are still attached, I’ll attach your necks as well. Isn’t that enough compensation?”
A serpentine gaze looked into Crank’s eyes.
“Oh, I understand.”
Crank shook his body and nodded his head repeatedly.
I knew this instinctively, having come this far seeing the blood of so many people.
The guy in front of me was simply not something I could handle.
“It’s good that you’re quick-witted.”
Jiselle smiled and took out a few gold coins from her bosom and put them in Crank’s hand.
“The medical expenses for my subordinates. The rest is for drinking alcohol.”
“……thank you.”
Crank backed away slowly in fear.
Jiselle seemed to be passing by, but suddenly grabbed Crank by the collar and pulled him towards her.
“Why, why are you doing this again!”
Jiselle whispered softly into Crank’s ear, who was turning pale.
“Stop watching me. I’m going to leave soon.”
At the voice that sounded like it was killing him, Crank nodded absentmindedly, sweating profusely.
Only then did Giselle let go of his collar and pat his shoulder again with a satisfied look on her face.
“You’ve worked hard. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, please take a look.”
Claude followed Giselle and glanced at the crank.
I’ve never seen Crank look so scared.
Aren’t you the strongest among the back alley gang?
But soon he shook his head and followed closely after Giselle.
Even though I barely survived having my hand cut off, I didn’t want to get involved in anything strange.
As I breathed in the cool air outside, I felt liberated.
Claude bowed his head to Giselle.
“Thank you for saving me. But… … why did you save someone like me? I’m not even worth your effort.”
Giselle looked closely at Claude’s face, mockingly.
Dead, sunken eyes, a haggard, listless expression.
It looked like a rotten tree.
It was clear that he was a man who had given up everything and lost the will to live.
Jiselle thought back to the day she first met Gillian. At that time, Gillian had exactly the same face.
Before Giselle could answer, Claude continued.
“No, whatever the reason is, since it’s come to this… … can I buy you a drink?”
