Capítulo 97: Even Though, Matters Need To Be Addressed. (19.3)
…
I was relaxed.
You may ask why I seemed so relaxed after I learned everything I was just told. Yadda, yadda, yadda, giant monster about to hatch in three hours, and there's an assassin that goes around killing Level 5s by twisting their heads off. Scary. Really, really scary. Most people would be terrified of having to fight someone like that, let alone having to fight a Monster Rex that was going to hatch. So, knowing all that, why was I so relaxed? Why didn't I feel at all in danger? Why didn't I really care?
The short answer is that this was a sub-plot of the main story through a spin-off series.
Okay, it's true that I thought I'd managed to find the main plot during the Denatus. There were plot hooks coming out the roof through Dionysus and Challia when the Violas attacked Orario a few months ago. That little set-up, along with Hermes coming along and saying that one of his Familia died the same way as one of Ganesha's adventurers, made me believe that I'd stumbled on the main plot. Zaimokuza, at the very least, was able to foreshadow upcoming events properly—yeah, I can't even finish that sentence. My simple conclusion is that inadvertently, somehow, Zaimokuza's work became popular enough to have a decent writer pick it up and do their best to make something of the dead horse Zaimokuza was trying to sell.
Said author, bless their soul, decided to create the Hermes and Dionysus Familias to get away from the Harem Comedy blandness that Zaimokuza created. Through the Dionysus Familia and the Hermes Familia, Orario's true face was revealed as a cutthroat city that was under constant attack by monster and filled with factions.
Hermes, as aloof as he acted, was the polar opposite of Hestia. He was the god who knew the ins and outs of Orario and liked to travel the world. Whenever Cranel's plot advanced, the fact the Hermes Familia wasn't present during the main story could be explained by them being outside of Orario on another adventure. Andromeda, with her skills and abilities, was a decent POV character with decent skills and tools that she could use to cleverly win battles. The rest of the Hermes Familia were eclectic and strange because they'd all had their own backstories and character arcs that made them who they are.
This was a spin-off series that was actually decent, as expected of the atmosphere and the decent quality of the writing, and I accidentally involved myself into it.
The fact that clinched that this wasn't of the main storyline, of course, was that it was all happening three days after a major Arc. The Hestia Familia couldn't be expected to fight so soon after they rescued me. Even protagonists like Bell needed time to cool down, have some beach or spa episodes, before something this big happened and had to be dealt with. Naturally, since the Harem Protagonist couldn't appear in this plot, this was a spin-off story with high stakes and actual threat of death to all present characters.
Of course, that meant that I was at risk since I wasn't operating in the same rules as a Harem Comedy, but that also meant that I didn't have worry about my image or have to act as the mysterious, powerful , and masked Sensei.
That meant, of course, that I could ask for help without worrying about my image.
Or, of course, worry about fucking over the entire plot by involving overpowered people in it.
I'm sorry, Decent Author-san, but I can't have you introducing things like "consequences" and "realism" into the Harem Comedy. You have my most sincere apologies. This just can't work out no matter how I look at it, even though I was somewhat excited by your decent writing ability, it'll never work out. My apologies. My most sincere apologies.
…
"Oi, Wallenstein, do you want to help us beat a powerful murderer before they release a monster that could possibly destroy the whole city?"
"I do."
"That response was too quick!" Andromeda's eye twitched as she vehemently resisted my efforts to turn our plight into a comedy. C'mon, woman, let me do my job. If I turn this into a comedy, we'll all get out of this plot alive! We can just make this a silly side-quest for the overpowered main love interest! This expy of a certain Once and Future King is super overpowered, y'know? She can handle this whole problem herself! She's a Level 6, y'know! "Sword Princess, you don't even know everything there is to know about the situation! You're not even going to be paid anything!"
Wallenstein thought about it for a second, looked over her empty plate, and then looked towards me.
"I'll buy you a dozen potato croquettes." I offered.
"Two dozen."
"Okay." I agreed to the steep price increase.
"I will protect this city."
"Stop treating this like it's a joke!" Awww, goddammit, why'd you have to pull out that line Andromeda. Dammit, I hadn't managed to turn the atmosphere to comedy yet. I was about fifty percent there. By slamming your hand on the table and acting pissed off, you've completely ruined my efforts to turn this into a worthless side-quest. Now I actually have to answer you seriously. "Wallenstein-sama, this is a matter of life and death! The murderer he refers to is capable of killing a Level 5 Warrior with ease! This will be dangerous even to you!"
I was about to say my piece, to try and salvage the situation someway and somehow, when the door to the cafe abruptly burst open.
"You bastard, what kind of damned message is this?!" Loga shattered the glass of the door due to his swing. I met the eyes of the shop's owner. His gaze then shifted. The man looked at the envelope I slipped to him, to the door, and then back to me. I gave him a nod. Yes, old man, that is the payment for your door and some extra. Don't look so terrified, I just really know how these sort of scenes go. "You bastard, Hikigaya, I'm going to kill you! I'm not a dog you can just tell to "come," dammit!"
Under normal conditions, I would've been apprehensive about bringing along "Fenrir," but it just so happened that my first recruit happened to be a leash for him. Heh, leash. It's funny because he's a mutt. What was that? Why was I being needlessly antagonistic? Well, how else was going to treat someone who badmouths a kid into running into a Dungeon filled with monsters? Granted the kid in question was Cranel and he'd rammed his way in the Dungeon, but I had to keep in mind all the other children who could've fallen to his harsh words. I was merely being proactive in my protection of children (lol). Anyway, I took a step back and let Wallenstein take the lead.
"Ah, Bete." Hook.
"Eh, A-aiz, what you are you doing here?" Line.
"I am working with Hikigaya-sensei." And.
"…Feh, dammit." Sinker.
Ah, how cute. His ears flattened. How cute. Just like a dog. How adorable. A mutt that caught itself. How winsome. Top marks in the doggy tournaments for sure. How well trained.
I was unable to contemplate any further words as I suddenly felt a rather heavy weight on my shoulders.
"Hat-kun, Hat-kun, Hat-kun!" Tiona Hiryute cheered while lifting Urga high into the air. The shopkeeper quailed at the sight of the massive sword staff whirling around in his building. Oi, oi, oi, you're going to cause some serious, expensive injuries if you bring the whole building over our heads! I'm trying to make this scene comedic, but I'm sure an Amazon jumping onto my shoulders costs the animation budget too much for the studio to consider making these scenes not too serious! "Mou, why'd you call smelly Bete and not me or anyone else! Just because you're afraid of Lefiya-chan and Riviera-sama doesn't mean you've got to avoid us!"
I was sure that Andromeda was waiting for an explanation, but I had an Amazon carrying an Adamantium blade staff on my shoulders. My apologies, side-story Heroine, but balancing hyperactive genki tomboys with giant weapons is a lot tougher than it looks! I'm only able to keep her on my shoulders because I'm calling upon all my Onii-chan skills carefully developed through years of practice! If you were in my place, you'd have broken your back on the challenge I currently faced!
"Now, now, Tiona, I'm sure that Hikigaya simply didn't want to put any stress on us. After all, we just returned from the Dungeon and you just fought him a few days ago." Deimne was a thankful sight. Not only because he happened to be the very picture of cuteness—I mean, a reliable leader, but also because Riviera couldn't exactly act as she wished while he was present. Tione Hiryute clung to his arm and the two most recent banes to my existence walked slightly behind him. The café was effectively filled with Loki's A Team. I.E. the strongest party in Orario. Though I wanted to say they all came at my behest, the truth was a simpler matter. The Pallum gave me a nod. "So, Hikigaya, you're sure this woman we're currently after is the one who prepared the Violas attack several weeks ago?"
"The head of that particular attack got killed, but organizations with that much reach always have more than one leader." Bah, my comedy antics were ruined. I saw no way of making the "Braver" be anything but serious. Maybe if Landrock was present, I could get away with a few jokes, but the Pallum was keen-eyed and intelligent. If I pissed him off, he might give the reins over to Alf. That would spell disaster for me. "There're probably some underlings operating beneath them that did the majority of the work, but we haven't seen any of them. They're probably just acting like regular people, and they'll continue to do so until they have the advantage."
Religious extremists who blended in with the crowd and attacked from the shadows tended to act like that. If this was real life, I'd be a lot more troubled with the prospect of fighting a force that was willing to do anything. However, even if the author of this particular side-series was leagues better than Zaimokuza, the man still had to work within Zaimokuza's limits. Ergo, the threat can't persist after the "main villain" was defeated. Realistically, taking out a movement like this one would require very, very intense measures. For once, I was thankful of Zaimokuza's inability to write a decent story.
"If that is the case, then why are we all about to search for a single woman instead of spreading out and covering as much ground as possible?" Deimne offered his hand to me, cradling his spear against his shoulder. I handed him Fels's sketch of the woman who murdered tons of adventurers with her bare hands alone. While most would disregard a Pallum's ability, I knew better than to do the same. If Arde was Level 6 and had decades to learn and grow in skill, I was sure that she'd be unstoppable. I was sure that Deimne wouldn't disappoint. "Wouldn't it be prudent of our enemy to have our target be carried by someone inconspicuous?"
"Ah, but that's assuming that they know we're coming after them." I couldn't help, but smile as I looked over the gathered force. I felt the need to gesture, but restrained myself. I settled for a chuckle. That was suspenseful enough, right? Deimne caught onto my meaning before anyone else and a smile spread across his face. "They don't."
Needless to say, this wasn't some city-wide extermination effort, this was a search and destroy mission.
…
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