Chapter 7

Absolutely do not touch Eldmia Ega - Chapter 7 (7/599)

The alleys of Ogwen are complicated.

Recently, with the population increasing and new buildings being constructed, they have become even more twisted and complex. The main roads, at least, maintain a relatively neat appearance, but just a short distance away, there are quite a few alleys that are as bad as slums.

The place I was heading to was one of those alleys. I was walking down a deserted alley, whistling a tune, when I stopped at a fork in the road and asked,

“This way?”

“Please, spare me. I’m sorry. Please, spare me.”

The guy whose hair I was holding in my right hand, literally being dragged along, pleaded. He was the ringleader of this incident, the one who had hit me a month ago, and I was using him as a guide under the pretext of a more serious offense, but it wasn’t very satisfying.

“Anyone who sees us might think I killed someone. Did I kill you? I just broke a few bones, that’s all. So, this way?”

As I lifted his head, he let out a pained groan. The reason I was dragging him around was simple: I had cleanly broken both of his shinbones to prevent him from running away. The guys who had confidently entered the deserted alley, relying on their numbers, had ended up half crippled.

At first, he had been shouting loudly, but he had fallen silent five minutes ago in the face of greater violence and pain.

“Huh... huh... please spare me...”

But the result of his pleading was not what I wanted. I was already annoyed at spending my time on this, and it was even more unpleasant for me.

From the moment I heard the insults about Ashilie, I had long abandoned any plans for a practical experience. I wanted to quickly instill my beliefs into these unpleasant guys and go home.

“The reason I left your hands intact was to guide the way. So, they don’t both need to be intact. Do you want them broken?”

“Eek! It’s, it’s this way! Not this way, it’s that way!”

It took less than 20 seconds to break the shins of four people. My physical enhancement is now as natural as breathing, something I can confidently say from experience. It’s a level that someone a few years older can’t match.

Physical enhancement through aura is like that. A 10-year-old kid, if properly trained, can kill monsters and break human bones. Trained kids might be able to follow the movements, but they can’t withstand the impact. I’m using mana instead of refined aura, so the output is different. Even with adjustments for my growing body, this level is possible.

With such combat skills and a mental age over thirty, I had originally planned to just give each of them a good beating and finish the practical experience.

Until I heard the insults about Ashilie.

It was not a simple provocation. They weren’t just spouting words they had heard to insult; they knew exactly what they meant. If I had been weak and unable to resist, and if Ashilie had no combat skills, they would have acted on it immediately.

“You shouldn’t have done that~ I didn’t know~”

I hummed to shake off the unpleasant feeling, and the body with the hair I was holding started to convulse and sing along.

“Huh... huh... what good is regret now...”

“I became a fool~”

“Hoooo!”

Even singing just a few lines of the song was enough to make him regret and weep bitterly, proving it was truly a masterpiece.

“Regret is more painful the sooner it comes.”

Why did you insult the only support for an orphan who lost his parents?

After walking for a short while, an unexpected place appeared before me.

“What is this? A warehouse?”

“Who are you... huh?”

“Zigmel?!”

It was a dilapidated, old warehouse. Not very large, but definitely not small. It might be some bankrupt merchant’s property. Given the lack of maintenance, that was probably the case. The two guys standing casually at the door looked at the guy I was holding, confirming I had found the right place. I nodded in satisfaction, let go of his hair, and shook my hand.

A clump of his brown hair, which had been torn out, fell to the ground.

“We’ve arrived at our destination. You’re no longer needed, so get lost.”

“T-thank you! Thank you!”

“Who am I?”

“E-Eldmia Ega!”

“What should you do?”

“Absolutely do not touch Eldmia Ega!”

So, he wasn’t a complete idiot. After confirming the satisfactory learning outcome, I waved my hand, and the guy started crawling away. Even though I had cleanly broken his bones, he might end up with a disability if he’s unlucky. If begging doesn’t work, he might die on the streets soon.

But that’s not my problem. In a world where knife fights are common, if you start talking about eating someone’s friends, you should be grateful to still be alive.

“Did you hear that?”

“What, what?”

“Did you hear what your friend Zigmel was saying?”

There was no answer.

Silence is often a form of agreement, so I jumped out and slapped the chins of the two guys with both hands.

Posture and technique were unnecessary. They were just kids. They didn’t even have time to scream before falling. Kicking them aside, I opened the warehouse door and saw a dozen or so kids scattered inside the desolate warehouse.

The air was musty. There were ventilation windows on the ceiling, but it seemed there was a lot of dust. I hadn’t expected to find them in such a place, so I was a bit surprised. I was very curious whether they were just using an abandoned warehouse or if they had some backing, but I decided to put that aside for now.

In the center, they had made a chair-like structure out of a wooden box that looked relatively intact. It was clearly the seat of the leader. If he wasn’t the leader, it would be surprising to see him sitting there with girls on either side.

He looked older than the guys I had beaten, probably around 18. He was more of an adult than a kid.

But such a guy was ruling over these small kids like a king? That’s pretty funny.

“Are you the one who beat up our kids?”

He had a good sense of things, as befitting the leader of a gang.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

As I closed the warehouse door and looked around, the guys who were scattered started to gather. Fifteen in total, excluding the leader and the girls. A significant number, but not overwhelming. The guys who had first hit me weren’t there. They might be searching the town separately, like Zigmel.

So, they must be a group of at least thirty? It’s a significant number, and I wondered again why the guards were letting this go, but I pushed that thought aside.

They had no weapons. If they hadn’t insulted Ashilie, they could have lived a peaceful life as a neighborhood gang leader.

One choice can determine a lifetime, I guess.

“Damn, you’re pretty confident. But why are you alone?”

“I thought you were a bit smarter, but you’re a moron, aren’t you? They wouldn’t come with you as friends. You came alone after making them fools.”

Realizing that there was no hope of communicating with someone of his intelligence, I answered dejectedly, and he frowned. Seeing his face, I realized something.

No matter how tall and mature I might look compared to my peers, I’m still 11. The intimidating presence I might have had was lacking due to my young face. That’s why they thought they could attack me in a group, even though I had beaten them individually. The faces of the guy and the others around him were filled with derision.

“Kid, don’t you understand the situation? Don’t you know what you’re doing and what you’ve done? Didn’t they tell you anything?”

“Hey! You’re a quick one, aren’t you!”

“What?”

My mood, which had been declining, suddenly improved. They had only told me that the leader was looking for me and that I had insulted Ashilie, but from his words, it seemed he was the one who had given the orders related to her. Of course, the adventurer Ashilie had almost zero chance of being caught by these guys, but my principles don’t work on probabilities.

It’s not that it’s okay because it didn’t happen. The goal is to root out the possibility so thoroughly that it’s never even considered. I happily took out the practice longsword I had on my back and inserted it into the handle of the warehouse door I had just closed.

“What the hell... huh?”

Then, I folded the longsword into a makeshift lock.

The longsword bent with a creaking sound. Through past training, I had already verified that it wouldn’t break easily, though it would bend. It was a bit of a waste, but I figured I could get some repair money by robbing these guys.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Eldmia Ega.”

Blocking the only exit, I turned around and saw the street thugs frozen in place. The derision was gone, replaced by suspicion, confusion, and occasional shock.

I wasn’t kind enough to wait for them to regain their senses. Using mana to expand my leg muscles, I ran straight toward the leader sitting on his throne. The distance was about 10 meters. The thugs, who had been murmuring, tried to block me, but it was too late.

Avoiding the hands trying to grab me and the idiots trying to block me with their bodies, I leaped with all my strength when I was about 2 meters away.

“Go to hell, you bastard.”

In the accelerated state of my nerves, I could see the confusion and fear spreading across the stunned guy’s face.

A fight? I live to have the skills to kill a Demon King’s commander. After three years of training, I wouldn’t give these kids a chance to react. And because I don’t want to die, I didn’t give him a chance to react, kicking him in the chest.

-Crunch!

It was more of a sensation than a sound. The kick, which had shattered his ribs and penetrated deep into his chest, clearly delivered a shock to his heart. The leader, who had been sitting, was now just a lifeless body.

After confirming that the guy was completely still, I looked around. The thugs and the girls who had been sitting on either side of the leader were all frozen in place, staring at the scene. All their eyes were on me.

“Actually, if this guy wasn’t the leader and one of you is, raise your hand and speak up.”

No one raised their hand.