Chapter 60

Bom Bom, who has a crush on Beatrice, comes from the Orlando shop, which is said to be the largest store in Volzard. The main products are jewelry made from precious metals and gems mined from the dungeon, which are highly evaluated and exported not only to the Republic of Ranzheld but also to neighboring countries. In addition to this, they also deal in a wide range of goods, including clothing, weapons, equipment, and food.

The Orlando shop has a large store on the main street of Volzard, as well as workshops, residences for the craftsmen, and even the residence of the shop owner. When all the grounds are combined, the area is said to be larger than the lord's mansion. The five Flame Hounds are staying as guests in a separate building of the shop owner's residence.

After visiting the city wall construction site with my classmates and parting ways with Klaus, I moved to the Lastock garrison, had lunch, and took care of the committee president. It seems that I have been relying on Reisenburg for lunch recently, but considering how much trouble I have caused, this is the least I can do.

After returning to Volzard, I heard from Hart, who was keeping watch, about the five people's behavior since I left the letter last night. As expected, Bartholomew woke up in a rage, crumpled the letter, and burned it with a fire spell. If it weren't for my classmates' city wall construction, I would have come to see it myself. I really wanted to see Bartholomew's face when he saw the cute ribbon-decorated Nyan.

Bartholomew immediately called Orestes and Jarma to discuss a response. The response was simple and straightforward: lure me into the mansion, let me talk as much as I want, then kill me and dispose of the body in pieces. They seem to be considering that if they kill me, suspicion will fall on them, so they plan to quickly dismember the body and have Cesare and Tony dispose of it. They think that as long as there is no body, they can pretend to be innocent even if they are suspected.

Cesare and Tony seem to not be involved in important decisions and only know that they might have to take care of me if necessary. The large, bald Jarma is in charge of dismembering the Flame Hounds and was seen grinning with a large dagger. Of course, I have no intention of being dismembered.

I stationed Fred in Lastock, Molt in the boarding house, and Malt and Mirt at the city wall, and gathered all the other familiars. We plan to forcibly reconcile with the Orlando shop, so I expect the familiars to play a role.

"Are you ready, Reinhardt?"

"Sir Kent, we know the enemy's plans, but we must not be careless."

"I understand. I'll keep a dark shield around us, so signal me if it gets dangerous."

"Understood. Then... shall we go see Cane?"

When I told the gatekeeper the purpose of my visit, after checking for weapons, I was immediately led to the entrance. This was expected, as Bartholomew had arranged it. If I had weapons, they planned to confiscate them here. A maid then led me to the separate building where the five Flame Hounds were staying.

"Master Bartholomew, I have brought Sir Kent."

"Let him in..."

When the maid knocked on the door of the reception room, Bartholomew's voice, devoid of emotion, replied. The maid, probably predicting something bad would happen after seeing Bartholomew's behavior this morning, looked at me with the eyes of a calf being led to slaughter.

"Please... be careful..."

"Thank you."

I thanked the maid for her concern and entered the reception room, where Bartholomew greeted me with a smile. Of course, his face was smiling, but his eyes were not, and he looked like a shark stalking its prey.

"Hey, you must be Kent. Thanks for coming, come in..."

"Nice to meet you. I'm sorry for the sudden visit."

"Let's skip the formalities. Come, sit in the back."

"Yes, thank you."

Bartholomew offered me the seat farthest from the door, the same one he sat in yesterday. Bartholomew sat opposite me, with Orestes and Jarma diagonally in front, and Cesare and Tony on my side. This was clearly the seat from which it would be hardest to escape. While the maid was preparing tea, Orestes and Jarma were sizing me up with thin smiles, while Cesare and Tony glared at me with open hostility.

"Well, you said you have something to discuss with us..."

When the maid left, Bartholomew asked, his smile gone, a deep frown on his forehead, and a vein throbbing on his temple.

"Yes, as I wrote in the letter, it seems I have been misunderstood, so I came to clear up the misunderstanding and reconcile."

Since Bartholomew burned the letter immediately after reading it, the other four didn't know the exact content, so I recalled the content I had rewritten many times last night and tried to reproduce the letter's text as accurately as possible to convey the purpose of my visit.

"Hey! Don't get cocky, kid!"

"Cesare! Tony! Sit down!"

Naturally, Cesare and Tony stood up in anger when I reproduced the content of the impudent letter, but they sat back down when Bartholomew barked at them.

"Hahaha, Bartholomew, this kid has some guts, are you really going to take care of him?"

"Jarma! What are you saying?"

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry, but this kid is a rat in a bag, he has nowhere to run."

"Hmph, he's said to use dark magic, so if he starts chanting, don't hesitate to kill him."

Cesare and Tony looked surprised at Bartholomew's words but soon broke into lecherous grins.

"Hehehe, Bartholomew, you seem so tense, what's wrong?"

"Hmph, this kid has disrespected the Flame Hounds, it's only right to send him to the other side properly..."

"Is that so, is that so, but Jarma is right, he has nowhere to run, let's play with him a bit more."

Bartholomew looked grim at the amused Orestes and Jarma. It seems he hadn't told them about the ribbon incident last night. I'll tell them myself.

"From the looks of it, it seems you won't reconcile. Did you pass on the warning I mentioned last night?"

"Damn kid... do you want to die so soon..."

Seeing Bartholomew about to stand up, Orestes and Jarma tilted their heads in confusion.

"What warning are you talking about, Bartholomew?"

"Shut up, Jarma, don't listen to the kid's nonsense!"

"Hey, Jarma, maybe that warning is why Bartholomew is so off?"

"Indeed, what did you do, boy?"

Orestes and Jarma seemed interested, but Bartholomew didn't want them to know.

"Shut up, Cesare, Tony, kill him!"

"Wait! What's wrong with you, Bartholomew? What is this warning?"

"Damn it! Cesare, Tony, kill him quickly!"

Cesare and Tony pulled out knives they had hidden under the table but seemed hesitant, looking back and forth between Bartholomew and Orestes. Jarma nodded, so I told them the content of the warning.

"I took off Bartholomew's pants while he was sleeping and decorated his private parts with a red ribbon. I also wrote that if you refuse to reconcile, I will cut it off next time."

"Hahahaha, this is a masterpiece!"

"Uhyahyahyahya, boy, are you trying to make me laugh to death!"

Jarma and Orestes laughed so hard they fell over, while Bartholomew crushed the cup in his hand. Cesare and Tony, unsure whether to laugh or not, had strained smiles on their faces. Jarma and Orestes continued laughing for a while, but finally stopped when Bartholomew slammed his fist on the table.

"Boy, you've had your fun, but it ends here."

"Is that so... then, as planned, you'll kill me, dismember me, and have these two dispose of the body, right?"

"Hmm, you've done your research. Your investigative skills are impressive, more useful than Cesare... but after humiliating me like this, it's over."

Finally regaining his composure, Bartholomew pulled out a knife with a confident smile.

"Since the outcome is already decided, can I ask a few questions?"

"Sure, go ahead, boy."

Orestes, playing with a knife, answered my question before Bartholomew.

"You're armed with knives, I'm unarmed, so I'll meet an unfortunate end and disappear from Volzard... that's what you think, right?"

"Right, you understand well, boy."

"Yes, and... have you considered the opposite?"

"Huh? The opposite...?"

Not only Orestes but the other four also looked puzzled.

"Yes, the opposite. Have you considered that I might survive and you might disappear?"

"Hahaha, are you saying you can survive unarmed, let alone take us out?"

"You know I can use dark magic and control monsters, right?"

Since Nazario asked me for heroic tales, I assume they've heard about me, but the five Flame Hounds seem too unprepared.

"Idiot... no matter how powerful the monsters you control, they can't do anything if they're not here..."

It seems Bartholomew doesn't think I can summon familiars.

"Alright... can I ask one more question?"

"What is it, just say it."

"If I had the power to turn the tables, what would you do? Would you continue to be enemies? Adventurers lose when they die, right?"

Orestes and the others exchanged glances and then focused on Bartholomew.

"If you could do that, I might consider it, but we're realists... we won't entertain such nonsense, reconciliation is out of the question... you're going to die here."

Bartholomew was about to signal the others, so I tapped the floor with my toe. On my right, Reinhardt stood, and on my left, Basten. Behind the five Flame Hounds, Zae and the other undead lizardmen appeared, pressing their kukri knives to their necks. The room was filled with Alt and the other undead kobolds, baring their claws and fangs.

"Everyone, please put your knives on the table."

"Damn it, what's going on..."

"Lizardmen..."

"Boy, is this your power..."

Seeing their companions, they should understand their situation. The calm they had a moment ago vanished, and the five pale faces quickly put their knives on the table, which Alt and the others quickly collected.

"As long as you follow Volzard's laws and act as proper adventurers, I have no intention of being your enemy. But if you attack my companions, I have no choice but to defend myself, right?"

"Damn it... you underestimated us..."

"You're the one who underestimated me, Bartholomew. You thought I was just a kid and didn't bother to investigate before messing with the boarding house, never expecting a counterattack, right?"

"Damn it..."

No matter how much you glare, it's not impressive when you've lost control over life and death.

"Hahaha, Bartholomew, this is our loss, we shouldn't have messed with him."

"I agree with Jarma. This boy can control so many monsters without chanting, and he knows all our plans. Clinging to pointless pride will lead to ruin."

"Damn it... what do you want, kid!"

Finally, Bartholomew seems to have given up, so let's get him to agree to our demands.

"As I said, as long as you don't break the law or mess with my companions, I have no intention of being your enemy. But if you don't agree, you'll have to leave Volzard. I won't kill you, but I'll make you leave. And I might cut something off."

"Damn it... alright, I'll agree to your terms..."

"And... one more thing..."

"Tch, what now..."

"Yes, please don't use Cesare and Tony as bait."

"What...?"

"What do you mean, Bartholomew?"

"Using us as bait... is that true?"

Hearing they would be used as bait, Cesare and Tony protested, but with the undead lizardmen restraining them from behind, they lacked any real threat.

"Tch... saying too much, damn kid..."

"Yes, I'm a damn kid, but I want to see a bit of a cool adult from this damn kid. You're A-rank adventurers, right? Show the resolve to train and protect those who follow you."

Bartholomew, Orestes, and Jarma showed grim expressions, while Cesare and Tony nodded in agreement.

"Then, I'll take my leave, but please keep your promise. I don't want to cut anything off either..."

As I stood up, Alt and the others retreated into the shadows as planned, and Zae and the others behind us put up a dark shield and stepped back into the shadow world.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, kid, you underestimated us!"

As soon as we disappeared, Bartholomew slammed his fist on the expensive-looking table and raged. Orestes raised his hands in a gesture of giving up, and Jarma nodded silently.

"Damn... that kid, I'll make him pay someday..."

"Bartholomew, can you handle that on your own?"

"Indeed, I won't go along with that."

"What... you're going to let this slide after being humiliated like this?"

"No, I don't want to be cut off."

"Me neither... hahaha."

Bartholomew glared bitterly at the amused Orestes and Jarma.

"Hey... Bartholomew, about what you said earlier..."

"Using us as bait..."

"Shut up, if you don't like it, go anywhere you want!"

Bartholomew threw his legs up on the table, looked up at the ceiling, and closed his eyes. Cesare and Tony, feeling rejected, exchanged glances but couldn't come to a conclusion.

"Bartholomew is right, no matter what that boy says, our nature won't change easily."

"Indeed, in a pinch, we'll use you as bait without hesitation... if you don't like it, leave the Flame Hounds and go your own way."

Feeling rejected by Orestes and Jarma, Cesare and Tony thought in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry, but I'm leaving... thank you for everything..."

Tony, who had been thinking with his arms crossed, announced it briefly, bowed slightly, and left the reception room. Seeing this, Cesare, still hesitant, stood up determinedly.

"Thank you for everything!"

He said goodbye loudly, as if to cut off any lingering feelings, and left the reception room.

"Tch, cowards..."

"Hahaha, Orestes, it's too much to expect that from young people these days."

"What are you saying, that boy humiliated us and left calmly."

"True, hahaha."

Despite his complaints, Orestes had a refreshed look.

"So, Orestes, what will you do now?"

"What else, we're back to the old days."

"Hahaha, it would be great if you could also return to your younger face and body, hahaha!"

"Kukukuku, not a chance..."

"Hey, you two, go somewhere else..."

Bartholomew muttered with his eyes closed, and Orestes and Jarma exchanged glances and burst out laughing.

"Uhyahyahyahya, did you hear that, Jarma? Crying Bartholomew is saying something."

"Hahaha, wait... don't leave me, Orestes..."

"What are you talking about!"

Even though Bartholomew glared at them, they seemed unfazed. It seems these three have a long history.

"Others may not know, but it's pointless to act tough with us, right, Jarma?"

"Right... but, buh, a ribbon on the crotch... hahaha!"

"Shut up, I was just drunk and careless yesterday, I'll take you down next time."

"Kukukuku, it's better to have something small than nothing at all."

"Shut up! I'm not small!"

"Indeed..."

"Hahaha, I'll let you have that..."

Bartholomew glared at the three of them, but it seemed there were no problems among them. However, based on last night's conversation and today's response, there seem