Chapter 49

【Rebel】

With swords and daggers at the ready, over twenty roughnecks charged at just four people.

If they were mages, there would be no time for incantations. Even if they were knights, it would be impossible to cut down ten of them.

But these were former adventurers, soldiers, and thieves. With such a numerical advantage, there was no way they would lose to these guys.

Yet, right before their eyes, an impossible scene was unfolding.

Two knights were each facing one opponent. The brat who claimed to be of royal blood was standing by the wall, trying to cast a spell with his staff at the ready.

So, what about the rest of them?

“Guh…!?”

“Ugh…”

“Aaah…!?”

When five of them were sent flying, everyone realized something was wrong.

When the tenth man was punched in the gut and rolled all the way to the wall, the unease turned to fear.

“Sharp objects are dangerous, you know.”

As if gently pointing out a breach of table manners, the woman spoke and then broke the sword she had grabbed with her bare hands.

The act itself was abnormal, but the process was even more unbelievable.

Three swords were swung at the woman, but she dodged one, deflected another with one hand, and grabbed the blade of the third with her other hand, crushing and breaking it.

The sword broke in half, and the tip fell to the ground.

For some reason, everyone’s eyes followed the falling blade.

Silence fell in the room as if the sound had been lost. Everyone held their breath and watched the woman. The sound of someone swallowing could be heard.

In the midst of this, the woman swung her arm silently and knocked down three men.

Adults rolled on the ground.

“…D-Demon…”

For some reason, the knight who was supposed to have come with the woman whispered this with a pale face.

The woman turned her sharp gaze on him, and the knight turned his face away with a force that could be heard.

Sighing, the woman turned to us and spoke.

“I’ve held back this much. If you resist any further, I will use magic to defend myself.”

At her words, we blurted out without thinking.

“…Held back…?”

“Defend… you mean crush…?”

“Magic? You’re supposed to be a hero-level martial artist…!”

Hearing our pale-faced whispers, the woman frowned and narrowed her eyes.

“Time’s up. Ice Twin Blades.”

The moment she spoke, four giant ice scimitars appeared around her. The cold air rose like smoke from the scimitars, and for some reason, a chill ran through our bones.

“W-Wait!”

“We lose! We won’t resist anymore!”

“P-Please forgive us!”

Screaming, everyone who could move sat on the floor and pressed their heads to the ground.

No good. This woman is a monster. There are only two choices: be captured quietly or resist and be killed. My gut tells me that running is not an option.

Boss, don’t provoke her.

I knelt on the spot, praying for that.

【The Boss’s Woman】

I listened to the report from the subordinate who came to me and stood up with a sigh, kicking over a small table beside me.

“…It’s not like the knights have stormed in. Don’t panic and let the customers escape. They won’t be able to come up to the second floor anyway.”

I said this with a snort, but the subordinate, with a difficult expression, countered.

“No, this time it’s different from the usual knights and guards. Especially that terrifying woman…”

“Don’t be a coward!”

I shouted reflexively and kicked the subordinate’s head.

Looking down at the subordinate who had fallen and was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, I calmed down a bit.

“Tch, I don’t like this. A woman, huh… A woman scarier than me, huh…”

I spat and moved towards the casino, suppressing my irritation.

“Hey, it’s over for today. Let’s pack up.”

I told this to the black-clad dealer, who nodded and started moving. I could see some customers complaining, but neither side wanted to be caught. The evacuation proceeded smoothly for the most part.

The back door was just down the stairs. If they came straight, we would run into them before escaping, but that wouldn’t happen.

However, the fact that the subordinate, who had experienced this many times, was so flustered was somewhat concerning.

And the woman who instilled such fear in him was also a concern.

“…I’ll go down and take a look.”

I muttered and turned towards the stairs. Normally, I would immediately escape and set the building on fire, but this time I wanted to see what kind of woman it was.

“I’m going down. You guys keep the customers safe.”

“Understood!”

Hearing the black-clad subordinate’s response, I opened the door leading to the stairs. The dark stairs ahead were faintly lit.

Just as I was about to go down, a sound came from below.

The screams of men.

And the sound of intense sword clashes. The sound of something heavy colliding with the wall echoed.

There shouldn’t have been that many people, but from the sounds alone, it seemed that the subordinates were at a disadvantage.

What the hell are they doing?

As I went down the stairs, screams and shouts echoed repeatedly, but there was no sign of the fight ending.

I went down the stairs and peeked through the gap in the shelves.

There, I saw the woman punch and send flying three men who were attacking her with swords.

“…What the hell is that…?”

At first glance, I knew something was off.

That woman broke a sword with her bare hands, and with just one hand, no less.

The moment I realized this, my toes were already pointing towards the back door.

“No way. I can deal with knights or nobles, but that monster is unexpected.”

Customers were also coming down. I should quickly unlock the back door and escape.

Thinking this, I opened the lock and grabbed the handle of the back door.

But it wouldn’t budge.

“…Is the lock open? Why… No, I can escape through the window. I’ll break the window with my sword…”

I hurriedly broke the boarded-up window with my sword to create an escape route.

However, even though I could see outside, an invisible wall blocked my escape. By the time I realized this, the customers who were supposed to escape first had gathered at the stairs.

I thrust the tip of my sword at the invisible wall, but it was deflected effortlessly.

“What the hell is going on…”

Confused, I muttered these words unconsciously.

Immediately after, a loud slashing sound and the sound of something large breaking came from behind me. I turned around to see that the shelves that should have been there were gone, and light from the adjacent room was shining through.

In that light, a silhouette that seemed to be a girl appeared.

Was she wrapped in white mist or cold air? The figure drifted towards me, surrounded by a white haze.

“…Oh, I saved the trouble of going upstairs.”

The woman smiled and looked at me.

“…! You guys, come down!”

I shouted and positioned myself to secure the back door, holding two swords in both hands, pointing the blades at the woman.

The armed subordinates came down with a thud. The three in black could also use magic and could attack from the top of the stairs.

The hallway was narrow. If we overwhelmed them with numbers from both sides of the stairs, we wouldn’t lose.

I kicked away the fleeing customers to clear my view.

At the top of the stairs, there were subordinates with swords and those preparing to cast magic. And I was standing with my dual swords ready.

Despite this, the woman’s smile deepened.

“I’m glad you didn’t run. Now, give up.”

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