Chapter 37

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□ Duel City Gideon 【Paladin】Ray Sterling

"I need to find a way to make money."

I logged back in after researching the Riding skill and the Horseman's Amulet, and declared my resolve.

"I only had a little over 10,000 ril to begin with. Even without the silver, I would have had to earn more."

Indeed, as Nemesis said, I had no money to begin with, so I had to earn it. Every time, I would get a large sum of money and then lose it...

"I'm not wasting it, though."

"Gacha."

I'm not wasting it, but...

"By the way, about the second Permit. Since it was unsigned, wouldn't it have been better to sell it instead of giving it to Luke? It might not have been 100,000 ril, but it would have been at least half that."

"......Ah."

I hadn't thought of that.

"Master..."

"No, it's fine, it's fine. I gave it to Luke. A man's word is his bond. We'll have to find another way to make money."

That's the priority right now.

"But Luke is logged out and sleeping, and Kumanisan is busy with other things. There's only so much we can do on our own."

"That's true."

Even if we were to take a quest from the Adventurer's Guild, I would only be able to choose low-level, low-reward quests on my own. I also have a commitment tomorrow, so I can't take a long quest.

"Maybe I should hunt bounties like that big ogre?"

"If I fail, I'll get a penalty. Then I'll miss my commitment tomorrow."

"It would be easy if there were a way to make 100,000 ril in a short time with no risk."

Well, I have plenty of time after the day after tomorrow, but I want to ride Silver as soon as possible.

"What about the arena? I think you can fight freely without penalties and earn rewards."

"That... I checked, and the total level requirement for the event is 51 or higher."

My total level as a Paladin, even with the increase from this morning's test, is 26. It will take some time before I can participate.

"Then how about betting? You can bet on the arena and make a profit that way..."

"Forget it. You have good luck at critical moments, but overall, you tend to have bad luck."

...Maybe.

"Then, should we give up on getting the Horseman's Amulet today and tomorrow and focus on gradually increasing our funds?"

"That's a good idea. Let's head to the Adventurer's Guild."

"Roger."

Nemesis and I walked together towards the first district where the Adventurer's Guild is located.

"By the way, even if we can't get the Permit, what about selling other items?"

"I already sold most of the drop items yesterday."

And they ended up in Nemesis's stomach.

"What about borrowing from Kumanisan, even if Luke is out of the question?"

"I feel like that would be a loss..."

Besides, where is my brother now? Checking the menu only shows that he's logged in.

"Hmm, then how about the equipment you used to wear?"

"I already traded it in."

So now, the only assets I have are less than 10,000 ril in cash and my current equipment.

"Oh, right. Speaking of equipment, Master, why do you refuse glasses so much?"

"What?"

"I've been wondering since your conversation with the penguin. I tried to peek into your memories, but... they're in a private part, so I couldn't. How tightly do you lock them away?"

...If you don't want to hear it, don't ask.

Well, it's fine. Since Nemesis and I are like one, I can tell you.

"When I was a kid, I had bad eyesight."

"Hmm."

"When I was in fourth grade, I was the only one in my class who wore glasses."

"That happens sometimes."

"My nickname was forcibly changed to No○ta-kun."

"......Huh?"

"I was called No○ta-kun more often than my real name. Even though I didn't look like it, I was always asked to do a 'Dora○mon' impression. In the end, the school play was 'Dora○mon,' and I, of course, played No○ta-kun."

"......"

It wasn't bullying.

I wasn't being ignored.

If anything, I had a lot of friends.

My former classmates probably used the nickname out of affection, not malice.

But because of that, there was a lingering frustration.

Who is No○ta-kun, anyway?

I love 'Dora○mon,' but that's a different issue.

"......"

"What's wrong, Nemesis?"

"I'm at a loss for how to react. Your reason is more trivial than I thought."

"...I know it's a small thing."

My sister reacted the same way when I told her before.

"But if your eyesight is bad, do you wear glasses in real life?"

"No, I corrected my vision over five years after the school play."

I ate foods good for my eyes, looked into the distance, and did eye exercises every day... I worked hard.

"......Your determination is admirable, but wouldn't contacts have been easier?"

"I'm too scared to put foreign objects in my eyes."

"......Master."

Nemesis is looking at me with a bewildered expression.

It's scary.

"If a contact lens gets stuck behind my eye and damages my optic nerve, my eyeball will pop out..."

"Scary!?"

"Right? And I was also afraid of LASIK surgery. So, I decided to improve my vision through steady training, ...?"

While chatting with Nemesis, I heard a rough noise from an alleyway. Curious, I walked further into the alley between two buildings. At the end, there was a slightly open space where five men were surrounding a woman. The men looked like typical thugs, and the woman was hard to see clearly. However, recalling what Lilianna had told me earlier, I imagined a typical fantasy scenario where a runaway princess is harassed by thugs. I decided to observe a bit more... but it was different. The woman surrounded by the men had a simple but pretty face, like a waitress or an innkeeper's daughter. She wasn't the princess in the photo. But in a way, this was more of a problem. The gist of their conversation was as follows:

The woman has a younger brother who was kidnapped yesterday. The kidnappers demanded 200,000 ril to return him. They also threatened to kill him if she told the knights. The woman ran around, borrowed money, and sold her belongings to gather 200,000 ril. She brought the ransom to this location and handed it over to one of the kidnappers. However, the men had no intention of returning her brother. They took the money and were about to take her as well.

Yeah. They were despicably low.

Even though the opponents were humans, not monsters, I felt no guilt about beating them up. I couldn't just stand by and watch. I stepped into the scene and spoke to the thugs.

"Stop right there."

"......Huh?"

Why did we say it in unison?

I jumped into the alley and shouted, but my voice overlapped with someone else's. Looking around, I saw another person standing on the opposite side of the alley, between the thugs and the woman. It was a man around my age, wearing a strange outfit that combined military uniform and rider suit. The emblem on his left hand, visible through the open glove, indicated he was a <Master>.

"......It's fine. You thugs, step away from that lady."

It seems he had the same idea as me at the same time.

"Help me...!"

"Hmm. Of course. A beautiful flower has thorns. It is my duty to be the thorn and pierce the scoundrels for this delicate lady."

He seemed much more pretentious than me. I could almost see a shoujo manga or Takarazuka-like aura around him.

"What, who are you guys?"

"Ah? You wanna fight? You wanna fight?"

"Hyah!"

"We're five here!"

"Double, double!"

No, it's not double. It's 2.5 times.

"Hmm, you do have the numbers, but what about levels?"

"What!?"

"From what I can see, you're all low-level jobs. But my total level is 126."

"......What!?"

"Hmm, take a look. My power... let's see, I'll take out my [Cage]..."

"Now, get him!"

"Ooh!"

"Whoa! I haven't mounted my <Majingear> yet... Oh well, I'll fight with my bare hands!"

"......What!?"

It felt like watching a delinquent manga. The five thugs attacked the man in the military uniform all at once. They were so focused on him that they completely ignored me.

"Alright, you should run."

I took the opportunity to urge the woman to escape.

"Thank you!"

She must have been very scared, as she ran down the alley behind me.

"Alright. Now, let's see how the fight is... huh?"

The man in the military uniform was being beaten up. The thugs were also injured, but it was a one-sided fight. The numbers were too much for him. But 126 total level... Ah, I see.

"Total level 126 doesn't mean high stats."

Luke, for example, had twice my level but was a [Pimp], so his stats were less than half.

But 126 is still 126. If he's being beaten up by five people, I might be in trouble too.

"Next is you!"

"Get him!"

Oh, they're coming for me.

I dodged the first man's punch and countered with a punch to his face.

The next moment, the man I hit flew across the alley and landed on the other side.

"......What?"

Both the thugs and I were confused. I turned to Nemesis, thinking she might have used a skill, but she looked slightly exasperated and was tapping her hand.

I looked at my hand and remembered. I'm currently wearing the [Miasma Flame Gauntlets - Galdoranda]. These gauntlets don't just shoot flames and gas; they also boost my stats. Specifically, they increase my STR (Strength) by 100%.

When I was at level 0, my STR was around 10, which is about the average for an adult male. Now, with the level-up bonuses from being a Paladin and the gauntlet's boost, my STR is over 400.

So, I hit the man with the strength of forty times an average adult male.

"......Did I kill him?"

I was a bit worried, so I checked the man lying in the alley. He was convulsing, so he was still alive. Phew.

"Then, I'm fine."

I clapped my gauntlets together and slowly approached the remaining thugs. I didn't want to use Nemesis to cut them, so I decided to finish them with the gauntlets.

"Who's next?"

"Ah!"

But the remaining four turned pale and ran away, probably scared by my sudden power.

"Damn it! But remember, we have that girl's brother!"

They disappeared down the alley, leaving a clear threat.

"Are you okay? [First Heal]"

I cast a healing spell on the beaten-up man in the military uniform. His injuries weren't too deep, so my basic healing spell was enough to close the wounds.

"Hmm, thank you... Wait, your ears?"

He was looking at the dog ears on my head, which I got from the mad penguin.

"What about my ears?"

"......No, they're a nice accessory."

"......You can get them if you find the penguin."

"Hmm. I'll remember that."

He stood up and brushed off his clothes, with a somewhat pretentious manner.

"This is a fateful encounter. Let me introduce myself. My name is Hugo Le Secq. I'm a [High Pilot] and a <Master>."

"I'm Ray Sterling. A [Paladin] and a <Master>. This is my <Embryo>, Nemesis."

"I see... A Type Maiden is rare. Nice to meet you, beautiful Mademoiselle."

"Indeed."

Wow, he recognized Nemesis as a Maiden at first glance. ...But his dramatic way of speaking is something else. Where is he from in real life? His name sounds French.

"By the way, why were you beaten up so badly? Is your job not combat-oriented?"

They seemed weak when I fought them, and with a total level of 126, you should be able to overpower them even if you're not a combat job.

"Hmm. My jobs are [Pilot] Lv50, [Mechanic] Lv50, and [High Pilot] Lv26. These jobs only increase HP, MP, SP, and DEX (Dexterity), so my other stats are almost at their initial values!"

...Is he proud of that?

Also, those jobs with such extreme stat increases... They must be related to vehicles. Vehicles... Cars... Metal○x.

"Ah, um..."

While I was thinking about Hugo's jobs, I heard a voice from behind. Turning around, I saw the woman we had rescued standing there. She must have come back after escaping.

"Thank you so much earlier!"

"It's fine. I did it on my own accord."

I couldn't just leave that situation.

"Hmm. I agree. It would be a bad start to the day if I ignored a lady in distress."

...We're using the same catchphrase.

"Um, are you <Masters>?"

"Yes. I and this Ray are <Masters>, Lady."

When Hugo said that, she bowed deeply.

"Lady... Please, raise your head."

"Please! Help my brother! If you can save him, this money, and if it's not enough, I'll do anything..."

She held out the bag with the ransom money and pleaded with tears in her eyes. I had overheard her conversation with the thugs before intervening. If nothing is done, her brother will soon be killed and eaten. To prevent that, we need to act quickly, and the only ones who can do that are us. I had a feeling this would happen when I appeared on the scene. I'm already prepared to take on the risk.

"I'm fine with it. And... I don't need any payment."

"But..."

"That's the ransom money you struggled to gather for your brother. I can't take it."

After hearing her story, I might have acted on my own even if she hadn't asked. Most importantly, this is too much to ignore.

"What about you, Hugo?"

"Hmm. That's a silly question... Of course, I'll take it too. And I don't need any payment either."

Hugo knelt and gently lifted her face with his left hand, then wiped away her tears with his right thumb.

"Lady. We will wipe away your tears. I promise you that you will wake up with a smile tomorrow."

[Quest [Rescue - Rody Lancaster, Difficulty: 8] has been activated]

[Please check the quest details on the quest screen]

An announcement of the event quest echoed directly in my ear. It seems Hugo heard it too.

"Shall we go, Ray? Our mission awaits."

"...Okay. Let's go with the flow this time."

The target is the quest with difficulty 8: [Rescue - Rody Lancaster]. Our destination is the lair of the cannibal kidnappers, the Gooz Maze Bandits. Our goal is... a smile in the morning. Quest, start.

To be continued

The next part will be posted tomorrow at 21:00.