Chapter 10

As soon as I stepped outside, I immediately spotted the debt collectors.

It seems they left my house and were heading somewhere. I hurriedly chased after their backs.

The 【Hermit's Robe】 seemed to be doing its job; even when I got within 2 meters behind them, they didn't notice my presence at all.

"Ouch, damn it."

When I got this close, I could clearly hear the debt collectors' voices.

There were three debt collectors. One was holding his shoulder, seemingly injured from the fight with my father, while the other two were rubbing their waists.

"Sure enough, he's strong."

"Yeah. We can't just fight him normally."

The debt collectors were talking about my father, their voices tinged with regret. However, one of them laughed in a nasty way.

"But, he was nothing in front of the monster, right? He got injured protecting his comrades. They didn't even know he was working for us."

"Right. He fell right into our trap."

"It would have been better if he had died. But he survived."

As I heard those words, I felt my head gradually become calm. The debt collectors' words made everything fall into place.

Indeed. I had thought it was strange.

My father was said to be a skilled hunter. From the fight with the debt collectors today, it was clear he had considerable combat skills.

So why did he get injured in his usual hunting grounds, with his usual prey, and then fall ill?

It wasn't due to overconfidence or bad luck.

—It was planned from the beginning.

That's how it was.

"If he had died, we planned to approach his wife, who would be struggling to make a living, and take in her and the child."

"The child was a girl, right? What a waste. She could have been sold for a high price."

"There's no point in talking about what's done. For now, we've lent money to the wife and are making a profit. Soon, we'll get our hands on her."

"By the way, aren't you supporting the families of the dead comrades? You feel responsible because you couldn't save them, but you're giving them money, right?"

"Of course. We forced them into debt and made them sell him out."

"We were going to kill him anyway, but it was lucky he was killed by the monster. No need to cover up, and even in death, he's still useful to us!"

"The people in this village are too easy to manipulate."

The debt collectors looked at each other and laughed nastily.

Hearing their voices, I felt a growing anger in my chest—

"Item box"

I muttered and selected the 【Cat's Hand Gloves】 from the list of items.

"Equip"

A cute glove-type equipment, the 【Cat's Hand Gloves】, appeared at my chest, with fluffy fur and soft paw pads. Despite its cute appearance, it was a weapon, a dual sword type.

The synthesis of the 【Cat's Hand Gloves】 required a lot of SS materials, and it had strong attack power. It was something I had always used in the game. After adding materials and enhancing it, most enemies were one-hit kills, and even the final boss of the main quest could be defeated in two hits.

I equipped them on both hands, moved my hands to check the feel.

Yeah. It works. I was worried that a three-year-old's hands wouldn't fit and I wouldn't be able to use them, but the 【Cat's Hand Gloves】 fit perfectly.

"Excuse me"

As I called out to the debt collectors, I took off the hood of the 【Hermit's Robe】 that I had been wearing deeply.

This way, the debt collectors should be able to see me.

The debt collectors seemed startled by the sudden voice and froze on the spot.

"Give me the contract."

At my words, the debt collectors turned around.

The moment they saw me, they exhaled and visibly relaxed.

"Hey, it's just a kid."

"Go away, kid."

The two debt collectors quickly lost interest in me and waved their hands to shoo me away.

But one of them looked at my face closely—

"Hey, wait. Look, it's amazing."

"“Huh?”"

The debt collectors' gazes focused on me.

After staring at me blankly for a moment, they swallowed hard.

"Really... This is... This is..."

The debt collectors exchanged glances. At that moment, I could easily tell they were licking their lips.

Is it really that obvious?

The anger in my chest grew stronger at the debt collectors' attitude.

Unaware of my inner turmoil, the debt collectors smiled at me in an unnaturally kind way.

"Where are you from, little girl? Can you show us the way?"

"I got a little lost."

A smile that matched the sound of "niko niko."

I received it with a straight face and approached them without hesitation.

"Oh, you'll show us the way?"

"What a kind little girl."

The two debt collectors tried to distract me. The other one put down his bag and seemed to be taking something out. It was probably—

"Rope and cloth bag"

I see. They were trying to lull me into a false sense of security, have the two debt collectors grab me, and then the other one would tie me up with the rope and put me in the bag.

"I won't be caught."

"“Huh?”"

The two debt collectors reached out to grab me.

I dodged to the right to avoid their hands and ran towards the other debt collector.

"Cat punch!"

I tightened my side and pulled my right hand back firmly. I stepped in with my left foot, put my weight into it, and punched!

My punch, delivered with the words, hit the man who had prepared the rope and bag squarely in the stomach.

However, it was just a punch from a three-year-old.

Even if it hit the solar plexus, it would only cause a bit of pain, and he would recover quickly.

But—

With the 【Cat's Hand Gloves】 enhanced with additional materials and many effects, my "cat punch" turned a three-year-old's punch into a shockwave!

"Become a star!"

As I said the words, the air around the debt collector's stomach compressed.

Then, the compressed air was released all at once in the direction of the debt collector—

"---Kyaahh!!!"

---Kiran

The man who had prepared the rope and bag was blown away into the sky.