Chapter 32: Trade City Heizen ⑩ – A Walk Through Heizen

Three days passed.
Only three days remained until the Full Moon Bazaar.

After waking up in the morning, I changed clothes and went down to the first-floor living room.
I ate the breakfast Hoss-san made, then headed to the basement.

When I arrived at the dump, I drank the potion the witch had given me.
I used Wheel of Fortune and began sorting through the trash.

At first, there were lots of green lights. Now and then, a yellow one would flicker.
Okay… I try imagining a “spear.”

Then the yellow lights vanished, and even the green ones grew sparse.

“Hmmm…”

Sure enough, walking around, they were spears. They seemed usable—but I didn’t need them.
Still… was this good progress or not? Hard to judge.

By the way, yesterday I tried using the image “spear” in the form of “speeer.”

Surprisingly, seven green lights appeared.

I asked Mineha-san to check them, but none matched the level of the “Astral Manifest Spear.”
And the single yellow light that appeared later… also not comparable.

“The effect is there, though…”

Ah, something appeared. The greens vanished, and two yellow lights shone.
Now, after a bit of delay, the green lights would disappear and be replaced by yellow ones.

The two yellow spears were a silver spear and a strangely shaped one.

Then the lights faded.

The potion’s effect had worn off.
When that happens, I can’t use Wheel of Fortune for a while—about a two-hour cooldown.

The witch said that was a good sign, so… I’ll trust her.
I’m her apprentice, after all. Believing your teacher is what apprentices do.

I returned to the first floor.
Shaldina was cleaning.

“Wof-kun,”

Bid-san called out to me.

“Are you going somewhere?”

Since I wasn’t in casual clothes but fully equipped, I figured I must look like I was heading out.

“Just taking a walk.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah. I’m bored, so I thought I’d familiarize myself with the area. Oh—and the witch and Mineha went off somewhere for something about armor.”

“Ah, Mineha-san’s… What about Hoss-san?”

“Shopping.”

Shaldina answered.

“I see.”

Maybe Anna Kreutzen-san went with her.

“And Anna Kreutzen is in the bath.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Anna Kreutzen-san loves baths.
She takes at least three a day—and long ones, too.

“She really loves them, huh.”

Bid-san gave a wry smile.
A walk, huh.

“Bid-san. Could I go with you?”

“Sure.”

“I’m bored too. I’ll go get ready.”

I went upstairs, grabbed my knife belt, strapped it on, and threw on a blue jacket.
I bought this jacket yesterday at a thrift shop—it was love at first sight.
Great design, great feel. I attached a pouch. Okay, done.

“Have a good day-desu.”

“I’m off.”

We stepped outside.

“So where to first?”

“Let’s head toward the east market.”

“Then on the way back, we can stop by Belk Diner.”

“That’s good too.”

I had already been to the east market yesterday.
On the way there is Berg Diner.

We walked the maze-like streets, chatting about various things.

“Wof-kun, what’ll you do after the Full Moon Bazaar?”

“Are you thinking about Forest Wave?”

“You planning to join?”

“Well… maybe. Do you want to participate, Bid-san?”

“I’m kind of interested.”

Hmm… Forest Wave.
Honestly, I don’t care much for it right now.

With the Full Moon Bazaar so close, that’s where my attention is.
And defeating monsters… doesn’t really appeal to me.

“What about you, Bid-san? What’ll you do at the Bazaar?”

“I’m planning to look around. Actually, there’s something I want.”

Something she wants?

“Can I ask what?”

“A new weapon—or rather, an OOPArt if possible. My current setup is fine, but… after seeing Mineha, I feel like I want just one more thing.”

“Is it a bow? Or something like that shortsword, ‘Swiftblade’?”

“Something in between.”

“In between?”

“I have close range and long range already. If I get something mid-range, it’ll be perfect.”

“Are you trying to be an all-rounder?”

Bid-san scratched the tip of her nose shyly.

“If possible.”

Mid-range… that means a spear, probably.

“Speaking of which, I found a weirdly shaped spear in the dump.”

“A spear?”

“For mid-range, it might work.”

“That’s true.”

“I’ll show you when we get back. Interested?”

“Definitely. Thanks!”

She grinned widely. I couldn’t help but smile back.
Walking around while chatting like this is nice. And the weather is perfectly blue.

Alright then—

“Bid-san.”

“…I know.”

Her expression sharpened. She didn’t need Danger Sense to understand.
I’d been feeling multiple presences in the streets behind and ahead of us.
At first, I thought it was nothing—but they kept a constant distance, and I could feel their eyes.

“…What now?”

“Let’s keep walking. See what they do.”

Not sure if they’re enemies or allies, so observing first makes sense.

I activated Danger Sense just to check.
Yep. All bright red.

Nine people total.
Four ahead, five behind.

I whispered to Bid-san.

“For reference, Danger Sense says they’re enemies.”

“Then they’re enemies.”

She calmly shifted into battle mode.

“There are nine. Five in front. Four behind.”

“That relic is really handy.”

“It is.”

We both gave strained smiles.

Okay, how to draw them out…
Right—yesterday I bought something cheap to experiment with.

I took it from my pouch.
With my vibrating hand using Vibration, I activated Rave Move and threw it forward.
It fell near one of the red dots and burst with impact.

“Gahhhh!?”

A deep scream echoed out.

What I threw was a shockstone—one of the elemental stones sold in a set with lightning stones and wind stones.

I’d weakened it with vibrations so it would crack right as it landed.

“Hey! What the hell!?”

“Oi oi!”

“What was that!?”

“You picking a fight with us!?”

Eight rough-looking men came out, surrounding us front and back.

“You outsiders!”

“You wanna die, brat!?”

“You know who we are!?”

“We’re the Gourou Subjugation Squad!”

“Hey hey, kid. Hand over your money, your gear, that rabbit-girl there, the woman with you, and your house too. Then we’ll let you go.”

The biggest of them stepped forward with a disgusting grin.

So—give up our women and home? Meaning this wasn’t random or coincidental.

“What’s he saying…”

“Sorry—Gourou? As in one of the Three Great Houses?”

“That’s right.”

“Obviously.”

“You stupid or something?”

“The great House Gourou!”

“Now you get it? Going against us is going against Gourou. Even outsiders should understand that much.”

“And even if you resist—you won’t win.”

“So hurry up and hand everything over.”

I held back Bid-san, who looked ready to cut them down, and said:

“No. I refuse.”

Their expressions changed instantly.

The large man sighed.

“Kill the kid only.”

The men drew their weapons.
So did Bid-san—charging the five behind us.

“Burn! Fire!”

One of the men in front cast a fireball.
I raised the Blue Saint’s Gauntlet.

The fast, powerful fireball bounced back and struck the big man in front.
His clothes ignited instantly.

“Gyaaaaah!!”

“Aniki!”

“You brat!!”

“Hey, that wasn’t me who did that.”

“Get them!!”

Four men rushed me.

I drew two knives—
Right hand: single-edged knife with a sword-guard.
Left hand: a large knife with an axe-shaped curved edge.

I activated Blue Saint and triggered slow-mo.

Their wild movements became absurdly slow.

I slashed Bald A’s neck, cut Bald B’s stomach, and struck Bearded A diagonally across the chest.
Bearded B wore metal armor, so I used Vanish, creating a hole in his abdomen through the armor.

Now only the burning giant remained.

Oil? Another firestone?

“…No. Let’s test something.”

I threw a waterstone at his back.
The flames went out. His burns were severe, so I poured a small vial’s contents on him, restoring him fully.

Then I knocked him out with a Vibration-charged punch to the face.

Time suddenly sped up again—slow-mo ended.
I deactivated Blue Saint.

“…Looks like you’re done.”

“You too.”

Bid-san sheathed her bloodied Swiftblade.
She was unharmed. Behind her lay five corpses.

She noticed the unconscious big man.

“Oh, you spared one?”

“Yes. I have questions.”

How to wake him…
In my previous life I think you lifted the arms and pressed a knee into the back?
While I considered attempting it, Bid-san simply slapped him sharply.

“Ugh… what the—hii!”

She pressed her sword to his neck.

“Wof-kun wants to ask something.”

“…Wof?”

“That’s me.”

“You! What about the others!?”

“You can see.”

“…All… dead!?”

He was horrified.

“So, my question. Okay?”

“You—wait! Wait!”

Bid-san turned the blade slightly.

“Only answer the questions.”

“Next time you shout, you die.”

Her killing intent made him freeze.

He swallowed hard.

“O-okay! Ask anything!”

“Are you the only ones who know about us?”

“Y-yeah.”

“So Gourou House and the Gourou Subjugation Squad don’t know about this?”

“N-no. But we are members of the Subjugation Squad! You can’t just—”

“Does the Subjugation Squad have the resolve to fight the witch?”

“Hah? Witch?”

He blinked.

“Yes—the Rank I explorer, The Peerless Witch.”

“…Witch… Wof…? No, but that witch was supposed to be two meters tall—”

“Do they have the resolve to fight her?”

“Wof-kun. Should I kill him now?”

“I guess so. It’s fine.”

“Wait! WAIT! The witch—no, Gourou House and the Squad… we never intended to go that far… we wouldn’t… fight her…”

His face turned pale.

Normally, Gourou’s squad—no matter how weak—would show up for revenge.
But if their opponent is the witch… their pride or their lives?
That choice is obvious.

“What is this situation…?”

A voice came from nearby. A passerby? Shoot—I should’ve dealt with the bodies first.

The big man yelled:

“A-Araya-san!?”

“Is he one of them?”

“Zagoh…? The corpses—those are from Zagoh’s unit… Who are you two?”

“Who are you?”

So not a passerby.
What a mess of a walk this turned into.