49 – The Old Man From The Countryside Makes Sure

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“… What is it, it’s just a kid? What’s wrong, Little Lady, are you lost?”

The man who was angrily coming up took one glance at Lucy’s appearance and changed his response a little.

Our targets are based in the Central District, even if they are criminals.
Perhaps they have a policy where they don’t want to openly cause a fuss.

Even here, all Lucy did was open the front door in a dramatic fashion.
As long as there are bystanders, they don’t want to badly stand out.

However, I wonder if Lucy’s face isn’t really known to the world.
She acts like such a refined young lady 1 and the Head Magus of the Magic Division, I think someone in her position would stand out.

The man who answered the door doesn’t even seem to recognize her.

“… Hmm,” Lucy said.
“Are you perhaps the ‘Twilight Witch’?”

“–!”

“Orororo?” Lucy said smugly.

“Ah…”

The man started moving very quickly after Lucy’s words.
He hurriedly grabbed her neck and hurled her inside.

Immediately after that, BANG! The sound echoed in the street, the front door was shut tight.

“–That’s it! I can’t watch your back like this!” I yelled.

This is what happens when you rush in without thinking!

I tried slamming into the door in a hurry, but apparently, they locked it at the same time they closed it.
Even if I pushed or pulled it doesn’t budge.

“Hmm… should I kick it down? No…”

It’s a bit risky to suddenly burst through the door.

If I listen carefully, I can pick up the sounds inside, but the city is crowded enough as is.
My ears aren’t good enough to pick up only the noise from the interior.

“UGYAAAAHHH….!”

But, then:

As if to mock the time I’d wasted, the screams of the burly man pierced through the door at a volume my ears couldn’t handle.

“~~~~AAH, COME ON!”

I don’t know what’s going on inside.

It’s not Lucy’s screaming I heard, so I don’t think they’re doing anything to her.
But now that shouting had started, I had no time to lose.

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“Miu, get back!” I said.

“He-Hey!?!” she cried.

I put my strength in my legs and thud, thud, try to kick down the door with all my might.

If I had a sword, I could have easily torn through the wooden door, but right now I only have a wooden sword.
I’m worried about having to rely on primitive weapons but Lucy’s actions have created this situation.

Apparently, the door lock wasn’t that sturdy.
As I kicked it several times, I can see it gradually distorting while making an ominous noise.

“… Open up!” I yelled.

Or more accurately, it broke.

When I took a breath then kicked in once more, bagin, I heard an unpleasant noise and the sound of the lock breaking.
I quickly open the door and break into the house.

As I moved inside in a hurry, a man was laying down.
He was rolling and covering his face with both hands, it looked like he was faintly smoking.

Ah, god, now you’ve done it, Lucy.

Maybe she burned his face.
Despite being a villain and my opponent, I pray in my heart that they weren’t seriously burned.
I don’t want that to have happened.

“Wha-What the hell are you bastards doing?!”

I haven’t seen all of it but it seems Lucy has set something up.
I looked around and saw a group of men in a bad mood after the circus that just started.

Looking around, it seems that we’re in a living room just after passing through the entrance hall, there doesn’t seem to be that much space.
An oval table was at the center of the room, the chairs that should have been for the residents were scattered around and the legs were shattered.

There are five men and one woman, including the one rolling on the floor, in my sights.
I can see stairs at the back of the room, there may still be more there.

“Ooh, Beryl, thank you for your help,” Lucy said.
“But they’re so rude, this guy just suddenly grabbed me and threw me inside.”

I can’t see any panic from Lucy, the center of the turmoil.
She didn’t seem to feel too guilty about it.

The fallen man stopped moaning and groaning, but he’s still rolling around on the floor and holding his face.

“Huh? Hey, you fucking brat…!” one of the men shouted.

His voice was full of anger and annoyance.

However, the thieves can’t just move in the face of these sudden, mysterious events.
Well, I wonder if it’s better than being jumped and ganged up.

“Are these two brats and an old man…?” another man whispers as he looks around.
“Huh?”

Then, he stops at Miu.

“Hey, that kid… I’ve seen her before…”

The voices gradually change from hesitation to conviction.

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“…”

After getting a finger pointed directly at her, Miu felt a little tense.

“You don’t have to deal with them.
You’re already doing the right thing, okay?” I said.

I pat her on the head.

There’s no need for Miu to blame herself.
Even if this was the wrong thing to do, it was Lucy and me who pushed it forward.
We adults should hake responsibility for our actions, not her.

My hand went to her head, but it would have been better to put it on her shoulder or something.
This old man doesn’t want to be hated by small children.

No, I think we’re on bad terms already.

“Y-You, no way…!”

The hand pointing at Miu trembles slightly.

In response to that voice and the gaze, Miu averted her eyes and looked down, as if she couldn’t help it.

“… This fucking brat…!”

Hostile intent has suddenly appeared.
And close to that, recognizing a familiar face.
From those two facts, I think he guessed what was going on.
An extremely angry man leaps at Miu.

But, unfortunately for him:

I knocked down his outstretched hand with the wooden sword on my waist.

“Goh?!” he cried.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that,” I said.

“Good, Beryl,” Lucy said.
“Let them have it!”

During that short battle, Lucy’s voice is without tension.

You’re in this too, you know.
Do it properly.
No, I still want her to restrain herself.
It’s really difficult to work with a mage.

However, it’s difficult to swing a wooden sword around in a small room.
Judging from the ability of the man who just attacked me, it seems he’s not too good at fighting, so I guess I could handle it.

“–What’s going on, it’s so noisy?”

Immediately after I beat back the man who leaped in, a strange silence dominated the room for a few moments.

Then, from the stairs at the back, a big man poked his face in.

“Bo-Boss! We’ve got intruders!” the thief woman cries, her voice high-pitched.

So that big guy is the boss of these guys.
If that was Twilight, this would be an easy story, but what about it?

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“… Twilight…!” Miu muttered gravely.

Oh, is that confirmation that’s Twilight? I’d like to knock him down then withdraw.
If I leave the cleanup to the Knights, they’ll be able to handle it.

“What are you guys? This is a hell of a greeting.
We’re in the middle of the royal capital, aren’t we?” the Boss said as he walked down the stairs.

It’s hard to imagine that’s Twilight.

… He’s huge, taller than me.
He’s got clothes on top, but it seems like his body is pretty solidly muscled.
Every time the man walks, he makes a rattling noise like metal rubbing against each other.
Looking at him, he seems he’s wearing a number of accessories like necklaces and bracelets.

A small, seasoned shortsword was on his waist.

“Are you ‘Twilight’?” I asked.

“I don’t need to answer that,” the man with the long hair tied behind him says calmly.

Well, he confirmed it by not denying it.
Or rather, thanks to his subordinates shouting and reporting that there was an intruder, we’re certain this is the thieves’ base.

In addition, that woman there called this man “Boss”, so we decided he was their leader.

In short, whether or not this man is Twilight, there’s a reason to capture them.

The worst outcome was that we were hurting ordinary citizens with Miu’s lying or misunderstanding, but I’m glad that doesn’t seem to be the case.

It will be terrible news for the Knights and the Magic Division to treat upstanding citizens unscrupulously.
Especially for the Magic Division, because Lucy is on a business trip.

“… Oh? You, what do you think you’re doing… ah… I’m pretty sure… Miu, wasn’t it? What are you doing?” the man who seemed to be Twilight said, scratching his head and calling out Miu’s name.

“…” Miu doesn’t reply.

“Oh, that’s right.
What’s wrong, bringing these noisy people?” Twilight asked.
“I thought you wanted me to bring your sister back with revival magic—“

Revival magic.

As soon as the phrase came out, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Or more specifically, Lucy was clearly set off into a murderous rage.

“—Are you the one who dares mock magic?”

Her cold voice echoes in the room.

“Huh? What’s with this little… you, are you Lucy Diamond?”

The man’s attitude changes, too.

He seems aware of Lucy’s identity or her position.
However, his tone was questioning.
I wondered if he knew about Lucy and with what degree of certainty.

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“Hmph, it seems my name is known even to bandits,” Lucy grumbled.

“Hahaha, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Twilight said.
“So you’re the one who tricked our Miu.”

“You’re the one you’s done the tricking here,” Lucy said.

“Ooh, so scary,” Twilight said.
“That’s a horrible accusation.”

Both sides did not let up their verbal assaults.

Twilight gradually tries to close the distance while controlling the situation with his words.

What do I do? Should I step up here?

I understand that Lucy’s strength shouldn’t be underestimated and she doesn’t need protection.
However, the space here isn’t large and it’s indoors.

You can’t just let loose with spells indoors.
That would have too much of an impact on the surroundings.
When she took me on for a duel, it was at a large space in the Central District with few buildings and no people around.

Twilight’s capabilities are still unknown.
I don’t know what he’ll try to do.

If he’s some type of warrior, the closer he gets, the more moves he can make.
Isn’t it a little dangerous to inadvertently close the distance?

As I thought that, the two got so close that they could have touched each other if they reached out.

“Well then, why don’t you just go… and die?!”

Twilight’s eyes flashed sharply.

Twilight walked up to Lucy’s face and raises his right arm.
A jarring, metallic sound echoed throughout the room.

The surroundings are totally transfixed.
There are various expressions such as relief, contempt, and disdain.
They must be very confident in their boss’s skills.

Now then, what will Lucy do against Twilight?

Our gazes focus on those two.

Everyone in the room, myself included, watched their movements.

Lucy Diamond was the first to move.
With a small sigh, she raised her right hand.

“–Ugouuh.”

The next moment:

Twilight’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, he fell to his knees limply.

Footnotes

Lost-in-translation: Lucy has been speaking in extremely formal, more traditional form of Japanese, akin to someone speaking in Shakespeare English in daily life.

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