It didn't take long for the entire squad to gather together, as he had summoned them all earlier just in case. Despite my foresight, I couldn't say that we were mentally prepared for what was coming.
«By preparing us... do you mean taking our weapons?»
«Sí.
«Are we really going to fight them?»
«Do you have any problem fighting monsters like the adventurers you are?». I asked those who didn't seem very anxious, and that was enough to make them see reason.
«...Not at all».
«What are you doing? Follow the baron's orders!»
This was reckless. We didn't know anything for sure, and he might even come back on his own if we stayed still. We should wait a little longer for it to appear.
Although deep down most of those present thought something similar, no one said it out loud. The most they did was whisper to each other as they grabbed their weapons.
«Should we... really do this?»
«What else can we do? You can always talk if you want».
«... I'm not sure I want to.»
«I mean, yes, if you decided to talk right now, would you be willing to face the consequences?».
«...Yes, I'd rather fight the monsters, to be honest.»
I found it a little strange how no one argued with me.
«Bjorn... calm down. You're scaring everyone...» Missha said, approaching.
I stiffened in surprise, and when I took a moment to look around, my eyes met Auyen's. He jumped and quickly looked away. The same thing happened with Ainar. When I looked at her, she immediately started rambling random excuses.
«Maybe something has happened to him...?», she murmured hopefully. «Those guys... They were kind to me even though we don't speak the same language...». He blinked and shook his head frantically. «But I didn't tell them anything! I swear not».
I approached her. «Ainar.»
«Yes! H-Speak!»
«Are you being soft on monsters now that you're all friends?»
«Not at all! It's just that I'm not right in the head now! That essence! It's because of that essence...»
«One of our allies could be in danger right now», I said, cutting her off. Honestly, it was completely plausible that she was acting like this just because of her Aggression problem, but I couldn't sit idly by and let her finish. «Focus. Before you disappoint me.»
«…Understood.»
That handled the matter of getting his head in the game. I looked around and saw that the others had also finished their preparation. There wasn't much more I needed to say.
«Let's go.
When I went out into the street, dozens of adventurers formed behind me. I headed forward at a brisk pace, nominally a walk, but more of a run than anything else. Just then, I noticed someone's presence despite my dull senses.
«Sir».
«Is that it? The one who always watches over our house».
«Yeah. Am I going for them?».
I thought about it for a moment before answering: «No, let them go. They will take us right where we need to go».
«Ah...»
«Accelerate!»
Then, with Erwen's help, we followed the guard who had been spying on us.
«Adventurers... They are the adventurers!»
«Aktiti...! Inside! Come home!»
The monstrous villagers who were engaged in their daily chores ran to hide when they realized that we were marching through their streets fully armed.
The guard does not go in the direction of the chief's house... Where are they going?
I soon got a response.
«Today I discovered a peculiar place. It's about fifteen minutes from the boss's house. At first glance, it looks like a normal house, but there is a lot of security around it)».
It was the suspicious house Amelia told me about a while ago.
«High».
Once we reached our destination, I stopped the group.
«(Adventurer! Drop your weapon!)»
It hadn't even been that long since we left the house, and they were all here.
I stared at the monsters that swarmed like cockroaches and answered quietly: «(I don't want to)».
I didn't come here to talk. I'm looking for someone. If you have nothing to hide, get out of my way.
There was no point in saying any of that out loud. And there was a chance that something bad would happen to Amelia as we wasted time on useless conversations.
«Get out of my way. I'll kill you if you don't.»
Therefore, this was the greatest grace he could offer these warriors right now.
However, Nuiachichi, Marupichichi's father and the chief's right-hand man, ignored my warning.
«The boss has ordered us not to let anyone in. Go».
I didn't feel sorry for him and didn't bother trying to persuade him more. I had given her my last warning and she hadn't heard it. There was only one thing left to do.
«(Oh, ¿es así?)»
«(Yes. So let's calm down...)»
«(Then die.)»
I brandished my hammer with the intent to kill, just like I said I would.
[You have launched gigantization.]
The power filled me to the brim as I increased in size. I lowered my arm with all my strength.
[You have launched Balancing.]
Nuiachichi, an Archer, hurried back and drew his bow. His quick foot movement was a test of its kind.
[You have launched Transcendence.]
[You have cast Eye of the Storm.]
As my hammer swung downward, I used my grappling attack. A storm began to form and the winds swept Nuiachichi's body closer to mine.
¡Crunch!
The hammer fell on his head at the exact moment. But it was not mere coincidence or luck. When you fought every day, timing things like that wasn't particularly difficult. Even less so for a warrior with excellent instincts.
In an instant, his head collapsed like a crushed can. Nuiachichi looked at me dazed, his face full of blood. However, as expected from the boss's right hand, he was not one to fall in one fell swoop.
So, one more.
Levanté mi martillo en el aire...
¡Vwoong!
...and once again I knocked him down with all my might.
With this attack, Marupichichi would be forced to grow up as an orphan, but so what? That was nothing new to me. If you wanted to talk about children, Hans A had had one too.
And as smart as he is, he'll be fine.
And if not, he would probably end up in the same place as his father soon.
…¿Eh?
While I was busy thinking about Marupichichi's family dynamics, my hammer swung infallibly towards Nuiachichi's head. But then, when he was an inch away from making contact, something got between his head and my hammer.
Una espada.
With my agility, all I could see in that split second was the type of weapon. Along with the fact that said weapon glowed brightly.
¡Bum!
The impact of my hammer against the shining sword made the bones in my hands tremble.
Fwish.
The corresponding flash of light blinded me for a split second, but I forced myself to open my eyes so I could observe my surroundings. My lips twisted into a sardonic smile.
Wasn't he the one who said he was too busy to see me?
He seemed ready to kill time when his subordinate was about to die.
We remained there, engaged in a silent confrontation for a long moment. The warrior monsters we had fought side by side at the beginning of the rainy season, not long ago, were now raising their weapons against us.
To be fair, we did the same.
Magic, divine power, special abilities and anything else we could throw at them were ready. The adventurers who had followed me here kept a close eye on our opponents, ready to spring into action at any moment.
«Boss».
I spoke first. My patience was running out.
«I freed my comrade», I asked, skipping all unnecessary gallantry.
The boss didn't ask what he was talking about. He didn't treat me like I was upset or try to say there was some kind of misunderstanding. He caught me off guard.
«So you're here for that woman».
No, instead, the village chief admitted his crimes too easily.
Aprieta.
The burning fury in my mind cooled, and the energy was redirected into a steely force that filled my muscles.
There was room for interpretation, but I had the feeling that his carefreeness was a way of conveying that he hoped he could stop us at any moment, regardless of our display of aggressiveness. But I wasn't going to back down either.
I glared at him, returning his gaze with my own, before barely managing to shout: «... Is she dead?».
The chief bent his thumb and middle finger twice, a gesture typical of this village of monsters who called themselves humans.
However, I knew exactly what it meant.
«Don't worry. Still alive».
Yes, it was negative.
The suffocating anxiety that had been choking me eased only a little, and relief flooded the gaps. Of course, there was always the possibility that the boss was lying to me, but just hearing those words made my breathing a little easier.
«Suéltala», ordené una vez más.
The boss looked at me for a moment. «If I say no, what will you do?».
«I'll go look for it myself. And I will destroy everything that stands in my way».
«Surprisingly... it seems like you're telling the truth».
Bluffing when my comrades' lives were at stake went against everything I stood for.
«I'm stronger than you», he said bluntly.
I nodded. «Could be true».
«So you're not afraid?»
Who cared? «I have never stopped doing something I was supposed to do just because I was afraid».
«Hmm, I see. You're being quite antagonistic. Is he your lover?»
I didn't dignify his nonsense with an answer.
«If not, you must value your colleagues a lot», the boss murmured senselessly, almost to himself, before turning to his subordinates. «Nuiachichi... Ah, you are not in a position to take care of this. Well, anyone's fine, so go bring that adventurer)».
Was she really alive?..?
«Wait here a moment. We still have to talk after this».
I waited there, one part nervous and the other hopeful, until the warrior monsters took Amelia out of the house. She was unconscious and lying on a stretcher.
«What happened?» I asked.
«We have only left her unconscious. We did nothing else to harm her».
According to her statement, I couldn't see any external wounds on her. However, appearances were not everything.
«Take her», the boss said. «As things stand, I don't think we can have a conversation until you see for yourself».
After Amelia was handed over to me, I ordered the priest and magicians to examine her.
«It's like the boss said... It seems like they really knocked her unconscious».
Once I had confirmation not from an enemy but from an ally, I let out a sigh of relief.
Amelia was fine.
That alone was enough to make me feel like I had dodged a huge bullet, but in reality we had only overcome the first obstacle. We hadn't solved the real problem yet.
«Alright, so are you ready to have a conversation now?»
«Why was Emily kidnapped?»
«We didn't kidnap her at all. No, rather, we should be the ones to question her right now. After all, she was the one who sneaked into this building».
So that's what happened.
«You say that, but if it had been like that, the rational thing would have been to call me», I reprimanded.
«You're right. However, there was something we wanted to investigate before doing so. If this woman snuck into this place out of pure curiosity...». The boss looked at me with those disgusting, bright eyes. «Or if he did it under his orders».
Before he could say anything to that, the boss continued.
«However, it seems that this woman did it of her own free will, at least according to her. He didn't answer any more questions. But don't worry. The only thing we did was intimidate her a little, we didn't torture her or hurt her».
«Be grateful that that is the case-»
«However, you will have to take responsibility».
I stared at him, bewildered.
«That is your duty as a leader. It doesn't matter if you ordered it or not. Your ally disrespected our generosity and broke the rules of our village. What's more, you made no effort to find out what had happened and came to the charge to kill the warriors of our village with your bare hands».
Well, there wasn't much I could say to that.
The fact that Amelia was still alive and that he voluntarily returned her to us was proof enough that my actions had been extreme.
«So how do you plan to take responsibility?», the boss asked, making one last taunt.
He spoke the same as always, with a voice as expressionless as ever, but that only made me even more tense. I really didn't know what I was thinking.
What you need right now... is not an apology.
I made a call as quickly as possible. I had no intention of shirking my responsibility as the leader of this group.
«It was by my order that Emily Raines infiltrated this building.»
«Oho, ¿es así?»
«However, there's a reason I told him to do it».
«I'm very curious to know what that reason could be».
I hadn't planned to put all my cards on the table like this, but sometimes hitting your opponent head-on was the answer. «Not long ago, we happened to find a short sword with the insignia of the Silver Lion Clan in the village».
«¿Y?»
«It made me wonder. Why was a weapon that belonged to people who abandoned it still inside the village? So we started an investigation».
«I see, so that's what happened...»
«Since things have come to this, tell me: what about the short sword and what are you hiding in this house?».
The boss paused to ponder my questions. Then finally he spoke. «First, let me answer your question about the short sword. I wasn't there personally, so I can't say for sure... but before leaving, the Silver Lion Clan bartered with the villagers. It is very likely that that short sword was part of those exchanges».
Yes, he suspected that would be his response, considering there was no way for me to confirm whether he was telling the truth.
I continued looking at him without saying a word, and the village chief continued.
«And about this house... this is a bit of an imposition for us... but you'd better see it for yourself».
«Clear. Show me».
The chief made a gesture with his wrist and all the warriors surrounding the place moved away and made their way. I followed the boss to the house.
«It's down here».
The building disguised as a normal house had stairs that led to the basement, and when I went down them, I saw with my own eyes what those monsters had been hiding.
«...Shit.»
I had a sneaky suspicion when I smelled the stench of stale meat at the bottom of the stairs.
«Take. This is what you were curious about».
The basement was full of rotting corpses.
«This is the secret of our people».
The corpses were in such poor condition that it was difficult to distinguish them from each other, but it was not difficult for me to imagine what they must have looked like in life.
«But I guess you know that now too, huh?»
The corpses were human.