Against thugs who couldn't even set foot inside a Hollow, Geno could only do his best to hold back.
Not that losing was ever on the table — that was impossible. What Geno was actually worried about was whether he'd be able to stop himself from going too far.
So he decided not to bother with his weapon at all. Facing this gang of scowling, mean-faced criminals, he rolled up his sleeves, pointed at the one he'd already given a matching set of black eyes, and announced:
"Fair warning — I am seriously strong."
"What's this guy babbling about?! Get him! I want him looking like a panda next!"
The gang leader's face was a mask of fury. There were so many of them — and they couldn't handle one unarmed young man? If that turned out to be true, then every year they'd spent in this business had been a complete and utter waste of their lives.
As it turned out, it probably had been.
In under five minutes — when Geno had been prepared to put in at least a little effort — he dispatched every last one of the black-clad thugs with an almost embarrassing ease. The whole thing went so smoothly it caught even him off guard.
"Are you kidding me? This is the level you're at, and you're out here pulling kidnappings? Have you people never heard of professional standards?"
Geno dusted off his hands and stared down at the pile of groaning bodies with an expression of pure exasperation. He hadn't even gone all in — maybe thirty percent of his actual strength, tops — and every single one of them was already flat on the ground. Utterly useless.
"Damn it... how is this guy so strong?"
The sub-boss took one look at his fallen men and immediately read the room. His nerve evaporated on the spot. Time to cut his losses and run.
"Live to fight another day. I'm out of here."
"Hm. Did I say you could leave?"
Geno let out a dismissive snort and drove his foot into the man's side, sending him sprawling.
Then he dusted his hands off again, as if none of it had been worth breaking a sweat over.
"What a letdown. I wasn't even close to done."
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
Applause broke out from somewhere behind him. Geno spun around, braced for another enemy — and found himself looking at Alice's grandfather, old Master Timefield.
"I knew I'd read you right. Thanks to you, Alice is safe and sound. Truly — you're every bit worthy of being my future grandson-in-law."
Geno blinked at that, caught completely off guard. Then a wave of Public Security officers came surging in past the old man, methodically scooping up every black-clad thug left on the scene.
Something didn't add up. Geno couldn't shake the feeling that the situation was a little too tidy.
For that matter — it had been less than five minutes since the ambush. How had old Master Timefield managed to arrive with an entire squad of officers in tow this fast? It was less like he'd anticipated trouble, and more like he'd been... directing it.
"Master, the investigation is complete. It was the Ravenlock family's people."
"Mm. Understood. Make sure this is kept strictly under wraps."
"Yes, sir."
The exchange between old Master Timefield and the head butler was conducted at full volume — no attempt whatsoever to exclude Geno. If anything, their voices were a notch louder than usual, as though they were making absolutely sure he heard every word.
"Good. The matter is resolved. Arnold — escort the young lady home."
The head butler gave a small, practiced bow, then guided Alice and the maid into a waiting car and departed.
"A little confused about where things stand?"
Old Master Timefield looked at Geno with a genial smile — but behind the warmth, his eyes were glittering with a craftiness that gave nothing away.
"A little," Geno admitted. "Those men came out of nowhere — but you don't seem the least bit surprised by it."
Geno was at a complete loss. He had the nagging, uneasy sense that he'd stumbled into a very deep, very carefully laid trap — and he still had no idea what role he'd been cast in.
"Ha ha ha. Of course I'm not surprised. Because the reason they showed up at all is that I'm the one who leaked your whereabouts."
"...What?"
Geno stared at him, genuinely stunned. He couldn't begin to understand why old Master Timefield would deliberately put his own granddaughter in danger.
"It's quite simple. The Ravenlock family was never going to give up on striking back at Timefield."
A shadow of gravity crossed the old man's eyes. It wasn't a card he would have played if he'd had any other choice.
While the officers finished processing the scene, old Master Timefield recounted the full story at his leisure.
"The Ravenlock family may be in decline, but they are still members of TOPS. The Timefield family, by contrast, has never joined TOPS — and has no interest in cooperating with them. That rabid dog of a family head isn't exactly bound by any sense of alliance loyalty, either."
The Ravenlock name had always carried a poor reputation — especially under the current family head, who possessed none of his predecessors' vision or far-sightedness, and had instead drifted further and further down a crooked and disreputable path.
Old Master Timefield held them in contempt — but contempt alone wasn't a shield. He still had to guard against their underhanded tactics.
"Timefield stands in the open; Ravenlock lurks in the shadows, always ready to strike. To flush a pack of hyenas out into the open, you have to throw them something worth running for. Bait valuable enough to make them move."
As he said it, the old man's gaze drifted to Geno — and a faint flicker of guilt passed across his face. It vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
"You and Alice were the perfect choice. So after Arnold's report came in, I quietly spread word of where you were headed. Naturally, the hyenas caught the scent and came running."
All of this, of course, was predicated on having the proper countermeasures already in place.
And it had worked exactly as he'd planned.
"I arranged things with the Public Security bureau in advance — had them set up a sting operation in the area. And sure enough, these stupid, contemptible hyenas walked right into it."
"Hold on!" Geno cut in. "This whole plan only worked because Alice didn't get hurt. What if the Ravenlock people had actually grabbed her? What then?"
Geno pressed the point. The reason tonight had ended cleanly was because he had been strong enough to handle it. But if he hadn't been — if he'd been overwhelmed — how could old Master Timefield possibly have arrived in time?
"Ha ha ha. Your fighting ability did genuinely exceed my expectations, I'll admit. But I wasn't going in completely unprepared. Do you remember the maid who was driving you? She was a plant — someone I arranged in advance. At the first sign of danger, her job was to shield Alice and hold the line until we arrived."
Now that the old man mentioned it, Geno thought back to the moment he'd pulled Alice and the maid free from the wreck. The maid's reaction had been oddly composed — not the kind of panic you'd expect from ordinary household staff.
"So that's how it was."
Hearing it all laid out, the tension in Geno's chest gradually eased.
He still had his reservations about what old Master Timefield had done — but at least the man hadn't truly thrown his granddaughter to the wolves. There had been a net underneath her the whole time.
Old Master Timefield, for his part, watched Geno let the matter drop — and smiled with practiced naturalness, quietly burying the small, persistent pang of guilt that still lingered somewhere beneath his ribs.
Because — and this was the part he had very carefully left unsaid — his instructions had been to protect Alice. Geno had never been included in that equation.
If Geno hadn't possessed the ability to fight, that maid would almost certainly have dropped her supposed future grandson-in-law without a second thought the instant things turned dangerous.
Such was the art of saying exactly what you meant — and nothing more.
"Ha ha ha. From the look of things, you've grown rather fond of my granddaughter, haven't you?"
Old Master Timefield made a cheerful pivot toward a new topic.
Geno opened his mouth to explain himself — and was immediately cut off by something happening nearby.
____
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🔥 New history: Re:Zero: Wrath Route Yandere Emilia Watches the Projection
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