Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 59

59.

“H-Huh! S-Sheri?”

My attempt to lighten the mood only made Sheri cry harder. Flustered, I couldn’t comfort her and just fidgeted. Then, Trowel approached and gently patted her shoulder.

“Don’t cry, Sheri. El is embarrassed.”

“Hic, s-sorry.”

“More importantly, we need to deal with those guys now. It’s an incident that happened within the group, and with the leader of a mercenary band involved, the problem will get a bit bigger. We need to let Hussen know about this first, is that okay?”

Sheri flinched slightly at Hussen’s name but soon nodded.

“I want to get revenge on them right now. Those guys tried to do that and erase my memories with magic.”

“Huh! Really? Is that even possible with magic?”

Trowel nodded at my surprised question.

“It’s a type of illusion magic. But it’s just casting simple suggestions.”

“Wow, still amazing. This magician seems stronger than he looks.”

“Binding magic, silence magic, and illusion magic are all 4th circle spells, so he’s not *that* bad. It’s just pathetic that he’s using that power for useless things.”

Clicking his tongue, he brought rope from somewhere and began to tightly bind the bodies of the three still unconscious men. He tied the magician’s wrists and ankles more meticulously and even gagged him. When I wondered if it wasn’t too much, he lightly explained the reason.

“Magic is cast according to the language spoken and the arrangement of hand movements. That’s why when capturing a magician, it’s good to pay a little more attention to those things.”

“Does that mean you can subdue all magicians like that?”

“No, actually, really strong magicians are not affected by this much. You have to make them wear something that seals their magic power. Of course, that’s useless against dragons.”

“Is dragon magic that strong?”

Trowel nodded at my question, and Sheri widened her eyes as if wondering how I didn’t know that.

“Dragons are called magical creatures and have naturally outstanding magical abilities. It would be strange if magic wasn’t involved in every process from birth to death. They master the 9th circle, known as the realm of dreams for humans, before their coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Wow, I see.”

“‘I see’? This is almost common sense. How can you not know that, even though you grew up in a temple?”

I smiled awkwardly at Sheri’s dumbfounded expression. Perhaps sensing that there was something I couldn’t say from my expression, Sheri didn’t press me and closed her mouth.

It was against the mercenary’s code to pry into another person’s past. Mercenary work often involved risking one’s life, such as monster extermination, protection from assassination attempts, and participation in wars. And there were hardly any people who chose such a dangerous job whose past was smooth.

“Sorry, I think I asked something unnecessary. Everyone has their own circumstances.”

“No, it’s okay. More than that, when should we tell Hussen? Everyone must be asleep now.”

“There’s nothing we can do, we have to wake him up. We can’t just leave them like this, can we?”

But at that moment, Trowel’s eyes lit up.

“No, that would be good. Let’s just leave them alone.”

“Huh? R-Really?”

“Yeah, let them soak up the cold dew all night. We don’t need to disturb the others’ sleep because of these guys, do we?”

“W-Well, that’s true, but…”

Unlike my bewildered self, Sheri seemed pleased with his suggestion. Rather, she went a step further and expanded the scale.

“Then how about hanging them on a tree instead? So everyone can watch them when they wake up in the morning.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Right? Hehe, that’ll be fun!”

At times like this, the two were a good match. I raised an objection to them, who were wearing sly smiles.

“W-Wait a minute. Is that okay? What if we get caught by the police?”

“Huh? What’s a police?”

“Um, I mean the guards. Won’t we be punished for hanging people?”

“No, it’s okay. They were the ones who did wrong first, by touching a fellow mercenary on the same request. Even if we report it to the guild, they’ll be punished right away. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

Sheri’s attitude in answering was so confident, and Trowel also nodded, so I couldn’t say anything more.

In the end, the three men were tied together and hung on a tree. It was also on a tree in the middle of the square closest to the inn.

Perhaps tomorrow morning, they will be the center of attention for many residents. I was worried that the problem would get bigger, but on the other hand, I was also looking forward to it.

* * *

“What on earth is going on! I’m going to report it to the guild master right now!”

The Champagne Mercenary members, who came down to the first floor for a meal with sleepy consciousness the next morning, looked bewildered at the Vodka Mercenary members who suddenly rushed in. Because I, Trowel, and Sheri, who knew all the circumstances, were silent, none of the group knew the details yet.

Herold scratched his messy brown hair and retorted bluntly.

“What are you talking about? Shouldn’t you know the situation before reporting us?”

“You shameless people! Are you going to pretend you don’t know? You guys assaulted our leader and members!”

“Assault? Who assaulted who? Geez—are you deaf? Say it one more time?”

“It’s no use pretending! There’s a witness!”

“Witness?”

“Follow me! I’ll show you clearly!”

The place they took us to was right in front of the tree where Matthew had hung the men last night. Below them, who were struggling in the air, were countless people who had come to watch.

“Puhahaha! What on earth is that! It’s a masterpiece, a masterpiece!”

Herold burst into crazy laughter as soon as he witnessed the scene. The other members were also covering their mouths and swallowing their laughter. It was inevitable because the faces of the three tied men were quite comical. Both cheeks were swollen as if they had been stung by bees, and their eyes had panda-like blue bruises. Their hair was all messed up and disheveled like ruffians. It was all Trowel’s work last night.

“Wow, they really got beat up badly? Where did they get hit like that? It’s so funny! Keuhahaha!”

“Eek! What are you pretending not to know! Your members did this, didn’t they?”

Then the tied men recognized me and Trowel and started shouting.

“Eek! You damn bastards! Untie this right now!”

“I’ll kill you! How dare you do this to us!”

“Ugh, ugh!”

“……Huh? It seems like one of us really did do it?”

Mighty blinked his eyes as if he had finally noticed the situation. Of course, that didn’t mean he looked particularly sorry. The members all started giving Herold suspicious glances.

“Could it be you, Herold? Tsk tsk. Why do you always cause trouble wherever you go?”

“It wasn’t me. Absolutely not me. Mighty, aren’t you the one who did it and is pretending not to know?”

“Are you crazy? How could I beat those big guys into a pulp unilaterally? Besides, that’s the skill of someone who knows how to torture professionally. Look, they only hit the painful parts.”

“Oh my? Then you’re both saying it’s not you? It can’t be Hussen…… Huh! Could it be! Matthew, was it you?”

They gave Herold a look that said it was obvious, but they gave Trowel an expression that said they couldn’t believe it. Then the men who were hanging started shouting again.

“Eek! Untie us right now! You bastards! The little black-haired kid! The guy in the hood next to him! You were with that guy too! Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this to us!”

“Oh my my. It really seems to be true? But if it’s someone in a hood, could it be El?”

At Iril’s surprised gaze, I smiled with an embarrassed feeling. Then, as if gaining courage from that appearance, the Vodka mercenaries began to protest.

“How are you going to take responsibility for this? Causing discord between mercenary bands performing the same request like this!”

“Do you think you’ll be okay after doing this?”

The members all frowned at the roaring shouts. Even in the midst of that, Hussen was calm.

“Well, more than that, let’s hear the details first. Matthew is the type who doesn’t care about unnecessary things, let alone others.”

“What details! Apologize right now! Even so, I’m never going to let this go!”

It was then.

Sheri, who had been quietly yawning, retorted nonchalantly.

“They’re paying for their sins. I don’t know what’s wrong with that?”

“Sin, paying for their sins?”

“What does that mean?”

The Vodka mercenaries and Hussen asked her at the same time. Sheri glared at the men hanging on the tree one by one (the men avoided her gaze every time she looked at them) and explained.

“It’s as I said. Last night, those three men tried to rape me. They used binding magic to prevent me from moving my body in a cowardly way, and they even cast silence magic around me so that it was useless to shout.”

“……!”

“I-Is that true, Sheri?”

Sheri nodded at the horrified members.

“The three of them were determined to pounce on me. It’s clear they planned it from the beginning. If Matthew and El, who happened to be taking a walk, hadn’t saved me, I would have ruined my body to those guys and committed suicide out of shame.”

“W-What!”

“D-Don’t lie! You bitch! Besides, you went out with the leader last night, hugging each other intimately!”

“You planned all this, didn’t you? Where are you trying to evoke sympathy with shame or whatever? You’re just a woman who’s been played with anyway!”

“Oh my? I’m pure. I’ve never even been kissed.”

“W-Who would believe such a lie!”

“It’s true? Even though I look like this, I’ve decided to dedicate my life to one man. I just wanted to be friends with Sean. Yesterday, he just asked me to take a walk around, so we went out together. But suddenly he turned into a beast…… I’m really…… so scared…… sob!”

Sheri began to act like a frightened girl without batting an eye. Tears welled up in her innocent and delicate face, and the faces of the onlookers naturally showed pity. In addition, the enraged Iril hugged her and spat out curses.

“Sheri, you poor thing! What on earth were those sons of bitches trying to do to such a young child?”

“Sob, Iril unnie [older sister]!”

Now Sheri began to burst into tears in her arms. It was truly an amazing acting skill. But thanks to that, it was true that our side had become much more advantageous. I inwardly clicked my tongue and quickly took her words.

“We were just trying to save Sheri. In the process, we fought and it turned out like that. We hung them on the tree to give them a taste of their own medicine… Shouldn’t this be treated as self-defense in this case?”

“T-That’s…….”

“Of course it’s self-defense! Self-defense! Isn’t that too much to let them off? You should have taken off their clothes or something! Or made them impotent so they couldn’t do their job as men! I’ll just―!”

As the angry Iril shouted, the faces of the men who came to watch, including the members, were subtly distorted. Impotent… Isn’t it a terrible word just to imagine?

As the situation began to turn unfavorable, the Vodka mercenary members began to sweat coldly. They glared at their tied leader as if telling him to make some excuses.

At that time, Hussen, who had been standing still, strode forward. Coldness flowed from his sunken eyes. Everyone who received his gaze flinched. Finally, a growling voice, as if chewing and kicking, flowed from his opened mouth.

“……Who are you telling to apologize?”

“No, it’s not that…… We just heard that the Champagne mercenary members made it like this…….”

“So, you’re saying that you just listened to those words and poured out accusations without even asking for the details?”

The Vodka mercenary members closed their mouths like they had eaten honey.

At that moment, Hussen drew the sword he was wearing on his waist. A subtle blue energy was swirling on the powerfully straightened blade. His trembling arm was proving how angry Hussen was now.

In that state, Hussen glared at the men hanging on the tree. Feeling an unusual momentum, they struggled with pale faces.

“W-Wait a minute!”

“What are you trying to do……!”

But their voices could no longer continue.

Hussen unhesitatingly swung his sword down as it was.

Swoosh― Chwaaaak!

The people who had gathered all screamed and closed their eyes. I expected a fountain of blood to rise from their bodies soon.

But even after a long time, there was no change in the bodies of the hanging people. Even they themselves didn’t seem to notice what had happened. Rather, they showed a satisfied smile with a face that said, “I knew it.”

“Heh heh, even if you kill someone for such a thing, even a gold-plated mercenary…….”

It was right then.

With a thud, something fell to the floor. Confused, I looked at it in detail and soon hardened my face. It was three lumps of flesh that looked exactly the same. It was also an object in a shape familiar to any man.

“Ah, aaaaaaack!”

At the same time, the three tied men screamed.

Before they knew it, red blood began to spread on their pants. The faces of the people who watched it turned pale. They must have all realized the same thing as me. Just like Iril said, he really cut off their genitals.

“……Wow, leader. You’re really merciless.”

Herold muttered with a frown as if he was more hurt. Not only him, but most of the men’s expressions were like that. This time, even the vicious guys couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

“W-What on earth are you doing!”

Hussen retorted with a cold face to the Vodka mercenary members who were screaming in shock.

“As you can see. I just made it so that they can’t do that again in the future.”

“H-How could you do this!”

“If the guild finds out about this……!”

“You’ve been chattering on and on since a while ago. If you have any complaints, come at me. I’ll make you all the same.”

“K-Keuk!”

The mercenaries trembled at Hussen’s fierce words. But none of them actually showed any signs of rushing in. In the end, they untied the three people tied to the tree and hurriedly left the scene.

“I’m sorry, Sheri. I wanted you to take care of them yourself.”

Sheri shook her head greatly at Hussen’s words. Her two eyes looking up at him were shining like a dreaming girl. It was clear that Hussen’s appearance looked like a prince on a white horse.

“It’s okay. Hussen got angry for me.”

“Are you hurt anywhere? Did those guys do anything to you?”

“It’s okay. Nothing happened. Matthew and El helped me in a dangerous moment.”

“Okay, that’s a relief. Be careful next time. There’s no guarantee that those guys won’t show up again.”

“It doesn’t matter. Hussen can protect me then, right?”

“…….”

Hussen replaced his answer with silence to Sheri’s eyes full of expectations. Sheri’s face was stained with disappointment at the sight, but she soon smiled again. It seemed that she was even happier that he was angry for her right now.