Chapter 182 : Sherwood is Back!

Carelessness is the most effective weapon. And I am the swordsman who uses it best.

If they're going to be this careless, wouldn't it be rude of me not to take advantage of it?

How can I resist this? It was close to impossible.

Moreover, I had to show the gathered audience the most impressive scene possible. That way, the rumor would spread even faster.

I had my own calculations.

The brightest light is the one that shines in the darkness.

A pleasant twist that turns the situation around at the moment when the embers of hope are dying out.

The operation was a success.

And so, the leader was split in half and died.

The situation was cleared up in an instant.

While they were frozen by the unexpected and shocking end of the fake leader, Miho, with a sword in her mouth, rushed at them.

In a flash, several heads fell.

The guys collapsed in an instant, becoming lumps of meat.

There were some who tried to run away after belatedly grasping the situation, but in the end, it was just an attempt.

We are Sherwood.

Sherwood are not merciful guys who let their enemies run away.

I also joined in and cleaned up the rest.

I would never let a single one escape.

I'll show you what happens when you impersonate Sherwood.

Don't expect any mercy from me.

There were quite a few who ran back into the hideout, but those guys had no choice but to run out the back door.

Shushruta, who was waiting behind the building, will take care of them.

These guys were in my grasp from the beginning.

After letting them come up onto my palm gently so they wouldn't be scared, when I clenched my fist, what flowed was blood.

Miho, who had slaughtered the guys in an instant, spat out the sword she was holding.

Clang!

The sword, red with blood, rolled on the ground.

The blade was all red with their blood, but not a single drop of blood was on Miho's white fur.

I saw her cutting them down indiscriminately as if she were a storm of blood, but how is that possible?

It was a strange sight even for me.

Anyway, only after the situation was settled did I turn to the onlookers.

It was a refreshing scene where the bad guys who had been harassing the people were cleared up in an instant, a scene that should have brought cheers.

But the street was as quiet as a mouse.

"...."

I had at least expected a refreshing shout mixed with a curse of "Serves you right!", but why is it so quiet?

Is it because it happened so quickly?

Because the twist was so shocking?

Or because it was a shocking scene of blood splattering?

The people were frozen in place, just staring blankly with wide eyes.

I tilted my head for a moment, and then I raised the sword I was holding above my head.

The red aura was still forming the shape of a complete sword on my half-silver sword.

"Sherwood is back!"

"...."

But the reaction that came back was cold. No, rather, their expressions were slightly frightened.

A situation where some people were even backing away.

'Why?'

The Heavenly Demon, who was watching, said.

[Try having the fox speak.]

As per the Heavenly Demon's advice, I called Miho, who was calmly grooming her fur.

To be so calm after slaughtering those guys in an instant.

It's an attitude as if she had just killed a swarm of flies.

It looks extremely cruel, and it also looks elegant, as if a beast from the moon had descended.

As expected of a magical beast.

"Miho."

"What is it?"

"Come here for a moment."

The white cotton candy trotted over.

I lifted her up and shouted once more.

"Sherwood is back!"

And then I whispered softly to Miho.

"You say something too."

Miho, who was dangling from me, yawned and then said roughly.

"Yawn... Sherwood is back. The guys who dared to impersonate Sherwood, Ashuban and I have taken care of them, so you can rest assured."

Only then did a meaningful reaction erupt from the people.

"It's a talking fox!"

"It's really Sherwood!"

"Waaah! Sherwood is back!"

"Cute!"

...Why do they believe it when this one says it?

The content was similar, but the reaction to what Miho said and what I said was starkly different.

Are they discriminating against people?

And come to think of it, this one was more cruel and killed more, so why aren't they scared of this one?

The Heavenly Demon said calmly.

[It's only natural, since they have eyes.]

"It's unfair."

[Then why didn't you try to have prettier eyes?]

"Is that something I can control?"

I grumbled and then quickly inserted my name into the pouring cheers. Because it would be troublesome if only this fox was mentioned when the rumor spread.

"I am Ashuban of Sherwood! Ashuban of Sherwood defeated the fake guys with the fox! Do you understand?"

"Waaah! It's a talking fox!"

"...."

***

Miho immediately said she was sleepy and went into the hideout, curled up by the window where she always slept, and fell asleep.

And Shushruta was busy cleaning, hiring people on the spot.

Cleaning up the corpses, wiping the blood, and cleaning up the hideout that the guys had used messily would not be a job that could be solved in a short period of time.

In the meantime, I went to the mercenary guild. Because I had to formally register the mercenary corps.

As I walked the familiar streets, I reached the front of the mercenary guild building.

"This place is still the same."

I muttered a casual thought and opened the door and went in.

Creeak...

"Hmm?"

The inside was empty. The mercenaries who were always drinking and talking loudly were nowhere to be seen.

"...Did I come to the wrong place?"

I went back out and checked the sign. It was the mercenary guild.

"What's going on? It can't be because of those guys."

I muttered and crossed the inside of the guild.

Every time I walked, the old wooden planks creaked.

At the reception desk, a guy was sleeping soundly. In a rather unconventional posture, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the reception desk.

"Snore..."

It was a posture that had the infinite potential to be hit on the back of the head for poor work attitude, 100 out of 100 times. I could feel a strong will to sleep soundly.

I looked at him for a moment.

[Do you know him?]

"I do."

Brown hair, a white face. Long eyelashes. Features with faint lines.

Although he had a pretty face like a girl, and his hair was not short, so he was often mistaken for a girl, he was definitely a guy who should not be mistaken.

And a very ill-tempered one at that.

I watched him sleep for a moment, and then slammed the reception desk.

"Waaah!"

The guy was startled and fell backwards with his chair.

Thud!

I watched the scene with my arms crossed.

"Wow. That's a refreshing fall."

The guy, as soon as he fell, shot up and cursed.

"Damn it. What kind of asshole—"

He frowned and glared this way... and then he became dumbfounded.

"...Ashuban?"

I grinned.

"How have you been, Boris?"

"You... you..."

There was a guy in the guild who also treated me like a ghost.

Boris pointed at me with his finger and trembled, backing away, and then he suddenly grabbed a dagger that was behind him and threw it at me.

'This bastard?'

I easily caught it and then stuck it in the reception desk.

"You crazy bastard. You throw a knife right away? Is that a greeting? Shall I greet you too?"

Out of joy, I poured all sorts of curses on him.

After I had checked various parts of his life, such as a curse on his future, a life plan for the next twenty years, an evaluation of his present, a re-evaluation of his past, and so on... Boris, who had been listening blankly, brightened up.

"It's you, Ashuban!"

"...."

Why do these guys only recognize me after getting a bucket of curses?

The joy was short-lived.

Boris suddenly leaned over the reception desk and grabbed me by the collar.

"You son of a bitch! You were alive, so why did you pretend to be dead! I almost died because of you. Do you know?"

I stared at the guy blankly, being held by the collar.

"By whom?"

"By the Sherwood guys!"

Boris let go of my collar as if throwing me away and cursed.

"Damn it, I was the one who had to report your disappearance and inform Sherwood. These damn bastards. Age is a privilege, huh? The guys who usually blabber on about having to take the initiative were terrified and passed the buck. I took it because I was disgusted."

"...."

I looked at Boris, who was cursing, for a moment.

It seems he was more upset about almost dying than about how I had survived after falling from the Mist Cliff or why my eyes had turned red.

[Why are there no normal people among your acquaintances?]

"...."

I had nothing to say.

"Damn it, I don't get scared easily. But the Sherwood guys are an exception. Their killing intent is... I almost died of a heart attack before I even got hit. Especially Gustan, that guy... he's not human. A yasha lives in his eyes. Do you know?"

I dismissed it nonchalantly.

"What's the big deal?"

Not many people can have a staring contest with the leader.

Boris looked at me and clicked his tongue.

"But this bastard has a ghost in his eyes. How did you come back even more ruthless? Why are your eyes so red? Wait. What's this smell of blood? Sniff, sniff. It's not the smell of a magical beast, it's the smell of human blood. Did you kill someone?"

"You're asking now?"

I roughly summarized what had happened after I fell from the cliff and what had happened in the Blake Kingdom.

"...And you want me to believe that now?"

"If you don't want to believe it, don't."

"So, you're an aura user now?"

"Yes. You got a problem?"

Boris clapped his hands.

"Wow... you finally did it after all that fuss. You're really the best among the crazy guys I know. I'm proud of you! My friend Ashuban! I always believed in you. I knew you could do it!"

"Well, I'll be."

I pushed away the guy who was patting my shoulder and acting all friendly, when he had been grabbing my collar just a moment ago, and then I asked what I was curious about.

"Why is it so empty here? Is it because of those Starscratcher guys?"

Boris sat down on the chair he had been pushed into and said.

"No way. It's not that those guys had no influence, but the main reason is that Sherwood left."

"Explain in detail."

"You know that Milestone developed because of Sherwood. The population increased as people came from all over the country to entrust requests to Sherwood. Of course, since Sherwood couldn't take on all those requests, other mercenaries naturally came and picked up the crumbs. That was the basic structure."

"That's right."

"But since Sherwood left, who would come to entrust requests? Since the clients no longer came, the requests decreased, and since the requests decreased, the mercenaries also left to find work. In the end, it came to this. A situation where we can't even do anything about those damn dagger-wielding morons."

"Hmm."

It certainly made sense. I had thought it would have some influence, but the situation was much more serious than I thought.

To think that all the mercenaries had left.

This place was originally a small village. A place that had grown into a city on its own as Sherwood settled down.

Of course, it couldn't be the same as a city directly managed by the nobles.

There are no knights or soldiers, and the only remaining armed group is the mercenaries. But if even those mercenaries all leave, who will protect the city when a magical beast attacks?

The mercenaries leave, and the people follow, leaving the city. To find a safe place. It's a vicious cycle.

I realized anew that Sherwood had been a huge pillar for this city.

Was that why the leader had declared that he would stay in that backwater village?

"Hey, hey. It's a good thing you came."

"What is?"

"Can't you chase those guys away? Those crazy guys. They're occupying your hideout and pretending to be the Sherwood Mercenary Corps. If just one of the Sherwood members came, they would have been destroyed immediately."

"That's true."

The fact that I came and destroyed them proved that to be true.

"You said you became an aura user. Well... they have one too."

"Hmm."

"Well, even if they're just small-fry, there are quite a few of them. Is it a bit much for a one-on-many fight? They're dirty guys who gang up on you at the drop of a hat. Then I'll try to gather some people..."

"I took care of it."

Boris blinked his eyes.

"Uh, what did you say?"

"I said I took care of it on my way here."

"Ah... really? How did you take care of it?"

"What's the big deal? I killed every single one of them on my way here. The crime of impersonating Sherwood without fear is heavy. I have to leave a good precedent so that it doesn't happen again. They're probably cleaning up the corpses right now."

Boris looked at me with his mouth half-open.

"Wow... you crazy bastard. You killed them all? Even that fake Gustan? And every single one of the other guys?"

"I just thought of it as cleaning up the trash."

"You're still as ruthless as ever. No wonder you smelled of blood."

Boris crossed his arms and shook his head.

"So why are you here? It doesn't seem like you just came to see my face."

"That's right. Why would I come to see your pretty face?"

"Damn it. I'm prettier than you, you asshole."

"I'm on the handsome side."

"Whatever. Why did you come?"

"To register a new mercenary corps."

"What?"

Boris looked at me as if he had heard some strange news.

I grinned and said.

"This time, I'm the leader."

(End of Chapter)

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