“That’s…”
“I’m not asking anything difficult. I know you learned magic from someone during the time we couldn’t investigate. All I want to know is who your teacher is and where they are. Answer me, Jared Murphy. Is your cute cousin’s death acceptable to you?”
Knowing that Rosa wasn’t just bluffing when she pointed a blade at Yeny, Jared resignedly opened his mouth, but—
“Older Brother, please don’t mind me.”
Yeny interrupted before Jared could speak.
“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet!”
“No, I will not be quiet. What do you intend to do with Older Brother’s teacher?”
“Likely, Jared Murphy’s teacher is someone connected to Waalthe. We cannot permit someone to teach their skills to the organization without Wahash’s permission.”
“So you’re obedient.”
“What’s wrong with that? Father Wahash is absolute. As his daughter and one of his successors, I should be obedient. That’s precisely why I cannot forgive you, Jared Murphy!”
“Me? Why?”
The moment he voiced his question, Rosa, her face contorted in anger, pulled her sword away from Yeny and pistol-whipped Jared.
Jared fell to the floor, and Yeny screamed.
“Why, you ask?”
“…Just because our fighting styles are similar, I don’t understand why you’d make me your enemy.”
“It’s not because of that that I’m angry with you!”
“Then what is it!”
He pushed himself up and glared at Rosa. Anger burned in her eyes, undoubtedly. Jared had no idea what had caused her to become this enraged.
Rosa’s body trembled with anger, but then she gradually seemed to realize something and muttered in exasperation.
“Could it be that you don’t even understand your own birth?”
“What are you talking about!”
“If you don’t know, I’ll tell you. Your mother, Liz Murphy, is—”
Rosa grabbed Jared’s hair, but her words were cut off by a violently opened door.
“What, are you being too soft?”
“I heard you were going to extract information through torture, but this is quite a gentle interrogation.”
Two adventurers, who had been standing guard outside, appeared in the room.
“What is the meaning of this? I ordered you to stand guard outside. Do not enter the mansion without permission.”
“Hey, hey, don’t get all high and mighty just because you’re the client. We didn’t know the person you were trying to kill was Jared Murphy! You should at least convey important information!”
“There’s no need to tell you. Go back outside and be quiet. For now, I’ll overlook your rude behavior.”
Rosa’s warning was met with the swordsman drawing his sword and the magician raising his staff.
“What do you intend to do?”
“We have a grudge against Jared Murphy. Look, he’s even taken a hostage convenient for us. If you’re going to play, include us.”
“Play?”
A sharper edge entered Rosa’s voice, but the swordsman, oblivious, let out a vulgar laugh.
“Isn’t that right? You take a hostage and you can torment them as much as you want. What you’re doing isn’t torture, it’s an interrogation. And you’re being so kind. You’re just a woman, after all. Come on, get out of the way. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
The swordsman kicked Jared, who was still being held by Rosa, from behind.
“Older Brother!”
“Haha, that’s hilarious. ‘Older Brother,’ you say. Right, I forgot you were a noble. It must be nice to be a Baron. While we adventurers scramble daily to earn money, you’ve never had to worry about money or struggled, have you? And then you’re blessed with magical power and manage to get your hands on a Ducal Family’s daughter. Well, I suppose you’d get carried away.”
He repeatedly stomped on Jared’s fallen back with all his might.
Yeny’s screams echoed, but to the swordsman, they seemed to be merely spices to further torment Jared. The more Yeny cried out in despair, the harder he stomped on Jared.
“That’s enough!”
“Oh, I’d prefer it if you stayed quiet.”
Rosa’s movement to swing her sword stopped. In her line of sight was Yeny, surrounded by countless fireballs. The magician let out a condescending laugh.
“The members of an assassination organization seem to be quite kind. I believe you were forbidden from harming this girl, but it seems you have no intention of actually hurting her. If you’ve taken a hostage, killing them would be the easiest solution.”
“If Jared Murphy offers his life, I have no intention of harming our hostage.”
“But hey, this guy tried to lay hands on us and get that girl back! He’s putting up one hell of a fight!”
“That is for me to decide, not you. Forget it. It was foolish of me to consider using adventurers like you, who can’t even serve as decoys properly, let alone guards. I’ll give you the money as promised, now disappear.”
Rosa threw a wad of bills at the swordsman who was stomping on Jared. However, the swordsman, after grabbing the money, grinned lecherously and stomped on Jared’s back again with all his might.
“…I told you to disappear. Didn’t you hear me?”
“No, I heard you. But I never said I’d obey, did I? We have a grudge against him. Wow, I never thought you’d capture Jared Murphy so easily. Thanks to you, we can get our revenge.”
“He’s interfered with our work countless times. Because of him, we’ve received penalties from the Adventurer’s Guild and can’t take on jobs properly. It’s unreasonable to expect us not to hold a grudge.”
“Don’t mess with me!”
Jared roared in anger at the adventurers’ one-sided words.
“What kind of work is threatening a client for money and using your comrades as bait to escape from magical beasts! The reason you got penalties from the Adventurer’s Guild is your own fault!”
“Shut up.”
Without hesitation, the swordsman thrust his sword into Jared’s palm. Instead of Jared, who gritted his teeth so hard his molars might break to endure the pain, Yeny let out a shriek that threatened to tear her throat.
“Every adventurer does that! Magicians from the Mage Association are all talk and no action! We adventurers, who are treated unfairly, don’t understand the hardships of magicians who are favored!”
“…I don’t want to understand. Who would care about scum like you? I don’t know you!”
“You sure talk a big game!”
“—Stop it!”
As the swordsman pulled his sword from Jared’s palm and raised it again, a sharp voice flew from Rosa. The swordsman stopped, and Rosa turned her sword on him.
“If you do anything else on your own accord, I will kill you without hesitation.”
“Hey, hey, have you forgotten? The hostage brat will be burnt to a crisp.”
“At that moment, I will put you through an experience so terrible you’ll wish you were dead.”
Rosa and the swordsman glared at each other.
“Do you know your place?”
“My place?”
“You keep mentioning Waalthe, but I refuse to believe you don’t know that the Adventurer’s Guild has placed a bounty on Waalthe’s members. If we kill Jared Murphy and hand you over to the Guild, we’ll be heroes!”
“Ridiculous.”
“Huh!?”
Rosa dismissed the swordsman’s pathetic ambition. What was allowing Jared to be at the mercy of these people now was the hostage, Yeny. The reason Rosa hadn’t attacked the swordsman was that he wasn’t worth killing. However, the pathetic men didn’t realize that if the swordsman harmed Yeny, not only Jared but Rosa as well would have no reason to keep the two adventurers alive. Rosa could easily slit their throats faster than the magician could manipulate fireballs. Thinking it would be faster to just kill them, her feet were grabbed.
“…What is it, Jared Murphy?”
“Please, don’t do anything rash. If I die, your objectives will be met, right? Then, just watch silently as I’m killed by these people. Instead, please spare Yeny. She’s truly not involved, so please save her.”
“You don’t have a choice!”
Jared pleaded with Rosa, only to be kicked again. The swordsman, looking down at the coughing Jared with disgust, laughed as if he’d just thought of something brilliant.
“Hey, put out this fire.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ve got an interesting idea.”
Following the swordsman’s words, the magician extinguished the fireballs surrounding Yeny. As Yeny, who had been exhaling a breath of relief now that the skin-scorching heat was gone, was grabbed by the swordsman and pulled to her feet, he wrapped an arm around her from behind and pressed his sword to her throat.
“Yeny!”
“Whoa there, don’t do anything strange, alright?”
“You!”
“You too, you damned assassin bitch! You just shut up and watch for now!”
While holding Yeny, the swordsman approached Jared. Just the thought of his dirty arm touching Yeny made Jared’s brain feel like it would boil, so consumed was he by rage. Yet, with the blade pressed against Yeny’s neck, he couldn’t afford to make any rash moves.
“Please, don’t do anything to that girl. If anything happens to her, I won’t be able to control myself…”
“Don’t say something nonsensical. We’re going to play with you for a little while. The two of us will torment you. When you’ve endured it until we get bored, we’ll release this brat. However, if you try to resist even a little, we’ll sell you to some perverted merchant at a high price!”
