Chapter 274: Merchandise had foreign substances in the form of a middle-aged man. Younger sister is very pitiful. Part 1
Day 66 – Nighttime, the Souvenir Store, the Orphanage Branch
Looks like we had a problem with the latest supply of goods. It seems that the procured merchandise had a middle-aged man mixed in? Back there, I have heard about cases of foreign substance contamination… But don’t mix middle-aged men in? Especially not in manju, that’s just dirty? Well, and he seems to have just gone back with that.
「No, I’m telling you, I went to restock, and was harassed in the process, and then there is a middle-aged man contamination, and even though a beautiful female thief was expected, for some reason, I was called a thief, and then the Sword-Killing Sword and iron ball direct impact? Yeah, not a sword but an iron ball? The iron ball was swinging through the air with a terrifying momentum in complete silence, giving off no presence at all, it was basically a silent assassination, but this here is a freshly caught still alive middle-aged man. Even if we do get a middle-aged man in stock, it’s not like anyone would want to buy that? What do we do? Like, it’s not a Beautiful Female Thief, you know? But I got lots of magic swords from him, so I sort of decided to spare him head burning, maybe it’s fine to just throw him away? I mean, middle-aged men tend to multiply if you leave them be, and it seems that if they get any more numerous the underground dwellers will be bothered too. As the rumors in the town have it, the acute middle-aged men increase issue has become a serious population problem, limited to middle-aged men. Like middle-aged men population explosion? Kind of?」
The more I listen the less I understand, but Wismregzero, the man hailed as a legendary magic swordsman throughout the continent, also known as a hidden blade of the Confederation, is lying on the ground.
His eyes are X_X so the culprit must be that person! Looks like we finally have the first in history morningstar assassination! She mastered it, she mastered it to the utmost extreme! She finally mastered the sermon (Iron Ball), making it capable of murder… As expected of a former dungeon emperor?
「But where did McKenzie-san come from? And where Wismregzero went?」
He is lying over there, you know? He probably doesn’t remember his name anyway? It’s so unfair that only Jugemu-san has his name memorized!
「Wasn’t it a master of magic swords that no one could beat? The Merchant Confederation’s trump card?」
Well, Angelica-san’s iron ball dance is too much to handle. She is performing successful combos on Haruka-kun even when he is shrouded in Teleportation magic and is repeating instantaneous movement. Even vanishing can’t protect one from getting beaten up, you know?
「So this man is that Wismregzero of Magic Swords. One of the Seven Swords of the Confederation… Even though there is only six of them.」
「「「Why are they calling themselves seven swords if there are only six of them? Couldn’t they grab one more person?」」」
Looks like there is a grave personnel shortage everywhere. By the way, only four of them are using swords. Couldn’t they go with something like One Blank, Two Fighters, Four Swords?
「It sounded sort of amazing at first, but suddenly, not anymore? The seven swords, even though there are only six of them, but two aren’t even swordsmen… That’s just a six randos group!」
「But they are strong. So far, they have crushed every assassin and attack group that was sent by other countries targeting the top of the Confederation. They even killed some ordinators of the Theocracy’s army?」
The Theocracy army’s strongest class of Ordinators seems to be elites on par in strength with S-rank adventurers, loaded with tons of magic equipment. And they are capable of taking even them down. How powerful is that? Yup, I have no idea.
I mean, we are also S-rank at the guild, we have literally dozens of girls with Cheat skills and loads of extravagant items and weapons on top of custom made bras, and yet everyone is collectively getting beaten up every evening, getting knocked out cold (X_X)? And of all things, he had to run into that serial knockouter, naturally he will end up like that.
「Hmmm, he is strong, his technique is probably amazing too, and he is skillful? But that charade was obvious, and it is because he kept pointlessly wasting his time on it that he ran into the iron ball behind him due to his carelessness and spilled all of his magic swords? No, I mean, they were just lying there? I picked them up so they are mine now? He let go of them and more than three seconds passed, so it’s too late! They are all mine now, okay? I mean, them being stored in my Item Bag is the proof that they are mine. I mean, they are stored for more than three seconds already?」
『Ran into』? He got hit from behind, didn’t he? That’s totally not an accident. In the first place, snatching all of the weapons just because they were 『lying around』after the victim was hit on the head from behind… Even a very wicked robber wouldn’t give such a terrible testimony?
If there is a lock he lets himself in and takes what he pleases, and if the thing is in someone’s hands he knocks them out and takes it as well. When he goes into dungeons he picks up Dungeon Emperors and Dungeon Masters without reservation. He probably will eventually claim that this continent or the planet belongs to him since they were just lying around… That actually sounds very much like something he might do!
「Are the other five sword people going to come too?」「I’d feel so sorry for them if they do!」「Yeah, poor them, they’d innocently show up with swords for a fight, having no idea that they are coming only to get beaten up, earnestly bringing their weapons with them?」「Moreover, on top of getting beaten up, their swords will also be forcibly picked up, since they are lying on the ground?!」「「「Even muggers might be nicer!!」」」
Why is it that every time we think of the enemies it pains our hearts so much? I always imagine them in a very pitiful state, but reality always ends up being even more cruel. After all, they surely will be robbed not only of their swords, but of all their other possessions as well!
And while everyone is troubled like that, Haruka-kun is playing with the children. Or rather, he is being swarmed by a crowd of children that rushed to Haruka-kun upon seeing him, piling up on him. Then, buried under the pile of children, he began spinning at high speed, blowing away the kids… But they immediately jump back into the hurricane, some getting blown away, some managing to catch onto him, gradually piling up on him again.
「Onii-chan, food!」「Onii-chan, I’m hungry.」「What are we having today?」「Yesterday’s potatoes were delicious.」「Can we have meat again?」「Rice balls!」「Will we get to eat today as well?」「We worked a whole lot!」「Food! Food!」「Delicious is justice.」「I want omurice.」「What’s up with the crapes research? Hurry up, onii-chan! 」「Onii-cha~n, I~, want a new bag~.」「What’s for dinner!」「Onii-chan, extra request!」「Haruka-kun……Onii-chan, I’d like noodles.」「Onii-chan, make mules!」「Hey, bro! One katsudon!」「Nii-Nii! Make push-up one too!」「Onii-sama, when will the new T-back will be ready?」「「「Onii-chan, it’s unfair that only Shield Girl-chan got one with air cushion!」」」
Looking closely, there is not a small number of those who are not children in the crowd, trying to make requests using the confusion. Good grief, everyone is so…………「Onii-chan, I want to eat chestnut manju!」
Spinning while slowly flying through the air in a circle, thin omelets are being fried, then gracefully swooping down on the plates and getting loaded with ketchup and rice. And the letters drawn with Ketchup-san are 『Omu?』… he himself is the one who made it, why the doubt?
Cutlets are also being done with a sizzling sound, raining on the readied bowls of rice, they are followed with a finishing touch of soup and eggs.
The children are looking with innocent sparkling eyes as if seeing a dream. Meanwhile, not very innocent girls are tracking big cutlets with eyes glittering with greed. Wismregzero-san is still lying in the corner unconscious with X_X eyes.
With even stew-san appearing from the cauldron the excitement shot through the limit, spilling over like from an overflowing pot, swallowing everyone in the room! The sounds of rumbling stomachs echoed together in a magnificent chorus!
「It’s done~? Or rather, here comes katsudon and omurice taste competition, with a side of mysterious bird stew, and mushroom salad with sesame dressing! Stuff your faces? Sort of? Actually, stop just looking and start eating? Kind of~!」
「「「「Let’s dig in!!」」」」
Mushroom salad comes with a brand new sesame dressing, he is adding mushrooms into every meal for the children for the sake of their recovery, and he probably developed this one in secret to avoid them getting tired of mushrooms. For someone running around saying『Don’t cling to me~』or『Annoying~』, he is surely spoiling them. Even now he is stealthily steaming potatoes.
「It’s delicious~.」
「Can I eat this? Can I eat this too? Really?」
「So bread could be this tasty.」
「We ate everything, what do we do about food for tomorrow?」
The children are still crying every time they have a meal. Each time they are eating with tears until they are stuffed. They are still probably praying in their heads that if this is a dream it doesn’t end yet.
Day after day, they had nothing but meager and lacking meals, living on the verge of starvation for months and years, as if it was the norm. Forced to live such lives.
That’s why Haruka-kun is going all out making all sorts of dishes and treating the children to them. The tables are overflowing with new dishes added one after another, as if he is telling them to take back their share until now, take back everything and eat delicious stuff until you are full. This is still not enough, eat more, eat everything, he keeps cooking more and more until the children are too full to even sit. The girls are also getting hit with aftereffects of those culinary tidal waves though, what do we do? Hm, I wonder if ONE MORE SET will be enough?
He also said that there were lots of soybeans lying around the storage, so he is currently researching this and that. Is he going for tofu? Or maybe even miso?
And it seems our guest has finally woken up. Wismregzero-san is being treated like a middle-aged man, but he is an elf with an appearance of a person in his late twenties. A handsome tall and skinny swordsman. I could tell from the first sight that he is strong. Well, he was unconscious with his eyes X_X, so I had no idea until now though.
「Ah, so I got myself caught, huh. Man, what a blunder, and that’s after going through all the trouble of coming all the way to the Kingdom to catch the thief.」
After looking around nonchalantly he breathed a sigh… Even so, he showed no openings, despite maintaining a relaxed posture. Well, he has no weapons though… Since they were looted.
「Long time no see~, Old Man McKenzie, was it? Don’t get it wrong, I didn’t capture you, it just so happened that while I was restocking you got mixed in with the merchandise, and got carried here, but since I can’t sell you, I don’t really need you? I mean, you are a middle-aged man? What do we do? Should I throw you underground? Perhaps it would be better to first get permission from the underground dwellers?」
「「「At least hear him out first?! And who is McKenzie?」」」
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