The Cannibal’s Den Shopkeeper: “Come again, you bastard.”

When I left 【The Cannibal’s Den】, the sun that had been high was beginning to tilt.

The deep orange sunset is about to sink beyond the royal castle.

In the end, I didn’t touch the 50 million R I borrowed from Rose.

I was planning to give it to Rose if I used even 1R, so it’s a happy miscalculation.

You can’t normally get rank 【10】 equipment in the early stages when you’re not even level 100.

I seemed to be quite liked by the shopkeeper, and on my way home, he even said, “If you can bring me an item that will make my knees weak, I’ll make you a weapon for free.”

I’ll use the sword and gauntlet I received carefully.

That and, I decided in my heart to hunt a monster that would meet his expectations by the next time I meet the shopkeeper.

I walk through the back alleys of the slums.

Around sunset.

Naturally, there are no streetlights around here.

There are more shady characters that I didn’t see during the day.

I quickly proceed on my way home to the mansion.

“—”

A voice, quite enough to barely be considered one, carried by the wind.

It seems like this is a benefit brought by my status, or that my senses have been sharpened as my level has increased.

In the game, I could only hear sound effects within a certain range, but now I can hear noises from quite far away.

I climb up on top of a ragged house that looks like it’s about to collapse at any moment.

Being able to jump up to several meters in height with a single leap, I feel like I’ve quit being human.

The voice came from… around there.

I repeat jumps along the roofs, aiming for the destination.

Thug: “Huh? who the hell are you?”

I land in front of a small group.

A group of five who are obviously not respectable.

Two of them are carrying a sack.

The size is just right for one person to fit in.

Is this a kidnapping?

Whether they were drugged or knocked out, there’s no sign of movement from the person in the bag.

It’s a hassle, but if I overlook this, my dinner will taste bad.

Fortunately, the other party is used to such misdeeds.

Let’s deal with them in the same way.

Arata: “If you leave that and go, I’ll spare you.”

Thug: “…I wondered what you were gonna say but it was some bullshit! Don’t underestimate us!!”

The man who glared at me draws his sword and slashes at me.

He has a low boiling point.

Or is it a part of having a criminal psyche?

I can hear the laughter of the four people behind the man.

They must be envisioning the sight of a reckless person (me) collapsing pitifully on the ground.

Thug: “—Hahh!?”

The man who slashed at me is wide-eyed in astonishment.

That’s because the sword he swung was caught barehanded.

–Ability 『Sword Catch』

A technique that can be learned at 【Body Technique】 skill level 5.

As the name of the ability suggests, it’s a technique to catch the attacks of the opponent’s swords.

Unlike 『Snatch』 in 【Assassination Technique】, while this doesn’t steal weapons, the ST consumption is less and the success judgment conditions are slightly looser.

Whether it’s because of the difference in status, I was able to easily catch the sword with one hand.

While the man’s movement is stopped, I aim to incapacitate him.

The first cut of the new sword is… too good for these guys.

–Ability 『Palm Strike』

A basic attack that can be learned at level 1 of the 【Body Technique】 skill.

It’s a technique to deal damage to the opponent by thrusting out your palm; it’s a very useful ability.

I aim for the man’s solar plexus and unleash a 『Palm Strike』.

A heavy response.

The man, spewing out the contents of his stomach, buries his face in them.

Seeing their companion fall, the remaining four show sudden panic.

Arata: “Shall I ask one more time?”

Thug: “⁉”

Arata: “Will you leave that and go, or will you meet the same fate as this man… I’ll wait for just three seconds.”

I slightly draw the iron sword I had at my waist to show them.

Just that was enough to make the four of them, their faces dyed with fear, scatter and run away.

Letting hostile people escape goes against my policy but comparing it to human life would be nonsense.

If you look at it from the point of view that the victim is not resisting, it cannot be said that they are not in a dangerous state.

Besides, I was wearing my hood properly this time.

It was dusk and dim, and considering that they didn’t see my face, I’ll turn a blind eye to the four who escaped.

Now, who is the sleeping beauty?

I cut the string of the sack with a knife for disassembly.

What appeared from inside was a quite handsome boy.

I activate 【Appraisal】 to check his condition–

Arata: “–What?”

I unintentionally let out a voice.

The victim’s has sufficient HP remaining.

He’s just fainted.

There’s no poison or other abnormal conditions, so there’s no current danger to his life.

To just have fainted the amount of HP reduction is a concern, and the fact that ST has significantly decreased is also a concern, but it’s not a big problem.

The problem is–

This person is the seventh prince of the Promaris Kingdom, 【Glenn Ashley Promaris】.