Reincarnated as a Sword Vol. 5 Page 2

  I wished they’d understand they were only making it worse. We watched from afar as they squabbled, but our peace wouldn’t last for much longer.

  “Hey, kid! Get over here!” a bearded adventurer shouted arrogantly.

  “…”

  “Hey, kid!”

  “…”

  “I’m talking to you, punk!”

  “Hmm…”

  Fran paid him no mind whatsoever. The adventurer was flushed with anger. Then again, he had been drinking all day, so it was probably the alcohol. His face was as red as an apple.

  I didn’t need to use Identify to know he was weak. His footwork was all wrong, his equipment looked shabby, and even the strongest adventurers probably couldn’t fight as drunk as he was.

  Hmm…

  Fran.

  Giving up, Teacher?

  No, we have a guest.

  “Hm?”

  Fran finally turned toward the man. Boy, was he angry. I could see veins bulging across his neck. He clearly had a short fuse if his dignity was that hurt by just a few seconds of ignoring him.

  “I had half a mind to buy you a drink, but you went and pissed me off, kid!”

  Fran gave him an annoyed look. “Urgh, keep it down,” she muttered, covering her cat ears.

  That only earned her more of his ire. “You little twerp! You think you’re better than me?!”

  He really was making quite a scene, and he wasn’t the only one looking at Fran. A group of passing adventurers stopped, and their leader turned to stare at Fran. He had golden blond hair and looked to be a nobleman’s son. As much as I hated to admit it, he was devilishly handsome.

  “You.”

  Ew. I already disliked him just from his voice! I couldn’t believe he would talk to Fran, given the current circumstances, but “reading the room” probably wasn’t part of his skillset.

  “You,” he said again, ignoring the drunken man and speaking to Fran. “Come hither.”

  “…”

  Fran just ignored him, too. She didn’t mean anything by it. And besides, it was his fault for trying to strike up a conversation when Fran was clearly occupied. However, he didn’t take kindly to it.

  “I did not think you would ignore my call.”

  He was arrogant, that was for sure. Judging by his demeanor, he probably came from a long line of aristocrats.

  “How dare you ignore Lord Seldio when he speaks to you! The nerve!”

  “Lord Seldio, what would you have us do to this girl?”

  So he was some kind of noble. He had three companions: a mage girl, a scout, and a large man in heavy armor. The mage and the scout seemed like your run-of-the-mill adventurers, but the big man caught my eye. Unlike his two comrades, he stood still as a statue. I couldn’t see his face through his helmet, but he was clearly the strongest of them. If things went south, he’d be our first concern.

  “You.”

  The handsome idiot resumed his spiel. Listening to his voice was enough to send shivers up my spine. I felt like I was getting an allergic reaction—only instead of breaking out in hives, I almost broke out in a fury.

  Before I could say anything to Fran, Seldio reached out to her. Although she had ignored him, I didn’t sense any hostility. He was slow, too, so he couldn’t have been preparing for an attack. Still, I kept a close eye on him, and readied Telekinesis just in case.

  I thought he was going to put his hand on Fran’s shoulder and turn her around, but he didn’t. In fact…was he reaching for my hilt? My god, he really was.

  Fran finally took notice at that. “Hm?” She batted him away with the back of her hand and glared at him. What was this guy trying to pull? Touching another adventurer’s sword was grounds for a fight to the death.

  The hostility was clearly radiating from Fran now, but Seldio only tilted his head like he didn’t understand. His lackeys filled in for his lack of a reaction.

  “How dare you hit Lord Seldio’s hand!”

  “The nerve!”

  Fran made no attempt to conceal her bad temper. “What do you want?”

  “Give me that sword.”

  Was he really trying to shake us down in front of this huge crowd?

  “What? No.”

  “I am a high-rank adventurer. A noble in fact.”

  “And?”

  “The entire world would benefit from me wielding that sword. You must understand that?”

  “I really don’t.”

  “Enough idle chatter. Hand me the sword.”

  “?”

  Fran could only stand there dumbfounded, her hostility now accompanied by confusion. If he’d been blatantly malicious with his demands, she would’ve cut him down right there. But this man had an earnest expression on his face that lacked any ill-will.

  “He’s going after her next is he? The poor thing.”

  “Why don’t you stop him then?”

  “Are you kidding? The guy may be a nutcase, but he actually knows how to handle himself. I wonder what he’s doing in Ulmutt?”

  Judging by the whispers of the surrounding crowd, I guessed this wasn’t the first time Seldio had tried to take someone else’s weapon. The two adventurers only looked at Fran in sympathy.

  “I shall compensate you with any amount of money. You would be able to retire. This isn’t a profession suited for young girls, you see. I shall take your sword and the responsibility that goes with it, and wield it for the good of the people.” Seldio tapped his chest as if to reassure her that he would take up her fight. “Your sword must long for me to use it.”

  “He doesn’t.”

  Damn right I don’t.

  “Ah, but I understand how a sword feels. A child like you is unsuited for that blade. You could stop fighting and return to your life as an ordinary girl. What is holding you back?”

  “You don’t know me.”

  Yeah, you don’t know Fran like I do!

  Even after her blunt refusal, Seldio refused to shut his mouth.

  “You are slow to understand, little girl. Are you so reluctant to part with your enchanted blade? I suppose it does give off an air of great worth…but it saddens me that you cannot see past your own selfish gains. I suppose I must teach you a lesson. For your own good of course. Worry not, for I will not spoil you by sparing the rod.”

  To make matters more irritating, he had yet to utter a single lie. I kept up Essence of Falsehood, but Seldio meant every word. Each of his mad statements were accompanied by supreme self-righteousness. He even felt perfectly justified in using violence against a little girl.

  He’d managed to make me feel nauseated, despite my lack of an organic stomach. I didn’t know delusional people could be literally sickening to be around. Maybe he was eccentric, or just mad. It made no difference to me. I’d rather be swung around by a goblin than be in his hands. My entire being rejected him. It was a matter of principle.

  I swear I’m getting goosebumps.

  The more Seldio talked, the more murderous Fran grew. She knew it was only a matter of time before he grabbed me for himself.

  Should I kill him?

  Let’s wait and see.

  Disposing of him wouldn’t be difficult. He said he was a high-ranking adventurer, but he really wasn’t that strong. However, when I Identified him, I found he did have the title of Baron. If we killed him, things would get messy. Should we flee? Outrunning them wouldn’t be hard, but I didn’t think he’d give up that easily…

  “Have you decided to yield your sword? I can give you more money if that is what’s stopping you. Here, this should be enough for a couple years.”

  His offer was 500,000 gold. That was cheap. I happened to be a magic sword. Five hundred thousand? Was this guy serious?

  “…”

  Fran was quiet with anger, but Seldio took it as a negotiation tactic. He clicked his tongue. “You’re saying this isn’t enough? Love of money is the root of all evil, you know? Well then. Shall I take you as my bride?”

  Excus
e me? Did I hear that right? This moron’s out of his mind.

  “Yes, I suppose that would be compensation enough. You look the homely type, but I trust that you’ll clean up well. Consider it an honor. I come from a family of marquises. As my wife, you will be treated to the finest things in life. A wonderful proposition, especially for a beastman like yourself.”

  …

  “You will have access to all that I have. Surely that is enough.”

  He didn’t imagine for a second that anyone would turn him down. In fact, he expected Fran to be crying tears of joy.

  Hahaha. Make Fran your wife? First you try to steal me, and now you want to marry her? Oh, I know where your intentions lie, kiddie fiddler!

  Fran looked dumbfounded, which was just as well for him. If she’d understood, she might have attacked him out of pure revulsion.

  All right, you little prick. I’m gonna cut you up into little—

  But just as I was about to rain hell down upon him, our previous guest reminded us of his presence.

  “Who do you think you are, acting like I’m not here?!” the drunk shouted.

  I had completely forgotten about him. By now, the man was in a drunken fury.

  “You assholes! I’m gonna hurt you real bad!”

  Was he really going to attack a child in the middle of a large crowd? This guy was a class act. Maybe he thought threatening Fran and Seldio would scare them out of it. It still seemed like a stupid move, considering Seldio was the son of a nobleman.

  “Raaargh!”

  No, he was probably just too drunk to think things through.

  “Hm.”

  His menacing cry did nothing to sway Fran’s cool head. She ducked under the drunk’s lumbering arm and struck him in the solar plexus. The punch looked straightforward enough, but there was no mistaking the damage it caused. The onlookers couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing.

  “Eargh!”

  Fran’s hook sent the man flying across the ground for some distance.

  Did you hold back?

  Yeah. I didn’t need you for that.

  That…might still have been a little much though.

  Hm. Controlling my strength is kinda hard.

  Fran had yet to master the Compound Skills she got after the battle with the Lich. Going full force against a powerful enemy was easy enough. She wasn’t perfectly efficient with her mana use, but she had me as an external tank. However, holding back required control and finesse. Fran still hadn’t gotten the hang of it.

  It was like driving a car. Flooring the gas pedal was easy enough, but slowing down for perfect control in a tight turn took a lot of practice.

  “Hurk…”

  The drunk guy convulsed as blood and vomit poured out of his mouth. I couldn’t say that he didn’t deserve it. How could he have the nerve to attack a girl barely in her teens? Nevertheless, some people took issue with it.

  “Bulras! Are you all right?!”

  “The hell’d you do to him, punk?!”

  “Whatever that was, you didn’t have to do it!”

  The drunk’s friends gathered around the man squirming on the ground. They yelled at Fran, ignoring the fact that he’d intended to hit a minor.

  And then they all drew their swords.

  Bulras’s friends were as drunk as he was. Their faces were beet red and their breath reeked of alcohol. Intoxication gave them a bad temper. Not that it excused their behavior. The men stumbled over to Fran in a drunken stupor, and it wasn’t long before they joined Bulras squirming on the ground.

  “Oeergh…”

  “Wargh…”

  As much as they brought it upon themselves, the sight of the four men losing their lunch was disgusting. The other people waiting in line jumped back to avoid the vomit. They all looked at Fran, as if asking her to do something about the mess she had made. I supposed we were kind of at fault for not gauging our strength correctly…

  Now, how should we keep them away?

  As I pondered the question, some soldiers approached from the direction of the gate.

  “You there! The child!”

  The man who shouted wore an angry expression. He didn’t look like he’d accept self-defense as a reason for this ruckus, as legitimate as it was. It would be nice if the people around us would speak up and tell the truth…

  Fran looked around, but was greeted by the sight of people unanimously turning away. I thought we could somehow pin the entire thing on Seldio, but he had already left.

  Damn it! He’s gone!

  Seldio might have lacked the capacity to read the room, but his friends certainly didn’t. As a result, a single girl was left as the cause of four men’s blood and vomit.

  “You’re making it hard for us to do our jobs, girl. Can’t you see how busy we are?”

  “Let’s get you to the station.”

  “Come on, move it.”

  The soldiers weren’t planning on giving Fran a fair hearing. We’d already been in line for an hour. Having to start again would be awful, but these soldiers didn’t seem reasonable. They glared at Fran. I suspected they’d throw her in a jail cell out of pure spite.

  And what about the four men sprawled out on the ground? Were the soldiers really going to let them lay there and bring Fran in for self-defense?

  “What about them?”

  “Shut up! Don’t talk unless you’re spoken to!”

  “You’re making our job worse than it already is!”

  “Keep talking, girl, and we’ll toss you in a cell.”

  Maybe the four men didn’t need to be taken into custody, but they definitely needed medical attention. These guards were no better than thugs. That said, we couldn’t exactly run away.

  We’ll have to do what they tell us, Fran. Those idiots might’ve started the fight, but we still beat them up.

  Hm. Can’t be helped.

  As Fran quietly consented, a voice interjected.

  “Now, wait just a second there.”

  Huh?

  I recognized that voice. We’d talked to him just the other night. What surprised me was the fact that I didn’t detect him. The old man really had a knack for giving people heart attacks.

  “She’s done nothing wrong.” Dias, the old adventurer, came to Fran’s defense. He wore the same relaxed smile as last night.

  “Huh? And who the hell are you?”

  The guard glared at Dias condescendingly. Was he going to try and throw down? Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see Dias in action quite yet.

  “S-stop it, you idiot! Who do you think that is?!”

  “A-apologies, sir! He only started working in the city recently!”

  “Forgive us for our insolence, Sir Dias!”

  The remaining soldiers smacked the glaring man across the head and bowed deeply. They followed up with profuse apologies, accompanied with perfectly appeasing smiles. The difference in their attitudes was night and day.

  The old man was more influential than he seemed. He didn’t have a surname when I Identified him, so his influence didn’t come from a bloodline. No, Dias might not officially be an A-Rank, but an adventurer of his experience and power was still a force to be reckoned with. I wouldn’t be surprised if his words held more sway than a noble’s.

  “What brings you to our corner of the city, sir?”

  “I just happened to be passing by.”

  Dias smiled fiercely, although his eyes weren’t in on the action. His intimidating gaze drilled holes into the guardsmen. They turned visibly pale.

  “I-I see.”

  “If I may repeat myself, the girl did nothing wrong. The men lying on the ground started this mess. I’m sorry that you boys have to get your uniforms dirty today, but you’ll take them away, won’t you?”

  “Y-yes, of course!”

  “Affirmative, Sir Dias!”

  Wow, so that was it? The guards didn’t want to get their hands dirty with blood and vomit, so they were content to arrest Fran instead? Fran would’ve
been framed for the entire affair if it weren’t for Dias. We owed him one.

  The guards hurriedly got the four men on their feet and scurried away.

  “Thank you.”

  Fran bowed her head, and Dias returned her gesture with a warm smile.

  “You are very welcome. We can’t have a promising adventurer get dragged into petty squabbles like this, can we?”

  “Why not?”

  “Hahaha. I’ll tell you some time later. Maybe. But now, I have to go. I’ll be seeing you,” Dias said suggestively as he left.

  What was that about? Didn’t he say the same thing last night? Was he stalking us? Maybe that was just how he said his goodbyes.

  Fran was left alone with the terrified glances of the people around her. Good thing they let us back into our previous spot in line. I guess they didn’t want any trouble. Some of them visibly reeled back from her. She had gained the reputation of a girl who would immediately resort to extreme violence.

  At least it was a perfect defense against nosy rubberneckers.

  “I’m bored.”

  How long was this going to take?

  We might as well continue our word association.

  An hour after Dias saved us, we finally entered Ulmutt. Reaching the gates took ages, but the screening took no time at all. Fran was a licensed adventurer without a criminal record, after all. The merchants and tourists took much longer.

  “Wow. Look at the size of that fort!”

  It was huge when we saw it from the outside, but it’s downright gigantic from this angle.

  “Woof!”

  The streets of the residential area were paved with stone, just like the downtown areas of Alessa and Bulbola. The houses themselves were short and stout, in jarring contrast to the gigantic structures about the city. I appreciated the contrast, since it gave me a rough idea of the size of each building.

  Let’s drop by the Adventurer’s Guild first.

  “Hm.”

  We had collected a lot of materials on the road from Bulbola, and needed information about the local dungeon too. I doubted you could just waltz in and out of them without permission, but since we had a letter signed by Klimt, Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild in Alessa, getting an entry permit shouldn’t be too hard.