Chapter 26
Wait, Geese thought.
His heart pounded.
—Enrique.
There was probably no one in the Adventurers' Guild who hadn't heard that name.
A monster.
A true monster who'd reached S-rank just a few years after joining the Adventurers' Guild.
"Eek...!!"
Geese couldn't breathe under the pressure of the man before him.
He was on an entirely different level from Geese.
S-rank—that was a realm beyond humanity.
It was said that ordinary adventurers aimed to reach A-rank and no further, because those ranked S and above were a group of people who'd gone beyond the bounds of humanity.
That's right.
S-rank wasn't something you aimed for. To begin with, it wasn't something you could become just by wanting to.
S-rank adventurers were insane.
That was the common understanding among adventurers.
And on top of that,
(That Enrique...????)
Geese couldn't stop trembling.
Enrique.
He'd heard that even among the S-ranks, many of whom were said to be crazy, there was no one as insane as Enrique.
Rumor had it that he'd picked a fight with a certain noble because the noble client had been rude, then returned after wiping out every last one of the noble's private soldiers.
The Adventurers' Guild, its face thoroughly besmirched, was naturally furious. The guild decided to expel him and sent powerful S- and A-rank adventurers after him, but even they couldn't capture Enrique, or so Geese had heard.
Despite possessing S-rank strength, he'd been expelled from the guild.
In other words, even that guild had been unable to handle him.
Even the head of the Lyon Adventurers' Guild branch, a former S-rank adventurer whom Geese had never managed to land a single hit on despite sparring with him countless times, would mutter bitterly at the name "Enrique."
—That man isn't human.
Geese had been intrigued, and once asked the branch chief about him.
What made him so strong?
Did he have some special weapon?
"No," the branch chief replied, shaking his head.
Could he use some special kind of magic? Or was he exceptionally skilled with a sword?
"No," the branch chief replied again, shaking his head.
Then what was so impressive about him?
Was he smart, like you?
"It's simple," said the branch chief, once famed as the 【War God】.
"Simple?"
"That's right. It's straightforward. It's not that he's especially good with a sword, or that he can use some kind of special magic. All he can do is strengthen his body with mana. That's not all that difficult, either—and it's not as if he enjoys strategy like I do."
"From the sound of it, he doesn't seem all that strong."
"What he does is incredibly simple. He uses his own physical strength—his overwhelming power—to mow down everything in his path. No finesse, no tricks. Just a pure storm of violence. That's the secret to 【Ogre】 Enrique's strength."
When Geese looked skeptical, wondering if such a man could really exist, the branch chief smiled awkwardly.
—You'll understand once you meet him. Once you see that monstrous strength of his.
Geese suddenly remembered that conversation.
Now, he understood.
He finally understood after facing him.
The overpowering stench of strength rising from the man before his eyes.
—And yet, at the same time, Geese was confused.
(What was going on???? Why was this man here???? With a brat like that????)
That's right.
On the other hand, Geese had also heard this:
Enrique was supremely arrogant. Utterly insolent.
He especially hated nobles, and hated them to the core.
He was supposedly not the sort of man who would ever obey anyone.
And yet, right before Geese's eyes, an incomprehensible scene was unfolding.
"Hey, Enrique. This is no good at all. There are still guards here."
"Aw, young master, I'm really sorry about that. I thought I'd taken care of all of them..."
"Come on. If you're going to talk tough, at least finish the job first."
"I-I said I was sorry, young master... Forgive me, okay?"
That Enrique—the lunatic who was supposed to obey no one—was frantically making excuses.
Of course, Geese was desperately struggling the whole time, too.
But Enrique's left hand didn't budge an inch.
And yet the two of them were chatting so casually, as if they were about to go for a stroll.
"Anyway, young master, why do you look so happy?"
"Why wouldn't I be? He complimented me by calling me 'a completely unremarkable brat.' That's the highest praise there is."
"...I don't think that was a compliment."
Enrique sighed, saying he really couldn't understand the young master's sensibilities.
Before long, the beautiful maid who'd been standing behind them joined in,
"Oh, no! Your forgiving nature is wonderful too, Ultos-sama!" she said, of all things.
"Thanks, Liera. But could you stop making the 'say ah' gesture? I'm in kind of a hurry right now."
An unbelievably peaceful conversation was unfolding right before his eyes.
What kind of conversation was this in the middle of enemy territory?!?!
(T-They're insane...)
"So, what should we do with this guy?"
Enrique asked, as if he'd just remembered.
"We can leave him, can't we? He did me the favor of complimenting me, so let's let him sleep for a while. Besides, we're short on time."
Enrique nodded to the ordinary-looking boy before him. "Understood."
That Enrique was obeying him like a completely different person.
"...Ah...!!"
At that moment, Geese finally understood.
—Ah... I'd had it backward.
That's right. It was all the other way around.
The one he truly needed to be wary of was this boy.
For starters, when had he ever started thinking he was one of the strong ones?
Maybe it had been the other way around all along????
Hadn't they merely convinced themselves they were the hunters, the strong ones, when in reality they'd summoned something terrible—an even more powerful hunter—to this place?
Come to think of it, yes.
There had been any number of strange things.
Why had this boy kept coming out into the hallway so often???
Was it because he couldn't go to the bathroom alone???
No—hadn't he been doing it to study the layout of this building?
Why had this boy made his maid feed him?
Because he was a foolish young lord who chased women???
No—hadn't he been suspicious of the food here from the very start???
Why hadn't this boy drunk any alcohol here?
Because he couldn't appreciate the value of fine liquor????
No—hadn't he been planning to make his move like this all along????
"........!!!"
Hoisted into the air, Geese looked at the boy again.
He was a nobleman's son with a somewhat handsome face, but otherwise utterly unremarkable.
Until just a moment ago, Geese had completely underestimated him, thinking he was a foolish noble's wastrel son.
But now, that...
That perfectly ordinary appearance was more terrifying than anything.
His calm, ordinary demeanor seemed far more insane than Enrique, whose strength was so obvious.
"Well, anyway, that was the young master's order. Thanks for your service."
The moment Enrique said that, Geese's huge body was sent flying.
"Guh!"
He slammed into the wall, all the air forced from his lungs.
"All right, let's get this party started, young master."
"...He's having another episode..."
The boy passed Geese, who was lying on the floor, with an awkward look on his face.
Then, as his consciousness faded, Geese heard one shocking remark.
As the boy passed by Geese,
"Come on... If this is all it takes to deal with someone like Enrique, was Gregorio's faction really this short on talent at this point?" he muttered awkwardly.
Hey, that was what Geese wanted to say.
They were out of their minds.
(He treats Enrique like that...?)
For now, Geese found himself thinking:
He should stop doing weird things.
He should work honestly. To begin with, it had been his own mistake to step into the illegal underworld.
He'd been mistaken. He'd misunderstood everything.
He wanted nothing more to do with a world crawling with powerhouses like this.
(That's right... Maybe I should go back to my village for the first time in a while... take over the family farm... and live honestly this time...)
With that thought, Geese closed his eyes.
With relief that he would never have to get involved with people like them again.
—And so, it wouldn't be long before Geese, a former C-rank adventurer who'd decided to return to his family home, used the strength he'd built up during his adventuring days to throw himself into farm work with complete dedication, eventually becoming one of the kingdom's foremost farmers and earning the title "S-rank farmer who had transcended the bounds of humanity."
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I hear there's a certain young master, heir to a ducal house, who was trying to recruit a former S-rank adventurer with strength like that into the town theater troupe.