Chapter 39
"I-I don't know what's going on, but run! Just go! Get out of the village!!!"
Ignoring the villagers rushing to flee, the black-clad men steadily closed in on Enrique, keeping a fixed distance.
Their numbers—easily more than forty.
Before he knew it, the men had surrounded Enrique in a ring.
It was a cage.
A cage designed to ensure their enemy never escaped.
Even an adventurer couldn't overcome sheer numbers.
――But,
"Heh. You figured it was better to take care of me first instead of the nobodies, huh? Not a bad call. I'll give you that."
Enrique calmly waited as the black-clad men silently surrounded him.
Of course, Enrique hadn't let his guard down.
He was calculating calmly.
Their movements were perfectly trained. Their coordination was flawless. They were determined to carry out their mission with cold precision.
What's more,
"Hey, hey, some of you can use magic, too? If you're assassins, I'm guessing Wind?"
Although he even identified their element, the men didn't answer.
"Hmm, I see."
Drawing on the instincts he'd honed as an adventurer, he could roughly gauge the group's strength.
(These guys... A-rank? No, given how dangerous they are in a group, maybe S-rank.)
"I see," Enrique said, satisfied.
He sorted through the information in his head.
"So the one orchestrating things is hiding in Lyon, and you trained men are the main force..."
He counted off on his fingers.
"And then there's a strong one waiting at the hideout at the end of it all."
That's right.
On top of that, Enrique had also picked up the lingering traces of powerful magic.
Someone pretty damn strong was just a little way from this very village.
Probably as strong as he was.
Then, at this point, Enrique realized something.
"Ah, so that's what splitting up was about."
He looked up at the sky and muttered to no one in particular.
(So that's it. The young master's going to rescue that girl they captured. And while he does that, I'm supposed to deal with these guys.)
However,
Enrique let out a long sigh.
Even if the young master had entrusted this to him, these were honestly a real pain to deal with.
He was up against S-rank opponents—and he was working for free.
'Working for Free.'
It was the second thing Enrique hated most in the world.
Normally, he wouldn't have gotten involved in something this troublesome, no way.
But,
"Something about this just pisses me off."
With that, Enrique looked around.
The cause of Enrique's irritation was very simple.
――Why are you playing around with amateurs?
Enrique wasn't some saint.
He was the complete opposite of those hot-blooded types in the Knights who went on about "protecting the peace" and "wanting to save people."
He didn't care what happened to the weak.
That's what Enrique himself thought. Even now.
But,
"If you want a fight, go to a dungeon. Or take on monsters. Adventurers risk their lives, y'know. The Guild's roster always has room for more. So why the hell are you playing around with ordinary folks? That's what pisses me off."
He closed his eyes and took a breath.
That one thing—and only that—was what bothered Enrique.
"――With all that strength, and you still act like a filthy excuse for a dark guild..."
As soon as he said it, a prickling sensation seemed to scorch Enrique's skin.
A sensation like needles stabbing into his skin.
It was his own magic power.
The men must have noticed the magic power leaking from his body.
The men, too, shifted fully into battle stance.
"...Hah!!"
The three men at the front lunged at Enrique as if propelled by a spring.
――A slash that skimmed the ground.
Fast and heavy.
That killing blow was meant to cleave in two the foolish adventurer playing hero who had barged in without reading the room
...Or so it should have.
Enrique swung his sword casually.
That alone was enough.
"What the...!"
The group, which had moved with cold precision until then, faltered.
By the time they realized it, the men were lying at Enrique's feet.
"Man, life sure is strange."
Unbothered by the group's shock right in front of him, Enrique sighed.
"I never planned to take on a disciple, much less serve anyone, and here I am working for free on somebody's orders. You really never know what life has in store."
He readied his sword.
――Well then, let's get to it.
As soon as he said that, magic power surged out from Enrique.
It was magic power so overwhelming it seemed to run wild.
It was magic power so violent you wanted to look away.
"What the...!"
Enrique smiled gently at the men, who were starting to lose their nerve.
"――Ah, don't worry. I don't have the knack for turning magic power into spells. I didn't exactly have a privileged upbringing, see. All I can do is channel this magic power into strengthening my body."
But apparently, the men were beginning to realize.
They might be the ones backed into a corner.
"Damn it!!!"
The men chanted something.
The next moment, colorful lights bloomed before Enrique's eyes.
"【Enchant】, huh?"
【Enchant】.
In other words, Enrique was simply circulating his magic power through his body.
By contrast, 【Enchant】 was physical enhancement through magic.
It was far more efficient than the crude body enhancement Enrique used.
That's why the standard strategy was to interrupt the spell as soon as an opponent began casting 【Enchant】.
But Enrique didn't move.
If anything, he waited for them.
Before long, it seemed the men had finished preparing as well.
"Hey, hey, that 【Enchant】 wasn't some amateur job, either. Looked pretty solid. What, you actually went to an academy or something?"
The men didn't even take the bait of Enrique's taunt.
But whatever. Enrique looked over the men once more.
"I'll tell you this as a parting gift. My name is Enrique. Also, I've got a ridiculously packed schedule after this."
Enrique finished speaking, then sneered.
――Come on, then. I'll play with you.
In an instant, the men leaped at him.
The slashes closing in from every direction would be impossible for an amateur to even sense.
Their blades, swung by bodies bolstered with 【Enchant】, were about to tear Enrique's body to pieces―――
"You're all trash. This isn't even a warm-up before dinner."
That's what happens when you spend your time playing around with amateurs.
Without even dodging, Enrique cleaved the man in front of him in two from the skull down.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Enrique → With the protagonist not butting in unnecessarily, his show of overwhelming strength went off perfectly. He demonstrated the gravitas of a former S-rank adventurer.
The men → They were fairly strong, but unlucky.