Chapter 14

What the hell were they doing here? Why were they surrounding the masked woman?

I tried to observe them cooly as I addressed them.

“What’s this? Why are you blocking her?”

“Eh? It’s none of your business. Get lost.”

“Unfortunately, for you, I just had dinner with her. I can’t just say, ‘alright’ and leave.”

Perhaps they meant to abduct her as some kind of trap? For instance, I would have to leave all my money and disappear or they would hurt her.

“Hey, Black Rabbit. Leave your money here and scram before you regret it. Who knows what might happen to this lady here if you don’t?”

Woah…template…I was speechless. What is this? Was there a script?

“Hey! Be quick about it!!”

“I’m not giving you anything, you stupid bastards! Let her go now and begone! Before I beat you to a pulp!”

“You little shit…you’re just the Black Rabbit…!”

The bastard leader had veins popping out near his sideburns as his hand went down to the sword at his waist. As if on cue, the rest of the men flashed vulgar smiles and unsheathed their own swords.

There was no turning back now. There was nothing left to do but fight. However, I would prefer it if no one died here tonight. There was something too pathetic about the thought of Russell escorting me to prison.

And so I kept my sword sheathed as I raised it. The leader of the gang saw me quickly wrap the sword belt around the handle and shouted.

“Black Rabbit!! Do you think you’re playing with us!?”

“I’m not playing. But the Chief gave me this sword…I won’t have it drinking such filth from you!!”

I held both swords in my hands now. The shortsword’s sheath was fixed with a button, so it took me no time to prepare. And then I ran. Of course, not at full speed. Not yet.

“Arraggghh!”

The gang leader swung his sword up high. I dropped my posture low, somersaulting just as the sword dropped, missing me. The sound of the blade crashing into the ground echoes behind me. In front were the followers who had made a wall to block the masked woman. I targeted the weakest looking of the bunch; charged at full speed and collided with a tackle.

“Guwhagh!!”

There would not have been much weight behind the impact, but there would be a unique bite from the disproportionate AGI, surely. I hoped anyway. Having broken through the wall, I now stood in front of the masked woman and faced the others, sword ready.

“Are you alright?”

“Uh, yes. Are you?”

“For now, anyway. Can you run?”

I asked, stealing a quick glance behind me.

“Of course.”

“Then you should go to the guardhouse near the southern gate. I have a friend there. A captain named Russell. He should help you.”

“What about…you?”

“Me? Running is the one thing I’m good at.”

I said jokingly. She looked at me a little surprised at first but then started to laugh.

“You’re a funny one. Tell me your name. I’m Daniela.”

“I’m Asagi. Asagi Kamiyashiro.”

The masked woman, known as Daniela, nodded. Then she began to run in the other direction.

“You…you think you can just mock us…”

The leader passed through his gang to stand in front of me. He was in a real rage now. Even the men around him had beastly, shining eyes as they brandished their weapons. They clearly wanted nothing more than to kill me.

Which was blinding them of their surroundings. Such as the fact that this was a park.

“It’s too bad, but I have no intention of fighting you. I’m stuffed after eating. I want to get some rest!”

The town was paved with stone. But around the park was different. There was dirt around my feet and a lot of sand. And so I thrust my sword into the ground and shoveled the sand into the air.

“Ghaa…! Damn it!!”

The twinkling, hungry eyes would have collected quite a bit of that sand. Which would allow me plenty of time to run. I ran, following the same direction that Daniela went. She was apparently quite fast herself, as she was nowhere in sight. I disappeared into crowds as I ran down the main street. Several people looked back in annoyance, but they’d have to excuse me. This was an emergency. My life was in danger. The trick to getting through dangerous situations was to prioritize your own survival. I looked back now and again to make sure they weren’t following, as I headed to the southern guardhouse.

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The food at the stall had looked so good. Good enough to stop me in my tracks and stare. It was the same for the man who bumped into me. But he didn’t chastise my lack of attention and apologized first. Upon realizing that I was hungry, he even bought me dinner. A kind person. His unusually black hair was quite long, almost like a woman’s. His eyes were somewhat hidden behind his bangs, but he had smiled gently.

Our dinner together at the park was a quiet, peaceful one. Far from the fights at the bar and the shouts of the street stalls. It was a different world. It was a good time. Good food. I wanted to slowly enjoy the taste of it, but he finished his food very quickly. I suppose he had nothing better to do, because he kept staring at me as I ate. It was kind of embarrassing. One shouldn’t stare at a lady when she is eating.

We finished eating. He said that he would return to the inn he was staying at and waved goodbye before leaving the park. And then it happened, just as I too got up and decided to look for a place to stay.

A group of men who had been hiding behind the trees, sprung out and surrounded me. Each and every one of them wore a vulgar smile. I couldn’t help but raise my voice in surprise, but that ended up being a good thing. Because he returned. From what I could tell, these people knew each other. But not as friends, no, they were enemies. They had called him Black Rabbit, which he did not seem to take kindly to. It may sound adorable when just hearing the words, but to him, there was nothing but derision in them.

He and the leader of the group unsheathed their swords. I had assumed that a duel was about to begin, but he only dodged the attack and then continued to crash into one of the men in front of me as if he were a heavily armored knight. There was no panic in his face, he was only concerned about me. It was very kind. I could not understand why these men had gathered to torment him so. I could feel an anger rising up within me, but he told me to head for the guardhouse. He said that I should call for help, but I think he just wanted to allow me to escape. I hesitated for a moment, but there was no time to lose. I asked him his name and etched it in my heart so I would not forget it. This person who cared about me, regardless of the situation.

Asagi. Wait for me. I will reach this captain known as Russell.

I use wind magic to vault over walls and move over roofs as I make my way to the southern gate.