Chapter 286

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

Moving to a New Home

The next day, Lavia and Paula brought Hikaru along to their new place . It was located in a quiet neighborhood with no shops in sight . Despite being in the middle of the city, there were trees around . The house was called a garden mansion, one of only thirty-one in the whole country of Dream Maker .

「Wow, it’s surprisingly spacious . 」Hikaru said .

They entered a small gate and found themselves on a winding, paved path lined by shrubs on both sides that went all the way deeper . The atmosphere reminded Hikaru of a park in Japan, although the different plants bothered him a little .

The house itself was a bungalow with six rooms, one of them for storage . Compared to the mansion Doriachi was staying in, this one had a more Japanese style to it .

「That’s a pretty yard . 」

There was nothing inside the room, and the wooden floor looked bleak with no mats on it, but the balcony had a spectacular view from it . There was a lawn out front, and a pond at the back . Shrubs grew here and there and beyond them stood trees with wide branches, their leaves blocking the streets from being seen .

「This is just like Disneyland . 」

It was still, as though they were in a different dimension in the middle of the city .

「Do you like it? We wanted to get more of the interior done before we moved, but we don’t have much of a choice now . We have to cook for ourselves now, and the small kitchen in the apartment won’t cut it . 」

They had to cook their own if they wanted to stay away from dishes made from animals contaminated by dragon stones . For ingredients, Hikaru would have to bring Drake with him to figure out which animals stunk and which ones didn’t .

At first, Lavia couldn’t do any sort of chore at all, but since Paula joined the party, she’d learned a little . Right now, she could cook one or two dishes .

「I must say, I didn’t expect the house to look like this . I did think about getting a house in this world one day . 」

「What kind were you thinking about getting?」

「Hmm, a mansion I guess . 」

「This style of house is really unusual, huh?」

As Hikaru and Lavia were talking, Paula, who was looking around the house with Drake, joined them .

「All right, then . Let’s talk about what we need to do from now on . 」

They sat down and started the first Grand Dream Rescue Meeting .

Nights were completely still in Dream Maker . Yet the area around the residence was even quieter . There was no sound, save for the occasional rustling of the leaves by the wind .

『Let’s move . 』

『Got it . 』

『Roger that . 』

『Understood . 』

It was past one in the morning, and the lights were out . Four men gathered under a large tree that blocked the light from the moon . They wore dark clothes and hood, with masks covering their mouth, allowing them to blend in with the darkness .

They entered the grounds using a grappling hook hurled over the wall, and landed behind some bushes, blocking them from sight . In front of them was a pond . With the trees blocking the moonlight, one wrong step and they would fall into the water . But it didn’t matter . They already had the ground’s blueprint etched into their minds .

The men dashed without a sound and made it to the back door of the house . One man turned the knob only to learn that it was locked . Another took out a thin knife and inserted it through the door’s gap . It clicked open .

『………』

『………』

『………』

『………』

There was no response from inside .

『They don’t even notice this level of noise . I guess it’s true what they say . These people from Primeval are nothing but apes . All right, get ready . 』

『Yes, Sir . 』

『Understood . 』

『Roger that . 』

『Kill on sight . Don’t hesitate . 』

They produced daggers from their pockets, their blades lacquered black . Only the tip glinted silver in the darkness .

The man giving orders, their leader, slipped into the house first . As he beckoned with his hand, the next man followed .

They were in a kitchen with a dirt floor . It was too dark to see what was ahead, so they had to proceed slowly and with caution .

『Be careful . Don’t kick a bucket or something now . 』the man on the lead whispered in a voice that only those very close could hear . 『Stairs up ahead . 』

As he planted his foot on the first step, he noticed something . He didn’t get any affirmation from his men . It was their rule to give even a tiny response every time . Yet he didn’t hear anything .

As he turned over his shoulder, a hard object hit him hard, knocking him out cold on the spot . All of a sudden, the room turned bright .

「Is it over?」 Lavia asked .

「There really were intruders!」 Paula exclaimed .

Lavia and Paula stood there with lanterns in hand . Hikaru nodded, blinking repeatedly from the sudden brightness .

「Yeah, we’re good . This is the fourth guy . Looks like they didn’t think the attackers would get attacked themselves . 」

Hikaru’s punch knocked out two men outside and two inside . Since he snuck behind them without getting noticed, his punches had the Assassination buff . Each time he knocked one down, he grabbed their hand so his Group Obfuscation could take effect . The last one, however, he struck without any Stealth, producing a dull sound .

「I didn’t know punching people hurt so much… Can you please heal my hand, Paula?」

「Of course . 」

Hikaru wore a glove, but he barely had any experience in barehanded combat . He had to bear with the pain, as he needed the men alive .

「Will there be more attacks?」 Lavia asked .

「I’m not sure . I doubt there will be more, but I’ll stay up all night just to be safe . 」

Hikaru constantly thought about the possibility of intruders raiding their house . Unlike the apartment they were in before, this place was conspicuous, and security was lax . He expected some people to send spies to eavesdrop or try to find out what they really looked like, but this was different .

「I didn’t expect they’d actually try to kill us . 」 Hikaru muttered as he eyed the black metal on the floor .

「Now, then . How do we make them pay for this?」

「You have that sinister smile on you again, Hikaru . 」Lavia said with exasperation . 「You’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you?」

「I am deeply sorry for what happened!」 Duinkler apologized, bowing deeply .

The next day in Hikaru’s new home, four men, tied up, blindfolded, and gagged, lay in the corner of a room .

「Did you send these guys?」 Hikaru asked .

「I-I didn’t! Please believe me! Only fools would even think about incurring your wrath!」

「Oh, you really think so?」

「Of course! I say that from the bottom of my heart!」

Duinkler quickly raised his head and placed his hand on his chest, sweat beading on his face . After receiving news of intruders in Silver Face’s new home, Duinkler rushed to his place first thing in the morning . Oblivious to what they were saying, Duinkler’s followers looked baffled as they watched their boss be so desperate .

The citizens probably thought it strange for Duinkler to regard Silver Face so highly . That would indicate just how powerful a man Duinkler was within their society .

「Then why are you apologizing?」

「First, as a citizen of this country, I would like to apologize for the foolish actions of my fellow countrymen . Also…」

Duinkler hesitated to say his next words .

「I will deploy guards to this place . They will work in rotation and be on the lookout at all times . Your safety is our maximum priority—」

Hikaru raised his hand to cut the man short .

「That’s not what you meant to say, right?」

「………」

Duinkler’s face was covered in a cold sweat . Hikaru didn’t find it fun making a plump man sweat, but he had to say it .

「Someone leaked info about us moving here . Most likely one of your men . And they’re connected to the traitor . Am I wrong?」

「It is possible . 」

「Look into it . 」

「Of course . So in the meantime, I’ll provide security—」

「I can’t really trust you, so I asked someone else . 」

Hikaru called a man in .

「L-Lord Silver Face! Surely you aren’t serious!」

Shock dawned on Duinkler’s face as he saw the man Hikaru hired .

「The army will be in charge of this place’s security . 」 Grucel, the leader of the clan governing the army, said with a sullen expression .