Chapter 118 – Body Moved Before Thinking

 

 

「How did you know I was following you?」

「Stop answering questions with questions. I can tell that much just by your footsteps. I heard your footsteps when you were following us」

「I erased my footsteps」

「Complete silence doesn’t exist in this world. It’s your turn now. Why did you collect it?」

「There is no need to answer」

「I’ll force you to talk」

「Try me」

 

The dicer distorted his face to a smile.

Unlike his friendly attitude when he was in the gambling den, his face became ferocious.

And, he moved his fingers.

 

「He〜」

 

I placed my hand on the Demon Sword, then stopped.

I saw something in front of me.

I stared at it narrowing my eyes.

I saw something very thin in the air.

 

「Transparent string……I see, string user huh. From how it looks, it’s sharp, so you’re probably a controller type, but a slasher type using the string huh」

「……」

「When did you spread it? One, two, three……」

 

I pointed at it while counting.

The dicer’s eyebrows flinched every time I pointed at one.

 

『There’s a total of 12 huh』

「It’s 13. There’s one there that’s really hard to see in that open space there. It’s a two-staged preparation that would lead the opponent to that gap in the encircling net, but the real threat is there」

『Mu!』

「What?!」

 

Eleanor who groaned being unable to see through the last one and the dicer that was dumbstruck.

From his expression, it looks like the string and its intention were all right on the mark.

I remembered something and asked the dicer.

 

「I’ll ask one thing. You, are you Delfina’s subordinate?」

「……I don’t know that moneymonger Homers」

 

The dicer spat out as if he spoke about the enemy of his parents.

Moneymonger huh.

Unfortunately, that’s what I like about her.

Like Helene who comes up with strategies, Io who chants magic, and Delfina who talks about profits.

I love that appearance of hers when she is very lively the most.

Well, leaving that aside.

If he’s not one of the guys who started collecting the fake notes in Delfina’s orders, there’s no need to give mercy.

 

「U-UOOOOOO!!」

 

The dicer spread out both his arms and moved around his ten fingers.

The strings that were spread all over started waved, and came slashing while releasing wind cutting sounds.

The strings tore the already tattered houses in the surroundings, and stone and wood debris flew around.

I drew out the two Demon Swords under my cloak.

I cut off the howling strings with speeds that surpass them.

 

「Impossible, the string coated by almars powder, so easily」

「Well then, what’s next?」

「Ku!」

 

The dicer turned around and started to run away.

 

「I won’t let you escape」

 

I caught up with him, and I released a full swing to the back of his head with Eleanor’s flat part.

The dicer was blown away and plunged into the ground face first, and stopped moving.

 

『Did you kill him?』

 

Hikari asked.

 

「I held back. He should wake up after a while」

 

I approached the dicer, opened my different dimension warehouse, took out some rope, and tied up that unconscious guy.

 

『Well then, what will you do? There is no doubt that this guy’s involved though』

「However, this guy, he’s probably just some small fry」

『Well, I guess so』

「Should I torture him and make him speak?」

『That is an advanced delicate work in itself. If you were to try to torture someone, almost everyone would become a vegetable in an instant」

 

That might be true.

Well then, if so, what should I do?

 

「You were here. Oh? What’s up with this?」

 

Iris came.

She dragged the tied up fake notes guy behind her.

He was being dragged while sliding on the ground. It looks like he does not have consciousness.

Iris came up to me and looked down on the dicer.

 

「This man……isn’t he the one in the gambling den earlier?」

「Yeah」

「As I’ve thought, he came huh」

「As you’ve thought?」

「The instant that this fake notes man appeared, even came out 11 consecutive times, on top of that, he made such results intentionally. It was better to think that he is either involved, or knows something」

「I guess so」

 

It looks like Iris also thought what I thought of.

 

「By the way, he wasn’t Delfina’s subordinate」

「I see」

 

Iris nodded, and casually took out a small cylindrical something from her pocket.

And then, when she held it up, “Pyuuuーー!”, something was shot up to the sky with the sound of a high-pitched whistle.

 

「A signal rocket?」

「With this as a signal, it is arranged that my subordinates suppress the gambling den from earlier」

「When did you do that?」

「When we went out of the gamble den」

「As expected of you huh」

「I want to ask of you one thing」

「Tell me」

「Kakeru has good eyes and ears」

「That’s right」

「Can you find some people who reacted strangely after finding out and seeing the gambling den being suppressed? If that would lead us to something, I want to drag all of it at once」

 

Iris’s eyes while she asked that were full of expectations.

 

『A two-staged preparation. This girl, she’s good』

 

Eleanor was unusually impressed.

 

「I can」

「Can I ask you to do that?」

「It’s a ship that already embarked」

「Thank you. If so, let’s go. Let’s observe the gambling den from a distance」

「Yeah」

 

I nodded.

In an instant, I felt something cold on my back.

I don’t know what it is, I can’t see anything, and can’t hear anything as well.

But, I can feel it, there’s something.

And what I suddenly saw was the man who should’ve lost his consciousness moving his finger.

 

「UOOOOO!!」

 

My body moved before thinking.

I drew out the two Demon Swords, stood in front of Iris as if to protect her, and made the swords dance.

The weaving lightning fast net that the dark Demon Sword released, in there, *Putsun*, there was just one response.

Hikari slashed that.

 

『Wa〜, an invisible string〜』

『I couldn’t see it』

 

……me too.

He was hiding such a last resort huh.

I felt a little chilly.

I swung my sword and chopped off both of the dicer’s arms. It should be alright with this.

 

「Thank you, well then, let’s go」

 

Iris said without being perturbed.

She knew what just happened, but she was not perturbed at all.  

A solemn face that really looks good on her.

My body moved before thinking.

When I noticed it, I was kissing her lips.

 

 

 

Chapter 117 –  Kujibiki Tokushou – Chapter 119