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Chapter 57

「So, should I just stand back and watch?」

The swordsman responded to my question.

「Didn’t I tell you to stay silent?」

「Am I not allowed to say anything at all?」

The lizardmen were gradually approaching us.

「I’ve been telling you that from the start, haven’t I? An E-rank amateur giving orders to D-rank veterans… no, to a C-rank veterans party?」

Well, I didn’t really care if these guys were killed by lizardmen.
Even if the suspect died before catching the serial killer’s tail, as long as there are no more victims after that, it doesn’t matter if the case remains unsolved.

As I was thinking about such things, the lizardmen came within a 15-meter radius around us.

At that moment, the warrior, the leader, shouted,

「It’s dusk… no, it’s halfway to darkness! Use flash magic!」

「Yes!」

The magician, who looked a bit too far beyond 40 to be called young, responded.

Simultaneously, a deafening roar and a flash echoed.

At the same time the swordsman swiftly engaged the enemies, cutting down four lizardmen in an instant.
While the warrior continued to protect the chanting magician, he skillfully dispatched one lizardman nearby.

And a few seconds later,

「Don’t hit me!」

Agreeing with the warrior’s words, the magician yelled,

「HomingーLarge Fire!」

It was a magic generally ranked as high-level.
This spell simultaneously activated multiple fire magic, with the added feature of homing capability.

「Gii!」

「Ggyu!」

「Hiigubu!」

Accompanied by high-pitched, almost comical sounds, the lizardmen’s charred corpses piled up.
The majority of the group of around 15 lizardmen was annihilated, and the few survivors suffered severe burns while attempting to escape, but were cut down by the swordsman from behind.

「Well, that should do it.」

Hmm… they really are a veteran group.
They managed to handle it quite impressively.

Well, if they are surrounded by 100 of them, they will be out of luck, but if they can’t do anything with around 15 of them, they probably wouldn’t have survived to the age where they can be called a veteran.

「However, it’s a shame to have hunted down so many lizardmen… if we had a porter, we could have retrieved them all.」

Everyone nodded in agreement.
And I sighed reluctantly.

—Isn’t that a statement of someone who wants to kill Lilith?

Seemingly oblivious even to that, these guys didn’t appear to be too bright.

The leader seemed satisfied and said,

「Shall we get to the main point then?」

Since he addressed me, I tilted my head in a questioning manner.

「Huh? The main point?」

At that, the swordsman smirked.

「Hehe… Your buddies are all quite beautiful, aren’t they?」

Well, that was true.

「And?」

「Don’t worry. Before killing them, we’ll have our fun.」

I see.

It seemed like he was planning to reveal the spoiler here.
He’s the kind of guy who’ll tell you about the souvenirs of the underworld.

He continued with the expected words.

「Being targeted by bandits is the fate of those who possess item box skills.」

「Well, that’s true.」

「But we’re cautious. You mentioned yourself that you’re escorting that woman… so, you must have some skill. It’s better to take care of you first. Hence, we deliberately led you into a separate place.」

Well, that made sense.

The guy continued with a self-satisfied expression, not realizing that I was willingly playing along, knowing everything.

「Well, the misfortune of you and your companion is simply because you didn’t expect that there would be bandits among high-ranking adventurers. Normally, they wouldn’t have exist.」

I nodded emphatically.

「Agreed. The misfortune is… mutual.」

「Mutual? What do you mean?」

「Just like how you consider me unlucky, I also consider you unlucky.」

「Huh?」

And then, I grinned.

「You would never have thought that you guys were picking a fight with an A-rank or possibly an upper S-rank adventurer, or even an SSS-rank equivalent… You probably didn’t expect that, did you?」