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126. [Altora] Inhuman

Some time earlier—

After a desperate struggle through the snowbound Leon Enagoris mountain range, Altora and his companions finally reached the city of Fathie. It was there that they stumbled upon the humble establishment that had once been the childhood home of Saint Tina: a bar quaintly named Mom’s Tavern. By some twist of fate, they had ended up staying there, and nearly a week had passed.

「This one’s a masterpiece!」

So declared Mina Rayleigh, Tina’s younger sister. Inside the echoingly empty tavern, she presented a cake topped with a crude little firework, the kind made by smearing gunpowder on a stick. It fizzled weakly, sending off a cheap-looking cascade of sparks.

「I was thinking we could make this the tavern’s new specialty—cakes with fireworks sticking out of them! Like, imagine a mountain of whipped cream, and then—bam! Sparks flying everywhere!」

She held it up proudly, beaming. Altora Carmancy, however, merely scratched at his blond hair and shot a weary, irked glance from his left eye. His missing right eye was hidden behind a freshly procured black eyepatch.

「Rejected. That’s not something people want with a drink.」

「Ehh, I thought it was a fresh idea… It might be a hit someday. In the far future. Maybe.」

「If we live to see a world where people get excited about cakes shooting sparks, then civilization’s finished. Anyway, how’s the renovation going? And the name change?」

「Ah, about that…」

The members of the now-defunct S-rank party Divine Silver Sword had taken on the job of reviving Tina’s family’s shabby tavern, and preparations were underway—or so they thought. But they had already run into a major obstacle.

「You’re telling me we can’t even change the name, let alone renovate the place? What the hell?」

The first step in their plan had been to change the overly pastoral name Mom’s Tavern, but they had hit a snag right out of the gate.

Altora scowled as he bit down on one of his remaining dark green pills, his mood sour. Mina Rayleigh, daughter of the tavern’s former owner, gave a helpless shrug and explained.

「It’s a mess. There’s the bank, the merchants’ guild… And then there’s the Vehl Family. They’ve had their eye on this place for a while now. I’m pretty sure they’d love to see us go bankrupt and vanish. Nothing gets approved unless it’s a bankruptcy filing, probably.」

Well, that’s a problem, Altora thought, frowning.

The Vehl Family was the criminal syndicate pulling the strings behind the scenes in this city. Their members were easily identified by their dyed green hair, and as thugs went, they were particularly nasty.

Worse yet, right after arriving in town, Altora and company had gotten tangled up in a dispute between Mina and the Vehl Family—and ended up making enemies of them. They’d even beaten up a few low-level members in the process. It was too late to pretend nothing had happened.

「Things are quiet for now—probably because they’re wary of you guys—but who knows when they’ll come back for revenge.」

「Yeah, guys like that care a lot about appearances. Once they’ve gathered enough muscle, they’ll show up.」

「And when they do, that’s the end, right…? I guess I really am going to end up losing my virginity to a monster in a freak show to pay off our debts…」

「You always say that. Are you secretly into the idea?」

「I’ll bash your skull in. But seriously, if they wreck the place, then what are we supposed to do…?」

「…That’s it.」

「Huh?」

「Those fireworks you stuck in the cake—where’d you get them? Go buy every last one they’ve got. Right now.」

「R-right! Got it!」

「Let Elia and Gordon know too. Looks like we’ve got work to do.」

◇

Living in a world where losing face meant death, the Vehl Family moved quickly.

By the following evening, over a dozen men had gathered in front of the tavern, wielding clubs and knives. One man, clearly the leader, stepped forward and shouted toward the building.

「We’re from the Vehl Family! Time to pay up! We want every coin you owe, right here, right now!」

No answer came from within. Though dimly lit, the tavern clearly wasn’t empty. They were simply refusing to respond.

Taking that as a failed negotiation, the leader turned his back to the door and barked orders to his crew.

「Alright, grab anything worth money—and bring that Mina girl too!」

「Say, boss, I heard there’s a real skilled bodyguard here. What about him?」

「What’s one guy gonna do against this many?」

「But boss…」

「You’re so damn chatty. What is it now?」

「The tavern. It’s on fire.」

「…Huh?」

Now that it was pointed out, he noticed the faint smell of burning. He turned around—just in time to see flames rising from the building. The popping of small explosions echoed out, and the air carried the scent of smoke and gunpowder.

「It’s a fire!?」

「Wh-what do we do, boss!?」

「In a cramped district like this, the whole place’ll go up if it spreads! Put it out! Now!」

Water was scarce in these back alleys, and the local well wasn’t enough for a full-blown blaze. As the Vehl Family’s men scrambled to gather sand and dirt, a large blond man stepped out from the shadows where he’d been hiding—not inside, but just outside the building.

「Ohhhh, would you look at that? Now what might the fine gentlemen of the Vehl Family be doing to my place, huh?」

「You’re the bodyguard—Altora!?」

「I know we’re late on the payments, but setting the place on fire? Seriously? And in a neighborhood this packed?」

「Don’t look at us! We had nothing to do with it! This some trick of yours!?」

「Us? Why the hell would we set fire to our own tavern? This place is our lifeblood, man. You think we’d torch it ourselves? For what?」

「Guh…」

By now, the neighbors had started to gather. In districts like this, self-defense was a community affair. Buckets of water and sand in hand, the locals rushed to douse the flames—and gradually, the fire was brought under control.

「Thanks to the good people of this neighborhood, no real harm done. Lucky you, Vehl Family.」

「You’re the one who set the fire!」

「Didn’t I just say we got no reason to do that? Come on. Use your head.」

And he wasn’t wrong. No sane person would burn down their own establishment. Meanwhile, the guys who had surrounded the place with weapons were now claiming they ‘didn’t do anything’. Not exactly a believable line.

Altora stepped forward, pressing in on the speechless ringleader.

「Y’know, your kind’s got it rough. You can’t afford to be disrespected, but if you push too far and piss off the locals, you’re finished. You strut around like you own the place, but deep down, all you ever do is watch other people’s faces, begging not to get stabbed in the back.」

「You… You started the fire just to…!?」