6
“—You want to hire the best person here?”
The bartender raised an eyebrow, looking Subaru up and down with a skeptical expression.
Subaru and Flop had arrived at the bar, both out of breath. The older man behind the bar, his hair showing streaks of white, had glanced at them dubiously.
At present, they were inside the bar they’d originally set out to visit. It was quite a gamble coming here, especially since he had been killed right outside the bar on the first try. This time, their hurried pace seemed to have thrown off the timing of whatever threat had targeted him.
Still, Subaru knew it was too soon to think they were out of danger.
“Like I said, I need to borrow the strength of the best person you’ve got,” Subaru repeated.
“…If you’re asking for the best one here, that’d be Louann, over there in the corner,” the bartender replied, jerking his chin toward the far end of the bar.
Subaru turned his gaze past a cluster of patrons lost in their cups. Near the edge of the room, a man was sprawled across a table, completely collapsed.
The man appeared to be in his fifties, with long, unkempt hair loosely tied back and a katana at his hip. Several empty glasses were scattered on the table, evidence of a long, ongoing binge.
“Ho-ho, so he’s skilled? You can’t judge someone by appearances!” Flop exclaimed.
“He’s got a bad drinking habit, but yeah, he’s good. Real bad drunk, though,” the bartender warned.
“Not exactly reassuring when you feel the need to say it twice,” Subaru muttered.
Still, appearances and habits weren’t the priorities here. What Subaru needed wasn’t charisma or a strong liver but raw strength—someone capable of getting them out of this nightmare.
“Hey, Louann, willing to listen to a proposition?” Subaru called as he approached the table with Flop.
“Nnnaa?”
The man groaned as Subaru shook his shoulder, slowly lifting his head. His face was flushed red, his eyes unfocused and sleepy. Though his features weren’t unpleasant, the bright red nose and disheveled appearance ruined any impression of composure.
“What’s that, kid? You need somethin’ from meee…?” Louann slurred.
“Yeesh, you’re falling-over drunk… Anyway, just listen. I’ve got a job—ugh, that smell!” Subaru gagged, recoiling from the strong stench of alcohol.
“Oi, mind your manners,” Louann grumbled, sitting up unsteadily. He let out a long sigh that sent another wave of booze-laden air straight into Subaru’s face.
That booze stench is so bad I almost got drunk off his breath. He’s been going at it for a lot longer than a few hours. There should be a limit to getting drunk, right?
“Looking back, maybe I should’ve handled Otto better when he got drunk instead of tossing him outside…!”
“Ugh…” Louann hiccupped and groaned, flipping an empty glass upside down over his mouth in a futile attempt to extract a last drop of beer.
“Tch, not enough booze. Hey kid, buy me a drink,” Louann demanded, his voice sluggish.
“Mm, you want a drink? All right, bartender, a drink for—”
“Wait, Flop! Hold on a second!” Subaru interrupted, stepping in front of Flop before he could finish the request. “I know it’s not my place to criticize your kindness after all you’ve done, but maybe save it for later!”
Flop blinked, surprised, but relented. Subaru turned to Louann, planting a hand on the table with a thud.
“Louann, I’ll get straight to the point. We’re not buying you a drink. But we will pay you a reward that’ll let you buy as much as you want. I want to hire you.”
“Ahh, a job, you saaay…?”
“That’s right. I want to hire you for protection. Starting right now.”
Subaru endured the overwhelming stench of alcohol as he laid out his terms, meeting Louann’s sleepy gaze head-on.
“…That’s a pretty forceful tone. You boys must be in a tight spot.”
“Yeah, no joke. So, how about it? This here’s as much as I can pay.”
“Buddy, that’s—!” Flop started, his eyes wide in alarm.
Subaru raised a hand to stop him and locked eyes with Louann as he pulled out the bag of money he’d earned from selling the demon beast horn and slammed it onto the table.
“This is everything I’ve got. Will you take the job?”
“…”
Louann opened the bag, peering inside. His flushed face and drunken demeanor vanished as a sharp, calculating expression took over.
I don’t know the prices here in the empire, but he should be able to drink his ass off for a few months with that much money.
“I was gonna say I don’t come cheap…but you came at me with this much on a first offer.”
“Fair warning, I’m not taking any upselling,” Subaru replied.
“I don’t doubt it. Looks like you’re serious,” Louann said, rubbing his red nose. He stood up slowly, pocketing the bag of coins.
“I’m not giving this back, even if you ask.”
“As much as it pains me, I won’t ask for it back. As long as you do the job,” Subaru said.
“Bwa-ha!” Louann let out a boozy laugh and accepted Subaru’s job.
Hearing that, Subaru felt the tension in his shoulders finally ease. The weight of uncertainty and dread that had been building finally gave way to a flicker of hope.
“Buddy, are you sure about this? That money was…”
“It’s fine. You can’t put a price on safety. I’m sorry for shocking you, and thank you for showing me this place.”
“If you’re content, then I am, too,” Flop replied. “Fortunately, the inn was paid for up front!”
At least Subaru wouldn’t have to worry about lodging expenses—everything had already been covered, including Flop and Medium’s share.
“So then, boss. I haven’t heard your name yet.”
“Ah, right. Sorry. We were just in a rush.”
Realizing he had forgotten his manners, Subaru quickly started to introduce himself. “My name is—”
“Wait.”
Louann held up a hand, cutting Subaru off mid-sentence. His sharp gaze shifted to the window of the bar, his expression darkening.
“Louann…?”
“…I sense something,” Louann said softly, his tone low and measured. “Were you followed, kid?”
Subaru gulped.
“What are you talking about?” Flop asked, looking confused.
But Subaru wasn’t confused. It was less of a What? and more of a Just as I thought. Louann had picked up on the presence Subaru already knew about—the enemy that had attacked and killed him repeatedly. They were still out there, still hunting him.
“Who are you being followed by?”
“…Honestly, I have no idea. But I was sure they’d come after me again if I stayed outside. That’s why I hurried to hire you,” Subaru explained.
“I see.” Louann smirked faintly. “Maybe I should’ve charged you a little extra.”
It was a lighthearted joke, but Subaru didn’t have a single coin left to spare, and nothing would come out of his pockets even if he got flipped upside down and shaken.
Despite the tension in his words, Louann’s expression remained calm and confident. With the alcohol’s haze fading from his eyes, he stood with the air of a seasoned warrior.
“…”
Subaru’s eyes were drawn to Louann’s weapon: a single katana at his left hip. The sight of the blade caught him off guard. Katanas were rare in this world where western swords were the norm. Between the weapon, Louann’s disheveled hair, and his outfit, he resembled a wandering samurai—or, perhaps more fittingly, a ronin.
“Louann, the opponent is…”
“You don’t need to get so twitchy. Doesn’t matter who it is—if they come at me, they’ll be split in two. I’ve got some booze in me, so my sword’s in top form.”
“Drunken fist…I mean sword? That’s a new one,” Subaru muttered.
Louann didn’t sound like he was bluffing, and Subaru decided to trust his confidence. Moving away from the window, Subaru tugged on Flop’s sleeve, pulling the merchant to the side.
“Flop, let’s leave this to Louann.”
“If you say so! Not that I really get what’s going on. Buddy, what are you and your bodyguard even fighting?”
“I don’t—”
Before Subaru could finish, the situation escalated.
A large man suddenly tumbled into the bar, groaning loudly as he fell to the floor.
“Bugh…”
The sound startled Subaru, making him jump. But the bar’s patrons barely reacted, as if they were used to such things. Only Flop and the bartender moved toward the man—Flop out of concern, and the bartender with a reluctant expression that screamed, Don’t get my floor dirty.
“Hey, you! Are you all right? Get yourself together!”
“Hu, hggh, haaah…”
“Hggh Haaah?! Is that your name? Get a hold of yourself, Hggh Haaah!”
“N-no, Flop. This guy is…,” Subaru began, but his words trailed off as unease crept over him.
And also, the sort of person who would go into a bar in a situation like this…
“Hgh…”
“Gh! Flop! Get away!” Subaru yelled.
The man on the floor suddenly grabbed Flop’s arm, trying to use it for support. But Subaru, sensing danger, yanked Flop backward with all his strength.
The next moment—
“Gh!”
The man’s body swelled grotesquely, glowing with an ominous red light. And then, with a deafening roar, he exploded.
“Gaaah?!”
The explosion knocked Subaru and Flop off their feet, sending them sprawling. Flames and smoke filled the bar as chaos erupted.
The man’s body had been rigged with a flame magic stone, likely implanted inside him. The resulting blast scattered fire throughout the room, igniting anything flammable.
But the fire wasn’t the only danger.
“Geha! Wh-what’s this?! My eyes! My eyes!”
As flames spread, one of the drunks screamed, clutching his face. He wasn’t alone—other men around him began shouting in agony, covering their eyes and noses as smoke billowed from the epicenter of the explosion.
“G-get out of the bar! Everyone! Quick!”
“Wai—”
A man shouted with a dreadful stream of tears running down his face, and the rest of the men covering their faces followed him to the entrance. Seeing them push and shove, Subaru tried to stop them.
But it was too late.
“—gh?!”
A second explosion tore through the bar, this one even larger than the first. The men rushing the exit were caught in the blast, their bodies thrown like rag dolls as flames engulfed the space.
As the heat and shock wave pummeled him, Subaru froze at the terrible scene. It was like a string of nightmares. It did not feel real.
“This is…”
“Get it together, boss! If you went down here, it’d be a problem for me, too!”
Frozen in shock, Subaru was hauled to his feet by the back of his neck. The one who pulled him up was Louann, covering his face with his sleeve. He gestured to stay low, to avoid breathing the smoke that had gotten the other men.
“Bartender! We’re taking the back door! The front’s being watched!” Louann barked.
“G-got it! Over here…!” The bartender, bleeding from his forehead, nodded at Louann’s directions.
Pointing to the older man crawling along the floor, Louann pushed Subaru forward.
“Go, you and the other kid, too! Move now if you don’t want to die!”
“I—I can’t die here! Me and my sister are still in the middle of our journey…!” Flop shouted, scrambling to follow Subaru.
“Damn it…!”
Subaru’s anger at himself mingled with the fear and chaos.
He was, of course, furious at the enemy orchestrating this nightmare, but he was equally enraged at himself for misjudging the situation so badly. He had known there was an enemy and had still underestimated their ruthlessness. The earlier dragon carriage attack should have made it clear that bystanders were fair game to this unseen adversary.
Because of his miscalculation, the men in the bar—innocent bystanders—had been dragged into this hell.
“…! The back door isn’t opening!”
Subaru’s self-recrimination was interrupted by the barkeep’s despairing shout. The older man was frantically pulling at the door, but it showed no signs of budging. Maybe the door had been broken in the explosion earlier, or else…
“Not good! The front entrance is blocked! At this rate…”
“Outta the way! A door like this can’t…,” Louann growled, stepping forward.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his katana and drew it in a single fluid motion, slicing through the door.
“All right! It’s open! Everyone, keep low!”
Opening the closed door wide, Louann shouted back to the three behind him.
Subaru’s heart pounded as he watched Louann take control of the situation. The chaos raging inside the bar seemed manageable now—they could escape through the back door. Louann’s judgment and skill were the real deal.
We’ll make it out of here, and then…
“…”
Subaru caught his breath. There was a hang-up. —I can predict this merciless enemy’s thoughts.
Turning someone into a living bomb and throwing them into the bar, driving people out using smoke, blowing them all away with a magic stone set at the entrance. And blocking that entrance and the back door, too. They had broken through that and were coming through the back door anyway, but…
“Louann—”
Subaru tried to say that something was off. If the enemy was that careful, there was no way they would let up on the attack. Subaru called out in order to say something, but there was no reply.
“…”
But before he could finish, Louann leaned out through the exit.
And then…
His body suddenly tilted backward. And collapsed.
Subaru and Flop and the barkeep were stunned seeing him fall. His head was crushed from the forehead up. Eyes dangling out of their sockets.
He was clearly dead.
“Eeep!”
The barkeep screamed at the sight, but his terror was cut short.
From within the flames, something shot forward, piercing the barkeep’s chest with lethal precision. His organs splattered, painting the room crimson as he fell into the fire, where his body started to burn almost immediately.
“…”
Subaru’s body froze as his wide eyes locked on to the figure emerging from the smoke.
A man, his face obscured by a wet cloth, stepped forward, holding an ax. He was the embodiment of terror—relentless and methodical. This was the one who had crushed Louann’s skull and killed the barkeep.
“Wh-who are you? Why are you doing this?” Flop stammered, his voice shaking as he faced the monstrous figure.
“You think you can just—”
Flop’s resolve to censure the man ended mid-sentence.
The ax came down on Flop’s head with brutal force, splitting it open. Blood and brain matter sprayed across the room, the vibrant red of flames merging with the vibrant red of death. Flop’s body dropped to the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
Subaru sat on the floor, paralyzed. Blood soaked into his clothes, but that wasn’t the only thing staining him.
He had soiled himself in terror.
The figure loomed closer, ax dripping with fresh blood. Subaru could feel the overwhelming malice, the persistence, the horror that shook his soul.
“Why…?”
It was a stupid question, he realized. Flop had asked the same thing and been mercilessly killed for it.
He did not have the strength to scoot back or the courage to crawl. He could not look away.
It was scary looking at the man, but he was too scared to look away.
“Why…why!”
The man still didn’t answer. With his face still hidden, he simply raised his ax, the blade poised directly above Subaru’s head.
“Why!”
“I’m not telling you anything. It’d be a problem if you got away again.”
At last the man answered Subaru’s hoarse shout. His voice sounded familiar, like Subaru had heard it before.
“Bgh.”
Before Subaru could process the words, the ax came down.
The blow split his skull, and everything went dark.
There was a faint, dissonant sound.
Was.
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