And, One More

“......The name's Darakerus. A mage.”

After the two of them had pointed at each other and demanded to know who the other was.

Darakerus was the first to reveal his name.

“I'm the one who lives in this house.”

And Darakerus, even though he had only just reached this house himself a moment ago...... told that lie with a perfectly straight face!

After all, he was a man who had long lived in the low-morals world of bottom-rung adventurers...... he didn't feel the slightest guilt about telling a little lie to get what he wanted.

And in this case, what he wanted was “This house I stumbled on, I want it for myself, no matter what.”

He didn't really know what the short man in front of him was about.

But he understood right away that this short man was likely to stand in his way.

That was exactly why he'd said it, to keep the man in check.

“Wha, live......”

Then the short man...... Fret, gaped with his mouth wide open and staggered, visibly flustered.

But.

“......Hah!!”

One look around the room and he was back to his smug self, a snide grin on his face!

“For someone who lives here, this room is awfully dusty, wouldn't you say!? Don't tell such obvious lies, you vagrant!!”

“............”

Faced with such a spot-on rebuttal, Darakerus could only shut his mouth.

After all, and this bears repeating, he had lived among bottom-rung adventurers for a long time...... so what he'd pictured happening next was a brawl, kicked off by some moronic line like “Shut the hell up, you DUMBAAASS!!!”

He'd lived his life in a world where things were basically settled by trading blows.

So getting talked back to...... had never even crossed his mind!

“Listen well!? My name is Fret Full...... heir...... of the illustrious Full Trading Company, and a man who also serves on the board of the Zenalini Trade Association!!”

Pleased to see Darakerus at a loss for a comeback, Fret got carried away, puffed out his chest, and proudly announced himself.

The Full Trading Company was the most prosperous company in Zenalini lately, and Darakerus had heard the name before.

“And this house is a property I finally found after years of searching, going by an old book I acquired!! And now, what, you wretch!! You mean to swoop in and snatch it out from under me!? You are nothing but a vagrant who broke into this house!! Now, get out of here!! Do that, and I'll let you off, without reporting you to the Zenalini city guard!!”

With that, Fret stepped a few paces aside, away from the living room door.

Then, turning half sideways, he jerked his chin, silently telling Darakerus to get out.

“............”

But Darakerus didn't budge.

Arms folded, he just stared at Fret with those listless eyes.

“Hey, you wretch!! You're a vagrant, so why won't you obey me of all people!! I am the heir to the Full Trading Company, and a board member!! Defy me, and I'll make sure you can't live in Zenalini!!”

Fret grew irritated, clicked his tongue, and yapped shrilly.

“............”

And still, Darakerus didn't budge.

After all, this house was the safe haven he had finally found...... or at least, a property that might become one.

He couldn't just meekly do as he was told and get out.

All that awaited him down that road was dying in a ditch.

Besides, the threat “I'll make sure you can't live in Zenalini” didn't scare him one bit right now.

Because just days ago, Darakerus had already reached the point where he couldn't live in Zenalini!

“That threat...... came three days too late, huh?”

Darakerus gave a sardonic grin, uncrossed his arms, and began sending magic power through his whole body.

......He was ready for a fight.

“Hih!? So you want a fight, you wretch!? Me...... don't you underestimate me!!”

Fret sensed Darakerus's murderous intent rising...... and quaked with fear.

But he quickly reached inside his jacket and pulled out a lump of metal.

......A magic gun!

“Tch......”

“Fu, fuhaha!! This magic gun is, c, custom-made!! Be good, and do as I SAAAY!!”

With a forced, twitching grin, trembling all over...... Fret shouted.

Fret and Darakerus.

The killing intent pouring off the two of them filled the house, where gentle sunlight streamed in.

It was already a powder keg.

Anyone could see that it was only moments now, before the killing started......

Which would come first: Darakerus throwing a hidden knife and chanting magic into the opening it made.

Or Fret, steeling himself despite his trembling, pulling the magic gun's trigger.

Large beads of sweat formed on both their foreheads.

Then fell to the floor, potari, leaving a stain.

......And then, the next moment!

“Noisy.”

Suddenly, a muffled voice reached the ears of Darakerus and Fret!

It was not the voice of either of them.

It was a girl's voice.

“W, who's there!?”

“............”

Still ready to fight, Darakerus and Fret looked all around the room for the owner of the voice.

And then, lo and behold!

Right there on the ceiling in the middle of the room was a pitch-black, eerie cocoon, of all things!

The two of them noticed it at the same moment and were dumbstruck.

Even though that cocoon, bold as you please, was stuck right there on the ceiling.

The two of them, until this moment, had utterly failed to notice it.

No presence, nothing...... they hadn't picked up so much as a hint of it.

Not even Darakerus, who had spent years in the slums of Zenalini and should have been more wary than most!

Without a doubt...... this pitch-black cocoon was something supernatural, beyond human understanding!

Something, uncanny!

“What is this...... hih!?”

At the very moment Fret, trembling, muttered that!

Bishiri, a crack appeared in the cocoon.

And out of it...... pitch-black miasma, obviously bad for the human body, began spewing out with tremendous force!

“Hiiii!?”

“Hey, hey, hey...... what the hell, is THIIIS!?”

This was no time for the two of them to be fighting anymore!

Out of sheer terror, the two clung to each other and shook violently!

Mishi, baki, mishimishi......!

Right before the two of them, the cracks in the cocoon slowly widened with that horrible sound...... and then, at last!

Botori.

It dropped something pitch-black onto the floor.

At first it was wrapped in miasma, and there was no telling what it was.

Slowly, it stood up on two long legs.

““Eh......””

The miasma gradually cleared, revealing its form.

When they saw what it was, the two of them gasped.

Standing there was a girl, more beautiful than anyone they had ever seen.

That girl, on the verge of adulthood, had her body, just turning womanly, covered in something like pitch-black rubber, made of who knew what.

With large, slightly upturned eyes, she looked at the two of them coldly.

Those eyes, and her hair.

......They were an ominous, hideous pitch-black.

In other words, a cursed child.

In contrast, her skin was radiantly white.

More beautiful than any jewel.

That girl, at once bewitching and divine.

“Hmph.”

Gazed coldly at the two of them, snorted with a perfectly blank face, and then.

“I'm a traveler. Emi Rune.”

Giving off 【Intimidation】, she told them her name.

“This house, the first one who found it, was me.”

Quietly.

“So, this house is...... mine!”

In the fight over this house...... she had declared herself a contender!

【Full Trading Company】

An up-and-coming trading company making remarkable strides in Zenalini.

Mentioned in Arc 21.

【Cocoon】

The bed Emi makes for herself when she sleeps.

Sturdy, and comfortable inside, but extremely creepy to look at.

【That girl, on the verge of adulthood】

Emi's story started when she was 5, and now she's 13.

Her journey, still has a long way to go.

With this, the opening of Arc 30 is complete.