The man who broke the spell and looked down at me was a gorilla-like man in a man's world, the mercenary head.
　His head is bleeding and he can't move a muscle.
　I don't think he could have foreseen such an outcome.
　I was definitely at a disadvantage in this fight.
　My size, my skill with the sword, my strength.
　I was no match for the mercenary head in any of those things, and in fact, I was being pushed around.
　Not only was he outmatched in terms of physical ability, but even if he used magic, there was a chance he would be caught in time. 　Even if he wanted to use magic in advance, he would first have to deal with the servants on the way, and more importantly, since he couldn't tell who was in the room, he couldn't do anything foolish.


　In any case, it's a race to the finish.
　So, what to do?
　The answer is one: if you don't have distance, you have time.
　You just have to create the time to do the magic yourself.
　Perfectly suited, I'm famously incompetent.
　Even the head mercenary didn't doubt it.
　There's no reason not to use this.
　Weak opponents make you careless.
　When they're careless, the slightest thing becomes an opening.
　A gap is time.


　That's why he hid the fact that he could use magic until the very end.
　And when he was blown up to the wall, he uttered the spell of the Kuro Bullet.
　The mercenary head seemed to have realized that he was going to use magic in the middle of his chanting, but by the time he realized it, it was too late.
　His aim was perfect.
　Of course, being blown up, the mercenary head was in a place where he couldn't close the distance quickly enough.
　Unfortunately, this man did not check the situation in the backyard.
　And he could not finally break free from the consciousness that Arx Raytheft was 'incompetent'.
　As the saying goes, the mercenary head died in a spattering of brain plasma.


...... Also, I miscalculated by thinking that strong magic is flashy and intense.


　I'm not sure what to make of that.
　Stronger magic tends to have a greater impact on its surroundings.
　In the event that you've got a lot of time and energy, you'll be able to make the most of it.
　For example, the magic circle constructed by the arts glyphs becomes larger.
　The most important thing is the magic power that can be felt on the skin.


　Since the amount of magic power consumed is large, the amount of magic power released also increases, and as a result, the opponent is aware of the use of powerful magic.
　The Kuro Bullet, however, consumes only about 100 magic power.
　This is much lower than the 200 consumption of the Flamme Rune and the 230 consumption of the Flamme Rune, which are used against the national army.
　In addition to that, the spells are short, so it is understandable to underestimate them.
　This is why the mercenary head did not feel threatened.


　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life. ...... If you look around you, you'll see that Lisha and the other girl who just called out to you in concern are rolling their eyes in surprise.
　They probably didn't expect you to use magic in such a calculated way either.
　The Marquis, who had been equally surprised, gave them a bitter look.


I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to use it.

I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not. I'm not surprised.

So why did you pretend to be unable to use magic?

That way they'd be more careful. I guess I really should have taken care of it before I got caught, but I guess it doesn't work that well with adults. ......


　This is a point of reflection that I need to reflect on.
　At that time, I thought 'I can do magic' and 'I can do it well', and somewhere in my mind I was careless. The result was that I was captured.


But if we had used the hostages properly, you wouldn't have been able to do anything about it.

No, on the contrary, it would have been easier for me. If you had used hostages, ...... you would have had to start by getting me to drop my sword. Then you just have to get the chanting going while that mercenary head is approaching.

At which point we'll kill the hostages.

That's not gonna happen. The hostages are alive and that's what counts. You kill the hostage while I'm chanting, what's the point?　It's a waste of time to kill them. You're gonna die if you wait too long.　If you tell a mercenary lying there to kill you, he won't listen.

"............


　Surprisingly, the Marquis has a look of realization on his face.
　It seems that the Marquis did not understand the reasoning behind it. He may have successfully negotiated with hostages in the past, but he has never failed to do so.


It's over, anyway. Be quiet.

"...... over?　Is it?


　The Marquis suddenly smiles.


"You let your guard down, kid. You're not thinking clearly.

"Careless ....... You're not going to be a hostage now, are you?　My mouth is faster than yours. Besides.

Idiot. No, I'm not!　You're just stalling for time!


　At the same time the Marquis is shouting, a servant comes running out from behind the door.
　Lisha fusses loudly, and the tea-colored haired girl starts screaming.


"Hmm!　Mmm!



Look out!

I know, I know. I'm not going to let you do that again.


　As soon as you hear Lisha and the other one's voice, you walk into the side of the servant who jumped at you.
　With a hip-rotating gait, you try to outrun the servant's lunge.
　The servant probably thought that he had suddenly disappeared from view because he had entered right beside him.
　He jumped at the servant's neck from the side and used the neck as a fulcrum to turn around and make a hold.


　The servant man, whose carotid artery had been strangled by the naked clasp, fainted within seconds.


That's not good. You need to train a few thousand more times.


　The Marquis, on the other hand, was probably not expecting to be able to react to the surprise attack and even defeat him.
　A look of surprise crossed his face.


You can't just strangle a big ...... guy like that.

According to my uncle, it is essential for mages to strengthen their physical abilities.

"Uncle ......, so you're studying under a molten iron mage. But--


　I'm not sure what to make of this.
　I'm sure he'll try to take them hostage.


Too late.

What?


　I'm not sure what to do.
　The difference between those who train every day and those who don't.
　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.


　The Marquis, on the other hand, prepared himself on the spot.
　The Marquis, on the other hand, stands his ground.
　At this point, it is clear where the game will end.
　He has not only physical skills but also magic (Kuro Bullet).
　He has only one bullet left, but he will not be defeated.


　In the meantime, Noah and Kazui arrived just as the mercenaries outside had been kicked out.


Oops, I see you've already finished with me. ......

It's too late for this, I'm afraid.

Reinforcements. ......


　The Marquis must have realized that he was in trouble when Noah and Kazi showed up.
　I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that if I were you.


　And then he raised his hands in a show of surrender.


I see. I guess I've lost.

I see. I've lost." ...... "Lost, huh?


　But even though he had admitted defeat, he was quite calm.
　He looked as if he didn't have the slightest idea that he was being cornered.
　You can see that he is not only graceful, but also somewhat relaxed.
　Why would he have such an attitude at this point in time?
　Do you really think you can get through this situation?


　But as for the Marquis...


"Arx Raytheft. How about you make a deal with me?

What?　A deal?　Under the circumstances?

Yes. I'm going to settle this right now. I'm not going to accuse you of attacking my house and killing my people, and I'm not going to do anything to you afterwards. I'll give you both back. In exchange, you can have your evidence back.

"You're being very presumptuous. You're the one at a disadvantage right now.

I can overturn any disadvantage I want.

...... How?

Yeah. I'll help you from now on. I'm sure you're going to have some financial problems, too, aren't you?　If that's the case, I think this offer will be of great benefit to you, don't you?


　It is true that there is a high possibility that you will have financial difficulties in the future because you will not be able to receive support from your parents.
　He must have seen through this and offered the deal.
　There is no one who knows about this case except the Marquis and the victims themselves.


　In other words, the Marquis's crimes will never come to light unless we make an issue of it or report it to the appropriate authorities.
　That's why they are going to hit him where it hurts.


　But.


I'm not going to take your money.

"...... I thought you were a clever boy. Maybe I overestimated him.

If you think you can solve everything with money, you're wrong.

But that's the way adults do it. Maybe you don't understand.

Don't think that just because you're a child, you're easily misled by the word "adult. It's children who yearn to be adults, but they're not young enough to fall for such flimsy talk.

Anyone who acts on their emotions is a child.

Then I'll just be a kid. I'll tell you that Arx Raytheft is a little brat - ......?


　The Marquis snickered when I swore.


That's ridiculous. I'm not sure what you mean by that.　Money is neither clean nor dirty. Money is money.



"Maybe so. But you know what? Your money's despicable.

Despicable?

Yeah. I'm not going to have that kind of money.


　Then, for some reason, Kazui interrupted.


"Hey, Arx. Money. It's money whether you earn it the right way or the wrong way. Whether it's clean or dirty, there's no other use for the money you get. Isn't that right?


　What the hell is wrong with you for suddenly asking that?
　He looked curiously at Kazi.


"......?　What's with you all of a sudden?

"It's a whim. A whim.


　A whim. I guess you could say it's a whimsical question from someone with an obsession with money.
　But it's true. Kazi's right. Money is money. It has no other use than as money.
　Then it doesn't matter if it's clean or dirty, it doesn't bother the owner when he uses it.


　But.


"That may be true. But--



But when you spend money that's been earned by lowly means, it lowers your heart.



The mind is ...... despicable?

You see?　Once you spend money earned through dirty means, you'll think it's okay to earn money dirty and spend it dirty. Then you won't care about the people who took advantage of you when you made it dirty, and you'll end up making a lot of them. Isn't that right?


　Yes, stolen or scammed money is hard to get out of once it's been successfully used. Because it's easy, because you can get a lot of money. The success makes it easy for them to do it again and again, and as it continues, they feel less and less guilty. They don't care about the people who took advantage of their success.


　...... That's what the man's mother told him when she saw the news about the scammer.
　When the crime of posing as the sons and daughters of old people to take money from them was rampant, she said to the TV LCD.
　Those who get their hands on the money are so consumed by the pleasure of easy money that they don't look at what happens to the victims. And after that, forever.


　That's what I'm talking about.
　To deviate from the path of righteousness without regard for the misfortunes of others is to become despicable to the core.


　I looked at Kazui, and he said.


"You're a little kid, but you're spouting off a lot of nonsense.

"What... Can't you relate?

"...... No, I think you might be right.

"......?


　Kazi seemed to be quietly convinced, and said nothing more.
　I still don't know why he said that.


　In the event that you have any questions regarding where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.


"That guy over there.

What?

You're a mage too, aren't you?　I'll give you some money if you eliminate these two. Enough for a lifetime of luxury. Not a bad deal, is it?


　Now you're buying off your friends.
　He must have sensed from the conversation that Kazui didn't care about the right or wrong of money.
　Kazi is being asked for money as compensation.
　Objectively speaking, there is a high possibility that he will be bought.


　But somehow, strangely, he didn't think that he would accept the Marquis' demands.
　Cazi let out a breath and walked up to the Marquis.


　And then.


I don't know if you remember, but about ten years ago you tied up a family of farmers.　It was a house in your territory.

"A farmer's family?　I don't remember any of that. ......

I'm sure they took one of your youngest daughters as payment for the debts they incurred on your nefarious loans.


　I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that.


"......, I remember something like that. I'm sure the people in that house also said that money is both lowly and precious.

What happened to the girl you took?

What happened to the girl? She's with those who defied me. After he's had his fun, I'll have him hanged for his crimes.

"............, is that so?


　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.


You're not the only one. ......



I'm not gonna take you up on it. I'm not gonna take you up on it.


　And then Kazui tries to cast a spell.


"Hey, Kazu!　Stop!

Don't stop!　This guy, .......

I don't know what's going on, but you can't kill him.

I know!

Just calm down. Listen to me.


　...... From the conversation, it seems that Kazi has some sort of grudge against the Marquis.
　This is probably the reason why he suddenly offered to help her when they arrived at the Marquis' residence.
　He's probably trying to get rid of the grudge and get his hands on the Marquis, but it's not a good idea to kill him here.


　But I feel the same way. My sister has been taken hostage and I'm involved in a terrible situation.
　Even if I don't kill her, I'd like to do something to vent my anger.


"Master Arx?

You can't kill him, but you can beat him up all you want, I think.

...... What do you mean?

We're the only ones here. We're the only ones here.


　When he smiled uneasily, Kazi looked dumbfounded for a moment, and then quickly made a bad smile that was typical of him.
　In the meantime, the Marquis, who was sentenced to private punishment, was distraught.


I'm sure you're not the only one.

You're going to be hanged anyway, aren't you?　You're going to be hanged after this, aren't you? In addition to the injustice you've accumulated, you've also frightened another nobleman's daughter to hide the evidence. If you get away with it, Raytheft and the surrounding nobles won't stay quiet, and the royal family will certainly bring you to justice in order to avoid civil strife.


　He mimed scratching his neck.
　Of course. Even if you use your connections to get out of the way, Joshua, who almost had his heir killed, won't be able to keep quiet.


　Even if the other party is a high ranking noble, he will mobilize all the nobles he has connections with and start a war, saying that it is a matter of prestige for the military nobility.
　If this happens, the civilian aristocracy, which is not as strong as the military aristocracy, will be helpless, and because of what the Marquis has done, there will be almost no one on their side.


　In fact, there might even be people who would turn a blind eye to the fact that one of the financial posts would become vacant.
　The fate of the Marquis was decided when he was rebuffed in the previous deal.


"Noah, we didn't see anything. Are we clear?

"Lord Arx is a softy. ...... Okay. I'm not seeing anything.

Lisha, you're good too, right?


　Risha nodded and the girl said yes.


"Khihihi, I owe you one .......


　Kazi let out his usual creepy sneer and approached the Marquis.
　Of course, the Marquis tried to run away.


"d*mn.

What?　Do you think you can escape?


　Kazui quickly closes the distance and punches the Marquis. He seems to be a surprisingly physical person.


　The Marquis, despite his size, was not used to rough treatment and rolled around on the floor of the guest room.
　Kazi slowly approaches him and claps his fists.
　The Marquis let out a scream that sounded like a chicken being squeezed, "Kohiu......".


　Then suddenly, in a faint, almost vanishing voice, he said.


You can find a lot of people who are looking for the best way to get the most out of their lives.

"Hmm?　Did you say something?

No, it's nothing.


　You can find a lot of people who have been in the business for a long time and are now looking for a new job.