Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 189. The Bumpy Family And The Fist Of Despair

“Yo, Dodol-san, right? Weren’t you the village chief of some village?”

“What, what?”

Dodol, having been tripped and flipped over, widened his eyes.

“I haven’t forgotten, you know? About the village you abandoned.”

Thump.

“I remember, you know? How you were the first to escape.”

Thump.

“I know, you know? How because of you, people’s happiness was torn apart.”

Behind, I sense Giro and Clary’s presence.

The negative emotions they direct at Dodol.

Thump.

“I can’t forgive you.”

Step by step, I approach. Dodol, whose previously fierce expression suddenly turned pale, steps back on the ground.

“I promised, with Giro and Clary, I was going to—”

“Akira-niichan!”

Jolt!

I froze in place, my body tensing, at Giro’s sudden shout.

“Niichan! You said it, didn’t you!? That it wouldn’t matter if we beat him up! That the toughest thing would be to strip him of his money! Was that a lie!?”

“Huh?”

What was I about to do just now?

I look at my right hand.

It was tightly clenched into a fist, with faint blood seeping through.

Anyone who saw it would have noticed the spiraling waves of dark energy swirling within it.

There were even soldiers from the guard of the market nearby, frozen in place, their expressions twisted in fear.

Hey, me.

Hey, Akira.

Hey, Endou Akira.

What were you about to do just now?

What were you about to do with that clenched fist?

Why are the people around me looking at me with such fear?

I looked at my right hand.

It was a fist, bloodstained.

Suddenly, all the blood drained from my body.

A chill ran through me.

What was I about to do?

“When did this… when did this start?”

“Heh… it was probably when we were at the deepest part of the goblin nest, wasn’t it?”

I spun around abruptly at the unexpected words coming from right beside me.

A girl with two small horns growing from her forehead, Faf, was standing there, idly toying with a bottle of alcohol.

When and where such feelings began, were no longer important.

“What did you say?”

“Heh… Was it when Dodol fled the village?”

“…”

“Heh… Or was it when I made that promise with that child?”

Clearly.

Faf spoke those words clearly. No doubt, with some kind of certainty.

“Why… didn’t you tell me?”

“Heh… Foolish question. I don’t mind that you didn’t tell me.”

“But I…”

“Faf, have you known all along?”

“Heh… Elf girl, you must have realized it too.”

“I didn’t realize as clearly as Faf… but I’ve always thought that something about the real Akira-san was… different.”

“Heh…”

Faf stopped talking after that.

“…Faf. I hate this feeling. Please tell me next time.”

“Heh…”

“Please.”

“Heh… I’ll consider it a debt.”

“Yeah.”

After that, Faf let out a small chuckle.

When I lifted my head, Dodol was still frozen in fear.

I took a slow, deep breath.

What’s my weapon?

My fist? My spear? No, that’s not it, is it!? Akira!!

I felt something red flash across my mind for a brief moment.

I smiled my widest smile and said:

“Dodol-sama. This is a public place. If you have something to discuss, I’ll be happy to listen in a quieter spot. How does that sound?”

“Fuh fuh he!? Hah!”

He tried to stand, but stumbled, his ugly face contorting even more hideously.

“Shut up! I don’t know you anymore! Don’t come near me, you demon!!!”

Dodol crawled away on the ground, disappearing into the crowd.

After a short while, I exhaled slowly.

“…Phew.”

I let out a sigh.

“Akira-san…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t notice at all.”

“No, it’s fine. Akira-san has always been trying so hard on your own.”

“Thanks for saying that. It makes me feel a little better.”

“Heh…”

“…Sorry, but I need to rest for a bit. Can I go back to the car?”

I exchanged a glance with Yaralai, and she gave a small nod.

I could only feel gratitude for my friend who didn’t ask anything.

“Ah, I’ll go with you!”

“Got it, I’m leaving the rest to you.”

“Understood.”

I staggered as I walked.

It was Lalaila who quickly offered her shoulder.

— You’re the one who’s been trying so hard, aren’t you?

Though I thought that, for now, I decided to lean on her warm shoulder.

And then—.

“Hey, hey, Horned girl. Is Akira-niichan gonna be okay?”

“Heh… That guy won’t break so easily. There’s no need to worry.”

This was after we had left the stall.

“I see… Akira-niichan’s amazing, huh?”

“Heh… He is. His dark heart, that is.”

Yaralai glanced over at Faf.

Noticing this, Faf murmured softly.

“Heh… I can see it now.”

A laugh that was dark and muffled, unlike anything a girl would do, flowed endlessly, endlessly, into the wind of the wasteland.

◆

“This is the worst.”

I returned to the camper.

The recent construction had completely transformed the surrounding area.

The damp earth was exposed, and the ground was covered with stones, while the West Slums had undergone redevelopment to the point where it couldn’t even be called a slum anymore.

In just a few days, the construction had progressed to this extent, and of course, there’s a reason for that.

The Smithing Guild and the Fashion Guild had invested all their resources. In fact, the Adell Trading Company had gotten involved midway. There was no way the Smithing Guild and Fashion Guild alone could fund the project.

Other trading companies had noticed that something big was going on with the Smithing and Fashion Guilds, but their spies returned naked and empty-handed.

However, Adell Trading Company was different.

I… Akira… leveraged the one connection I had.

To put it simply, I used my name as bait. Of course, the seasoned head of the Fashion Guild knew this and likely shared a secret agreement.

I didn’t hear the details of the contract, but it probably had to do with sales routes for sewing machines and clothes.

In fact, it was Adell Trading Company that started wearing the shirts like uniforms—shirts that were selling like hotcakes.

Now, being able to acquire a Y-shirt in the city had become a symbol of status.

Most people who wore them were workers, though, while front-line merchants like Rotton equipped themselves with weapons.

Although work on the buildings had only started in parts, the ground had already been leveled to the point where it was comparable to the rest of the city.

Because of this, I had asked Hagg to stay behind today.

He was the only one who could move the car.

The women from the “vessel” were hidden away in reasonably nice buildings, thanks to the kindness of the slum residents. Of course, only a few people knew about it.

“…This place has changed in just one day.”

“Yes, I helped a little myself.”

“How much did you get?”

“I got the same as the others.”

“Just pocket change.”

“Can’t be helped.”

This was the first part of the promise to hire slum residents.

“So?”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve been working on something lately, haven’t you?”

“Huh, did you notice?”

“Just had a feeling.”

Recently, Hagg had been working late into the night with hammering sounds. Even someone as clueless as me noticed.

I assumed he was working on a new invention, inspired by sewing machines.

“Well, it’s about time. I made you a weapon.”

“…A weapon?”

I probably looked very displeased.

“…Hmph. Seems like you’ve finally realized it.”

“So, you noticed too?”

“Just a little.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“These things have to be realized on your own for them to have meaning.”

“Unfortunately, Faf pointed it out to me.”

“Hmph. That’s fine then.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s annoying, but that girl is quiet in the unnecessary places. Plus, you’ve already figured it out yourself.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

I looked up to the sky.

“Faf…”

Lalaila joined the conversation.

“Why didn’t she tell me?”

“Hagg just said, right? It’s about when you realized…”

“Do you really think that’s true…?”

I didn’t continue the thought.

“Well, anyway, what is this weapon?”

“Hmm. I incorporated Faf’s and the long-eared girl’s opinions. It’s a fine piece of work.”

“Really?”

I’m not really interested in using weapons, but when something’s called a fine piece of work, any man would be curious.

I had a boss who loved Japanese swords, and he dragged me to museums all over the country.

It was torture to stand beside him as he drooled in front of a sword at the Tokyo National Museum for hours.

But, I could somewhat understand the allure of the elegant beauty of a Japanese sword.

Western swords also have their own deep charm.

I picked up the weapon Hagg handed me, expecting just a little—just a tiny bit.

“….”

I think my thoughts stopped for at least ten minutes.

During that time, Hagg and Lalaila were chatting, but I couldn’t take any of it in.

I slammed the weapon hard onto the ground.

“It’s a DRILL!!!!”

The entire hard-boiled mood of the day vanished in an instant.