Sendai Yuusha wa Inkyou Shitai

In the port city of Be Io, there exists business-use harbors mainly meant to be used for fishing and trading goods.

「What do you mean “for my sake”. Both Oyaji and Jean want to do nothing but keep me at a distance. And on top of that, keep me away from Aniki as well……I’ll absolutely triumph over them……っ!」

Maybe it was to prevent collisions of ships with different objectives, the harbors were created with a lot of distance between them. On a harbor of the trading goods side, there was the figure of Kuon clad in black clothes that looked like they were meant for a ninja.

There was the figure……Even though that was said, naturally, it’s not like he was boldly walking on the path.

Without making a sound and erasing his presence, he continued on though the dead spaces of the buildings.

「If it’s this side, the “results” came out but…………it needs to be investigated in more detail.」

When he said that, Kuon pulled down the cloth that covered his mouth and opened his mouth.

「Fu! ……I’m counting on you, Pipe Fox. 」[1]

When he breathed out while holding a tobacco pipe with a metal tipped stem that he pulled out from his pocket, a single fox cub appeared from inside the pipe.

A technique handed down from the distant eastern lands, it was a 『Shikigami』.

Shikigamis summon spirits with substances and concepts as a medium and is a kind of magic called Spiritism. To put it simply, it’s a familiar.

Because the Pipe Fox that was Kuon’s Shikigami was summoned with the smoke as the medium, it possessed the special characteristics of smoke.

When the fox cub of smoke nodded, it grandly spread out, and after it became thin enough that it couldn’t be confirmed by sight, it started to move.

「Now then, it’d be great if it were a strike but……I am bad at divination after all.」

When he hid himself while making a wry smile, the pipe was suddenly pulled.

「Bingo! As expected of me!」

Kuon, who took a triumphant pose while still erasing his presence, started to move as if he were a fish caught on a fishing line and followed the pipe that pulled him.

「……So this is the place.」

The place that he finally arrived at was a warehouse where things like imported goods would be temporarily stored before they went through customs clearance, and it was often used up until about three years ago when the circulation of goods of the world where the Demon Lord had materialized was in chaos, but now that things have become peaceful and because the circulation of goods stabilized, it is one of the warehouses that are no longer used.

Although it’s inspected every several months, since it was almost never used and would only take up maintenance costs, there were considerations to demolish it but……

Kuon raised his mouth cloth, and when he covered his mouth, he infiltrated through the air vent that was on the other side of the warehouse while erasing his presence.

When he smoothly continued through the air vent whose width barely allowed a single person in, he finally reached the cover of the exit of the air vent inside the warehouse.

「……!」

「I’ve hit the jackpot.」

He didn’t know what the subject was but he heard voices that sounded like they were quarreling.

A conversation of people in a warehouse that shouldn’t have people in it. Without a doubt, it was the group of kidnappers.

When he looked at the interior of the warehouse from the shutter-shaped air vent, the surroundings were nothing but boxes made of wood.

「Yotto.」

Grasping that there wasn’t anyone in the surroundings, he gently came out from the air vent and hid in the shadow of a wooden box.

「！ ……！」

「Oh~ oh~, they’re going at it, they’re going at it. Is it a falling out?」

Hearing that the quarrel was starting to get violent, Kuon involuntarily grinned. Getting interested in what kind of quarrel it was, when Kuon was about to get closer, a remarkably loud voice resounded inside the warehouse.

「Doing something like this……I’m sure you people will never be forgiven. ……No, as an agent of divine punishment, I, will not allow this!!」

（Could that be……Aniki’s companion!?）

When he reflexively leaned his body forward and peeked at the voice he was familiar with, what was there was the figure of Bernadette suspended from a chain that extended down from the ceiling and that had bound both of her hands.

◇

The first thing Bernadette saw when she woke up was the looks from the vulgar-looking men.

「Looks like you’ve finally woken up, Sister-chan.」

The leader came up and out from among the men.

His height was tall but since he looked weaker than the surrounding men, he was probably something like an employer.

Stretched out with both hands and feet bound, Bernadette looked up so as to glare at that man.

「……This is the worst awakening that I’ve ever had up until now.」

「Well, good for you.」

The man that showed a nasty smile put out some kind of signal with his hand.

When he did, a jangling noise sounded, Bernadette’s arms slowly raised, and she became suspended in midair.

「I can’t really say that this is a very good hobby.」

Several men started to smirk from Bernadette’s anguished expression from the rope eating into her hands and from how she tried to firmly conduct herself.

「っ……The ones that kidnapped the Centaurs and the people of this town were you people, right!?」

An unpleasant feeling like bugs crawling ran down her spine from the men’s eyes. The men’s glaring eyes didn’t see her as a single human being, but as a woman meant to be an outlet for their lust. Having experienced being exposed to those kinds of eyes many times, Bernadette felt that it would be a poor plan to keep silent and asked that to buy some time.

「That’s correct. We can make a profit from Beastmen brats after all.」

「! ……The reason you kidnapped those pure children was……for money? ……Do you people not have the thing called shame!?」

Enraged by the man’s words, Bernadette, the glint in her eyes becoming sharp, shouted as if to roar.

「Doing something like this……I’m sure you people will never be forgiven. ……No, as an agent of divine punishment, I, will not allow this!!」

The words of blame that Bernadette threw out. The men’s attitude changed from those words. The faces that expressed smirking smiles hardened, and next, anger appeared.

That was natural. Being told this by someone whose hands and feet were bound, unable to do anything, and who was in a low standpoint, probably anyone would think 「She’s getting cocky」.

The men then looked like they were going to attack her at any moment but,

「You scumbags……Don’t be getting excited.」

they kept silent from a single man’s words.

「This woman, is my guest.」

It was the man who was wearing a black robe since the beginning, the magician that defeated Bernadette.

The men that were the kidnappers all meekly obeyed this man who gave off a bloodlust that prickled the skin.

「……What’s the reason for why you abducted me?」

「Kukaka……Don’t lose your temper like that. I didn’t have any thought of anything like taking and eating you. I’m just having you take the role of bait for a bit.」

When the male magician took out a large staff that was about his height from inside his robe, he pushed that up against Bernadette’s abdomen, and slowly moved it upwards.

From her naval, pushing up her breasts, the place it finally arrived at was her head.

「It’s the first reunion after three years. It’ll be a touching reunion, don’t cha think?」

Inside the robe, the pair of eyes that were a deeper, darkish crimson than the color of blood were gazing at someone that wasn’t Bernadette.

Translator’s Notes:

[1] Original: 管狐. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuda-gitsune