Don't Let the Thugs Get Away

The woman who appeared let out a big yawn, then moved toward the Madam.

"What is it, granny? I was just about to go to sleep."

"I've got a job for you, you good-for-nothing. This is exactly why I feed you day in and day out. Right, Aogiri?"

"Good grief. Fine, then. So what's the job?"

The woman called Aogiri turned toward us.

Her shoulder-length hair was tied up on both sides.

"Seems like some people have been trying to muscle in on our business. I need you to go teach them a lesson."

"I see. If you're calling me in, that means you want this done quietly without the guard."

"That's right. As long as we don't make too big a scene, that lord will look the other way."

There was an unspoken understanding that conflicts in the underworld were acceptable as long as they didn't become public.

Manpower was limited. If order maintained itself, so be it.

"Do you know who we're dealing with?"

"No, that's still to be determined."

"Is that so? Then I guess I just need to follow you around for now."

"Come back when you're done. If things go well, I'll give you something as thanks."

"Understood."

It seemed she wouldn't let me dump this entirely on them.

In exchange, she'd lend us her fighting force.

With the red-light district's bodyguard along, we could use her cooperation as an excuse. I'd have to take the lead on this.

We headed to the Cat's Paw Inn with Aogiri in tow.

Along the way, we exchanged some information. Apparently she had traveled from the far east.

She'd run out of travel funds and was in trouble when the Madam hired her as a bodyguard.

I'd seen katanas at auctions and such, but this might have been the first time I'd met someone who actually wielded one.

"Should I expect much from your skills?"

"You can rest easy knowing I won't lose to any punk. Against that little one there, though, I might lose an arm."

"Hmph. Katana users are a pain. The reach is different from a sword, and the swing speed is faster too."

Apparently she was skilled enough to hold her own against Finn.

There were compatibility factors to consider, but that was quite impressive.

We arranged for Aogiri to stay at the inn and wait for a while.

Meals would be on us during that time.

The plan was to wait for them to attack, and if they didn't come, have Finn investigate.

But it didn't even take three days.

Apparently they had no patience. That worked in our favor.

The man who had come before now blocked the inn's entrance with about ten thugs.

Since it was daytime, there were other customers in the dining area, but we had them take refuge in the inn's interior.

If they got caught up in this and injured, it would become our responsibility.

"You got us good last time. Time to pay you back. And while we're at it, we're taking every woman in here."

"Wow, that's exactly the kind of thing a small-time crook would say."

I agreed with Finn's assessment.

I was actually impressed that people really said things like that in real life.

The gypsy sisters hid behind Kazusa, who had a kitchen knife at the ready.

"These are the guys we're dealing with? What a sorry lot all lined up together."

Aogiri came out from the back, having heard the commotion.

She tilted the sake bottle she was carrying and drank deeply, her throat working.

Then, without warning, she hurled the bottle, still with liquid in it, straight at the thugs.

It struck one man square in the head, shattering with a loud crash.

The man who'd been hit passed out and collapsed.

"Wha— you bitch!"

The thugs scrambled to draw their weapons, but by then Aogiri had already closed the distance and unsheathed her katana.

I'd prefer if she could avoid killing or maiming people inside the shop. Blood is hard to clean up.

"That's a reverse-edge blade."

"Reverse-edge?"

"It means she's intentionally dulled it. So there won't be blood, but…"

Alexia said this while watching Aogiri.

She trailed off mid-sentence, but after seeing what Aogiri's katana left behind, I understood.

A katana was still a lump of iron, just like a sword.

If you were struck with a sword, even armor would dent.

If you were hit with a katana on bare flesh, even if the blade couldn't cut, you'd probably break a bone.

If it hit the wrong spot, you could die.

"That definitely hurts like death."

"That guy's arm is dangling…"

I'd thought we'd all work together to handle them, including our people, but Aogiri had caught them off guard and flattened them all in an instant.

Even an amateur could tell she was incredibly strong.

"We're going to interrogate these guys and hand them over, right? Can't kill them, so I left them all alive."

"Impressive… I didn't expect you to handle them all yourself."

"This is how I earn my keep, so this much is easy. When adventurers who've come to buy women get rowdy, I have to deal with that too."

Just as Aogiri said, all the men on the floor were still breathing.

That said, they were groaning in pain and would probably be bedridden for a while.

"Go call the guard. The charges are obstruction of business, threats, and attempted kidnapping, I suppose."

"Got it. I'll be right back!"

"No need to hurry too much. We have some things to ask first."

"… I'll bring them back eventually."

Leaving the report to Azu, I approached the man who appeared to be the leader.

His right leg was bent in a direction it shouldn't go, and he was curled up trying to endure the pain.

"Damn it, what the hell is that woman…"

"Now then. Hey, you."

"What do you want, bastard?"

Despite enduring the pain, he glared at me.

That kind of determination was admirable, but couldn't he have applied it elsewhere?

"Who are you people? Where's your hideout?"

"Screw you. You think I'd tell you? Our boss won't let this slide, you know."

"That boss isn't here right now. Which means no one's going to protect you."

I beckoned Aogiri over. She'd produced another sake bottle from somewhere and was enjoying it.

Having the person who'd just given him a beating standing in front of him made it hard to keep up the bravado.

His face went pale.

"We're acting in self-defense here, and honestly, whether you have one broken leg or two doesn't make much difference at this point, does it?"

"W-wait. You can't be serious… sto—"

Aogiri made to draw her sheathed katana again.

With a squeak of terror, he raised both hands.

"J-just don't tell them I talked."

"I don't care. Hurry up and talk. I want to drink my sake."

"Okay. Please, just stop."

Having given up, the man started spilling everything.

By the time the guard arrived, we had most of the information we needed.