CH 222

Chapter 222 – Alliance Formed

“Speaking of fighting, Kuzuhara, what about that person? Wouldn’t she be a great fighting asset?” (Otaka)

“That person?” (Kuzuhara)

“I was talking about Torakado Shiina.” (Otaka)

“Ah… But she’s a dungeon-clearing contractor. I don’t think she’d be willing to participate in a war.” (Kuzuhara)

No, no, as long as you properly pay up, she’ll participate, you know.

But for this matter, I wanted to take action as Torimoto, so I couldn’t use Torakado. The [Copy Doll] wasn’t able to reproduce the strength of Torakado.

“Oi, Torimoto. You could get in touch with her, couldn’t you?” (Otaka)

“I’m afraid she’s not in the city at the moment. She left a while ago to go to the countryside.” (Torimoto)

“Seriously? So that’s why we haven’t heard much about her recently.” (Otaka)

I actually had been clearing dungeons in the countryside, so she hadn’t been active in the city for a while.

“Man, if she were here, the yakuza wouldn’t stand a chance,” Kuzuhara idly complained, clicking his tongue.

“Torakado Shiina… I’ve heard of her. If I recall correctly, she was that beautiful katana-using woman who always wears a hakama, right? I’ve heard that she’s that person who has been conquering dungeons all by herself.” (Sayuri)

“Yeah, she’s incredible. She could probably hold her own even if she took on everyone in this room at the same time.” (Kuzuhara)

“…! She’s that… powerful?” (Sayuri)

Sayuri looked shocked, but she looked towards me instead of Kuzuhara. It looked like she wanted me to explain. Perhaps it was simply a difference in trust.

“It’s as Kuzuhara says, Sayuri-san. Making enemies with Torakado-san is a quick path to ruin.” (Torimoto)

“…If Torimoto-san says so, it must be true. But she’s… human, isn’t she?” (Sayuri)

“She’s human. But… while she is strong, it’s more that the beings that accompany her are completely out of the ordinary.” (Torimoto)

“The beings that accompany her…?” (Sayuri)

“Yes. She’s from a special clan like me and has some unusual abilities. And for her… that is the ability to control monsters.” (Torimoto)

“M-Monsters?!” (Sayuri)

“The monsters that accompany her are troublesome. Mmm, if they wanted to, they could easily wipe out everyone here in one minute or so.” (Torimoto)

So I said, but Kaza and Shiki began to voice their objections.

“With all due respect, milord, it would take hardly one minute.” (Shiki)

“I am of the same opinion. If I was with Shiki-dono, it wouldn’t even take 10 seconds.” (Kaza)

That being said, Kuzuhara, a skill user, was here, but it seemed like he wasn’t anything in their eyes.

However…

“Hey, hey, ‘everyone here’ includes me too, you know? I have enough measures to be able to hold out for a minute or two.” (Torimoto)

“W-Wha—This one did not know that milord was included…! In that case, forget one minute, it would be our loss.” (Shiki)

“Indeed. We cannot raise our hands against our own lord. If we were to spar or fight to the death, we would be the ones to suffer defeat.” (Kaza)

I could attack as I pleased, but Shiki and Kaza couldn’t act against me. Since that was the case, if I made use of various fantasy items, I could eventually defeat both of them.

But even if they didn’t kill me and tried to render me unable to fight or knock me out, it was totally possible that it might take these guys only one minute… or even less.

…I didn’t intend to sit back and let anyone kill me, and since I had certain measures planned in case I fought an opponent as strong as them, I felt like I could at least prolong the fight for a while.

Well, if it really came down to it, I might be able to fight them to a draw. But that was only if I used a nuclear bomb, though. Nevertheless I kind of had the feeling that even then, Shiki and Kaza would still survive.

“Torimoto-san, could it be that… you have connections with people who have special powers like that?” (Sayuri)

“Well, I am a wanderer who travels all over Japan. I’ve met all kinds of people. Some of them happened to have special abilities like me and Torakado-san.” (Torimoto)

But I did make sure to mention that I usually didn’t have any way of contacting them. It would’ve been possible if phones and the internet still worked, but now that they didn’t, it created a convenient excuse for me.

“So just for this time, you might have to give up on bringing Torakado-san into this. What, with the three of you banding together, you won’t have to fear the yakuza. And with an arms dealer on your side, even less so.” (Torimoto)

Of course, I wouldn’t be selling weapons to the Hosen Group. After all, it would be more convenient for me if Sayuri and the others were the ones who emerged victorious.

“I guess you’re right. If we can wipe out those atrocious people from this city, I have no complaints. Boss, what about you?” (Kuzuhara)

Everyone turned to look at Sayuri, and eventually she opened her mouth and spoke.

“We all have things we want to protect. If an alliance is necessary to that end, we have no other choice.” (Sayuri)

After hearing her words, I decided to speak as the intermediary.

“Then as of today, the Apostles of Peace, the Inochi-shirazu, and the Maiden’s Rebirth Order hereby enter into an alliance, albeit a short-lived one.” (Torimoto)

It might just be a formality, but everyone gathered here began to clap their hands, creating a celebratory atmosphere.

“Then can we leave the procurement of weapons to you, boss?” (Kuzuhara)

“Yeah. It’d be best to move quickly. They might attack in one or two more days at the earliest.” (Otaka)

As he said this, Otaka pulled a hand-mirror out from his pocket.