CH 300.2

A few minutes pass, and the location shifts to a corner of a low-class brothel event hall.

「What happened to the old man with the black ski mask?」

An old man with a smooth head who runs a butcher shop asks in a pained tone of voice.

The other old man, who is also bald but still has hair on the back of his head, looks pained and shakes his head from side to side, and said with a sigh.

「He got hit. He took two shots because he wasn’t fast enough.」

The old man who moved so fast as if he had a foothold in the air floated in Andale’s mind as he answered.

But this was only while he was uninjured, and his speed slowed down rapidly each time he was hit.

「It can’t be helped, can it? With the stick shaking in your butt and all.」

The two bald old men from the shopping district have already been hit twice by arrows of light.

The only one that hasn’t got hit is a thin young man who occasionally looks back at them with concern.

「You’re good, aren’t you? Maybe you should have been a pilot instead of a Knight mechanic.」

Herbivorous mechanic gives Andale a troubled look as he smiles back at him.

「I don’t have the aptitude for magical manipulation. And I don’t have the courage to fight for my life.」

The father smiles with his eyes narrowed at his son.

「When you have something you want to protect, courage will come naturally.」

As he was about to continue, the butcher old man’s hand reached out as if to stop them. When they looked at him, his face was distorted and he jerked his chin backward.

「Here they come, new enemies.」

It is women dressed in glamorous and elegant clothing. They range from blazers and sailor-like suits to swimsuits and revealing pareos.

A few of them bent their bodies to the front, probably after taking a shot or two.

「There are more than five of them. There’s no way we can slip past them all.」

Andale nods his head in agreement with his best friend, the butcher, and turns to his son.

「We’ll buy you time. You run to the back. There, hide in the shadows and ambush them.」

The herbivore mechanic replies with surprise.

「You both have already received two shots. If you fight with that many people, you will get to the fourth shot at once.」

We should surrender. The old men look at each other and laugh lightly at the suggestion.

Andale looks at his son with kind eyes and speaks as if to give him advice.

「I told you earlier, right? When you have something to protect, courage will come naturally.」

Embarrassed by his own phrasing, he wrings his fingers under his nose and turns his head to the side.

The butcher old man, who had been watching with a grin, said a few words to the thin young man he had known since he was a child.

「That’s how it is. Andale’s prided son. We’ll take care of this. Letting your father show off is one way to show your respect for your father, you know?」

His face twisted for a moment, then the Herbivorous mechanic bows deeply.

「….Thank you very much. May luck be on your side」

“You too”, The bald old man replied and watched the young man run off.

「Sorry that you have to stay with me here.」

Andale apologizes, but the butcher old man shook his head.

「Don’t mind it. It just so happens that I can’t walk anymore.」

To his best friend, who gave him a dubious look, the butcher scratched his hairless head and then told him the secret he had been hiding.

「To tell you the truth, I had already been hit three times. I managed to walk all the way here, but I can’t move anymore.」

His breathing is ragged, and if you look closely, you can see several large beads of sweat on his forehead.

『Hurry up and declare your loss now』, Andale pushes him with a serious look on his face, but the butcher just shakes his head lightly from side to side.

「It’s because I only have my daughter.」

When his friend grabs his shoulder wondering what he is on about, the butcher continues.

「I’ve always wanted to be a father who looks cool in front of his son, you know. It’s not every day I get a chance to do that. So, please share a little bit of that with me.」

Meanwhile, the women were closing the distance, moving through the shadows of buildings, lampposts, and trash cans on the street. Soon they would be within their range.

At this point, Andale also resolved himself and opened his mouth while staring at the approaching enemy.

「….Good grief. You’re really the best.」

The butcher did not answer, only smiled with the corners of his mouth.

And so begins an intense but very short firefight.

「Oaaaaaaahhhhhhh!」

Soon after, the middle-aged old men’s dirty screams echoed off the walls of the narrow alley.

(That was the butcher old man)

The Herbivorous mechanic heard a familiar voice and prayed in his heart for the departed soul.

He is in a large wooden box abandoned in front of a building, at the end of an alley. Like a crab, he lifts the bottom of the box slightly and peeks outside.

(….Dad!)

The next thing he heard was the frenzy scream of his father.

(I swear I will avenge the two of you)

He swore strongly in his heart and waited for the assailants who would come after him.

***

I returned to the rooftop of the first restaurant with the concierge and others.

The game was on within an hour or so since they announced the start of the game.

(To think that the winner would be the Herbivore mechanic)

He is not the type of person who can put up much of a fight, which is, with all due respect, surprising.

The right to play, which is the prize, is available to any woman who participates. But he chose a freckled girl with red hair and braids.

She is the one he has obsessively gone to play with in the brothel.

(Well, it’s fine I guess. The other party also seemed to be happy about it anyway.)

Their compatibility is very good. I’ll do my best to make her body into one that can’t do without the Herbivorous mechanic.

But not right now.

(Now that I think about it, there’s a second round, right?)

After a few hours of break, another round will be held. There will also be a slight turnover of personnel.

By the way, the elderly concierge of the Uniform Specialized Store hurriedly returned to his store.

It seems that the amount of vibration exposure in the afternoon greatly exceeded the vibration exposure amount from her daily life, making it difficult for the ponytail to make a recovery. Therefore, he’s going to call her junior, Black Tights-chan to participate in her place.

(He’s probably not expecting an active member of the knight order to suffer irreversible damage in the first fight)

I haven’t met her either, because I heard that she’s not in a state where she can show up in front of other people. I can only hope that this experience will help her grow.

When I go downstairs, I see two people relaxing on the sofa.

(Hmm?)

One is Goblin Jii-chan wearing a black ski mask. The other is an old man with a round belly and also wearing a ski mask, but with a magnificent long white beard.

He looks like Santa Claus who changed his job to a thief.

(Now that I think about it, I didn’t see him in the first round.)

When I call out to him while trying not to mention his true identity, Black Santa opens his mouth happily.

(What, it seems there were some vacancies in the shopping district. And I was called in on short notice as a substitute.)

Merchants belong to the merchant guild. It seems that from there, he was called upon to help.

(I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been dying to participate in this event, you see.)

Santa Claus, who hides his true identity, stands up from the couch and begins his preparations. Unlike the guild master, the vice-guild master, who prefers the top three and high-class brothels, probably did not have any lower-class brothels that he could call his frequent store.

(It’s quite strong huh? I wonder what’s going to happen from now on.)

I was a little envious that he could participate, but soon I remembered the vibration of the fourth shot and shrugged my shoulders.