The Devil leader of the gang yesterday—whose name I just remembered after looking above his head with my [Size Up], Klash—was in about as much of a pissed off mood as he was yesterday. It didn't look like he got into another fight with Kisaki based on the lack of bruises on his body. With that same Champion not here, there wasn't anything keeping this guy from picking a fight with me right away.
"I thought I told you that you don't belong in this territory! Why are you still here?!" Klash yelled.
I shrugged, "I'm an adventurer who's here for an important quest. Being an adventurer yourself, surely you could understand that much?"
Klash jolted in surprise, "H-How did you?!"
When I checked more of his status, I saw that he has an [Adventurer, Red] title, meaning he's the same rank as Ume. That's what's on the record, anway, it doesn't accurately display how strong they really are. Going by stats alone, Ume could take this guy down with little issues. Incidentally, the other Devil named Zat is the only other red-ranked adventurer with slightly less stats than Klash. The Arch Imps were either blue or green-ranked.
"W-Whatever!" Klash rebutted, "Adventurer or not, this is no place for Humans like you to be in! If those Demons are with you, they're no better, either!"
Something about the last thing he said ticked me off, but I kept my cool, "And what makes Demons who associate with Humans so bad?"
"They're weak!" Klash exclaimed, "Any Demons who'd rather get along with Humans are no better than them in strength! The weak are weak because they have to join together to make up for their lack of power! Only the strong who can look after themselves are worthy to walk in this territory!"
"You say that while you have a bunch of other Demons backing you up, yet couldn't take out Kisaki while she was on her own?" I asked with a raised brow.
"We follow the strong for our own reasons," Zat answered, "But when it comes down to it, if we don't want to get beaten up or killed, it's better we do whatever the strong says."
"Is that how it is?" I asked before turning to Ren, "Ren, you're not with me out of fear of me possibly beating you up, are you? Then again, considering what you've seen of me so far, I guess it'd be expected that you'd be intimidated by me."
"Of course not!" Ren refuted strongly while shaking her head, then stepped up front to stare down at the gang with determined eyes, "My master's intimidating, yes, but he's also kind! This man who killed off at least a hundred Human raiders who attacked Dondegarm, as well as subjugating countless strong monsters, had done it to save many Demons in that city, even though he's of a different kin! I was also saved as well as gotten stronger by this Human's kindness, both of which I sometimes feel I don't deserve!"
Ren looked down to her clenched fists, "When I see the scars on his body, I can see that he has had a history of countless hardships, some of them likely out of betrayal by those he thought he could trust! I can't imagine what scars he may have in his heart from those types of hardships! Despite that, he still goes out of his way to help others, and even forgives those who've realized the mistakes they've made towards him! These by themselves are constantly putting him in danger in multiple ways, yet he still takes them on his own!
"It's because of people like my master that I, who is also weak, can still live another day! It's the people like my master who we should follow and have faith in, not those who use their power to oppress the weak! It's people like my master who embody what true strength is! If that doesn't count as strength, then we all might as well be dead!" Ren exclaimed boldly.
I was in shock. I initially brought up the question so casually so Ren could put down Zat's statement in the same manner. She instead took it three times further and made a speech out of it. What's more, none of what she said was a lie, according to my [Intuition]. I was getting used to her admiration and loyalty, but I didn't think she saw that much from me through the short time we spent together. Not only that, but she feels she doesn't deserve my kindness? I wondered what was making her think like that.
Also, I didn't really see myself as much of a 'forgiving' person as Ren was making me out to be. What could even give her that idea? Was it how I brushed off the flower pot incident earlier? No, that's too mundane. I'll have to ask her about it later.
"It's because of my master's kindness that I swore my life to him!" Ren continued her speech while unsheathing her daggers and getting into a fighting stance, "He's too good to be killed off from narrow-minded brutes like yourselves! All it takes is one finger on my master's body, and I swear I will end your life in a flash!"
"Is that a challenge for a fight, little puppy?" Klash asked as he and his gang got into battle formation, taking out various weapons of knives, clubs, and a few wands to up the power of spells.
"I think that's enough, Ren," I said while coming up to her side and patted her head, "There are some things about what you said that I want to ask, but that can come later. Thanks for speaking up for me like that."
"Of course!" Ren exclaimed while her tail wagged in excitement.
I looked back to the gang, "Look, guys, it's been a hectic day for us and we still have much to do to prepare for our upcoming quest. I'd rather not waste time on meaningless fights. If you leave us alone and not bother us while we do our adventuring business, we won't bother you guys and whatever business you're doing. Doesn't that sound good to you guys?"
"Hell no!" Klash exclaimed while pointing at me with his knife, "You don't seem to know your place in our territory and that leather-covered bitch isn't here to stop us, so we're not gonna let you go until we beat that fact into you to the point of near death!"
I sighed in defeat, Guess there's no getting out of this one, either, not like that's anything new.
This procedure was something ingrained into me through my mom's and aunts' training way back in the day. If someone’s picking me for a fight, no matter how I was feeling, I'd first ask if we could drop it. If they don't let up, then it's time to put up the dukes. Of course, the circumstances change if they suddenly attack without warning. Then I'd fight back out of self-defense. Now that I know these fights are due to my curse, should I even bother with that process if I'm going to get dragged into it either way?
"Ren, you step back and let me take this one," I said to her.
"What?! But Master!" Ren balked.
I stopped her and moved into her ear to whisper, "We can't risk you revealing your upgraded strength just yet. Someone could be watching. I need you to save it until we get to the dungeon, where you'll play as a wild card for anyone who's coming after us."
Ren growled in frustration, "I understand, but still …"
"I swear it won't take long, and when we get back, I can give you many head pats and other pets in other places. Okay?"
"... Yes, Master," Ren answered hesitantly before sheathing her daggers.
"You're a good girl, Ren, thanks," I said while rustling her hair before stepping towards the gang, unsheathing my tanto.
Nyra asked in my mind. It looked like she put away her illusion to get ready for a fight.
I said.
Nyra exclaimed.
"Thanks for waiting, gentlemen," I said to the gang before getting into a fighting stance with the tanto.
Klash scoffed, "What, you gonna take us all on your own?"
"I don't know what Kisaki has done to you guys, but don't worry. With me as your opponent, you're not gonna walk out of here after this," I assured.
Nyra exclaimed.
"If this is where I think is going, it's not looking good for those guys right now," Ume said, "Though, I probably wouldn't be as merciful if I was fighting in his place."
"Master gave them a chance to back down despite their harsh words. A shame that his kindness is wasted on scum like these," Ren added.
"They should have been dead three minutes ago by my hands," Sue growled.
The Devil leader of the gang yesterday—whose name I just remembered after looking above his head with my [Size Up], Klash—was in about as much of a pissed off mood as he was yesterday. It didn't look like he got into another fight with Kisaki based on the lack of bruises on his body. With that same Champion not here, there wasn't anything keeping this guy from picking a fight with me right away.
"I thought I told you that you don't belong in this territory! Why are you still here?!" Klash yelled.
I shrugged, "I'm an adventurer who's here for an important quest. Being an adventurer yourself, surely you could understand that much?"
Klash jolted in surprise, "H-How did you?!"
When I checked more of his status, I saw that he has an [Adventurer, Red] title, meaning he's the same rank as Ume. That's what's on the record, anway, it doesn't accurately display how strong they really are. Going by stats alone, Ume could take this guy down with little issues. Incidentally, the other Devil named Zat is the only other red-ranked adventurer with slightly less stats than Klash. The Arch Imps were either blue or green-ranked.
"W-Whatever!" Klash rebutted, "Adventurer or not, this is no place for Humans like you to be in! If those Demons are with you, they're no better, either!"
Something about the last thing he said ticked me off, but I kept my cool, "And what makes Demons who associate with Humans so bad?"
"They're weak!" Klash exclaimed, "Any Demons who'd rather get along with Humans are no better than them in strength! The weak are weak because they have to join together to make up for their lack of power! Only the strong who can look after themselves are worthy to walk in this territory!"
"You say that while you have a bunch of other Demons backing you up, yet couldn't take out Kisaki while she was on her own?" I asked with a raised brow.
"We follow the strong for our own reasons," Zat answered, "But when it comes down to it, if we don't want to get beaten up or killed, it's better we do whatever the strong says."
"Is that how it is?" I asked before turning to Ren, "Ren, you're not with me out of fear of me possibly beating you up, are you? Then again, considering what you've seen of me so far, I guess it'd be expected that you'd be intimidated by me."
"Of course not!" Ren refuted strongly while shaking her head, then stepped up front to stare down at the gang with determined eyes, "My master's intimidating, yes, but he's also kind! This man who killed off at least a hundred Human raiders who attacked Dondegarm, as well as subjugating countless strong monsters, had done it to save many Demons in that city, even though he's of a different kin! I was also saved as well as gotten stronger by this Human's kindness, both of which I sometimes feel I don't deserve!"
Ren looked down to her clenched fists, "When I see the scars on his body, I can see that he has had a history of countless hardships, some of them likely out of betrayal by those he thought he could trust! I can't imagine what scars he may have in his heart from those types of hardships! Despite that, he still goes out of his way to help others, and even forgives those who've realized the mistakes they've made towards him! These by themselves are constantly putting him in danger in multiple ways, yet he still takes them on his own!
"It's because of people like my master that I, who is also weak, can still live another day! It's the people like my master who we should follow and have faith in, not those who use their power to oppress the weak! It's people like my master who embody what true strength is! If that doesn't count as strength, then we all might as well be dead!" Ren exclaimed boldly.
I was in shock. I initially brought up the question so casually so Ren could put down Zat's statement in the same manner. She instead took it three times further and made a speech out of it. What's more, none of what she said was a lie, according to my [Intuition]. I was getting used to her admiration and loyalty, but I didn't think she saw that much from me through the short time we spent together. Not only that, but she feels she doesn't deserve my kindness? I wondered what was making her think like that.
Also, I didn't really see myself as much of a 'forgiving' person as Ren was making me out to be. What could even give her that idea? Was it how I brushed off the flower pot incident earlier? No, that's too mundane. I'll have to ask her about it later.
"It's because of my master's kindness that I swore my life to him!" Ren continued her speech while unsheathing her daggers and getting into a fighting stance, "He's too good to be killed off from narrow-minded brutes like yourselves! All it takes is one finger on my master's body, and I swear I will end your life in a flash!"
"Is that a challenge for a fight, little puppy?" Klash asked as he and his gang got into battle formation, taking out various weapons of knives, clubs, and a few wands to up the power of spells.
"I think that's enough, Ren," I said while coming up to her side and patted her head, "There are some things about what you said that I want to ask, but that can come later. Thanks for speaking up for me like that."
"Of course!" Ren exclaimed while her tail wagged in excitement.
I looked back to the gang, "Look, guys, it's been a hectic day for us and we still have much to do to prepare for our upcoming quest. I'd rather not waste time on meaningless fights. If you leave us alone and not bother us while we do our adventuring business, we won't bother you guys and whatever business you're doing. Doesn't that sound good to you guys?"
"Hell no!" Klash exclaimed while pointing at me with his knife, "You don't seem to know your place in our territory and that leather-covered bitch isn't here to stop us, so we're not gonna let you go until we beat that fact into you to the point of near death!"
I sighed in defeat, Guess there's no getting out of this one, either, not like that's anything new.
This procedure was something ingrained into me through my mom's and aunts' training way back in the day. If someone’s picking me for a fight, no matter how I was feeling, I'd first ask if we could drop it. If they don't let up, then it's time to put up the dukes. Of course, the circumstances change if they suddenly attack without warning. Then I'd fight back out of self-defense. Now that I know these fights are due to my curse, should I even bother with that process if I'm going to get dragged into it either way?
"Ren, you step back and let me take this one," I said to her.
"What?! But Master!" Ren balked.
I stopped her and moved into her ear to whisper, "We can't risk you revealing your upgraded strength just yet. Someone could be watching. I need you to save it until we get to the dungeon, where you'll play as a wild card for anyone who's coming after us."
Ren growled in frustration, "I understand, but still …"
"I swear it won't take long, and when we get back, I can give you many head pats and other pets in other places. Okay?"
"... Yes, Master," Ren answered hesitantly before sheathing her daggers.
"You're a good girl, Ren, thanks," I said while rustling her hair before stepping towards the gang, unsheathing my tanto.
Nyra asked in my mind. It looked like she put away her illusion to get ready for a fight.
I said.
Nyra exclaimed.
"Thanks for waiting, gentlemen," I said to the gang before getting into a fighting stance with the tanto.
Klash scoffed, "What, you gonna take us all on your own?"
"I don't know what Kisaki has done to you guys, but don't worry. With me as your opponent, you're not gonna walk out of here after this," I assured.
Nyra exclaimed.
"If this is where I think is going, it's not looking good for those guys right now," Ume said, "Though, I probably wouldn't be as merciful if I was fighting in his place."
"Master gave them a chance to back down despite their harsh words. A shame that his kindness is wasted on scum like these," Ren added.
"They should have been dead three minutes ago by my hands," Sue growled.
