Chapter 56: The Tragedy of the Noble Lady! The Kidnapped Young Miss

...After I found the mysterious grave (of Ryoga?) in the cemetery.

As I was walking back to the hideout to ask Ryoga about it, I suddenly heard voices coming from the direction of the wall.

At this hour? Suspicious. I went to check it out, and sure enough, there were some shady folks doing something by the wall.

...It looked like they were climbing up the wall using a rope. No way—are these guys bandits!?

“I am the guardian deity who protects the city of Ressal from the twilight! A member of the Dwarven race... ‘Monkey Mask’ makes his entrance!!”

This city has terrible security, so wearing the Monkey Mask was definitely the right choice.

With how heroic I look now, the bandits should totally freak out and surrender.

Full of confidence, I announced myself and revealed my presence before them.

“...Guys, let’s run! We can’t deal with something that suspicious!”

“What an abhorrent sight... I feel like it’s an insult to all living things...”

“What the hell? Seriously... what is that!?”

The enemy was clearly shaken. Excellent.

But what really caught my attention was that one of them—someone giving orders—had a voice I’d heard before.

“Calm down! Just follow my lead...!”

“Y-Yeah, Aniki!”

It was too dark to see clearly, but... wait, that’s Silent Blade Rey, isn’t it?

Damn. That guy’s a powerhouse—he could probably even beat Karl.

Even I’m not 100% sure I can take him. Maybe I shouldn’t push this...?

“Ah, it’s that cool masked guy from before...”

“Wait—Lev-chan!?”

Just when I was panicking over the unexpected appearance of Silent Blade Rey, I spotted Lev-chan among the group.

Damn it, Rey, you bastard.

Don’t tell me... he’s trying to take Lev-chan with him!? I didn’t even consider that possibility!

“Why are you with them, young lady!? Those people are bandits!”

“Eh, um, I...”

Well, there’s no other choice now. Even if it’s reckless, I have to stop Rey!

“Wait a sec, sis. What did you just say about that mask?”

“Eh? It’s... cool.”

“GYAAAHHH!?!?”

Rey looked utterly horrified hearing that comment from his sister, but I couldn’t care less.

This is the moment—I’ll capture Rey and take Lev-chan back!

“Hey! You shady guy over there! Let go of that little girl who understands true beauty right now! Otherwise, beware the monkeys in the night!”

“...”

Reital looked like he had a lot he wanted to say, but somehow held it all in and kept quiet.

Good. First, I need backup. If Karl shows up, we’ll have a real shot at this.

“Everyone, wake up! It’s an emergency!! We’ve got villainfolk inside the city!!”

“Damn, he’s calling reinforcements...!!”

“And they’re even abducting a little girl! They’re lolicon villainfolk!! Get over here right now!!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs to summon my allies, then began chanting a body enhancement spell.

No time to relax. I went full battle mode. Even if I can’t beat Rey alone, I need to buy time.

“Hurry the escape! I’ll handle that guy...!”

“Big bro, be careful. That person was crazy strong, remember...?”

“Wait—person? That thing’s a person!?”

Of course I’m a person! How else would you look at me!?

“Hmph!!”

Almost instantly, Rey disappeared into the darkness and unleashed a slash.

It was fast, sharp, and unbelievably precise.

“Muscle Defense Barrier.”

“What the hell is that!?”

He’s probably aiming for my neck.

The moment I felt the attack coming, I raised both arms to cover my neck and head. That should prevent a fatal blow.

As I thought—Rey did go for my neck. And from...

“Behind, huh—”

Using the cover of darkness, he circled around to my back. Damn, he bypassed my barrier!

I instinctively turned around and delivered a spinning kick. He dodged it, but it was enough to stop his attack.

He jumped back, creating distance between us.

Hmph, having muscles is important. I was able to react in time to his attack!

“This shady dude’s strong! What kind of physical prowess is this...!?”

“Fuhahaha! I am the envoy from hell—‘Monkey Mask,’ the world champion of martial arts!”

“From hell...? Does that mean... this city’s gate doesn’t lead to the underworld, but to actual hell...!?”

I just made up a random title on the spot, but Rey looked legitimately shaken.

Why’s he overreacting so hard? Is he some kind of edgy teenager?

“Hey! What’s going on over there?”

“Oh! Someone’s coming!”

Soon, voices echoed through the quiet night in Ressal. Looks like there were people nearby.

Hearing my shouts, some villagers began approaching.

“...Damn it, are you guys done escaping yet!?”

“Just a little longer, Aniki...”

“Fuhahaha! Looks like time’s up, scum!”

It’d be tough on my own, but if we all work together, we can definitely catch Rey.

I won’t let them take Lev-chan away.

Rejoicing at the arrival of reinforcements, I let out a feral “Ukkiiiiii!” at Rey.

“There’s a suspicious guy here!”

“Ukkyaaa!?”

One of the villagers who rushed over punched me square in the face.

Ow, that hurt like hell!?

“What the hell was that for!?”

“We heard someone shouting about a suspicious person, so we came to check... but I didn’t expect them to be this shady! Everyone, beat him down!”

“W-Wait! It’s not me! I’m not suspicious!”

Turns out the villagers mistook me for one of the bandits and came swinging.

Damn, I forgot there’s no light around here.

The night’s pitch-black, and from the villagers’ perspective, they can’t tell who’s who.

“...Let’s go, everyone.”

“There! Over there! That’s where the bandits went!”

“You’re the real bandit here! How the hell do you end up looking this shady!?”

“Wait, stop! Don’t get in the way! The villains are gonna get away!”

Rey seemed to see this chaos as the perfect opportunity and quickly began to retreat.

Lev-chan was no longer visible, and it looked like most of the bandits had already gotten past the outer wall.

Grr... What do I do!? Should I use fire magic to light up the area and make the villagers understand what’s really going on?

No good—I don’t have time to chant. If I try casting a spell in this mess, I’ll just get punched again.

“Goddamn iiiiit!! Monkey Rapid-Punch Rush!!”

“Whoa! He’s swinging his arms like a madman!”

“He’s gotta be some kinda deranged monkey!”

First, I intimidate them to create some space.

“Rushing breeze of spring—Spring Wind!”

“W-What the!? He’s using magic!”

I hit them with a short-chant, low-damage wind spell to blow everyone back and calm things down for a second.

We’ve got distance now, and they should understand the power gap.

Alright, now they’ll hear me out────

“He’s a mage! Kill him!”

“Take him out before he takes us out!”

...The villagers just got even more fired up.

Damn it, how did things turn out like this? All I wanted was to get Lev-chan back...

“NuoOOOOOOOH!! Screw it—I’m going all in! Soaring Meat Radiance!”

“W-What the hell!? He’s flailing his arms and legs...”

“Hey, he’s floating!?”

It was nothing short of a miracle.

As I stomped the ground in frustration while using wind magic to shield myself—my body suddenly started floating, like a feather.

Whoa... I didn’t know wind magic could be used like this!

“I CAN FLYYYYY!!!”

“Holy crap, he’s floating... Flailing around like a maniac, but definitely floating!”

“He’s a suspicious flying freak!”

This is good. If I can stay airborne, they won’t be able to punch me anymore.

I’ll fly over the wall and go after those damn bandits!

“Stop right there, villains! Perish, scum! Tonight, this monkey soars the heavens—reborn as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!”

“UWAAAAAHHH!!!”

Flapping and flailing as I rose above the wall, I once again caught sight of Rey.

Looks like he didn’t expect me to come flying after him—he let out a huge scream of surprise.

“Is that really a person!?”

“Isn’t that some kind of monster!?”

“That cool monkey voice... I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before...?”

Aha, there’s Lev-chan. Sitting cutely next to her visibly shaken brother.

I won’t let her get away again. No matter what, I’ll protect Lev-chan! That’s my duty as a comrade of Karl’s!

“Shoot him down!”

“Whaaaat the hell!?!?”

At that moment, a rock came flying from behind and struck me square in the head.

Oww, that freaking hurt!!

“Don’t let him escape the town!”

“Keep throwing rocks!”

“W-Wait, everyone! I swear I’m not suspicious!”

“Then name even one thing about you that isn’t shady!”

The villagers weren’t backing off. They were dead-set on stoning me out of the sky.

Damn it—calling for backup totally backfired. I guess in the dead of night like this, even allies might end up attacking each other by mistake.

Lesson learned.

“Gaaah!! My magic’s destabilizing!”

“...We’ll throw rocks too!”

“Wait—rocks from the front now too!?”

Seeing me getting hit, the villain tribe bastards started chucking stones as well.

Ugh, no way I can keep the spell going under this! At this rate...

“Crap, I’m losing altitude!!”

“He’s falling!”

Headfirst toward the ground. This height... I might actually die.

“Five-point emergency landing!!”

“Huh!? That monkey bastard just rolled with it!”

Luckily, I landed on bare dirt and managed to break the fall. I’m alive.

...But I’m pretty sure I cracked my shin. Not good. If they dogpile me now, it’s over.

“Now’s our chance! Cut him to pieces!”

“Take down the monster!”

“Damn it! I’m screwed!”

Is this it? My last resort is to take off the mask and reveal I’m a girl—

“...Wait, Monkey Mask!? What the hell are you doing!?”

“Wait a sec—that voice...!”

Just as I curled up, bracing for impact, I heard a familiar voice.

When I looked up, I saw Karl standing among the villagers. He’d finally made it.

“Everyone, calm down! This suspicious creature isn’t nearly as dangerous as it looks! In fact, it’s practically a beneficial organism to the town!”

“A beneficial organism!? That freaky-looking, probably-crazy thing!? What the hell good is that!?”

“...Think about it! If someone were really suspicious, would they go this far to look shady!? Monkey Mask is so totally, flawlessly suspicious that it proves she’s not actually a threat! It’s reverse psychology!”

“Uhh... wait, seriously? That’s how this works...?”

Karl stepped between me and the mob and started talking them down.

Thank god. But there’s no time to relax!

“Listen, Karl! Lev—the girl—they took her! The villain tribe!”

“...What!?”

“I tried to hold them off alone, but the villagers got in the way and they escaped. I’m sorry, Karl. Please, go after them!”

I quickly filled Karl in about Lev-chan being kidnapped.

Hurry, Karl—if you don’t move now, Lev-chan...!

“...Everyone! Follow me—we’re rescuing our comrade!”

“W-We can’t trust anything that pervert says! He’s probably trying to trick you!”

“...Then I’ll go after them myself! Sakura, take care of Monkey Mask for me!”

“G-Got it~”

A voice floated out from the darkness—Sakura’s.

I hadn’t seen her through the dark, but she’d been standing right beside Karl the whole time.

As Karl sprinted off toward the edge of town, Sakura stepped in front of me.

“...Been a while, Monkey.”

“Yeah, long time no see, princess. Sorry—I blew it again.”

“You’re always blowing it. Year-round, even.”

Before long, thanks to a warm healing spell, my broken leg was mended.

...Phew, that saved me.

"You sure picked the worst time—middle of the night and all."

"Oh my, Ryoga. Took your time, didn’t you?"

While Sakura continued treating me, shielding me all the while, the head of the vigilante corps finally made his entrance.

Ryoga arrived, flanked by subordinates on either side, having mobilized into the field.

"Listen up, everyone. We just got word from the guards—looks like the bandit we had in custody was broken out. Seems that monkey-shaped pervert might’ve been telling the truth after all."

"Wait, so the bandits really did infiltrate...?"

Ryoga’s report cleared the suspicion that had been cast on me.

Yeah, see? I’m not some shady criminal or anything.

"I mean, look at this guy—if someone this conspicuous was part of the bandit tribe, no one would forget him. I've never seen a guy like this before."

"Boss’s got a point. Ain’t no way you’d forget someone this sketchy-looking."

"So what, he’s not with the bandits? Just some weirdo?"

Well, whatever the case, at least I’ve earned the vigilante corps’ trust! If I can borrow their help from here on out—

"Hey! Vigilante corps! Sorry, but I need you to help chase them down too—a girl’s been kidnapped!"

"...Yeah, we heard about that. But sorry, we can’t."

Ryoga glanced briefly toward the outer wall of the town, then slowly shook his head.

"Charging after the enemy in the dead of night won’t get us anywhere. For all we know, they’ve laid a trap."

"…What!? So you’re just gonna abandon that girl, Lev!?"

"We’re not abandoning anyone. The girl should be fine for now. One of their own’s probably watching over her."

...Hmm. That’s true—Rey did seem to care about Lev-chan a lot.

I don’t know the inner workings of those bandits, but maybe there’s not an immediate risk to Lev-chan’s safety...?

"B-b-big trouble, everyone!!"

"Oh, what’s wrong, Ilyu-chan? Why the panic?"

Maika and Ilyu showed up late to the scene, rushing over. Ilyu was in a full-on fluster, and even Maika looked a bit tense.

Seems like something happened while I was out of the loop.

"Where’s Karl!?"

"Calm down, Maika. He’s out pursuing the bandits right now."

"...So the bandits really did come. Then this is... very bad."

Ilyu was running around in a panic muttering, “What do we do, what do we do,” while Maika, though composed, had sweat beading on her brow.

Hmm... sounds like something seriously bad is happening. What on earth—

"Lev-san is missing!! Sh-she must have been taken by the bandits!!"

"...Yeah, seems so. This suspicious guy here says he saw her being dragged off by them."

"And that’s not all."

Ah, so that’s why they were panicking about Lev-chan.

Well, guess we’ll have to wait for Karl’s results on that front. The vigilantes aren’t going after her, after all...

"Irine’s gone too!"

"What did you say!? Irine-tan is missing!?"

...

"Th-that’s really bad! The bandits, a lot of them hate nobles just like we do...!"

"Right! If they took Irine too, then right now she could be—!"

Ah, yeah. That’s... yeah, that’s how it’d go.

"Your face... no, your mask looks pale, monkey boy."

"N-nothing’s wrong, milady."

Crap, what do I do? Making everyone worry for no reason would be bad.

Should I take off my mask here and let them know Irine is safe?

But if I do that, I’ll lose all my dignity. Then they’ll find out I used to work in the red-light district... and all sorts of other things.

"If Irine-tan’s been taken too, she’s in for something really horrible."

"Aaaaahhh!! W-what do we dooooo!?"

C-c-calm down. There’s still a chance.

Yeah. I’ll just meet up with them in the morning.

I’ll sneak back in and casually go, “I was hiding all along, ohohoho,” and everything’ll be fine.

"Don’t worry, everyone! I’ll lend my strength too—let’s take our friends back from those bandits together!"

"Damn it... to get Irine-tan back, we’ll need more firepower... Even if he’s a weirdo, we’ve got no choice but to team up with him."

"What kind of shady power have we gotten ourselves mixed up with... I can’t face my mom in heaven after this."

Cold sweat ran down my forehead as I rattled off whatever sounded convincing to get through it.

Y-yeah. It'll all work out somehow!

"..."

"..."

...Why do I feel like I’m getting some real cold stares from Sakura and her attendant?