I Reincarnated as a Mob Villain in a Game World I Had Been Playing~ Using My Knowledge of the Game, I Lived a Carefree Life but for Some Reason I Became Famous Everywhere~ - Chapter 49 - Someone You Should Never Offend

Chapter 49 – Someone You Should Never Offend

“What was he talking about… Seriously…”

After filling his stomach at the diner in the inn,

Jet-black was on his way home with the utmost caution, exercising maximum vigilance.

—He recalled the conversation with the inn-keeper just now.

‘Be careful with matters like this, okay? It seems like you often carry this kind of money, so just watch out…’

‘Huh?’

‘Ah, sorry. In your case, I’m sure you’d definitely turn the tables completely.’

‘…Hmm?’

As time went by, the man started thinking.

He should’ve asked for more information.

He shouldn’t have thought, ‘I don’t want to talk about things I’m afraid of.’

“What did he mean by ‘turn the tables’…? He means I’m being targeted…?”

The man had no idea.

He had nothing to feel guilty about, he was just going about his life normally.

He had not attacked anyone or done anything to be attacked.

It really didn’t make a bit of sense.

“Hah… If I hear stories like that, I won’t go out at such a dangerous time…”

It was late at night.

Looking up at the sky, two floating moons were visible.

“He should’ve told me that sooner… Anyway, what did he mean by turn the tables and all that…”

Imagining the inn-keeper’s face, the man complained unreasonably, but there was nothing he could do.

The more he thought about it, the more he feared the journey home in the dark.

The more he headed home, the more the city lights dimmed.

“Ah, I should have stayed at the inn…”

Just now, the man had a brilliant idea.

He stopped and turned around, but he thought it would be lame to go back now. He had already walked so far.

“W-Well, there’s no way I’ll be attacked so easily…right?”

The man came to that conclusion.

And he made sure he had a good insurance policy in place.

By gripping the handle fastened to his waist and slowly drawing out the long sword, he pointed the sharp edge towards the ground, completing the superficial preparations for battle.

If people saw him like this, he would certainly be reported. But there was nothing to worry about.

The jet-black equipment blended in with the darkness, so he didn’t stand out. And even if he was reported, he thought he could explain the situation to the police and things would be fine.

Hah… I hope this look would fool them into changing their mind…

It was the appearance of strength.

Because he knew it first hand, he became conscious of his imposingness so as not to erase his strength.

He kept walking like this for about 10 minutes.

He was about to cross a stone bridge built over a stream, lit by moonlight, when he heard the sound of several footsteps coming from the other side of the bridge.

Normally he wouldn’t particularly care, but now that the inn-keeper’s words were burned into his brain, he got goosebumps.

In this state, the presence got closer and closer.

He stopped unconsciously with a tense, stiff face, and at that moment—

—His gaze crossed perfectly with a group of four people wearing robes and suspiciously concealing their appearance.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

Instantly, silence enveloped the place.

The other party stopped in the same way, and Jet-black could see their body trembling, as if to reveal their “excitement at having found their prey.”

It was a situation where he couldn’t call for help. The composition of 1 to 4 was too unfavorable.

And there was tension, anxiety, and fear. Many emotions were mixed together.

O-Oh no… This is very bad…

In an instant, he could imagine that he had been found by ‘those who were thinking of taking revenge,’ according to the inn-keeper.

As if to prove this expectation, a voice was raised by the man in the leadership position…

“!!! J-J-J-J-Jet-black!?”

They could say this nickname because it was the name of their target.

“Heh, I’ve been waiting for you all. You guys have been contemplating dangerous deeds.”

He managed to change his trembling voice to a more authoritative tone and retorted.

He somehow managed to restrain his legs, which were about to tremble like a fawn, and snickered to appeal his composure, displaying an aura of a strong man.

“Hoo. Only four against me. I’ve been underestimated like a fool.”

“D-Damn you…”

It was a group of four people, with a formation of one in the front and three in the back.

The three people in the back exchanged with each other in a flustered manner, but Jet-black couldn’t hear their voices.

“Shit, shit, shit!! You’re the reason our plans are screwed up!!”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“Ah…”

A genuine, pitiful sound escaped as the leader among them raised his voice and drew his sword upon seeing the figure.

“Sorry guys! We got lured out by that Jet-black again… You guys get out of here! I’ll hold him off here.”

“No… We’ve come this far. I’ll stay with you until the end.”

“Me…too…”

“Yeah, me too. I don’t see any other way out of this except to beat the man.”

The leader of the group raised his voice, and the other three followed suit.

Perhaps because they were prepared for battle, a bunch of hostility was directed at the man.

W-What…!? Wait a minute!!

Daggers, staff, swords. They all drew their weapons and were about to attack.

“W-Wait! Just wait!”

It was Jet-black, with one hand outstretched to stop them.

“Let’s talk about it first. You guys are definitely misunderstanding.”

“How dare you say that while you’re luring us out and holding your weapon, Jet-black…”

“……”

An irrefutable good argument.

The man was at a loss for words, but managed to change the subject and said something back.

“I’ll say it again. Let’s talk first. If the misunderstanding is cleared up, I’m not going to fight. Isn’t that a good proposal? The difference in ability is obvious.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

“Then… Talk.”

“G-Great. I appreciate it.”

It was a reassuring reply. Reassurance made him lower his guard, but his life was at stake.

The man pulled himself together and continued speaking, being conscious with his strong voice.

“But first, you must promise me one thing.”

“A promise, you say…?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t know how good his opponents were, but the difference in numbers was absolute. He wouldn’t give them a chance to attack him.

Even if this misunderstanding couldn’t be resolved, if he could appeal his “strength” to the maximum extent possible, they might back off. 

“That promise is—”

As soon as the word was uttered.

“—Swoosh!”

He suddenly readied his sword and swung it as hard as he could at the stone bridge.

Diagonally to the right, then to the left.

Forgetting the weapon’s characteristics… He cut a deep, cross-marked cut in the same way one would cut butter.

“……”

He quickly hid his shock at having caused such damage to a public property. He was desperate. There was no other choice.

“During the discussion, if you try to cross this line… you’ll lose your life. You hear me?”

“…Understood.”

Was it the threat or the spirit…? The man in the leadership position answered on behalf of the group and placed his weapon on the stone bridge.

The three people behind the leader still had their weapons at the ready, but their determination should be reciprocated.

The man didn’t imitate dropping the weapon, but stuck his sword in a position where he could easily pick it up—in the center of the cross mark.

And then—

“*Cough* Hmm, where should we start…”

It was at that moment that he crossed his arms and was about to start when—

“Huh?”

“What!?”

“Ugh!”

“!?!”

“What the hell!?”

The timing of the realization was the same for everyone.

A dull rumbling like a landslide echoed through the place.

The more they wobbled, the more their feet shook. 

The source of the problem was right below. Once they all looked at the stone bridge, their eyes immediately widened.

With a loud “crack,” the crack spread out in an instant as if it were opening its mouth.

Pieces of stone fell and stone dust scattered about. 

As more roars resounded, Jet-black saw a shocking spectacle.

“”””A-Ahhhh!!!””””

“H-Huh!?”

It was a scene where the arched stone bridge collapsed, causing four people in the middle of the bridge to fall.

Jet-black, who was at the edge of the bridge, was safe.

He managed to pick up the black sword that was also falling and quickly peeked down to see that there was no dire situation.

No one was crushed by the collapsed stone bridge.

The four people were sitting in the low depth stream, soaking all over…

And it was not long before the guards and residents gathered.

＊＊＊＊

Afterward, the Jet-black was ordered to return home temporarily.

The four who fell into the stream were subsequently apprehended, as the information had been relayed, leading to their immediate restraint.

They were taken into custody for tarnishing the honor of the Ansage family and the Holy Church, for obstructing their duties, and for various other offenses combined.

Details would be provided in the report at a later date.

The cause of the collapse of the stone bridge was deterioration of cracks and fissures.

There were deformations in the arch axis.

Whether it was intentional by the Jet-black was unclear, but he triggered the specific area with pinpoint stimulation, leading to the bridge’s collapse.

Using items that can detect lies, the four detainees had no choice but to respond honestly to the interrogation.

‘We were about to attack an inn-keeper who seems to have helped the Jet-black, when we were ambushed on the stone bridge.’

‘I don’t know how he got his information from, but he lured us out.’

‘Let’s talk first.’

‘If the misunderstanding is cleared up, I’m not going to fight.’

‘Isn’t that a good proposal?’

With such sweet words, they let their guard down. The Jet-black had pretended that he had no hostile intentions, and then he attacked them in a rage.

The interrogators of the four people had their faces scrunched up the more they were told about the situation at the time.

They realized that the Jet-black had no intention of letting them go in the first place.

They realized that the Jet-black would do everything in his power to destroy those who dare to pose a threat against people he was indebted to.

This incident would resonate throughout the city.

The Jet-black became known throughout the town as ‘someone you should never offend.’