The Guild Master Whose Hobby Was Helping People Found Himself Surrounded by the Strongest, Overly Attached Members - 56

Chapter 56: I’m Way at Disadvantage in This Another World 4

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The cobblestones behind me exploded under the pressure of the wind. Fragments shot past, grazing my leg and sending a sharp sting through it. But there was no time to care about that. I rolled onto the roof of a building and pushed myself up.

…I forgot. There’s no breaking through this unarmed….

I swept my gaze around, assembling a route to the bell tower while scouting my surroundings. Down the street, a single underling came running cautiously. A sword hung at his waist.

I sprinted across the roof, cut ahead of his path, then slipped around a corner where I couldn’t be seen. Smashing a tile underfoot, I deliberately made a loud noise.

“Hey, where are you?!”

The man stopped in reaction to the sound. I used that moment and leapt down from above. Rolling on the ground to soften the landing, I closed the distance.

“Wh—You—!”

Just before the underling could draw his sword, I ducked low and drove my elbow into his side. As he staggered, I ripped the sheathed sword from his belt.

“I’ll just borrow this.”

Spitting the words out, I immediately broke into a run. In the distance, the wind’s howl came again. I turned down three alleys without looking back.

The longer way around. If I headed straight for the bell tower, he’d read my aim and blast me instantly. For now, I needed to widen the gap, to get as far as possible from the range of his spatial correction.

Just as I’d thought, once I got a few dozen meters away, the distortions of space returned. Buildings leaned, roof tiles shifted colors, and signboard letters warped. Everything was slightly off.

Good…The correction is fading.

The feel of it, the intensity of the wrongness. There was no mistaking it. His power couldn’t reach this far.  The silhouette of the bell tower rose before me. A stone wall with uneven steps, outer stairs around the back, scaffolding slapped together in layers.

If I screw up here, it won’t be funny… Steady now…

I slung the sword onto my back to free my hands and began climbing the wall. The surface texture was clearly unnatural. Ornamentations that looked like nothing more than a drawing were spread across here and there. Patterns swelled up, shimmering when touched.

Even so, I jammed in my fingers and toes, hauling myself up the fragile wall. I scrambled across a collapsing beam, swung onto the stair railing from beneath. The stair planks cut off halfway, but I forced myself to leap across.

The air thinned. At last, I set foot on the final step and stood on the edge of the bell tower. What I saw from there was a warped world. At the edge of my vision, building outlines unraveled. Light rippled, shadows quivered, colors bled. This had to be the limit of the space.

“—You’re sharper than I gave you credit for!”

The boss’s voice rang out. I turned my gaze and spotted him in the distant square, staff leveled at me. His calm tone carried the faintest tremor. He’d realized it too.

Of course, he wasn’t going to let me walk away. Purple mana began swirling again. An attack was coming—but I gripped the sword tighter.

All I had to do was swing it down. Just cut through it… But he knew that too.

“I won’t let you escape!”

The strike he unleashed carried far more murderous intent than before. A wind blade, stripping even sound away, came slicing straight for the bell tower.

He’s fast—!

There was no dodging it in time. I stepped forward and stomped on a weak seam. Just there, the footing sank slightly. Throwing my weight down, I brought the sword crashing into the depression.

The wind blade slammed into the side of the tower. Wood split, my vision reeled, but the slash reached the seam. The ground beneath my feet opened. In that gray world, only that spot seemed to regain its color. I plunged straight into it, pulled down like a stone.

Back… I’m back…

That realization came, but the sensation of being dragged down didn’t fade.

“Tch, so that’s how the return works—!”

Gravity yanked at me, the scenery tilting downward. The real bell tower. I was plummeting from its very top. I flung out a hand and barely caught a nearby pillar that supported the bell. Agony screamed through my arm—the momentum was too great to hold.

At this rate, I will…

Luckily, I was still clutching the sword. I jammed its blade into the wooden pillar.

Guilt about damaging a city structure made me hold back, and the tip alone sank in. Not enough to kill the momentum. Still, I twisted my body by force, crashing onto a beam that jutted from the lower level of the tower. A dull sound thudded out. My shoulder went numb, and my breath cut off for a moment. But at least I hadn’t hit the ground.

“…This is the worst return ever…”

Exhaling through the pain, I looked down at the city from the tower’s edge and then, I saw the opposite of what I’d seen before. The festival’s liveliness had been utterly crushed. Stalls overturned, merchants shouting in the streets, children crying, fists flying.

Thieves. Sadistic faces were shoving people down, ripping bags apart, stealing at will. There were far too many of them, and they were armed.

“—You should’ve just fallen and died.”

My body reacted instinctively to the voice. From midway up the tower stairs, the boss appeared.

“You’re around forty, right? Don’t stairs wear you out?”

“Better than dealing with you.”

“Fair point. So, what, you came all this way just to throw shade?”

“No. Anyone who knows our secret can’t be left alive. And I came to make a declaration.”

“A declaration…?”

The boss climbed slowly, unhurried. No panic, no tension. If anything, his face looked like he was enjoying himself.

“From here on, we’ll be working in this Vestia.”

A chill raced down my spine. That carnage—they called it “work.”

“You think you can do your job while dealing with me?”

“Whatever your purpose is… I’m not the one actually doing the work.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I’m merely the one giving orders. The ones who’ll actually move are the five executives.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. This guy has achieved FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Do what you like when you like, show up on-site now and then, bark a few commands.

He was too damn enviable. For an instant, fire surged in my chest.

“…How strong are these executives of yours?”

“Of course, each one is top-class as a thief. No matter how hard you fight… At best you might take down one.”

“Me… One…”

Hearing my murmur, the boss let out a triumphant laugh.

“Finally realized your own weakness, have you?”

“No way…”

“This city and you… All of you are finished!”

“One, you say—”

Heh. He’s way too soft.

From our fight, I knew it now. The boss wasn’t S-rank level. The hierarchy in a band of thieves was strength-based. Sure, in a guild strength didn’t really matter, but considering the nature of thieves, there was no way this band of thieves had anyone stronger than him. 

And those executives? If they were each on my level…

“…We can win.”

Five executives. And on my side, we had Ragnar, Rovan-san, Ceres, Leon, and Iris. They were probably tearing through the city right now searching for me. In short, once we clashed with the executives, victory was certain.

The only concern was Leon and Iris, the A-rank pair. If they fought executives and the boss jumped in, we’d be outnumbered. That had to be avoided. So the best move I could make now was—

“I’ll keep you busy.”

“…Hah?”

“Tag, round two. Later.”

I planted a foot on the edge of the tower.

“Stop right the—”

The boss’s voice chased me from behind. But I didn’t care. I kicked off hard and jumped. Spread out before me were clusters of dilapidated stalls.

I need to find something to break the fall…!

On my trajectory, a canopy roof came to my sight. A single cloth awning fluttered in the wind. I twisted my body, aiming for it.

“…Gh!”

The cloth tore, the support snapped, and I crashed down behind the stall, bouncing along the ground. Fire burned through my elbow and ribs.

…Okay. I’m good.

I forced myself up and quickly scanned around. The flow of people. Toppled stalls. Wailing children. Chaos had consumed the city. The situation was dire, but the board was clear.

I glanced back and spotted the boss in the distance. Then, ignoring the pain in my legs, I dove headlong into the confusion of the festival.

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