What If the Strongest Villain from the Original Story Became the Protagonist's Ally? - Chapter 71 - Incident, and Criminals

A scream that seemed to tear through the air was heard.

Everyone present turned their gaze toward where the voice came from.

“That was…”

“A woman’s scream. I wonder what happened?”

Lycoris tilted her head.

I was also puzzled.

Then the next moment, not only women’s but men’s screams could also be heard.

“—M-monsters! There are monsters!!”

“Monsters!?”

Even I widened my eyes at this unexpected situation.

—Why were there monsters in the town at this point!?

In the event, monsters appeared much later. This was far too early.

“Monsters in town? What’s going on!?”

Lycoris couldn’t help but raise her voice.

Iris and Nana came over and said:

“Yuu-san, Lycoris! We’re going to hurry and subjugate the monsters!”

Of course, Lycoris and I nodded.

“Got it!”

“Understood!”

We all ran toward where the voices came from.

▼△▼

After running for a bit.

We found a wave of people flowing past while screaming.

At the rear of that group was a large dog-type monster.

“There it is!”

“I’ll subjugate it! Please prioritize rescue if there are people in trouble!”

“Roger. Nana, follow Iris!”

“Got it.”

Iris and Nana went toward the medium-sized monster.

Lycoris and I were in charge of guiding residents to safety.

The residents were already in complete panic.

They were single-mindedly getting away from the monster.

“Everyone, please calm down~ The girls will subjugate the monster for you~”

“Kyaaah!? There’s a suspicious person here too!?”

“Why though?”

While guiding evacuation, I was feared like I was a monster too.

Nearly thirty percent of the running residents tried to turn back again, and they started making a fuss:

“Gyaaah! We’re trapped between monsters!!”

“Yuu-san… perhaps you should remove that mask after all?”

“They’d probably make a fuss even with my bare face. Besides, Iris and the others will quickly defeat those small fry.”

“That may be so, but… you’re creating secondary damage?”

“Please pretend not to see it…”

I was the one most hurt by this.

Even though I was acting to save them, they called me suspicious.

I was used to it though.

“Haaah!”

In the distance, Iris thrust her sword into the monster’s face.

Since her mana had increased, she was moving faster than before.

Her attack power had also increased, and as I predicted, she easily subjugated the monster.

Seeing the monster fall, the residents’ fear eased slightly.

However…

“It seems the battle over there has ended.”

“Yeah. But why was there a monster like that in town…”

“It’s not a size that could normally infiltrate.”

“Did someone guide the monster in?”

“A monster that size?”

“It’s big but it’s small fry. If there were an artifact that could contain monsters…”

The performance could be lower than that black crystal I possessed.

There would be many such things around the world.

And the ones who used it were… probably those guys who attacked me.

Or imperial soldiers had infiltrated.

The situation was more troublesome than I’d predicted.

“For now, let’s regroup with Iris and—”

—BOOM!!

In the middle of my words, multiple explosion sounds and residents’ screams echoed from afar.

“! Again?”

“Explosions this time!? What on earth is happening in this royal capital…”

“The purpose is to draw people’s attention here?”

I could somewhat read the opponent’s purpose.

They probably intended to cause disturbances in town and draw attention here while infiltrating the treasure vault to steal that crystal.

However, that crystal was already in my hands.

How should I move here…

“Yuu-san! There seems to be commotion all around!”

“Iris. I know. There were probably criminals. They’re causing riots.”

“We need to find the culprits immediately!”

“I have an idea about that. For now, you three should stick together and act as a group. If you follow the explosion sounds and residents’ screams, you’ll probably encounter the criminals causing the disturbances.”

“Where are you going, Yuu-san?”

“I need to invite someone to play. An acquaintance is probably here.”

“Acquaintance?”

“That’s my business. Please don’t overdo it. I’ll rush over soon too.”

“Understood. Please be careful too, Yuu-san.”

“I’m the strongest, so I’ll be fine.”

Saying that, I parted from Iris and the others and—headed toward the royal palace.

If my prediction was correct, those guys should be heading to the treasure vault right about now.

Whether one or two people, or maybe all of them, I’d capture the criminals and extract information.

Even if I had to torture them.

▼△▼

A corner of the royal palace.

In the central palace building that led underground, multiple men and women had gathered.

“Security was surprisingly lax. To think we could infiltrate so easily.”

Walking at the front was Jack, who had been repelled by Yugurambefore.

He was chuckling while holding knives.

Four men and women were following behind him.

“Most of the soldiers would have their attention drawn to the disturbances in town.”

“Hehehe. Our real target is here though~”

“…The thing we want is deeper inside.”

Following the information they’d worked hard to obtain, they infiltrated the central tower and found a hidden passage in its basement.

A large door blocked their way.

“Here we go~ Time for the treasure to appear~”

The dress-wearing girl Miki unlocked it, and the treasure vault door opened.

Looking sideways at the mountains of gold, silver, and precious items, they simply headed straight to the inner room.

When they opened the final door, there should have been the black crystal that was their objective—

“Huh? Th-there’s nothing here!?”

It wasn’t there. The black crystal was nowhere to be found.