Chapter 43 – It Was All a Comedy.

“Huh, how?! You must be…!”

When Nancy saw Tiaran looking down at her through the hole in her bread bag, she opened and closed her mouth, unable to speak.

“You must have thought I went to buy some new armor.”

Instead, it was none other than Tia Ran who continued her words.

“Don’t you think that’s really stupid?”

Nancy was stiff even with his continued words! She just clicked her teeth and couldn’t say anything.

“Armor is a piece of equipment. Contrary to what it looks like, it is a very delicate piece of equipment. In particular, if full plate armor is not made to fit the user’s body, it will pinch the skin and make it difficult to even move.”

No, I was just breaking into a cold sweat as if even moving was difficult.

‘What? This is like! Like!’

They say it’s a frog before a snake? Why does a prey freeze in front of a predator without even thinking about running away?

“What that means is that armor that comes as a sample rather than made to order has no meaning! Knowing that, why am I so obsessed with brand-new armor? Do you understand?”

She keenly felt its meaning.

“Trap? It was a trap? But how?!”

Nancy said she was merely cooperating, but she now knew how secretive those targeting Lucia had been. She wouldn’t even have had any direct contact with Tiaran’s party.

“That’s the thing about people. No matter how unfamiliar they are, if you meet them multiple times, they become familiar to you without even realizing it.”

Moreover, what should you think if you encounter a familiar face when you know that the same presence is hovering around you multiple times?

“Is it right to think of that as just a coincidence?”

“!!”

Nancy realized. He said that Tiaran had already known for a long time that someone was targeting them. Today was just a simple trap to find out exactly who the exact target was.

“Human psychology is simpler than you think. You must have always thought that adventurers are idiots who don’t know how to think.”

Tiaran continued her words and grabbed the cloth that was strangling Lucia.

“When you, the adventurer, said, ‘If you need to use your brain, think about whether you lack strength.’ When you were fascinated by the new armor and ran alone.”

“…”

Even though he was leisurely whispering as if explaining what had happened, Nancy couldn’t move. Now her action was to subdue her by strangling Lucia.

“You must have let your guard down, thinking, ‘Adventurers are muscle-brained anyway’. That arrogance! The greed of wanting more money! That’s what made you like this!”

This is because I have finally realized that I have become a prisoner of myself.

‘It was all a trap! That comical figure wearing a bread bag and the stories between adventurers! All the new armor!’

But by the time I realized it, it was too late. Nancy’s mind, and more than anything else, her instincts, understood that if she did even the slightest bit of nonsense in this situation, it would not end in a simple money matter.

‘Is this really a simple gold level adventurer? No! It’s definitely not gold level!!’

Until now, she had traveled from place to place as a gypsy and met many people. Even though she was criticized as a prostitute and a fraud, the insight she had developed while meeting people was never false.

‘That adventurer! Have your eyes rotted? How on earth can you think of this as someone inferior to yourself?!’

In Nancy’s opinion, the adventurer named Tiaran was not a gold level adventurer. She wasn’t even an ordinary adventurer.

‘Even platinum wasn’t like this!’

The reason she looked down on her adventurers was because she had a history of making even platinum adventurers fall for her. She thought it was too much of a risk to just swallow it, so she sucked it up and threw it away.

‘Okay! There was still a way!’

“Okay, I’m sorry.”

Nancy felt that she could not escape by ordinary means, so she immediately covered her cheek and forced back tears. The point here was not to cover her eyes. Beginners think that all they have to do is pretend to cry, but if they cover their eyes, it will only arouse suspicion.

“I was chased by those debt collectors, and I was so desperate for money that I stopped hanging out with those people…”

“So?”

“… Yes?”

However, what comes back is an inorganic voice containing no emotion.

“It’s your fault for being chased by debt collectors. It’s your fault for joining hands with those guys. Even more so!”

When she raises her head in a daze at this unexpected situation, she still looks funny with her bread bag turned over.

“You are the one who deceived Hogu. You are the one who stole. You are the one who showed them Krusha’s house and took away the equipment and property. Furthermore, you are the one who strangled the newcomer and tried to take him away!”

Her gray eyes, peeking through them, were burning as if they would not let her go.

“There is no reason anywhere to forgive you.”

Nancy realized that any more excuses were meaningless.

‘This guy! He is not the kind of guy who will let me go no matter what!

“[Consumooooo]!!!”

She used her own Maka, more desperate than ever. Then, without realizing it, what came out was a different word from the spell she had originally used.

‘This! Has Maka grown up? Me too! She said that I too can transform Maka’s spells like Makasia!

Was it because of desperation? Or maybe there was a talent in Macasia that was not known from the beginning? Whatever the reason, her Maka has grown now.

“Uh, where did it go?!”

‘Good! These guys can’t see me anymore!’

When she saw that Lucia, who looked around in surprise at the spell Nancy was shouting, was embarrassed and did not notice her presence even though she was right in front of her, she lowered her head underneath her and tried to escape.

“Hey, where are you going?”

‘… It can’t be.’

At that moment, Tiaran’s voice caught her, but Nancy was confident that he would not see her, so she tried to get between them.

“Keez?!”

“I would have asked where you were going?”

“Huh, how!?”

The attempt was aborted as he grabbed her by the back of her body as she bent down.

“No matter how invisible you are, you can’t erase the sound and presence of clothes rubbing against each other. It looks like you have no excuses anymore, do you?”

“Now, wait! Deal! Let’s make a deal! Anything is fine! I’ll give you anything, including money! If you want my body, I’ll give it to you!”

“Oh, that’s right?”

‘Thank god! After all, there is no one who hates money and women!’

In the case of her adventurers, there were especially many rough and wild people, so there were some who were as if they would give up her liver and gallbladder if she said they would give up their bodies. After all, you must be an adventurer…

“Pukeek?!”

But Nancy couldn’t even think as the pain struck her face. Because Tiaran’s fist hit her face.

“Oh, well. I definitely made a deal…”

“What do you mean? You’re in a deal right now, aren’t you? Trixie?”

“Huh?”

Nancy’s true identity was Trixie. She looked at him with a blank expression, but she was no longer given a chance to continue her thoughts or resolve her questions.

“A deal that matches the number of things you’ve done!! This is Krusha’s job!”

“Kpuweeh?!”

Tiaran pulled her up by the collar and started beating Trixie mercilessly.

“This belongs to Krusha’s stuff!”

“Kupuuuuu!!”

“This is for the equipment!”

“Huh?!”

“This is Lucia’s job!!”

“Prrrrgh!!!”

It was hard for her to come to her senses as the shock hit her entire body, but she thought she might be glad it ended like this. But that was the end of her thoughts.

“This is Linet’s responsibility!!!”

Hehe?!”

‘Who is that again?!’

Because she continued to beat me for reasons I had no idea about.

“This is the share of the innocent girl who was deceived by the gypsies! This is the part of the people who were deceived by the contents of the book that glorified you! The part of the men who liked things like you!”

“Geeeee!!!”

‘This guy had no intention of stopping from the beginning!!!’

Trixie’s memory was cut off by the sight of the fist flying again.

“Is he alive?”

Lucia asked, staring at the sight of Trixie lying on the floor, covered in bruises and bumps and shaking, her body a mess. Because it was such a miserable sight.

“Of course. You probably know the information about the guys targeting us. If you don’t ask, it’s a loss, right? Anyway, just take that bag with you.”

“I understand.”

Lucia thought as she picked up her bundle that was lying on the floor and followed behind him.

‘I never thought it was really Trixie.’

From the first time she saw Nancy she had some guesses, but she never thought she would be this bold. If there was anything more surprising than that, it was Tiaran.

“Did you really calculate everything?”

“Of course! The world of adventurers is not easy!”

“So this has nothing to do with that?!”

Even as Lucia shouted, she gently touched her neck, glanced at him, and then opened her mouth.

“Thank you, thank you for saving me.”

“Well, how about it? It’s the same party.”

“Party, that’s right.”

Even though she was laughing out loud, feeling tickled somewhere, her face blushed when Tiaran stared at her.

“What is it? You’re looking at me like that!”

“Eh, it’s not worn out, and I can still see it.”

“I feel strange! I feel! And! Are you going to just ignore the fact that you used me as bait this time?!”

“Oh my. Let’s go back to the dorm before this guy wakes up.”

“Ahh! Really!!”

Lucia shouted angrily as she chased after Tiaran, who was running ahead, but she still had a smile on her face.