Chapter 846: The Sand City Uprising 3
“I can’t let you go. Since I was entrusted with this, it’s my responsibility”
As Aurora and I started to make a move to leave, Cathy-san suddenly stood in our way. I stepped closer to her and locked eyes with her.
“……What? Trying to charm me with your smooth talk?”
“That’s not really my style. ……Please. We’re just going to rescue Isabel. We’ll leave the dragons behind”
“Even so, if you get hurt, Talc will be in chaos. I know you’re a newcomer, but I heard about Cosmos going to your place. I get that much”
“It won’t come to that”
“Why not?”
“I know we can’t force our way in by brute strength. We’ll do it the proper way. I don’t want to suffer needlessly either”
“So what’s this proper way?”
“Just using some connections”
Right. I’m the 「Son-in-law of Onyx」. No matter how urgent it is, I’m completely unfamiliar with the area. I have too few hands to quickly capture Isabel. That’s the first step.
Cosmos-san had already dashed off to track down Isabel. Me, Aurora, and Cima headed straight for the Onyx Trading Company in the town center—Carlos-san’s mansion.
“Now that you mention it, the town does feel tense……”
“Every shop has someone guarding it with a long-handled weapon……oh dear, has someone already caused trouble at that shop?”
Aurora’s gaze fell upon a shop, half-destroyed beyond recognition. Looking down the street, several similarly ravaged houses could be seen. Cima, looking pained at the sight, explained.
“This area shouldn’t be in either the 『Tower』 or 『Trident』 ogres’ territory, so it’s collateral damage. When they’re losing their turf war, they take it out on small shops outside their territory. If their boss is still around, they’d avoid that to save face……”
“Targeting?”
“Extortion. Like, 「The guy who used to live here owed our boss a favor, so you pay up instead」, or 「Your shop’s acting all high and mighty, stealing our customers. What are you gonna do about it?」. It’s ridiculous, but shops without bodyguards or connections to big stores can’t do anything when four or five young ogres corner them. Push back too hard, and you end up like that street”
“……Outside the ogre’s territory, isn’t there some system to keep that kind of thing in check?”
“Well, there is, sort of. Medium-sized shops and up might discreetly have military infantrymen in uniform loiter around, hire their own mercenaries, or arrange to quickly borrow such forces from friendly shops……but shops with little savings can’t really do that”
“So that’s how things get this bad……is there really nothing a colony leader can do about it?”
“That’s why, when the boss is solid, you can just go straight to them and get them to behave. Even when the group is split, if there are only two factions or so, you can still make it work by having the opposing side claim the 『Protect the city』 justification. But when there are too many cells, each gets desperate just to protect their own turf, and they won’t take losses to defend their little piece of justice”
“So we have to hit them directly?”
“Well, that’s the thing. No matter how much we call ourselves the colony leader, we don’t have the power to directly suppress the 『Tower』 or the 『Trident』. We’re just managing by weaving together connections like money, military ties, and direct links to the central government”
“…………”
“Think about it. We’re at a disadvantage physically as a race, and dark elves aren’t exactly numerous, right? We do have quite a few non-bloodline members in the guild, but we can’t rely on them during conflicts, so we keep them in the background. Like Cosmos said, moving the army against internal threats—unlike defending against foreign invasion—would put Father in danger unless we laid the groundwork meticulously”
Once again, the troublesome nature of facing an ogre group without a central leader made her want to bury her head in her hands. Would begging Onyx even help?
“Still……”
Aurora sighed upon seeing Cima’s appearance.
“Wouldn’t it be better to properly change clothes before going?”
“Eh? Really? I’m covering what needs covering, and this fabric looks stylish, like Nord-nee-san’s, doesn’t it?”
Cima-san had simply added a token piece of cloth over her prostitute’s erotic outfit to barely cover her chest and hips, then followed along like that.
“I think flaunting where you’ve been playing to Carlos-san will only complicate things”
“Oh, come on, it’s fine, it’s fine. Even my brother wouldn’t make a fuss about something like that now”
That wasn’t exactly true.
“Hohou? So you genuinely believed I’d just sigh and ignore the sight of my sister parading around in that outfit with a collar? Get over there! I’ll slice open your human brain and find that fatal tumor between your ears and your crotch!”
As Carlos-san spoke rapidly and flawlessly while pulling a curved blade from nowhere, the three maids rushed to restrain him.
“What the hell are you lot thinking!? How dare you side with this monstrous pervert creature!? If we don’t deal with him now, this house will become a breeding farm for his offspring!”
“Well, that’s fine, I guess”
“We’ve been strictly instructed by the mistress not to let him run wild”
“Also, that sword belongs to the mistress, you know. She really dislikes people touching her things without permission”
Carlos-san reluctantly relinquishes the sword at the maids’ insistence.
“Can we get to the main point?”
“Don’t act so nonchalant, you rotten human! At least show some remorse for parading my sister around the main street in a state of exhibitionism!”
I was scolded. But Cima remained perfectly calm.
“Well, I do have clothes that are way riskier than this, though?”
“Way riskier? That’s practically naked!”
“Well, if you can cover the holes and nipples, it’s safe, right? The uniform underneath is sexy, but the cloth I’m wearing over it isn’t that provocative, is it?”
“Let’s have a proper talk, Cima. Yeah, I’ll make time for it. And Human, hurry up and bring Mira, Lukino, and Nord too. If Cima’s like this, those girls’ sense of shame must be completely shattered”
“So I told you my taste in clothes has always been like this! Who cares about that anyway?”
It’s always been like this? Well, I kinda suspected it wasn’t, but seriously, have you really lived your whole life with zero intention of covering anything but your holes and nipples? I really wish I’d been born a Talc. No, wait.
“Do you know Isabel-san? From Cosmos Main Store?”
“……Unlike you, I don’t easily forget the faces and names of people I’ve met once”
Carlos-san’s expression tightened.
“S, She might be planning to attack 『Tower Emblem』 out of hatred for the murder of a shop-born bastard……”
“I know”
“……Eh?”
“Cosmos-kun’s shop has deep ties to us. Some of the prostitutes feed us internal intel regularly. We get plenty of that kind of talk. ……So?”
“……I want to stop her. No……”
Honestly. Even if a few of those bastards who sacrifice others for their own turf wars get killed by Isabel, I wouldn’t think it’s wrong. They’re no better than lawless bandits. I killed dozens of such scum back in my crossbow squad days. I don’t even care if Isabel gets tainted by that blood.
“……I want to prevent Isabel-san from dying in a reckless battle. Her life is the issue, not whether revenge is justified”
“That’s tricky. Isabel-kun is certainly stronger than the average girl, but she has no training in assassination or military drills. The ogres of the 『Tower』, on the other hand, are among the most brutal thugs in the country. A surprise attack might work, but if they ever get into a direct grapple, it’s over. ……What do you think would happen if one of those rough ogres used 『Self-defense』 as an excuse to target the life of a woman like her, who attracts men? ……I don’t think she’s the type of woman who wouldn’t understand that”
“……I want to find a way. Won’t you help me?”
“No”
Immediate refusal. ……Then, Carlos-san sighed.
“……I’d like to say that. Personally, I really want to say that. ……But it’s the family creed”
“Carlos-san……!”
The 「Family Creed」 that Carlos and Dianne of Onyx uphold is: 「Protect allies, give to friends, entertain guests, kill enemies」. It’s a phrase that perfectly captures them—praising brotherhood and trust to the utmost, yet showing no mercy to anyone who provokes their wrath.
“There’s no guarantee we can achieve the outcome you desire. Besides, we at Onyx Trading Company can’t go head-to-head with the 『Tower』 either. ……If you’re a man who can respect Dianne and her love for her homeland, don’t use dragons in this conflict. Understand?”
“I understand. Cosmos-san told me too, and I like Talc myself”
“Very well”
Carlos-san snapped his fingers. The maid opened the door, and two men emerged from the next room. One was a dark elf man with half his hair dyed bright red, whom I’d met several times as Nord’s bodyguard. I believe he was a retired Ace Knight called 「Red Sands Jose」. The other was a familiar, tall, lean, handsome man in his forties, who for some reason had dyed his hair pure white.
“……Hey”
“The white hair doesn’t suit you”
“What can I do?! I’ve got standing in Talc now! And that’s how you greet me after all this time!?”
It was 100-man commander Becker. ……Carlos-san cleared his throat and gave me a sharp look.
“I’ll lend them to you. It’s been over two days since I got the report from Cosmos’s shop. You’d better hurry. ……I don’t want to stand by and watch my fellow dark elves die either”