Volume 2 – The World Sneered
Mary stopped on the spot after receiving a call from Calaria on the way to the restaurant.
“Around 3,000…… that could be 5,000 with a big estimation. They could keep coming.”
“Mary?”
Mary’s mood suddenly shifted
Stella tilted her head.
There were two men hiding by a pillar behind Mary and her group.
Their Sorcery Ratings were around 4,000 each.
They had charged the palms of their hands with mana, and were aiming at Mary as they waited for their chance.
Then, the floor under them warped and a long slender bone with a few muscles attached protruded out of it.
They were silent, and the men did not notice them, so their hearts were easily pierced.
Then, the tip of the bone bulged out, tore apart, and transformed into a mouth large enough to swallow a person.
It swallowed the corpses before they exploded inside it.
It was a trivial thing, however.
The explosive blast and the flames were contained within the bone.
Mary finished dealing with the men without even leaving behind any blood stains.
“It’s nothing, let’s hurry up.”
Mary calmly started walking towards the restaurant again.
She heard the sound of meat sizzling on pans and smelled a fragrant scent.
Chefs were preparing food at each counter.
There were food ingredients hung by the kitchen’s side, and the beautifully cut meat and large shrimps caught the most attention.
“Sis. Can we…… eat all of that?”
“I hope so…… Well, Miss. Cutie?”
“By my power, you may eat as much as you’d like.”
“You heard her.”
“Yay! I love you sis!”
“Not me?”
“I love you too then, Cutie.”
“That sounded so forced……!”
“Hehehe, I’m very grateful too, Miss. Cutie. It’s been a long time since I dined in a place like this.”
“Heh, this is sure to satisfy the princess’s refined tongue.”
“Please don’t make too much of this. My tastes are very simple.”
In fact, Mary was not the type who liked luxury.
That was because the person who took care of her, Francis, was also this way.
She even forgot to eat now and then when she got too focused on her training.
“Sis, umm, umm!”
Ami pulled Mary by the hem of her dress.
“What is it?”
“I’m going to eat lots!”
Ami clenched her hands as she spoke.
It was a meaningless conversation, but Mary could not help but smile, and replied: ‘Let’s eat lots and lots of food!’
Then, a woman standing by a table inside moved.
She looked at Mary, ran her hand over her back, and grabbed something.
And the next moment, her body was swallowed by something under the table.
A clattering noise was heard.
They were the wheels Ami sneaked under the table.
She was swallowed by Wheel of Fortune.
Mary and her group acted like nothing happened, and sat in a line behind a counter.
“Still, was doing it like this really necessary?”
Mary asked Cutie, who was sitting on the other side of Ami.
At almost the same time, a man sitting at a table some distance away suddenly fainted and fell down.
It was right after he drank water from his cup.
The water that had transformed into a butterfly by Empress’s power was stuck in his throat.
The staff quickly took the man’s body out with natural movements.
“I don’t want to decrease the hotel’s value. Besides, showing off how calm we are will pressure our enemies, right? It’ll show them that it doesn’t matter how many people they send.”
“You’re right…… if they’re attacking us in a place like this, they don’t care about involving other people. Those first two even had explosives in their bodies.”
“Sis, does that mean they wanted to suicide bomb?”
“Attack? Suicide bomb? E-Err, what’s going on, Mary?”
“Probably. All the guests and workers in this restaurant would have died if they succeeded.”
Mary knew that one had to kill ordinary people sometimes, if there was no other choice.
But, otherwise, she wanted to save as many lives as possible.
Stella continued tilting her head in confusion as she listened to the two’s conversation.
What were they talking about?
What was happening?
The only people who knew were Mary and her group, the workers, and the mercenaries that snuck into the hotel.
◇◇◇
Mary and her group had met up in a room an hour ago and read through the documents provided by the hotel.
It was a list of the people from other countries staying here, who were thought to be mercenaries.
In all probability, they were people going after the prize money for Mary.
They felt that it was happening too fast, but still.
Most sorcerers were aristocrats.
In other words, mana meant authority.
So the people with Sorcery Ratings from 3,000 to 5,000 coming here as mercenaries must have had reasons to do so.
Most of them were criminals who were kicked out of their families.
There were some who simply chose to be mercenaries to test their powers, and some who earned more as mercenaries than as aristocrats due to the poverty in their country.
At any rate, it was not normal, and these powerful people were fine with involving ordinary citizens in this.
Everyone who stayed in this hotel was wealthy.
They were guests of honor for Majoram.
Thinking about the company, Cutie wanted to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.
Mary also agreed with her on that point.
The citizens supported her, but not all of them.
There were also those among them who saw Mary as a criminal.
If the news of the killings spread, or they were found out, it would be troublesome if soldiers loyal to the king were called in.
There would be people who end up opposing Mary if she harmed the Royal Army.
On the other hand, Calaria did not completely agree with this opinion.
Yueri was a unique example, and according to Calaria, all the other mercenaries were scumbags.
They did anything for money, and it would only cause more harm if Mary and her group did not act mercilessly against them.
Incidentally, Ami did not have any particular opinion on all of this.
She decided that she was not very smart, and that she would just go along with the strategy the others decided on.
As a result of all the opinions being gathered, they decided to kill their foes quietly.
They figured that it would be possible with the difference of power between them.
Fortunately, the information provided by the hotel made the positions of the mercenaries clear.
“I’m impressed they could tell them apart from the regular guests so easily.”
“I told you not to underestimate Majoram’s security, didn’t I?”
“Heh, we’re the ones who will have to deal with it, though.”
“T-The workers could deal with it too if they had to! But…… there would be casualties.”
“I know who we’re dealing with. Normally, ordinary assassins would not all gather here in one place. Our enemy really likes to waste money.”
Calaria scornfully laughed at the enemy’s command after saying that.
The foes Mary and her group fought so far were unique cases, and 5,000 Sorcery Rating was enough to be considered top-class.
Further, if they were sorcerers abandoned by the aristocracy, even 3,000 was plenty.
It took a lot of money to hire just one of these people.
There were over 10 of them here. On top of that, there were many mercenaries who were originally employed in other countries.
It would be hard to gather so much money without the funds of the country itself.
“Henry has to be the one behind this.”
“I’m confused why he did not send in arcana users, though.”
“Perhaps he’s out of them.”
“But there’s still supposed to be a lot of them left, isn’t there?”
“Maybe he’s scouting. Well, if they’re coming here to kill us, then we’ll just meet their attack.”
“You’re right, we’re in the advantage this time. Let’s solve this in a smart way without getting hurt.”
They made good on that promise.
They enjoyed their meals, stopped the assassins, and did not trouble the hotel.
Cutie in particular did not want this time of rest she secured to be interrupted by such trivial things.
◇◇◇
Calaria returned shortly after Mary and the others took their seats.
She sat next to Stella.
The five, lined up next to each other, looked at the menus.
“The main dish is seafood. Maybe we can ask for a recommendation from the chef?”
Cutie quickly said so, as if testing out the chef.
“Hmm…… I’m not sure.”
“Let’s just order everything, then.”
“Oh. Yes! Okay, I want the most expensive meat, the most expensive fish, and the most expensive shrimp!”
Ami ordered by price without thinking too much about it.
“Chef, I would like the meat with as little fat as possible.”
Calaria gave her order in a stoic manner.
“I want the same thing, then!”
Perhaps wanting to have a figure like hers, Mary also ordered the same thing.
“Then I want the same thing as sis!”
Ami also joined in.
“T-Then…… I would like the cheapest meat.”
Finally, Stella gave a reserved order.
The sound of meat on the iron plates increased the group’s appetites.
The fresh shrimp jumped, the mercenaries broke, the shellfish danced, the assassins exploded, and the flames of the flambé lit up the group’s faces as they eagerly awaited.
◇◇◇
A man watched the girls from a window in a room of the hotel.
“……How can you smile like that after losing your beloved sister?”
General Ox grinded his teeth out of anger……