Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement Vol. 2
Upon realizing he had missed his target, the intruder unsheathed his short sword and rushed toward the marquis. Since this was the royal palace, and everyone was seated together in close quarters, most people had removed their sword belts and couldn’t maneuver in time to act.
Mitsuha pulled out the 93R with one quivering hand, attempted to stabilize it with the other, and took aim at her opponent. Heat throbbed in her left shoulder, but the pain had been suppressed by adrenaline or dopamine or whatever else had begun coursing through her. It didn’t stop her arms from shaking, however.
She was lying on the floor, watching the assassin running behind her. From this angle, any bullets that missed would hit the ceiling—no bystanders were at risk.
I can shoot him!
B-B-BANG, B-B-BANG, B-B-BANG!
Three-bullet bursts, fired three times. The would-be assassin dropped to the ground and the room fell silent, hardly daring to breathe.
“Mitsuha... Do I pass... as your knight?” her protector asked in a weak voice.
“Alexis!” Mitsuha looked down at him. “No, actually. You totally failed!”
“FAILED?!” their audience blurted in disbelief. “How?!”
Easy peasy, she thought.
“Look, there’s one in my shoulder! So yeah, you failed.”
“Haha...” Alexis laughed dryly, his head drooping.
“But,” she continued, “I respect your effort. You may have messed up, but I’m not disqualifying you yet. Make sure not to disappoint me next time.”
“‘Next time’, huh?”
“Yes. Next time.”
Oh, so that’s what she meant, thought the men in the room. But the veterans present knew full well that there would be no “next time”. A shoulder injury was hardly fatal, but his stomach wound would quickly decay. The courageous soul would die a painful death in just a few days... truly a shame.
Alexis closed his eyes as the pain sapped away his consciousness.
“Ahaha.”
Mitsuha’s sudden laugh startled everyone.
“Haha... Ahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!”
Have fear and grief driven her mad?! they wondered, feeling a change in the air.
“I was holding back,” she said to no one in particular. “All this time, I was holding back.”
What is she saying?
“I tried not to mess up this world’s progression, to make sure the hardworking people here didn’t suffer. I mean, I know I overdid it here and there, but I was still holding back a lot. And this is what I get? I almost died, and I couldn’t even protect someone close to me.”
The council members weren’t sure what she was talking about, but understood she was expressing some measure of regret.
“That’s it. ENOUGH! NO MORE HOLDING BACK! I’LL SHOW THEM WHAT I’VE GOT!” Mitsuha turned to the marquis. “Lord Eiblinger, I’ll return the day after tomorrow, at dawn. If you would, please forbid passage into the palace’s inner courtyard starting tomorrow night.”
“Well, I have nothing against doing that, but what are you planning?”
“I’m going to prepare an unstoppable army. And come dawn, two days from now, the enemy...”
She cracked a sinister grin.
“...Will know the true meaning of fear and despair. They will see that hell exists in this world.”
The next moment, Mitsuha and the unconscious young man vanished from the room.
◇ ◇ ◇
Wolfgang, the mercenary group Mitsuha had allied herself with, had enormous headquarters. The land in the area had been quite inexpensive, allowing them to really spread out. They even had enough space to construct a recreation room, which was located in a two-story building at one corner of the base. Currently, the mercenary captain was enjoying a game of billiards and a fresh cigarette in this very room.
However, his leisure time was about to come to a very abrupt end.
WHUMP!
Out of nowhere, a client he was all too familiar with materialized a few feet above the table and immediately fell onto the table. She was bloodied, writhing in pain, and in her arms was a young man in even worse condition. The captain gaped at the two of them, cue still in hand.
“Ow, ow, ow!” Mitsuha cried. “These balls are so hard!”
No way those hurt more than that bolt stickin’ outta yer shoulder, the captain thought.
“Get the medic,” she said, rolling off the table with a serious expression. “He protected me! Don’t let him die!”
The captain gestured with his jaw, spurring the young mercenaries around him into action. One called for the medic while the other began administering first aid to the unconscious man. He didn’t remove the bolt, however; it would have worsened the bleeding, and the state of its head was yet unclear.
That guy put his life on the line to protect the li’l lady, so ’course we’re gonna fix him up. Can’t let a guy like that kick the bucket. Not likin’ that bolt in her shoulder, though. If yer gonna protect her, don’t fuck it up, man. Yer eatin’ my fist when ya get back from death’s door. He put down the cue and took a glass off a nearby table.
“Captain, you said you don’t have any big jobs lined up, right?” Mitsuha asked.
“Yeah.”
The girl smiled from ear to ear. “Well, I want to hire all of you. We’d move out in the morning, day after tomorrow. There are about twenty thousand enemies, including monsters. I’ll pay you forty thousand gold coins, guaranteed... if not more. You up for it?”
CRASH!
Huh, some guy dropped his glass. What a pussy, the captain thought. Jeez, my throat’s super dry. Lemme just drink this and... Aw, shit. I’m the one who dropped it.
“Before that, li’l lady...”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“Let’s go to the hospital and get that bolt outta ya, all right?”