Chapter 47

Everything can go wrong

 

 

The candle appeared in my hand, still lit. Hmm ... There are still another 6 hours.

Moments ago, I asked Iren's soldiers to keep my group's involvement in the Rebel ambush fiasco a secret. At first they refused to keep a secret from their superiors, but then I reminded them that I saved not only their life, but their honor, by preventing them from dying in a humiliating way. At some point I will be able to profit from the relationship with those 6 soldiers, but for now, the most important thing is to disappear from Iren's radar.

The leaders of the resistance were taken as their prisoners. Apparently once they reunite with the other groups of Irenits in the city, they will be executed.

The next thing is to go back to the square and see if any item in the auction is of interest. But before that, I tasked Ruthen and the homeless people I rescued to gather everything of value that they can carry. It is best to leave this place before Garonte knows what happened.

Although making use of Garonte seems the most profitable of this city. The reality is that the unknown factor of his true boss worries me. As long as I don't know anything about that person, the best thing is to get what I can and go on my way. And 'what I can get' includes human resources, be it Galatea's slaves or ex-members of the resistance.

I should also buy more candles.

"Ah... Mmm..."

I listened to the babbling of Ren, who was next to me.

Apparently the Half is trying to tell me something. Of course, with all these people it is not recommended that she speaks and they realize the language she uses. That was something I had made it clear to her, never to speak if there are other people present.

Judging from her gestures ... Should I look up?

That's ... the Harp Gara'kat ordered to follow us for protection and as a means of communication.

But he should know that it's not safe to fly over a human settlement like this, he shouldn't take a risk like this ... Unless it's an emergency.

I immediately took a careful look at everything around me, until the monocle detected something. A group ... Apparently Iren's soldiers, based on their names and stats, but they move fast, and more importantly, they seem to be outside Garush's walls.

It gives me a bad feeling. As far as I know, the soldiers of Iren were looking for something in the city, there is no reason for them to be outside its walls, less on a day when the population congregates to attend the auction. Also, there's no reason for the Harp to risk being spotted by someone just to tip me off that a couple of horsemen are prowling outside the city.

"We must hurry".

Once the matter with the rebels had been settled, it was strange that from one moment to the next our situation had become so pressing. The lack of information and the strange movements of a possible hostile military force were something that historically always preceded a catastrophe.

What is the worst case scenario?

It could be that those soldiers weren't part of the search party that was on Garush to begin with. If so, they belong to another group, and most likely they are messengers or ... Scouts, surveying the terrain for the advance of a greater force.

I have to get out of here before I find out, especially if it's a bloody Irenit army.

It took us a while, but we made it to the square. The problem now was moving through a crowd. Feeling the agitation of my breathing, not only from running, but from the frustration of wasting time due to the tumult; It was the first sign that I was losing my cool.

I heard a voice coming from deep in the crowd exclaim ...

"Ladies and gentlemen! We hope to see you again at the next big auction, and now we ask for order to clear the square. Those winners of any bid, the transaction will be completed shortly in a space designated for it, we ask you to stay close to the stage".

It seems that there is nothing left but to wait for the people to disperse. I can't see my men, the monocle is useless with so many people around. If Zera were taller I could easily make out his green hair. But I assume they will be close to the stage.

Restlessly, I waited for the people to slowly return to their business. Their steps, like the ticking of a clock, made me think of every precious second I was wasting.

I know it is just my imagination, but it is the first time I have heard the sound of a clock clearly since I came to this world. It reminds me of all the modern conveniences that I no longer have; like a phone, internet, motor vehicles, air conditioning ... There must be a stupid watch somewhere in this world, I'm going to get one, it irks me not knowing exactly how much time I'm wasting.

"Lord Argent, I think it has cleared enough to reach the stage without problems."

"You're right Andreu, let's go."

I must stay focused, the faster the transaction finishes, the sooner we can leave.

As we made our way through the people who were leaving the place, I finally managed to make out that distinctive green hair of Zera, who was arguing with a somewhat obese man, whose hands were decorated by jeweled rings and bracelets, with a face that projected a particular type of greed. No need to ask who he is, he is one of the merchants I spoke to in the past few days. If I'm not mistaken, he is in charge of mediating between buyers and sellers during this auction.

"Ah! Mr. Argent, you are just in time. As I was saying to your assistant, the total purchase exceeds the money you gave us by 115,000 Ja. I'm sure you can raise the money without problems, and as soon as you do you may take the goods. "

"I will give you 200,000 right now if you prepare everything so that I can take it immediately."

"W-Of course! It will be done right away. Men!"

Driven by the power of money, the job of gathering all my acquisitions was done on a priority basis.

"A-As expected of a man like Mr. Argent ... After all, time is money."

"Time is too precious, I couldn't spend it on attending the auction, much less on the formalities of these transactions. After all, time is something I still can't buy."

... I would like to buy some time right now.

After a few minutes, the merchant and his workers presented me one by one the products that Zera won at the auction. In this case, all I can do is take a look at it and confirm with Zera that it's indeed something he bought.

After showing some minor items, they brought in almost a hundred people in chains. Upon seeing them, my Argent guard, now assembled, showed signs of disturbance. With this its confirmed that they are the people of Galatea. I think everything is right, let's finish at once.

"And of course, we cannot forget about the special item in this auction. A rarest slave and a one-of-a-kind piece of metal."

Did he say a unique piece of metal? It cannot be ...

And then it appeared in front of my eyes, something that could make me feel the ground shaking under my feet, and for a moment, I froze ...

 

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This was certainly a tough day.

Early in the morning, Argent-san said that we had an important mission. It seemed strange to me that we parted ways, considering that today is the day Argent-san mentioned, they were going to sell the townspeople as slaves. But apparently a tragedy was about to strike the city, and only we could prevent it.

"Zera can take care of buying the people of Galatea, while the blacksmith acquires what he needs to do his job. A dozen men should be enough to protect them, plus there are law enforcement officers galore at the auction. We must prevent a tragedy ". It's what he said.

Although he did not give me many details, it's obvious that it was something serious. On the way, we met again with that guy who saved Albert and his sister ... Rutta ...- san?

He looked pretty desperate when we found him. He exchanged words with Argent-san, and after a few minutes, everyone started to move. Finally, Argent-san told me that there was a group of suspicious men who were preparing to ambush anyone who approached, and that I should take it upon myself to knock out a few.

Although I was hesitant at first, it was easier than you might think. They were exactly where Argent-san indicated, and with just one blow I put them to sleep. When I knocked down the first one I worried thinking that I had killed him, I mean, his head was bleeding and he wouldn't stop drooling ... But he was still breathing, so everything was fine! ... At least that's what I wanted to believe.

When I finished with the last one and returned to Argent-san, it seemed like He was arranging something inside a house. I could make out the light of a candle before he closed the door behind him, I had no idea what it was.

It is in the morning… Why would they have lit candles?

I couldn't ask, we immediately continued on our way. To my surprise, when crossing a corner there was a group of armed people surrounding some kind of knights in armor, around them were several people lying on the ground, bleeding and writhing.

You are reading story Okane o Subete Sekai e Chikara – Money is Power in any World at novel35.com

People who looked like an enraged mob blocked our path.

"Ryuuji, these people ambushed those soldiers and are trying to kill them. The tragic thing is that they were tricked into doing it and when their crime becomes known, all of them will also be victims of this tragedy. If I can't reason with them, then you should take over and detain them by force. "

I finally understood what this mission was about. We must not only save the soldiers, but also these people who were tricked into attacking them.

"I'll take care". I said, leaving doubt and insecurity behind.

As we talked, the soldiers took the opportunity to drink a strange liquid and stand up. In front of my eyes, one of them stabbed his spear into the neck of a poor man.

"... It's useless to reason with them, they were poisoned and they don't even know it. The toxins and adrenaline affect their judgment. You must incapacitate them so that I can give them the antidote to drink as soon as possible. Remember your fight with Garonte ... You are strong, you can certainly do it. "

Trusting blindly in those words, I faced half a dozen armed men.

What has happened around me since I have been in this world, led me to think that I am strong, really strong. But more than anything, if Argent-san says that I can beat them, there is no doubt about it.

I have not once felt anything close to pain, and although the thought makes me uncomfortable, I think I could resist even if I received the spear directly into my neck as that man did. At worst, would I really die? Maybe I would just wake up at home to realize that this was all just a dream.

From the moment I focused on the men in front of me, a strange sensation ran through my body and I began to notice strange things.

The first thing was the breathing of the man in front of me, and then of the rest of the people around. They seemed to take their time with each breath, but there was something odd about the sound, as if it wasn't much air they breathed in and out each time.

The second was the sweat that ran down their faces. Each drop held its shape in a way that for a moment seemed bizarre to me, and then it slowly descended, as if it were crawling. At that moment I understood, everything around me seemed to move in slow motion.

The certainty was brought to me by seeing the way the knights lunged towards me. It was really strange to see how they floated with each step.

When what was happening was clear, it was obvious to me that I could win, because in that world in slow motion, even if I did not move as fast as at first I thought I would, I could do it much faster than them and I could change my movements as needed.

It didn't take me much work to beat them. If all fights are like this, I think I could face a hundred men by myself. Moments like these really make me feel how surreal this world is.

After I defeated that group, everything seemed like it was going to go smoothly. Argent-san spoke to the knights and gave them what I suppose was the antidote to drink, because something about them changed after taking the contents of the flasks, I think their faces had a better color.

After that, Argent-san started saying something to everyone present, that's when Rutta-san arrived, accompanied by the strong man who was with him the first time we met and they brought with them the guys we knocked out on our way here. All aware and healthy. Just like I had thought; Everything was fine! ... Seriously, even now, thank you for not dying that time!

The explanation of the situation continued. For some reason I noticed great tension in the air. I guess it was hard to accept that they were tricked into committing a terrible act, they trusted the wrong person. Luckily, Argent-san found out everything in time and led us to take control of the situation.

After things calmed down, we said goodbye to the knights and some people who were apparently responsible for the deception. Once the others left, we walked towards the plaza to meet Zera-san and the others.

Along the way, Argent-san and Ren-san discreetly exchanged gestures ...

"Ryuuji, I have reason to believe that something bad will happen if we don't meet up with the others soon. We must run" Argent-san said after looking around and thinking about something.

Although we hurried to get to the plaza, once there, we could not continue, due to the density of the crowd that was stationed there. At that moment, I could notice a new expression on Argent-san. Impatience. I guess even someone like him has a hard time accepting bad luck.

There was a ruckus, as people slowly began to leave. Apparently the event had already ended. After an initial wait, we were able to get closer to the place where we would meet Zera-san and the others.

Ahhh ... I didn't know if it was from seeing Argent-san and Ren-san flirt earlier, but I couldn't help but think about how much I'd like to tell Zera-san how beautiful her hair looked to me. It really brings out her delicate features. It's funny that with a face like that, Argent-san is able to mistake her for a boy ... I just couldn't make such a mistake.

I don't want to sound like a stalker, but someone like me, who can't talk to anyone and rarely has anything to do at times like this; I just couldn't help but lay my eyes on Zera-san.

Would I have any hope with her?

Nonsense like that filled my head at the time. Naively, the problems around me were alien, even unreal. It didn't bother me at all to have seen people die. I think, deep down, I didn't saw them as real people ...

And then it happened ...

Zera-san's expression suddenly changed. Following her gaze, I looked at Argent-san, who seemed to have frozen. It was a strange sight, the strangest I have seen so far. In fact, I had never seen him like this.

After a moment, Argent-san waved his hand and hurriedly spoke to Ren-san in a language that even I could tell was different from the others.

For some reason, Argent-san's face when yelling at Ren-san makes me shiver. They all seemed to feel the same about it.

Then I heard what sounded like a hiss. It's not the first time I've heard it, but this time it was clearer ... Did it come from Ren-san?

¡¡¡AAAARRRGG!!!

To everyone's surprise, one of the chained men who carried things to put at Argent-san's feet, used his chains to hang the jeweled man who was talking to Argent-san.

When I took a step to try to stop him, Argent-san put his arm in front of me.

"There's nothing you can do, it is too late for that man. The best thing is not to interfere or we could get involved ... I know it's frustrating, but it took us too long to realize it. He said, calming a little the expression on his face, which still showed an iota of bewilderment.

So his scream from earlier was because he realized there was something wrong with the man in chains? I thought

Even though we just witnessed a terrible moment ...

In hindsight, seeing that man with the pierced neck bleed to death was without a doubt the first time I had seen a person die before my eyes. Not only that, it was murder, and still, I went on like it was nothing. As if his death didn't matter in the least.

Argent-san didn't seem to mind.

Why should I care?

Yes ... At the time, I was still in denial. But the severity of Argent-san's face, who was always the cornerstone that cast tranquility in me, made me wake up. I barely realized the seriousness of the situation ... The REALITY of the situation.

Naturally, the people around us were agitated due to the murder. The surrounding officers detained the man by force. But that was not enough to calm people. In fact, they looked more and more agitated. They all started running in different directions.

It's wrong for me to say it, but I thought that this kind of thing was more normal in this world and would not cause such a reaction. It's even bigger than you could expect on Earth.

"It seems that after all, even here a murder is serious business. In truth it reassures me a bit realizing it" I said to vent my bitter thoughts, almost to mock myself.

"... Ignore it. Let the officers take charge. We should leave as soon as possible."

That man ... He really died. And this world ... is reality.

 

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Good thing the slaves he carried with him were weak-minded. This is certainly what the Demon General is looking for. If he finds out where it came from, it would be a disaster.

The worst part is that I don't have time to do this in the most effective way. The people of the city began to run in despair as soon as they heard the news that an Irenit army is on the way ... Their soldiers wear red armor and helmets with two horns.

 

 

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