"B-beastfolk..."
"Y-yes, four of them..."
"That's not normal..."
"I knew that the moment I heard the first speech..."
"Someone, notify the guard station!"
The noisy crowd was saying all sorts of things, but Mile and her party paid no attention to them and continued with their schedule.
War had already been declared, meaning the start of fighting had already been announced.
It had been made very clear that the other party was a violent criminal, that this was a just fight to rescue the captured girl, and it was a fight that had been unavoidable because the attempts to resolve the issue through negotiation by the criminals was refused.
That's why…….
"Wind Cutter!"
"Clay Pillar!"
"Wind Edge!"
"Water Lance!"
Bashdokenshbassdodododo! (Demolition SFX)
Since they were in the middle of a city, they avoided fire magic and instead used wind magic, earth magic, the power of their energy (which was actually wind magic), and water magic that washed everything away, firing off one after the other, while saying, "Crimson Blood!"
And…….
"Why are you hitting at the store and not come to us?"
The people in the store screamed.
No, it's not that they wanted anyone to shoot offensive magic at them. None of them had any suspicious tendencies towards that sort of thing.
...But after seeing their store having been hit by four attack spells, blowing away the entrance and expensive looking glass facade, and rendering most of the sales floor a complete mess, it was no wonder they screamed.
And…….
"Wind Cutter!"
"Clay Pillar!"
"Wind Edge!"
"Water Lance!"
Bashdokenshbassdodododo!
"Wind Cutter!"
"Clay Pillar!"
"Wind Edge!"
"Water Lance!"
Bashdokenshbassdodododo!
"S-Stoooooop!" (Everyone)
"Wind Cutter!"
"Clay Pillar!"
"Wind Edge!"
"Water Lance!"
Bashdokenshbassdodododo!
The store clerks, half crying, no, completely crying, tried to jump on the four "Crimson Blood!" people, but were all knocked down by Mavis. Mile explained, "Ahhh, we were attacked by vicious criminals! To protect ourselves, we had no choice but to subdue them in self-defense!"...
…Of course, since it was not possible to strike the edge of a double-edged sword, so Mavis removed the sword from her belt, and struck it without removing its sheath and drawing it. This was not a "strike with the edge of the sword" but a "strike with the sheath."
Normally, sheaths were not that sturdy, but since it was a product made by Mile, it wouldn't break easily.
Also, since Mile and her party took action at exactly the second bell in the morning (9:00 AM), that was, as soon as the store opened, there were no customers inside the store yet, and all the staffs had rushed outside, so there was no one within range of their attack.
Since Mile had confirmed this using searching magic before attacking, it was completely uninhibited while in the power of her attack magic.
…Of course, there were probably other store clerks and servants further inside the sales floor, but they would have heard the sounds of the magic exploding and destruction just now and would have all fled out the back door, so there would be no need to worry about any further attacks.
It wasn't just the low-ranking store clerks, but the higher-ranking people, namely the company owner and the store manager, who were nowhere to be seen. They had probably escaped through the back door and were on their way here, taking a long detour...
With these thoughts in mind, the four of them continued firing off attack magic spells...
"S-stop! What are you doing! Ahhhh, my shop is aaaaahh!!"
A very fat man staggered over with several other men and collapsed when they saw the terrible state of their store.
"You're the vicious criminal who kidnapped beast girls and made them slaves, aren't you? You're a great criminal who is trying to start a conflict between humans and demi-humans again by directly challenging the ancient covenant..." (Reina)
"Could you be a cultist of an evil god who is plotting to start the Demi-human War again?" (Mile)
"Huh!"
The merchant turned pale after Reina and Mile yelled out some outrageous things to him.
If the charges that were just made were true, then all those involved would be beheaded, the firm would be shut down, and all personal assets would be confiscated.
If so, why did he do such a stupid thing?
That was because he had thought that under normal circumstances, it would never be discovered.
If it were a human child, it would be one thing, but this was a beastfolk's child.
There was no way that there would be an employee or servant who would put their own life and the lives of their family and relatives at risk for something that has nothing to do with them and is not of the human species, such as "a single animal baby."
That was the company owner's idea.
Also, even if they were customers who were shown beast children, they had chosen their partners carefully, and they were not in a relationship where they would betray each other.
...It's not that they trust each other. They know each other's weaknesses, so they couldn't betray each other. That's all.
It was also easy to see that if someone was reported, they would insist that the person was also a member of the group and took them down with them.
Even if they said "turn yourself in" their sentence would be reduced by one level, it would probably only amount to a beheading instead of a hanging.
Anyway, there's nothing good to come from snitching, and you'd definitely get dragged down with you.
Yes, in a negative sense, they were in the same boat, in a community of one fate, bound together by a strong sense of camaraderie and solid unity.
And even though beastfolks, demons, and "demi-humans" were said to have equal rights with humans, that was merely a pretense; it was something that was forced upon them by those odious ancient dragons who interfered during the Great Demi-human War, and they were forced to accept it out of necessity.
Demi-humans are, after all, "not human."
So, a "demi-human". Something that was "subhuman", but could never reach the level of a human, something less than human.
There were still people out there who were steeped in such outdated ideas, and they assumed deep down that everyone else thought the same way.
Like this merchant who kept beastfolk's child, a type of demi-human, as if they were pets and shows them off to visitors...
And even if one of the employees or servants were to report it to the guards, because he was an influential person in the town, on good terms with the lord, and had bribed the higher-ups in the guards, the person who reported it would be arrested, charged with a crime, and reduced to criminal slavery. The family left behind would be sued for nuisance caused by the "false accusation" and for compensation for the trumped-up corruption, and would be reduced to debt slavery.
Knowing this, not a single person in the firm was willing to take any reckless action that would destroy them.
Such people were weeded out long ago.
Some were fired, some quit on their own, and some were made to take responsibility for crimes and failures they did not commit...
Selection pressure.
It was a natural selection process to eliminate stupid individuals or those unfit to sustain the species.
However, in this merchant house, it worked to eliminate the "normal" people, allowing only those who were able to adapt under the rule of the abnormal people to survive.
...In other words, to put it simply, "all of the employees currently remaining are trash and all in the same boat."
"There's no way that something like this could have happened without the people at the store knowing anything about it..." (Mile)
"...So that means it's okay to involve the store staffs as long as they don't die, right?" (Reina)
After Reina confirmed this just to be sure, Mile quickly corrected her.
"I mean the store's employees! There are probably normal people among the maids and servants in the residential area in the back, so you shouldn't get them involved!" (Mile)
"...Tch, that's troublesome..." (Reina)
Reina grimaced in disgust at Mile's advice, but all of her comrades knew that she was not the type of person to drag in people who are not involved.
"Well, anyway, let's continue working." (Mile)
"Oh!" (Other 3)
"Wind Cutter!"
"Clay Pillar!"
"Wind Edge!"
"Water Lance!"
Bashdokenshbassdodododo!
"Stooooop~!!"
And so, ignoring the desperate attempts of the company owner, the store manager, and the clerk to stop them, the destructive activities under the slogan "Crimson Blood!" continued until the guards rushed to the scene...
Author's Note
...