"The people who were serving the food!!" (Mitsuha)
"Aaaagghhh!!" (Everyone)
In the vacant lot where I had been transferred to, there were still many people who seemed to have gathered for the soup kitchen, but the people who seemed to be running the kitchen were nowhere to be seen. There were no large pots or portable stoves. That meant they were already been withdrawn.
"How long ago? Where did they go?!" (Mitsuha)
"...Eh? Archpriestess......,-sama...?"
"Whatever! Where did the people who were distributing the food go? How long ago?" (Mitsuha)
"Ah, y-yes... they were just over there..."
There's no clock, so there's no way to say how many minutes ago it was. Saying "just now" was too broad a range. ...But there's no time to complain about such things. I put the launcher I was holding onto over my shoulder in a sling and sprinted off!
Since I didn't know where they were right now, it's quicker to run than to transfer. If I transferred, there's a chance I'd go too far or missed something due to obstructions. If I knew the path they were taking, it would be easy to catch up with them who were moving slowly along with the wagons carrying the soup kitchen equipment.
Alright, run, run, run, run, run, run, run!!
……there they are! Ok, made it in time!!
...I wondered if I could say that...
This was on the border between slums and normal areas, a little closer to the slums. There were few people around, visibility was also poor, and even if there was a dispute, residents of both areas turned a blind eye because they didn't want to get involved, so it's a place where crimes were likely to occur.
The food preparation team was in a wagon loaded with cooking equipment, followed by two noble daughters, and four or five young men and women who appeared to be servants from each household.
...Oh no...
Normally, if they were going to a dangerous downtown area, they'd have an escort. Also, to be able to deal with any emergencies, they would likely assign a veteran ...not quite a steward or butler, but someone with a fair amount of experience. The fact that there were none of those and only young people... Without telling their parents or the older servants, they gave instructions directly to the younger servants and acted accordingly...
And there were a total of five thugs standing in front of and behind the road. The information was correct. I'd have to give him an extra reward later.
Now, what should I do...?
Both the soup kitchen team and the thugs were concentrating on the person in front of them, so they hadn't noticed me yet.
Now that I had found everyone, there was no need to panic. No kidnapper would needlessly injure or kill their victim, and if there was no resistance, others would likely not be harmed. It's also unlikely that they would kill the servants to silence them.
And as long as I could see them, there's no way for them to escape. Even if there were five of them, I didn't think they could escape that quickly with two girls in their arms, and even if they used a carriage, with my "Continuous Teleportation Tracking Technique" …every time the carriage receded, I would repeatedly teleport to a position a few meters behind it, and this would continue endlessly… it would be impossible for them to escape.
Besides, if I didn't mind people seeing my powers, I could transfer to safety even if a hostage was taken. The low-lethality launcher was only prepared because I didn't want people to see the transfer too much if possible.
If this were New Continent, it would be a different story. My powers were a secret over there. But here, everyone knew about "The Crossing of Archpriestess-sama." I didn't really want to use it in public, but it's not so bad that I absolutely have to use it. It's totally fine if it's to help a cute girl, and even if the setting was that "Using it will drain my life force," everyone would think "Ah, in that situation, I guess Archpriestess-sama would use it..." and lightly ignored it.
The men were merely blocking the front and back, but there was still some distance between them and the food distribution group. After this, they would likely say something threatening, then approached with a grin. If they tried to get any closer, I'd call out to them and stop them. If I did that, they would likely be surprised and stop in their tracks. So, if they withdrew on my orders, that's fine. If they didn't, I'd hit them with a sabot bullet before they got any closer.
...That's what I thought. It was okay now. So I was relieved that I was able to find the food distribution team safely. Now that I could see them, I was confident that there would be no problems. ...I was stupid.
This was not a peaceful Earth, and these thugs weren't smart enough to rationally calculate the pros and cons. ...And they did not realize the loyalty which a good servant felt towards an esteemed employer and his family...
"Don't go near the young lady!!" (Servant)
……eh?
The servants had formed a semicircle with their backs to the back of the wagon, as if to protect the two young ladies. One of them, a young girl, took a few steps forward. Then, a powerful cry was let out from the girl who stood in front of the men with her arms outstretched on either side.
As they had been keeping a close eye on the movements of the thugs, I never expected that the people guarding the two young ladies would step forward, and so my reaction was slow. And…….
"Shut up! You're getting in the way!"
If someone was injured needlessly, the crime would only become more serious. Normally, one would think something like that, but perhaps they were completely unaware, or perhaps they were resigned to the fact that if they were caught attacking a noble, they would certainly be sentenced to death, so they thought that no matter how many crimes they committed, it would be the same... Certainly, no matter how many crimes they committed, whether they got away with some money or was caught, it would have no effect on the outcome. And then, the sword was casually drawn and swung down.
Perhaps their aim was a little off, as the center of the palm of her left hand was slashed cleanly, and the front half of the girl's palm sent flying along with her thumb.
"Guh!!"
She cried out in intense pain, but it only lasted for a moment. The maid gritted her teeth and stretched out her right arm, as well as her left arm, the tip of which was bleeding, and stood in front of the thug.
"... This bastard..."
Thugs get by with just knives and the bravado of "We can use violence without a second thought!" and they had a strong dislike for those who were completely unaffected by their intimidation. They felt mocked... and were scared that their superiority would not be recognized.
Still, perhaps he restrained himself from dealing a fatal blow to the defenseless girl, and he swung his sword down again, this time severing the same left hand, midway between the wrist and elbow. The reason he didn't aim for the other side, the right hand, was probably because the thug still had at least a shred of compassion left...
"……ah!" (Mitsuha)
Damn it!! It was so overwhelming that I was unable to react and just allowed the thugs to commit their barbaric act right in front of my eyes!
What's more, I was so shocked that I froze up, seeing those two brutal acts...
No, go to the hospital right away! No, that would mean leaving Theresa-chan and the thugs here! Well, let's get rid of the thugs, but if I leave the food distributors in a place like this, there's no guarantee they won't be attacked by other thugs and hoodlums. ...I guess there's no other way, I'll just do them all in order, starting with the ones that can be completed quickly!!
Mou, this is not the time to say that I don't want to show the transference too much! Anyway, I need to quickly complete the bare minimum and get this girl to a hospital on Earth!
"...Transfer!" (Mitsuha)