23 Chapter Twenty Two: Three Stooges, Chains, Cruel Mercy

Nariko looked at the letter in her hands. It stated what she would be given once she arrived in town, or a few days or months at the latest, because it took time to transport or get things sorted out.

She had left on her journey towards the city of Vlison around ten days ago, making stops at cities and towns along the way which took up most of her time. She could have gotten to the town in less than a day if she didn't take any brakes and ran at full speed, but had instead taken the option of getting a carriage to the town.

The carriage was rough and bumpy and clearly no one was pleased about it by the mood in it, only a little kid around five was enjoying it, trying his best to see how long he could stand without falling over from big bumps, and jumping whenever he was bored.

The mother was apologetic about it, as it seemed to annoy some of the other passengers, but Nariko couldn't have the heart to get mad about the kid. Only two older 'gentlemen', as Nariko sarcastically called them in her mind since they were anything but, seemed to be annoyed about it.

The ten other passengers, not including herself, weren't annoyed or hid it well.

And as Nariko leaned back to look out of the carriage through a piece of the tarp that was loose on the carriage she saw that they were only about fifteen minutes away.

She had also got an ID in this world as well, surprisingly it seemed electronic but apparently worked from the mana in the air, and it gave details about a person, where they were born, when they were born, their birth names and other stuff. Which she didn't have when she got here since… well she wasn't born in this world. And she actually had two, one high quality one which showed who she really was, the Hero, and the one which Nariko was going to use much more often, which was a standard ID card with fake details for herself.

Everyone had to get one when they were born, and they were given out for free, so there was no excuse for not having one. And if you didn't have one when you were Nariko's age, then you would be suspected to be a bandit or some sort of criminal on the run.

Without an ID, you also wouldn't be able to enter most cities, especially this one which was ruled over by a Viscount family. It was a pretty low ranking nobility title in the grand scheme of things, but was still respected by all people since they were still nobles.

…

Fumiko groaned in annoyance, in her head of course. It seemed her mission was off to a flying start… not. She didn't have an ID card, something everyone had apparently, and now she was suspected of being a bandit.

It also didn't help that the guard that was inside the 'interrogation' room, at least that's what she guessed this room was, was staring at her with a lecherous gaze. She really wanted to just blow his head off with a punch, but then she really would be a criminal and her mission wouldn't progress at all.

… although she technically was already a criminal, at least if fighting and almost killing that bastard of a Hero counted as a crime. As Fumiko thought about it, she realised that it probably would be a crime, unless this world didn't take protection of their Hero seriously with laws.

Just then the metal door to the room opened with a gust of cold wind following it. Two people walked into the room.

One looking like a stereotypical guard, full silver armour, he wasn't wearing a helmet but Fumiko caught a glimpse of it on a crate outside the door before it slammed shut.

The other person was wearing robes and carrying a… crystal ball, Fumiko scoffed at that, two stereotypes in one room. A magician and a guard. But the Mage was carrying something, to Fumiko it seemed suspiciously like a like-.

A flash in the room happened and Fumiko let out confused noise as she temporarily blinded, before she heard speak out after the flash. "Say cheese."

It looked like a camera, that's what it looked like.

Fumiko was losing her patience as she leaned forward about to hop out of her chair. "Why you little-!"

The guard put his hands up disarmingly to Fumiko. "Now, now. Calm down. It's just to check to see if you pop up in any databases for criminals or anyone with a record." He said reassuringly. "Although if you do attack this fine old man right here, then I will have no choice but to deny you entrance into this city."

Fumiko wanted to retort that they couldn't 'deny her' even if they tried. But if that happened then there wouldn't even be a city to go to. Fumiko didn't say that, instead favouring to just groan in pain and how her eyes felt like they were on fire because of the flash of that camera.

The guard laughed at that. "I was like that too, I'm telling them to tone down the lighting on that, but they're always saying 'no, no, it needs-'."

The guard then proceeded to ramble on about that and anything else he could think of for the better part of ten minutes. Fumiko didn't pay attention, instead laying face first into the table.

With the guards constant rambling about non sequential things, the mages humming of an unknown song that was out of sync and harmony with whatever it was, and the lower rankings guards who was trying to strip her with his gaze alone, it was like torture.

"Oh, nothing came up, boss. She's clean." The Mage voiced out. And Fumiko celebrated in her head that she would be leaving these morons behind soon enough.

The guard looked at him in surprise. "Really? Show me." He said, and Fumiko looked at him, slightly offended that he thought she was criminal without reason, although she knew she probably was. But what he said next made her jaw drop. "She really is clean. What took so long? It usually takes around five minutes to get an answer from that thing."

"Sorry, boss. I was too busy humming a song to notice." The old Mage said with a shaky voice from how old he was.

"What?!" Fumiko growled out, her patience now officially gone. "Since I'm in the clear now I'm leaving!" She stated, but as she walked to the door she turned to the people in the room and couldn't keep it in anymore.

"You, stereotypical guard! Learn how to keep your mouth shut, I might not be so kind next to you and let you keep it."

"Old man Mage! You need a replacement! Your too old for this job, your one foot in the fucking grave already! And warn someone next time you use a camera BEFOREHAND!"

"Cannon fodder! Keep your eyes away from me. If I see you in the town then that'll be the last time anyone sees you. Got it?!"

And with that Fumiko left the room, slamming the door behind her.

The old man looked down at the device in his hand as he muttered to himself. "Camera, Hmm. Not a bad name."

The Stereo-Guard just scratched his stubble in confusion. "I don't talk that much, do I?"

Meanwhile the other guard could only stand still as he tried to control his fear from that gaze.

"Oh shit." Stereo-Guard said as he went outside the room, looking into the town but not seeing the girl at all. "I forgot to give her an ID." He considered the idea of going to find her, but that was too much trouble for him. "Ah well, she'll be back eventually."

Fumiko walked through the back alleys that she found, trying to calm down along the way. 'Wrath' had enhanced her anger a lot, so she was more angry then she should've been and was trying to stay away from people in case they annoyed her again.

She was still going in the direction where she felt a collection of 'strong' people, well strong was a bad word for it. They might be strong here but to her they weren't strong at all, but she assumed that place to be the Adventurers Guild.

As she entered the main road again from another alley ending, she walked along the path to find another while still heading towards the Guild.

But when she entered another alley she saw something that might let her take out her frustration.

"Hey, girly, how about you come with me to my place." A fat, but somehow tall, man said as the smell of beer wafted off his every word. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it." He said to the girl he had pinned.

The girl was wearing a brown top and a long and thick skirt, with brown hair that was tied up at the back but still draped down her back. "N-no. Please let me go." She begged, squirming to try and get out of the mana grasp, but his tight grip on her shoulder made her realise that she wouldn't be able to go anywhere soon.

"Hey." A voice rang out. A hint of annoyance was heard in it. The girl turned to look at the source of it, and found a woman to be the source.

She had long spiky black hair with bright red eyes. She was tall, taller than most people the girl had seen. She was wearing clothes that in the girl's opinion were too revealing considering what men were like, and it also showed the girl her midriff. The woman had clearly visible muscles on her.

And the girl had hope that the woman would be able to get her out of this situation and not end up another victim.

"Wha? Who would you happen to be, pretty lady?" The drunkard asked, grinning seeing how exposed the girl was, obviously missing the muscles which showed her strength.

The woman put a stiff smile on her face, and judging by the twitching of her eye, it was a fake smile. "Let the lady go, would ya?" She asked.

The man looked at the girl in his grip, and she let out a Yelp as his grip tightened. "No, how about the two of you join me instead?" He said smugly.

The woman let out a sigh, and the girl looked at her confused because it sounded like a sigh of relief. "Ah, thank you for saying that." The woman said, and the girl had a sudden pang of worry, before she heard the sound of chains and noticed that there were chains around the woman's arms, and following the short free part of the chain, it connected to a sword. "Now I really have a reason to beat the shit out of you."

Suddenly both of the swords were flying towards the head of the man, with both of them going to the opposite side of where they were sheathed with the right sword going to the left and the left sword going to the right.

Unfortunately for the girl who thought it would be over like that was wrong, as the man managed to dodge both swords.

But unlike what reaction she would've expected from the woman who threw them, instead of being annoyed at missing her target she instead looked… elated.

With a single tug of the chains, both swords started curving, not hitting each other as they passed by each other by inches, and headed back towards the hand that threw them.

It was only then that the man seemed to realise that there were chains attached to the swords. And it was only at this point that the girl realised why the blades had missed the man. No, they didn't miss, they were meant to pass him.

The blades landed back in the hands they were thrown from, and then the chains magically started to shorten. And then chains that followed the swords from before, now started to tightly wrap around the neck of the fat man.

The man let out a choked sound as he brought his hands up to his neck to try and get the chains off of him. And he fell down onto his knees from the pull of the chains.

And now the girl realised that she was free, she ran over to the woman who saved her.

"Thank you, for saving me… I'll do anything to repay you…" The girl said, but got a bit quiet at the end as she noticed how beautiful the woman in front of her was. She shouldn't feel this way about another girl, she hadn't before, so why was this person different.

The woman seemed to notice her blushing face as she chuckled, pulling the chains again so that no sound came from the man, not that the girl noticed as she was too busy staring up at the woman. "You go along now. I don't want to catch you in any alleys again, okay?" The woman said quietly, before giving the girl a peck on the check.

The girl practically felt steam coming from herself as she nodded. "Um… what's your name?" She asked before she left.

The woman looked at her, a small smile on her lips. "Fumiko Genji. You?" She spoke softly to the girl, and the girl loved it.

A noble? She hadn't heard about nobles coming to visit this city. And she hadn't heard about the Genji family. Maybe they were a minor noble family. "I'm Yasu." She said, before hurriedly leaving the alley, too embarrassed to look at Fumiko any longer.

Fumiko loosened the chains around the man's neck, allowing him to take deep gulps of air. "Now then, what to do with you."

When she looked at him again, he had all sobered up, and he felt what he should've when she first set her eyes on him. She was a predator, he was the prey. Except there was no running from this, no escape, he was at her mercy. But he didn't expect to get any.

A cruel grin made its way onto Fumiko's face as she pushed Revel, the red blade, towards his neck, drawing a single drop of blood. "I could kill you right now, leave you to the rats or whatever sick fuck finds you, nobody would know it was me." Fumiko said to the man, increasing what fear he felt.

But in reality she was talking to herself, she had no sympathy or mercy for people who did shit like that to girls. But if they somehow linked the murder of this person back to her then her mission would be over. She didn't know what technology the humans had, Lord Zerad hadn't told her. It was safer for her to just leave him be… of course not without a threat that she would follow up when she had the power to get away with or the humans technology limits.

Fumiko sneered at the man as she loosened the chains around his neck. "Be grateful, I've decided that your disgustingly ugly blood shall not be the first that is spilled on my blades. I'll save that for a more worthy foe."

The man put a hand on the ground, keeping him up while a hand was at his throat making sure that chains around them were actually gone. "You're… letting me… go?" He asked between breaths.

"Yes, yes." Fumiko said ambivalently. "But if I catch you doing this again… well, let's just say you'll be wishing I killed you now."

"Thank you! Thank you!" The man shouted out, bowing down to her, hoping to get out of this alley as soon as possible. "I swear I'll never do anything like this again."

Fumiko nodded her head. "Oh, I know." She said with a kind smile, that quickly changed into something from a nightmare.

And a single sentence would haunt a man's dreams for years to come as bright red eyes looked down on him.

"And what I do next is to make sure that you'll never do this again."

The man could only scream in pain, hoping for someone to hear him and save him.

But two barriers, an illusion and a silencing, were already put up to stop that.

And not two minutes later Fumiko left that alley like nothing had happened when she entered it. Except now she had a relaxed smile on her face as she continued on her way to the guild.