Chapter 294


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The Unknown seems wary of me and doesn’t step within a certain distance. The tension gradually increases.

「Ichiro, his armor doesn’t constantly nullify attacks—it nullifies whatever it judges as an attack by some criteria. That’s why I was able to deal damage for a brief moment through the wire he was touching, with lightning magic from outside his awareness.」

Anon sees this as an opening and passes this information to me.

「Thanks, Anon.」

This gives me one more option.

「You’re welcome.」

Using Autobahn for partial acceleration of my feet and brain—stretching my thoughts, I kick off the ground at maximum speed.
I approach at a speed he can’t react to and instantly move behind him.

「I see now.」

When I try touching the armor called Reject Heart, as expected, I can touch it—but only for an instant before some force activates and repels my hand.

「You… how dare you underestimate me.」

The Unknown glares at me and grits his teeth as I once again put distance between us. The Reject Heart reacted several split seconds after the Unknown noticed I was touching his armor.

「Autostrada del Sole.」

I’ve already finished the incantation. I don’t bother responding to his words.
Transitioning to the speed-of-light world, I repeat my previous move. In one leap, I reach his left rear side and deliver a straightforward punch.

「BUUAAAAAAHHH!!」

It connected, as expected. A super-high-speed strike from a complete blind spot.
The Unknown flies back with tremendous force, like someone hit by a missile in a Hollywood movie, slams spread-eagle against one of the surfaces making up the space, and slides down to the ground.

「If I keep repeating this, I can defeat him.」

Whether he heard my muttering or not, the fallen Unknown abruptly raises his head.

「N-no, no, no, y-you’d better not harm me any further!! If you kill me, the Lionel Empire won’t stay silent!!」

Huh… is it okay to just name the country like that? Isn’t this guy dangerous?
When I glance at Anon, our eyes meet as if thinking the same thing. She furrows her brow and shrugs.

「We already had this conversation. I told you it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from.」

「I-I am the eleventh prince of the Lionel Empire—Norald, inheritor of the blue blood of the most noble Emperor of Lionel!!」

Seriously, he’s revealing his identity…?
As I recoil in disgust and look at Anon again, she’s holding her forehead as if to say 「Oh boy.」

「Ichiro, it doesn’t matter who he is. As long as we neutralize him and take him back, the higher-ups will handle the negotiations.」

At Anon’s statement, Norald’s face turns pale.

「W-wait, wait, I’m a prince…!?」

「So what?」

「I get it! I get it! I understand your scheme!」

「Huh?」

「What you want is money, right? You’re acting tough to squeeze money out of me, right? I understand now!! How much are you getting for this job?! Fifty platinum coins? Even at most, it can’t be more than a hundred!! Then I’ll pay double that amount—two hundred platinum coins!! So let me go!! That’s right!! Serve me from now on!! If you do, I’ll give you whatever you desire!!」

Both Anon and I listen silently, but

「That’s unbearable to hear.」

My honest opinion slips out.
This guy is definitely the type I hate.
Sitting comfortably on his cheat abilities, doing whatever he wants, and when he finds himself in a tight spot, he suddenly brings up his title to threaten people, and if that doesn’t work, he dangles money to beg for his life. His pathetic figure even reminds me of someone else.

「Don’t worry, you won’t die.」

I activate Autostrada del Sole again—make contact with him, and first pop off his helmet! Then his gauntlets! His shoulder guards! Pop! Pop-pop-pop! Pop-pop! I continue stripping off his equipment. All this happens in the instant before the attack detection triggers.

「That should do it.」

As I finish the job and clap my hands, the flow of time returns to normal—

「Wh-WHAAAAAT!! Why!! Why is this happening!?」

There stands Norald (Prince of the Lionel Empire) in the embarrassing state of wearing only his underwear. He twists his body in shame, desperately trying to cover his exposed parts with both hands.

「Be grateful I’m going easy on you—」

My barrage of punches stabs into the defenseless Norald one after another.
Stomach, chest, liver, shoulder, face, face, face, face, face, face—each one with definite impact, and

「GUBUUOOEEEEEE!!」

Norald, in just his underwear, flies through the air while shedding a flood of tears. As he loses consciousness and twitches, I quickly restrain him with light magic, then

「We did it.」

I give Anon a thumbs-up.

「We sure did!」

Anon returns the gesture with her own thumbs-up.



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