BXBX NOVEL Chapter 220 A Vain Attempt
"Is this bastard promoting the fact that he is hunting us—or you, to be exact?" Millonia comments. "What is he expecting? People giving him money?"
"He might be one of the most prominent figures among Bounty Hunters. It can mean that no one but him should hunt the Arsonist," Lunea theorizes.
"To be fair, we are not worth that much as the Arsonist's accomplices. I mean, 2,000 Gold is way less mouthwatering than 200,000 Gold," Winerva adds her two cents in. "No one, I am sure, hesitates to abandon the Arsonist for the Shadow."
Shadow is the nickname Nobles gave me for my other "persona." I jokingly called myself this before, unaware that it had become my official nickname.
After discussing among themselves, the girls finally turned to me. "What do you think about this, Layland?" they ask in unison.
"I think…" I gesture at the rapidly approaching carriage. "Lunea should assume her role as the damsel in distress."
"Are we still going with that plan? What if the Bounty Hunter knows if Lunea has been exiled?" Millonia reasons.
"My hand is way faster than his sword can ever be—worry not," I answer.
"Well, aren't you cocky?"
After looking at Millonia and me back and forth, Lunea gets out of our hiding spot and rushes to the point that the carriage will eventually pass; she has no hesitation in her step. This time we have decided to merely watch from afar, so we don't enter her shadow.
The carriage passes by not long after. Seeing that a beautiful girl is in distress, whoever is inside of it ultimately tells the driver to stop. Lunea comes up to the door of the carriage and patiently waits for the person to come out with a worried face. She genuinely looks like someone who is about to lose her friend.
When the carriage door is opened, the person inside comes out. Clad in dashing, silvery armor from head to toe, it is hard to tell his true gender. The armor's shape makes his figure look like it belongs to a woman and a man at the same time. His move, however, suggests he is a male.
Thud!
"What concerns you, milady?" he asks with a voice that sounds so uncharacteristic that it can either belong to a woman or a man.
"Ah…my fortune has run out! My friend—my friend…he is in a perilous situation!" Lunea responds, splendidly showcasing her sorrowful façade.
"Calm down, milady. Please, let me hear the situation first."
"There is a Monster underneath this sand. We thought it was but a quicksand when we were trapped; however, when we used Magic to escape it, we saw IT. The worm-like, hideous Monster! It is trying to eat my friend while making quicksand here and there!"
Lunea's explanation makes barely any sense but that is typical for someone who has just had a traumatizing experience, so the full-armored bastard doesn't think it is odd. He nods at every word Lunea utters, taking all of them seriously.
Still, despite how smooth-sailing everything is, it doesn't matter. The bastard doesn't even know who Lunea is, so I can safely say he is but a newbie Bounty Hunter.
Honestly, I want to stop everything and move on but I am kind of curious about how much Lunea has improved; thus, I keep watching. She finished her agonizing story soon after, prompting the full-armored bastard to hum as he considers.
"I have heard the situation and I think it is better to say the truth, milady," he says, surprising Lunea, making me quirk my eyebrow.
"Did my story lack some truth to you?" Lunea asks, bewildered.
"That is not what I meant, milady. I am sure it must have been the case before but I think that is no longer the problem you are currently facing. Tell me, milady, who forced you to do this? Someone must have been holding hostage, am I right?"
"…."
"As I expected."
Here I am thinking that Lunea's acting is impeccable; it turns out it is not good enough to fool the full-armored bastard. He is very keen on human behavior—so keen that he can see through Lunea's acting.
"Please…help me…"
"Don't worry, milady. I will."
Even though he managed to see through Lunea's acting, he has come to a wrong conclusion. He sees a different thing from what I want him to see but he still treads the path that I want him to tread. There it goes his attempt to see through a layer of deceit. What a vain attempt.
"Gabby, get out of the carriage. We'll go to the site on foot."
"Tsk. You don't have to help everyone that needs help, you know? That is not our job! We are not playing Heroes, are we?"
The full-armored bastard has a companion—another full-armored bastard. I will call this companion alternate full-armored bastard or AFB, for short. AFB doesn't seem to like Heroes that much. From his tone, I am even inclined to believe that he hates them.
He has a completely different worldview from the original full-armored bastard or OFB, for short, but they get along well, just like Millonia and I. If Millonia and I both like violence, the two both like helping people.
Unfortunately for them, this day will be the day they regret ever being kind.
"They are moving. Let's wait for them at the spot we have prepared."
The girls immediately follow me as soon as I dash to the place that is surrounded by tall dunes nearby—the place that will be the resting place of the full-armored bastard duo. We hide as soon as we arrive there and then wait for Lunea and our targets to come.
"Is there a need to kill these two?" Millonia asks softly; she is standing beside me hiding in the same spot.
"I am just curious."
"I thought you didn't want to waste your time killing nobodies."
"Well…let's just say I have a feeling that these two will surprise me," I say cryptically, making Millonia tilt her head in bewilderment.
"I wish the day when I get you will come."
"Are hoping to be my wife?"
A scoff is what I get from Millonia. Being more sensitive toward emotion now, I can tell she is amused by my words but doesn't find the idea repulsive. I am slightly surprised by this. I thought Millonia was incapable of developing such a feeling toward me.
'Well, my ego has certainly inflated, hasn't it?' Shaking my head faintly, I forget the silly line of thoughts immediately.
"Is this the place, milady?"
"Yes…"
"Hm…this is not an entirely hidden place but I guess it doesn't matter because of where we are."
The full-armored bastard duo and Lunea have arrived at the place. AFB has a quite commendable spatial awareness—she immediately realizes that the Ziehara desert is the best place to commit murder.
Along with Lunea, they look around carefully. They are looking for us but for a different reason.
Deciding to reveal myself, I jump down the dune where I have been hiding behind. None of them detects my presence until my feet make a light thud upon touching the ground.
They turn around to me swiftly in alarm. As the full-armored bastard duo recoil in horror, Lunea, much to my amusement, runs at me and then hides behind me.
"Millonia and Winerva are behind the dune on the north," I whisper.
"Ah, okay."
"Then, why are you still here?"
"He-He-He…" Lunea laughs but doesn't give any definite answer.
"Ah, I see. So, that is the case," a cold voice comes out of OFB's mouth. "You have been targeting us since the beginning. That girl is your accomplice."
In response to that, I tilt my head lightly. "Do I have to applaud you for your deduction?"
"I have told you, haven't I? You don't need to help everyone in need of help," AFB says and then sighs exasperatedly. "We already got the Arsonist to make an enemy with—one is too many."
"Say, masked man. Are you targeting us because you are also hunting for the Arsonist or because you are just a bandit?"
At the question, I can't help quirking an eyebrow in amusement. Despite being highly enthusiastic about hunting the Arsonist, none of them seems to know whom they should chase after.
"The reason is that you are targeting me. It is a fair game, no?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" AFB retorts.
I can't see what expression OFB is making but I am sure she has already grasped the situation. "Gabby, prepare to engage in battle! This is the villain we are looking for!"
Both of them are composed despite the situation they find themselves in. They don't look that experienced, though, so I am sure their confidence comes from the rather unusual power they are gifted with.
Swish!
AFB is the first one to attack; he kicks the ground powerfully, sending himself toward me like a bullet. The moment he appears before me, he thrusts his rapier twenty-three times in a single second. I couldn't dodge the thrusts but my Barrier splendidly block them for me.
"Strong!" probably expecting something to happen to me, AFB mutters in surprise.
Just as I am about to kick AFB in the solar plexus, he retreats as fast as the wind. OFB is already a few feet before me; his glaive is menacingly cutting the air, heading toward my neck.
I stand still and let the glaive hit my neck.
Clank!
OFB froze in terror as he sees that my neck has completely stopped his glaive. At this point, he should have understood that any sort of struggle they make is but a vain attempt.