"Tch…well, I tried to play nice with you, Mizuki. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to hurt you now. You see, we want Nina in our party, and I always get the talent that I want. It's how you stay on top around here. So, if I told you that I could beat you senseless right here, or you could convince Nina to join our party, which would you choose?" (Kent)
Hmm…this is tough. If he's only willing to rough me up, that's bad, but I can't justify killing him. I also can't just overpower them and leave witnesses. I'll have to run away if he's only willing to rough me up. Then, I can handicap them in a surprise attack later, so they'll assume that Nina did it after I told her. She'll have an alibi at the inn to protect her, and the secret of my strength will be safe.
As I'm thinking over how to respond, one of the goons interjects.
"Boss, should we really risk him mentioning this to his girlfriend? She could be a problem. Wouldn't it be better to just kill him like that…" (goon 1)
Before the goon can finish, Kent cuts him off abruptly.
"Shut up you idiot!" (Kent)
Ahh…so they've done something similar before, and they were willing to kill. Even if they wouldn't do it to me, that's all the justification I needed. I can drop my façade, too.
A smile spreads across my face, and I start laughing out loud. I smirk and direct my gaze at the interjecting goon.
"Hahahaha…oh man, thanks for the slip up, dumbass. So, you've killed before to get what you wanted, huh? In that case, I can kill you without any regrets. Here I was wondering what to do if you were only willing to rough me up a bit, but you've made things easy for me now." (Mizuki)
The goon looks shocked, and then angry. Kent, however, looks shocked, but then his eyes narrow suspiciously. He seems to get a bit more on edge.
Good instincts, Kent, but they won't save you.
"Hey, what the hell did you say to me you little brat!? Are you stupid, or just trying to bluff? We are an A-ranked party, and Kent there is the strongest guy in Elmesia. We already know about you, you G-rank magicless loser." (goon 1)
I ignore the goons and talk to Kent.
"Well, well…Kent, I must say that I'm impressed. You're a little smarter than your lackies, huh? You don't seem certain that I'm dumb or bluffing, do you?" (Mizuki)
Keith eyes me carefully.
"What's this about, Mizuki? Are you a guild agent or something? Even then, you'd be stupid to face me alone, much less all three of us." (Kent)
I smirk at him and chuckle once more. I'm really going to feel better when this piece of trash is gone.
"Oh, don't worry, Kent. I plan to answer every question you ask tonight. However, you should know that there is nothing you can say or do that will change my mind…you'll all be dying here tonight. So, shall we get started?" (Mizuki)
I teleport all three of us into Nina's clearing…I don't want evidence close to town. Noticing the change in scenery, the three of them look around in bewilderment.
Kent is the first to act – after muttering a quick incantation, he pulls out his broadsword and launches at me with breakneck speed. So, he must be alteration class.
I add a mild time slow spell, and I watch as he tries to hit me with an overhead slash. I grab it with my bare hand, then smile at him around the blade. His eyes go wide in shock.
"My, my, is this the best you can do? Don't worry, I'm in a hurry so I'll be making this as quick and painless as possible. Even though that might be more than you deserve." (Mizuki)
I slam him to the ground with his weapon, then apply a gravity spell on him and his two goons that pins them to the ground. I walk over to the first goon.
I pull out my katana, and I stick it through the back of his neck, near his brainstem. One down. Kent screams out at me from his vantage point. However, I ignore him and repeat the process with the second goon. Two down. Mostly painless, I hope.
"Sorry to freak you out, Kent, but I'm about to destroy their bodies and equipment. Say a prayer or whatever now if you want." (Mizuki)
Kent does not say a prayer for them…very inconsiderate in my opinion. Although, I guess they don't really have religion here.
"GAAHHHHH! Screw you!" (Kent)
I focus on the second goon's body, and I imagine a variation of my gold-making spell. I will all his body and equipment to turn into oxygen for the atmosphere. After a moment, his body starts to disappear, and a huge rush of air begins blasting the area. After a few more moments, there's nothing left. Keith seems confused.
"What the hell did you do!? What are you, some kind of monster!?" (Kent)
"Ah, yes, I did promise to answer your questions, didn't I? Very well. I'm human, believe it or not. I'm just from a different world, and I happen to be very strong. That's it…nothing more, nothing less. As for what I did, I turned their bodies into air, like what you breathe. I figured they'd at least be useful this way, as a kind of penance." (Mizuki)
As I answer his questions I walk over and repeat the disposal process on the first goon. After it's over, I turn to Kent again.
"Alright, you can ask one more question if you want. I promised Nina something soon, so I can't hang around much longer." (Mizuki)
I release the gravity spell on Kent, and he climbs up slowly. It looks like he's pretty hurt. Maybe I had the gravity too intense.
"DAMN IT! I'm going to kill you now, you worthless little twerp!" (Kent)
He's staring at me, and his eyes are burning with hatred. I sigh deeply. That's not a question Kent, what a waste.
Before Kent can move, I teleport behind him and stick my katana through the back of his neck, then kick his body back to the ground. I wipe my blade on his clothes and sheathe it, then I dispose of Kent's body and equipment the same way as the other two.
I look around at the scene. There are a few bloodstains left, but this location is isolated, and it's not like this world has DNA testing. There should be no risk of me being implicated. As far as everyone is concerned, I'm just a weakling after all.
I smile sadly at the turn of events, but I'm not too bothered, honestly. What does that make me?
They were trash and it probably needed to be done, sure, but I didn't flinch at all with the actual killing, even though it was my first time. After a few minutes of reflection, I shrug at the night air, then I teleport back to the inn room where Nina is.