kscans

Chapter 261 - I Have No Time for Fools.

The sudden appearance of the Mantis sent the spectators scrambling in a state of confusion.

…Drawn by the commotion, a group of men in black suits burst into the room. They opened fire with pistols and machine guns, but even when the bullets hit the Mantis, they left no mark. The machine gun fire managed to slow its advance for a moment, but the creature simply walked on, unconcerned.

Realizing their guns were useless, the men in black abandoned them and began guiding the spectators to safety. It was the correct decision.

Tina, who had been watching, turned toward the Mantis.

"…Wind Shot!"

She unleashed a bullet of air.

…It struck the Mantis head-on, slamming it into the wall.

The evacuating crowd stopped in their tracks, stunned by Tina’s attack.

…It looked like she had produced a blast of wind from her hands. But its power was enough to send that giant insect flying. A wind pressure—no, a wind speed of twenty-five to thirty meters per second, the equivalent of a car on a highway—would be needed to do that.

…And that’s just to send a person flying several meters.

But that insect weighed far more than a human. To launch it into a wall would require even greater force.

And she had unleashed it in an instant.

A young researcher muttered in a daze.

"…Is that the power of the other world? Honestly, I couldn’t believe it, but…seeing it in person, I have no choice but to accept it."

…By the time I arrived, the Mantis was embedded in the wall.

From the looks of it, Tina must have been the one to do it. There was no other explanation.

I said, "You’re okay… right? Sorry about this. All because of these people’s selfishness."

I walked over to her.

Tina replied, "…Don’t worry about it. People like them exist back in our world, too. I’d wear myself out if I got worked up over every single one."

She sounded completely unbothered.

As we were talking, the Mantis freed itself from the wall and glared at us. It still had the will to fight.

I declared, "Thunderclap Incarnation."

I enhanced my body.

…Moving at a speed the eye couldn’t follow, I closed the distance to the Mantis. I slammed my fist into its left flank.

The Mantis couldn’t react and was sent flying.

I knocked it back into its original room, then entered through the broken window.

…The Mantis was trying to get down from the wall and regain its footing. But I wouldn’t give it the chance. I struck the Mantis again, moving it to the center of the room. I placed my hands on the floor and used my ‘Matter Conversion’ skill to create countless iron whips that formed a large birdcage.

Of course, I made its properties the same as Mithril.

The Mantis was successfully captured. …It tried to slash its way out with its scythes, but the cage didn’t even budge.

The incident was over.

As I took a breath, Kuroda, who had entered the room at some point with his escorts, approached me.

"…Thank you very much. Thanks to you, we managed to avoid a disaster."

He expressed his gratitude.

I said, "…Building a cage with high-voltage currents is a good idea, but don’t you think this was a bit reckless?"

To this, Kuroda replied, "…You are absolutely right. I was originally supposed to just buy the Mithril, but… those men mocked me, saying, ‘You really expect us to believe in a fairytale like Mithril?’ …So I decided to show them reality."

For some reason, he looked quite refreshed.

…It was true that Mithril was a fictional ore created by an old novelist.

People might believe in Orichalcum, since it was said to have existed in ancient Greece, but Mithril did not. Scholars and their associates, paragons of realism, would never believe in such a thing. They probably thought the Mantis was some creature artificially created by a researcher somewhere.

That’s how rigid their thinking was.

I asked, "…So? Are you going to buy the Mithril?"

To this, Kuroda replied, "…Of course. If possible, I’d like you to turn not just this cage, but this entire research facility into Mithril. …And I’d also like to receive a sample."

He was asking for quite a lot.

…He must have seen my power and figured I could change the properties of matter. He was very observant.

Normally, I’d be happy to do it for free. But nothing is more expensive than a gift. Especially when dealing with a man from the underworld.

If I didn’t settle our debts properly, it could lead to trouble down the line.

I said, "…Let’s see. To turn the walls, floors, and ceiling of this entire research facility into Mithril, and provide samples on top of that… It would certainly be one hundred million yen."

I named an exorbitant price.

…The men in black remained expressionless, but Kuroda gasped. The price must have been too high.

But he probably also thought it was a fair price for a fantasy ore.

However, I continued, "…But this is a request from you, Mr. Kuroda, and you’ve helped me out. …Let’s settle on thirty million yen."

I had discounted it by seventy percent.

To this, Kuroda said, "…What? …This is more than I could have hoped for, but… to be honest, I thought one hundred million was a fair price. …It cost more than that just to build this research facility. Considering you’d be changing it to Mithril, I’d even say one hundred million is cheap."

I replied, "…Huh? …But didn’t you just make a sour face? I thought you found it too expensive."

Kuroda looked at me with an exasperated expression.

"…That’s because I was surprised that you, Kaikawa-san, would suggest a figure like one hundred million. I thought you weren’t very attached to money. I was expecting something around one million. …At which point I was planning to persuade you that it was too low."

I scratched my head.

…It seems he had read me like a book. As expected of Mr. Kuroda. However, I had no intention of changing my mind. I made that clear.

Kuroda said, "…I understand. I will gratefully accept your kindness, Kaikawa-san. …However, a word of advice. …You are not suited for negotiations."

He advised me.

He was probably right. I thought so myself.

After that, I changed the entire research facility into Mithril.

The researchers used their instruments to test it, and the results… revealed unknown values.

They were astounded that the material had changed and swarmed me, but I just said, "…I can only say it’s a skill from another world."

And that was the end of that conversation.

…They tried to ask for more details, but they were getting annoying, so I released a tiny bit of killing intent. The researchers felt it and backed away from me.

I can’t stand being pestered by people like them. Normally I would have just punched them, but I’d say I showed remarkable restraint.

After everything was finished, I rejoined Tina.

She looked somewhat tired as well. When I asked her about it, she explained, "…The young people who were there swarmed me. …They were so persistent that I froze their feet."

That was a refreshing story.

I looked over and saw them, unable to move, struggling and shouting something. I didn’t care.

Just as we were about to leave, Kuroda said, "…I’ll have a car prepared for you. …Actually, it’s already waiting at the entrance."

To this, I remarked, "…That was fast. Is it safe to say you’ve been monitoring our every move?"

Kuroda replied, "…Yes. …Well, knowing you two, I figured you’d want to leave right away. After all, you’ve shown so much of your power. You must have thought it would lead to trouble, and you were right. Those men demanded that I ‘secure you,’ but I refused. I don’t want to die just yet."

Tina said, "…I’m glad to hear that. Neither Shinsuke nor I want to kill you. We’d like to continue our good relationship."

Her words were merely superficial.

Kuroda seemed to understand, as he simply nodded.

We left the research facility.

Back at my house.

After we got out of the car, Kuroda said, "…I’ll transfer the payment to the usual bank. Now, if you’ll excuse me."

Kuroda departed.

Tina said, "…Well then, shall we get some sleep? I’m exhausted today."

I replied, "…Yeah, let’s do that. We might as well sleep here. …I haven’t slept in this new house at all."

I hadn’t lived here once since it was built.

It was a bit late to be realizing that. Just in case, I used `Detection` to scan the surroundings, but there was no reaction. It seemed we weren’t followed. …Without another word, we went to sleep.

The next morning.

I felt remarkably refreshed. We finished the canned food we had in storage and went straight to the other world.

We had to report on the recent incident.

In the other world.

The city of Alum.

The three from the General Store ‘Yuri’ were energetically running the shop.

When I told them that the Mantis incident went well, Milfy said, "…That’s a relief. …But are the people over there idiots? They didn’t understand what you explained, acted on their own, and then said whatever they pleased."

She was indignant.

The other two felt the same way.

I said, "…Well, that’s just how they are. …They don’t believe anything outside of their own beliefs. It’s best to just leave people like that alone."

I said it with a look of exasperation.

The three of them seemed to think, ‘I guess that’s true,’ and lost interest.

Tina asked, "…By the way, how is Leona? Is she still at it?"

To this, Matilda replied, "…No, it’s over. But the awkwardness hasn’t gone away."

For some reason, she looked exhausted.

I said, "It’s that bad, huh. Now I’m curious. …Shall we go check on them?"

Tina agreed.

…We headed to Bardos’s house. Leona appeared and let us inside.

Before we went in, she told us that Bardos had gone to the Guild. It seemed only Leona and a guest were here.

In the main room, a person was sitting silently in a chair. Their appearance seemed somewhat familiar.

Tina said, "…Are you…? Alumi-san? You were at the Empire’s border, weren’t you?"

To this, the woman, Alumi, replied, "…Hmm? Oh, you’re the A-rank adventurers from back then? …What are you doing here?"

We were all surprised.