Chapter 156

* * * * *
Bobobo and the members of the Twin Axe Guild were still waiting for the Smith Guild members to come out in front of the Imperial Palace entrance.
“These guys are really not coming out.”
“What do you want me to do?”
However, perhaps because of the multiple kills, the Smith guild members didn’t come out quickly, and the guild members who were growing tired of waiting asked Bobobo.
‘Should we pull out? No, not yet…’
Bobobo was getting a little tired of waiting. Bobobo debated for a moment whether to pull out or keep waiting.
That was the moment.
“Huh?”
Smith Guild members began to emerge from the imperial palace, but Bobo Bo couldn’t help but frown at the sight of them.
“One, two… Six?”
Unlike before, I wasn’t alone. There were six of us.
“I think they’re all out, but if they’re like that… We can’t catch them because of the number of criminals…”
Necton, beside Bobobo, said as he watched the Smith Guild members exit the palace and walk toward the exchange.
“I saw that, you used your brain, hmmm.”
In response to Necton’s words, Bobobo seemed to think for a moment, then smiled and looked at Necton and the rest of the guild.
“Let’s go.”
“…?”
“…?”
Nekton and his guildmates looked puzzled at Bobobo’s words. Seeing their reactions, Bobobo began to walk away.
“You can’t kill all of them, not all of them, ha ha.”
* * * * *
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
“Let’s go, go, go!”
Heimer’s words were answered by members of Smith’s Guild, including Leto.
“Let’s go then!”
“Gogoshing!”
With that, Heimer and the Smith Guild members exited the forge and began walking toward the Exchange.
“But what happened to your quest?”
“I think I can finish it in about three more days.”
“Great, in three days I’ll be free of this anxiety!”
“Oh, right. I heard you got a promotion quest too, Benek?”
“Yes! Hehe. I can’t wait to be a licensed blacksmith.”
As they talked, they soon found themselves at the entrance to the Imperial Palace. When Leto stepped out of the entrance and looked around, he recognized the guild that had killed them, and quietly cried out.
“There they are, waiting in the wings.”
“You look a little flustered, don’t you?”
“I guess they didn’t expect us to come out in groups, huh.”
“I wish you’d just back off.”
“I agree.”
Conversing, they continued to walk toward the exchange. However, Leto, who had been keeping an eye on the Twin Axes Guild just in case, approached Heimer, who was walking ahead of them.
“Mr. Heimer, they’re following us?”
“What? They’re following you?”
Heimer flinched slightly at Leto’s words and looked behind him. As Leto had said, Bobobo and the Twin Axes Guild were following behind them. Heimer thought to himself as he watched them follow.
“Are you saying you’re going to ignore the numbers of criminals and kill them?
There were only six users. If you kill all six of them, your criminal count will be very high. You can’t even go to the temple to reset. Instead of resetting, it will rise to the point where you will be caught in the temple.
“No way!
As Heimer pondered what he was being followed for, a thought occurred to him and he spoke up in a quiet voice.
“I think we should go a little faster.”
“…Yes?”
“Why?”
Heimer’s words were met with a look of disbelief from the guild members as they walked by, and then Heimer continued in a quieter voice, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
“They’re following us.”
The guild members quickly looked over at Heimer, and with a slightly embarrassed look on their faces, they said to him, “You’re right.
“B-but we’re at a party, right?”
“They can’t just kill us, can they? Six of us would be a lot of criminals.”
“You’re right, if I’d tried to kill him… I would have killed him a long time ago.”
Heimer let out a short sigh at the guild members’ words.
“Hmmm… yeah, if they kill all of us, their criminal numbers will go way up, but what if they only kill some of us?”
“…!”
“…!”
Heimer’s words startled the guild members.
“Plus… If they split up the party and attack you one by one, there’s no answer, because even if it’s the same guild, if they’re not in the same party or within a certain range, the offender count doesn’t go up.”
“Ugh. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Let’s go.”
The guild members realized the gravity of the situation and began to walk quickly, but as they did so, the Bobobo and Twin Axe guilds picked up their pace and began to follow.
“It’s almost here, let’s run!”
Heimer shouted as the Bobobo and Twin Axe Guild members quickly approached. At his words, the guild members began to run toward the exchange. It was then.
Whirrrrr!
He heard something flying behind him. Hearing the sound, Heimer turned to see what was flying.
“You crazy people!
It was an axe that came flying.
Puck!
The axe struck Leto, who was running up from behind, and a message appeared, alerting the Smith’s Guild members, including Heimer, that hostilities had begun. With nothing to stop them, Heimer and the blacksmiths attempted to flee, but the axe’s impact slowed Leto dramatically.
“Dump me!”
Leto shouted. If they abandoned him, the rest of them would be able to make it to the exchange unharmed, but Heimer and his guildmates didn’t go and surrounded him, shielding him from further attacks. As expected, Heimer and his guildmates’ physical barrier prevented Bobobo and the Twin Axe Guild from attacking.
Jumbled
Of course, he didn’t attack, but quickly closed the distance.
“Ha-ha-ha, where are you in such a hurry?”
“How long is this going to be like this?”
Heimer frowned at Bobobo’s words. Bobobo smiled at Heimer’s words.
“Why don’t you answer our suggestions first!”
Heimer thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak.
“All I have to do is sell the public map… and this situation is solved?”
Bobobo, who hadn’t expected such a response from Heimer, winced slightly.
“Alas, now that I think about it, no, we’ve spent too much money and time on the meritocracy, maybe we should change our previous offer slightly?”
After hearing Bobobo’s words, Heimer was convinced.
‘You assholes. This isn’t about merit.’
As Leto said, their purpose was not public service; it was unclear why they were acting this way, but it was likely because they were blacksmiths.
“What to do…
Heimer wondered what to do about the situation. That’s when it hit him.
“Uh, Mr. Heimer, there’s a ranger! There’s a ranger!”
Leto shouted. Hearing Leto’s shout, Heimer quickly looked in the direction Leto had pointed. A patrol was coming from the distance. Heimer smiled at the ranger, then turned back to look at Bobobo. Bobobo saw the ranger and frowned. Then he turned to Heimer and said
“I’ll see you later. I’ll see you later. You’d better look forward to it.”
Bobobo said with an eerie smile. Then he and his guildmates slipped away from the patrol.
“Ha ha. What kind of game do you play that makes my heart skip a beat?”
“Yeah, I’m a little scared to meet assholes like that in real life.”
“I don’t get it, and I don’t think it’s for merit…don’t you have time?”
As BoboBobo and the Twin Axe Guild members disappeared, the Heimer and Smith Guild members breathed a sigh of relief.
“Come on, let’s stop by the exchange, then back to the forge.”
Hearing Heimer’s words, the Smith Guild members quickly began walking to the exchange. As Heimer walked to the exchange, he looked to where Bobobo had disappeared, and gritted his teeth.
“See you in three days, assholes.
* * * * *
Arriving at the imperial treasure house, Ming Hu was immediately escorted inside by a wizard.
“Hmph.”
As he followed the path underground, Ming Hu smiled wryly as he remembered the ones he had seen in the guitar warehouse.
“Let’s go!”
After a while, Ming Hu reached the end of the street and looked at the entrances to the weapons, armor, and trinket warehouses before walking to the guitar warehouse. Arriving in front of the Guitar Warehouse, Ming Hu walked into the warehouse, still smiling.
Sigh
Once inside, Ming Hu looked around. The other storerooms were filled with countless jewelry, magic scrolls, and recipes. These were all fascinating enough, but they weren’t what made Ming Hu smile.
Jumbled
Ming Hu walked boldly inward. The deeper he went, the more luxurious the items on display became. But Ming Hu didn’t even glance at the increasingly luxurious items; he just kept walking.
Jab!
Soon, Ming Hu reached his destination and stopped in front of a firmly closed door. Ming Hu opened the door with a smile and stepped inside.
“…”
Once inside, Ming Hu looked around and smiled wordlessly. The space was quite large. Five kinds of items were densely arranged in a fairly large space. No, they were stacked rather than displayed. Ming Hu picked up one of the stacked items and checked its information.
[Not Tradable]
Limitations: None
Permanently +10 Strength when taken
Merit required: 10000