'Eh?' Aryl sounded confused at my suggestion as she stared at me with a dumbfounded look for a while.
"I've gotten a bit fed up, so I'm thinking of crushing all these annoying stuff at once."
She slowly nodded at that. With her mouth still agape.
On the opposite side, the man called Eltros turned ghastly pale.
We put away the goods and the stall. She had a worried look on her face directed at me all the while, but we worked silently until the end.
I only told Eltros 'Don't even think of running, yeah?', yet that was enough to make him rooted to his spot.
(Is my power something [That shouldn't exist] in this world? People will go after my life if this becomes public...)
That anxiety convinced me to just crush all seeds of trouble. First thing first, I'm gonna root out the syndicate this man is affiliated to.
Fortunately, I bear the power to make that a reality. Though it's ironic that this power also brought about this situation.
The reason why I could so calmly adopt such an extreme line of thinking is because the me at this time has [Snapped].
And once we were done cleaning up, I saw Aryl off at the main street, together with Eltros. Of course we stayed silent all the way there.
I've set my goal on a [Peaceful Life]. A dream of slow life reminiscing the good old days.
Yet I'm completely clueless on how to even begin.
Working as Aryl's bodyguard is like asking for constant trouble in the future.
I'd prefer to have a job with no human contact. Is there even a job that can be done alone?
I've only been Aryl's bodyguard for two short days, but I plan to give her my resignation notice once this is all over.
If I want to lead a solitary life by myself, bodyguard isn't it.
I walked around the backstreet looking for cafe-like establishments and couldn't find one, so I just picked some random seemingly right one and went inside. It's got a signboard with a liquor-looking drawing.
I brought Eltros inside. By the way, the man had been walking funny all the while, probably from shivering.
Lots of customers here and there inside even though it's still noontime. All men, looking like thugs and mafias.
I passed by these men and picked the innermost table. And began my negotiation with Eltros.
"Have a seat and then we'll talk. Your survival is guaranteed as long as you follow what I'm about to tell you."
My tension has reached its apex creating a [Character] in my mind which I act out as.
It's gonna be a pain if I don't see this through. I'm not like this ordinarily.
If that side resurfaces midway through, this might end half assed, making things more complicated than needed.
A stern looking old man, probably the clerk, came to our table and asked for our order.
I replied curtly, 'Two boozes'. And threw a silver coin to the old man, telling him 'For the bill.'
He left despite putting on a dubious look before quickly returning with two glasses of golden translucent liquid with foams on top. The exact same as that one beverage in my past life.
(Beer? Well I'll let that slide. Now's not the time.)
By the way, I only found out later that this booze only costs one copper coin a glass, but since I couldn't be bothered to rummage through my wallet then, that was me saying, 'No need for change'. I got some extra allowances on my way to this city, so some additional expense doesn't hurt. Easy come easy go.
Eltros seemed to have collected his thought while I was thinking, he opened his mouth.
A weak yet clear voice.
"...What ...is your wish?"
To Eltros, my demands must look like a very tight walking rope. Yet I actually need him alive if I want to get close to his syndicate's root. Even if this negotiation is nothing more than a one sided threat with me holding an overwhelming power.
"Get me to your big boss. Right now. You be my guide."
"What... wil you do..."
I glared hard at him and put on a 'know your place' face before I speak.
Making sure to fully get in the character.
"You can't? Then, die."
I said that as coldly as I could while pretending to get ready to stand up. A reply swiftly appeared. With a trembling voice.
"I can. Please allow me to."
Cleared the first stage. I spoke the truth anyway, I'd have used this guy to get to their base one way or another even if he wasn't cooperative.
Well even if he refused, I wasn't planning to kill him. I'm not eager to create another scene as disastrous as that, so I was gonna stop at threats.
(The issue is how to deal with the aftermath after crushing them.)
My [Power] is the rough foundation. Things will go fine, it's probably gonna turn out all right, such optimism. I've half resigned myself to it.
After all I've got a bit of my personality mixed in, so this should be the proper course of action for a power this great.
Nevertheless, I'm not stupid enough to think that everything will just go fine and dandy if I simply eliminate all members of this crime syndicate.
I gulped down the booze at once to change course and get myself adapt to [Just Charge] mindset needed now.
It has an unexpected fruity taste to it, easy to swallow. Guess it being a bit too light is unavoidable though.
I gave a warning Eltros who had no idea what I was thinking.
"Don't even try to escape you hear? Think your life as no more if you did. Be quiet and go along with me."
His back leaped up with that warning.
As I didn't care to hear his response, I stood up.
That was when I realized. Nobody else is sitting in the tables around us.
The clerk must have cleared it away. Not like our chat was something that needed so much secrecy though, he must have taken that silver coin as that kinda signal.
Eltros stood up one beat after me. After making sure of that, I gave the word to depart.
"You're the lead. Get me to your boss."