另类小说亚洲古典校园

Sophie said in a cold voice.

“Gather everyone, quick”

Ayumi replied after looking through the window.

“Do you think it’s madame Bianca who’s coming to thank us for taking out Ryu’s tavern?”

Hiraku says after letting out a big yawn.

“Darling, don’t get offended but sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder why did I even marry you”

.....

Ayumi said with a scoff.

Veronika headed outside to ask their intentions by coming unannounced and in big numbers, but as soon as she set foot outside the men started walking towards her.

“I’ll take her first”

One of the men said while grinning. It wasn’t everyday he got to enjoy having a woman against her will, without paying at least, and just the thought was enough to arouse him. But before he could take a step, about ten women went out behind Veronika.

Every single one of them, except for Veronika, was young, but they were all pretty and well dressed.

The band quickly broke formation and ran out towards the girls with a mix of excitement and malevolence, but the one in front of them received an arrow to the chest.

Hiraku was upstairs, in a vantage position, with the bow Ryu made for him. He hadn’t had many chances to practice archery, since he only had one bow and Ryu warned him that it’d eventually break, but he did practice his aiming skill, along with night vision.

Hiraku’s arrows made a whistling sound and not a single one missed its mark, but they were wearing studded leather armor made from wolf pelts, making it difficult to end them in a single shot.

It wasn’t something they hadn’t predicted, which is why every single one of the slaves was wielding spears, except for Sophie who was completely useless with a weapon.

They had chosen spears because they were able to cause blunt, piercing and slashing damage depending on how they were used. It was also one of Ryu’s ideas back at the settlement, and it proved to be a game changer. The main reason was that since spears had a long range, the armed men couldn’t reach the girls without risking getting hurt, they weren’t trained soldiers nor did they have any loyalty towards madame Bianca nor Thomas. All they cared was about the money, and money was completely useless if they died.

No one wanted to get hurt and they used each other as human shields, pushing each other into the girls formation making the ones who got stabbed scream in pain.

When they got tired of trying to push their way inside the house, they took a little distance.

“Look for a back entrance”

Thomas ordered to one closest to him.

From his point of view, they did a lot of damage to his men in the first attack, but now they were just sitting ducks. Hiraku was left without arrows and the girls didn’t know how to fight properly, all they did was form two rows and place the spears so the men couldn’t pass without getting hurt.

It was, indeed, a great strategy. But if they found another way in it would send the girls into panic.

“There is a back entrance, and its open!”

The man said loudly after disappearing from Thomas view. A victory smile was about to be painted on his face when a bright light was seen behind the house.

“What was that!? did they have a trap!? someone go take a look”

But the men were too busy skirmishing against the girls, it looked like they were standing still, but actually they were busy prickling and poking at the men who got close. It wasn’t enough to hurt them seriously, but it was enough to make them wail and flinch. All they were doing was buying time.

It wasn’t until Ayumi turned around the corner and showed herself up in front of everyone that Thomas finally understood what had happened.

A petite woman, who they could’ve confused with a child if they didn’t know about her from before, walked fearlessly towards the men flanking them.

“Now!”

Ayumi yelled, and the girls retreated, at the same time Hiraku started throwing oil jars at them. They were of low quality and broke easily, but that was precisely the idea.

“What’s this? why are they wetting us with... uh oh”

The band dispersed immediately, leaving Thomas all by himself.

“What are you doing you bunch of cowards!? I’ll make sure madame Bianca’ hangs you all if you don’t come back right this instant”

Thomas shouted, but it was in vain, they didn’t even turn around.

Ayumi kept the pace, she did feel somewhat relieved that she didn’t have to become a mass murderer by killing twenty people at the same time, even risking burning her own house. But it wasn’t like they had a choice. Bob and Luke were supposed to be back as soon as the freeze was over, but they haven’t even sent a message. They were worried about them, but they couldn’t afford to go look for them, they had their hands full with madame Bianca’s schemes.

“Hello mister Thomas, I’ve heard a lot about you, would you like to grab a cup of tea?”

Ayumi said once she was in front of him. The contrast between her minute size and his bloated figure was a sight to behold. He didn’t know why, but she scared the crap out of him, but this was his last chance and he knew it.

Deep into his heart there was a hint of doubt, she looked like a child and despite being a selfish merchant who didn’t hesitate to make coin at the expense of other people’s suffering, he had always thought of himself as a good man. Every time he saw the consequences of his actions hitting innocent people he would comfort himself saying that he only did what others would have done in his place and that if the other person was in his shoes they wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to him. But hitting a child was too much, even if he knew that she wasn’t a child, he found his sword heavier than usual.

“You... how dare you attack us!?”

He said, trying to justify his actions in the eyes of a non existent audience.

“Wasn’t you who came uninvited? didn’t you bring armed men to our doors?”

“Shut up! I don’t have to listen to anything you say”

Thomas said thrusting his sword forwards with his shaking hands, but Ayumi dodged effortlessly. Over and over he tried to stab and slash at Ayumi, but she was a small target and too fast for his sloppy movements.

“I yield!”

She didn’t even have to land a hit, soon he was so tired that he dropped his sword on the ground gasping for air.

“Would you like that cup of tea now?”

Due to his big size he knew he couldn’t outrun them, as soon as he turned his back he was a dead man, but if he proved to be useful they might let him live to see a new day. He wasn’t as scared of madame Bianca now as he was scared of the petite girl in front of him.

Defeated, Thomas went inside the house ready to be tortured or worse. But what he found, instead, was that all the girls were into their everyday clothes without any weapon. They even greeted him as he passed.

Sophie was busy at the kitchen making tea and Hiraku was already sitting at the table nibbling on a cookie.

“Please, have a sit mister Thomas”

“Thank you mister Heraa... hee... thank you mister”

Ayumi sat besides her husband and Sophie poured a cup of tea for each one of them.

“So, care to explain what did just happened mister Thomas?”

Hiraku said leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table.

“It’s not what you think, please excuse my rude behavior from before, lady Bianca, no... it’s all Bianca’s fault, she made me do this”

“uh!?”

Ayumi exclaimed trying to do the same as her husband, but her small limbs barely reached the table making it look funny. Yet, Thomas didn’t dare to laugh at her.

“Then you can rest assured mister Thomas, no harm will come to you as long as you’re in our house. You’ll be our guest of honor, as long as you tell us everything you know from the start”

What followed after looked more like a friendly reunion among friends instead of an interrogation, even so, every question was answered. By the time they finished their conversation it was late already, and they invited their new guest to sleep in one of the many guest rooms they had available.

Once Thomas found himself free from his extremely nice interrogation, he could finally notice the many wonders that house had to offer. It had running water, beautiful furniture and, although it was decorated in a strange way, he could feel the coziness and warmth everything exuded, making him realize that he may have made a lot of bad decisions lately.

Everything he had done for madame Bianca amounted to nothing in her eyes, all he got in return were a couple of good deals and some special treatment at the brothel. His life was vain and he had no one that actually cared for him, suddenly the envy he felt for what he had seen, became sorrow.