Chapter 13 — Please Find Some Creative Ways to Make Them Hate You
Based on their appearances, they seemed to be nothing more than thugs. They walked with pronounced swaggers, as if to say their strength was all that mattered. Large and well-muscled, the group walking towards the city consisted of ten men who looked similar enough to be siblings. They were led by a woman so thin she looked like she might snap in two.
As they approached the city, she turned back to face the men.
“Since we have some new members this time, I’ll go over it again just in case,” she said in a slow, officious voice. “You, over there. What is our objective?”
“To make them hate us,” the new member said with a smirk. “We can do whatever we want as long as they hate us for it, right?”
“Yes. Lord Raiza will take full responsibility for all your actions. What you are doing is carrying out Lord Raiza’s will. In Lord Raiza’s name, all things you do will be forgiven. That said, please remember there are some limitations.”
“Limitations? You said we could do whatever we wanted!”
“Correct. You may do as you like, but there is an upper limit to how many people you may kill. Considering our objective, that should be obvious. In order for us to be hated, we need someone left alive to hate us. If you kill more than your allotment allows for, you will be severely punished, so please be careful.”
“What a pain in the ass.”
“Don’t be like that,” one of the veterans replied, trying to console the newcomer. “Once you get used to it, it’s nothin’. You can do whatever you want as long as you’re not killing ’em.”
“If you do kill, please avoid wiping out an entire family,” the woman continued. “If you kill the children, leave the parents. If you kill the parents, leave the children. Furthermore, we recommend you do such things in a way where you will clearly be seen so as to garner more hatred. Please find some creative ways to make them loathe you.”
“What about the women?” the newcomer asked, clearly outing his own intentions. “Is there a limit on them?”
“Not at all. Feel free to indulge yourself. Rather, we encourage you to produce as many children as you can. Although all of you ended up being failures despite possessing Lord Raiza’s genes, there is always a possibility that they will express themselves more strongly in the next generation. Please spread Lord Raiza’s genes as much as possible.”
“You calling us failures?!” one of the men shouted, insulted. He punched a nearby tree in anger, knocking it over easily. Although she had called them failures, they were still far stronger than any ordinary human.
“Relax. You’re gettin’ money just from screwing around a bit. And this is with the Sage’s permission. You think there’s any better job than that?”
“Money, huh? Speaking of which, can we take theirs?”
“Anything you can carry is fair game,” the woman answered.
“So that’s why you all have backpacks.” The new guy was carrying nothing, but everyone else had large bags on their backs.
“Make sure you get one for next time.”
“Our ultimate objective is to give birth to a suitable rival who will swear revenge on Lord Raiza. In order to accomplish that, the village will require resources, hence the limit on stealing.”
“Dammit! Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?!”
“Now then, I’m sure you won’t remember any complex instructions, so I’ll repeat the rules as simply as I can. One, each of you may kill a maximum of ten individuals. Two, you may only steal what you can carry. Three, anyone with a mark on the back of their neck is already reserved. They are strictly off limits.”
“What mark?” the newcomer asked.
“I handed out sticks for you to mark your prey. You may do so by pressing the sticks to the backs of their necks. Use them if you take a liking to anyone. It will continue to torment them over time, so it should function well for drawing further hatred from them.”
The newcomer looked again at the stick he had been handed, which was no bigger than a pencil. If someone they had marked was nearby, the stick would shake.
“Four,” the woman continued, “no setting fires. Five, when your time is up, you must withdraw immediately. I will blow the whistle after one hour. Please ensure you return to this gate within ten minutes of hearing the whistle. That is all. Please begin.”
The men immediately broke into a run towards the city, the woman following them at a more leisurely pace.
Tomochika, Yogiri, and Euphemia sat across from the waitress, a girl named Orie. One more staff member, Orie’s little brother, Darf, was leaning against a nearby wall, arms crossed. Judging from his appearance and the sword at his waist, he was some sort of bouncer.
“I don’t think anything has made me this angry since we got to this world.” Tomochika was furious about what they had been told was coming. They had come across all sorts of unsavory characters since their arrival, but this was on a whole other level. It was beyond inhuman.
“It is pretty disgusting,” Yogiri agreed with a frown.
“I thought the way they treated my kind was the worst, but it seems like the people here are trying to give us a run for our money,” Euphemia replied, similarly despondent.
While the half-demons were certainly treated terribly, they were essentially being used as tools. Their oppressors didn’t go out of their way to heap true contempt on them. But in this country, the people’s hearts and minds were being toyed with, wounding them with the sole purpose of eliciting hatred. There was no word to describe it besides “evil.”
“Raiza is trying to create enemies who will swear vengeance on him. That’s why even my father...” Orie trailed off.
There was no particular reason for their town to have been targeted. But now that it had been, the harassment would never stop. Even if they begged for aid, the ones responsible for their suffering were the ones in control, so there was nothing to be done. Their final option was rebellion, but that was exactly what Raiza was hoping for.
“I wouldn’t think a country that supports all this would be able to survive for long,” Tomochika observed. As time went on, the cities would be destroyed, and in the end, the country would follow suit.
“He doesn’t care if the kingdom is destroyed,” Darf spat.
“I’ve seen Raiza,” Orie mumbled. “There’s nothing we can do against him. All we can do is pray for a revenge we can never accomplish. Is there any hell worse than this?”
“Can’t you just run away?” Tomochika asked. She couldn’t figure out why anyone would stay in a place like this.
“It doesn’t matter where we run,” Orie said, showing the back of her neck, which bore two black lines. “With this, they know where I am no matter where I go. They’ll follow me anywhere just to torment me as much as possible.”
“What is wrong with this guy?! He’s doing all this just to look for someone who can defeat him?! That’s ridiculous!” Tomochika was having a difficult time keeping her anger in check. Survival of the fittest may have been the way of the world, but the strong should have been content to kick back and relax as they ruled over the weak. If they were so strong that they had no enemies, that should have been enough.
“If they’re that determined, what good does locking the doors do?” Yogiri asked bluntly.
“Hey, you could be a little more tactful, you know.”
“It won’t really help if they come here, but if they don’t see us, they may leave us alone,” Orie explained. “And if the door doesn’t open, they may look elsewhere...” In other words, they knew full well it was probably pointless, but even so, they grasped for that tiniest sliver of hope. “Please run away. You may still be able to make it out in time.”
But her suggestion came too late. Sounds of chaos had already begun outside, and it wasn’t long before someone approached the restaurant. He stopped in front of the door, and a moment later, it was blown off its hinges. The lock hadn’t so much as slowed him down.
Standing in the now empty doorframe was a large man. “Hey, it’s been a while!”
The moment he spoke, Darf leaped from his hiding spot and swung at the man. The attack blindsided him perfectly, the sword directly striking his head. But that was it. The blade didn’t so much as cut through a single strand of hair.
“You seem awfully energetic today,” the man sneered.
“Orie, run!” Darf shouted as the man grabbed his arm.
“Nooow then, what do I do with you? If that’s the best you’ve got, I’m in trouble. I need you to hate me even more. Wait, don’t point your hatred at me, actually. This is all on Lord Raiza’s orders, you know? If you want to complain, you’ll have to take it up with him.”
“Let my brother go!” Orie screamed as she shot to her feet. “You’re just here for me, right?!”
“What a beautiful sibling bond. But come on, you don’t hate us nearly enough if you’re willing to offer your body just to calm things down a bit. Or wait, maybe you’ve just been looking forward to another round?” The man gave a vulgar grin. “But now that I think about it, the little brother seems more likely to swear revenge, doesn’t he?” The man squeezed Darf’s arm, which gave a dull crack before Darf crumpled to the floor. The man then pressed a stick onto the back of the young man’s neck, where black lines began to appear. “Now sit tight right there and watch, little bro. You’re sister’s gonna put on a nice show for you.”
The man stepped closer. “Huh? I know it’s a weird thing to point out, but you actually have customers at a time like this? Heh, those two look a lot more fun, actually,” the thug said as he turned to Tomochika and Euphemia. His intentions were plain for everyone to see. “All right, then, let’s play a different game with big sis over here. If you don’t want your brother to die, eat all your fingers.”
“Wh-What?” Orie could only stare in shock. It took a moment for Tomochika to understand what the man had even said.
“Are you saying you can’t do it? And after your poor old pops did the same thing to keep you safe.”
“Not a chance!” Orie shouted back defiantly. “Why would I expect you to keep your promise anyway?!”
“Hey, I spared your life, didn’t I? I even gave him a grandkid. He’s probably chokin’ up with joy in the afterlife.”
Orie bit her lip. The man was doing exactly what he needed to do to make her furious. This is what his gang was doing all over town—all over the country.
“W-Will you really spare my brother if I do?”
“Who knows? That’s the plan, but if you keep wasting my time, there’s a chance I’ll change my mind.”
Orie looked down at her trembling fingers. Something so horrific couldn’t be done with an ordinary person’s level of resolve.
Tomochika stood up, taking Orie’s hands in her own. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it.”
“B-But...”
Tomochika turned to look at the man. She was furious. This guy messing with people’s heads, and the man named Raiza who was ordering it all to happen, were beyond forgiveness.
“Mokomoko, you said the time limit was thirty seconds, right? Can you do it now?”
Leave it to me.
Even a sword striking him dead-on hadn’t been able to so much as cut his hair. Such an unbelievable ability could have only been a result of the Gift. Which meant that Mokomoko could temporarily disable his powers.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be a pain in the ass. Just sit down.”
Go!
The chair that Tomochika had been sitting on flew towards the man’s face. And then the table flew at him, followed by a cup, a plate, and a pitcher of water. Everything in the restaurant began to hurtle through the air as she darted around the room.
This was a fundamental tactic of the Dannoura School of Archery. Tomochika Dannoura was fighting without holding anything back. The Dannoura family didn’t fight straightforward, direct battles. A one-sided fight from a distance was the norm. That was why they’d named their martial art “archery.” With a single touch, she could judge the center of gravity of the objects she was passing, and with a single finger, send them flying towards her target. In a place like this, filled with obstacles and objects, she was entirely in her element.
“Wh-What the hell?!”
The man immediately panicked, still reeling from having been struck by the chair. It was clear the attack had penetrated whatever defenses he had. He hadn’t even blinked when sliced at with a sword, but now his face was twisted in pain.
With his attention occupied by the constant stream of whirling objects, he quickly lost track of Tomochika herself. A moment later he cried out in pain again as, between blows from another cup and water pitcher, a sword punched through his back. The weapon that Darf had dropped earlier stabbed him from behind, but by the time the man had turned to face his assailant, Tomochika was already gone.
Standing directly in front of him, she delivered a kick straight into his groin, driving her toes upwards as if to mix his genitals with the rest of his internal organs. The man crumpled, pitching forward, where he was met with Tomochika’s palms striking him as she stomped down, using the same technique that Romiko Jougasaki had used when she’d stolen Mokomoko’s powers. The man was blown backwards, crashing hard into the wall, unconscious.
“Umm...uhhh...” Orie stared at the scene in shock.
“Why do you always have to kick them there?” Yogiri muttered, his voice shaking a little.
“I was so angry, I just did it without thinking, but now what?!”
You went pretty far for doing it “without thinking.”
Far too late, Tomochika began to consider what she had just done.
“So, that’s what happens when she gets mad,” Yogiri mumbled in astonishment.
“Umm, thank you. Really, thank you, but I can’t imagine this will end well...” Orie was also clearly conflicted.
“They all work in a group,” Darf added, struggling to his feet. “If you defeat one, then the others...”
“Could you please show me your arm?” Euphemia asked, placing a hand on his injury.
“What? The pain is gone!” Although it had been broken a moment before, Darf’s arm was now as good as new.
“It’s just a bit of healing magic.”
“You really can do anything, can’t you, Euphemia?” Tomochika commented, as if thinking she should have left the last fight to Euphemia as well.
“No, I cannot neutralize the Gift like you did. I have no idea if my attacks would have worked against him.”
“By the way, Mokomoko, can you do that whenever you want?” Yogiri asked.
It is a rather involved undertaking, and it consumes the entirety of my computational power. On top of that, I can’t do anything else at the same time. I couldn’t change the form of the battle suit or enhance your physical abilities while maintaining the block.
“That wasn’t the clearest response, but you’re saying no, right?” Tomochika replied.
They were talking nonchalantly, but there were still plenty of enemies about. Thinking they had better move on while they could, Yogiri stood up.
“Finally had enough of sitting around? What do you plan on doing now?” Tomochika asked, somewhat irritated.
“I think we should get a move on. After a fight like that, the others are going to take notice.”
“Really? But even if we leave—”
“Hello. In order to audit the amount of hate being generated, we monitor all the activities of our staff.”
A slender woman stepped through the broken doorway. Behind her were nine large men. They were the group known as the Children of Raiza. They had a blood connection to their leader, as evidenced by their shared look as siblings. Rumor had it that Raiza went around producing as many children as he possibly could.
“What do you mean, ‘audit’?” Yogiri asked. The word seemed out of place in this context.
“Naturally, it means we inspect the work they’ve done and evaluate the results of their efforts. It is a principle of ours to provide appropriate compensation for the hard work of our staff.”
“Then I guess this guy gets a pretty bad grade,” Yogiri observed, pointing at the unconscious man. “Will he even get paid?”
“We’re not that unforgiving. He may have failed this time, but he simply needs to try harder.”
“So, what do you want?”
“Our job is to elicit as much hatred towards Lord Raiza as possible. However, if our prey fights back, it will hinder our future endeavors. As such, we will be forced to put you all to death.”
The men stepped forward. No matter how strong Tomochika’s group may have been, they were clearly outnumbered. The thugs must have been confident that the odds would give them enough of an edge.
“That doesn’t feel like it’s only a threat, does it?” Yogiri had decided for himself that he would never kill someone merely because they made him angry. So no matter how vile these people were, if they didn’t try to hurt him or Tomochika, he had no reason to harm them.
But seeing as they clearly intended to kill them, that was another story. Maybe it was a sign of his immaturity, or maybe it was a sign of how human he was becoming, but when Yogiri saw the lines indicating killing intent coming from them, he felt a wave of satisfaction.
“Die.”
The Children of Raiza collapsed as one.
“Excuse me?” The woman locked up, staring at the fallen men, a look of confusion on her face. “This is not the time to be shirking your duties, everyone. I realize you’re little more than simple ruffians, good for nothing but sowing chaos, but this is embarrassingly unprofessional.” She had clearly drawn the wrong conclusion.
“They’re dead,” Yogiri clarified. “I killed them.”
The man that Tomochika had beaten unconscious was still alive. But as Yogiri turned to see how he was doing, Euphemia walked over and stomped his skull in.
“It appears I misstepped,” she said. “How careless of me.”
Euphemia had known that Tomochika wouldn’t go far enough to kill him herself, and Yogiri wouldn’t use his power on an unconscious person. But if the man had woken up, they would have been forced to make a choice to spare him or not, so she had taken it upon herself to do the dirty work.
With the problem now addressed, Yogiri turned back to the woman. Having processed the situation, she had regained her composure.
“I see. You are so strong that I couldn’t even tell what you did at first. But such retaliation is well within expectations. Now that you have found a glimmer of hope, an even greater despair—”
Ignoring the speech, Euphemia sank her fangs into the woman’s neck.
“Euphemia? What are you doing?” Tomochika was taken aback by the unexpected attack.
“She had a resistance to being Charmed, so I decided to turn her into a vampire and make her a permanent subordinate. It appears to have gone well.”
The woman was now kneeling at Euphemia’s feet.
“Vampire’s are insanely overpowered, you know!”
“Actually, that helps a lot,” Yogiri remarked in contrast to Tomochika’s skepticism. “It’s kind of hard to stop at threatening people with a power like mine.”
“I get the feeling Euphemia can solve more or less any problem.”
“Okay, let’s hear it,” Yogiri ordered. “Tell us about this Raiza.”
The woman appeared to be related to the man in question, so her help would undoubtedly be useful.
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