The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 28

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 28

‘What do I do with this?’

If you’re from Ailand, you’re not getting into the inn.
Even if I beg and pay, I might end up assigned a corner of the stable.

I’d be paying full price and wouldn’t even get a glimpse of a comfortable bed.

‘This is seriously messed up…’

If this were a game, a choice like this would have popped up.

[Choose the Behavior Pattern the Hero will take.]
-【Knock out the innkeeper by force.】
-【Attempt to negotiate with the innkeeper.】
-【Suppress the Ailander accent and pretend to be an Imperial citizen.】

So what problems come with each of these three choices?

▶ 【Knock out the innkeeper by force.】

First, if I rush in and use force, things could just get more complicated.
One chop to the back of the neck, and the innkeeper’s head might come clean off his body.
And above all… after being wanted for a bombing attack at the Execution Grounds, this method is far too dangerous. Pass.

▶ 【Attempt to negotiate with the innkeeper.】

Second, peaceful negotiation.
But negotiating while carrying the drawback of being an Ailander, frankly, the success rate is far too low.
And I don’t have a Hero with a related Trait on hand, either.

▶ 【Suppress the Ailander accent and pretend to be an Imperial citizen.】

That leaves the last one.
Disguising myself as an Imperial citizen.

“….”

Hmm.
Is this the best of the lot, at least?
If I just answer in short replies, I might actually slip past without much trouble.

By the way, this innkeeper dies of some sort of accident around the final act, when Setanta launches his rebellion, so he’s an NPC who’s already dead by then.
Thanks to Trust Inheritance, he’s not going to hate me on sight, either.
So all I have to do now is hide the accent well.

‘Maybe it’d help to pick one specific person as a reference and copy their accent.’

Digging through my memories, I decided to imitate, as closely as I could, the accent the Hero had before he became a silk-furred rat.
Ahem, hmm-hm.
I cleared my throat a few times, and the accent actually seems to come out roughly the same.
Good.
From now on, I am Charles, an Imperial citizen!

“Ailin, Rian. Inside the inn, try not to speak unless you have to. Starting now, we’re pretending to be Imperial citizens.”
“Yes, understood, Setanta-nim!”
“…Fine.”

After giving my companions a warning,
I strode briskly into the inn.

Jingle-.

A cheerful chime rang out.
And from somewhere came the crackle of a hearth fire.

‘…Is the innkeeper the only one here? Not a single guest. How quiet.’

The interior of the wooden building came into view, cozy and inviting.
The first floor served as both counter and dining room.
From the second floor up, it was all guest rooms.

Stomp, stomp.
Back straight, I marched directly toward the counter where the innkeeper sat.
Then I pulled one Curse Resistance Potion from my Storage Bag and set it on the table.

…Thud!

“Three people, one day.”
“…?”

The innkeeper’s gaze turned toward me.
His eyes were faintly puzzled.

‘Ah, did my accent slip out a little?’

…Or maybe I spoke so tersely that it only raised his suspicion.

“Please take this as payment for the lodging.”
“Hmm…?”
“I just need one room.”

I tried my best not to show that I was an Ailander as I made my request to the innkeeper.

“You must have heard there was a huge commotion in the capital? So you’ll soon be needing Curse Resistance Potions too.”
“….”
“The price of potions is about to climb. One of these should cover lodging for three.”

…Dear me, now that I’ve started talking at length, that peculiar accent seems to be creeping out.
The innkeeper’s expression, as he looked at me, had grown a shade more suspicious than before.

‘I’d wanted to settle this as peacefully as possible.’

Should I just knock him out, then?
If I struck the back of his neck gently enough, his head wouldn’t come off…
No, if I have to deal with the aftermath, camping outdoors might be the better choice…

I was still seriously weighing this when it happened.

“Ahem! Mixed lodging for men and women is not permitted!”
“…Excuse me?”
“Such immoral conduct must not happen! You must book at least two rooms.”
“What on earth…?”

At the innkeeper’s abrupt words, I tilted my head and glanced toward Ailin.

“…….”

He says nothing, but the sour, rotting look that spreads across his face in an instant is rather frightening.

‘Well, come to think of it, in the game they did split heroes by gender when a party stayed the night at an inn…’

Thud!
I set down one more Curse Resistance Potion.

“Will this cover the price of two rooms?”
“Hmm?”

But the innkeeper only shakes his head.
He doesn’t look the least bit satisfied.

“That’s not enough. Give me three.”
“….”

Bang!
I pulled another potion out of my Storage Bag and set it down on the counter.
Only now does the innkeeper’s sly, contemptible face settle into satisfaction.

‘This bastard… was this his goal from the very start?’

But I have no wish to start needless trouble here.
So I decided to let it slide and move on.

“Innkeeper, is dinner possible? Anything at all to fill our stomachs will do.”

Since I’d already paid the extra fee, I asked the innkeeper whether there was anything to eat.
As luck would have it, several palm-sized meat pies were piled beside the innkeeper’s table.
They gave off no aroma at all, so they clearly weren’t freshly baked; they had gone cold some time ago.

“Innkeeper, since I’ve already given you three Curse Resistance Potions, would you mind if I took just three of those pies?”
“…Hmm.”

At my question, the innkeeper’s expression soured.
He gives off the air of someone who doesn’t want to hand them over for free.

“Then how much per pie? Oh, and they don’t contain dog meat, do they? If I ate that, it would be a disaster.”
“….”

At my question, the innkeeper pondered for a moment.

“Three silver coins per pie. Or… if you hand over one more of those potions, I’ll make a special exception and give you three pies.”
“….”

He demanded an absurd, outrageous price.

“…These pies don’t contain dog meat, right?”
“What? Relax, there’s no dog in them. Just a bit of some other beast’s meat, that’s all, hm?”

At the same moment, the innkeeper’s greedy gaze slid over us from head to toe.
He leaned hard on the word ‘beast.’

“….”

Ah, now I get the picture.

This innkeeper.
So he’d spotted that we were Ailanders the moment we walked in, and he just went ahead and overcharged us to our faces.

“Haa…….”

Bang!
Instead of another Curse Resistance Potion, I set down a single Health Potion this time.

“Hm? Isn’t this just a regular Health Potion?”
“…The Curse Resistance Potion was the last of it, the one from earlier. This is all we have left.”

In truth, there was still more.
But the Curse Resistance Potions were the pricier of the two, so I’d play the part of someone who had run dry.

“Hmmmmm…”

The innkeeper pretended to deliberate for a while, then nodded with a sour expression.
Looks like he’d settle for this much.

“Then I’ll gratefully take it, innkeeper.”

[You have acquired Cold Meat Pie.]

I took the meat pie and handed one to each member of the party.

It wasn’t bad, as far as meat pies went.
Since it had gone cold, the fat had congealed and left a slick, greasy feel on the tongue, but compared to that bat roast of questionable origin, it was practically a dish from civilization.

“Let’s head upstairs.”

I led the party up the stairs.
The innkeeper’s eyes clung to us in an unpleasant way, lingering especially on Ailin, but…
I ignored them entirely, since reacting might only give him another excuse to pick a fight.

* * *

Late evening.
We split up in front of the Guest Quarters.

“Setanta-nim, I’ll share a room with Ailin. Here! Setanta-nim, you take the cleanest and best room by yourself!”
“Well, I don’t mind, but are you sure that’s all right?”
“…I don’t mind either.”

Ailin was assigned as bodyguard to Rian, who was frail.
Strictly speaking, a male and female Hero sharing lodgings was a bit much, but they had leaned on each other since the Underground City as fellow countrymen, so it didn’t seem to be a real problem.
Above all, leaving either of them alone for various reasons felt somewhat uneasy.

‘Honestly, even if I were there with them, it wouldn’t bother me at all.’

But in this world, my body was the sturdy, muscular, nice-body Setanta.
By the standards of a female Hero, he would surely strike them as intimidating in more ways than one, so I decided to be careful.

“Then both of you sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I waved to Rian and Ailin, wishing them good night.
I was on the third floor; they were on the second.
For some reason, the rooms had been placed rather far apart.

“…Just in case, it might be wise to cast some kind of alarm spell that signals if an intruder comes in before we sleep.”
“Understood, Setanta-nim!”

…Click.
And the door closed.

“Whew…”

Now that I was finally alone, I climbed to the third-floor Guest Quarters and pulled Hero Rat out of the Storage Bag.

“Charles, dinner’s ready.”

Then I handed him the Cold Meat Pie I’d left a single bite of.

Chirp?
The silk-furred rat gazed up at me, looking adorable.

『…Oh!』
『This… this is Meat Pie!』

Hero Rat promptly devoured the piece of pie with greedy little gulps.
Every time he chewed and swallowed a bite, I could feel his plump, soft little body take on a glossy sheen.
Maybe because he wasn’t a living rat but an undead Familiar wearing the shape of one, his condition seemed to show up on his body the moment it changed.

“Phew…”

Once I’d fed Hero Rat and roughly gotten myself ready for bed, I had barely lain down when—

Ding!

[There is one incomplete Quest.]
-【An Eye for an Eye】

‘Hm?’

A System notification popped up before my eyes, reminding me of a Quest I’d forgotten.

‘Right, I haven’t cleared that Quest yet.’

I stared blankly at the Quest Window.

【An Eye for an Eye】
– Find those who took part in the attack on the Underground City and take your revenge!

‘…The culprit is probably James.’

That bastard who’d lost his mind and let out that shrieking, deer-like howl was—
Most likely one of the Imperial 7th Knights.

“W-wha…?! J-James, what on earth do you think you’re doing…!”

On top of that, he’d used a comrade who had tried to help him as a shield, and in the end got him killed.
In a word, a scumbag and a wretch.

…He needed to be sent to his death so he could be ‘made good,’ so to speak.

‘It’s not a Quest with a time limit. I’ll take my time and clear this one later.’

Violence committed outside the Labyrinth leaves traces that are easy to be caught for.
Besides, with a bounty on my head, I need to lay low for the time being.
I decided not to take the reckless risk of tracking James down right now just to get my revenge.

『Setanta, do you have any more of this?』

Crunch, crunch, slurp!
The now-plumper Silk-Furred Rat demanded even more Meat Pie.

“That’s the last one. Now go to sleep.”

I gave the chubby Hero Rat a few affectionate pats, then pulled the blanket up to my chin.

…If I sleep like this.
And then open my eyes.
It feels like I might just wake up back in reality.

“And if it’s only one person… I could bring back someone who’s already died.”

“….”

I shut my eyes and let it be.

‘…I shouldn’t have taken over that account back then.’

Then I wiped every thought from my mind and surrendered myself to the darkness settling quietly around me.
All through my sleep, my mind kept scattering and gathering again, until a few familiar faces scratched at my consciousness and faded away.

.
.
.

About three hours later.

The innkeeper was found dead.
His skull had been caved in.

“…?”

I slowly turned my head and looked over Rian and Ailin.
Rian’s face was pale, and Ailin’s eyes were calm and composed.

“…He lit a sleeping incense and tried to ambush us. He also meant to steal my sword.”

Ailin spoke up, her expression perfectly steady.
Drip, drip-.
Blood trickled down the blade of the Iron Wood Sword.

“Setanta, you were right to have us prepare in advance. Even the fact that he had us split up into separate rooms was suspicious enough.”
“….”
“Yet he died so easily, from a single blow to the head. I was only trying to defend myself, though…”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————