SWNOVELXO Chapter 77.2
Crushing Newcomers Is Wrong
Kurresh shouted at the young people who didn’t understand the situation. Yes, the dangerous ones were those men. They were trying to approach them, even though it was clear they were dangerous, guaranteed to be a problem. Kurresh couldn’t help but want to give a warning, hoping they’d learn some crisis management skills. …That being said, the men acted friendly on the surface, and Kurresh likely wouldn’t have noticed if Yuuri hadn’t pointed it out.
While this was going on, the men, possibly noticing the young people weren’t following, came back. They actually returned. Kurresh was still holding the young man’s arm. Magg and Urgus silently watched the men.
As for Yuuri…
“…Kurre, Kurre, they’re definitely out. Their status note said ‘rookie crusher’.”
“Seriously? They’re totally out, then. Magg, Urgus, contact the guild master. If anything comes up, tell them Yuuri said so. It’ll probably work.”
“Understood.”
“Got it.”
“Kurresh?”
“You guys stay here.”
Kurresh groaned in frustration at Yuuri’s muttered information, ignoring the clueless young people. The discussion proceeded among the Scarlet Lynx team. Magg and Urgus immediately ran into the guild. It was an easy job, just delivering a message.
The reason Yuuri checked the men’s status was that he remembered something Ali had said. Normally, it’s considered rude to view someone’s status. It’s an invasion of privacy, and Yuuri had been told countless times not to look without permission.
However, there are exceptions to everything. If the [God’s Eye] issued a warning about someone, it was allowed to check. Ali had made sure to tell Yuuri this. He also emphasized that after checking, Yuuri shouldn’t act alone, but seek cooperation from someone.
So, Yuuri activated the [God’s Eye], thinking the proof had come to him. Normally, the remarks section of a status is empty. Occasionally, there’s something noteworthy, like a famous nickname or a position held. This time, all the men had the disturbing remark, ‘rookie crusher’. It was really, really unwelcome.
“Yuuri, you’re sure about this?”
“I don’t have any reason to lie, do I?”
“True.”
The men, looking puzzled, tried to speak to the young people. Kurresh blocked them. Yuuri, standing beside him, gently pushed back the men’s outstretched hands with a troubled smile, saying, “Sorry~” in his usual carefree tone. There was no tension at all.
Adding to the lack of tension was the sight of Rooks bouncing at Yuuri’s feet, which was oddly adorable. However, despite the seemingly carefree hopping, Rooks was subtly keeping an eye on the men. The capable slime, fulfilling its duty as a summoned beast, was ready to fling them away if they tried anything. …Scary.
“Hmm? We have business with those kids over there.”
“That business… I’d really prefer it if you just let it go forever.”
“More like, stop doing bad things, okay, uncles?”
“Huh?”
Kurresh spoke in an unusually serious tone, while Yuuri addressed them like a parent scolding a child. The men tilted their heads in confusion. And then, as always, the elderly guild master, looking splendid with his monocle, arrived. He wore a gentle smile, but the atmosphere felt a little chilly.
“Hello, Yuuri. Has something happened again?”
“Hello. It seems those men’s status remarks say ‘rookie crusher’. What should we do?”
“Oh my, that’s not very peaceful, is it…”
While the men looked startled, the guild master’s smile deepened. Yuuri and Kurresh clearly heard it. The guild master’s chilling mutter: “So, they finally revealed their tail, did they?”
Ah, they’ve been under watch all along, Yuuri and Kurresh realized. That’s probably why the guild master appeared so quickly. Before the men could say anything, before Yuuri or Kurresh could move, the guild master snapped his fingers. In an instant, several men and women appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and captured the culprits. The sudden commotion made the surroundings buzz with chatter, but as soon as the guild master smiled and said, “This is an internal matter,” everyone quickly dispersed. Adventurers’ Guilds are scary.
“…Uh, guild master? Um, what’s this about?”
“They’ve been cunningly doing all sorts of things for quite some time, but they never gave themselves away.”
His smile was refreshingly bright. The elderly gentleman’s smile was bright, but the dark aura behind him was overwhelming. Kurresh could only mutter, “I see.” Turning the guild master into an enemy was probably one of the dumbest things these guys could’ve done, he thought.
“You brat…!”
“Uh, sorry for viewing your status without permission?”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“He’s Ali’s secret weapon. …Shall we continue this conversation at the guild?”
Before Yuuri could respond, the guild master calmly answered, and the men were taken away. Yuuri watched them go, bowing politely. It was wrong to look at someone’s status without permission, but they were the ones bad enough to trigger a warning from the [God’s Eye]. While he wouldn’t say that villains don’t have rights, bad actions have consequences, and they would just have to accept that. After all, Yuuri came from a culture where “If you curse someone, dig two graves.”
“…It all wrapped up pretty easily, didn’t it?”
“The guild master was too strong.”
“Yeah…”
As Yuuri and Kurresh chatted in their usual carefree manner, the young people who had been left out of the loop looked bewildered, but they too were taken by guild staff to give a statement. The guild staff would probably explain everything to them in detail. Yuuri figured they could handle it from here.
“Really, Yuuri’s appraisal skill is so powerful.”
“It’s not like I want to make things a big deal…”
Yuuri’s quiet mutter was his true feeling. However, the fact remained that he couldn’t just ignore dangerous situations, so, well, these kinds of things happened. It couldn’t be helped. At least he’d prevented a crisis this time, so Yuuri decided to count it as a win.
By that evening, a letter of thanks had arrived from the guild. Upon hearing what had happened, Ali groaned in frustration, holding his head. …Well, that was expected. Being a father is tough.