Chapter 32: Imperial Party

“Look! Look!” Alice shouted as she skipped down the street browsing and calling out things that caught her attention from the shop stands.

‘Kill me now’

Jerry was tired after walking around with Alice who made him buy everything with puppy eyes that she would do if Jerry showed any sign of not buying it. Of course, money wasn’t a problem at the moment for Jerry as he’s got a good bit to spare. He was thinking of doing something big with his cash like start a mercenary company or even making his own faction. Jerry still had no idea what he was going to do but knew that he wanted to do something big.

Jerry sighed before looking where Alice was pointing out. It was a shop that sold cleaning equipment and had something on display that interested her.

“What?” Jerry asked.

“It’s cleaning equipment!”

“Really? I would’ve never guessed, Alice”

Alice then pouted as she looked at Jerry.

“Don’t need to be an ass”

“Sorry, sorry. So, what’re you gonna use it for?”

“I’m clearly going to use it to make legendary armor with it” Alice said with a smug face.

Jerry smiled a bit with a small laugh.

“Don’t need to be an ass”

Alice then broke her smug face and then looked back at the stall, before she picked up a thick piece of cloth.

“So, what are you actually gonna use it for?”

“Wash some dishes or armor for the Larmen’s group and stuff”

Jerry scratched his back when she finished what she was saying, thinking about Larmen. Alice put down the cloth before picking up a more larger but folded up cloth.

“Hey, Larry” Alice said with a smile.

“Yea, yea. Just take it” Jerry said as he took out a gold coin and handed it to the stall manager.

“Keep the change” Jerry said as the manager took out a sack of coins.

“Thank you for your business!” The manager said as Alice and Jerry walked down the street.

“So, how’s Larmen doing?” Jerry asked.

“He’s doing fine. He talks with the nobles and the girls and gets on their good sides and is a complete idiot” Alice said

“Whys that?”

Alice sighed as they walked down the street.

“He walks into the women’s showers by ‘accident’ and catches a glimpse of everyone naked. He also manages to trip on thin air and pins one on the ground like an idiot” Alice complained.

“Sound like you hate it”

“W-Well, it’s not like I do with it being Larmen and all” Alice blushed.

“Weirdo” Jerry said as he yawned.

“It’s not like that!”

“Never said it was. Just calling you a weirdo. Unless, it is like that?”

“I said it isn’t you ass!”

“Mhmm. Keep making excuses”

“Hmph!” Alice stopped and turned away from Jerry, crossing her arms.

Jerry kept on walking, not stopping at all for Alice.

“Okay, see ya!” Jerry said.

“W-Wait!” Alice shouted as she started to run towards Jerry.

Jerry turned around to face Alice but caught something else. There was a cloaked figure on the roof with a black hood with a bow drawn taking aim at him. He was behind Alice, but wasn’t far from them and Jerry was an easy target for the cloaked figure as no one stood around him.

‘Shit’

Before Jerry could react, an arrow came loose and seemed to zip through the air like a bullet and into Jerry’s shoulder. The arrow entered through Jerry’s left shoulder and caused Jerry to collapse immediately.

Unidentified Substance detected in bloodstream. Activating disposable nano-bots

Substance detected

Type: Bacteria

Designation:T1-3214-B

Danger Level - 6 of 10

Counteracting Reproduction

Complete. Disabling nano-bots.

Jerry’s heartbeat could be heard through his chest as text appeared on his visor. An arrow stuck out of his left shoulder and he could feel the pain that it brought. The arrowhead stuck out of Jerry’s shoulder as he laid on his sides screaming in pain.

Jerry looked towards where the cloaked figure had stood to find that no one stood there anymore.

“Jerry! Are you okay?” Alice asked as she crouched above Jerry.

“No, Alice, I’m fantastic! Arrows don’t hurt at all!” Jerry shouted.

“I’ll get some help”

“Please do!”

Jerry could hear the people around him start to whisper and scream as blood started to leak from his arms. Jerry thought about his situation for a little. The wound was going to be a pain to remove, but he had to do something soon or he could bleed out soon.

Jerry tell that his bones were broken but knew that magic existed and Kasune could fix it. Jerry decided to keep that in his mind to hold onto a hope so he had at least one idea that he could use.

Jerry tried to move himself but was met with a pain that immediately put him down.

“Fuck!” Jerry shouted.

“Move aside! I’m a medic!” A man said as he pushed himself through the crowd that surrounded Jerry.

“Larry, stay with me. It’s gonna hurt for a bit, but you’ll be okay, yea?” The medic said. He had a calm voice that sounded young but sounded mature at the same time.

The medic crouched over Jerry and started to worked quickly, snapping the shaft making it short before taking out a knife and cut off the splinters. The medic then pinched the arrowhead tightly and pulled it quickly, giving Jerry a very sharp pain. He then held his hands above the wound and emitted a light green light. Jerry felt the pain quickly go away but couldn’t see the wound quickly close up right before the medic’s eyes.

The light greet light then soon disappeared, leaving Jerry with a patched wound and one less arrow in him. Jerry sat up, slowly but his shoulder still ached.

“Don’t use that arm for a while. It’s sore and painful” the medic said.

“Thanks. What’s your name?”

“Harold”

“Thanks, Harold. What do I owe you guild boys?”

Jerry looked at the medic who wore a white shirt with a guild symbol on it.

“100 gold. But, more importantly, who’d you piss off?”

“What?”

“These arrowheads here” The medic then picked the arrowhead up.

“These are used by assassins that want you dead, Larry. Who did you piss off?”

Jerry looked at the arrowhead that the medic held. It had four points that split off into two different blades, making the arrow have eight small blades on it. It was even shaped in a way to where if you were to remove it by pulling it out, it would cause even more injuries.

“I don’t know. But, can I ask what group does these?”

“Dunno. These guys that use these arrows are shrouded in mystery. False rumors, some true, some not. Now, who’d you piss off?”

“No clue”

The medic let out an annoyed sigh.

“Whatever. Not my problem anymore. In total, 100 gold coins will be taken away from the debt, and you can deal with your problems of people wanting you dead. Good day, Larry”

The medic then stood back up and walked away and tossed the arrowhead on the ground leaving Jerry alone. Jerry placed his hand where the wound once was to have a sore feeling followed by a slight pain after he moved it away.

Jerry got up off the ground and saw the crowd start to disperse as the incident was over.

“Excuse me! Here! He’s… here” Alice’s voice slowly trailed off when she saw Jerry standing up as if nothing ever happened. The only evidence that anything happened was a small pool of blood where Jerry once laid.

“Where’s the injury?” Kasune asked as she looked at Jerry.

“No longer existent. Another medic got here faster than you” Jerry said.

“That voice. Je-”

“Larry is my name”

“What?”

“My name is Larry. Didn’t Alice tell you?”

Alice leaned towards Kasune and whispered into her ear.

“Ah! Larry, I apologize that I was late”

“No worries, Kasune. I appreciate your attempt to get here. Anything you want to do?”

Kasune looked around the area and spotted a familiar arrowhead. She took several steps before picking it up.

“Ah, Blackhead Assassins want you dead” Kasune said as she turned around and showed the arrowhead to Jerry.

“Yea, the medic said something about someone wanting me dead. Question is, who?”

“No, the question is how are you still alive?”

“What?”

“Blackhead Assassins always infect their tips. How are you alive?”

“I injected medical stuff into me. Don’t worry about it”

“What medical stuff? Blackhead Assassins use potent poison”

“Stuff better than yours. Now, let’s talk about this somewhere else?”

“As you wish”

Jerry got on his feet quickly as a small lingering pain lingered on his left shoulder.

“Where to?”

“Don’t know. Any ideas?”

“Where have you been living for the past few days?”

“In the guild”

“Really?”

“Yea, really. Now stop judging my life choices and give me an idea”

“You buy a house”

“Fuck off. We’ll just wander the streets”

“What about a tavern?” Alice suggested.

“Wonderful! Does it also include a drunken brawl?” Jerry sarcastically asked.

“Um. I don’t think so?”

“Great! Let’s go to a tavern. Alice, lead the way”

Thus, the three walked down the street together looking for a tavern that hopefully didn’t include a drunken bar fight.

__________________________________________________________

Larmen was taking a bath in the Imperial Palace at this current moment. It had been a while since he had taken a bath since he had come to this world. Where he had come from, taking a bath was a common thing, but a bath like this was reserved for the upper class. Larmen was left alone in the bath. Nothing to do other than think about what had happened since he still hadn’t fully adjusted to this new world.

He thought about what was happening. Slaying the Demon Lord? Now that he had thought about it, he never really did slay the Demon Lord. He was even pulled out in the battlefield and was placed in the palace whilst Jerry was on the front lines. It stuck him odd but never really thought about it too much. After all, he just had to smile and wave like he had before.

He owed Jerry an apology, but had no idea how to do so. Now, he has to attend multiple parties in his honor for something he didn’t even do! It really pissed him off, but he was used to these kinds of parties. He was a member of the upper class after all. When he had been transported, he thought he could finally join the battlefield with soldiers, but was ultimately placed back into the palace, where politics were involved. He was always fascinated with heroes that would scour the battlefield with swords and have songs and heroics written about them rather than political warfare with other nations.

Larmen sighed as he held his breath and sunk his head below the water. It was starting to get to him now. He knew what was happening with him being paraded around the content like a prized jewel so the Empire could be seen as the big dogs around here. It also have the secondary effect of keeping the population in check whilst also encouraging the Empire’s people to join the military which is already happening.

The door to the bath then clicked and slid open, revealing a female at the doorway.

“Larmen~” A cute voice broke the sound of water pouring into the bath where Larmen bathed.

“J-Juliet! Why are you here? It’s my turn for the bath!” Larmen said as he panicked.

“I wanted to see you, my dear!” Juliet replied.

“I’m to marry Emile!” Larmen said. He desperately wanted to be out of this situation he was placed in.

“I don’t mind being a concubine” Juliet said with a seductive tone. With that, Juliet started to walk slowly toward Larmen.

“Juliet, why’re you coming here?”

“To bathe with you of course!”

The door to the bath then was filled with other silhouettes as Juliet came closer.

“No fair!” Scharla said.

“Yea! No fair! You can’t get the jump like that!” Elizabeth followed.

With that, everyone then entered the bathhouse to bathe alongside Larmen with the exception of those not in the Imperial Palace.

‘Someone, get me out of here’ Larmen pleaded within himself.

______________________________

Janice sat alone in a tavern that she wandered into with a cloak over her head. She had a small bit of cash that she had on her to spend on alcohol and chose a random tavern to spend it on. She needed time to reevaluate her life choices after the talk that went against her morals. She took a sip of her cup and when she brought it down, two large men sat at her table.

“Hey there, miss. Would you like to spend some time with us?” One said with a devilish grin with a scar that ran down his face.

“Yea! Why not spend some time with us? I can rent a room with just the three of us” The other said with a wide head.

Janice sighed before standing up from her seat to leave the establishment before she was grabbed by the hand.

“Why are you leaving now? We’ve just only met!” A man with a large scar said.

“We can have fun all night long, if you’d like!” The man with the wide head said.

Janice was slightly tipsy but could most defiantly still fight. She turned around and found the man with the large scar place a collar around her neck.

It felt like her magic drained away, disabling her from just blowing the brigands away. Janice was a different person when she was either angry, or has alcohol in her system.

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way” She said.

“Huh? What’re you going to do, elven girl?” The wide head brigand said.

“Come now, we’re going to a room” The man with a large scar said as he reached towards Janice’s hand.

The brigand’s hand started to move towards Janice with the intent of grabbing her hand. However, before they could grab onto her, Janice took a knife out and plunged it into his chest where the heart was, leaving the blade in him.

The brigand took several steps back before staring at Janice with disbelief before collapsing onto his knees then onto the ground. The wide face brigand started to panic as Janice looked his way. The brigand turned around and booked it, running outside the door while onlookers just sighed.

Janice looked at the barkeeper who just sighed before shrugging. It seemed to be a commonplace for brigands taking it too far to get hurt or sometimes even killed in the Imperial Kingdom. Janice took her seat again and sipped her drink before the door to the tavern opened with screaming and shouting of a particular brigand that left recently.

“Wait! Please! She’ll kill me!” The brigand shouted.

“That’s what you think” A man said with a black helmet.

‘Who’s that?’

Janice quickly took one last gulp of her drink before placing five gold coins on the table and heading towards the door.

“Outside, with me” Janice said.

“Yes, ma’am” The man with the black helmet said.