Ah…
I crumble down in front of it.
‘There’s no problem, we just need to rebuild it later. That’s why I took the store’s sign and disposed of the store’
When I went to hear about the situation, Tomoe told me this without hesitation.
By the time I noticed, I was already here.
My mental state was as if someone told me: ‘hey your house is burning’.
There’s no traces of it being burned though.
Without thinking, I was on my hands and feet, and looking at the place that has turned into rubble.
Kuzunoha Company.
The first store I had.
I didn’t even have previous part-time job experience, left a lot of the work to others, and can only remember lots of bad experiences though.
There were lots of painful memories but… but!
When I see it destroyed like this, I feel sad.
There wasn’t anything important left and it isn’t like my rights for the lot will be gone.
And the things Tomoe said were plausible.
The inventory has all been stowed away in the storage of Asora.
Also, if the stores around are all destroyed and only my store remains safe, it would only bring about unnecessary misunderstandings.
Well the store itself was only furniture and goods, and the renovation was done in a single day.
If I wanted to make it again from 0, I just have to ask the eldwas and it wouldn’t even take 3 days.
Even so…
I understand all the reasons, but since it was heavy, a sigh leaks out from my mouth.
It still doesn’t change my sadness.
The buildings at both sides are also destroyed completely and the one opposite to us has smoke coming out from the rubbles.
Yeah.
Destroying the store was an appropriate move.
I can tell that a variant unluckily appeared around this area.
I don’t know their conduct principle, but if their target is the teleport formations, there was a part of me that thought the damage in town wouldn’t be that bad.
That’s why I had small hopes in seeing my store safe.
Hah…
Things like Asora and military power… Let’s try putting them to practical use.
Is what I resolved to do not that long ago.
Or is she telling me to set sail anew from an empty lot?
… Let’s take it in a positive manner.
Change of attitude.
“If the guy who made all this place a mass of rubble was around here, I would still be able to take it down but…” (Makoto)
The remains of what seem to be the results of a fireball crashing. No, it is as if something of high-temperature charged through the place.
Was this done by a variant resembling a fire element wild boar, or something like that?
When I try to picture the offender, the only common point I can find is the gray color skin of the two I have already seen.
The chances that it has a shape I can’t even imagine are pretty high. Even so, with small hope, I look around.
But to my disappointment, the area around here is already quiet.
Looks like the residents have already evacuated, and even when I can hear commotion from afar, there’s nothing like that in these areas.
My store is gone, so they probably finished evacuating the people in the early stages of the uproar.
Well, physical things will one day break.
I do have lingering affection towards my store, but for now let’s just go to where the students have evacuated.
It wouldn’t be strange for a temporary teacher to be there and it is safe.
“N?”
I think I heard something.
I perk up my ears.
Yeah, I really do hear something.
A scream.
And it is pretty close.
Several people are screaming intermittently.
That direction is… directly straight from the back of my store.
Wait.
Isn’t that the brothel avenue?
There’s a variant in such a place too?
The current mission of the Kuzunoha Company is evacuation.
As the representative, I’m no exception.
Or more like, the chances it is the same one that laid waste to this place is pretty high.
It might be the opportunity for retribution.
The equipment the eldwas made for me, the open version jacket. I activate the speed mode.
In the spacious street that has turned slightly athletic-like because of the rubble, I run directly towards the direction of the scream.
Even so, the brothels, a place that would normally not be an objective in a battlefield.
I wonder what reason Rona had to place a variant in such a place.
And in this timing nonetheless.
If the variants rampage following their instincts, their uses would be quite limited, but if their objective is the teleport formations, maybe there’s one in that area and she chose to place a variant there?
No, that’s not it.
Ilumgand was a student.
He transformed in the tournament grounds.
In the first place, the chances of ending only as a disturbance if they are driven by instinct is pretty high.
Thinking that she did this even when she withdrew her subordinates, means this plan should not be assured to succeed.
No. What if the demon race is still unable to control the timing of the activation in this tactic?
There’s the possibility that they spread the medicine and accessories to the people that get close to their target locations frequently.
If they don’t care about the numbers they produce and the amount of casualties, they would probably put the plan in motion.
As usual, I can’t imagine what Rona is thinking, but while I was thinking about this and that, I arrived at the source of the scream.
As I thought, it really was the brothel avenue.
In this place the damage to the buildings is not that high. But in the corners of that place, the sounds of screams and destruction resounded.
Over there huh.
Without losing my way I head there, and from the window of a store, a cluster of something comes flying at me.
Oh, a boulder.
A cluster made up of a stove or something of the sort.
It flew at me with quite the speed, but without even touching my jacket, it stopped about 1 meter away from me with magic power and changed directions before falling.
A heavy noise sounds in a place a bit far from me.
Several clusters continued flying towards me, but they all ended up with the same result. Without minding it, I step into the brothel store where the screams come from.
To think that my first step into the sex industry would be in this manner.
Pardon my intrusion~
“Looks like this is not the one. An octopus?” <Oh god NO> (Makoto)
It didn’t have the shape I was expecting and I clicked my tongue.
The variant there is an octopus.
No, the details are slightly different.
It has 8 legs, but 2 of those are strangely developed and long. At the tip it looks like the hands of a person.
But the impression it gives is that of a white octopus.
For such a creature to be attacking the prostitute *Onee-sans*, how maniac. <Big sisters>
One woman is holding an edged tool that doesn’t look battle oriented and confronting it.
What a brave woman.
And also, there are several Onee-sans at the back showing a fighting stance.
Some were crying, some weak on their knees; there were many varieties.
Since I entered the fray, the situation changed and the body of the octopus faced towards me and had its legs wind.
Was this the one that was throwing stuff at me? Did it do it while against this Onee-san? That’s pretty handy. Moreover, it used some sort of method to detect me before I even arrived and began attacking me.
This one also has a special power?
I think that just moving all your legs as an individual being is a pretty impressive power in itself though.
Well, from what I see, it doesn’t look like it is that strong.
An opponent that I don’t need to mind about what power it has.
Thanks to the fact that it noticed me quick, there’s definitely Onee-sans that were saved, so it was actually a good thing.
There’s the scent of blood in here as well, so there’s no doubt casualties have already happened though.
Even if I begin to think about how many stores that octopus has already attacked, nothing will change.
If that woman with the edged tool that looks like a fruit knife weren’t here doing her best, there would definitely be more casualties.
“H-Help us!!”
The words of one of the prostitutes served as the cue. Several high-pitched voices seeking for help came out from their mouths.
No need to tell me, I came with that purpose in mind.
Hm, but the one I defeated with Brid a while ago, exploded.
I don’t want to get splashed indoors.
The store’s interior has a strong scent drifting about and right now the smell of blood and fat are not that strong, but if the meat of the variant scatters, it would be difficult to clean up in the close future.
[I will take care of this, so take this chance to leave the store. I will guide you to the evacuation point]
“?!! Boy, this guy is pretty strong. I am grateful that you came to help us, but… I will try to somehow hold it back, so please save the girls at the back”
First bring everyone out.
I don’t know if she understood what I said, but I tried to tell her that I would be guiding them later to the evacuation point so wait.
But it seems the woman that is fighting didn’t accept it.
Saying something that can only be taken as self-sacrifice, she asked me to help the others escape.
When I check, I see that the Onee-sans are beginning their mobilization for escape, but the people that are weak on their knees just… can’t move the way they want to.
In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to just run away without caring, everyone still lent their shoulders to the Onee-sans that can’t move properly to escape together.
Their sense of camaraderie is strong.
But you know…
Between joining the Onee-sans and guiding them to escape, or defeating the variant; the “easiest” one for me would be, without doubt, the latter.
Actually, I should be the one defeating this thing, and that woman should put away that knife and guide the Onee-sans.
The octopus tried to move, but it restraint itself and stopped its movements.
Looks like it at least has enough intelligence to be wary.
“Boy, stop! This is a really dangerous monster! It has already killed several people. Even if I look like this, I was a former adventurer. From the people here, I am the one that knows about battle the most, that why…”
Heh~, a former adventurer.
There are few adventurers in Rotsgard.
The main reason is that there’s no existing guild here that gives out requests, but it is also because there’s few profitable hunting grounds.
Lately, they have been selling a medicinal plant that can be gathered in a part of the area and is high priced, so the situation has improved a bit though.
By the way, I think the reason might be because of the medicine recipe I exhibited in the church.
It is also the medicinal plant that my students brought to me as a souvenir in summer vacation.
The recipe that we taught the church was created by Shiki and the Arkes with that medicinal plant as the base.
I was surprised when Shiki and the Arkes said they would be able to make it, but thanks to that, my students were able to gain pocket money from it.
It is a bit sad that this is the main way for adventurers to gain money in this place though.
And for a former adventurer who’s a prostitute (probably) to be in this town.
… Now that I think about it, what do adventurers do when they retire?
I think being a prostitute should be in the rare side though. Don’t really know.
If it’s men, I think something with a tough atmosphere like a bar, or the master of a cafe.
[In that case, I am a temporary teacher working in the academy. If you stay by those girls’ side, they will definitely feel safer. I will be fine. I will rejoin you later outside, so please go with them]
“A teacher… from the academy? I see. Then you would be a lot better than a *rotor* like me. Is it really okay to leave it to you?” <Rotor=Vibrator>
I know a few prostitutes here that have come to my shop before, but I haven’t seen this one.
If she knew me beforehand, I wouldn’t need to do unnecessary explanation.
While I was feeling a bit troubled, the octopus, without learning its lesson, throws something at me.
Of course, that didn’t hit me and was repelled by my magic power.
“?!”
Even if the woman who was talking to me didn’t know what I used to defend myself with, it seems she does know that I did something to defend against it.
The way she looked at me changed again.
Looks like she revised her thoughts.
What was thrown was… Geh, the head of someone.
Even if she was beautiful, if it is only a head, there’s no way to be charmed by it.
[Don’t worry. Please wait outside. If possible, it would be great if you were to guide everyone in the other buildings as well. I will guide everyone to the evacuation point later]
“Not being able to gauge the strength of someone so close to me, I have really grown old. That thing’s regeneration ability is quite strong, beware of it. I have wounded it several times, but it regenerated it all”
[I appreciate the information]
“… I owe you one. Don’t go dying”
Seems like she consented. She joined the prostitutes that were watching and with clear instructions, they began moving.
That’s great.
And so, the only ones left inside the building are the octopus and me.
Ah~, I was nervous there.
Maybe I am not used to battle situations where so many girls are looking at me, I felt a strange pressure.
It was a different nervousness to that of being in a party.
The woman just now was in a wine red short dress that had quite the high exposure rate, and on top of that, she tore a part of it to make it easier to move, so I was troubled settling my eyes.
To be in the brothels and feel calmer around an octopus instead of being surrounded by girls makes me sad though.
‘Your appearance is poison to my eyes, I will be looking forward to the reward. Now, escape quickly’ is something I don’t think I will be able to say.
“Sorry but, the Onee-sans around this place are regulars that come often to buy my energy drinks. Having you kill them is troublesome” (Makoto)
Luckily, this thing only says ‘Shukoshuko’ and I can’t understand what it is saying.
Ilumgand’s case might have been a rare one.
Let’s finish this.
I gather magic power to my right hand.
She said something about regeneration, so I do an aria of a single word for rapid-fire Brid.
On the palm of my right hand, a white ball of light is born.
The size is close to that of a baseball.
I turn my palm towards the octopus.
Several short bullet-sized arrow Brids were created from the light ball and they all pierce the octopus one after the other.
It is trying to block with its tentacles, but without caring, I continue shooting several tens of arrows.
It gradually backs off, and in the end, the octopus is sewed in the wall.
The firing continues.
In time, there was a change.
The head of the octopus gets bigger than its original size and then, it began to swell irregularly.
That doesn’t look like regeneration.
It is done huh.
I make an earth element aria, and from the floor, a wall is created as if hiding that thing’s body.
I don’t want it splattering on me after all.
If I were to hit the weak point properly, it might not scatter and turn into a lump of meat like Ilumgand though.
It would be troublesome to search for it all the time, and with things like: effective element, resistances, and absorption, it makes it even more troublesome.
In that case, it is easier to just damage it till its regeneration limit and finish it.
Things like having several amounts of hyuman magic power increasing its defensive power don’t affect me much anyways.
*Buchatto
A big and unpleasant noise sounded.
I release the wall I created and, looking at the white gel-like substance, I confirm that the octopus was defeated.
I can’t feel life signs from it.
It is the same as the beaked variant.
It is finished now.
After confirming it, I go outside.
[Sorry for the wait]
When I go outside, I was welcomed by a large amount of gazes.
Ooh.
There are quite a lot.
Moreover, it looks like they are still increasing in numbers.
There are some that are hugging each other from the happiness of being saved.
With these numbers, the slum where the demi-humans are, is an appropriate evacuation point.
Luckily, the demi-human leader there is an acquaintance of us and we already have permission to use the place.
I heard that the Forest Oni Akua is guarding the surroundings of that area.
There’s a good amount of space and there’s no variants appearing there.
They will get surprised, but they are able to accept this numbers, and I don’t think they will reject it.
When this group is done gathering, I will guide them to the slums while protecting them.
Looks like I can kill a good amount of time.
As Tomoe said, it might take one day or, depending on the situation, several days.
Until then, we will steadily evacuate the residents, and when we ‘end up encountering’ a variant, we exterminate it.
It looks like my employees are scattered here and there and playing an active role in the evacuation places, so every one of us will probably gather when everything is over.
“You! You are alright. Did you defeat it?”
With her unchanged poisonous appearance, the Onee-san from before approaches me, and after confirming my safety, she asked me the situation.
[Yeah. I’m not sure if any more of those will appear, but I did defeat that… monster. It looks like your side is still increasing in numbers]
“An academy teacher, as expected, quite the impressive one. Well, I don’t want to think that more of those things will appear though. And yeah, this was an unexpected situation for the people here after all. In that avenue, there were several customers. You probably already know, but in the brothels there’s no day or night. Is the evacuation point far?”
The brothels are active even at daytime huh.
I didn’t know that one.
I thought it was a business that operates only at nights.
[From here, the closest place would be the slum. Thinking about the space, it is the most appropriate place. Bringing everyone, I think it will take around 20 minutes]
“Slum?! In the slum where those demi-humans are?! Is it okay to go to such a place to take refuge?”
Just as the name slum implies, it is a place that is recognized by hyumans as a place with bad public order, so it can’t be helped that she is surprised.
The people in the slums are actually simplistic and good natured though.
Because of the prejudices, people just go and hate it, so it must be hard to enter that territory because of fear.
[Fortunately, an acquaintance of mine is doing the role of putting the place in order. I work in a company, and that person is part of my connections]
“Ah! You, could it be, you are the Kuzunoha Company’s… uhm, Raidou-san?”
I try telling her just in case so she feels more at peace, but for some reason, she reacted in a different point.
I don’t know which store in specific are the customers that come to my place, but prostitutes do come to buy in my store frequently.
Maybe she immediately felt familiarity towards me, with a broad smile, she guessed my identity.
[Yes. I’m the representative Raidou]
“Hmph~, you are huh. That place sells a drink that works well for fatigue. I haven’t gone to the store myself, but that drink has been helping me a lot”
[Thank you for your patronage. And thank you for your continued work]
To think that she was one of the people that drank it.
I lower my head and express my gratitude.
In present, the energy drink is selling decently. And a percent of it is because of the purchase of people in the night business.
No, it seems they also work at day, so maybe the wording night business is not correct?
Not only is it a rigorous manual labor, it also has irregular times. It really is a rough job.
Thinking that way, I lower my head deeply with those emotions in mind.
“… You, are pretty unique. Well, you are the representative of a unique company so that’s a given huh. In this situation, no matter if it’s the slum or any other place, as long as they accept us, I am grateful. Can you please wait for a bit? I will convince everyone first so it doesn’t become troublesome later”
But it must have been strange for me to lower my head, she was surprised and after that she made a bitter smile.
I was treated as a ‘unique’ person.
Why?
She is a regular customer that buys a lot of my merchandize, and even if she hasn’t taken care of me in that aspect, she does her best working day and night.
Well, I don’t get it but I am glad for her proposal.
Telling the people beforehand to avoid problems when they arrive there.
That place is originally the place where demi-humans live, is what Tomoe said and with that in consideration she is not sending people there though.
If the people evacuating have this in mind, the worries will lessen.
[That will help a lot. The academy is already on the move, so I think the situation will be resolved promptly. Please persevere for a bit]
“Of course. I’m sorry for troubling you. It may be late but, I am Ester. Nice to meet you” (Ester)
[Raidou]
We belatedly finish our introductions.
Several minutes passed before Ester-san returned from the crowd.
We began moving to our evacuation point, the slum.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
“Shiki, take those kids and the remaining audience and go ahead first” (Mio)
“Wa? What is Mio-dono going to do?” (Shiki)
“Hm? I remembered some business. If it’s just guiding the people to the evacuation point where the students are, even if it’s only Shiki it will be enough right?” (Mio)
“That’s true but… understood. Then I will be going first” (Shiki)
“I will catch up soon-desu wa” (Mio)
When Jin’s group and the followers of Makoto were going to leave the competition grounds, Mio suddenly told Shiki to go ahead.
Shiki was troubled in asking the reason, but in the end, he agreed.
The distance to the evacuation point he has to guide the students and spectators isn’t that far, moreover, he is going along as a guard.
With just that, the defense power was already at an excessive level.
“Well then…” (Mio)
Mio turns back on her heels and returns to the stage of the competition grounds.
In there, there is – no – there was a meaningful meat lump of a variant.
“My regeneration is on the special side, but maybe because of that, I can feel it. The smell or maybe the breathing of it; the signs of regeneration” (Mio)
After those words directed to no one, Mio makes one big sigh.
When she does so, the lump of meat that was before her eyes began to move as if it concurred.
“Even though the part that served as the nucleus was completely destroyed, how pitiful. As a person that is specialized in regeneration, I don’t want to compare to you but, I will at least praise your vitality-desu wa” (Mio)
The moving lump of meat copies the outline of a hyuman shape.
But the appearance was not that of a hyuman but meat in the shape of a hyuman, and there was no strength detectable like before when it was a variant.
“… It may only be fragments, but I remember. You are a woman of Kuzunoha? Am I still alive?”
“Ara, you can speak? I didn’t expect you to have a personality” (Mio)
“I am Ilumgand Hopelace”
“You were” (Mio)
Mio cuts into the words of the hyuman shaped meat lump.
The lower part of its face swelled and it made words as if coming out from its mouth.
And subsequently, when the upper part vibrated slightly, a horizontal cut is made, and when it opens it up and down, there were eyes there.
“… Was I… played around by those guys? How pathetic. Showing such a shameful behavior and even dirtying my family name!!”
“…”
“I used drugs, turned into a monster, and even with that, I still lost. Kukuku, how unsightly”
“Yeah” (Mio)
“The destruction impulse I was feeling a while ago and the emotions that were welling up and couldn’t control, are so silent right now, as if it was all a lie”
“… The nucleus was destroyed, so it is obvious” (Mio)
Mio already reached to a conclusion as to why he returned to his senses, but without voicing out any details, she narrows her eyes as if examining at the situation.
After that, while recognizing the hyuman shaped thing as Ilumgand Hopelace, she muttered several times. He continued talking to Mio but she just gave short responses or ignored him.
“But with this body of a monster, I should end my life already right? If I didn’t die, my responsibility of carrying the Hopelace household would get heavier. That would increase the burden of the residents in our territory” (Ilumgand)
“… Fuh” (Mio)
The second son noble is already dead.
That’s why, released from his firm convictions, he muttered in a calm tone.
Looking at Ilumgand, whose circumstances Mio practically didn’t know at all, talking about responsibility and standpoint, she saw it as humorous.
“It is alright. I don’t know how long I will be able to live in this body. In that case, at the very least, I will relay my feelings before dying” (Ilumgand)
Ilumgand didn’t show signs of minding the sneer of Mio.
With heavy dragged steps, he walks to where Mio is.
That face was steadily molding into that of when he was a hyuman, but he wasn’t able to recreate that appearance perfectly.
The parts of the face were subtly apart from their respective locations, and if anyone saw it, they would feel disgust. Moreover, he had a terrible looking part resembling a keloid.
Even calling him a demi-human would be hard to do. That’s how unbalanced and unsightly he was right now.
“That body, it isn’t unstable to the point that you have to prepare for death. But do you intent to live as Ilumgand whatever-desu no?” (Mio)
Hearing the information from Mio, the hyuman shape glances at her.
“Hoh, I see. I can live. I have heard something good. I was talking about relaying my feelings, but don’t worry. I won’t lay a hand to Gotetsu or Ruria anymore. Why I wonder? Even though I was so stuck into it. I am choosing my ideals over my deep affection to her”
“Hm? Gotetsu, Ruria?” (Mio)
“I will fight. If I clad my whole body in armor, I can hide this unsightly body. Even if I am unable to realize my ideals basking in the sunlight, I will at least be able to serve as a shield for Hibiki-sama. I can still do that. When thinking that way, I even feel happy about having this giant unsightly body” (Ilumgand)
“N, Hibiki? Did you say Hibiki just now?” (Mio)
Hearing a familiar name being said, Mio asks again.
“… Yeah. It’s the hero-sama that descended to Limia. If it is that person, she will definitely be able to overthrow the demon race. And then, the people will be able to do their own roles, and be able to follow their own dreams. She will realize that kind of peaceful world” (Ilumgand)
“Ah, so you were talking about the hero-desu no. Then it is a different person from the Hibiki I know-desu wa ne. To think that the hero has the same name as her, how pitiful. The hero in Limia is named Hibiki?” (Mio)
“That’s right. You have an acquaintance named Hibiki? In Lorel that kind of name isn’t unusual, so it isn’t impossible. Well then, see you. We probably won’t meet again” (Ilumgand)
The hyuman shape with the memories of Ilumgand passes by the side of Mio. Without looking back at her, he tries to leave the stage.
“Right. I only intended to exterminate you, but since the memories of the original person are acting as the base, this is a pleasant surprise-desu wa ne. It will serve as punishment” (Mio)
The hyuman shape tried to turn when he heard the voice of Mio at his back, but he was unable to.
Because he couldn’t to put strength into the legs that supported his body and fell down.
Prostrating on the ground, he bended his neck towards her. The hyuman shape with the memories of Ilumgand learned about what was done to him.
“My legs are… You, what are you doing?” (Ilumgand)
What did she do?
He didn’t know how it was done, but looking at the result, he could tell.
Both legs were severed.
From knees down, it was cut off.
Because he doesn’t feel pain, he didn’t scream. The expression of the hyuman shape had no pain reflected in it either.
“What, you say? Punishment-desu wa” (Mio)
Mio didn’t show much change. Slowly shrinking the distance she has between the hyuman shape.
“Kugh?! I already don’t have any intentions in harming your company or Raidou as Ilumgand”
“So?” (Mio)
“So, you say?”
“Yeah. You troubled Waka-sama so much and said abusive words to him-desu wa ne? I understand what you want to do, but your atonement comes first-desu wa” (Mio)
“Atonement?”
“Yes, atonement. It is simply the order of things. You were hostile to Waka-sama, antagonized him, interfered, and rampaged against the students of Waka-sama. Then after being defeated, you are not even a hyuman anymore” (Mio)
“…”
“See? You haven’t atoned for your actions towards Waka-sama. You were only defeated. But right now – maybe a miracle happened – you have retained your memories, personality, and recovering the ownership of your body; you are still alive. Your soul and core that you were composed of were clearly destroyed, and yet, you are still able to act as a hyuman” (Mio)
“… But I am already…”
The hatred he had towards Raidou, the hostility he directed at Jin’s group; those things were already gone.
Why did he do something so stupid that resembled the nobles he hated so much?
‘Even if I wasn’t sane, there was nothing but shame’ is what the hyuman shape was thinking.
“Your defeat and your current appearance isn’t retribution. It is just the result of your own weakness. Ah, maybe you should think about it this way? You were given a miracle ‘for the sake of atonement’” (Mio)
“What… are you saying? Also, my current self has nothing that can be given as atonement. Nothing… But if it’s an apology, I will put my hands down and apologize to Raidou and the students”
“I am fine with your life-desu wa” (Mio)
“?!”
“An amendment death. It won’t suffice by a lot, but since it was a miracle, I will forgive you with just that. If you have a wish, disappear with the regret of being unable to fulfill it” (Mio)
The hyuman shape trembles heavily.
Because Mio smiled.
An innocent smile, with a glaze that one would be charmed with.
Despite that.
In the memories of the hyuman shape, it was a smile that brought forth an extreme intensity he has never seen in his whole life.
“!!”
A dull shock resounded in its body, and the hyuman shape looks at its own stomach.
There’s a big hole there.
Mio’s index finger and middle finger were pointed at the hyuman shape.
“Impossible. The resistance to magic in my body…”
“It has gotten stronger-desu wa ne. I intended to get rid of every trace of you with that one attack though. I am a bit surprised that you even have resistance to the darkness element. Maybe you obtained it with that miracle of yours. For the sake of thoroughly tasting this atonement” (Mio)
“… Raidou, does he hate me that much?! Is it because I hated him that he hates me too?!”
A shock resounds once again.
This time a hole opened in its chest.
“Waka-sama, at you? Ufufu, when one surpasses stupidity, there’s also a cute side to it-desu no ne. Waka-sama doesn’t even think of you as a pebble. That death of yours, and obviously that so called interest in you, he has none of those” (Mio)
“?!! T-Then why are you…?”
If it’s not Raidou’s orders, why is Mio doing something like this?
The hyuman shape didn’t understand.
“Isn’t that obvious? Because I can’t forgive you. If it’s Waka-sama’s order, I would even save you, but I didn’t receive any such order. I do think that Shiki received an order of incapacitating you, but that was something that happened before you died” (Mio)
“But he did order it right?! Then”
The hyuman shape already understood.
The outcome.
No, this wasn’t even a match to begin with.
It understood that there would be no way to escape from this on its own.
The regeneration didn’t show signs of beginning.
Those two holes in its body were telling the hyuman shape the difference in power like never before.
“But… Waka-sama didn’t say anything special even when you died. That was because ‘there’s no helping it if he died’, that’s the extent of what he thought, right? In that case, it is fine to just make it as if the miracle regeneration never happened. There’s no problem-desu wa” (Mio)
“I… can’t die. In this kind of place, even if it’s a life given by chance-!!”
Stomach, chest; and then, after the two fingers of Mio were pointed at the head of the hyuman shape, a dull shock resounds in the stage.
In that place that’s already desolate, no one would see it.
All the remaining people and the students already went along with Shiki towards the evacuation point. And she knew that very well.
“Limia, Hibiki… how pitiable. To only have that level of power and hold the same name as the hero, that girl is misfortunate-desu wa ne. When I meet her again, I will recommend her to change her job to chef” (Mio)
Finishing the disposal of the thing that was once Ilumgand, Mio left the competition grounds and was about to head towards the place Shiki is, but she suddenly stops.
Because she recalled the conversation with the hyuman shape.
The name that remains in her memories, Hibiki.
Mio recalled the black haired girl that said came from Limia.
But that was only for a moment.
She had to return to where her master ordered her to be. She rejoined Shiki.
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter
“It may not have been explained the best, but it is as I told you…
“Uguo… That felt terrible…” What I saw within my vision was an endless white space.…
It is not like I was certain, but I did think that we might end…
“Eh? It wasn’t that you came to visit me?” (Furiae) “Aah, yeah…you could say that.”…
There may have been cases when I would begrudge my own lack of strength, but…
Previous Chapter l Next Chapter “Nfufu! This one is back after a while! Made ya…
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arigatou! thank you sire ^^
I find myself perplexed by the people who praise Mio.
I can understand the joy in watching someone get their comeuppance, but usually that only goes so far as a fair and equitable punishment.
Illumgand was a jerk, but as the author spelled it out, it was mostly under the control of some kind of berserker drug. Otherwise, he would have been one of the genuinely good hyumans we've been introduced to so far.
And while under the control of the drug, the actions he took against Raidou were basically at the level of minor pranks. (As far as we know) He didn't take any actions against the store, didn't slander them, any of a whole wide repertoire of things Nobles can do to common people. His worst actions were telling people not to sign up for his class. Oh, the humanity!
Then comes manipulating the tournament in such a way to give himself an advantage and disadvantage Raidou's students. Despicable, but nothing more serious than rigging a sports tournament. Raidou did mention "poisoning" but then he also described it as giving diarrhea. So really, what Illumgand tried to feed them was some primitive Ex-Lax. Le gasp!
So in response to what basically boils down to high-school bullying, people say Illumgand deserves death. And again, this isn't even taking into account that he wasn't really in control of himself anymore. Even the people who actually DID suffer at his tactics didn't want to kill him and actually found it kind of amusing.
What Mio did is the sort of thing dictators like Assad and Kim Jong do. And the nobles that Illumgand looks down on.
mio doesn't really care about his motives. all she cared is illu targetd his hatred towards her waka, who is her entire world. since he had taken action before, he already signed his death warrant.
makoto once mentioned mio would support him regardless of his path and would be dangerous if he ever strayed from his ethics.
Leaving this for future readers.
Using Assasins(obviously with intent to kill) & Poisons cannot be considered as bullying anymore.
Yeah, it's harmless to MC ... But he's not the target ... his students are, which invalidate the harmless effect
~ or maybe will arrive at a time when Bullying with intention to kill are considered normal ... Whew
You're vastly incorrect. You need to go back and read the chapters pertaining to the Rotsgard Arc... clearly quite a few details slipped from your memory.
First, Ilumgard chose to drug himself into oblivion for strength. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense could have seen that Rona and the demon's offer of 'magic medicine' and their explanation of it was extremely shady. Yet he thought it was fine because he needs ill-gotten strength as a noble-sama in order to uphold his empty ideals.
Second, he didn't feel badly enough about bullying Ruria and gouging out her trauma to get his ass off of his high horse and beg for forgiveness in person (it was stated and also implied that he chose the least direct methods possible to nag Ruria to meet with him once more).
Thirdly, you're completely wrong about the measures he went with to attack his own classmates and prevent their tournament participation. It said that only the first wave of malicious attempts was on the level of drugging/poisoning them. Afterwards, Makoto clearly said it was a full course of clandestine attempts including full-on assassinations.
Fourthly, we don't know what measures the Hopelace household implemented or had in mind regarding the Raidou and the company itself. For all we know he could have instigated several of the merchants to join together with the Merchant's Guild to shut down his entire business. Or they could have hired people to attack the store (even though it would be impossible for them to succeed).
You're completely minimizing Ilumgand and the Hopelace household's misdeeds and evaluating him by the glimpses of his past~ in his youth when his shapeless ideals were being 'formed'. Everyone (no matter how good or how bad) has a story, a family, a past, and reasons behind their actions. That doesn’t justify them or validate them and their actions in any way.
Now I'm not saying Mio's cold-blooded 'disposal of the trash' was warranted either, but make no mistake, his comeuppance was well deserved.
Already 5 years but did you already think again about how wrong your comment are🤯
She's more yandere than masochist now. Who misses the giant spider who keeps coming back after getting her legs cut off?
Illum was dead before he got back up. Yes it was touching and impressive, and yes there was great potential there, but his circumstances don't matter.
He. Hurt. Waka.
I'd bet Shiki and Tomoe would've done the same. Better to make him disappear so that Makoto can move on and forget about this unpleasantness.
People seem to forget that his personal trio only care about him. All three of them not only could individually crush a nation, but would do so at the slightest provocation(provided they thought Makoto wouldn't mind.).
Let's be objective here for a moment.
In what way did he hurt Makoto?
He may have tried to hurt his reputation (in a roundabout, awkward way), and he did some name-calling.
As Mio said: Makoto cared about Illumgand to the extent of a bug. What Illum did was basically at the level of nothing, as far as Makoto was concerned.
And for this, the punishment is death.
So far, the only ones who have hurt Makoto so far are:
1) That female adventurer
2) Lancer and Sofia
3) The Vice-head of the merchants
4) Rona
Otherwise, Makoto has had a pretty pleasant life so far.
Leaving this for future readers
"In what way did he hurt Makoto?"
Indirect attack is ... If we view it from Mio's POV, You attack What precious to WAKA-SAMA = You signed your death warrant.
And this Noble dude target shift from just Kuzunoha to WAKA-SAMA students ... Both are precious to WAKA-SAMA
IIRC, this dude also use Lethal-method in his "prank"
Using Assasins = Intention to Kill cannot be Considered as Bullying anymore.
yeah it's not dangerous to WAKA-SAMA, but it's not the same for WAKA-SAMA students ... The target is the students.
*Yep, imma gonna to prank people using a gun with a live round in the chamber ... Result = Cop gonna shoot me with intent to kill.
Also don't forget ... Don't expect Mio or WAKA-SAMA to have perfect information about Noble Dude like us the All-Knowing-Readers.
Heck, even if Mio did ... She will still execute that noble dude anyway, He already signed his death warrant.
He mess with Makoto and his students.
In Mio point of view it was like a mosquito bugging him. What is done when a mosquito keep bugging? Kill him.
Is as simple as that. Mio is only acting true to her character.
Everyone, except Makoto, and maybe Tomoe, Sinki or Hibiki are bugs in her point of view. If they mess with Makoto in any way, they will be crushed.
Don't forget she is a all powerful Calamity Spider. She is like a elephant passing trough a savanna. Any ant crossing in her way will be crushed.
It also said that he sent assassins after the Makoto's students that his guards/servants/workers stopped on his orders
Thanks for the chapter
That is worse, but is assassins the right term, or is it just a catch-all for people they send to, say, attack (but not kill)?
That being said, once again I have to point out these are actions taken AFTER Illumgand lost control.
To be fair, Mio et all do not know that. (On the other hand, I doubt if Mio knew about all that. Or that it makes a difference to her. She doesn't care about the students either.)
I'm not saying what Mio did was wrong from her point of view, per se, I just wonder why people are praising her for what she did. It's very much in character for her as the Calamity Spider, but remember: that's not a good thing. It's "Calamity" Spider, not Spider of "Happiness and Blessings."
As Tomoe put it, Mio was an existence that originally could not have been saved (redeemed). That suggests all those actions are bad. And if Mio is going to continue acting like that, it might mean that she still can't be saved.
....I'll be honest, the idea of Mio as a "Spider of Happiness and Blessings" creeps me the f*ck out.
Charlotte's Web would like to have a word with you.
Hey, nothing against spiders. I'm just talking about Mio.
If Mio said "Some Pig", it would carry an entirely different meaning, wouldn't you say?
At the end of the day, I'm pretty sure the pig gets eaten.
In fact, Wilbur might have it worse. There's a joke about a 3-legged hero pig.....
And how did Charlotte's Web end? That's right. With hundreds of baby spiders spreading out into the world.
The happiness of a hundred tiny Mio's floating across the land...
Most heroines in novels even if they are bad in the beginning, because they met the MC, they change and don't do bad things anymore.
But not Mio. Even if she is more tame on the surface, inside she is still the same Calamity Spider.
Just that is refreshing for me.
Is nice to see a heroine that have no problem dirtying her hands if she fell like it.
And Is not as if she killed any innocent person. Until this chapter the one she killed was more or less a antagonist.
If you think about it, Makoto don't really care, as long as Mio or Tomoe don't make things that will hurt his plans, he never ask if they kill anybody.
For him as long as Mio don't go berserk and destroy and eat everything witout thinking, one or 2 or 10 killings don't really matter. She is saved as long as she don't become a absurd killing machine like before.
Antagonist, yes. But unfortunately, also a pretty innocent person. Yes he did bad things, but it all really started AFTER he got drugged. (Think Harry Potter and the Imperius spell). This is why someone posted somewhere that Illumgand's story is actually more of a Tragedy.
I'm not surprised Mio did it. I just don't think it's worth praising. "Hellz yeah! She killed an (annoying) innocent person!"
And in terms of what he actually accomplished (jack squat), minor pranks, he gets the death penalty. If anyone does something more serious, I would not be surprised if she does become an absurd killing machine like before. (Like if she ever thinks Raidou won't catch her, I wouldn't be surprised to see if she ate every merchant and their families in Rotsgard)
Mio doesn't really qualify as a heroine yet. (i.e., what is heroic about her, aside from her appetite?) She's more of an anti-hero.
Antihero + chaotic neutral (At least I think so) Mio fits in Makoto's team, she represents the innocent brutality of a child so that death was in perfect harmony with her character.
As you said Ilumgand wasn't an antagonist but he wasn't a victim either, remember how he treated Ruria at his first meeting and how he accepted the drug to beat Raidou.
A wild guess of why Ilumgand treated Ruria that way might be Hibiki's aura, it was mentioned that after she regained her aura in Tsige the adventurers stopped treating her coldly, and being away from that aura for too long might revert anyone to their original mentality.
If you go back and re-read Illumgand's chapters, you may be surprised at how much Illum struggles when he meets Ruria. He wants very much to be happy for her, but his dumb friends start criticizing her and when she argues back, it kinda drags him into it.
Basically, the scene plays out like so:
Illum sees Ruria, he's happy.
She pretends not to know him, he's hurt and a little confused.
Friends start talking smack.
Ruria argues back, and incidentally undercuts Illum's dreams and ideals.
Illum starts lashing out (verbally).
Raidou cuts in and shuts everyone up.
Illum spends some time trying to apologize and being interfered with.
Illum really is just an idealistic teenager suffering from peer pressure.And when he chose to take the drug, consider that it'd the result of a hurt, angry teenager and his hormones making him look for a quick answer. (Read: get strong enough to push aside Kuzunoha employees).
Seriously, Illumgand was a genuinely nice, idealistic teenager. With dumb friends, and teenage hormones and undeveloped brain. (Teens still be growing)
Strictly, what's required to be a heroine? Are heroics really necessary? Wouldn't she be considered a heroine by virtue of being a female main character beside the MC?
If heroism is required, then Tomoe probably doesn't qualify either, does she? She's pretty selfish and manipulative.
I think being a hero or heroine requires being heroic, which includes factoring in character motivations. Mio has done actions that were heroic in scale, but petty in nature. (For instance, if someone was paid a billion dollars to save a person, he is not called a hero but a mercenary.)
Even if you are the main character, I don't believe it automatically confers the status of "hero." For instance, no one would ever say Jack is the hero of "Titanic." He's a main character and the protagonist, but not a hero. In fact, I'm sure very many stories contain neither heroes or villains.
Nah, Hopelace could have apologised easily. Nothing could stop him if he was shouting his apology from the street or as Makoto notes, he could simply write a letter.
HOWEVER, his actions implicitly point to his need for Ruria to ACCEPT his apology. Now consider this
i) Hopelace shouts his apology -> Ruria ignores
ii) Hopelace shouts his apology -> Ruria refuses
iii) Hopelace shouts his apology -> Ruria accepts
In all permutations, he HAS APOLOGISED, hence his desired action has been completed. However the variable factor becomes how Ruria takes it. Why does he need to apologise face to face despite super powered, high levels blocking his path? Because if i) or ii) happens, he can continue to advance (or force depending on your view point) his apology.
@zakufan if he is a normal person maybe, but he is a noble, a noble shouting in the middle of the street will taint their family name. That is why he thinks it is needed for him to apologize face to face.
Now lets say Hiruma87 is correct. NOTE: This is even ignoring the entire idea of writing letters that the author himself mentioned which already puts a massive spanner into the entire idea that he is blocked by his pride.
Then it becomes a question of pride vs desire to apologise. Which then makes him look worse.
Pride > shout out apology
Take drugs > shout out apology
See where it goes?
This sort of person requires readers to feel great compassion? Some compassion sure, but up to a point you're looking at a lemming and should simply wave as they leap off a cliff.
As easy as it would be to say that Illumgand could "shout" his apology, or write a letter, consider a few things:
1. The Letter - how would it get delivered? Illumgand's chapters specifically mention that Kuzunoha kept him AND people associated with him from approaching Ruria. In all likelihood, that includes her home, her workplace,, her co-workers. So it would be difficult to even get a letter to Ruria in the first place. Second, the problem with the letter is there is no guarantee the person will read it. Especially after their spat. Ruria was already denying knowing Illumgand (and the author even says that Ruria blocked most of her old memories).
2. Shouting an apology - again, considering that Kuzunoha was forcing him to keep his distance, how far away would Illumgand have to be before they could stop him? 100 yards? (Remember that Kuzunoha are very powerful by their world's standards) Imagine shouting an apology over that distance. That's the sort of move that comes at the END of a romantic comedy, not the first move. (In other words, it's hard for EVERYONE, not just nobles)
The thing about apologies is that there is often a selfish component to them: the person wants to be forgiven. All the long distance methods people have been suggesting are lacking in that aspect. But who knows, Illumgand might have eventually gotten to that point. Illumgand used to be a genuinely nice, hardworking person. He had pride, but he used that pride to try and be a better person.
I think the problem is that Illumgand got such a lousy rep in the beginning, that when Illum's chapters came out, people skimmed over it FAST. (I know I did, the first time.) Not just because it's about someone you already hated, but because it's not about Makoto. And so most people are criticizing Illumgand on things that either do not take his circumstances into account, OR are just wrong (post Illumgand's chapter reveals) We don't know how long Illumgand was trying to apologize before he got hooked on drugs. Also, once again, he's still a dumb teenager with dumb teenage friends. If we killed people for being stupid as teenagers, we would have died out as a race long ago.
If we were to judge by the results of his actions, he accomplished jack diddly. Most of his moves were sophmoric at worst. If we judge by intended moves (assassins, poisons), I question the seriousness of those. (One poison was described as laxatives. It leads me to wonder how much worse the rest could be.And an assassin could be like Tonya Harding. Not actually killing, but injuring.)
There's also the double standard: people look at Mio's actions and say "life is cheap in the other world." In other words, Mio's actions weren't that bad. But then by extension, Illumgand's actions are like TPing someone's house.
Seriously? It takes a few seconds to actually think up a solution
i) Letter:
Have someone deliver it. Makoto's people are NOT omniscient. They do not know every single person that Hopelace knows. As a noble, he could very easily pull strings in getting anyone that could
a) want to suck up
b) willing to exchange future favors
c) willing to work for pay
to get the letter delivered.
"But she could throw it away!" you say? Simple, write "I AM SORRY" in caps right at the front of the envelope or the letter. Apology done. She throws it away is her choice.
ii) Blocking Hopelace from being in audible range:
This would be really really stupid because
i) Ruria works at a restuarant
ii) Posting enough guards to crerate a picket line would wind up alerting the city guards
iii) Accosting everyone who is cloaked, wearing a helmet or veil/hood/etc, would immediately cause a public disturbance, again alerting the authorities.
"But they alert the authorities, so what?" you say? Authorties are called authorities because they do not allow tom, dick and harry to do as they please. If Makoto was some big shot with big backers, then sure. But as of that time, he was new to the city.
iii) He wants her to accept the apology:
This is what i already mentioned. You apologise, does not mean EVERYONE involved accepts. So what if she refuses to accept the apology? Beat her until she accepts or dies? Continue blaming someone else for her refusal to accept the apology instead of himself (since he created the entire situation when he did not defended her at all from his "friends")?
iv) But he's a teenager!
So what? People, not just teenagers, who do not use their brains and self control die all the time. Teenage deaths from alcohol, teenage deaths from drugs, etc. You don't need to kill them, they kill themselves aka lemmings. Wave to the lemming and feel bad for the surviving relations instead.
Just as a thought, only Makoto suggested writing a letter, but Makoto operates with the common sense of our world. Where has anyone in this world written a letter that we've seen? Messengers are the default, and all contacts to him have been through such or his guild card. What leads anyone to believe that letters are considered socially acceptable for this purpose by Hyuman cultural standards? For all we know, or Makoto knows for that matter, they could be the equivalent of breaking up via text message. Also there's no postal service and magic and monsters makes animal or Hyuman courier far more dangerous, and with thought transmission being a thing that exists letters in general seem a bit less ideal.
This world constantly reaffirms that hyumans as a whole are ridiculous, with nothing more evident than their slothful fighting styles, so I really wouldn't be surprise if letter writing just never crossed his mind.
i) Letter:
I see your points about finding someone else to deliver it. HOWEVER, Illum chapters already indicated that Kuzunoha chased away people associated with him. Since that is a very difficult task by just sitting around, it then seems more likely that Kuzunoha just kept an eye on Illumgand instead and the people he talks to. And then they know who to stop. (The author has already given Lime/the Forest Onis MAD spying skills.)
And as you said about her being able to throw away the letter, as I said: that's the problem. People often apologize because they want to be forgiven. The letter is basically screaming into an empty wind tunnel.
ii) Blocking Hopelace from being in audible range:
Kuzunoha don't have to create a picket line or call guards. They just follow Illumgand. They DO know what he looks like.
iii) He wants her to accept the apology:
Why did you jump to violence as the first reaction? Not even Illumgand did that (as far as we know), at least until the tournament. Simply put, my point is that he wants her to accept his apology.
To say that Illumgand is blaming Kuzunoha(or others) for her refusal to accept an apology is wrong. Because he never even got that far. He blames them for not letting him apologize in the first place. And by extension, Ruria never had the chance/opportunity to refuse.
iv) But he’s a teenager!
I agree that as a teenager, he can do something that gets himself killed. But it feels like people are outright celebrating his death, as though he torched a village of puppies.
Granted, once he was on drugs, he did some potentially hurtful things (failed fantastically though). But if we're trying to determine how BAD of a person he is, we should also be taking into account how much of his actions were really under his control.
Here's how it could end well
Noble dude go to kuzunoha, or meet MC at his school and ask advice/help to apologizing to ruria. (Maybe need some explanation)
MC might could have someone from Kuzunoha to deliver his letter.
Buuuut...
It didn't happen.
No Apologize to Raido/MC
No Apologize to Ruria
Noble dude got his mind clouded by emotion, negative emotion ... It shift his priority from apologizing to hatred out of jealousy ... Then everything went downhill.
Not gonna lie, IRL Apologizing from bottom of the heart requires BALLS OF STELL ... Make it Titanium Balls for the nobles.
Ilumgand never thinks he's wrong or take responsibility anything.
He just do whatever he want and change mind when he lose.
when mio ask for atonement he never begging for life or negotiate with her.
if he say something will satisfy to waka mio maybe call waka for consider but he do nothing
so he seem to agree with mio.
As for hurting Makoto, keep in mind that the emotional turmoil he went through in the last few chapters was a direct result of Illums attempted interference. Yes, Waka didn't view Illum as anything more than an annoyance, but the merchant guild gave him an emotional gut punch that he's still reeling from.
I won't be at all surprised if one of the trio find away to fix that in the chaos as well.
....You just corrected yourself.
Illumgand had nothing to do with the Merchant Guild.
The Merchant Guild hurt Makoto, NOT Illumgand.
No, Hopelace's attempt to turn political pressure against 'Raido' caused it. The merchant guild was involved, and I'm sure they'll get there's soon enough, but Hopelace was the origin of the problem.
Also, that's some strange logic.
Assuming you are correct about Hopelace putting political pressure on the guild (if you could point me to a quote, that would be much appreciated), the "origin" of Raidou's trouble with the merchant guild is Raidou's low low prices and super effective medicines, driving other merchants into trouble.
Hopelace would have been, at most, the person who made it happen sooner rather than later.
It's a bit like: Say you go around torching other people's homes. Someone gives the police a tip that it's you. Now you're blaming the guy who gave the tip, instead of your predilection for setting fires. And your defense is "I didn't know setting fires was bad."
It remains to be seen if the Limia merchants alone were responsible, as most of it was the guild vice leader's prickly personality judging Makoto in his own harsh way, but even before Ilum other merchants had been levying against him, as seen with the church that later decided to pull back
Can you show me where it says that?
Because if memory serves, Kuzunoha was attracting the attention of the church and the very angry competing merchants all by itself.
Sorry, that was meant as a reply to Dyneamaeus.
You guys too focus on Ilum. Hopeless is not him alone. In previous chapter the king already comment on the father's action.
something like "I know you investigate the kuzunoha and raidou". So, Ilum may not go to the merchant guild but the father maybe. Merchant and noble almost always go hand in hand. I wouldn't surprise that the father did something together with merchant guild to pressure raidou
So, I'd like to open with it don't have any realproblems with hopeless himself. In fact, I found him pleasantly human. He wants to be better than the other assinine nobles, but when things got hard he found himself sliding into that persona accidentally. I also cant fault him for falling into Rona's sceme. It was very tragic, but in a good way.
Now, for you Blue, the opening of 'A nobles way of fighting' is where the Merchant problems begin. They are spoken of as part of Hopelace's attempts to undermine Makoto, alongside attempted poisonings, and assassinations. This matches up with Rembrandt's explanation that merchants are the closest things to spies hyumans have in an earlier chapter. (which caused Makotos desire to start his shop in an unaffiliated city)
And for you O-(-'.'Q), you made a fine point, so I reread the section with the church. While it doesn't say specifically whether Shinai was or wasnt working for anyone, the implication is that he's trying to earn some brownie points before all the bigwigs show up for the festival. He made some vague, likely fabricated threats, and was surprised to find Makoto played along. By the end, Kuzunoha and the church seemed to come to an amicable standstill. In fact, the Bishop even tells Shinai not to bother Kuzunoha until after the festival, and to keep a tight lid on what info they did gather on the company. It's a safe bet that they weren't in cahoots with the merchants.
Dyneamaeus, thank you for the reply.
I see where you're coming from, in that because it falls in that chapter, "A Noble's Way of Fighting," they start to hint at the problem with the Merchants by mentioning Rembrandt going off to a meeting.
We will just have to agree to disagree, then, because I believe the chapter is referring specifically to the dirty tricks Hopelace did with the tournament. Very often, the author has chapter titles, and up to half the chapter has nothing to do with it. (The chapter "Amelia," half of it has nothing to do with her. The chapter "If it's Raidou, the chances of that development are low" is 99% not about the possibility of sexing up Raidou.)
As you said, the Merchants are sorta spies for kingdoms. If they are spies, then they would have already had their eyes on Kuzunoha from the beginning, if they were any good at their jobs.
Honestly, I think going to the Merchant's Guild is a move that would have been too smart for druggie Illumgand. Look at the other stuff he did, basically ham-fisted attempts at bullying, very obvious and no sophistication at all. (I have the rules changed, in front of a crowd so everyone can see it. I have a judge acting biased in public. I wear family-heirloom weapons in a tournament with wooden sticks. I try to give his students diarrhea) Getting to Raidou through his company through the Guild is just too good.
Also, I think the timing of the Merchant's Guild meeting has to to do more with Rembrandt.
Kuzunoha is backed by Rembrandt, and Rembrandt is a pretty powerful person. So the Guild waited for a time when Rembrandt was visiting the town (during the festival), to speak with him first and feel him out and how committed he is to supporting Kuzunoha.
I hadn't considered the timing of Rembrandt's arrival, which feels obvious now that you point it out. It's not like they could have just called him in from The Wastes. After a meeting with the apparently much kinder Rembrandt, the vice leader might very well have just smelled weakness and took the opportunity to bite Kuzunoha.
As a small point, I was referencing the content of that chapter as opposed to the name. In it Makoto assumed that the merchant problem stemmed from the Hopelace families influence, due to all the other problems being thrown at him by them at the same time. I agree that a plan like that seemed far to subtle for Illum. As Hiruma87 pointed out though, the father could also have stirred up the merchants.
On the flip side however, that's just the impression I get, and the two groups working separately is equally reasonable.
Personally, I think the best part of this story, and this arc in particular, is that the world definitely turns while we aren't watching it. The characters are nicely fleshed out, and aren't just sitting around. They're doing stuff, whether we see it or not. I like trying to piece together what might have happened behind the scenes, or what moves the people offstage are making.