297 Getting Cornered
I still can't accept Barido getting acquitted.
Cause I just know the guy is going to come and mess with us again once he's free.
Guys like that 'never learn'. He's even got a backer. A noble who doesn't hesitate to play dirty. The worst possible combination.
It's so bad I can't think how you're gonna top it.
A cheap villain adventurer, and a noble who uses dirty tactics like he's breathing, just these two factors are full of red flags already. Way past the daily limit.
"What now? We ain't goin' nowhere stopping here."
Kidd sounded anxious. Not like there's any choice but to press on.
"Let us go around to the right of the lake. We do not have the means to cross this lake after all."
Firuna decided. But I just gotta ask this.
"I'm cool with that, but how do you guys plan to deal with those guys?"
All White Fang members looked at me like I said something wrong.
"You said that we'd be branded as bad guys if Barido's group caught up to us yeah? But that's only if we don't exterminate them all. Dead men tell no tales and all. It's within my ability."
However, I'd like to avoid that if possible. For a reason. Quite a simple one. It's a pain in the rear. A huge one.
"Within your ability? Well I still don't have a clue on this 'trick' of yours, but you're not wrong either, I suppose we've just got to kill them all?"
Mary nodded to me while sulking a bit.
Melgis opposed the idea.
"No, we'd better off avoiding them completely. Better safe than sorry."
"And yet this isn't something that can be put off forever."
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Danku voiced how they can't run away from this forever.
I told White Fang that was inconsequential.
"Aren't you guys misunderstanding something? No I guess, you're not seeing the big picture. By 'exterminate them all', I mean it from the root up."
"What do you mean? You're referring to our pursuers, Barido's group correct? ...No, you're right. Simply exterminating our pursuers won't put this matter to a close indeed..."
Firuna noticed. But I made it clear in words.
"The second and third waves would likely come if we crush the first wave. They'll find out their loss and then blame us with some false accusation. The marquis himself is coming for White Fang."
"Oy... Is that for real? Forget cornered... We're in deep shit?!"
Kidd reacted like he just got a death sentence.
"People of this kind are always thorough in their scumbaggery. I just know. So, I mean it when I said 'all of them'. It's sink or swim."
I spoke to Kidd on the gravity of their situation.
They all finally seemed to get it, each started groaning.
"But against a noble..."
"There's just no way. But..."
"I don't want to become a wanted woman..."
"Heck, they'd arrest us right away..."
"Just how are we supposed to do... What's our best course of action..."
"Conquer this dungeon, take the core with you and go back outside without encountering our pursuers once. Then rush to the adventurer guild. I'm sure even they'd give up after all that, yeah?"
I blurted that out nonchalantly. Since I just don't see any other way out.
Raise 'White Fang' fame without hitting any blemish along the way. Do that, and this crisis should naturally pass.
However, all that is a total pain in the butt for me. On the other hand, me doing all the work here would make me stand out.
Hence I urged them to hasten our pace and conquer this dungeon.
Here I asked something unrelated that had been bugging me.
"Hey, is there a reason why this dungeon has so much space? How do you even explain this phenomenon?"