The way back to the starting line (part 6)

"I would reconsider if I were you. She's a maid in the Rotteloss mansion, right? I didn't get the details of why am I getting paid for messing her up like that, but from my experience in the field, this sort of thing happens when a commoner slut whores her way into a nobleman's bed and then starts blackmailing them, forgetting her place."

*SLAM* *CRUNCH*

The rusted hoe was raised and then gell down once more, this time breaking the unconscious woman's left arm.

"N-no, Mary isn't like that...! She wouldn't... Get... get away from her...!"

Sam gritted his teeth and spat through his teeth while crawling, reaching his hand towards the attacker and raising the rusted hoe for yet another hit.

"Hmm? So it's not like she started to bring more money home recently? Shit, maybe I am wrong, sorry."

"!!!"

The hooded person hesitated and lowered the rusted tool lowering their head apologetically – but their words caused Sam to freeze in place, halting his attempts to reach them.

"I believe I've heard your name was Sam, wasn't it? Hold on a moment."

The hooded attacker sighed and crouched down by the light-brown-haired man, supporting themselves on the rusted hoe while searching through their clothes.

"Here."

"Wh-what is this...?!"

A few moments later, the hooded person found what they were looking for and pushed it right in front of Sam's face, making him flinch.

It was... a green marble.

"I should not be telling you this, but also, I wasn't informed that she was in a relationship. You see, after I would mess her up, my contractor told me to crush this over her, and when she would be healed up, I was supposed to tell her – know your place and stay an obedient girl."

"!!!"

The attacker explained, and the light-brown-haired man eye's widened as he stared at the healing pellet.

"It doesn't look like I can change your mind, so I'll just leave it here. You can do whatever you want; I did most of my job and said what I knew. What happens from now is not my business, as long as you pass her the message."

They shrugged their shoulders and put the pellet down, leaving the rusted hoe right next to it, before standing up and walking away.

"Happy marriage. I guess."

"..."

They added before leaving, but Sam didn't respond, too focused on the items in front of him.

The hooded person moved towards the temple and waited at its corner from where they had quite a good look at the scene – as good as the dim light of the poor-quality streetlights was allowing for, that is.

As they took their spot, they took off the hood revealing themselves to be a tall man with dark-blond hair.

He was silently observing when...

*crack*

The familiar sound of the magic pellet getting crushed broke the silence of the half-abandoned part of the city. Sam used the healing pellet – but as it turned out, he didn't use it on Mary.

As the unleashed spell healed up the deep wound in his back, the light-brown-haired man got up from the ground, grabbing the rusted hoe as he was standing up.

Back on his feet, Sam didn't let go of the tool – instead, he took a few steps towards the unconscious woman, raising the hoe over his head and...

*CRUNCH*

Turning Mary's head into a bloody pulp with a desperation-filled expression.

"...~"

The dark-blond-haired man's face lighted up with a friendly smile, and he hastily ran away towards the busier part of the city.

"GUARDS! GUARDS! THERE WAS SOME CRAZY MAN WITH SOME WEAPON CHASING A WOMAN BY THE OLD TEMPLE!"

The moment he spotted a pair of reluctant-looking guards on patrol, the dark-blond-haired man shouted in worry, getting their attention.

"What?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

The taller of the guards asked in shock.

"I was taking a shortcut through the temple grounds and noticed some man chasing a woman. He was shouting something about her cheating on him and whoring herself out to the aristocrats!"

"..."

"...lead us there..."

The man explained, and the two guards looked at each other before taking out their swords and nodding at him.

"Y-yes...!"

The man gulped down his saliva in a terrified manner but nodded back nonetheless and hurried back to the scene.

*CRUNCH* *THWACK* *CRUNCH*

"...bitch...! You bitch...!"

"Oh, dear heavens...!"

As it turned out, Sam didn't leave the place – instead, staying right there and continuing to mutilate Mary's corpse with the rusty tool – to which the dark-blond-haired man gasped as he stopped in place.

"YOU THERE! DROP THE WEAPON!"

The guards might have seemed unreliable at the start, but with a clear sight of crime in front of them, they sprung into action charging the light-brown-haired man.

"...~"

Sam's mental stability was questionable at best at the moment, and he didn't comply with the orders, which got him pierced with the standard-issued swords belonging to the guards – a sight that made the dark-blond-haired man nod with satisfaction and walk away before others noticed.

On his way out of there, Medea took off the dark-blond wig and the hairnet, combing his raven-black hair with his fingers before walking off towards the red-light district.

|One down~|

He thought to himself while mentally crossing off Mary's name from the list that he had memorized and which physical form he already disposed of.

--------

It was just a normal day like any other; the guard by the gate to the Rotteloss mansion was absentmindedly observing the people and carriages passing by his post. He was heavily regretting the last couple of drinks he had last evening as his dry throat was yearning to be quenched in more alcohol, and the urge to drink on the job was getting overwhelming.

"Good morning, mister...!"

"...huh...?"

The guard looked to the side, gazing longingly towards the bar a few buildings away along the street – so close and yet so far – when he got surprised by a sudden getting that made him flinch.

"...?!"

As he straightened his back and faced the other way, he saw a young man with unusually slick black hair and thick glasses that obscured his eyes, wearing quality clothes for commoners' standard.

The black-haired man was giving off the aura of a scholarly type that was inexperienced with the real world, so he didn't seem like a beggar or a scammer, making the guard adjust his behavior accordingly.