I Was Called Incompetent ch.38

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Arigatou Gozaimasu!

Poor girl…..
Being incompetent is sure suffering.

Translator: Raizu
Editor: Shirayuki

Episode 38 : Encounter

[Your voice is too quiet. I can’t hear itー. Alright, say一 it again.] 

[Ah…kuuh… Tha… thank… you…. very… much…]

[Come on, say it with more strength. Otherwise you’d die, you know一?]

I was pinned to the wall, strangled by something.
The light in this alley was dim at best, so I couldn’t see the face of the person who did this to me.
All I could tell was that they were a group of five.

When I desperately tried to speak up, something muddy that expanded from the person’s hand squeezed my legs and neck even tighter.
They were playing around with me by loosening and tightening the restraints. 
Though I don’t think they’ll really kill me… but, why…?
When the restraint on my neck loosened down, I immediately spoke up my mind.

[*cough*…. Th-then…why did you help me…?]

[Nn? We were looking around for incompetents. We can do whatever we want with them and no one will care. Which meansー, you are our slave for today, got it?]

No way…
This is too cruel…

[What a luーcky dayー. I just happened to see those three drag you here into the alley. I thought that it’d be interesting, but turns out we also got ourselves an incompetent.]

Why is it alright to do it because I’m an incompetent…?
This world… something is wrong with it!

[I know right? Well, we did save you, so it’s only right if you become our slave as a thank you, right? Great, let’s take her home. Turns out it is a correct decision for you to rent a house.]

[Rightー? I’m a genius after all.]

Oh no… I’ll be taken away at this rate.
If this happens… Horus will leave Mom to die!

[No… Mom… guh!?]

It hurts…!
I can’t breathe…!

[Kathy, I’m counting on you. Let’s take her away before she makes any more noises.] 

[Roーger. It will take some time though. Pururu, let’s tighten the restraints a little more.]

[Aaーhkkh…]

Please… please stop.
Please don’t let my Mom die.
I’ll do anything….I’ll do anything for that…

[My… Mom… don’t let her… die…!]

[This girl is stroーng. Even when I have tightened the restraints considerablyー] 

[Mom? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you have no other choice. Incompetents aren’t human. They are meant to be used by the more talented people like we are. No worries… I’ll make you do lots of cute things]

I might be just an object…
But that doesn’t mean I’m yours…!
If I’m just an object, then it’ll be to help my Mom!
I don’t want this… Don’t like… Mom… Mom!

=====

It appeared to be a pretty long alley.
I could see the light at the end of the long road.
It’s just that it’s a very dim light.

I could hear faint voices coming from beyond the darkness ahead.
Wonder why.
I think I’ve heard these voices somewhere… and it gave me an ominous omen… 
I had a bad feeling about this.

As I got closer, I could now hear a woman’s pained voice.
I knew it; something is going on here.
Without much ado, me and Levi started running toward those voices.

[Kathy, how is it?]

[Un, just a little more, Flo.]

When I finally could hear the voices more clearly, I realized that my premonition had come true.
I don’t have time to think ahead.
Because… what I saw there was a person being strangled.

[Oi!]

The group instantly froze upon hearing my voice.
Although I couldn’t see their expressions, they slowly turned towards me.

[Ha? What now?]

…it’s indeed Flo.
Apparently, they didn’t notice our arrival.
It was dark so they probably couldn’t see my face. And they might’ve forgotten my voice either.
I couldn’t see their faces either, but I could tell that there are 5 of them.
Don’t tell me they’re strangling…

[Why are you guys doing that to that person….? What did that people do to deserve that?]

[Nothing at all. This fellow here is an incompetent. So anything goes, right?]

I tightened my fist unconsciously.
These guys… they’re really….
When the rumour that I was an incompetent spreaded out on Ist, these guys were the ones who put the nail on the coffin. 
Then again, I tried to not show my magic nor leave my house as much as possible. I guess it’s easy to tell that there’s something wrong.

I always went shopping when there weren’t many people around. That’s when I came across them.
But no. Now that I think about it, they might have been watching me.
Flo forced me to show them my magic. I couldn’t so I tried to escape. But they caught me with magic.
Me running away back then was enough evidence. At that time, my mind was still preoccupied by the passing of my parents after all.

In my muddled mind, I simply thought that I couldn’t show them my magic at all cost.
But in the end, the fact I tried to use my magic to save myself was the decisive factor to determine that I was an incompetent.

Thinking back, they must’ve hated me from the beginning.
To be honest, I tried not to worry about it that much, but there was indeed something off when I played with them in the past.
Besides, they were grinning when I tried to use my magic in vain. It’s obvious that they enjoyed seeing how scared I was.
I still couldn’t forget that crooked smile.

[If you get it already, then scram. Ah, do you want to join in the fun as well? Sure I can let you have her for a day. But you’ll have to pay for that. She’s my slave after all! Ahaha! ]

I see… these guys….

[Enough…. No need to talk anymore.]

[Ha? Here I am trying to act civil… and you want to fight it out instead?]

[Enough talking. Let’s just do this meddler off, shall weー?]

[Right. How come it became this messy?]

[Don’t disturb me, will you? It’ll take a bit longer till I’m done.]

[Somehow this guy’s voice feels so frustrating to hear in my ears…. Let’s just cut the chase, Flo.]

[Yeah, fine. Nobody else will see us here. Let’s do it.]

They don’t seem to realize that it’s me just yet.
Naturally, since I haven’t used any magic, they think that I’m not an incompetent.
They probably thought that I’m just a random passerby.

They didn’t hesitate to use violence to get rid of anyone who got in the way for them to satisfy their own desires.
Not to mention as adventurers, it’s wrong to do that as a normal person.
These guys… are probably crooked from the very beginning.

[Master…]

Levi was being careful to not mention my name it seems.
She snuggled up to me with a worried voice.
So I spoke to her quietly so that they couldn’t hear me.

[It’ll be alright… I’ll deal with those four. Levi should release that person from the restraints, then escape with her. I’ll meet you back at the guild.]

[As you wish…]

[What’s wrong… whispering like that!]

I could sense the wind starting to blow from behind me.
This is the sign when Flo is about to use his wind magic.
Since I’ve let myself take many hits from it, I know just what kind of magic it is.
So I simply move forward daringly.

[Wha!?]

I couldn’t see his expression, but he’s clearly upset judging from his voice.
Flo’s magic works by collecting surrounding air into a lump and launching it as a projectile.
Of course it’s quite powerful. But it has one weakness where he might get hit by the exploding air as well if the target is too close.
So if I approach him, he would reconsider using his magic.

Of the four, I moved to target Pururu first.
Even if I couldn’t see her face, I could tell which one she is by her height.
Of course, the man standing next to her moved in to protect her.

[You!]

From the voice, it must be Dan. He swung the sword in his right hand, but I simply caught his wrist to stop his attack.
Dan’s magic is cutting magic. As far as I know, it vastly increases the sharpness of any item with an edge that he wields.
Therefore, it’ll be fine as long as the edge of his sword doesn’t touch me.
Then I squeezed his wrist as hard as I could.
Dan yelled in pain. I punched him in the gut when he’s trying to undo my vice-like grip on his wrist.

[Guhoo!?]

Dan’s body immediately curled.
I’m glad that I noticed this far earlier so that I could control my strength so as not to injure myself.

What I noticed back in Historia was that “Even gauntlets can serve as a weapon”
In other words, my skill will always be active if I wear the gauntlets all the time, allowing me to react properly in an unexpected situation while also improving my physical capabilities whenever.

Flo was desperately casting his magic, but couldn’t afford to release it with me being so close to the group.
I don’t care if he cast his magic now. He was yelling, but there’s nothing he could do now.

[Th-this bitcー!]

Around the same time Dan was knocked down, Pururu launched her magic at me.
Pururu’s magic is Jelly magic. She can create gelatinous objects in various shapes.
She used the same type she casted to restrain that girl.
It’s quite bothersome as it’s difficult to let go once you’re caught in it.
However, it’s quite slow.

[Ha? This guy! He’s fast…kyah!]

I don’t really want to hit a girl… but it’s too late for that kind of thought.
However, I still don’t want to hit her in the face or the belly so I hit her on the shoulder.
It may hurt a little, but I felt that she’s in a dire need to experience some pain.

When I took a glance in the other direction, I noticed that Levi had taken Kathy down.
I wonder when she did all that. She works as fast and precise as ever….

And because Pururu fainted, the restraints on the unfortunate girl were also undone.
Levi caught her, and the two immediately disappeared into the street.
I also run after her…

[Now you run away!?]

Looking back, Flo was about to launch his wind magic.
Damn… he didn’t completely cancel his cast. He simply held it in!
However….!

[Stop! If you shoot from this range…!]

The people on the street will also take the hit…

[If you shitheads die then it’s fine!]

[Aegis!]

At a moment’s notice, Aegis appeared in my hand to block the incoming air bullet.
I didn’t have time to activate her ability, but I was able to divert the projectile into the sky.
Still, the air bullet exploded in midair, blasting the tight walls around the alley.
Debris violently flew to the street after the loud sounds of explosion, threatening to hit the pedestrians. 

[Kyahー!?]

[Uwaaaa!?]

[Damn it! Goddess’ Absolute Protection, Aegis!]

A barrier was formed on top of the main street, catching all of the flying debris.
I looked around to make sure, but fortunately no one was hurt.
That’s good and all, but it’s not really the time to worry about that.

[Y-you are…!]

Because the city’s bright light was shining upon me.