This House Has A Delicious Restaurant - Chapter 22 - A Place to Stay (2) - Part 3

He recalled the situation from earlier. Moa Ablon had shown a brief reaction to Terisier’s words.

If it’s Terisier’s ability, he can probably handle most things.

He wonders what that woman wants.

It felt strangely unsettling.

* * *

A small paw lightly tapped my chest. Looking down, Sidon was staring at me with a questioning look, so I whispered while watching the man ahead.

“I’m intrigued, but I’m also a bit concerned.”

The small puppy tilted its head. Finding it adorable, I gently petted its head and followed the man.

The man walking into the nearby alley soon turned around. A few people who had been crouched on the ground behind him stood up.

There weren’t many of them, but they were quite large. They didn’t seem to be capable individuals based on their presence, but they gave off a bad vibe.

It seems the reason they were brought here wasn’t just for revenge.

Zerdan and Terisier will soon catch up and assess the situation, so I’ll observe for now.

“I was wondering if there would be any screams along the way, but there doesn’t seem to be any sign of it. Do you think I’ll be easily defeated like last time?”

“Did you get beaten by such a girl?”

The bearded man sneered at me, and someone behind him, who seemed like an associate, asked in confusion. It seemed they weren’t among those who fought back then.

Still, it appeared they had heard that I was someone to be cautious of.

“I followed because I thought there might be something I needed to do, but there are quite a few of you. Surely, you didn’t bring all these people just to deal with me, did you?”

“I am enough to fight alone. These are the guys you will deal with after the fight.”

“Oh dear. I’m not in the best shape, so it’s tough for me to keep up with you guys.”

“Anyway, all you have to do is just lie there, right?”

The man behind me chuckled. It seemed that while the bearded man was called for the fight, the rest of the crew was intent on committing sexual assault.

Hmm, I stroked my chin and pretended to think for a moment before speaking.

“Well, lying there isn’t my taste. Besides, it seems I’m not the first. …I heard that the head of the criminal organization you were part of is no longer around?”

The rank-and-file members wouldn’t know Zerdan’s name.

So, when I hinted at it, the bearded man was the only one who flinched, giving me a look that seemed to question how I knew that.

The men behind him showed no change in their expressions, suggesting they were low-level members who didn’t know about such details.

It seems they don’t know that the main members of the criminal organization have dispersed.

Including Zerdan, the key members would have been Liffree, Khan, Sidon, and others. Most of the puppet corpses were controlled by Zerdan and the majority of the organization’s members were handled by the joint efforts of Obella and Anise.

Even after such a major incident, it seems they’re unaware… They’re just using Zerdan’s name while acting individually.

The malicious acts are done by these guys, and the rumors will say it’s the criminal organization that Zerdan was part of.

“Speaking of which, I heard that the shadowy fellow hasn’t been seen recently—did he die? Did he get hunted by a group of hunters? Useless, isn’t he?”

“Hey.”

The man behind the bearded man spoke, prompting the bearded man to give a warning.

The shadowy fellow must be referring to Khan. It seems Khan was the one who appeared and acted in public. The assumptions were gradually becoming reality.

Most of the rumors about the criminal organization’s atrocities at the beginning were due to people like these.

Of course, while Zerdan would have done the actual killing for controlling corpses, it seems this kind of thing was happening out of sight.

This place is different from the world I originally lived in. There’s almost no concept of law and order, and there are special abilities. If there are people with unrealistic abilities who suddenly attack without anyone to protect you?

Those without power have no choice but to suffer. Furthermore, although Phel and Anise were somewhat different, women in this game world, in general, had a weaker standing compared to men.

It’s likely that not only the people in front of me but also many others are being oppressed and tormented by those with power.

I had previously thought of this world as merely part of a game, but now that I considered it real, it felt somewhat novel.

“Indeed. You’re doing quite remarkable things.”

“Hey, how long do we have to keep talking? You don’t seem to have any special abilities, so just grab the limbs. After all, all you can do is bristle, right? Just be careful with yourself.”

Another man pointed at the bearded guy. Indeed, apart from him, the others had relatively smooth limbs aside from their hair.

With just the ability to bristle, the chances of winning in a fight like this, which isn’t one-on-one, are low.

“What? Are you guys trying to change your story now?!”

“It’s just that we’re wasting time with a woman who’s nothing special.”

The man who had been sitting behind and making unpleasant remarks approached with heavy steps. As he reached out his large hand towards me, I closed my eyes.

At the same moment, the man’s knee buckled forward awkwardly and he collapsed to the floor.

Confused, the man tried to get up quickly, but his body felt strange.

He placed his foot on the ground, but he couldn’t feel it and didn’t know how to apply strength to stand up.

He had such foolish questions inside his head about how to apply strength to his legs.

“Hey, what are you doing? Did your legs suddenly lose strength or something?”

Despite the mocking comments from his companions, the man flailed his legs, and soon his arms, which were bracing him against the floor, lost strength and he fell forward. His face scraped against the ground, and his arms twisted strangely.

The arms, flailing around like he didn’t know where the ground was, twisted awkwardly behind him but seemed to experience no pain.

Only then did his bewildered companions realize something was wrong and stood up from their seats.

It was around this time that Moa Ablon slowly opened her eyes.

“You’re doing such remarkable things… it’s made me think a lot. You said you don’t like wasting time, so I apologize.”

As I opened my eyes, the confused faces of the men reappeared in my view.

After slowly looking around at the men on the ground, I saw one wriggling and twisting like a caterpillar.

I pressed my foot firmly on the man’s head. The hair on the floor began to slowly embed into the ground, fixing it in place.

“I’ve been a bit troubled lately, but thanks to this, I’ll be able to sort out my thoughts.”

“Sorting out trash?”

Sidon asked from my arms, and seeing the men’s horrified reactions, they seemed to think the puppy was speaking. Ignoring their reactions, I nodded.

“Yes, sorting out trash.”

With my words, the bodies of the men in front of me began to collapse weakly.

“What, what is this? My body…”

“What’s happening? Why can’t I move my limbs?!”

The men, including the bearded guy, looked at their immobile bodies, trying to move their necks.

Unlike the man who fell first, the others now appeared to flail or creak awkwardly, twisting in different directions. They felt no strength in their limbs.

Why?

Meanwhile, the cold sensation of the cement floor against their skin grew more vivid.

One man, wearing a sleeveless shirt, had a larger area of his body touching the floor, causing him to clench his teeth and pale with dread. He looked like someone thrown into a snowy field in the middle of winter.

The bearded man finally realized the seriousness of the situation and turned his gaze to the woman in front of him.

The face smiling back at him was eerily similar to the earlier smile.

What had seemed like a slightly annoying smile at the time now appeared calm yet somehow chilling.

My face was hard to see, partly because it was backlit. It felt as if I was looking down from an infinitely high place.

The skin touching the floor felt as cold as if it were on an ice slab.

What kind of ability is this?

He certainly thought U didn’t have such a power before. Why?

“What exactly is this…?! Wasn’t your ability supposed to be controlling hair?!”

“That’s right. It is one of my abilities, and the trouble you’re in now is also my power.”

“Two abilities…? This is nonsense…”

“Do you think it’s nonsensical? It’s a bit different from what you’re used to.”

I slowly walked over to the man who had first felt the cold intensely.

His lips were already turning blue, and his pupils were fixed without any movement. I lightly nudged the man with my foot and then turned my gaze to look around.

The bearded man’s eyes were shaking rapidly.

Is he dead? I didn’t even attack directly? Just lying on the floor, and in that short span, he died?

“I think what you did is more nonsensical.”

Despite clearly confirming the man’s death, my voice remained as calm and even as ever.

* * *

Recently, Terisier had been feeling something strange.

He knew how ridiculously powerful space manipulation abilities could be. Although he couldn’t fully revive the dead, he could at least restore their forms.

Khan had also been troubled by Ding for a moment. However, he soon accepted that Ding wouldn’t return. It was rather fortunate that he didn’t push too hard for it.

The other members, though indifferent, treated Terisier as they always had, with the same lack of concern.

Phel, complaining that she couldn’t adapt to his increased height and demanded to be reduced, was ignored by Terisier.

Those he worried about were indifferent, and unexpectedly, someone he hadn’t worried about was interested in his abilities.

“It’s like this, but my drawing isn’t very good. Do you think you can do it?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Moa Ablon, who had been dragged away by a stranger while shopping, fortunately, found the situation resolved by the time he hurriedly followed.

Among the men lying on the floor in an almost absurdly nonchalant manner, she stood, turning around and smiling as always.

He thought to himself. She really is an impressive woman.

Moa Ablon herself said she hadn’t changed at all, but Zerdan had murmured a “Hmm” in response.

At the time, he wondered why he said that, but now he was beginning to understand a bit.

Recently, Moa had been approaching Terisier to test the range and limits of his abilities. Even now, he frowned at the paper where Moa Ablon had drawn what she called a “smartphone.”

What in the world is that?

The drawing was just a long rectangle, but according to Moa Ablon, it could make calls and perform various functions with this small device.

It seemed impossible.

Terisier, half believing, followed her instructions and created an object based solely on Moa Ablon’s description.

“……”

“…Is this not it?”

Seeing Moa Ablon looking down at the object created without saying a word, Terisier, feeling awkward, asked. Moa Ablon nodded in response.