No to Being the Suffering Heroine!

The news of Haval’s death spread throughout Pesengwigel in an instant, as the culprit had no intention of hiding their actions.

“Haval is dead…? No way, what do you mean…?”

“I heard he was murdered on his way home! Because of that, the guild is in utter chaos right now!”

“Oh my goodness, who would do such a thing…?”

Pedestrians passing by on the street. Men gathered around tables in a tavern having their meals.

Women preparing for business in front of a dressing table and spectators chatting while watching monsters fight in the arena.

“Who was it… something Cream, Cream… Cream….”

“Krimhilde? The woman who caused a ruckus in the slums?”

The entire city buzzed with talk about Haval’s death.

“Word has it she walked around the streets flaunting Haval’s head…”

“I heard she chopped up all the bodyguards and stacked them in an alley!”

“And that she hung their entrails on the wall as decoration?”

“She’s completely insane!”

As rumors often do, the details became increasingly exaggerated and sensationalized.

“Scary, so scary… Is that woman even human?”

Consequently, the name Krimhilde became branded in the minds of the townsfolk as a ferocious madwoman and criminal, surpassing even Lakan.

“I heard she’s been here less than a week… How many people has she killed in that time? Even Lakan in his prime couldn’t match that.”

In fact, there was no need to discuss such exaggerated tales; Krimhilde was already more than enough to be labeled as a danger based on her actual deeds.

Just look at the organizations she’s messed with.

After Daniel from Abandon and Lakan from Bagest, now it was the adventurer guild’s Haval.

She targeted the leaders directly, so those organizations weren’t completely obliterated, but in this short time, she turned half the city upside down.

Or, upon reflection, it wasn’t even half.

With things escalating like this, wouldn’t the other organizations just sit back and watch?

Resist, oppose, or cooperate. One way or another, they were bound to get involved. In reality, the whole city was getting caught up in her actions.

“What a lunatic! No one’s crazier than this one…!”

“Now that she’s messed with the guild, it really seems like she’s gearing up for war… is the fallout going to hit us too?”

Naturally, her notoriety was spreading like wildfire.

Speculations of her being an ambitious individual aiming to take over the city, and accusations that she was merely a bloodthirsty killer fueled by violence.

Not to mention the derision likening her to a brainless monster running amok without a thought.

The scathing criticisms, differing only in direction, all flowed through the city like a tide.

…Of course, it wasn’t only bad reviews that circulated; there were also some positive remarks.

Wasn’t she a knight of justice exterminating heinous criminals to restore order to the city? Since she’s taken out those who deserved death, we should even be grateful. You know, that kind of talk.

But…

“A knight of justice…? Hey, hey. Does that even make sense? That woman tears people apart like cabbage!”

“Right? Blowing heads off and pulling limbs apart… How is that at all noble? Even beastfolk wouldn’t do that.”

Krimhilde’s methods were too brutal to earn any praise, and such comments only became fodder for derision.

“If she were truly that kind of person, she wouldn’t have killed Haval like a dog!”

Even excluding her excessive brutality, the act of killing Haval itself was far from anything a ‘just’ knight would do.

Abandon was without a doubt a vile criminal organization, and while Bagest flirted with legality and illegality, at their core, they were nothing more than a bunch of hairy thugs.

Thus, while clashes with those two organizations could be seen as underworld skirmishes, the adventurer guild was a legitimate business entity above board.

To brazenly attack such a guild proved that the woman named Krimhilde had no qualms about assaulting anyone she found irritating, regardless of whether they belonged to the darkness or the light.

“Terrifying. What will she do next…? Should we really find a way to escape?”

Ignoring all the unspoken rules of the city, shockingly brutal, and swinging her sword at anyone she fancied, bringing chaos.

When piecing together the rumors and her actions, this Krimhilde truly represented the essence of a mad killer.

Thus, it was only natural that anyone who heard the rumors would scrunch their faces in fear and loathing, conjuring up words of condemnation that wouldn’t reach her ears.

“What is the guild doing? Didn’t they used to collect protection fees from us to catch such scum?”

“Didn’t you know? The guild is in league with her now!”

“Yeah! I saw it with my own two eyes! That woman entered the guild headquarters holding Haval’s head!”

“…What do you mean? It sounds like the guild hired her to kill Haval.”

“Exactly! Otherwise, why would they be so quiet? They must’ve tried to capture and deal with her somehow!”

The ever-rising infamy of Hilde began to paint the guild with a similar reputation.

“I heard that when they fought Lakan, the guild helped out!”

“Really? They must have been in cahoots from back then!”

“Yuron, that guy, has really hit rock bottom, teaming up with assassins now? What a disgrace to his father’s name!”

“Could it be he’s been working with them since before…?”

The vigilante group, which was seen as a legitimate security organization that only sought a bit of profit, was quickly rebranded with the stigma that they secretly collaborated with criminals to assassinate competitors.

…Or is it not actually a stigma, but the truth?

Well, that’s something only Yuron and a few top brass would know.

Anyway, it was less than two hours since news of Haval’s death broke, and rumors of the vigilante group hiring assassins started spreading throughout the city.

Yuron wanted nothing more than to shout that it was a misunderstanding, but rebuffing the baseless rumors was no easy task.

It was a fact that he had plotted against Haval, and it was also undeniable truth that he had relied on assassins to eliminate competitors for some time now.

If he hastily argued against it and evidence popped up, he’d miss any chance to explain himself afterward.

In such a situation where a clumsy response wouldn’t even recover his initial position, Yuron opted for a more passive and cautious approach.

He deployed informants to spread tales of Haval’s and the guild’s evil deeds or subtly hinted that the vigilante group was also a victim of Krimhilde’s attacks.

It was during these times…

“…I can’t leave this be any longer. Send word to Rydmila and Lakan. It’s time to catch up.”

Realizing he could no longer sit idly by after Haval’s death, Cornelo decided to send invitations to the heads of the remaining two organizations to discuss solutions.

“Are you planning to deal with that woman?”

“Yeah. If that audacious brat dares to refuse my invitation, I ought to relay greetings instead of advice.”

Cornelo finally resolved to eliminate Krimhilde, the imposter that stirred up trouble in the once-quiet city.

They could either cut her off and toss her into the gutter, or separate her head from her body and display it in the office… or maybe break her to the point where she couldn’t fight back and sell her into the slave market.

The method? Well, that would be discussed once Rydmila and Lakan were called in for a chat.

If she were a manageable opponent, they wouldn’t even bother discussing it and would just send their subordinates to deal with her. But since she was a foe that felled Haval and his guards, she was no ordinary threat.

Sending just a few subordinates wouldn’t suffice, so to minimize risks, they needed to drag other organizations into this and share the burden.

The next evening.

Cornelo, Rydmila, and Lakan gathered in the VIP section of the opera house managed by the Piacere Family for a meeting to deal with Krimhilde.

“That woman is my responsibility! Don’t you dare butt in!”

“You know my guys’ skills. How would we possibly handle such a monster?”

…Though it didn’t go smoothly.

Lakan wanted revenge against Krimhilde for injuring his pride, as was the way of wounded beasts, while Rydmila had no real desire to participate in this matter at all.

Unless Krimhilde was undoubtedly her enemy, getting involved might end up disturbing a hornet’s nest.

“What if that monster makes me her next target? To be honest, I don’t think I could stop her.”

It was clear that Krimhilde’s deeds surpassed what could be overlooked, but the reasons behind those actions remained murky.

While tales had spread that she aimed to conquer the entire city, Rydmila didn’t buy into those rumors.

‘If she truly intended to conquer the whole city… she would have started by building her own forces.’

She might be able to shatter the town alone, but governing and managing it solo was a different story.

To exercise control, a certain number of personnel were essential, yet Krimhilde seemed uninterested in recruitment, instead displaying actions directly contrary to that.

She boldly declared her intent to conquer the slums but subsequently neglected their management.

Instead of recruiting or absorbing members from other organizations, she only ambushed and killed the leaders, increasing her foes instead of her own forces.

Her guidelines were basically at odds with the fundamental nature of power struggles. It felt more like she was sowing chaos rather than exercising dominion.

‘If it’s true that she’s allied with the vigilante group, maybe she intends to cover her manpower from that side… but that seems unlikely. Their natures are too different.’

The vigilante group and Krimhilde had completely opposite tendencies, making it hard for them to cooperate and maintain any long-term relationship.

Yes, teaming up with them might temporarily solve her manpower problems, but it wouldn’t be long before differences in opinion would tear them apart.

Once that split occurred, Krimhilde, unable to govern Pesengwigel due to her lack of capabilities, would have no choice but to withdraw and relinquish control.

In other words, even though she handled all the tough work, the fruits of her labor would end up firmly in the hands of the vigilante group.

Krimhilde’s true self couldn’t possibly wish for such a conclusion unless she were some resourceful volunteer.

Thus, it made complete sense that Rydmila couldn’t believe the rumors that her goal was to dominate the city.

With evident signs of other aims, yet remaining in the dark about what they were, she had no choice but to hesitate in becoming openly hostile.

“So, I’ll handle that woman―”

“Not until we find out what her goal is…”

It was only natural that in a meeting where one was utterly uncooperative and another was too cautious, the discussion went nowhere.

“…This meeting seems to be getting absolutely nowhere.”

To the rising irritation of Cornelo, who could no longer contain himself, he decided it was time to present them with some ‘irresistible offers’.

“Boss. Sorry to interrupt the meeting, but… an unexpected guest has arrived. What should we do?”

As his aide cautiously stepped through the curtains in the VIP area, he notified Cornelo of the uninvited guest’s arrival.

“…Uninvited? Who are you talking about?”

Turning his gaze, Cornelo asked his aide for the identity of the unexpected guest.

If it was someone trivial, he planned to beat them like a dog and toss them into the alley.

And then, right after that…

“That would be….”

“It’s me. So, you all were here.”

The uninvited guest stepped forward, pulling the aide’s shoulder back and confidently declaring their identity.

“My, my… Truly an unexpected visitor.”

Cornelo forced a smile, expressing mild astonishment.

“I won’t bother with formal greetings. It’s not like we have the time for that.”

Truly, he had never anticipated running into this person here.

“It’s been a while since Albert’s funeral, hasn’t it? Hard to believe it’s only been a year, Yuron.”

“You haven’t changed at all.”

Yuron Frederick.

The head of the vigilante group, rumored to be behind Haval’s assassination, smiled as he met the gazes of the three pairs of eyes glaring at him.

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