Living in another world as an Oni!

Chapter 83 - 80: My plan to retirement!

Chapter 83: Chapter 80: My plan to retirement!

"Why'd you attack Aria?" Tink asked, his hands clutching something that looked suspicious... His eyes narrowed as he stared at the adventurers.

The rest of the group, likely terrified by the vague threat of what was in Tink's hands, immediately recounted everything they'd told me.@@@@

They explained the quest, the mysterious hooded figure, the robbery—everything. They even included the whole "duke's daughter" part.

"I see... a daughter, huh?" Nia, Tink's wife, spoke up, arms crossed and index finger tapping her skin in thought. "Now that I think about it, a party that fits that description passed by our village a while ago.

They were in a hurry and covered in blood, so we jusut let them be, assuming some strong beast had done the job. We didn't want to risk it coming near the village. But, there wasn't a woman with them. The mana around them felt... aggressive. All of them were male. If there really was a woman in the group, they probably ditched her as bait to escape."

The adventurers looked horrified, their expressions falling. It was clear that the "search for the duke's daughter" quest might have just become their next headache.

I had a gut feeling we were about to get dragged into it.

"I guess we'll have to go after her then," Leah spoke up, her tone resigned. "If we don't, those humans will come knocking. If we do, at least we'll have a bargaining chip. I don't think they'll just let us walk away, even if they know we didn't do it."

That made sense. If we were bound to face those people sooner or later, might as well go for the best solution.

"Alright," Scarface said, turning around and addressing his group. "Starting now, every time we go out hunting, we look for clues. Got it?"

With a series of nods, the monsters scattered back to their work, leaving me and the other five behind with Titan and Leah.

I let out a deep sigh, followed by the others. That had been a bit too much for my heart. Imagine being scolded by a mixed group of monsters, each one angrier than the last. The thought alone made my spine shiver.

I was the one who felt like a disappointment, and the others... well, they'd been close to kissing death with a scythe.

I stood up and glanced around, preparing to ask the most important question of the moment.

"Are we still going to the city?"

They looked at me like I had just asked if the sky was green. I have a feeling they're bad mouthing me inside their heads with how the way they looked at me change.

I mean, as Fen had said I was the leader, and that meant I had to step up and secure safety for my people.

Now, I just needed to figure out how.

Okay, let's think this through.

Option one: infiltrate the Adventurer's Guild. Climb the ranks, become the strongest, and then ask for an audience with the king.

---

"Oi~ Aria, you there?"

I hadn't even realized someone was calling me. I'd gotten so caught up in my "perfect plan" for retirement that I zoned out completely. The next thing I felt was a sharp sting on my cheek as my head jerked to the side.

Slap!

"Ow!! What the heck was that for?!" I yelped, clutching my now-stinging right cheek.

"Oh, good. You're back," Leah said, casually retracting her hand like she hadn't just nearly given me whiplash.

"Does she always do that?" I heard Jin's voice ask from the side.

"Most of the time, yeah. She blanks out, and then we have to smack some sense into her," Leah replied, completely nonchalant.

I glared at them, still holding my cheek, my mind in a daze from the slap. "You couldn't have shaken my shoulders or something instead of, y'know, physically assaulting me?!"

"We did! We slapped you several times already," Levy said, frowning in mock annoyance. "You didn't even notice."

Aria: "....."

I stared at them, utterly speechless.

What is up with them and assaulting me?!

"Anyway," Serena chimed in with a mischievous grin, "what we wanted to say is... go ask your friends first. Once you get their permission, we'll go. Until then, we're staying here." Serena added with a giggle as she looked at me with Titan besides her, Titan's laughing motion making a noticeable clanging of armor.

I groaned. I had always been used to doing whatever I wanted without anyone questioning me. My real father let me do whatever I wanted before he left me at the gang hideout, and Scarface never stopped me either. I guess I was spoiled, huh?

Leah and the others burst out laughing as they watched me trudge over to Fen and the others. I knew asking Scarface would be pointless—if Fen said no, then Scarface would follow suit.

Facing them again, I started the conversation with a deep sigh.

Little Theater

Leah: "She's planning something stupid again, isn't she?"

Serena: "Yup. I bet it's something impossible."

Fen: "Just slap her back to reality, that works..."