Chapter 65 - Bingo
"Bingo?" Angelica was surprised by the suddenness of it.
Her expression shifted from that of a coquettish, mischievous girl to that of a Holy Maiden.
"When you say 'straight ahead,' how far is that specifically? It would help if you could give me a number."
"A number?"
"Yeah. Does the map displayed by your perception not show a scale?"
"...It doesn't... It's a really crude map..."
She emphasized that, regardless, there was no doubt they would be walking quite a bit.
"It's a very, very long way ahead."
"Understood."
Well, if her perception displayed an incomparably accurate map, that would be the domain of a Mapping skill.
Its main function was likely detecting nearby malicious existences, with understanding the terrain being merely a secondary feature.
"...Father, you're not thinking that I'm useless, are you?"
"Of course not."
"Really? My perception always feels like it's failing to reach the exact spot where it's needed... I'm worried you might give up on me."
"You do all sorts of things for us besides using your skill, so there's no problem."
"All sorts of things? Like what?"
"Well..."
First of all, she's fun to talk to. That was the biggest factor.
Every time we meet, she says all sorts of lovely things, so it doesn't feel bad.
As a mental stabilizer, she was top-tier.
It was also good that when I made food, she would eat almost everything and tell me it was delicious.
It made the cooking worthwhile and made daily meal prep enjoyable.
Though she doesn't wash the dishes.
"Huh?"
No, no. Angelica surely has plenty of good qualities.
For example, look, if I ask her to do housework, she does it properly... actually, she doesn't, come to think of it.
If I leave the laundry to her, she gets excited by my discarded clothes and messes up the amount of detergent.
If I ask her to clean the floor, she picks up black curly hairs and gets embarrassed all by herself.
I remember Ayako-chan lunging at her with a bright red face, shouting, "That might be mine, so please don't throw it away!" and they ended up in a scuffle.
Since it was going nowhere, I ended up vacuuming while watching the two girls engage in a catfight.
Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding.
Could it be that Angelica isn't useful for anything other than being cute?
No way. That's impossible.
What about during the ghost incident? Think back.
Let's see.
...She was just being held hostage after being manipulated...?
"Wait. Wait a minute, Father. What is that look? I am your precious Angelica. Why are you looking at me with those eyes?"
"No... it's just, I was thinking you're excellent as a mascot."
"Why are you looking at me with such pitying eyes!?"
"There is no woman as useful as I am, you know!?" Angelica shouted, thumping her chest.
"Just so you know, I am a member of the priesthood, okay? I am part of the intellectual class! I've even memorized the scriptures! I am super competent!"
"I know, I know. Ange, you've worked hard studying the Gods."
"Wh-Why do you have the eyes of someone looking at a poor, pitiful child...?"
Angelica muttered to herself, saying things like, "I know all the names of the Goddesses... and I even remember the names of the successive Kings..."
It was knowledge with absolutely no use in modern Japan, but it was interesting to watch.
"Let's find them quickly, okay? Let's find the Goblin, okay? I'll prove my usefulness, okay? Okay?"
Whatever her motivation, it was fine as long as she was motivated.
Together with Angelica, whose movements had become quite sharp, I walked straight ahead for about a kilometer.
With every step, I felt the smell of exhaust fumes growing thicker.
The traffic was increasing.
Since Angelica was still bad with the sounds and smells of automobiles, I peered into her face to see if she was alright.
However, it seemed my fears were unfounded. Her emerald-green eyes were shining brightly, radiating a clear fighting spirit.
It looked more like a desperate attempt at self-proof than fighting spirit, but at this point, it didn't matter.
"There. They're in there."
Eventually, Angelica stopped walking and pointed at a single vehicle.
It was a parked van, looking as if it wanted to say that laws didn't matter.
The windows were tinted with smoke, making it impossible to see the situation from the outside.
Even for a Goblin who had adapted to modern society, would they have gone as far as obtaining a driver's license?
This is probably a dud, I thought, knocking on the door without much expectation.
In my mind, I intended to just give it a light tap, but a thunderous thud-thud echoed out.
The vehicle body shook violently, looking as if a massive earthquake had struck.
"Crap."
Since my debuffs had been removed, my current physical strength was something monstrous.
I regretted not having Angelica do the knocking—but it was too late.
With a loud clack, the window slid open, and a young man wearing a cap backward revealed his face from inside.
"Don't mess with us!"
It was only natural for him to yell.
This is my fault, I thought, feeling apologetic even as I attempted a Status Appraisal.
[Name] Bald
[Level] 60
[Class] Summoned Adventurer / Freeter
[HP] 1800
[MP] 1200
[Attack] 2200
[Defense] 1900
[Agility] 1300
[Magic Attack] 900
[Magic Defense] 900
[Skill] Language Comprehension, Night Vision, Earth Magic
[Remarks] A Hobgoblin warrior. Has stolen the identity and appearance of the Japanese freeter, Daichi Suzuki. Because it is a low-level disguise, it cannot deceive Appraisal.
"Whoa, it worked! Thank goodness I didn't just shake an innocent civilian vehicle..."
Relieved, I breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned to Angelica.
A signal to come over here.
This was the most effective way to silence a demi-human.
"Hey, old man! What the hell do you want with—"
The Goblin named Bald fell silent halfway through his sentence.
His gaze was directed toward Angelica, who was standing beside me.
He was likely mesmerized. His nostrils flared slightly, and his lower lip began to protrude.
"...Hey. That might have dented her body just now, you know? Can you pay for that?"
Bald's mouth twisted into a sadistic grin.
"Little lady. If you don't want your companion to get beaten up, you know what you should do, right?"
"What should I do?" Angelica whispered in my ear.
(Since there are people around, I want to make it look like they're giving us a ride. And I want it to look friendly.)
(...Understood.)
Angelica nodded deeply and then said with a beaming smile:
"I'll ride! I'll ride! I've always been interested in vehicles like this!"
"Ah... eh?"
Bald was the one surprised by her intense enthusiasm. He looked as if he had been bewitched by a fox.
"What is this? Is this some new kind of pick-up attempt?"
"Just let us in, please."
"Do I really look that handsome? I'm flattered."
Angelica slid herself into the door that had been opened in high spirits.
She took the middle seat of the second row.
Without a moment's delay, I ducked in as well.
Boarding complete.
Now, I could go wild.
"Hey, we don't need the old man. Get out."
The moment I closed the door, I struck Bald in the eyes.
"Gyaaa!?"
"Ange, keep your eyes closed for a bit. I don't want to show you anything unpleasant."
She replied with a "Yes."
What was about to begin was the release of cruelty and savagery, something not meant to be seen by a young girl.
"Now then."
With preparations complete, I looked around the interior of the car.
Besides Bald, who was clutching his face in agony, there were two other men.
One was a small, middle-aged man trembling in the driver's seat. He sat with his hands on the steering wheel, his mouth agape.
The other was a large, bald man lounging in the back seat. Clad in a down jacket, he glared at me defiantly.
"...Is this old man crazy?"
If I took my time, it would turn into a scene. I had to finish this quickly.
I promptly performed a Status Appraisal.
The results were white and black.
It seemed the driver was human, but the bald man appeared to be a Goblin.
Were they threatening a human to force them to drive?
Or was the human willingly helping the Goblin move?
Either way, it wasn't a good backstory.
I extended my Light Sword and crushed the bald man's throat.
I burned through his vocal cords to prevent any screams or spell incantations.
"...!"
Naturally, he thrashed violently. Even without a voice, he could still flail his limbs.
Since it would be a hassle if he kept struggling like this, I cut his spinal cord to make him go still.
I had learned plenty during my time in the other world about where to cut to stop someone from moving.
I performed the same procedure on the Goblin in the cap.
With this, they were nothing more than lumps of flesh that merely breathed.
The interior of the car fell into a heavy silence.
From here on, it was time for the humans to talk.
I spoke to the man cowering in the driver's seat.
"Alright, old man. Let's hear it—are you a victim, or an accomplice?"