"Talking"
'Thought'
*Time/Location*
*Inside Old Man Rom's Shack*
Hijiri: "Right, well. Let's get down to business."
Hearing this, Felt turned to face Subaru.
Felt: "How much are you willing to pay for it."
Subaru: "You do have the insignia right?"
Felt: "Of course I do!"
Felt reaches into her pockets to retrieve the insignia. Hijiri notices that the jewel in the center is glowing when Felt holds it.
Hijiri: 'This could be a problem.'
Felt: "See."
Felt hands it to Rom as Rom inspects it.
Felt: "This one's got a jewel in it, so I had to work pretty hard to get it. If you can pay enough to match my effort, we'll both be happy."
Subaru: "I don't have any money, but Hijiri-san here will pay for it."
Everyone's attention was drawn to Hijiri.
Hijiri: "I'm guessing someone asked you to steal it for them; what was their offer?"
Felt: "My client told me that I could get 10 holy coins for it."
Felt exclaimed excitedly.
Hijiri: "Wow, that's quite a high price, but I'll buy it for 15 holy coins for the sake of my friend and someone else."
Felt: "Hold on, we'll have to wait for the client, and they might bid higher."
Hijiri: "Eh, I guess there will be more waiting,"
Hijiri sighs, as he is growing tired of waiting. But for the time being, he will be patient because he knows who will arrive. But then there was a knock on the door. Everyone turned to the door when they heard this.
Rom: "Do they know the password?"
Felt: "Oh, I didn't mention it. That's probably for me. I'll go check."
Felt rose from her seat and walked to the door. Hijiri was staring at the door, coldly. Subaru turned to face Rom, who was asking a question.
Subaru: "You're okay for letting her use you like this?"
Rom: "Well it ain't like we're total strangers"
Hijiri was still staring at the door that, Felt, was opening as Subaru and Rom talked. His energy was about to burst when he saw the bowel hunter. But he kept it to himself because he knows what happened before was reversed and nothing has happened since. Hijiri remains vigilant, knowing that this is the bowel hunter.
Felt: "Over here, care to sit down?"
Bowel Hunter: "There seems to be several outsiders here."
Felt: "Well, I'll be in trouble if you bilked me. We weaklings have our own brand of smarts."
Bowel Hunter: "I know this older fellow, but who's these two young men?"
Felt: "These guys are your rivals. They are the other persons who are negotiating with me."
She then turned to face Subaru and just stared at him. This woman gives Subaru a creepy vibe.
*Timeskip - Inside Old Man Rom's Shack*
Everyone was seated at the same table. They introduced themselves and told Elsa the Bowel Hunter about the situation.
Elsa: "I see. I understand the situation now."
Felt: "So that means you two will be bidding against each other. I don't really care who get's the insignia, so I'll sell it to the highest bidder"
Elsa: "I think I like that personality of yours. And how much did these two young men bid?"
Hijiri: "I'm bidding it for 15 holy coins."
Hijiri placed 15 holy coins on the table that he had taken from his bag pocket.
Elsa: "15 holy coins... As it happens, the client sent me with some extra funds. Just so I'd be prepared to sweeten the deal."
Subaru: "The client... So you were asked to fetch it, too?"
Elsa: "That's right. The client is the one who wants it. Would you happen to be in the same business?"
Subaru: "Being in the same business as me would mean they're unemployed!"
Everyone fell silent as they stared at Subaru.
Felt: "So, this unemployed guy has named a price that puts him far in the lead. What price is your master putting on it?"
Elsa then took up her pouch, revealing more holy coins inside. Rom began counting the holy coins after Felt expressed surprise at the quantity.
Rom: "Twenty, exactly."
Hijiri: "Tch."
Hijiri is visibly irritated. It was probably the feeling that he had been beaten in bidding, which hurt his pride a little.
Elsa: "These are all the holy coins that my employer sent with me; can you still raise it?"
Hijiri: "Ugh... All right... I'll pay it with this artifact."
Hijiri pulled out what appears to be an expensive ring. Rom then went on to grab it and inspect it.
Hijiri: "That ring can protect you from magic by creating a barrier using the mana reserves stored inside, which you can replenish with your own mana; it is also made of adamantite, one of the hardest and magical metals; only a few exist of this material, so I am sure this ring will fetch around 50 to 80 holy coins in the market."
Hearing this, Felt became even more excited because the profit she would make from this was higher than expected. Subaru was making a cross with his arms on his chest when he suddenly shouted.
Subaru: "Yes!"
The others gave Subaru strange looks.
Subaru: "Thank you, Hijiri-san! I will repay you one day!"
Hijiri burst out laughing.
Hijiri: "It's nothing; I've got even more in my collection."
Subaru: "Eh?"
Subaru was astounded to learn that Hijiri had even more of these items in his collection. When it became clear that Hijiri and Subaru had won the bid, everyone prepared to clean up and leave.
Subaru: "Uh, sorry, Elsa-san. You'll probably get in trouble, huh?"
Elsa: "It can't be helped. It was my employer's fault for not being able to pay more."
Elsa took a drink from her cup.
Elsa: "Well, this deal has ended in disappointment for me, but I'll be taking my leave now."
Elsa licked her lips.
Elsa: "By the way, what do you intend to do with that insignia?"
Subaru: "Oh, I'm going to find its owner and return it to her."
Hijiri perked up when he heard this. Elsa's bloodlust was palpable to him. Felt and Rom both looked back to Subaru, stunned.
Hijiri: 'Subaru, you moron!'
Elsa: "So... You're with them, then."
Hijiri then used his ability to push Felt, Rom, and Subaru away. Authority of Conquest.
Elsa: "Oh my, it appears you pushed everyone to save them. Although that made me a bit angry as you interrupted my meal."
Elsa licked her lips.
Hijiri: "I've had my suspicions about you since you walked into this building, Bowel Hunter."
Elsa: "This is my first deathmatch with a legend, someone from the legendary Heroes of the Apocalypse. Hero of Conquest."
Subaru, Rom, and Felt have recovered from Hijiri's powerful push to make them back up. Elsa's words were clearly heard.
Felt: "Onii-chan is a hero?"
Subaru was also taken aback when he heard about it.
Subaru: 'Hijiri-san is a hero? Someone so powerful was siding with me and assisting me?! '
Hijiri: "Aww, you make me blush just saying my title."
Then, Hijiri summons his golden bow. He drew the string, which produced a blue magic arrow.
Hijiri: "But you're not going to hurt anyone here within my sight."
Hijiri let go of the string as the arrow flew straight for Elsa. Elsa attempted to move out of the way when she noticed this, but the arrow curved its path and followed her.
Hijiri: "The arrow will target you and follow you until you are struck."
Elsa was preoccupied with getting rid of the magical arrow that had been following her. Whenever she makes a sharp turn, it also sharply turns. She tried to sever it with her daggers after realizing she couldn't make it lose sight of her. Elsa's dagger collided with the magical arrow before exploding, blowing it all away as smoke obscured her location.
Hijiri: "You weren't killed by that, I suppose, right?"
Elsa dashed through the smoke, trying to catch Hijiri off guard with her quickness. But this was nothing to Hijiri, who sidestepped to avoid Elsa's strike. Hijiri then transformed his bow into a hand crossbow and shot Elsa a magical arrow without drawing the string. It's similar to a handgun, except it's a one-handed crossbow.
Elsa took a step back and avoided the arrow. She saw the other three people who were watching from behind. Elsa then rushed over to them.
Hijiri: "Sh*t."
Hijiri used his Authority to control the gravity around Elsa when he noticed she was going for the others. As a result, Elsa's movements became slower as Rom ran at her and slammed her with his massive club. Elsa, on the other hand, escaped and severed a portion of Rom's arm.
Rom: "Damn it!"
Elsa deflected another arrow but was struck by another. Elsa saw this and looked over to Hijiri, who was grinning with his crossbow converted back into a bow, drawing two magical arrows. Felt, on the other hand, reached her immediately, using her Divine Protection.
Felt: "Don't hurt Onii-chan and old man Rom!"
Elsa dodged Felt's slash and was ready to strike her back when she was interrupted. Hijiri fired two more arrows towards Elsa. Who, in turn, evaded both arrows and stepped back, passing up the opportunity to strike Felt.
Hijiri: "You're dead if you hurt her."
When she realized her attacks were futile, she threw a chair at Hijiri. Hijiri used his Authority to stop the chair in the middle of its journey, and Elsa dashed to Hijiri as soon as he threw off the chair. Hijiri had foreseen this and had had prepared a powerful charged arrow. When Elsa got closer, Hijiri immediately aimed his bow and fired the charged arrow, flinging her against the wall.
Elsa: "You are quite dangerous, Hijiri-san, with your skill and abilities on the bow."
Hijiri: "Of course, my years of fighting and experience have shaped me into the person I am today."
Elsa: "But you shouldn't be concerned about me; you should be concerned about him."
Elsa pointed to someone behind Hijiri. When he turned around, he saw Subaru had been impaled by Elsa's dagger, which had pierced his throat. Hijiri moved his gaze to Felt, but she was too preoccupied with assisting Rom to notice that Subaru had been hit.
Hijiri: 'Shit! He's going to die.'
But Hijiri suddenly widened his eyes as he felt a familiar aura from Subaru.
Hijiri returned his gaze to the front, and Elsa was about to slash at him when the world turned Black.