Leave a comment

Whatever the case, once they lost all their clothes and equipment, they lost all protection and fell asleep, resulting in one of the most chaotic heists in Fuzzy Dice’s history, and it was a memory burned into the detective’s mind.

「That’s quite heartless, I must say…」

Mira could imagine that there were many fans of Fuzzy Dice gathered that time too, and all of them had to see the naked guards sleeping. It was popular knowledge that Fuzzy Dice never harmed anyone, but Mira was certain that everyone present there suffered lifelong mental injuries. Just picturing the scene made her feel compassionate for anyone there.

「Things like that have happened a lot in the past, but either way, I wonder how it’ll go this time.」 Saying that, the detective glanced at Mira, his eyes full of expectation.

By now, she had learned that the detective would always do that when he wanted her to react in a specific way so he could keep talking, and she did not really mind going along with it.

「Are you saying that because the Doles Company is going to try something new then?」

Hearing that, the detective smiled with satisfaction and said 「Precisely,」 before detailing what the Doles Company was planning. They had hired a number of excellent mercenaries, who would stand against the thief.

The Doles Company had spent quite a fortune, hiring three different groups. One was called Lara Phantom, the second Viper Cup Knights, and the third Devouring Brigade. They were some of the most famous groups of mercenaries, so the detective was curious to see how much of a fight they would put up.

「I can’t wait until I hear back from Julius to know how well they were able to fend off Fuzzy Dice.」

He would have loved to be there and watch, if only his legs were in better shape. Then he looked at his watch and said, 「Things should be getting really interesting right about now.」

Nina and her sisters also seemed to recognize the group names the detective had mentioned, as they looked impressed that all of them were gathered there, while also adding, 「Oh yeah, some people did say Fuzzy Dice might use Forbidden Arts.」

(So…does this mean there’s some correlation between those mercenary groups and Fuzzy Dice’s class?)

Mira began to wonder if those mercenaries were strong against spellcasters, or those using Forbidden Arts. At least that was what the detective and the girls seemed to be implying. But she knew nothing about those mercenaries, so she was left completely in the dark. All she could do was glare at the detective, wishing that he would actually talk about things like that.

After some time, the detective noticed the way Mira was glaring at him, and was confused for a moment, but soon enough he grinned as he realized why she was doing that.

「Wait, could it be that you don’t know about them?」

He asked that, though his face made it clear he already knew the answer. His smug attitude made Mira want to claim she knew them just to defy him, but she repressed that impulse and told the truth. Then the detective nodded happily and provided the information Mira was so curious about.

There was a reason why the Doles Company had hired those three specific groups, which involved Fuzzy Dice using Forbidden Arts, and the specialties of the mercenaries.

「Most of the members of Lara Phantom have the Rogue class. The Viper Cup Knights’ members are mostly Knights, obviously. And Devouring Brigade is mainly a spellcaster group. Their homestead, fighting style, and member classes are all different, but there’s one common element amongst all of them.」

As always, the detective went into a lot of detail when explaining that. It took him a while to finally get to the main point, but then he revealed it.

「All of them are specialized in hunting large magic beasts.」
「Ohh… So they were never specialized in security or being guards, but taking down such creatures.」

When Mira checked out the mansion, she remembered seeing someone with an enormous greatsword that looked like it could take down large monsters. Coupled with the information she had just obtained, she finally understood why the mercenaries were armed like that, and why the detective was so curious about their attempt at fighting Fuzzy Dice.

「There’s those who know how to fend off magic beasts, and one who fights by using the abilities of magic beasts. I wish I could see who will win.」 The detective sighed as he mentioned again how much he wanted to see the fight.

Forbidden Arts were abilities and magic learned from monsters, magic beasts, sacred beasts, divine beasts, and so on. Usually, most were acquired from magic beasts, Mira recalls that about sixty percent of such abilities are based on magic from magic beasts.

Back during the game, those who fought against players using Forbidden Arts would later recount the experience as feeling like they were fighting multiple magic beasts all at once.

That sentiment had not changed even after so many years, and that was why the Doles Company had hired those groups to fight Fuzzy Dice. All of their preparation against magic beasts should also pay off when fighting Fuzzy Dice.

There was no concrete proof that Fuzzy Dice utilized Forbidden Arts. But the detective’s hunch of that being the case was commonly accepted as the correct theory, especially amongst those targeted by the thief.

「Still, Fuzzy Dice has used abilities from creatures different from magic beasts. Was this really the correct call?」

Mira noticed something. Those mercenaries knew how to handle magic beasts and neutralize their spells, so they would likely also be able to defeat someone using Forbidden Arts that came from magic beasts. But Fuzzy Dice’s sleeping mist came from Aktarka, a sacred beast.

Most sacred and divine beasts were protected by law in the Three Gods’ Countries, and Aktarka was no exception. So those mercenaries would have never encountered that specific ability before, unless they just so happened to fight a spellcaster using Forbidden Arts who had learned it.

At least that would be the case if the sleeping mist Fuzzy Dice used was the Paradise Fog one could learn from Aktarka. When Mira mentioned that, Nina and her sisters also realized the possibility, and they turned to look at the detective, awaiting his response.

Meanwhile, the detective was quite exhilarated seeing four girls looking at him with so much interest, 「You’re missing a bit of information,」 he began.

「While yes, they hunt magic beasts, there’s a multitude of ways to accomplish that.」 Starting with that preamble, the detective talked even more about the three mercenary groups hired by the Doles Company.

At this time, over at the Doles Company’s mansion, Fuzzy Dice had appeared just on time, and was currently embroiled in an intense fight in the mansion’s garden, which had a fountain with a tall statue in the center.

「Oh my, what a perfectly executed ambush. I’m shocked.」 The man wearing a strange mask, Fuzzy Dice, said that with a chuckle as he swiftly dodged the incoming attack from a man who had been hiding in the shadows.

「How were you able to notice that, there should be so many other people to watch out for…」

The assailant, who was the leader of Lara Phantom, scowled and glared at Fuzzy Dice. He had been convinced that his attack was perfect, but he completely missed his target.

Ambushes and stealth attacks were the specialty of Lara Phantom, as most of their members were of the Rogue class.