The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

25 – Episode 25 Tendrial vs. Casey

“What’s this?”

Bang!

A gunshot echoed from the bushes.

Wolfgang’s booby trap had been triggered.

The fired projectile pierced through the orc’s neck.

“It’s a trap!”

The hefty body collapsed powerless to the ground.

As the sound of gunfire echoed, Casey, who had been lying down, opened her eyes wide.

Not knowing the situation, but instinctively thinking she needed to hide her body, she quickly got up and disappeared into the bushes.

Meanwhile, Tendrial, witnessing the officer collapsing from a gunshot, quickly lowered his body and remained vigilant of his surroundings.

There was nothing left where Casey had been.

“Casey… This damn dog…”

Tendrial couldn’t help but think it must be Casey’s trap.

How she managed to tie her hands and feet, cover her face, and hang herself alone in such a high place was unknown. But among the surprise attack team, there was no one as massive as an orc or tree spirit that could overpower her and take her own life.

If not, it had to be considered as death from heart failure or spontaneous combustion.

Excluding such rare possibilities, it was reasonable to think of it as Casey’s trap.

“After sweeping away the surprise attack team, she disguises it as if she was the one attacked.”

In the current situation, it seemed more likely that it was a dwarf who, while digging a tunnel, had been discovered by Casey.

The drug that was thought to have completely disappeared from the world had reappeared, so Casey, who had always stood on the side of justice, the “commander,” would not have stayed silent.

“Did you come looking for me? In the meantime, the dwarf must have dragged her here as I instructed.”

Left alone in the middle of the trap, Tendrial cautiously moved his body, intending to return to where his comrades were.

“I don’t know where that sneaky girl might pop up… For now, I should go back and bring the kids again.”

Watching the front, Tendrial, who was moving backward carefully, quickly turned his head to get out of the danger zone.

Clank—

However, as she turned her head, cold metal touched her forehead.

“…Where are you going?”

With a face reddened with blood, Casey aimed her gun at Tendrial’s forehead and asked.

“S…Stop…”

“Don’t play dumb. Where are you going?”

“Let’s not do this among colleagues.”

“Colleagues? You talk like we’re colleagues. How do you treat your non-human gangster comrades like that?”

“No… It’s the situation… If I knew you were here, I would have told them about it.”

“Told them? You’re joking. Enough. How did you manage to let the forest guys escape?”

“The Queen herself issued the order. Any problem?”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Go back and ask if you doubt it.”

“…”

Aside from Tendrial’s confident attitude, Casey knew that what she said was true.

Given the uncertainty of where this rogue youth, who could be of use even in the aftermath of the hero’s death, might turn, the command to use him was given with some consideration of the risks, as it would be easy to discard him if necessary.

However, extracting the hidden narcotics and gathering them was undoubtedly an action unrelated to the queen’s orders.

“You weren’t instructed to resume the drug trade, were you?”

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“Of course… you knew? If it’s because of that…”

Casey tightened her grip on the pistol aimed at Tendrial.

“The evidence is sufficient. Eliminating Tendrial here without revealing my secret would be a good pretext.”

Tendrial also understood Casey’s intention.

“This b****. Is she really planning to kill me here and now?”

“Casey, it’s not a good idea. I have no reason to expose you. Just watch our backs as before, and I won’t make it difficult for you.”

Casey thought about Tendrial’s words.

“She shamelessly rifled through my belongings, almost trying to bury me alive.”

“Whether you expose me or not is not crucial. And asking us to watch your backs with your stinking schemes? I’m a commander now. Not just a local guard. Why would I tarnish my career with a stupid move? It’s better to uproot your gang during this opportunity and aim for a higher position.”

“Don’t regret what you’re about to do.”

“I should have just killed everyone during the suppression back then… It’s all thanks to Wolfgang. Stabbing a knife in the back of the person who saved your life. Truly heartless, isn’t it?”

Tendrial sneered at Casey’s words.

“Do you even have the right to say that? You liked Wolfgang, didn’t you? But because Haganess was by his side, you betrayed him out of jealousy. Pathetic, huh?”

As Casey’s face reddened with anger, the body of the pistol in her hand began to tremble slightly, representing her fury.

Tendrial opened her eyes wide, focusing on Casey’s finger on the trigger.

“Yeah, get more excited.”

“Did I say something wrong? Well, let’s hear it directly from Wolfgang… Helped a poor child and made a person, huh…”

Bang!

Anticipating the timing of Casey’s finger pulling the trigger, Tendrial moved her head to the side to avoid the bullet, then immediately leaped towards Casey.

Tendrial’s arm coiled around Casey’s waist, flipping her over.

Swiftly drawing a dagger, Tendrial thrust it down towards Casey, who was now on the ground.

Rolling to the side, Casey grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it towards Tendrial’s face.

Tendrial, who covered her face to block the rough particles flying around, couldn’t stop Casey’s fist coming from the square.

***

“They fight well.”

Wolfgang, who had been following the treasure map found while tying up Casey, quickly climbed a tree upon hearing Tendrial’s voice nearby, starting to scout.

“Both have improved quite a bit. Damn bitches.”

Knowing their skills well, as he had personally recruited them into the solidarity, he could enjoy watching the fight even more.

“Is it a shame to watch alone?”

Wolfgang recalled the illusion magic used by the queen and slowly reviewed it in his mind.

Although not perfect, through the power of the gods, he could analyze and replicate the opponent’s skills.

“How did it go… Oh, got it.”

A fist-sized cloud was created on his palm.

It was a magic of a simple level, not as complicated as he thought.

“Easy.”

Wolfgang sent the created cloud into the sky, positioning it where Casey and Tendrial’s fight would be well visible.

Confirming the cloud’s location, Wolfgang slowly closed his eyes.

Then, a spherical form like an eyeball was generated within the cloud.

“Oh. It works!”

Closing his eyes, which had only seen darkness, the view gradually brightened, revealing the fight between Tendrial and Casey.

When Wolfgang closed his eyes, he could see through the spherical form in the cloud, and when he opened them, he saw his original view.

“The queen could open both eyes well, but for now, roughly like this…”

Wolfgang closed his eyes and moved the cloud to find a better viewing angle, fixing it in place.

“Good! Like this, record, and save.”

***

The two women stared at each other with rough breaths, exchanging deadly glares.

It seemed like the outcome of the fight had been somewhat determined.

Both were exhausted, but Casey’s injuries were more severe compared to Tendrial’s.

Having fought many battles before clashing with Tendrial, Casey had no choice but to struggle.

“Ha… Ha… I’m going to kill you…”

“Damn it… Ha… Look at yourself, Casey. Follow my advice now, even if it costs you your life.”

“Shut up… Damn it!!”

Casey threw her battered body forward and swung her fist.

Due to her depleted stamina, the attack felt powerless and had no impact.

Tendrial effortlessly dodged the punch, drew a knife from the inside of his coat, and slashed Casey’s shoulder.

“Ugh!”

Despite the pain of ruptured muscles, Casey mustered all her strength and swung her fist again.

Tendrial once again blocked the attack, seized Casey’s forearm, and pressed the dagger against it.

“Ugh… Sorry, but… it’s come to this.”

“Damn it… in a place like this…”

Tendrial tossed Casey’s tattered arm over her head and moved behind her.

Wrapping her arm around Casey’s throat, he whispered into her ear, lips brushing against it.

“Casey, where did you stash the emergency funds?”

“Kck… What are you talking about?”

“The bribes you’ve been taking.”

“That… those… why would I… you guys took them in the first place…”

“… What are you even saying?”

Tendrial released the grip on her arm.

Casey collapsed to the ground, coughing.

“Kck… Haah… You guys stole it first, and now you come here with this nonsense…”

“Hey, don’t bullshit me. You didn’t take it? All those damn traps… and by the way, the note hanging on the tree seemed like yours too.”

“I… made it so intricately that I couldn’t dismantle it easily. Haah… So sacrificing the horse was the only option…”

“What the hell? Does that make sense?”

Tendrial tried to lift the fallen Casey.

Thunk!

“Ugh! My… arm…”

Casey kicked out, her boot’s blade stabbing into Tendrial’s abdomen.

The knife embedded in her boot drew blood as it flowed down.