I had considered trying to defend the last thing the gang member said before Don Quixote struck him down—"the red clock-headed thing"—but I gave up almost immediately.
Even so, it wasn't as if red clock-headed things were common enough for another one to suddenly show up in this area, and the collapsed man had clearly been pointing at Dante.
"Just in case, I'll add that I know nothing about this. I was just about to go fetch a towel to give him an ice compress."
The shop owner, who until a moment ago had seemed delighted that the gang member had been knocked flat, was the first to offer an excuse.
It made me want to tear my hair out, honestly.
"That old geezer really..."
"I didn't expect anything from him, but he's got less backbone than reeds swaying in the wind."
Heathcliff and Ishmael each tossed in a remark.
Normally they cooperate like absolute garbage, but when it matters, they always end up in sync. It was kind of funny.
"Hey... you little brats over there... stop. Don't move."
So, should we run now? If we get tangled up and the Kongkongi Gang keeps swarming us, we're the ones who'll be in trouble.
"Hah. Run from what? This is annoying, so let's just kill them all."
Excuse me, Ryoshu?
"Why, should we not just rip the Kongkongi Gang out by the roots?"
"Heh. That doesn't sound bad."
"The forces of evil must be uprooted at once if justice is to stand!"
Epi's usual snide remarks didn't work on the ones who ranked among the biggest troublemakers in our group of prisoners.
"Hey, is there really not a single employee among you with a functioning brain?"
"...I'd rather not be compared to that side. Please look at someone else."
Epi stared at me for a moment as if he had something to say, then sighed and looked away.
The biggest reason, I suppose, was that the Kongkongi Gang thugs were now reaching into their coats and drawing weapons.
Right. That meant it was time to get out.
"For now..."
"Get outside, for now!"
At Dante's shout, the prisoners all bolted out of the shop at once.
As Sword had predicted, all the pawnshops lining the street had shut their doors to avoid getting swept up in the commotion.
"You bastards!! Stop right there!"
"You little punks think you can touch our family and get away with it?"
If it were you, would you stop?
Even as the sounds of the mob going berserk rang out behind us, we ignored them and kept running.
"Why do groups like that always call each other family? Because they have to squeeze out a bond that wasn't there to begin with?"
Well, maybe, Ishmael.
"You laid a bump on our precious little brother's forehead!"
"..."
Even while we were running around in a panic, Epi, that so-called elite, was holding his head as if even he couldn't take it anymore.
"My God... this wasn't in the plan..."
You should have kept some painkillers on hand, then.
I used to carry painkillers everywhere because my head would ache at random from the memories before my first failed mission, but I didn't bother sharing them with him.
The biggest reason, of course, was probably that watching the person who had treated us that way suffer was rather enjoyable.
"Hey, you lot. You were treating us like useless vermin just a moment ago, weren't you?"
"You thought we were a sewer full of garbage!"
"Nobody said it that badly, Otis..."
...So Otis really did think of us that way.
She ignored Gregor's protest, which voiced the disbelief we all felt, and kept wagging that devilish tongue at the before-team.
"But weren't you curious why our department was assigned the grave task of reclaiming the Golden Bough?"
"W-what is it...?"
Epi also looked flustered by Otis's attitude.
Given her usual behavior, this was the point where she'd naturally start praising Dante.
"Though I do agree that the others are garbage soaked in sewage..."
"Well, that's just your opinion..."
"O-Otis has always looked at us like that...?"
I could practically hear the prisoners' evaluation of Otis dropping in real time.
...Or was it already at rock bottom, with nowhere left to go?
Even so, the shameless Otis was able to ignore everything and finish her point.
"I have a history of invincibility, and the Manager possesses a resurrection ability capable of near-immortal healing."
Yeah, of course.
Could they change up the "and then Dante praise" pattern already? I was getting sick of it.
Also, doesn't "invincibility" mean she's never fought at all?
"In truth, even just the two of us would be enough. That bastard Vergilius seems to think differently from me, though..."
"In any case, no matter how many battles are fought, garbage does not cease to be garbage. It simply revives as garbage."
"...Haa."
Gregor gave up on protesting.
"You made it sound cool, but in the end you were just calling us trash."
"Still, if the reason we were deployed for the Golden Bough reclamation was our immortality, then doesn't that make it fine?"
"...Idiots."
It did not seem fine.
Gregor, let go. I'll smash Epi and Otis's heads in and then write the incident report myself.
"Enemy forces are approaching. Are you prepared, Manager?"
I'll get them from behind when there's an opening.
Just you wait.
Regardless of my thoughts, while we were chatting idly, the Kongkongi Gang had managed to catch up and soon rushed at us.
"Catch those brats!!"
So we're really going to be fighting all day again, huh.
I quietly raised my spear, bracing myself for a battle that would never seem to end.
The battle scene, unlike usual, was unusual.
Frrrt-frrrt-frrrt!!
"It landed properly!"
Above all, if Gregor, who had always been the most laid-back of the bunch, suddenly changed into that, anyone would feel the mismatch.
As for the reason for the change, what else needed saying? It was the personality he got from the gacha Dante had spun last time.
Of course, Gregor wasn't the only one who had changed.
Slash!
"Please proceed to the next one."
Faust, apparently using a personality from the mirror world's Yuri, subdued an enemy.
...I know it's not the same person, but seeing it still makes my stomach turn.
Crash!!!
When I looked in another direction to change my thoughts, a similar sight unfolded there.
Otis, using a personality that seemed to belong to some dead former G Corp section chief.
And besides her, several others who seemed to be from the Seven Association, Liu Association, or Shi Association.
Of course, even in the middle of all that, there were still people who were the same as always.
Me, sneaking out of the fight to watch from the sidelines, and...
"Dante! Don't I get one of those too?"
...the usual Rodion, who seemed envious of the changed prisoners and was saying that to Dante.
Right. The two of us were the only ones among the thirteen who hadn't received a personality.
"But it didn't come out..."
People can be unlucky, I guess.
It seemed that for a while, even in battle, things would remain as they were.
This time, we wouldn't be heading back to the bus in between; we'd finish everything first and then return.
"Saramago, stop loafing around and get out there."
Ah, I've been caught. Or maybe he knew from the start.
Anyway, Dante had indulged me enough, so I should probably go out too.
"Revenge for my little brother!"
In front of me was a Kongkongi Gang thug wildly swinging a dagger.
Looking at his face, it was the same man who had called us little brats earlier.
Then if I sneak up and...
"Hup!"
Clang!
A clear ring echoed, and the man who had taken my spear shaft squarely to the back of the head lost consciousness.
And after some fashion, the battle came to a decent end, giving us a chance to catch our breath.
"They were laughably easy to deal with. Nothing special."
"The Kongkongi Gang is the group that ruled this whole district. This isn't something that ends with one battle..."
The moment Epi's words to Ryoshu ended, more Kongkongi Gang members began pouring out from between the alleys.
"Where the hell did you come from, to mess with our organization!"
"Our troops are Limbus... ngh..."
Nice save, Epi.
Thanks to Epi cutting Don Quixote off immediately, we managed to keep the company's name from being spread around.
"Are you insane? You planning to hang a billboard in the back alleys?"
...The enemy hadn't even attacked yet, and we were the ones causing a scene.
Apparently they had no intention of waiting any longer, because the Kongkongi Gang thugs were already closing in on us.
"They're coming again! Manager, give the order!"
Looks like we really are fighting all day.
"Is it my turn to step in!"
Please shut up, Don Quixote.
"Aaaah!!"
Whoosh
Boom!
"It seems to be going well."
Yeah, another boring fight.
And these people can't even be used as fuel for the bus, so the payoff is cut in half.
I wasn't the only one thinking that. Heathcliff, who had been beating down enemies one by one, let out a rough breath and complained.
Thud!!
"Damn it, stop popping out already!"
"We'll be dead from exhaustion before we even get into the casino."
"Relax, Heathcliff. As long as the Manager is here, there's no way we'll die from exhaustion..."
That doesn't seem to be what he meant, Hong Lu.
"Who asked you because I didn't know that, you fucking bastard!!!"
And then, in contrast to Heathcliff's profanity, I heard Meursault's calm voice from the side.
"The solution is simple. No matter the organization, if you smash the head, the body it supports will collapse."
"You're the only one here saying something I like."
"It's annoying, so let's go crush them. Their head or whatever."
So he was saying we should go take out the Kongkongi Gang boss now?
...It was definitely a solution, but it was a little too radical.
"Come, let us advance!"
Several of the hotheaded prisoners already seemed to have decided in their heads that they were going to capture the Kongkongi Gang boss.
...Hang in there, Epi.