The Strongest Gun Magus: I Cast Bullet!-Chapter 54: Absolute Banditry in Broad Bloody Daylight

"Ah. The smith is here. Good! Explain to us, why would you choose to deal with the snow bastards instead of our good order!"

Reynard tilted his head to the left, then to the right.

The magi in front of him frowned. They looked like they were made in the same mold: light-haired, fair-skinned, and with noses broken at least a couple of times. One had a narrower face, the other had a long, bushy beard.

"Hey, you were asked a question, smith. What are you looking at?" the bearded magus asked.

"I was just wondering where your baseball bats are. You know, to break my knees."

"Bats? It’s winter, they are all asleep," the narrow-faced magus muttered, only to be slapped on his fur hat by the beaded one.

"Idiot! He’s just distracting you. Smith, are you going to talk with us at the entrance? You will be so rude and not invite us in?"

Reynard smirked.

"Yes. This is a private workshop. If you didn’t come here for business, then scram, please. And don’t waste my time with your posturing. I know how this routine works. Next, you are going to tell me that if I don’t come to work for Order of Winter, my workshop will spontaneously combust."

Both magi went red-faced. The beaded man opened his mouth to speak, but instead just caught air like a fish.

Just now, Reynard said exactly what they were going to—but even bolder. Finally, the bearded magus regained his confidence.

"Yes. So what? We don’t like foreigners here, exactly because they don’t know which order is the best one. Ours, naturally!"

The narrow-faced magus leered.

"Think about it, smith. If we catch you working for the Order of Snow again, we will return."

Instead of a reply, Reynard closed the door in front of his visitors.

A few seconds later, he felt their auras moving away. Only when they left the premises did he let out a breath.

"Banditry! Absolute banditry in broad bloody daylight!" he cursed under his breath. "It’s this damned city..."

If things were happening in Valkenburg, none of this would have happened. Blue Bismuth School was the ultimate authority of the town, and the Magister had the right to write its laws. They could have just forbidden foreigners from doing business in the town.

Not that it was a good thing for foreigners...

After his time spent in Darland, Reynard knew that things worked differently here. Because there were two orders of equal power, nobody had the ultimate authority. Instead, the city was ruled by a council, and the laws served nobody in particular.

’Either way, in this city, the only way to get protection against an order is to ask for a different order.’

***

"And then he said, ’Oh, so it’s near the East Craft District? Forget about it, then. You made a mistake setting up shop so close to Order of Winter’s territories. Move somewhere closer to us, and we will make sure nobody disturbs you, mister. But not there.’ But how was I supposed to know whose territory it was? Not like many people are eager to rent to foreigners here. Speaking of, I hope my landlord won’t hear all that and decide to kick me and my workshop out."

Reynard shook his head and sighed.

When he planned this dinner date with Marien, he hoped to have a romantic time together, hold hands, kiss—everything almost-honest women allowed, in short. Instead, he was head-deep in his troubles.

Marien listened to him with an expression of growing outrage.

"This is absurd! People were right, saying that people from the Order of Snow are two-faced snakes. Do you really need those spells of theirs? They don’t deserve your help."

Reynard smiled wryly.

"My beautiful, did you forget the part where people from the Order of Winter came to threaten me? I’d say both sides are bandits in equal measure. I was considering hiring a guard, but someone of Albedo level won’t be cheap. But I sure won’t just abandon my current goals. Besides the metal-smelting spell I need, I believe the Order of Snow might have a refinement manual that will suit me better than the Threefold Transformation."

"Oh... Right, I suppose the Order of Winter acted dishonorably, too. And petty. Well, if anyone can show them, it’s naturally you! I wouldn’t have chosen anyone lesser. But I will help you guard your workshop too, of course."

Marien nodded as if it were something resolved. Reynard put a hand over his face.

"M—My songbird!" He almost called her by name, too. "Did you forget that you are an ally to the Order of Winter? Are you really going to cross them like that? They will curse you hard enough that your grandfather will feel it! You will make too many enemies at once!"

Marien’s shoulders slouched.

"But I can’t just leave you to deal with them alone! You said it was two Albedo magi. And are you really going to fight them with so little? At least the Order of Winter was teaching me some of their frost magic."

Reynard chuckled and took her hand in his over the table.

"I love it when you care! But I will be fine. I have some tricks up my sleeve..."

Marien blushed, but continued to drill him with her gaze for several seconds before relenting.

"Fine, fine. I will listen for rumors and active missions. At least, I might give you a warning before someone does something."

"That would be more than enough, my brave princess."

In his head, Reynard was shifting priorities. The requisition orders could wait a little.

He had to finish the prototype of the gun designed to be deadly even to Albedo magi. And if that failed, make more Boom Powder for grenades.

’But those are expensive... With the amount of Boom Powder each takes, they cost a hundred gold pieces per grenade. At the very least, because the way it goes, there will be no ingredients for the powder left in the city! Well, I will just have to think something up, then.’