Chapter 60
Chapter 60
"Punishment! Punishment!"
I was suddenly hyped to the max.
This surging hot pulse turns into lightning and roars through the streets of Toctol.
Along the way, I made sure to punish the unruly thugs who were attacking fleeing civilians.
The total—twenty-some people. Of them, the "Pescatore Bandits"... or rather, the "Ellie-chan Volunteer Corps" were nineteen. Truly hopeless members. Though they all turned into good kids right away.
I informed the city patrols of the hideout and base location and asked them to arrest the unruly thugs. The patrols were severely undermanned, but they said they'd respond immediately. Seeing someone so diligent makes me want to cheer them on. I wonder why they kept bowing their heads so fervently when they looked at me.
Well, the little stuff doesn't matter!
"Bad kids get punished!"
At last, we arrived at the boss's base—Pochao's mansion.
It was quite a luxurious mansion. A five-meter-high iron fence enclosed the premises protectively, and the white walls with red roofs were stylish to say the least.
I removed my wet cat-eared knit cap, squeezed it thoroughly to drain the water, and put it back on.
Two armored men, likely guards, stood at the front entrance.
"Electric Shock (Impulse)!"
"Gwaaah!"
"Gyaaaah!"
I no longer hesitated.
Caught in the radial currents scattered widely, the two guards passed out in an instant.
"Ariana, let's go."
"Let's do it, Ellie..."
"But first—Cure Light."
"Thanks..."
"If it gets tough, speak up right away."
"Okay..."
I kept casting "Cure Light" on her, so Ariana's condition seemed fine. Besides, she also wanted to deliver punishment.
We entered the mansion, grabbed a maid nearby, and had her lead us to Pochao's room. When I dropped a "Thunderbolt" just a meter beside her, she obediently did as told. Yep, very well-educated!
"This way......"
"Thank you. I have a favor—do you mind?"
"P-please, order whatever you wish!"
"This mansion is extremely dangerous. Evacuate all the staff immediately."
"Dangerous?!"
"A big lightning bolt is going to strike."
Bluffing, I timed it just right and dropped a "Thunderbolt" about five meters ahead. With a crash of glass, the mansion's wall shattered into bits. The maid bolted down the hallway, practically rolling. Nice sprinting! Your nickname from today is Sprinter!
Giving a crisp thumbs-up, I turned the doorknob leading to Pochao's study. With a click, it opened inward.
A sprawling room lay before me, with luxurious red carpet, massive bookshelves, and various tomes.
Sitting at the desk in front, Pochao was engrossed in flipping through books.
Fufufufufufu.
Hahahahahaha!
The mansion's master all alone——skip the details!
"You're late! Did you bring Ellie-chuwan?!"
"Yes, I'm right here."
"That voice!!"
Pochao flung the book he was reading, rounded the desk, and approached me.
Then he gave me a puzzled look.
"Why are you dressed like that?"
"To punish bad kids."
"The mana interference bracelet—it's gone?!"
With unexpectedly swift movement, Pochao reached into his sleeve for a hidden staff and swung it back.
"Hear my voice and converge, spirits of water. Water Wa—"
"Electric Shock (Impulse)!!"
Faster than that yawn-inducing spellcasting, I spun three full times and unleashed "Electric Shock (Impulse)" with style. And as a bonus, I formed a peace sign with my right hand, spun it, and tapped it beside my right eye with a wink. Take that, thief! Tonight's a blowout sale at a huge loss!
Gyagyagyagyabarry!
"Ugyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Pochao convulsed from the sudden current and nearly collapsed.
I immediately flicked my right index finger.
"Wind Storm!"
Enveloped by a tornado-like gust rising from below, Pochao spun clockwise and got driven into the ceiling.
Bits of wood fell, gravity took hold, and Pochao's body plummeted freely.
I kicked off the carpet, rushed forward, coated my right hand with "Electric Strike," and punched Pochao in the gut mid-fall.
"Ellie-chan PUNCH!"
"Guuuuuuuuuuuh!"
That punch I tested in the secret training ground was insanely powerful.
Pochao flew backward, crashed into his desk, got wedged into the desk's edge from the impact, then hit the wall, causing the desk to blow apart.
Babbling nonsense, Pochao collapsed forward.
Like a squashed ant, he twitched slightly.
"Cure Light."
He looked like he might die, so I healed Pochao pretty strongly. Then I... yes, like a mother singing a lullaby and stroking her beloved child, gently and gracefully sat down on Pochao's back with love and compassion.
"Ugh... huh... what was I...?"
"You got punished."
"Ahh... I hear the voice of an angel..."
"You've done lots of bad things, haven't you?"
"I... have done... nothing... wrong... at all!"
Electric Strike!
A jolt of electricity pierced into Pochao.
A cry of agony.
After letting him soak in the current plenty, in just five minutes, a good boy was born.
"For example, what kind of things did you do?"
"T-t-tax hikes... I forced them..."
"And then?"
"I evicted people and broke up families..."
"And then?"
"I had women and children kidnapped..."
"Then what?"
"I... did whatever I wanted with them..."
"Where are those kids now?"
"The girls I liked are in the next room. The little ones were sold to the desert country Sandy."
I glanced at the door leading to the next room.
"Where in Sandy did you sell them?"
"A place that trains special agents."
"And the orphans from the orphanage in Greifner?"
"All to Sandy. I was just following orders."
"Who gave you those orders?"
"A famous noble."
"What's their name?"
"I don't know."
"Tell me. Right. Now!"
"Hiiiii! Okay, Ellie-chan!!"
Pochao stood up, flipped over the shattered desk, and handed me a letter. It had a mark stamped on it with a cross-shaped falling leaf pattern.
I took it and tucked it into my pocket.
It's an important clue—I'll examine it later.
"Where is the place that trains the agents?"
"I don't know."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Really, really?"
"Yeah!"
"Re-a-lly?"
"I'm serious, Ellie-chan! I don't lie!"
"Liar!"
"Aieeeee—!! I'm sowwy! But it's twue!"
"Fine, then. Now show me to the next room."
"Okay!"
After that, we freed five pudgy girls held captive in the adjacent room and made Pochao prepare a million Ron per girl as compensation, along with clean clothes. We told the girls to seek out the Kobashigawa Trading Company in the Kingdom of Greifner if anything happened, then helped them escape the mansion.
I also tossed about thirty gold coins into the pouch hanging from my neck—travel funds for the way home.
Ariana, Pochao, and I stepped outside the mansion.
The rain showed no sign of stopping, and thunder rumbled.
We'd already confirmed the mansion was empty.
"Now then, Pochao. Let me give you a *souvenir for the afterlife*."
"Maid sideburns?"
"A *sou-ve-nir*! For the *af-ter-life*!"
"Yesh, yesh! Pochao wants a pwesent!"
"*Ahem*. Being kind to fat, ugly girls brings happiness. Did you know?"
"No, I didn't knowsh!"
"Now you've learned something valuable!"
"Yeah! Thank you, Ellie-chan!"
"Goodnight."
"Nighty-night!"
"Sweet dreams."
"Yeah!"
"**Electric Strike (Electric)**!!!!"
**ZAP-ZAP-ZAP-ZAP——**
Pochao collapsed like a student after pulling two all-nighters for finals, his face serene as he sank into sleep. Don't worry. Someone'll find him soon......
Finally, I focused my mind to chant the forbidden new spell—**"Thunderstorm (Thunderstorm)"**—a wide-area annihilation magic that rained **"Thunderbolt"** strikes everywhere I could see.
I recited the spell name fiercely in my heart, condensing mana to its absolute limit.
Not yet......
A little more......
**Now. GO———!!!**
With a playful spin, I struck a cute pose—peace signs pressed to my cheeks, eyes crinkled—*bonus included*. Take *that*, bastards! This level of service is a one-time deal!
"**'Thunderstorm (Thunderstorm)'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**"
My mana drained like air from a popped balloon.
A pause—then the thunderclouds **roared**.
Did it fail!?
The instant I wondered, a flash filled my vision, erasing Pochao's mansion in blinding light.
**CRACKLE-BOOM-BZZT-KABOOM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BZZZZT!!**
**FWOOSH———!!!**
**KABOOM-SPLAT**
**Kyaaaaaa—!!**
**NEIGHHH!**
**CRASH-TINKLE-SMASH**
**Hee-hoo... hee... hoo...** (gasp)
**SPLOOOOSH———**
Countless lightning bolts crisscrossed left and right, annihilating the mansion with overwhelming energy, gouging the earth, splitting the air, and mercilessly striking even the tiniest debris. The deafening thunder drew screams from women everywhere, horses toppled, objects crashed en masse, cowardly Hee-Ho birds fainted mid-**"hee-hoo"** from asphyxiation—and then, from the ruins of Pochao's mansion, a **hot spring erupted**.
The mansion was reduced to ashes, the land now a pockmarked wasteland.
"Punishment *complete*!"
"You did it, Ellie...!"
"Yeeeah—!!"
Case closed.
Later, the border town of **Toctol** faced unprecedented crisis from the thunderstorm and monster outbreak—but miraculously reborn as a hot-spring resort. Credit went to a group of rugged, bandit-like yet oddly pure-hearted men who volunteered tirelessly. Dubbing themselves the **"Ellie-chan Volunteer Corps"**, they became local celebrities, with a fifth of the town joining their ranks.
Asked about their name's origin, they'd just shrug. "Bad kids get punished," they'd mutter, trembling on stormy days. Strangely, they were *obsessively* kind to chubby or "ugly" girls, earning rave reviews from women.
Toctol's parents now scolded kids with: **"The black-cat-eared Thunder God will punish you!"**—a tale born from disaster-day sightings of a lightning deity carrying children.
○
Ariana and I hitched a ride with a burly adventurer fleeing the chaos. After magic-drying our clothes, exhaustion crashed over me, my adrenaline fading.
Then it hit me.
**Nnnnngaaaaah—!!**
So **embarrassing—!!**
What the hell was I *doing*!?
Striking those cringe poses, yelling **"punishment time"** while blasting lightning spells across town—**I want to vanish!** This has to be the **mandragora tonic's** fault!
**Who the hell fed me that—!?**
**ME, DAMMIT!!!!**
The adventurer mentioned the tonic costs **five million Ron per vial**—a potion that trades euphoria for pushing mana to its limits.
I swore to my soul:
**Never drinking that again—**
"Ellie's poses were cute..."
**Ariana, stooooop!!**
**Stop digging into my wouuuunds!**
"Teach me later..."
**NOOOOOO!**
**One more word and I'm becoming a hermit!!!**
"Punishment... *mwah*."
Ariana flopped onto her back, poking her cheek.
**Too cute—!!**
Even half-dead, her charm's lethal... This is......
Sleep ambushed me mid-protest. Today's tension finally snapped.
We succumbed to exhaustion.
The carriage rattled toward safer lands.
**Chapter 2 —End—**
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**Great work, everyone (*^^*)**
**Thus concludes Chapter 2!**
**Next up: Chapter 3—Desert Arc!**
**PS: The print version features stunning illustrations by popular artist Miyuki Ruria...!** *(whisper)*
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**Enjoy the rest of the story...!!**