Hero or Villain, Both

It wasn't just Duke Misfid that was convinced in the end.

I had meetings with many different nobles during this time and they all lost to their greed.

When it came to special goods, there was no one that could beat me.

That was how it was when it came to the distribution network that I had created through the avatars.

As such, there was no one that was able to compete with me.

But because there was no one that was able to compete, that meant that there were some people that were envious because of this. There were people that didn't seem happy that I had created this new business on their territory.

"Is this the third or fourth one that has been sent after us?" I asked the driver in a casual voice.

The driver also casually replied, "It's actually the fifth, young master."

"Oh? Right, there was that one that had tried to sneak in, but I didn't even meet them so I completely forgot about them. Those guards that you hired really are good at what they do, aren't they?"

"We only hire the best, young master."

The two of us were just casually having a chat. If others were to see us now, they wouldn't have thought that we were being chased by a bunch of people on horses.

These were people that were wearing black armour to hide their appearances, but I already knew who they were. After all, I had made sure to keep eyes on the ones that could have sent them, so I knew exactly who it was that sent them.

At the same time, I knew just how powerful they were and that they were no match for me.

After driving the carriage a bit further away from the city, the driver suddenly stopped.

"Ha, ha, ha, you led us on a wild goose chase, but now it seems like you're finally giving up. I suggest that you don't struggle and we'll give you a painless death." The leader of the black armoured group said this as he came to a stop behind us.

Though the rest of his men didn't waste any time at all wrapping around us so that we wouldn't be able to escape.

It was clear that these people were professionals that knew exactly what they were doing.

But even then, I wasn't afraid and neither was the driver.

"Young master, do you want me to take care of them?" The driver said in a casual voice before pulling out a dagger.

However, I just raised my hand and said, "Let me do it. I needed a bit of exercise anyway."

The driver gave a nod before putting the dagger away and leaning back in his seat.

When the people in black armour saw this, it was clear that the mood had changed. They were no longer laughing and it was clear that they weren't happy with what we were saying.

After all, the way that we acted was as if we were completely ignoring them.

"You'll regret those words." The leader of the black armoured group said in a cold voice before waving his hand.

When they saw this signal, the rest of his group pulled out their weapons and approached as if they were going to attack.

However, I just looked back at them with a smile before raising my own hand and creating a ball of flames.

"He's a magician?" The leader of the black armoured group said in a surprised voice, but then he said with a chuckle, "Is that all that's giving you confidence? Take him out!"

I just shook my head with a smile before taking a step forward to face them.

…

"Stop! Stop hitting!"

"Ugh…it hurts."

These were the voices of the people in the black armour after being knocked to the ground.

Their armour had been destroyed to a certain extent, so their faces could be seen now.

Those faces were currently covered in bruises and there were wounds that were all over their bodies.

The only thing that they could do was lay there on the ground holding the parts of them that had been wounded.

During this time, I was standing over the leader of the black armoured group.

With his helmet off, I saw that he was a middle aged man with a sharp looking moustache. It was clear that this was a moustache that had taken quite a bit of effort to maintain.

This was the kind of moustache that one took pride in.

As such…

"Tell me who hired you or else." I said as I held him by the moustache with one hand and created a flame with my other. The way that I was holding the flame, it was as if I was ready to set light to his moustache at any moment.

There was a look of panic that filled his eyes when he saw this and he quickly said, "I…I don't know. I really don't."

I didn't care that he said this as I brought the flame closer to his moustache.

Right before it could actually light the moustache on fire, the middle aged man said, "Alright, alright! It was the Dire Bear Company! They were the ones that hired us to kidnap you and teach you a lesson!"

It seemed that he really cared more about his moustache than his employers.

But at the same time, I didn't let go of the moustache.

That was because I could see that there was more that he wasn't telling me.

It was clear that there was something else that he was hiding, but as for the reason…

Turning to the driver, I said, "Go and tell them to investigate the Dire Bear Company. They should be on our list already, so it won't take long to get the information that we need."

Turning back to the middle aged man, I said, "I'll have some more fun with them. I'm sure that we still have a lot to talk about."