Chapter 16

My name is James.

I am the man who turned a small trading company founded by my father into one of the most prominent in this city, Darley, in just one generation.

And with my business acumen, I am confident that I can eventually make it the largest company in this country.

"Still, this magical device called an automobile is quite convenient."

I paid a high price for it, but considering how often I need to move around the city for work, I think it was a very good purchase.

Automobiles.

In recent years, these revolutionary magical devices have begun to spread rapidly around the world, replacing the horse-drawn carriages that were once the norm.

They are not cheap to maintain since they use magic power as their energy source, but they are somewhat better than horse-drawn carriages because they don’t require horses or drivers.

They are also relatively easy to operate, and with a little practice, I was able to handle them freely.

Today, I am operating this automobile and heading from my home to the trading company office.

"Hm?"

Then I saw someone walking boldly in the middle of the road ahead.

He seemed to have noticed the sound and turned to look at me, but for some reason, he stayed in place.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I honked the horn.

But since he still didn’t move, I had no choice but to stop the automobile and lean out the window to shout.

"Hey, you’re in the way! Move it!"

"Ah... s-sorry..."

He was wearing a deep hat, so I couldn’t see his face clearly, but he seemed to be a young man.

After mumbling something in a barely audible voice, he obediently moved to the side of the road.

I wondered what kind of person he was and peeked under his hat as I passed by.

—And then I saw it.

"White hair and red eyes..."

What came to mind was the article I had just read in the morning newspaper while having breakfast at home.

【Disaster-Class Undead Appears?】

The "Emarina Great Wilderness," known as one of the world's most notorious magical realms. On the 24th, a white-haired, red-eyed undead was discovered in Costar, the city closest to it.

According to the Adventurer's Guild, when adventurers of platinum and gold ranks confronted it, all their attacks were ineffective, leading them to conclude it was an unknown undead. It was reportedly swallowed by a disaster-class monster, the Tarasque, which was approaching Costar, but it managed to break through the hard shell and escape. However, it then disappeared for some reason. No damage was reported in Costar.

The Adventurer's Guild has provisionally named this undead "The Laughing Reaper" due to its eerie smile that terrified the adventurers.

They argue that its danger level should be designated as "Disaster-Class" or even "Great Disaster-Class," but the government is cautious since there has been no concrete damage yet.

Bald, the guild master of the Costar branch of the Adventurer's Guild, said, "We only survived by sheer luck. If that undead wanted to, it could destroy humanity at any time."

"Is... is what was in this morning’s newspaper really true...?"

I shuddered.

...No, it’s not certain yet.

It could just be a young man who dyed his hair white, or his red eyes could be colored with some special method.

Just then,

Smile.

"Th-this terrifying smile!? It’s just as the newspaper said...!"

The Laughing Reaper.

It was a smile that truly matched its name, one that made anyone who saw it tremble to their core.

In the next instant, I instinctively gripped the hidden object I had.

Looking back, it was an extremely dangerous action, but at that moment, I was so terrified that I panicked.

What I aimed at the reaper was a magic pistol.

It’s a portable magical device, small and lightweight, which I use for self-defense in case I am targeted by business rivals.

Recent magic pistols have seen significant improvements in power and accuracy due to development competition, capable of killing an orc, which usually requires a copper-ranked adventurer.

The advancement of magic technology is truly remarkable, as it allows someone like me, with no combat experience, to kill an orc with just a pull of the trigger.

Bang!

A deafening explosion sounded as the bullet was fired.

Of course, I couldn’t see the trajectory, but I was confident it would hit the reaper’s forehead.

I have confidence in my shooting skills.

"..."

But the reaper just lightly touched his forehead and tilted his head.

There wasn’t even a scratch on his forehead.

I’m going to die...

I resigned myself to death.

If I hadn’t done anything, I might have been spared.

But I had attacked him.

I don’t want to die...

I still have things to do.

I need to further develop my trading company, and I have a lot to teach my son, who is supposed to succeed me.

Vroom!

I didn’t want to die. With that single-minded thought, I stepped on the accelerator.

The automobile accelerated suddenly—thud!

It had knocked the reaper away.

But I kept the automobile speeding without stopping.

People hurriedly got out of the way.

He’s not chasing me...?

I cautiously glanced in the side mirror.

There he was, standing up as if nothing had happened, looking at me—

Smile.

"Aaaaaah!?"

I instinctively understood the meaning of that smile.

—No matter how far I run, it’s futile; I will chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you.

"I don’t want to... I don’t want to die! I can’t die yet!"

I cried out like a child throwing a tantrum, feeling a warm sensation spreading in my crotch, and continued to step on the accelerator, hoping for a last straw.

◇ ◇ ◇

A sound like something bursting.

Then, a stone-like object was suddenly launched from an unfamiliar L-shaped object that the chubby man aimed at me.

It hit me right between the eyes.

"..."

What was that?

As I tilted my head in confusion,

Vroom!

A loud roar echoed, and the mysterious carriage suddenly started moving.

The corner hit my waist, and I was thrown away.

Of course, it didn’t hurt at all, but it was dangerous to start moving so suddenly.

It was probably being controlled by the man inside, but he didn’t even apologize and sped away at high speed.

But I’m not the kind of person to get angry over something like this.

...Even though I’m an undead now.

People around me were looking at me with worried faces.

To show them that I was unharmed, I smiled.

Smile.

"Ah!?"

Huh?

Why did everyone’s faces contort and step back?

Then someone called out in a trembling voice.

"W-white hair, red eyes... Could it be... the newspaper...?"

"I read it too... It’s the Laughing Reaper...!"

Some people started running, and one by one, others followed, screaming and fleeing.

"Wait... I’m not... a suspicious person..."

I tried to plead, but being bad at conversation, I couldn’t do anything about the situation.

Still, to think that just my white hair and red eyes would make people this scared...

And some of them reacted as if they already knew me.

"Has the information already reached this city...? But how could it be faster than my movement...?"

I remember hearing about a magic that can instantly teleport to distant places.

Perhaps a mage who could use it happened to travel between the two cities.

"Either way, it seems I can’t stay in this city anymore."