"Someone's over there too!"
Sean's chaotic barrage finally drew the enemy's attention after taking down a few people. His mind, still lingering on the [Friendly] figure that had suddenly appeared among the enemy ranks, forced him to temporarily choose to evade...
"He's over there! Don't let him get away."
The voices were heading straight toward him.
Sean could only dash toward the other end of the corridor...
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~
The relentless gunfire behind him kept Sean from looking back, but his mind was still fixated on that character with [Friendly] affinity. [Friendly] was different from [Amicable].
Amicable could just be a casual greeting relationship—as long as your smile pleased the other person, you could be amicable. It was the easiest way to build affinity. But friendly required at least a brief exchange with the other party.
He didn't know many people in Koga City. Those with [Friendly] affinity could be counted on one hand.
So far, Ignia was one, then the two siblings at Skov's shop, and of course, Aria in the Count's mansion... As for the rest, they were at most amicable. Noble interactions were often driven by interests. As a minor baron from a small place, he had nothing they needed, so most were neutral, not even reaching amicable.
So who among these people could it be?
Leaning against the corner, Sean extended his gun barrel and fired blindly down the corridor where the enemies were chasing.
Whether he hit anyone or not, after two shots, the noise from that side did quiet down. Someone might have fallen or was looking for cover.
At that moment, Sean suddenly missed the days when he had a map...
Otherwise, with a terrain map, one 'M' key would show everything.
Hearing the gunfire in the corridor cease, he knew ordinary firearms needed reloading. If he seized this chance, he could counterattack.
Taking a deep breath, he leaped out from the corner of the corridor...
Bang, bang, bang...
[Magic Proficiency: 108]...
[Magic Proficiency: 109]...
[Magic Proficiency: 110]...
He moved fast, not bothering to check if the enemy was reloading. He fired at any shadow he saw. Anyone hit, even in the limbs, would collapse to the ground.
Ice bullets left a blue mark when they struck, especially on bare arms.
He could clearly see the bullet hit the muscle, leaving a small frozen imprint around it. Though tiny, it was a fatal injury to the victim.
Those hit in the leg couldn't even stand.
"He... he's a wizard too!"
The pursuers numbered about seven or eight. Perhaps the enemy instinctively felt Ignia's side was a greater threat.
"Don't... don't..."
Sean didn't care what they said. He finished off the enemies in front of him with a few shots.
This was a battle—no time to spread kindness. If he didn't act, they would. Luckily, these seven or eight had low health, just over [1000] total, and had already lost some in the earlier fight.
None of them were the person he was looking for.
Sean had to run back toward Ignia's direction...
Compared to his fight, she had more enemies but seemed more at ease. A Level 4 Orderer was like a transcendent being to ordinary people. As long as she didn't make mistakes, taking down a dozen was no problem.
Before he even got close, he heard an explosion from the next room.
Ignia's magic had pushed over a dozen people from the corridor back into the courtyard...
Among the fallen, Sean finally spotted the only [Friendly] person!
"Sean! Don't go over there." Ignia hurried out from the corridor.
The thugs in the courtyard were nearly half-dead from her attacks, lying on the ground, unable even to lift their guns.
"Sean..." she warned worriedly, but saw him walking straight toward one of the thugs.
Small in stature, looking like an underage child, with wooden shards from her magic blast embedded in their abdomen.
Unable to move, blood trickling from their mouth...
"Why?"
"..."
"Why is it you!" Sean stared at the girl on the ground.
In his view, she had [350/900] health and a [Friendly] affinity—wasn't this the girl he'd been searching for days without news?
The little peach seller!
"Cough, cough..."
Her arm could still move. She groped for the gun beside her.
"I bought all your fruit," Sean said, a remark that left Ignia behind him baffled.
But it made the girl on the ground stop moving.
She stared at Sean with wide eyes...
"I've been looking for you for days. I wanted to buy some fruit tree seedlings from you, to promote planting on my land, but I couldn't find you... I never expected..." Sean looked at the girl.
Like their first meeting, her darkish face was dotted with freckles, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
In Sean's view, she showed [Surprise!], [Incredulity!], and [Despair!].
They had only met once, never revealing their identities to each other, so she hadn't recognized him earlier. Only after he said that did she realize!
"Why you, why are you all..."
At that moment, Sean seemed to understand why these thugs only had just over [1000] health, and why the person he'd observed earlier looked like an ordinary passerby. Ignia's investigation had also mentioned that the items were bought by civilians.
If he narrowed the target to ordinary commoners, everything made sense.
These thugs were commoners living in Koga City, perhaps even the lowest of them... That's why they reloaded so slowly, why they chose to surrender when powerless.
But even in surrender, they wouldn't betray their comrades!
The girl's [Despair!] eyes added a hint of [Anger!].
Struggling, she reached toward her waist...
This time, she didn't go for a gun but tried to pull something from her belt.
"Still... still..."
She could barely speak, her movements growing more tremulous.
Sean saw his affinity drop from [Friendly] straight to [Cold] for the first time...
But in the end, she didn't hate him. He took out what her trembling hand had touched—a coin, the gold coin he had given her.
There was only one reason that could drive commoners to riot, to hate nobles.
Sean looked toward the room at the deepest end of the corridor...
"Sean."
Ignia watched him stand and walk straight toward the Count's room, then followed.
No enemies on the way, even the door was open.
The same strong medicinal smell, and Count Hamilton sat motionless on the central bench.
As they entered, his gaze fixed on the room to the side.
...
"Well, well, look who it is! What a rare guest. I thought the first one in would be from the Hamilton family, but it's you... We meet again, Baron Viger."
A wizard in robes, holding a long staff, emerged from the side room.
"Master Wiseman!" Ignia beside him called out the name.
This was the wizard he'd met once at Skov's shop, with Level 9 Orderer ability.
Wiseman.
Beside him was another man, simply dressed but with a sturdy build.
[10000/10000 health, Cold]