I Only Summon Villainesses

Chapter 277: Scam Alert [part 1]

After the horrendous but successful battle with the shadow wolf, I found myself walking through the narrow streets of Los Arcos, with a bag draped over my shoulder. My entire coat was drenched in black blood and probably carried a pungent smell that my nose had long gotten used to. Seeing how several people who hung around in the night covered their noses and turned away in disgust as I passed, I figured that was the case.

As I turned into a narrow alley, some guys were seated by the entrance, smoking some substance that smelled like mint to me. It was genuinely refreshing after the things I’d had to grace my olfactory organs with the past few days.

I smiled a little at the sweet aroma.

At that same moment, they were so disrupted by my smell that one of them nearly fell off the crate he was sitting on.

I showed no care and just walked forward.

"Boss! Did you see that bastard just now? I swear he laughed at you."

"What?!"

The boss got up and glared at me.

"Hey!! You there, stop!"

I heard him but did not reduce the pace of my steps. Just continued to move like the words weren’t worth acknowledging.

"Will you look at this bastard! The boss is calling you and yet you dare ignore him?"

He picked up a stone and hurled it at me.

I sensed its trajectory and tilted my head, catching the stone before it sailed past my shoulder. Still walking.

This kind of thing was common in Recimiras. In fact, in Los Arcos, it could be ignored entirely because the gang members here were nothing more than mobs. Few of them barely even had bloodline abilities, not to speak of being summoners.

A Summoner had more worth than being a thug here. Even an F rank summoner was useful.

I turned to him, looking at the stone in my hand.

The three of them had stood up and were glaring at me with threatening gazes. Well, at least they looked threatening from their own vantage point.

I held the stone casually, drew my arm back, and sent it forward.

The stone whistled through the air like an arrow loosed from a bowstring. It whizzed past the boss, leaving a thin cut on his cheek.

They froze. The boss himself had his legs trembling like he was about to piss himself. His two lackeys weren’t doing much better.

I glared at them and turned away. There was no good reason to waste my time on useless mobs like them.

After a while, I arrived at the family house.

I jammed the door open and a cold silence met me. I walked to the reception table and dropped the bag on it. The bloody bottom left a dark smear on the counter.

Someone was behind the table, and she glared down at the bag with potent disgust.

Then her hollow, corpse-like gaze fell on me, her crude tone coming out.

"Remind me why I have to do this again?"

"Because you’re my summon. Everyone is on a mission right now, so it’s up to you, me, and Kassie to manage the family house until they come back."

I looked around.

"Where’s Kassie?"

"In the backyard... waiting for you."

I nearly exploded with excitement when I heard that. Today was another good day for me to sharpen my skills with Kassie.

However, at that moment, the bells on the door rang and someone stepped in.

The man had crimson hair that fell over his face. He held a wooden walking stick and tapped it gently on the ground as he approached the counter table. Each tap was deliberate, measured, like he was counting his own steps.

He stopped just beside me. His gaze was distant and his eyes were as red as his hair, almost as though they were woven from someone’s blood.

"I have come to hire the company for a job. Is there a chance that I may meet whoever is in charge?"

Maggie’s expression was straight and dark.

I didn’t think anything of it. Maggie’s face was always perpetually dark. The only problem was that the atmosphere was getting slightly hot, and I wasn’t sure it was just Maggie this time.

The man was also smiling with his eyes closed, and though the smile was wide, it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Crow’s feet formed at the corners, deepening as the expression held.

"Who is it again... Levi, is it? That small kid, what’s his name... should be Miko? Lilo?"

"Milo?"

He finally turned to me.

"Oh yes, that one. Where is either of the two of them?"

I turned to Maggie and then back to the man.

"What job do you have, sir? You can relay it to me. I can do it for you. Right now the others are on different jobs as well."

"Oh? That’s strange. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the Black Snow being so busy that they’re short of hands."

I hid the displeasure I felt towards him.

’Who said we were short?’

"Business is booming these days, since we’ve proven to be quite dependable. So there are tons of jobs to be fulfilled."

"I suppose the booming business has something to do with the recent event with the Manhattan company?"

I folded my hands and looked him in the eye for a moment.

’What’s the deal with this man?’

"Well, yes and no. We are a dependable bunch. That’s why we could take down the whole of Manhattan to begin with. What do you want, old man?"

He chuckled slowly.

"Old man? Your tone’s gotten quite rude. Are you getting irritated by my persistent questions?"

I muttered, facing away from him.

"I’m surprised you’re even asking."

The man sighed.

"I guess I have to leave with my job of five hundred spirit crystals since someone is being quite rude."

My eyes widened.

’Five hundred crystals?! What the hell?!’

That was about five hundred gold coins.

My gaze sharpened with intense seriousness and a newfound respect towards this profound elderly man.

My tone changed so fast it could have given someone whiplash, and I cupped my hands.

"Elder, you’re welcome to the Black Snow Sect... ahem, company. What do you need done? I promise a hundred percent efficiency!!"

A pleasant smile graced the man’s lips. He looked around the room, letting his gaze drift across the walls, the counter, the ceiling, before it settled back on me.

"I want you to burn down this place for me. If you do that, all my five hundred spirit crystals are yours."

My serious expression crumbled.

"Uh?"