What he meant wasn't anything grand.

He wouldn't murder people in the inn. First of all, that would just leave a bad taste in his mouth.

And second, they were scum, but they hadn't really done anything to him that was worth killing them for. Not to mention, they were paying customers. There was still a minimum courtesy expected from that.

He wasn't some sort of vigilante who'd vow to kill all scum in the world. He was just a chef-turned-innkeeper who wanted to live his life in peace.

That said, he was willing to throw them some inconveniences. If they perished while trying to overcome that tribulation, they could only count themselves unlucky.

Of course, he couldn't do mass, indiscriminate punishments either.

"Are they all bad people?" he asked her.

Well, anyone who takes part in forced slavery deals and kidnappings were not good people to him, but he also wanted to know if there was anyone she hoped would get a bit less punishment.

She nodded. "Many of them try to touch me when sleeping. Icky."

Finn's eyes sharpened and he looked in the direction of the door.

"Scar guy… he stops them. Tell them not to damage goods."

Scar guy would be that man they called Clen. Finn didn't know if he could be counted as decent, but perhaps he wasn't irredeemable.

Finn sighed, patting her head. "Well, maybe we'd punish him just a bit less than the others."

…

He guided Katnia to the middle bunk bed (Tumble had already taken the lowest one due to his small stature), and he went to his own room to sleep.

Just before he fell asleep, he heard the doorknob was moving. There were also some whispers, and it was obvious people were trying to enter his room. For what reason? Definitely nothing good.

They couldn't use the fact that they needed something, like in hotels, because that was the staff's job, who would take three hours or so every night as an extra night shift.

They had mentioned all of this before the rest went to bed. So, if anyone was trying to get into his room specifically, then there would be other motives.

[Guest Josp Li is breaking a rule. Rule: No trespassing. Would you like to kick him out? Yes | No]

He would always get the first decision when it came to these things, unless it was a direct danger. Pang would then use his own discretion if he didn't wake up.

Sigh. Didn't they believe the rules? Without much thought, he clicked [Yes], and after short exclamations, the world was quiet.

He heaved a deep breath as he relaxed in his soft bed.

Finally, some peace.

…

He sat up and headed up, realizing that Ranran was already preparing the kitchen. Ranran's chances of making essence food were still too low (she was practicing, though), but she could at least help him prep the ingredients.

The night before, they would plan the next day's menu, so the materials, including those that were available in the cellar or had to be plucked from the gardens, would be taken beforehand.

He looked outside, and the guards and mercenaries were already outside. Some were already dealing with monsters in attempts to gain more cores and earn back their losses, while some were there to… study the place.

Their luggage was also cleared up, indicating that they'd be heading out today. Some hadn't though, and he had a feeling those people thought they'd take over this place anyway, so why bother?

Heh. Even if they did stay, he would surely milk them dry of their money!

While Finn stood next to Durgan to help out, Pang jumped to them. Since only they could understand Pang, they had no worries about being overheard.

"They were looking for a barrier stone."

Barrier runes were usually buried in a spot and activated by a runemaster. It would then create a spherical area that would block everything.

However, his barrier was different from those types.

For one, his was quite a bit larger. From what he heard, the remaining barrier runes were only a few hundred square meters in area.

Another, 'real' barriers were shields that blocked everything. Once activated, nothing could come in until it was deactivated. It was similar to the [Complete Isolation] function of his barrier.

Even if there was no such obvious difference, the bastards would still be greedy for the barrier regardless.

Durgan gritted his teeth. "Damned thieves. I bet they've tried getting into the cellar too," he said, stabbing the meat with his knife. "But as long as they didn't destroy anything, the rules wouldn't be triggered…"

He even sounded a bit disappointed.

Finn shrugged. "Well, we'll be ready for whatever they would try."

The mercenaries continued to study the place while also dealing with the monsters that pounded on the barrier. They had long mastered the advantages of the place and could now harvest awakened cores with relative ease, so how could they miss the chance to get some?

As they prepared to go, they counted the people they had left. "Where's Josp?" Clen asked, eyebrows furrowed. "I can't find him."

At this, Evos cursed. "Damn, did he fall asleep in a shrub somewhere? He'd better not lose our compass!"

It was around this time that a fight against a small mob was finishing up. When someone stabbed a monster, something stuck in its teeth was thrown out, straight into the barrier.

Flop!

It landed on an unfortunate bystander. "URGH!" he yelled, instinctively shooing it away, his body shivering from the goosebumps.

When it didn't move, people started looking more closely at it.

"Hey…" they paused, looking at the appendage in disgust. "Whose arm is that?!"

…

Clen's eyes were sharp, and using his weapon, he turned it over. It was still fresh, so it was obvious that the dismembering had happened relatively recently.

When they turned it over, their faces darkened as they saw some familiar tattoos.

"It's Josp's!!"

"What?"

"Who—"

Finn, who was watching from the side, whistled innocently, heading back to the kitchen.

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