My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 436

Hard Catch

"Oraa! Get down here!"

"Don't get cocky just 'cause you're feelin' it!"

Currently, the delinquent boys and I are facing off, with them on the street and me on top of the gate.

(Well, that aside, I'm in a bit of a pickle.)

The difference in strength is clear, I suppose. I don't feel like losing to them in the slightest. However, they show no sign of listening to me, each one spouting whatever they want and repeating their provocations.

But, even if they piss me off, it's difficult to just blow them all away.

That's because among them, I can spot quite a few who seem to still be minors, their faces clearly retaining a youthful look. Seeing kids like that putting on airs and acting tough, revving the engine of their moped, is incredibly irritating.

But, even so, I can't exactly go around injuring them.

If I do that, parents will come out saying their kid got hurt, and it'll turn into an even bigger hassle later. After all, I'm officially recognized as a walking act of violence—a dungeon ability user.But then again, binding them all up with mucus and calling it a day feels kinda lame too.

They're a bunch of guys surrounding someone's house, acting lawlessly.

Even if I hand them over to the police without them feeling a single sting, they probably won't learn their lesson at all. They'll just, without reflecting on their own actions, complain later that they only lost because of a cheap skill or something, and it's plain as day they'll go back to their mischief.

Besides, the skill [Mucus] is a core part of my combat style. Showing my hand to scum like them is way too much of a waste.

"We're all starving with no food! Doesn't your conscience hurt!?"

"Yeah! You think you can hog it all, you piece of shit!!"

"We're sayin' we'll distribute it, so hand it over already!"

(Hmm. It's rather like the Momotaro strategy, I suppose...)

It seems they, in their worsening position, plan to regain their standing by distributing the food they stole from us. If they're the good Momotaro, then I'm the bad ogre.

But there's not a single reason for me to accept their selfish demands. So the answer is, of course, a refusal.

"I don't know what you're barking about so annoyingly, but you're a nuisance. Go home. And don't come back."

"Whaddya say!!"

"Just go home. I've got dinner to prepare over here."

"Tch!? You screwin' with me, you piece of shit!?"

"(Hey, isn't this different from what we heard...?)"

"(Yeah... Wasn't it supposed to be that they'd listen easily if we threatened them?)"

Thus, the guys up front who were barking tough got enraged by my words, while the guys in the back started showing unease at my unfazed attitude.

(But, this isn't getting us anywhere. Sigh... Well, no choice. Maybe I should rough up two or three of the ones who aren't minors. Things would go quicker if head honcho Nemu-kun would just step forward, but...)

But their leader, Nemu-kun, stays in the center of the group and doesn't move. And to avoid giving them any legitimacy, I can't make the first move either.

So, from atop the gate, I'll return provocation with provocation.

"Hmph! To be so incapable unless you're in a pack... truly a bunch of garbage. You'd do well to take a good look at your own actions! Fuhahahaha!"

Behold, this supreme, pottery-uncle-level provocation.

Unable to bear it, some of them turned their faces towards Nemu-kun as if seeking a decision. From their looks, I guess they discussed things beforehand. Probably agreed to try threats first, and if that didn't work, they'd get further instructions...

And so, Nemu-kun, who had been staring this way unmoving under those gazes, finally opened his mouth.

"Where's Machi...? Send out Machi, not you."

Hmm, seems Nemu-kun wants to speak with Sera-san directly. But that's also a refusal.

"Unnecessary. I'm in charge here. And add '-san,' Dekosuke-kun. Isn't it rude to address a woman you're not close to without an honorific?"

"Wh-What!?"

"You don't get it? I'm saying you lack manners. Raising a ruckus, shouting annoyingly—is that the attitude of someone coming to meet a person!?"

"Says the guy looking down from the gate..."

"Ah, my standing here? But unfortunately, that's the very nature of a gate. It's meant to block the intrusion of lawless rabble like you."

"Tch, keep talking...!"

(Fuhahaha! Behold! You probably thought you could intimidate with numbers and force compliance through strong-arm tactics. But that's naive. The man standing before you is the genuine article—a salty man! Once my mind is set, imprint upon your eyes this will, hard as rock salt!)

...

And so, we glared at each other for a while...

Then finally, Nemu-kun raised his uninjured hand and signaled to his comrades. In response, two men near him who seemed like close aides nodded. Then, grinning, they advanced towards me, leaped, and jumped up onto the gate.

"Hey... I don't recall inviting you. This is trespassing, you know?"

"Haa~?? Didn't know, this here's the air, right~~?!"

"Yeaah, air's safe! Didn't ya know, dummy! Gyahaha!"

(Hmm, more foolishness...)

The men, wearing provoking smiles, flanked me from left and right on top of the gate.

In their hands were easy-to-swing iron pipes. It seems they judged that strong-arm tactics wouldn't work anymore and moved to armed force. And now that they stood on the gate, the super-giant boar bones placed in the garden seemed to have come into their view.

"Whoa-ho! That's it! That's pretty damn big, ain't it!"

"I see~. If that's just one, there's probably still plenty of meat left, huh."

They licked their lips happily, but they clearly didn't even consider that I took that thing down alone.

But, separate from that. While they seem confident in their own strength, they don't seem used to fighting at heights, their stance slightly timid. Even so, they keep making motions to swing their iron pipes, threatening me—a comical sight.

"Let me make it clear. Even with the two of you together, you can't beat me."

"Stop dreamin', you trash! With that stupid getup!"

"Ha, guess you won't wake up 'til you get hurt! Let's finish off a guy like this!"

Despite my warning, the two of them swung their iron pipes from left and right.

"Oryaa!"

"Die!"

The man on the right aims for my right knee. And the man on the left aims for the back of my head.

It's a simultaneous attack from both sides. Bad. Like this, I can't deflect it from the right or the left...

Well, no choice then. In that case, I'll just have to catch the attacks themselves.

Yes, with these two hands of mine...

"HARD CATCH!!"

[[SPLATTER!!]]