Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Old Sewers
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1.
"Wake up, Sedric."
Tap tap.
"Sedric. Get up already?"
"Ugh, dunno. Sedric wants to sleep. Five more minutes...."
Mumbling, he tried to bury his head in the pillow but snapped his eyes wide open.
The voice ringing in his ears was awfully familiar.
"Huh?"
He bolted upright, and there she was—thick, honey-blonde hair flowing like syrup and those exquisite golden eyes.
Even her delicate, cute features radiated a noble elegance.
The one who'd woken him was Arbel, dressed in her school uniform.
"First period today. We're gonna be late at this rate."
"First period?"
Ah, right.
This was Crowley Academy.
A place where noble heirs and talented commoners gathered to awaken their abilities.
Aden's premier educational institution, nurturing the city's future leaders.
Why uniforms if they're not even high schoolers?
Such questions were pointless.
By genre convention—especially in 19+ stories—even adult students showed up in uniforms.
Fail to follow it, and the world gets erased by some unstoppable force.
Truly terrifying stuff.
"Sedric, you listening?"
Arbel put her hands on her hips, striking a classic tsundere light novel pose.
"......"
Okay, situation grasped.
A bone-deep sad wet dream.
In reality, he was rolling around in dogshit polis right now.
"Ha... fuck...."
Why was he so quick on the uptake and sharp?
If he'd been a little dumber, he could've savored this peace a bit longer.
Aaah.
Outside the dorm window stretched a clear, sunny sky.
Birdsong chirped away, and vibrant green leaves swayed in the breeze.
Nothing you'd ever see in the Necropolis.
So this was the view he'd have gotten if he'd picked the right option in the first playthrough.
No Arbel, though.
Of course, since this was a dream, Arbel was here too.
"Arbel."
"Yeah?"
Arbel without the usual voice acting quirks.
With the save point changed, an intact Arbel felt like ages ago.
Sedric. Overwhelmed with emotion.
"Come here for a sec."
"Kyaa!"
"Missed you! Arbel!"
He yanked the head-tilted Arbel into a hug and dragged her onto the bed.
This was just a dream anyway, right?!
A lucid dream!
"Wh-what are you—mmph?!"
"Heh heh, putting up a fight, huh?"
So he could do all the steamy stuff he wanted with Arbel, no problem?
"Mmph...! Mmmph!!! Mmph...!!!"
He kept her locked in his arms despite her struggles and dove into a deep, intense kiss.
Aaah, this feeling.
It's been so long...!
Moist, soft lips.
Squishy tongue with just the right hint of firmness.
Arbel's body, initially trembling in shock as she tried to push him away, gradually lost its tension.
Her resisting hands clutched at his clothes...
Then slowly went limp.
He could feel Arbel wriggling in his arms start to settle down.
"Smack... smack...."
But why was this dream so damn realistic?
He could even feel her clumsy tongue play, sucking at his tongue tip like a baby nursing.
Even her clinging to him desperately, pressing right up against him—it was all vividly rendered.
"Chuuuup... smack...."
Were dreams always this intricately interactive?
Was his imagination really this good?
Whatever.
It wasn't a bad dream at all.
2.
After last night's sweet wet dream.
He opened his eyes.
Every morning was pure hell.
His routine was always the same.
Wash his face, plant a kiss on Arbel's cheek, grab dumplings for breakfast.
Ponder today's digging spots.
"Is this shit even real...."
He was starting to get antsy.
He'd torn through C Sector's predicted points like a mole, but no sign of treasure—not even a glimpse.
He liked gacha, but real-life gacha was no fun.
"Poksoon, got any hotter leads? Like really promising spots. You know this stuff better than me."
"......"
"Poksoon?"
"......"
Sion had drained her blood pack breakfast clean.
She stared blankly ahead, oblivious to his calls.
"Poksoon. Answer if you're awake."
"......"
Look at this bitch. Ignoring him during a briefing?
Master's skull was cracking, and she was dozing with her eyes open.
This wouldn't do.
"Bad girls get the tummy rumble-rumble."
Huh? Still no response?
"Hey, hey."
Snap snap right in front of her face—Sion flinched.
Focus returned to her red eyes.
"Wha...! Wh-what is it?"
"You just made a grave mistake."
"What did this concubine do?"
"Dared ignore Master three times. Punishment: three belly farts."
"Wh-when did this concubine ignore you! Don't lie!"
"Excuses mean plus one. Four. Out with 'em."
Sion's brows and lips twitched in complaint.
But his rigorous training had paid off.
"Ugh.... R-ready, Master."
She hesitated a moment, then lifted her pajamas to bare her pale belly.
"Heh heh."
About to deliver the usual rumble-rumble, he caught a weird vibe.
Why was she acting so...
Off today?
Couldn't put his finger on it, but the atmosphere was strange.
Even now, in position.
Her head was cranked sharply the other way.
Her hands gripping the hem were rigid with tension.
Her belly twitched every time his lips hovered near.
"Eek...."
Tears welled in her tightly shut eyes.
Like mochi right before getting devoured.
Ah, right...
Yesterday's issue with Sion getting all damp.
Same action, but room for different interpretations.
"...Nah."
No, fuck. This was bullshit!
She'd charged in first, and now she was robbing him of his happy punishment?
-Smack
"Ow?! Why'd you hit me!"
"'Cause it pissed me off."
"?????"
He flicked her forehead and called it forgiven.
3.
Time passed, and with Sion somewhat back to normal, he set off on another chaotic Necropolis treasure hunt.
One strategic tweak, though.
"Looking back, I've been way too soft."
He'd been chanting that Necropolis had no freebies, yet clung to a freebie mindset.
He'd focused on easy-access spots, comfy ones from the fake guide's tips.
Time for revolution.
Everything changes except Arbel and Sion.
Places no sane person would want to visit.
Even stubborn fixers start dragging their feet.
Treasures hidden there had to have survived 200 years, right?
With that mindset, gas mask and boots in hand, he charged out full of grand ambition.
"Fuck...."
But seeing the real thing, his resolve wavered.
He stood before a massive sewer pipe on D Sector's outskirts.
Not really a pipe—more like a tunnel over 10 meters wide.
The difference? Green sludge oozing out.
And a stench piercing the gas mask filter that he didn't even want to describe.
"...In here...?"
Sion's pupils quaked from the sewer fumes.
He got it.
Same here.
Did they really have to go this far?
"Master."
"What."
"This concubine's tummy suddenly hurts... Go alone. I'll massage it at home."
"Bullshit."
"You bastard! Dragging nobility like this concubine in there? Are you insane?"
"Then why hide treasure in a dump like this!!!!"
"Th-this concubine didn't hide it! Ugh!!!"
He forced the mask and boots onto the flailing Sion.
So where was this?
New region entry after ages.
Needs a bit more explanation, though.
As the entry said, this was a 'surfaced' rift.
A massive one spanning the whole Necropolis underground.
When the Old Sewers first popped up, even the city rulers had headaches.
'What the hell do we do with this surfaced sewer? Fix it.'
'Uh...'
'Hmm...'
'Just leave it and use it ourselves?'
And so Necropolis adopted this month's genius idea.
They'd been thriftily using it as a sewage system ever since.
Sunming might even be sunk here somewhere, fermented into poison crab sauce.
Anyway.
No matter how much this city crawled with hyena thieves and crooks.
Unlikely they'd found treasure stashed deep in the sewers.
"No no no no! This concubine won't go in!"
"Fuck! Neither do I! You bitch!"
He hoisted the thrashing fake Sion over his shoulder and plunged into the sewer.
A maze of twisting passages.
Like super windy subway tracks?
"Urk...! Urk...!"
"Poksoon, puke and you're fucked. Keep the mask on."
Dead center, bubbling sewage flowed instead of rails.
They had to walk the narrow sidewalks flanking it.
Sidewalks narrowed and widened, slick with moisture.
Slip, and it was fondue time.
Scattered holes to the surface let in light for visibility, but...
"Ha... Maybe we bail now."
Honestly, he was dying to turn back.
After trudging some distance?
-Splash
Something dropped from the ceiling into the sewage center.
The water echoed through the wide chamber.
Judging by the splash radius, a hefty object.
"Eek...!"
"Fuck, I hate jumpscares."
If they'd been a bit farther, it'd have splashed them too.
Peeking closer.
A man's corpse, beaten so bad his face was unrecognizable.
"Damn, what a waste."
That'd fetch cash at the ossuary.
Then the twist.
"Ugh."
The guy tossed from the surface into the sewer was alive.
Half-submerged in sewage, he spotted him and rasped in a dying voice.
Desperately reaching out.
"S-save me...?"
Too late.
In this rift, what sinks is the sewer's.
-Whish!
From the boiling black sewage, a sticky shadow surged.
Toad tongue? Giant cephalopod tentacle?
The bizarre slime mass wrapped the man.
"Eh, urk?!"
No time for screams.
His floating body plunged under in an instant.
Bubbles burst, blood surfaced, then diluted into the black water and vanished.
"Whoa...."
Yeah, yeah. Been forgetting lately.
This was the city.
Forgot 'cause things got livable recently.
He tossed the useless gas mask without regret.
Brought it just in case, but it blocked nothing.
Plus toxic gas? Narrowed vision was riskier.
"Been living too soft and girly lately."
A hollow chuckle escaped.
Gas mask in Necropolis? Like wearing one for smog or lip balm for chapped lips.
-Sizzle, hiss
Lighting his cig, acrid smoke stabbed his lungs.
Nausea eased, rusty mind sharpened.
"Fuuu...."
Long smoke trail scattered pointlessly.
"Let's go?"
He steeled himself grimly.
No matter how shitty, push forward.
To not get swallowed and digested by this city.
"Why the sudden tough guy act?"
"Agh...."
He smacked Sion's head.
"Why hit me!"
Somehow felt like her fault.