Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Selling the Pretty Face
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Cain had been gone to the depths of the borderlands for about three days now. In that time, it rained once, and the temperature plummeted—lately, it felt like autumn was right around the corner.
‘Which means it’s a bit earlier than in the original story.’
Thanks to the small subspatial ring with enchantments for temperature regulation and mild poison resistance, I hadn’t noticed much. But judging by how the mercenaries around me were bundling up in longer, thicker clothes, the weather had turned pretty chilly.
The original story was pretty expansive, and even as a hyper-immersed otaku who reread it periodically, I didn’t remember every single letter. So things were a bit fuzzy.
What came to mind, tying in with the dropping temperatures, was that I’d definitely read about the Cyclops descending around winter.
That caused the forward base in the inner gorge to collapse and cut off the roads, leading to deaths from food shortages and plummeting temperatures.
It was what pushed Reinhardt further toward corruption, eventually leading to the massive walls and fortress being built here later on.
The long wall stretching along the borderlands seemed like a great choice at first for blocking monsters emerging from there. But thanks to the evil god cult’s invasion later on, it ended up being a terrible mistake.
Those fleeing the cult tried to hide in the monster borderlands but couldn’t breach the walls built to keep monsters out. Later, it got called the Wailing Wall.
So this time, if I took out the Cyclops, I could prevent the Wailing Wall from ever existing—and as a bonus, help Cain power up.
“For now, we have three subjugation requests.”
Luna laid three sheets of paper on the table.
Kobold village extermination, cleanup of a cave crawling with amorphous monsters like slimes, and the last one: a joint subjugation of a massive monster presumed to be a twin-headed ogre.
The last one was pretty dangerous, so the reward and bounty were sky-high. But would enough people actually join the joint hunt?
“Ogre alone would be a time issue even if thousands of regular mercenaries without mana piled on—they’d all get wiped. Twin-headed? Even mana users would be in danger.”
“Is it that risky?”
Zero spoke up, puzzled by Luna’s words.
“Some adventurers who fell into our room in the labyrinth bragged about being ogre slayers.”
“That was probably just bluster.”
Even a regular ogre’s hide shrugs off attacks without mana.
A normal person would have to hit it hundreds or thousands of times to maybe bruise the internals—and even that would heal with its monstrous regeneration.
Its main weakness is supposedly being dumb, but a twin-headed ogre offsets that just a tiny bit. Really just a tiny bit.
I didn’t read through monster manuals and encyclopedias after landing here for nothing.
You have to know how strong your opponents are to come up with any plans.
—So, Administrator. Which of requests one or two are we taking?
“Definitely number three.”
I pushed the other two aside and picked up the ogre joint subjugation request.
“Why number three for sure?”
I watched Riph poking his finger in and out of Rachel’s open mouth as she dozed with her jaw slack, then answered.
“Our party’s got a solid track record now, so it’s better to signal how cooperative we are with command rather than racking up minor kills.”
Plus, with Rachel joining, our firepower had skyrocketed. Of course, since she was in play mode, she wouldn’t exceed the power limit she’d set for herself right away.
Probably capping at aura user to master level at most. But for now, that was plenty. And honestly, my existence meant her limiter was a bit loose anyway.
A dragon’s playtime is like a midsummer night’s dream—they follow the fate they’ve chosen.
In extreme cases, they even erase their dragon memories on purpose, live as something else until death, then revive as dragons.
So if Rachel started her playtime limiting herself to aura user level, that would’ve been it.
But because I knew she was a dragon, she now had the option to loosen her playtime power limiter anytime.
‘This playtime needs a new concept.’
I tilted my head slightly and smiled.
“We’ve got Rachel on our side. Let’s apply to join the joint subjugation squad and flaunt it.”
They’d shove us to the frontlines for sure. Rachel had the rep of a strong idiot brute girl who didn’t get along with others, so she wouldn’t have ended up with a dead-end party otherwise.
She’d made enemies knowingly or not, so they’d stick us upfront to screw us over. Even aura users couldn’t solo a large-type like an ogre.
Mid-sized varied by individual, but large-types could almost all manipulate the magic stones in their bodies while alive.
That let them instinctively harden their hides and boost mana resistance using the stones.
Normal blades wouldn’t even nick them, so you needed mana users too—and barely then could you scratch the hide. Minimum requirement: aura user.
“Rachel, wake up.”
I tapped her foot under the table to rouse her, propped my chin, and spoke.
“Think our party could take a twin ogre solo?”
Our party wasn’t weak by any means. But not weak and strong aren’t quite the same.
By my estimate, we could hunt a twin ogre.
But I wanted the dragon’s take.
“Huh? Ngh. Ogre?”
Rachel wiped her chin with the back of her hand and looked at me with bleary eyes.
“Yeah, ogre.”
Her eyes sharpened gradually, scanning me first, then Luna, Zero, and Riph.
“Depends on how much we show.”
Her long finger jabbed at me in the air.
“If you use the high-class magic in that codex, possible.”
Then at Riph.
“If you crank up the mana consumption on your body’s magic stone—your mana engine—to output above aura user level, possible.”
“What if we don’t go all out?”
Rachel rested her chin on her puffed cheeks and drawled boredly.
“Probably possible. But... our damage would be low, so it’d take forever.”
I nodded. I was utility-focused, Riph was the tank. Luna was like a dex-based evasion tank and sub-DPS in game terms, and Zero was...
‘Nicely put: versatile. Bluntly: jack-of-all-trades, master of none.’
Great for adapting or counters, but we lacked a pure nuker.
That’s why I brought in Rachel, but she was a physical brawler type—decent burst but bad matchup against ogres.
Give her a blade and it’d change, but...
‘She loves the feel of bare-hand kills during playtime—no way she’d.’
Even if she devoted body and soul to loyalty, she’d only bend so far without wrecking her playtime setup.
“No choice. We’ll have to join the group hunt.”
And shine just enough to get some say in the Cyclops subjugation later.
I grinned.
“Now, time to cash in on that pretty face?”
* * *
Zero gave an awkward grimace-smile. Was it the doppelganger racial trait, or just her personality?
The attention and stares from everyone felt so suffocating, yet she couldn’t escape them—that was the problem.
‘I just want to live like a normal human.’
Her employer wouldn’t let her.
“Head up already.”
Even now, he hid his own face under a robe, but dressed Zero in fine clothes, restyled her hair, and paraded her as the face of the group—like a total villain.
“Could you cut me some slack?”
“Nope.”
They’d used perception-distortion badges before to blur features and avoid trouble or Adelian getting recognized.
But now, they needed to build Sle’s recognition and fame properly.
So agreement: Adelian kept the badge and hood, everyone else ditched theirs. Their skills were already whispered about, so for influence and voice, no choice.
‘But why do I have to be the face...?’
Skip the shady robed guy, and it was all beauties.
Short and cute girl-type senior Luna. Slender to the point of sleek, doll-like expressionlessness that came off provocative on junior Riph.
And Rachel, tall like Zero at over 180cm, toned muscles in all the right places, with a cheerful vibe that looked bold.
Among mercenaries wrestling monsters, they were standout beauties—hard to find even searching the whole region. Zero hogging them all? Yeah, no wonder...
‘Anyone looking would tell me to watch my back at night.’
Just the short walk from the inn to the request board, and the death threats hit double digits.
Adelian’s plan to dump all aggro on Zero was working too well—she wanted to cry.
“What’s the operation name?”
“Zero turns out to be some chaebol’s youngest...”
Zero tugged at her tightening shirt collar and let out a hollow laugh at Adelian and Luna’s banter.
‘Chaebol from the start? What even is that, Sir Adelian?’
Did chaebols feed on malice or something? She hadn’t done anything, but killing intent pricked her back, eyes on her nape even if she couldn’t see—and people spat curses openly.
Zero clamped her twitching mouth, then finally spoke.
“Uh, Sir Adelian, ngh—no, uh. I need the bathroom quick, I mean... I’ll be right back.”
Per the plan, Zero was the party leader now, Adelian her hired mage. Trait: facial scar, wears robe due to looks complex... So she habitually used honorifics until Adelian stepped on her foot; she fumbled and slipped back.
‘If I don’t handle this and head to the inn, tonight’s gonna be noisy.’
Adelian wouldn’t hear, but whispers of raiding the inn after assembling, splitting loot and women... Disgusting drivel, killing intent pouring on her and Adelian as the males.
“Handle it quietly.”
Zero nodded at Luna’s tiny mutter, out of Adelian’s earshot as he filled out the joint subjugation form.
No need to report every little thing.
That’d be like reporting every breath.
To claim what Adelian wanted, walking that path meant kicking stray pebbles aside before the master noticed—that was a servant’s duty.
As soon as she stepped into the back alley behind the request office, surrounded by shadows, Zero chuckled low.
“What’s this about?”
Up close, the stench hit: stale sweat, dust, monster blood.
Mixed with another blood scent.
She’d never swallowed a whole person, but she knew it—fresh from a living being.
“Hey, young master. Fun to hog ’em all?”
“Three beauties? Nothing left for nighttime?”
“Eh, who knows. That robed one—strip it, might be a girl.”
Zero snickered at the claim that parading such pretties openly while hooding the robed one meant otherwise.
If senior Luna heard that, big trouble...
‘Smash that mouth right now.’
Zero burst out laughing at the faint voice beyond the wall.
“Young master’s so scared he’s lost it? Laughing alone? Huh?”
“What’s that piss stink? Floor’s soaked, haven’t done shit yet—don’t piss yourself early.”
Zero stared at the three men before her, eyes soft with a smile.
“What’re you saying after what you did?”
“Huh?”
The man sneering amid rising piss stink looked down. His pants soaked who-knows-when, baffling expression.
Then his buddy’s neck hairs standing on end.
Only then did they notice their own shivering—and locked eyes with glowing green jewel-like orbs in the alley shadows.
Like mice before a snake.
“C-Catch... eat...”
“No way. I don’t eat. Just leave me be.”
Swallowing everything, erasing self, melting a human soul to rebirth as new race, spitting it out rooted in the soul.
“I don’t do that now. Got it?”
If you want to know what it’s like to hold all memories and emotions yet not be yourself.
“Come as planned tonight.”
The three shook their heads hard, faces mild but like standing under a snake’s bared fangs.
“Then I’ll count on you for the subjugation.”
I trust you’ll serve as my limbs.