Chapter 132: Monster Showdown (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: Monster Showdown (6)
“Haah, haah…”
“…Excuse me.”
A few minutes had passed since Isaac Adler came face-to-face with Silver Blaze, who had apparently been out for a midnight stroll.
“Ye—Yes?”
“Are you struggling?”
“Oh, no, not really…?”
“Then why are you breathing so heavily?”
Already bound by the rope Silver Blaze carried daily for "emergencies," Adler tilted his head and asked subtly.
“Ah, that’s because…”
“Well, I suppose it’s only natural. Are you still feeling the aftereffects of the battle?”
As Silver Blaze hesitated and stuttered, Adler pressed further, a bright, thin smile playing on his lips.
“Battle… you say?”
“It must have been grueling. Jill the Ripper is no easy opponent, after all.”
“…Eh?”
She stood there blankly, dumbfounded for several fleeting moments. Eventually, she managed to stammer out a reply.
“Well, I suppose…?”
“Honestly, I’ve had to reassess you. I thought you were just an insignificant background character, but…”
“Th—Thank you…?”
Having grown up around the racetracks, she was an expert at pretending to understand and agree with her owner, even when she didn't have the slightest clue what he was talking about.
“Come here.”
“…Yes?”
She knew instinctively that such behavior earned praise and rewards—carrots, a warm bed, and affection.
“I’ll give you a reward. Come closer.”
“Ah…!”
Once again, her strategy proved correct. Even though she was in the middle of kidnapping him, her master was calling her over with a gentle expression to reward her.
“Hehe…”
Silver Blaze approached with an expectant look. Her tail, usually drooping, began to wag in an excited, rhythmic beat.
Slap—!
The sharp crack of a hand against a cheek echoed through the air. Her head snapped to the side.
“Master…?”
She stood dazed, realizing Adler had slapped her. His expression was now stern and frigid.
What did I do wrong? Did I take Master’s joke too seriously? Did I tie the rope too tight? Or maybe…
In an instant, a thousand dark thoughts raced through her mind.
…Right. I should just slit my wrists before he abandons me. If I hurt myself now, maybe Master will take pity on me and won’t throw me away.
“It’s a reward.”
“Pardon?”
Just as her thoughts were spiraling into a dark abyss, she heard Adler’s voice, now bubbling with mirth.
“You like it, don’t you? Being hit.”
“…Ah.”
Her eyes welled with unprecedented sorrow, tears threatening to spill over, when—
“Isn’t that right, Phantom Thief Lupin?”
“Eh?”
Unexpectedly, Adler uttered the name of the Phantom Thief.
*
A few minutes later.
“Wow, my life is officially over~”
“………”
“Kidnapped by the world’s greatest thief… I guess I’ll just disappear forever~”
As Silver Blaze walked along the path, clutching the rope that bound Adler, she flinched at his words and came to a halt.
I thought something was strange about this situation…
“Miss Thief?”
…So Master has mistaken me for the Phantom Thief?
Muttering to herself, Silver Blaze stole a glance back at him.
Maybe I should tell him the truth right now…
“Why are you being so quiet~?”
A wave of guilt washed over her, but it was short-lived. Her loyalty and devotion surged, and she steeled her heart to confess. But in that exact moment—
“Are you planning to leave the treasure right in front of you like a coward, hmm~?”
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Adler began to act cute, flirting with her in a sly, teasing tone.
…Yeah. Let’s just take Master away.
“Miss Thief~ Speak up~”
No, actually… I should just take care of Master from now on.
Silver Blaze’s judgment was revised the second she saw him acting so flirtatiously.
With the donations saved in my account, I can support Master for a lifetime. He’ll never have to suffer again…
Thump, thump…
“…Mmph.”
Suddenly, her heart began to pound wildly.
Not again…
As her body heat began to rise, Silver Blaze bowed her head, trembling.
I thought I had cooled down… but when I think of Master…
The mating periods experienced by demi-humans every few months were not something that could be suppressed by logic alone.
Silver Blaze had tried everything to alleviate her state at the hideout, but being left alone to guard it had pushed her to the brink. In the end, she had abandoned her post and ventured into the park as a last resort.
“Uggh…”
Squirming, she slowly turned her head toward Adler.
“Haa… Haa…”
“Eh…?”
“Huaaahh…”
As her breathing grew increasingly ragged and strained, Adler’s gaze turned alarmed. He began to back away, inch by inch.
Squeeze—
“Eek.”
Finally, like a sprinter crossing the finish line of a monumental race, Silver Blaze lunged at Adler in a frenzy.
“Miss Thief? This isn’t the time for this…!”
“I don’t know, I don’t kno…w…”
“Shouldn’t we be getting out of here quickly?!”
“I don’t care anymoreeeeeeeeeee…!”
Wagging her tail wildly while pinning Adler down, she buried her head in his chest and began sniffing him with the intensity of a deranged pervert.
“…Sniff.”
“What—how can a thief be this strong?!”
“So good…”
“What did you say?”
Adler tried to push her off, but the frail man stood no chance against the overwhelming strength of a demi-human in heat. Such creatures were several times stronger than their usual selves, and even a normal demi-human was far more powerful than the average human.
“You smell so sweet… Master’s scent is so good…”
“…The hell?”
“I want to live every day just breathing this in…”
After struggling for a while longer, Adler finally went limp, a look of despair coloring his face. The moment he gave up, Silver Blaze embraced him with full force and whispered in his ear.
“Master…”
The sweet scent emanating from her master had become exponentially more intense after he accepted his identity as The Devil, causing her to lose her sanity within seconds.
Rub… Rub…
“I love you…”
“Wait…”
As she murmured with a hazy expression, rubbing her crotch against him, Adler finally noticed something. He lifted his head toward her neck.
“This scent…”
He had become quite accustomed to the scent of her fur over the past few months—a scent that would waft over whenever she displayed her habitual affection. Inhaling that familiar aroma, he muttered in disbelief.
“You… You’re the real Silver Blaze…?”
“…No.”
Slowly, she lifted her head and stared intently into Adler’s eyes.
“I am the Phantom Thief Lupin, Master.”
“Ah, that shouldn’t be the ca—”
“It is.”
As her rubbing intensified, beads of sweat formed on Adler’s forehead.
“I am a thief, and I am going to kidnap you.”
“Miss Thief has never called me Master before, though…”
“I’m going to kidnap you.”
Tightening the rope around Adler’s body even further, she quietly amended her reality.
“You… I trusted you, and yet…”
“This isn’t my fault. It’s yours, Master…”
“What?”
“Did you really think a demi-human in heat, after being asked to tie up and kidnap the person they love, could maintain their reason…?”
She buried her nose in Adler’s neck, taking a deep, shaky breath before murmuring again.
“I didn’t say to tie me up…”
“And Master, I’m a thief now, remember?”
“……”
“I trusted you. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Just as her eyes began to sparkle with a predatory glint…
“Don’t worry, Master. I’ll make you happy. Even though I’m a thief, I have plenty of money and support, so…”
Rustle—
The sound of footsteps on dry leaves came from behind them.
“Ah, guys!”
Grasping at the last straw of hope, Adler looked back and began waving his hands frantically.
“Help me!”
“”………..””
Standing there were Celestia Moran and Princess Clay. The duo, fresh from a bloody battle with the royal knights brought by Jill the Ripper, were now looking down at him.
I don’t think I need to correct this anymore, do I?
[Warning!]
– Probability of being Kidnapped: 200% → 500%
– Probability of being Imprisoned: 200% → 500%
– Probability of ???: 200% → 500%
“…Guys?”
*
Meanwhile, at the entrance to the park’s paved path.
“Hehe, hehe.”
The vengeful spirit of Helen Stoner, who had been ruthlessly absorbing the frigid energy of the scattered monsters into her own body, looked down at her increasingly solid form with a sinister smile.
—Grrrrr…
—Too strong…
Before her, various spirits and monsters from across Britain knelt in submission.
—Perhaps… it would be better to submit and take the crumbs…
—Adler won’t die even if we share him…
—Right… Grrr…
For the lesser monsters and spirits destined to fade into nothingness, a leader had finally emerged.
*
“…Cough, cough.”
Watching from a distance, hidden behind a tree, a girl observed the scene while coughing up blood.
“As a thief, I can’t just stand by and let my treasure be stolen, can I…?”
It was at that moment that a strand of hair of a very familiar color popped out from the cleavage of the real Phantom Thief Lupin, who had retreated after sustaining serious injuries in her fight with Jill the Ripper.
“…I was saving this for last.”
As she spoke, her body began to slowly transform.