Chapter 356
Chapter 356
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 356
Chapter Title: Kim Katt and the 40 Bandits
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"Keh heh heh, you fool! What did you think would happen when you robbed someone else's carriage?!"
"Fuck...! Don't tell me you're a merchant?!"
"You're the one who robbed a merchant. You touch someone else's stuff and expect to die peacefully? No wonder you're a bandit scum—with no conscience to speak of."
The merchant laughed cruelly as he prodded the heretic's forehead with the tip of his sword. Suddenly, a third eye appeared on the heretic's forehead, and blood tears began streaming from it.
"Gasp!"
It really was a monster...!
The shocking sight left me swallowing hard. Not even a crown eye, but a third eye right on the forehead? As the merchant kept poking, even more blood poured from that ominous eye.
But why was no one pointing this out?
"Keh keh keh, Merchant. Go ahead and cook that bastard however you like. I'd love to see your culinary skills!"
"Yeah! Get your revenge! You gave us a great chance!"
The adventurers decided to give the merchant his shot at revenge. Now, killing that heretic was entirely up to the merchant's whims.
"Keh heh heh! Thank you, adventurers. But how could I hog this golden opportunity all to myself? First, drop your weapons, and let's all beat him to death bare-handed!"
"What wise judgment!"
"Truly a master merchant!!!"
Waaaaah!!!
Hooray!!
Long live the merchant!!
The adventurers, lost in madness, cheered wildly for some reason and hoisted the merchant onto their shoulders. The merchant, clearly thrilled, burst into endless laughter.
"Keh heh heh!"
The heretic watching this looked like he'd stumbled into some legendary otherworld, drooling and sweating waterfalls.
"Then let's begin!"
"Ooh!"
At the merchant's shout, the adventurers tossed their weapons aside.
>Clang! It was as good as a death sentence.
"N-No! Don't do this! I-I'm sorry!!!! Stop!!!!!!!"
The heretic squealed like a pig, but no one lent him an ear. The adventurers, each turning into a mini-Elise, began their brutal lynching.
Thwack!
Splat!
"Gaaahhhh!!!"
An overwhelming festival of violence.
The heretic, limbs mangled beyond recognition, couldn't even thrash anymore.
"You fucker! My brother went to sell millet and got torn limb from limb by scum like you bandits, you piece of shit! This is payback!"
"My friend got pickpocketed too! Probably by a bandit!"
"Your underling hit my head earlier! What about compensation?! It hurts!"
"Got a little sister?! Big sis?!"
"Atone with your death, heretic!!!"
No, Elise. You're doing it too?
Maybe that third eye sprouting from the heretic's forehead had driven them all mad. I headed over to Winia, who was sitting there complaining of fatigue.
Screeeam!!!
"Winia. You okay?"
"Used mana, so yeah, a bit tired... Sigh, those barbaric bastards."
"Heh heh heh, can't be helped."
Winia watched the beating with a look of utter disgust.
"Darky, heal me up when we get back."
"As much as you want."
I took Winia's hand and watched the adventurers pummel the heretic to death. Breaking sounds. Smashing sounds. Shattering sounds. With each one, the gloomy screams grew fainter.
Of course, for a bandit who'd lived by stealing innocent lives, this was a pretty tame end. That level of violence wasn't even violence.
We rested like that for a bit until the deed was done.
The heretic was unrecognizable even as a corpse.
"Now let's hunt for the loot! They said it's deeper in the cave!"
"Yeah!!! Split it even!!"
They'd even interrogated him during the beating. The adventurers headed deeper into the cave. I watched until then, released Winia's hand, and stood.
I needed to help out too.
"Be right back... No, might be dangerous. Stick close to my back."
"Okay."
As we started toward the cave, Elise approached. She spoke in a calm tone.
"Holy Lord. Well done. Though it was just one heretic, subjugating bandits is undoubtedly a righteous deed and act of service. You've done good."
Sweat beaded on her forehead—she looked quite fulfilled.
"Yeah. Really well done. Good job, Elise. But seems not all of them were heretics. Just that one."
"Indeed. We thought these bandits were a group of escaped heretics, but the truth was just one heretic rallying the bandit horde."
"Guess we misunderstood."
This massive bandit murder spree stemmed entirely from a misunderstanding between Elise and me.
We'd assumed the heretics who fled during the holy war had formed a bandit gang, but really, it was just one heretic acting as their boss.
"Heh heh heh, but misunderstanding or not, we did good."
"Hee hee. Yes. That's exactly what I meant to say. Even misunderstandings can lead to good deeds sometimes."
Even this murderous mix-up had its upsides. A day for such lessons.
"Truly, nothing in the world is useless! Alright, Elise! Divine Friend!"
"Perfect! No one around to hear, so go all out!"
"Diiiiiiviiiiiine!!!!!"
"Frrrrrrieeeeend!!!!!!"
"You two sane?"
After striking our inhuman cross pose with Elise to recharge, we joined the adventurers in hauling the cave's treasures.
Boxes of all sorts, food supplies, booze barrels, miscellaneous gear—plenty. You could tell how many carriages the bandits had fattened themselves on.
Hauling this would be a chore.
Boxes and barrels were awkward to carry.
"Ooh! Cash box!"
"For real?! Where?!"
"Hey! Split everything equal!"
"Haha! Naturally!"
We dragged all the cave's sleeping treasures outside.
Nearly a full cartload. Sell what we take, and we'd profit. Bandit weapons and clothes were bonuses.
And a cash box too.
Despite the heavy lifting, I wasn't tired. No fierce battle, after all. My boosted stamina didn't complain over this.
This wasn't enough to draw out my true power.
"Alright, now we'll log it in the ledger, so sort the bandit heads you killed in order!"
At the merchant's words, adventurers arranged their kills' corpses, lopping off any unsevered heads to line up by their spots. They didn't forget to strip the bodies for extra loot.
Cave loot would be split evenly, but what came off your own kills was yours alone.
"Hey, this one's mine."
"What? I killed that one."
"Look at these sword marks. Matches mine, right?"
"Hmm... Kinda confusing. Looks like mine too. Isn't yours the one next to it?"
"Darn. Hard to tell."
It had been a fierce fight for them, so minor squabbles arose over kills, but after gauging each other's skills, no one picked fights over trivia.
They settled amicably and beheaded the bandits.
The merchant happily tallied and verified. Back home, they'd get bonuses per kill plus daily pay.
The merchant had spent a fortune, but perfect revenge and fat profits for adventurers meant smiles amid the bloodbath.
Plants grow from soil nutrients, after all.
These corpses decompose into fertilizer, and flowers bloom atop.
So smiles blooming was natural law. Four adventurers died—regrettable—but overall good haul.
"All sorted. As expected, Mage, Nun, and Mirkeshia Warrior racked up huge feats. Twenty-two between three of you."
Nearly 5 silvers each.
Plus daily pay and loot sales—another 5 silvers easy. Cash box boosts it more.
Nothing beats upholding justice for profit.
"Nice. Good deeds bring blessings."
"Heh heh. Yeah, Darky's good, so good. Made bank?"
"Sure did. Feels great."
Wrapping up.
No fights, loot and cash split evenly. Food boxes and booze barrels bore the merchant's seal—all his.
I worried how to move them, but he rigged carriers for three boxes. Rest abandoned.
"Ugh, look at this load. Fucking heavy as hell."
My pack bulged too. Tough trek back. But this is labor's joy.
"That's the weight of the good deeds you've done, Holy Lord. As heavy as your service to the public good, so rejoice."
"Of course I'm happy. Thanks for the kind words, Elise. You worked hard too."
Just like she said.
Old Kim Katt worked just to survive—Mashlow's first two levels, material needs.
But now Heavenly Demon Kim Katt achieved self-actualization.
Doing what I want. Enforcing my justice. Living my beliefs. Self-realizing, earning cash.
Hence the drive, the growth.
Completing Kim Katt brings life's fulfillment. Never felt so alive.
My true self has melted into this world.
That's... joyful.
No more summoning Seolun Teacher's compass, yearning for home. I sing it 'cause I love it. Jongno's Cloudy, Myeongdong's Winia. Cheongnyangni and Euljiro are Karin and Risha.
"Ahh, so that's it."
The wind blew.
"I've become an otherworlder now."
Become.
No.
Quietly realized I'm an otherworlder.
Realizing it, I'd shed Korean skin long ago, morphed into an otherworlder.
Stopped thinking "not from here, will return someday, so whatever"—that was ages back.
Yeah, since meeting Cloudy.
New realization.
"Yeah, that's it."
As the thought hit, mana permeating my body boiled. Hot, hot. Surging, red-hot mana pierced my heart. Fierce power. This mana—otherworld's primal energy.
"...Holy Lord?"
"Huh? Oh, Elise. Was lost in thought."
Snapped out.
"Your valiant showing today fills me with joy. You're just the talent this world needs. As I always say, would you consider joining our Radiant Cross Society?"
"Sadly, I already serve a god."
"Hee hee, truly a shame."
Elise smiled like any girl her age at my reply.
"You smile more these days. Suits you."
"Smile, you say?"
"Yeah. First time, you were blank-faced girl Elise. Now you're smiley girl Elise—no exaggeration."
Elise's vibe changed too.
Started as cold cult assassin type, but world's harsh—she's just a normal girl.
"...Indeed. Since being with you, Holy Lord, many joys have come. Hee hee."
"Heh heh heh, smiling again."
All killer stuff, really.
"Ah... A bit embarrassing. Smiling still feels awkward."
Face flushing beyond smile. To ease her shyness, I grinned too.
"Heh heh, heh heh heh heh. Heh heh, go on, smile more, Elise."
"Y-Yes. Heh, heh hee. Hee hee hee hee. Hee hee hee hee hee..."
"Heh heh heh heh heh."
"Hee hee hee hee hee hee..."
Her fresh laugh meshed well with the bloodsea.
"Darky, you look like a total idiot—stop smiling. Our nun might pick up weird habits from you and regret it later. Filter what Darky says."
"What're you on about?"
"Ahem, ahem. No more unseemly displays."
Winia approached, straightening my clothes.
Time to head back.
"No items missed? Let's move!"
The merchant shouted right on cue.
"Alright, downhill."
"Good work, Darky."
"You too."
We descended with heavy loads. Sun setting. Could camp, but slow pace gets us to Isbrandt by morning.
Adventurers wanted that.
Consensus: night march. Better collect pay and rest early than arrive afternoon.
The day faded.
We walked toward the city, gazing at the sinking sunset.
"Winia."
"Yeah? What's up, Darky?"
"Love you."
"W-What?! Outta nowhere?"
"Just... Seeing you makes me wanna say it."
"Hee hee hee. Love you too, Darky."
Through Korean eyes, otherworld was brutal, barren. But Heavenly Demon Kim Katt's eyes saw it as decent enough.
Maybe these bandits appeared to teach me that.