Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Chapter 4 Eyelids (17)
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***
Ching!
Flashing Professor a smile as soft as a hillside blooming with cornflowers, Raksha drew the dagger lodged in the table. It was bizarre. A blade crusted with blood suited that delicate-looking woman so perfectly. It was impossible to look away from how she slowly caressed the sharp edge with her fingers.
"Customer. A relationship is all about that, you know. It's about gradually uncovering each other's hidden sides, one by one?"
Ting-!
When she flicked the side of the blade with her slender finger, the clotted blood flaked off in an instant, revealing a chillingly pristine silver edge.
"And since taking a commission is a kind of relationship, how about we each answer one question for the other...?"
Professor's face went slack, as if he were drugged, but he began coldly assessing the situation.
'She's a master. That knife... it's practically an extension of her hand. She's incredibly skilled with daggers. Doesn't look like she mastered it just by scraping scabs. The drug from earlier. Her outfit and behavior. The subtle tension she adds at the end. All devices to cloud the target's mind and take control of the conversation. Right, so this is the Moon Shadow Guild's style of accepting commissions...'
In the best light, it was a setup to maximize the group's interests. Less charitably, they were a disgrace to the name of guild. In the worst light? Filthy bastards. People who had to gain the upper hand in every relationship. And these were Lordric's top thieves' guild? Their methods were low-rent compared to their reputation.
"So, shall we start with that first question?"
Snip—
Her fingers slipped softly into his hair from behind, the dagger trimming the back of his head bit by bit.
"This is..."
"I saw your wanted poster—drawn like some wild beast. Thought maybe tidying up your hair would make you look a bit better...?"
Slice!
The sharp blade grazed the nape of his neck, sending a thrilling chill. Such an alluring threat.
"First off, as the one accepting the commission, I'd like to know who you are. Care to tell me about yourself?"
Professor pondered how much to reveal before speaking in a slurred tone.
"My name... is Professor. Twenty years old... After my family fell, I got swept up in the war with the mutants, got infected... Captured by a mage, escaped, and made it here."
"Oh my. Such a young age, and you've been through so much. War, infection, and an accomplice to a mage. It's impressive you're even alive."
Snip—
After neatening the back, she moved to the sides. Her careful touch sheared away the unkempt locks, the blade brushing his temple. Without any intent to answer his questions, her next one followed.
"So, Professor~ what brings you to this city, and how did you end up here?"
A question about the commission's details. Were they really going to take it like this?
"I want revenge... on the mage. Need help for that."
Professor saw it. At the word "mage," her eyes gleamed in the blade's reflection. She studied him closely, trimming his hair with a bright smile.
"Revenge is important. Hmm~ alright. On to the final question?"
Snip—
Her dagger finished the bangs, now shaving his beard. Her jade-like fingers cupped one cheek, her movements precise as machinery, scraping away the whiskers. The blade pushed up from the jawline, laced with killing intent. Silent lethality that wouldn't register until it touched his throat.
"The last question is: Professor, exactly when did you start pretending to be drugged?"
"Wh-what?!"
Slice-!
She didn't wait for an answer. Quietly, as if stroking skin, her dagger slit Professor's throat.
She wiped the blood from her dagger and smiled brightly, just like when they'd first met.
"Short meeting, but it was fun? Professor."
Her smile, flecked with his blood, was eerily beautiful.
***
Raksha turned to leave after her words. Or tried to.
"Cough! Gah! Grk, not a shred of hesitation, huh?"
But the voice of the man who should have been dead, coming from behind, halted her steps.
"Cough! Didn't you just say relationships are about getting to know each other? Now it's my turn to ask questions."
Sizzle—
The severed artery reconnected as if it were a lie. The ropes binding his legs rotted away like cheap twine, leaving only the thin thread around his wrists. Strangely, the thread dug deeper into his flesh no matter how he strained.
Raksha covered her mouth with a beaming smile.
"Oh my. Liar. You didn't mention you had such fun tricks."
"Ah, I heard somewhere that men and women need a few secrets in a relationship?"
His tone was serene, as if his throat had never been cut. Raksha felt her interest in the man before her growing.
"Kukuku... You're growing on me more and more? So, advice: don't pull on that thread anymore. Elder Spider silk is incredibly tough and sharp—my favorite weapon."
"Oh, Elder Spider. Fancy stuff. No wonder it dug in so nicely."
"Yes. So behave....?"
Slice—
Thrust—
Raksha couldn't finish. One of Professor's hands slipped free from its bonds like magic. Hand down. Arm up.
In front of the slack-jawed guild members, Professor casually picked up his severed wrist and pressed it to the stump. Tendril-like muscle fibers shot out from the cut, firmly reattaching the hand.
Wiggle, wiggle.
Confirming the wrist moved well, Professor addressed the other guild members who had drawn blades—and Raksha.
"I'll ask three questions too, so listen up."
Crack, crack.
Professor cracked his neck side to side and slowly advanced on them.
"First, as the client, I want to know if Moon Shadow Guild members have the skills to stir up enough chaos to mobilize the guard and even the knights—the city's main forces."
Slash-!
"Showing your back! You idiot—gurk! Gaaah!"
Crunch!
The thief who lunged seized the chance had his throat grabbed by Professor's hand. He thrashed briefly before going limp like a puppet with cut strings.
"Second, I'm curious if you know that if you refuse this commission! My mood's already soured by this shitty treatment, so I might get seriously pissed."
Whoosh—
Crack!
Professor hurled the man in his grip, smashing the exit door. The man's legs twisted unnaturally; he groaned once before slumping. One step. Now close enough that an outstretched arm would reach their blades.
Professor's footsteps stopped before Raksha.
"Finally, I'm wondering if you know that if I get seriously pissed, this dump of a guild won't just take damage—it could collapse entirely. So, anyone care to answer? Master sis?"
Grind.
His upper body fully exposed. Close enough for her to strike six vitals in a blink.
Goaded to try her worst, Professor spread his arms wide. Raksha's grip tightened on her dagger.
"Professor? You think you can pull that and walk out alive in front of me?"
"Heh heh heh. Think carefully, sis. I'm giving you one last chance because I liked the haircut. You handle a blade pretty well... but even if you survive, how many of these ragtag losers beside you will? Can a guild with just the master even be called a guild?"
Professor leaned down, locking eyes with Ranaya, who smiled like frost on a window. Baring his teeth, threatening the thieves' guild members' lives—he looked every bit the villain bullying a frail woman.
***
Silence.
An eternity passed in a blink, until someone couldn't stand the tension and swallowed—
Clap!
"Alright. Let's do it that way?"
The applause shattered the taut air; my hand nearly shot out on reflex.
Same on their side—several stumbled.
'Phew! It was a bluff, but it worked!'
A head-on fight would've been trouble in so many ways. Because,
Ding-!
[Honorable Soul: 'Threatening a lady...? Unthinkable. Even fallen, as one bearing a knight family's honor, I am unfit for such deeds!' / You have acted dishonorably. Shock from recognizing your own wickedness inflicts 'Stun (Major)' for 30 seconds. / Repeated dishonorable acts will inflict 'Suicidal Impulse Lv 25' for 5 minutes.]
The status window had been flashing red warnings; the moment I mentioned the guild members' lives, this popped up and froze me solid. I was just blinking and flapping my tongue—couldn't move a muscle. Suicidal Impulse level 25? Skill levels max at 10 in this game?
Anyway, that meant I couldn't fight these guys. Would've just gotten 'Beating a lady! Shameful! Atone with your life!' or some crap.
"Hmm~ so, client? Shall we move somewhere else?"
"Well. Having been burned once, I'm wary of places you recommend, sis."
"Kukuku, fair enough. But refusing a woman's invitation to her lair? That's bad manners. It hurts my feelings?"
Covering her mouth with a small hand as she laughed, she vanished into a passage revealed by an opening wall.
Whoosh!
Mental Fragility rang alarms. Ignoring the blade-wielding goons around, it fixated on that dark passage.
'Dangerous.'
Facing her intent to kill earlier made it clear. Even without trait restrictions, I couldn't beat her in this state.
'Raksha's fully on guard against me now. And she invites me alone to an unknown place—her lair, no less.... Too risky a gamble?'
As I hesitated, a chat window in the corner went wild.
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: What are you hesitating for! Rush in shedding tears of gratitude!
- Deer Drug Please: Go! Professor! Hurry!
- Take a Look: Take one step back, and the community will flood with posts about your raisin-sized balls and dubious sexuality. Dead serious.
- Holy: Me! I wanna see too! Another woman's room! So curious!
- Nutria Pass: Go in already! I'm getting dizzy!
"Got it! Fine! I'll go in!"
Yeah. No turning back now. No clue about other guilds anyway.
Decision made, Professor stepped into the yawning dark maw of the passage.
***
Professor groped along the dark passage walls as he walked. Walked, walked, and walked some more...
"What kinda passage is this long?!"
"It's a secret passage, so..."
"Wah!"
A sudden voice by his ear made Professor swing blindly.
Crack!
His fist left a dent in the wall—and his hand mangled. Raksha's laughter echoed from behind.
"Oh dear... fascinating."
"Since when have you been following?"
"Hmm... since you entered the passage? Walking right beside you?"
Assassin senses, huh. I was on guard, yet missed her beside me.
"This way. The passage splits many ways—hard to find without night vision?"
In pitch black, her hand rested on my arm. Satin-soft touch made me swallow involuntarily. Her hand trailed down my arm, brushing regenerating fingers.
"This is truly... rare talent? I'm quite interested in human anatomy, studied a lot... but a body like yours is new. So well-trained, supple, quick to heal. How does such a body even exist?"
Genuinely curious, she pressed my scapula, twisted my wrist joint, stroked my lats.
[Sk-skin, I-I can't take it anymore. This... this is stimulation beyond your knowledge.... Can't endure....]
'Do something! You're in my head! Manipulate hormones or senses!'
Coming here was a mistake. Raksha had switched tactics based on my reactions—from my strengths to my fatal weakness!
Rustle, rustle.
In unseen darkness, thin fabric whispers fueled imagination.
"A body made by a mage's experiments... mana reactions evenly distributed—you've learned magic too?"
"Y-yeah, s-s sorta."
"Wow, amazing."
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: Professor! Snap out of it! Man-woman talk is war without swords! Get led, and you're done!
- Soy Sauce Gaybar: That awkward virgin act? She'll devour you whole(?).
- Professor: How, when my body won't listen! And no swords? She's packing two huge vicious weapons! I'm unarmed! Unfair!
- Deer Drug Please: Unarmed? You've got your God-given self-propelled gun—!
- Professor: Shut uuup!!! Don't stimulate my imagination!!!!
- Gunpowder and Blood: No hope. Combat experience to power—nothing where you outmatch her. Accept defeat gracefully, become the victor's spoil.
"Hmm... what're you thinking so deeply about?"
"Th-the East Sea and Paektu Mountain wearing away... just pondering that...."
"?"
Damn! Can't focus! Stop clinging! No, cling more! No, that's not—argh!
Click—
Mid inner turmoil, she halted.
"Oh. We're here already? Shame."
'S-safe! I won! Father in heaven, witness! Your son didn't give up!'
So close. A bit longer, and I'd have been on my knees bawling 'Sis, take me!'
A door opened in the dark, spilling bright light. Not Tobrun outskirts rot, but crisp air purifying the lungs. Flowing through: soft tea aroma.
"This is... a teahouse?"
"My private salon. High-end salons in the city center yield more info than you'd think?"
She smiled softly, proud.
***
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