Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 047
Chapter Title: Friend's Friend's Friend
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“Mr. Hammer, you can ignore the Thieves' Guild for the time being.”
Cold air made the morning chillier than usual.
I found Mr. Hammer jogging in the training grounds and spoke up.
“Ignore them? What do you mean by that?”
“I went and had a talk with them!”
We'd agreed to a temporary truce.
Germain sis said she'd make that much effort, right?
In other words, it was a grace period.
“Yor, I knew you'd been in contact with the Thieves' Guild for a while...”
He stopped dead in his tracks.
An intense gaze bored into me from behind his helmet.
He wouldn't be thrilled that I was associating with the Thieves' Guild.
After all, it was someone he knew hanging out with bad guys.
“But sure enough, things go smoothly when you're around!”
Instead, Mr. Hammer pulled me into a tight hug.
It hurt, getting crushed against his hard armor!
“Argh! Let go!”
“How'd you convince them? There must've been conditions.”
“As expected of Mr. Hammer, sharp as ever.”
“Nothing in this world is free.”
Mr. Hammer laughed heartily from behind his helmet.
I gave a simple answer.
“I promised to catch the runaway 'Dvora' and hand her over to the guild.”
“That woman? That's no small task.”
“But isn't it better than having no compromise at all?”
“True enough. Since it's just us here...”
He leaned in close.
“Hermit and Felix lack flexibility in these matters.”
“Sigh, so you and I have to handle the tough stuff, Mr. Hammer.”
“But Yor, there's one thing to always keep in mind when dealing with the Thieves' Guild.”
“To watch my pockets?”
“It's that you're a member of our party first, before you're one of theirs!”
He was telling me to set my priorities straight.
Truth be told, Mr. Hammer didn't need to worry—I had no real sense of belonging to the guild.
I'd gotten close to Germain sis personally, not the guild itself.
So, if a conflict arose between Germain sis and Mr. Hammer's party?
Which side would I choose?
[It's a situation that could easily happen.]
That gave me an idea for a criterion.
[I'll help whichever side earns me more Ether.]
With that standard set, I felt secure.
─Wahlu, wahlu─!
─Wahluwahlu─!
Mischanic Magic University.
Tentacle monsters with squid-like heads sprouting from their crowns welcomed us.
“Thunder God Throwing Knives!”
Pew─! Zap─!
Blades infused with lightning shot out swiftly.
They pierced the chests of two tentacle monsters in succession.
“Whoa!”
An exclamation escaped my lips.
The power was incredible!
“Hey, newbie! What was that?!”
Hermit jumped in surprise.
I retrieved my throwing knives and rubbed my nose.
“Heh heh, cool, right? It's the technique name I came up with after three hours of thinking.”
Truth be told, I hadn't finalized the name.
It could change anytime.
Felix stabbed the pierced corpses with his sword to finish them off.
“For dealing with trash mobs, you're pulling your weight now.”
As Felix said, the Mischanic University's trash mobs were all one-shots.
What did that mean?
Hunting efficiency was maximized!
Clink─!
Clink─!
Falling Ether!
Falling tentacles!
“Heh heh heh!”
The mood was fantastic.
Two hours into repeated hunts, and it was getting even more thrilling.
“Oh, check this out! Mischanic ore!”
Mr. Hammer picked up a rock from the tentacle monster's byproducts.
It looked like a purple honeycomb.
Tiny holes riddled it densely, making my scalp tingle just looking at it.
“This stone is called 'Mischanic ore' because it's occasionally found only in Mischanic University. Mages love it.”
Mr. Hammer handed the rock to Hermit.
She clutched it, her eyes gleaming greedily from under her pointed hat.
“The more dense and numerous the holes, the higher the purity. With holes this packed... fu hu hu!”
“Hermit, what can you do with that?”
“The fact that I can find out what to do with it is what's great!”
What did that even mean?
Hermit was such a weirdo.
“Shh, battle stations!”
That's when Mr. Hammer shouted.
Turning my head, I saw a few men approaching us.
“...Thieves!”
Hermit panicked.
With keys, hooks, and screwdriver-like tools at their waists, they sure looked like thieves.
“Damn, rotten luck.”
“It's bad. Real bad. Let's bail.”
“Go grab some drinks instead.”
A party of four thieves.
This disastrous combo could only be Thieves' Guild members.
They recognized us too.
“Hey, it's Hammer's party.”
“Didn't expect to run into you here.”
“Mr. Hammer, should we kill them?”
Click─.
I heard Felix readjust his grip on his sword.
[That psycho Felix!]
He'd fly into another human-slaughtering frenzy!
I stepped in front of him.
“Guys, didn't Germain sis tell you? We're on truce right now.”
“Truce, yeah.”
“We don't wanna start pointless fights either.”
The thieves were more cooperative than expected.
That's when I recalled their earlier conversation as they approached us.
“You said your luck was bad. Something go wrong?”
“There's a 'Desperado' over there.”
“That's why we're bailing.”
“You mean 'Star Hunter - Belzer'?”
Mr. Hammer asked.
The thieves nodded.
“Yeah.”
“That dagger punk reeking of blood.”
“Freakish murderer bastard.”
Damn, the outlaw Belzer was in this university?
The scar on my neck stung.
It was from when I'd crossed paths with 'Desperado Belzer' last time.
Anyway.
The thieves gave us a heads-up to be careful and left.
Hermit sighed in relief, relaxing her shoulders.
“Thought we'd have to fight thieves again.”
“Pahaha! So Yor really did negotiate a truce!”
Mr. Hammer slapped my back.
Bonus: I now knew the dangerous 'Belzer' was somewhere beyond that corridor.
“Then let's call it and retreat for today.”
“Mr. Hammer, how about we just clash once?”
Felix eyed his red sword, [Bone-Severing Six Slashes].
Hermit checked her staff, fired up too.
“I'm feeling great today!”
We were different from when we'd faced Belzer before.
Our gear had been massively upgraded.
But Mr. Hammer prioritized safety as always.
“It's that Belzer. No point risking a major injury or death.”
A desperado at least level 15.
How terrifying must he be to make Mr. Hammer this tense?
Crack─.
Then an odd sound rang out.
Hermit flinched and checked her waist pouch.
“My... my familiar egg...?!”
She pulled out the egg and shrieked.
Looking over, I saw a faint crack on the top of the familiar egg.
“Why's it changing all of a sudden? What's going on? Whatever it is, I need to research it!”
“With Hermit like this, exploration's off the table.”
Mr. Hammer unfolded his map.
“Exit's nearby.”
How I'd missed that 'magic map' of his!
I hadn't realized before, but its convenience was insane.
“Mr. Hammer, any entrances near the underground?”
“Yeah. One. Over here.”
“Ah, newbie, you're going to that woman, aren't you!”
Hermit startled.
Felix's eyebrow twitched.
“...That woman? Planning something shady again?”
“It's not shady; it's official business.”
“Felix, give Yor some freedom.”
Mr. Hammer pushed Felix's back.
The three headed to the exit first.
Thanks to that, I got some solo time.
“Direction... this way!”
Rustle─.
I hurried underground.
To meet my master, Estelle.
With Belzer—who bore 'Kaiju's Blessing'—possibly hunting me, better to move fast.
The university basement held a prison-like torture chamber.
It was grim and damp—nowhere you'd want to linger.
And that's where my master Estelle lived.
Not that she'd taught me anything proper, mind you.
[Master and disciple.]
[As long as we keep up the role-play, she won't harm me.]
Hermit had called Estelle a scary person.
A criminal who'd killed a few in the magic tower, fled beyond the Great Wall.
I wasn't eager to meet her either.
No clue what she was thinking—it creeped me out.
“Master, are you there? It's Yor...”
I called out softly as I ventured deeper underground.
The university basement had changed a lot since my last visit.
Candles were neatly lit everywhere, scientific instruments scattered about.
Bubble bubble─.
Liquids and gases boiled wildly—flasks, I think?
Beyond that, I had no idea what anything was.
“Long time no seeee.”
Then a woman popped out.
Her bobbed hair curled up at the ends like roses, a stylish officer's cape draped over her shoulders.
Below that, red fabric barely covered her chest, exposing ribs and belly.
[I'd seen prostitutes from the desert once.]
[Their outfits were like this!]
Incredibly provocative attire.
Caught off guard by her unexpected entrance, she chuckled lewdly.
“My discipleee. Why so surprised?”
“Uh... are you Master Estelle, by any chance?”
“Yeees.”
No way!
The Estelle I knew was a mummy wrapped head to toe in bandages!
Who knew such a sexy sis lurked underneath!
“Disciple, what's wrong? Your face is red.”
Her drowsy voice snapped me alert.
This was embarrassing for no reason.
“Heh heh heh, just adjusting to your new look, Master.”
“Oh, this body? I like it for a change toooo.”
Liked it for a change?
What did that mean?
[Better not dig; sounds like trouble.]
Stick to business.
With Belzer somewhere in this university, time was short.
“Ahem, Master. Your disciple has a question.”
“What might that be?”
“Do you have any special talent for finding people in the Night Land?”
Germain sis had said so.
To track the runaway 'Dvora,' go to Estelle at Mischanic University.
[Didn't expect Germain sis to mention Master Estelle—shocked me.]
Did they know each other?
Small world.
Estelle let out a long, drawn-out hum.
“Finding people? Of course.”
She pulled out a statue about human-torso-sized from somewhere.
A woman with eight arms.
“Eek! That's the [Eight-Armed Great Mother Statue]!”
“Ohooo. You know it. My disciple's smarter than I thought.”
How could I not?
I'd suffered so much because of that thing!
“...Where'd you get it?”
“Commissioned thieves to fetch it. Grants 'knowledge'—if you offer proper tribute, that isss.”
So that's what she'd asked Germain sis for.
Small world indeed.
Anyway.
“Master, I want to find Dvora, who fled to the Night Land and started the 'Night Thieves' Guild.'”
“How much tribute will it take, I wonder─.”
As Master spoke in her languid tone.
Clink─.
[A coin?]
An Ether coin lay at Master's bare feet.
[Gotta snag it on the sly.]
[But Master's barefoot...]
I bent down to grab it anyway—when.
Chill─.
A cold shiver ran up my spine.
...Pew─! Thunk─!
A dagger grazed my scalp and embedded in the wall.
“Dodging my ambush? Lucky.”
The voice was oddly creepy.
Turning, I saw Belzer approaching, dagger in hand.
“Found you, Trickster Yor.”
Damn─!
Of all the timing?
Master scowled soon after.
“Bursting into my lab without permission.”