Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Dog and Raccoon Dog #3
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Inside the tent, which I'd entered on impulse.
Ceramics were piled high everywhere.
It was just like that archaeologist's place I'd robbed before.
Thick books overflowed as well.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the floor was carpeted with books instead of mats or rugs.
"Sharp little punk. Already scoping out the surroundings in this short time?"
A woman's voice rang out.
My gaze locked onto the center of the tent.
Lush golden blonde hair cascading down, dazzling white skin, and blue eyes.
A small mole near her left eye drew the gaze in a strangely captivating way.
"You Deborra?"
My hand drifted to my waist.
But the dagger that should have been there was gone.
Twirl-.
Before I knew it, Deborra was spinning the bone-handled dagger she'd snatched from me.
"Nice piece."
That feeling of being pickpocketed without a clue.
Just like when I first met Sis Germain.
"You. How'd you escape the special prison?"
"Can't spill trade secrets that easily."
"You spring all the guests I had locked up, slip into my tent to ambush me in the meantime. What a piece of work."
Twirl-.
Deborra held out the dagger's hilt toward me.
"How about it? Ditch Germain and work with me instead?"
"...Work together?"
I snatched back my dagger first and put some distance between us.
Deborra, unperturbed, tidied up the scattered books and jars on the floor.
"You saw it yourself—this bandit crew in the tunnel is just a ragtag bunch scraped together temporarily."
"Not all of them seemed useless."
Talk first.
Buy time.
Look for an opening.
"—Well, even the decent ones barely reach marten level? I need real talent."
"To turn this tunnel into a second 'Conning Town'?"
"Exactly."
Deborra flashed a grin.
That's when I noticed the mole by her eye.
My eyes kept drifting there oddly.
Then I spotted another one, right on her exposed cleavage.
I'd missed it earlier while staring at her face.
Her breasts were so pale... and huge.
'Is that a melon or a breast!?'
By now, even I was pissed at myself.
'Yor, you crazy bastard.'
'This is the time to be ogling tits!?'
"I'm gonna take out the marten soon. That'll open up the vice-guildmaster spot—huh? What? Where's this brat staring?"
Fuck!
Busted!
Deborra burst into laughter.
"It's this 'mole' that's got you hooked, huh? Can't be helped. It's a blessing called the [Charm Mole]."
"A blessing?"
"One tiny dot. More than enough to snag anyone's gaze."
A blessing from an idol!
No wonder it stole my attention.
"I've got four of these. One here's by my eye."
She pointed at her own eye.
"One here's on my chest."
Bounce-.
Deborra bent at the waist.
Her breasts sagged under gravity, jiggling with taut elasticity.
"And the other two—"
Swish-.
She straightened up.
Now I saw she was half a head taller than me.
"Those two are a secret."
Fuck!
A secret!?
Now I was even more obsessed!
"Why tell me straight-up? Keeping it hidden would've made it a trump card or something."
"Kiddo, some things only shine when you lay 'em out honest."
Damn, she was right.
Knowing the moles by her eye and cleavage were blessings made them stick in my mind even more.
Never knew shit like this existed.
Lesson learned.
"You drowned that cyclops, right?"
She took a casual step toward me.
"Yep, pretty much."
I backed up a step.
Deborra advanced another.
"With talent like yours under me, I could give you anything."
"...Anything?"
Gulp-.
I swallowed dryly for no reason.
"Whatever you want. Long as you obey me."
Lies.
Total bullshit.
But that 'what if' crept in.
'Stop staring already!'
I dropped my gaze.
Out of sight, out of mind with those 'moles.'
"Breaking away from my [Charm Mole]? You're a virgin, aren't you?"
"What’s that got to do with anything?"
"Guys who know women can't tear their eyes away from my moles."
...Fuck!
That sealed it.
This woman was leagues above me!
"Now that I think about it, you were glued to my tits. Probably wanna touch 'em—"
The more we talked, the more she dragged me into her rhythm.
'No more chit-chat.'
That's when something caught my eye.
「Idol Research Report - Hermit」
Hermit's name on a stack of papers on the floor?
Come to think of it, she said her thesis got stolen.
'That must be it.'
'But why steal a thesis?'
Not like you could sell that for cash.
That puzzle cleared my head a bit.
Shing-.
I drew my recovered dagger and aimed it at Deborra.
"What's a bandit crew like this after in a tunnel like this? Betraying the guild and everyone?"
"Betraying? The Wall Guild was supposed to be mine! Master said so himself! If that bitch Germain hadn't shown up out of nowhere—"
Master.
First I'd heard that keyword.
Dig in.
"Master?"
"That guy. Vane."
"Narakje was your master?"
"Guess Germain didn't tell you? Me and that wench trained under the Emperor of the Night. We're alumni from 'Conning Town,' the thieves' city."
Narakje's disciple.
This was a bigger deal than I'd thought.
I'd wondered why Narakje recommended this abandoned mine to her.
In hindsight, the clues were there.
"Kid, now you get it? No matter how you flap around, you can't catch me."
If everything she said was true, yeah.
The woman in front of me was at least one level higher.
But.
That mole nagged at me.
'Why hasn't a big shot like her just killed me outright?'
'Really planning to make me her right-hand man?'
I knew my limits.
Honestly, I wasn't that hot shit.
Promising extravagant rewards to sway a heart?
Only one answer.
'Bingo!'
'Scam!'
My hunch: classic romance scam.
That realization cleared the fog.
My nose kicked back in too.
Sweat stench at the tip.
And a fishy whiff like 'anesthetic potion.'
I checked Deborra's hands and feet.
Barely perceptible tremors.
'...Fuck, I got played!'
Chills down my spine.
I'd just figured out her game.
"No more talk!"
I lunged at Deborra with my dagger drawn.
Swipe-.
The blade grazed her waist.
"Aaagh, fuck!"
Deborra screamed from the sharp cut.
She hadn't dodged my attack.
I wasn't even as fast as that 'bell jar.'
"She was under anesthetic potion effects! The 'no effect' bit was a lie!"
"—You dog-ass little shit!"
Deborra had just been stalling.
Spinning bullshit the whole time!
Some of it might've even been true.
Smart thieves like Martens mix lies and truth to fool people better.
"You fucking brat, you dare slash my side—!"
Deborra clutched her side and glared.
That pretty face twisted like a demon's.
"You little fuck! You're dragon chow now!"
Whoosh-.
Deborra bolted with all her might toward the tent's back flap.
'Is that even possible?'
Anesthetic strong enough to drop a raging lion.
And she moved that fast under it?
She'd even pickpocketed my dagger in that state.
If Deborra at full strength?
'Subdue her before the drug wears off!'
'Chance is now if ever!'
I grabbed Hermit's thesis first, then chased Deborra through the tent's back flap.
#
Pitch-black tunnel crammed with stones and rocks.
I tracked Deborra by the blood scent.
'Thank god for this nose!'
Without Nihil-Raz's schnoz, finding her in this winding mine would've been impossible.
I kept descending deeper into the mine.
—Swish swish swish!
—Roar-!
"What kinda trap hell is this?"
The path shifted too.
No longer simple tunnels—polished stone corridors appeared.
Then finally—.
Boom-.
Rumble-.
"...What the hell is this?"
I gawked at the massive artificial structure built underground.
Reminded me of that 「Eight Wonders」 book I'd swiped from the library in my past life.
My one favorite.
Pyramids, hanging gardens—cool shit.
Loot and tomb raiders added romance.
Anyway, to me—
'—Like Machu Picchu!'
'Aztec or Inca vibes!'
Why was something like this under the mine?
This 'Black Rock Abandoned Mine' wasn't just any old pit.
"...Hah, hah. Little shit's already here...?"
Deborra stood atop some altar-like thing on the stairs.
A pile of black stones.
She screamed down from it.
"Don't come closer!"
"No thanks! Get your ass down here before I make it worse!"
"...Should've had a mage here normally. But no choice now."
Rattle-!
Deborra worked a handle mechanism rising from the floor.
"Come forth, dragon of death! I offer these stones and the virgin boy before you as tribute!"
Clank-.
Some massive machine whirring to life.
"Contract with this idol, and I'll beat Germain! No—steal the seat from Vane, who abandoned and betrayed me!"
Rumble-.
The idol's temple shook.
Soon, the central stone door—like an Aztec pyramid—slid open left and right.
Flash-!
Deborra grinned wide at the two glowing lights beyond.
"De-Rr-Ju-Ra’k-Pal-Rav-Ra-Di-!"
Chanting a spell, probably.
Like when Hermit meditated to charge magic.
In response—
The lights beyond the open door blazed brighter.
'Eyes?'
My 'Black Eye' faintly made out what they were.
Eyes.
Massive ones!
Rustle-.
Grass and flowers sprouted on the temple's dirt floor around us.
The barren mine depths turned lush jungle in seconds?
"Ooh—it's coming! Come! Contract with me!"
Deborra cackled madly.
My mind flashed then.
'Her goal was summoning this underground idol!'
She was scheming something via the temple deep in this mine—and the idol within.
An idol that could steal Narakje's throne via contract.
Already dreaded how horrific it'd be.
'Run?'
Rustle rustle-.
An ominous sound echoed from the temple depths.
A snake emerged, huge enough to coil around the building.
Creepiest part: not a sound despite its size.
"Three wicked ones! Ruler of shade and swamp! Deal with me!"
Rustle rustle-!
The snake coiled the temple.
Dragon.
Fit the word perfectly.
Glossy black scales, eyes alone head-sized.
"False dragon! Devour this black stone and boy, grant me power—!"
Deborra's cry.
Pop-!
The giant snake sprang like a dragon spring, swallowing the altar's rock piles.
Crunch, crunch-.
Chewing hard stone like cereal—reminded me of something.
Looked different in every way, but...
"...Sabrannik by any chance?"