Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 084
Chapter Title: Mama Bear #2
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I dug into the ground hard with a shovel.
I even mined out the firmly embedded rocks with a pickaxe.
Felt like some kind of miner instead of an explorer.
Sweat dripped down from my forehead and back.
"Haa, Yona! All done!"
Thanks to all that sweating and hard work, I managed to pitch the best tent of my life.
The ground was flat, and the supports were sturdy!
"Not bad tent-pitching skills?"
Even Yona had to honestly marvel at my life's masterpiece.
'You think I'll get happy over something like that?'
But for some reason, I was a little pleased!
Am I really this easy to please?
Now it was time to sleep.
When camping, you hit the sack pretty early since there's nothing to do once the sun sets.
A tremendous fear suddenly washed over me.
'This woman is a tiger.'
Sharing a tent with a tiger?
If she rolled over in her sleep mumbling, I'd end up crushed flat.
While I was cowering in fear, Yona asked.
"You got something to say?"
"Well, I'm a guy, and you're a woman, so sharing a tent feels a bit..."
"Comrades charging through battlefields don't have gender. This Night Land isn't forgiving enough to nitpick like that."
Maybe it was because of who was saying it, but it rang profoundly true.
"Then turn your eyes that way for a bit."
Yona pulled out a wet towel, slipped off her clothes with a soft rustle, and started wiping down her hands, feet, and shoulders.
My hair stood on end at the casual display, but the moment I saw her back, all my weird feelings vanished.
Yona's body was covered in scars.
At least ten that looked brutally painful.
The worst was the jagged slash running from her neck down to her left side.
She glanced at me.
"Pretty ugly, right?"
"Honestly, they must've hurt like hell!"
"You could be a little less honest sometimes."
"Hehe, then you're truly beautiful!"
"Enough. As you can see, I've long since abandoned any 'womanly' feelings or joys since hitting the battlefields. So don't worry about it."
No wonder she could dump 5.2 billion Ether just into level-ups.
I needed to toughen up my mindset too.
She wrung out the towel with a sharp snap and said to me.
"Now you. Show me your back."
"Y-Yes!? Me too!?"
"You stink."
Fair point?
I'd sweated buckets pitching the tent, so yeah, I felt grimy.
"This forest is Necromancer Akam's hideout. Some of his undead have an insanely sharp sense of smell—sentinel types. Wipe off that sweat, or we'll get tracked."
This forest was Akam's base?
Fuck, that explained why the monsters were dropping Ether like crazy!
"Then gently, please!"
I turned my back to Yona.
And—
"Aaack! That hurts!"
"Don't be such a baby."
"Hehe, just kidding!"
And with that, our simple sponge bath was done.
The smell coming off my body had definitely lessened.
Swish-.
Now we lay down in the cramped tent.
Even pitched as wide as possible for two people, it was still tight—our feet and legs stuck out into the cold night air.
"Hey, scoot closer over here."
In the end, I had to sleep practically spooning Yona.
Was this what it felt like clinging to a ferocious bear?
On one hand, it was reassuring.
I was probably the safest person in the world right now.
Even if the Erdar special forces showed up, they couldn't kill me, right?
That sense of security brought sleep creeping in.
As I started dozing off, Yona said to me.
"Blood clot, you're a bit different from the thieves I knew. Got a surprisingly innocent side."
"Hehehe, I'm pure and innocent as a lamb."
"Might be a monster in sheep's clothing. Like that Vane."
"Yona, were you really comrades with Vane?"
I figured I might hear some of the King of Thieves Vane's secrets from her.
But she recoiled like I'd said something vile.
"Comrades? That bastard? The wound he gave me stabbing me in the back when he fled still throbs."
I recalled the scars covering her back.
One of those was Vane's handiwork, huh.
No wonder she'd shudder at the thought of thieves.
Yona asked me.
"Blood clot, why are you thieving out here at the Wall?"
"...Uh...it's the only thing I know how to do?"
I told her about growing up in the orphanage—
how I'd nearly ended up as Wall labor and ran away.
How after all sorts of twists and turns, I'd gotten caught and almost died.
She clicked her tongue.
"No explorer without a sob story."
"Hehehe, but at this Wall, you can rake in tons of Ether!"
"Ether? Nice. But aren't you scared of dying? Tilt your ear right now—you can hear the monsters gunning for your life."
I listened quietly.
Sure enough, unidentified monster noises echoed from every direction.
We might get jumped in our sleep.
Honestly, terrifying.
But? For Ether, I could endure that much fear.
"Plus, here you get good meals every day and a roof when the rain or wind hits. It's the best!"
"Meals and a roof. That's what you're risking your life thieving for?"
"...Then what's more important?"
"Righteousness."
"Righteousness?"
"I fought to wipe thieves from the world. Figured if you filled hungry kids' bellies, they wouldn't grow up into criminals."
"Hehehe, as expected—your caliber and ambitions are on another level!"
"But kids are still turning into thieves. Meals and a roof. That's all it takes for people to stake their lives."
With that, Yona fell silent.
Was she asleep?
I stealthily rifled through her pouch with my rat-butt-trained 'subtle touch.'
A great person like her must have valuables, right?
Just a peek at what's inside.
My hand closed on some paper.
Sloppily written letters.
「Thank you, Yona! - From Florie」
「Yona unnie! I wanna be an amazing person like you too! - Cloba from Hill Village」
「Thanks for the money. Next time send more money and food. - Lillke Orphanage Yoryu」
This felt kinda familiar.
'Orphanage kids' thank-you letters?'
I'd written a few to sponsors myself.
Sister wouldn't feed us if we didn't write them.
And that last one was mine.
「Thanks for the money. Next time send more money and food. - Lillke Orphanage Yoryu」
Yoryu.
I'd just learned to write back then, so my name came out weird.
Looks like Yona was one of our orphanage sponsors.
Did she ever visit?
Had we met?
Too young to remember.
'Damn, carrying junk like this around like treasure? Total bust.'
I slipped the letters back into Yona's pouch.
Rustle-!
Harder than pickpocketing is slip-pocketing, but success!
My skills worked even on the Imperial Saint!
Came to and it was already morning.
Stepped out of the tent, and Yona was boiling a pot.
"Sleeping in late on monster-infested turf? Carefree."
Breakfast was bread and fish boiled with some mystery grass.
Yona's own cooking.
Felix and Hermit's faces twisted through every stage.
"Cough, quite the... unique flavor."
"Ugh, the herbs are way too strong..."
"Ooh, another bowl please."
"You want seconds of this?"
I held out my empty bowl, and Yona scowled.
Felix chimed in like a sycophant.
"That punk would devour boiled leather boots and call it gourmet. Grew up dirt-poor, so his tongue's shot."
"Yona! That asshole's saying your cooking's worse than shoe stew!"
"N-No, not what I meant!"
We finished eating and got to Ether harvesting.
Jingle-!
Endless Ether dropping.
Walrulu scooped them up like mad, we kept slaughtering skeletons, and whenever a treasure chest popped up, I pried them all open.
Click!
"Kyaa! That's the stuff!"
This simple, flawless cycle was beautiful.
Half a day later, Yona said.
"If it's just Ether-gathering skill, you lot rank in the top three parties I've seen."
Even in veteran Yona's eyes, our party's Harvesting chops stood out!
My nose tingled with pride.
Back to base.
Party total: 12 million Ether.
No idols showed.
Wondered why, then Hermit grumbled softly.
"Probably 'cause Yona's a Sun Cult priest. Idols steered clear."
"Sun Cult priest and idols—what's the beef?"
"Idols hate Sun Cult folks!"
Sun Cult worshipped light and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor—orthodox faith.
Idols, meanwhile, were straight-up cultists.
Hence the bad blood.
"Then split the 12 million four ways."
Felix divided the Ether bundles.
But Yona refused her cut.
"Nah. Don't wanna snatch snot-nosed kids' pocket change."
So 4 million each?
My legs shook at the sum!
Then Yona headed to the bonfire.
Roar-.
She slapped her palm on the flames, which burned with an intensity I'd never seen, almost alarming.
Hammer—who'd sat out sortieing due to armor tweaks—nudged my ribs.
"Yor, watch this!"
Fwoosh, fwoosh-.
The flames rippled like they were alive.
Weirdly, not hot at all—nicely warm.
Felt my fatigue and aches melting away from every corner of my body.
This feeling—
I'd felt it before.
Yesterday, when I fell asleep in Yona's arms.
"Should hold you steady for about a year now."
Yona wiped sweat from her forehead.
Hammer didn't hide his admiration.
"Witnessing the Imperial Saint's prowess up close! This Sergeant Hammer could die happy!"
Yona patted his shoulder.
"Good party you got, Hammer sergeant. Your Ether methods, how you treat people—worlds apart from my era."
Now her eyes turned to me.
"Blood clot, one question."
"Yes!"
"In this world, how do you wipe out all thieves?"
"...Uh...abolish the laws?"
No laws, no crimes.
If theft ain't illegal, thieves ain't thieves.
Heard some world slashed crime rates by scrapping laws and cops altogether.
Achieved the miracle 0% crime rate!
Yona scowled at my pitch.
"Thought you were a sheep. Turns out a jackal in sheepskin."
That day, every thief walked free from prison.
Had she bought into my '0% crime miracle' pitch?
Now free, I hit the library.
Wanted some books on the 'Imperial Saint.'
Gonna be seeing her face a while—better know the details.
That's when last year's paper caught my eye.
「Charity gala held in the capital to mark Yona's 36th birthday.」
「Attended by countless officials and group leaders, the proceeds—.」
'36 last year? Way younger than I figured.'
Her party formed 30 years back.
Meant she was just 6 or 7 then.
Full of surprises.
"Jackpot Yor. Found you."
Chill-.
Goosebumps prickled across my skin.
Crack, crackle-.
I turned, and an arm was emerging from my shadow.
Joints twisted with loud pops.
Finally, the man revealed himself.
Masked, but I knew him instantly.
"Vane—!?"
Fuck—Vane crawling out of my shadow!
Frozen in shock at the madness, Vane spoke.
"Yor. My seventh finger—I bring you a command."
"Huh? Command for me?"
"That Yona's here, right? Rob her bag. My item's inside. Bring it to me, get a fitting reward."