Chapter 70: Blood Dagger’s Test
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: Blood Dagger’s Test
[M-My… Savior… O Savior. C-Could… Could I go with you?]
I had to pause for a moment at Baek Ahyeon’s words. Although I had no intention of killing any humans during this test, if a battle did break out and she was the only one to return alive, the Sky Dragon Guild she belonged to might grow suspicious of her.
This was even more true since I had to conduct two tests: one for Hakajin’s group and one for that troll woman’s group. Still, I figured it wouldn’t hurt for her to see them from a distance at least once, so in the end, I had no choice but to grant her wish.
[I suppose seeing them once wouldn’t be a bad idea.]
An answer came back immediately, her voice trembling with excitement.
[Th-Thank you! O Savior. Thank you!]
With that, I cut the connection.
I was fairly certain that as soon as the communication ended, Baek Ahyeon would start subtly spreading rumors. The whisper that had been lurking beneath the surface—that ‘there is a settlement somewhere’—would slowly rise to the top over time, and eventually, the Summoned would arrive at their village. For now, the first settlement was the priority. I could guess how they would react, but they didn’t seem like complete fools, so I thought they might show me something different.
Realizing I’d forgotten to tell her the order, I pushed my magic into the ring again. And once more, Baek Ahyeon’s voice came through.
[Haaa… My Savior… Thank you… Haa… Ahh!]
It hadn’t been long since I’d hung up, but it seemed she’d gone ahead and started the main event by herself. It was a moment that made me genuinely curious about her daily life.
[Baek Ahyeon.]
[S-S-S-Savior. J-Just… a moment… Ahh! Aaaah, I’m… com—]
[J-Just… a moment… Ahh… S-Savior… Ahh! Th-This… is… Ahh!]
This time, it seemed she couldn’t stop, and a stream of strange noises continued to pour through. It appeared I had shown up at the most decisive moment. Thanks to that, I had no choice but to listen to Baek Ahyeon’s sounds of bliss for a short while, which was inevitably followed by the sound of her despair after she had finished.
[Sob… I-I’m… sorry… sob… P-Please… kill me… sob…]
[……………………]
I had no idea what to say to comfort her. In the end, I said,
[It’s fine.]
But it seemed that only made her feel worse.
[I’m sorry… sob…]
[No, it’s really fine. Everyone has a libido.]
After I went that far, Baek Ahyeon seemed to relax a little, and I was finally able to steer the conversation back to a normal course. I briefly explained the plan, and her voice came back, sounding as if she understood.
[So you’re saying I should start with the first group.]
[That’s right.]
[Yes. Understood. Everything will be as the Savior wills…]
And with that, I was able to end the conversation with Baek Ahyeon, which had felt strangely long. I had never imagined something so unexpected would happen; even I was a little flustered. It was funny, but I had gotten a little excited myself.
Ultimately, Jung Hayeon, who had a ghost-like sense for this sort of thing, came into the tent, and I was able to spend some enjoyable time with her. The troll woman’s words must have wounded her pride, as she was quite clingy, but the gap between our species was so vast that I wasn’t particularly worried.
And so, time trickled by.
As the days passed, I went back and forth between the first group’s location and the second. It wasn’t for any particular reason; I just figured that showing my face frequently like this would lessen the sense of unease when the test finally began. Of course, I didn’t forget to visit Broken Bow from time to time either.
The more I visited their groups, the more anxious Hakajin became, though he was slowly letting his guard down. The troll woman, on the other hand, would look at me with an expression full of anticipation, likely wondering if this was all part of the process of merging with the Blood Dagger Clan.
Of course, whenever I made my rounds to the troll woman’s settlement, it was only natural that Mev and the Goblin Three Sisters looked displeased. When I returned with only a minimal escort, they would pretend to be casual as they approached me and started sniffing, checking to see if I had planted my seed in a troll.
‘As expected, the Captain didn’t fall for it!’
‘I was right!’
I was a bit taken aback to see the Goblin Three Sisters run off in delight, but seeing Mev’s satisfied expression after receiving their report made the momentary embarrassment seem tolerable.
I had thought Green Skin women didn’t get jealous, but seeing this, it seemed they could be quite possessive in other ways. They were probably acting this way because they disliked that troll woman, but it didn’t feel all that bad.
That wasn’t the only change in the settlement. I wasn’t sure when it started, but Jung Hayeon began showing up more and more frequently at Mev and the Goblin Three Sisters’ gatherings.
To be honest, Jung Hayeon was in an ambiguous position—it was hard to say if she was a Green Skin or not—so she tended to be a bit of an outsider in the clan. She was always a force on the battlefield, but her human past made it difficult for everyone to approach her easily. Of course, there were clan members who praised her accomplishments, but that was always from a distance. No one spoke to her directly.
It seemed she was still a little awkward with the other men, but Mev and the Goblin Three Sisters appeared to have decided to view her favorably. The reason was likely that she was the one who had suggested the idea of ‘Blood Dagger’s Test’ to me.
For Mev and the Goblin Three Sisters, who had been resigned to the idea of merging with the troll woman’s settlement, it must have felt like a lifeline from the heavens. They had united in the face of a common enemy: that insolent troll.
Around this time, I continued my communications with Baek Ahyeon and was able to gather various pieces of news.
A settlement of weak goblins had been discovered. It was deep in the forest. A human ranger unit had taken the bait of these vague rumors, and as a result, the location of the settlement, which had no shamanistic protection, was completely exposed. I didn’t know if Hakajin was aware of this, but his settlement was now a hot topic in the small city of Legius.
Of course, since no treasure or high-level monsters that could grant significant experience had been found, high-level adventurers wouldn’t bother raiding his settlement, but that was something we welcomed. Just having Summoned who were eager to grow stronger descend upon them would be enough to plunge his settlement into a major crisis. I was starting to look forward to seeing how he would act.
And so, time continued to flow.
I didn’t stop visiting their settlements. It wasn’t a daily occurrence, but to be honest, I enjoyed going to their villages for some reason.
The feeling of being treated with respect. It was an emotion I had never once felt during my time as a human. Of course, I was treated with respect within my own clan, but the looks the members of other settlements gave me produced a strange sense of catharsis.
This was especially true when I was with the troll woman.
This woman knew exactly how to handle someone. When I had visited without Mev and the Goblin Three Sisters, she had tried to seduce me overtly once. After I showed my discomfort with such a direct approach, she switched to a more subtle form of temptation.
I never imagined I’d be seduced by a troll, but honestly, it felt good. Things like subtly pressing herself against me, showing off her thighs or chest, or wearing clothes that emphasized her rear. It was that sort of thing.
Frankly, it felt less like ‘I want to sleep with you’ and more like ‘I am a strong Green Skin who can bear your children,’ but that didn’t matter. I could tell just by looking at the sheer clothes she was wearing now. It was hard to say her body was packed with muscle, but anyone could see she was healthy.
Her skin was a shade of green that was almost blue. Her chest was comparable to Jung Hayeon’s, but the difference was the firm abs and the visible muscles here and there. With such a perfectly toned and fit body constantly in my line of sight, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered sleeping with her at least once, but the thought of the women back at the settlement kept me from making a move.
“So… have you made a decision?”
“Hmm… For the most part… you could say that, but…”
“If you are concerned about the fairy or the goblins, I would advise you not to be. This is a matter that only the chieftain should decide. Of course, the opinions of the clan members are important, but I suspect those goblins and the fairy hold ill feelings toward me because of my mistake back then…”
“You’re not entirely wrong. They certainly aren’t fond of you.”
“I see… I suppose that’s to be expected. When I… when I saw the Blood Dagger Clan’s ‘procreation’ issue, I was a bit concerned… I think some unnecessary words slipped out without me realizing. O-Of course, I regret it now.”
“That is also true. Mev was deeply hurt because of it.”
“I apologize profusely from the bottom of my heart. However, separate from that, you must not make a mistake in this crucial choice for the future of the tribe. Of course, I do not mean that this choice has to be accepting our group. I simply hope that Blood Dagger makes a decision he will not regret.”
After speaking with this woman a bit more, I realized she was subtly trying to manipulate me. She was giving me unsolicited advice not to listen to the fairy and the goblins, but her last statement could easily be interpreted as telling me to listen to her.
She was a master at subtly weaving herself together with me by framing it as ‘my choice.’
If the chieftain of the Blood Dagger Clan had been Gark or Hark instead of me, they would have been hooked, one hundred percent. No doubt about it. Even I, knowing her game, still wanted to bring her in; I could only imagine how they would feel.
This woman was truly smart. It seemed she had grown in a slightly misguided way, but she had the air of a femme fatale, a siren from the old tales. As long as she didn’t cause any unnecessary trouble, she would be more than just a boon to the clan’s development.
Her words had been presumptuous, but my internal evaluation of her had just gone up.
“What is your name?”
“I am called Ragia.”
She answered with a bright smile, clearly pleased that I had asked for her name. I had drunk a little and was feeling a pleasant buzz, so I took her chin and gently pulled her toward me. She had a shy expression on her face, but I already knew it was all an act. I gave her a slight smile and continued.
“Do not disappoint me.”
She probably wouldn’t understand what I meant right now. But she nodded her head vigorously, and I dashed her expectations by simply stroking her face once before letting go. It wasn’t that I had intended to do anything, but I had sensed someone approaching from outside.