Chapter 213 Gwyn's Plan
--------------------------------------
Translator: JayM
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: Gwyn's Plan
--------------------------------------
Jeong Yoo-shin walked through the sewer while holding a torch.
It was hot, but since he was wearing the doll mask, the sewer smell wasn't that bad.
'This is a good item.'
He had borrowed it from one of the small and medium clan alliances.
It was a doll mask professionally made by the 'Furry Love' clan, and it had the effect of not only modulating his voice, but also blocking external odors.
The sewer was wide.
Wide enough for five adults to walk side by side with their arms spread wide.
Dirty water flowed in the middle of the sewer, and pathways ran along both sides.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked around while holding the torch.
"I've never seen such a large sewer before."
Gwyn's voice was filled with surprise.
"Of course it's wide. The Eastern District also manages the sewers of the other districts. Ah! Except for the western district. The dwarves over there manage it separately."
"Is that so? It’s a wider area than I expected."
"That's right."
Rex and Gwyn surprisingly got along well.
The two walked for a while as they made small talk.
They started with rumors related to the labyrinth, lingered on personal matters, and then moved on to the request.
"But there were a lot of young explorers among the people who came this time."
Gwyn grasped the hidden meaning in Rex's words.
"You saw correctly. They may not look reliable, but they’re the talents of the central district clans. Shall we say that they’re people who were recruited at an early stage after obtaining a good imprint?"
"For the headquarters to send such greenhorns, are they looking down on us?"
Rex threw a provocative question.
Gwyn shook her head.
"I see it as a good selection. It's sending a message that they’re paying attention without provoking the Eastern District too much."
"What message?"
"They probably mean that they don't want to cause friction with the Eastern District, given the timing. This is just my guess, but I think your duel last time, Rex-ssi, was also a warning from Ingrid-nim to the Eastern District."
"..."
Rex closed his mouth.
"Rex-ssi, it was a wonderful fight."
"Stop it. It was a shameful duel. But next time will be different."
Rex muttered while glaring at the wolf doll mask.
Gwyn changed the subject.
"By the way, I saw some slimes on the way here. Do they all work in this sewer?"
"That's right. Most of them are in charge of absorbing the filth."
"Is that so? There are more people with slime imprints than I thought. It must be a tough job."
Rex nodded.
"It's bearable. This is a surprisingly profitable job. Since it's managing the sewer, no one really bothers you, and the pay is better than you'd think. It's a good job to save money. There are a lot of beginners who aim to make a quick buck before removing their slime imprint."
"Nobody bothers you?"
"That's right. The job was pretty good until recently. Why? Because of the barbarians. Those bastards took up residence in the brothels and did it so much that the sewer got clogged and overflowed. It was a disaster."
Rex said while glaring at the wolf doll mask.
Gwyn tilted her head.
"Have you ever received a slime imprint?"
"..."
Rex turned his head.
Gwyn stared at Rex intently.
Rex slowly spoke.
"A long time ago."
"How did it feel?"
Rex scratched his head.
"Becoming another being is something that's hard to explain with words. Shall I say that your five senses are completely reversed? The world you see is different."
"I'm curious."
"Have you never received a monster imprint?"
At Rex's question, Gwyn shook her head.
"Unfortunately, not at all."
"So? How is it, seeing it up close like this?"
"It's strange. I've only ever seen monster explorers in the labyrinth. Many of them didn't come close to me."
"Because it's dangerous. There's no need to get close to explorers who are on edge from fighting monsters."
"Ah! But I heard that monster explorers sometimes stop by the branch office instead of the headquarters."
"Only a few. It's not that the guild’s blocking them, but it’s more like monster-people are reluctant to go there."
"Is that so? Actually, I've made friends with an explorer who has a monster imprint."
"Is that so?"
"It was a Half-Incubus imprint. He was a kind person."
Gwyn's face reddened slightly as she spoke.
"A half-incubus? A half-demon."
"Do you know much about half-incubi?"
"I don't know much. I heard that they use lustful energy to extort a woman's mana. I also heard that they get stronger the more women they embrace."
"They get stronger?"
"It means their demonic nature gets stronger. A half-demon in particular would probably have a hard time. It would be difficult for them to control their lustful energy. They’d probably go berserk from time to time. Be careful."
Gwyn tilted her head and spoke.
"I think it's alright. I've never seen a person with as strong a will as him."
"For a swordsman like you to hold that half-demon in such high regard. Is it someone I know? What's that half-demon's name?"
"It's difficult for me to tell you."
"Is that so?"
Rex and Gwyn stopped talking and looked at the wolf doll mask.
Gwyn's interest, in particular, was strong.
'This is strange.'
This man had not once chimed in on their conversation.
"Hey, say something, will you? Are you a mute?"
At Rex's question, the wolf doll mask shrugged.
It was a stance that said he had nothing to say and no interest in pitching in.
The wolf doll mask took a map out of his pocket and looked at it.
Rex stepped forward.
"There's no need to look at the map now. I remember the way. Let's go a little further and then we’ll look at the map later."
The wolf doll mask nodded and put the map back in his pocket.
The wolf doll mask, Rex, and Gwyn trudged through the sewer.
Under the dim torchlight.
All sorts of objects flowed down the sewage.
The wolf doll mask stopped dead in its tracks, then he lifted a net and scooped up an object.
Gwyn slowly approached him and looked down at the object caught in the net.
"A tail...?"
Although it was wet with sewage water, she could still clearly tell what it was.
It was an animal's tail.
The difference was that there was a plug at the beginning of the tail.
It seemed to be used for sticking into something and fixing it in place.
"What is this?"
Rex frowned.
"The darkness of Labyrinth City."
"What do you mean by ‘darkness’?"
Rex looked at Gwyn's innocent expression and then looked away.
"It's just something that exists. To think that they become objects of sexual desire just because they have tails and ears. It's terrible."
"..."
Although neither of them said it out loud, they both looked at the wolf doll mask.
The wolf doll mask held the wet tail plug, and then suddenly stuck out his butt.
*Tap, tap.*
He tapped the plug on his butt.
"Eh?"
Gwyn stared blankly, then spoke.
"Y-You stick th-that in your butt?!"
Nod.
The wolf doll mask expressed its agreement, returned to its original posture, and then threw the animal tail back into the sewer.
"You! Do you have to harass a woman in a place like this!?"
Rex burst into anger.
The wolf doll mask scratched its head and bowed to Gwyn.
Gwyn waved her hands with a flushed face.
"N-No! It's alright. My 'perspective' has been broadened. Thank you."
After the commotion…
The three walked for a long time.
It felt like they had walked for about 3 hours.
Rex stopped walking, took out several iron rods from his pocket, and assembled them.
Finally, he attached the halberd head that had been hanging from his waist and fixed it in place.
A huge halberd was created in an instant.
It wasn't as long as the one Jeong Yoo-shin had seen before.
After all, no matter how wide, this place was still a sewer.
Since people here would be bunched up together, he had deliberately assembled it with a shorter reach.
Rex spoke.
"We have to be careful from now on. We've already left the safe zone."
"Is there something dangerous here?"
"Sometimes, secretly discarded magic potions mix and create strange creatures. Vagrants and strange groups also stay in the corners here. They're guys who have lost their minds. It means that you shouldn't be careless."
"I see."
Gwyn drew her thin longsword. A cool chill wafted out from it.
As they went a little further, an intersection came into view.
Right in front of them, a huge slime in human form was standing.
The three stopped walking.
Gwyn's eyes narrowed.
"It's not a slime."
"The color of the core is different. It looks like a monster from outside, and it's eaten several magic potions from the looks of it. Tsk."
As soon as Rex finished speaking, a laugh was heard from the other side of the intersection.
"Kekeke."
From the darkness, a human, a lizard beast-person, and a frog beast-person appeared.
There were other various creatures as well.
The common point was that they were all wearing rags and holding blades.
Their eyes weren’t sane, as if they had taken drugs.
Rex clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. What a bunch of pathetic bastards. I'll take that slime. You guys take care of those riffraff."
"Let's do it."
"..."
The huge slime cut through the sewage and rushed at them.
Dirty sewage water splattered everywhere, but Rex didn't care.
Rex ran along the side path, then went down into the sewer.
Splash!
Although the sewage water came up to his knees, Rex still thrust his halberd with an indifferent expression.
The sharp thrust struck the slime's core.
Boom!!!
The slime exploded, and its soft pieces scattered.
At the same time, an enormous shockwave echoed throughout the sewer.
In the meantime, the wolf doll mask and Gwyn ran forward.
The vagrants, seeing Gwyn's shining beauty, made a sinister smile, but then their expressions hardened when they saw the wolf doll mask.
"H-He's a madman! Use 'that'!"
The frog beast-person quickly took a scroll out of his pocket and tore it.
[Fireball]
A hot ball of fire flew toward the wolf mask.
"Mr. Wolf!"
Gwyn raised her voice.
But the wolf mask didn't even dodge and ran straight toward the fireball.
"What are you doing!?"
Gwyn's eyes widened.
A desperate moment.
The wolf mask, in the middle of running, laid its body down.
A smooth slide.
The blazing fireball missed the wolf mask by a hair's breadth.
Kagagagak!!!
The old rubber of his shoes tore and sparks flew as the iron plate on the bottom of his boots scraped against the floor.
The sliding speed decreased significantly.
The wolf mask shot up from the floor, drew his single-edged sword, and swung.
Siiiing!!!
A speed that would even cut the wind.
The sword swung by the wolf mask cut off the lizard beast-person's neck.
The lizard's head, with its eyes wide open, flew into the air, spun, and fell to the floor.
Thud. Clatter.
The lizard beast-person's headless body knelt limply.
Chiiiiiiiiit!!!
Blood gushed from the severed neck like a fountain.
Gwyn's eyes widened.
Different.
She had suspected that the wolf mask was Skar, but the style of his swordsmanship was different.
He had definitely swung it carelessly.
But…
It was a swordsmanship that held the arrogance that his own path was the right one.
Rex's expression, who had been watching from a distance, also turned blank.
'His swordsmanship is different?'
The wolf mask swung its single-edged sword and shook off the blood on the blade.
Splatter.
The human man, who had been standing blankly, shouted hysterically.
"Kill him!!!"
The frog beast-person and the human men rushed at him.
The wolf mask stepped back with frivolous steps.
Gwyn joined the wolf mask and swung her sword.
'It's hard to keep up!'
The speed at which the wolf doll mask swung his single-edged sword was faster than the speed at which Gwyn swung hers.
The wolf mask freely swung his single-edged sword and cut everything in sight.
Various attacks came out from him, as if every part of his body was a weapon.
He punched a vagrant's face with the fist holding the single-edged sword.
He moved his leg like a whip and kicked a vital point.
He even caught an incoming dagger and threw it at someone else.
"Kraaaaaaah!!!!!!"
Blood splattered and screams echoed out.
In an instant, 8 vagrants were dismembered.
The vagrants then scattered when even Rex, who had been watching before, rushed in.
"Fuck!!! Run!!!"
The vagrant bastards ran toward the darkness.
The three didn’t give chase.
The wolf mask crouched in front of a corpse and wiped the blood off from his single-edged sword with its rags.
"..."
Rex and Gwyn silently watched the wolf mask's back.
'It's not Skar?'
Similar thoughts rushed through both of their minds.
Both of them had a history of sparring with Skar.
But…
The swordsmanship he had shown so far convinced them that he wasn’t Skar.
Then the man wearing this wolf doll mask…
'Who is he?'
Rex let out a sigh and looked around.
"That's it for today. Let's go back to our rooms, rest, and meet next time."
"Where should we go for our rooms?"
"Follow me. There are rooms prepared by the Eastern District Explorer's Guild."
Rex led the wolf doll mask and Gwyn and returned to their starting point.
The people were lying around in the basement with tired faces.
"Rex, you're the last to come out. Any news?"
The elf who had been sitting stood up and asked.
Rex shook his head.
"No, there was nothing particularly suspicious."
The elf made a bitter smile and looked around at the explorers.
"Is that so? It might take longer than we thought."
Most of them had grim faces because of the terrible smell of filth.
Rex led the explorers up to the Eastern District.
The lodging Rex had guided them to was a 4-story brick building.
It wasn’t far from the Eastern District's guild, and the entire building had been rented out, with one person per room.
The room Jeong Yoo-shin was assigned was a corner room on the top floor.
Coincidentally, it was on the same floor as the elf, who was in charge of this request, and Gwyn.
Knock, knock.
Jeong Yoo-shin was sitting on the bed and was about to take off his doll mask, but he stopped.
"Mr. Wolf Doll, are you there?"
Gwyn's voice.
Jeong Yoo-shin stood up and opened the door.
Gwyn's snow-white hair was damp, as if she had just finished bathing.
Gwyn hesitated, then barely managed to speak.
"Um... by any chance…"
"..."
"In the sewer just now. Um... you seemed to know a lot about various strange 'things'."
"...?"
"It's nothing really, but it's my first time in the Eastern District, so I thought it would be an experience to broaden my 'perspective'."
Gwyn glanced up at the wolf doll mask.
"I-If you know the Eastern District well, would you like to go around together during our break, after the sewer exploration is over?"
"..."
The wolf mask stood still, then he raised his hand and made a circle.
Gwyn smiled brightly.
"Is that so? Thank you!"
--------------------------------------
T/N - Thanks to Didly for reminding me about the wolf mascot costume when the MC visited the soft and fluffy clan. The wolf mask was probably part of the costume. And the beginning of the chapter practically confirms it too.
Also, damn, didn’t know Rex had such a time. Honestly, becoming a slime and eating sewage filth… 😰 No matter how high the pay, that just sounds disgusting. 🤮
Lastly, so that was how the MC planned to disguise himself. Changing up his swordsmanship style sounds pretty high level too. To think that the MC has come this far.