Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Lively Drinking Party - 1
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“What the hell are you two doing here? Don’t you know better than to wander around without a care?”
Two burly men eyed us up and down, scrutinizing every detail.
We weren’t wearing black robes—just ordinary clothes.
But even so, it was blatantly obvious we were from Wonderland.
Soon enough, their gazes shamelessly locked onto Ellis’s chest, making my stomach turn for no good reason. I opened my mouth to speak.
“Who are you guys? I’m with Wonderland. Can you handle that?”
Their eyes widened slightly.
They glanced at me, exchanged looks with each other, and repeated it two more times before closing in.
“Proof?”
I pondered what to show them, then just handed over the first thing I grabbed. As long as it verified my identity, it’d be fine.
Moments later, the clover token from my pocket ended up in their hands.
They inspected the clover token and burst into hearty laughter.
“Kid. This here’s Wonderland Clover Six.”
“I’m Diamond Six. Don’t know the Pat and Matt brothers?”
I don’t.
No matter how grand they made themselves sound, if they weren’t in my memory, they weren’t all that impressive.
You two are just stepping stones to Cheshire Cat.
By the way, they were still ogling Ellis’s chest, slick with sticky slime residue.
It took some effort to suppress the murderous urge bubbling up from deep inside.
Not because I cared for Ellis, but because these guys were so damn pathetic.
The bigger one, Pat, continued.
“Come to think of it, the low-rankers have been vanishing lately. Know anything about it?”
“No idea. I’ve been handling bounties with Ellis this whole time.”
“Bounties? Why the hell are you messing with bounties?”
Suddenly realizing my expression had hardened too much, I forced the most amiable smile I could muster.
“Isn’t it obvious? Wanted to make some money.”
I jerked my chin toward the pile of debris behind us. We’d wiped out every skeleton and slime in the area, stacking them up like a miniature fortress.
Seeing the sheer volume, confusion flooded the two men’s eyes.
Understandable. They probably couldn’t gather that much even after slaving away all day.
Pat and Matt’s faces grew increasingly suspicious.
“Don’t you get how serious this is? If we go back to Cheshire Cat like this, what do you think’ll happen? You stole her work, kid.”
“Is that so?”
“Damn right. What should we do? Go report it as is? That some puny Clover kid’s been hogging all the bounties?”
But their expressions and words betrayed their true thoughts all too clearly.
Even these idiots wanted something for themselves.
What happens if you cave to threats from scum like this?
What happens? They demand more next time, then even more after that... Pathetic.
I spoke first.
“How about we say you two hunted all this? I’m not really gunning for promotion anyway. Just wanted to help Wonderland out.”
Pat and Matt exchanged glances.
Then they grinned and turned to me in unison, slinging their arms over my shoulders as a bonus.
“Hahaha. What’s your name, kid? You’re sharp as hell.”
“Florian.”
“Florian? Man, you’ll go far in this world. I like you. Come with us.”
Promotion-obsessed maniacs. Money-grubbing fools. Rabbit-chest fiends... At this rate, I’d pull Trivi’s trigger before even reaching Cheshire Cat.
“You senior guys are so kind. Let me throw in something extra.”
I handed the Trivi I’d been holding to Matt. He stared at it blankly for a long moment.
“...What’s this?”
“Witch’s Curse. Lady Ellis’s token of appreciation. Use it yourselves or offer it to Cheshire Cat.”
The two nodded eagerly, delighted.
“Tell Ellis thanks.”
“Tell her yourself.”
I pointed to Ellis, who’d been standing silently beside me. Their heads tilted in unison.
“......?”
“This is Ellis?”
She was covered in slime goo and barefoot—honestly, not easy to recognize.
Her hair was clumped, and even her rabbit ears drooped under the weight of the slime.
“Yep. This is Lady of Revelry Ellis.”
I nodded confirmation.
“Huh. No kidding. Had no clue.”
“Me neither. Thought she was just some busty maid with a big ass.”
“......”
Ellis glared at me, fists trembling. Her eyes screamed, ‘Master, please kill these guys for me.’
If you’re pissed, handle it yourself.
I mouthed back.
Training my fake fiancée’s autonomy—truly, I was an exemplary master.
“Anyway... this is really the Witch’s Curse!”
“No doubt! It’s Ermethylene!”
Pat and Matt’s eyes bulged wider than ever upon confirming the Witch’s Curse. Their grins stretched ear to ear.
Click! Click!
Pat tested the trigger experimentally—of course, nothing happened. Matt asked from the side.
“What’s up? Safety on?”
“Nah. Won’t even fire.”
“What’re you talking about?”
Matt snatched Trivi and pulled the trigger.
Predictably, no dice. It wouldn’t respond to mana from trash like them.
Despite failing to fire, they just laughed happily.
“Guess it doesn’t work on average mana, huh? The Witch’s Curse lives up to the name!”
“Yeah, this thing’s the real deal.”
Beaming, they turned back to us.
“Hey! With this much haul, no one’ll steal credit. Come to our place. We were gonna have a feast tonight anyway.”
“Sounds good.”
Pat’s gaze shifted to Ellis.
“Hey, you. Ever done any entertaining?”
“...Me?”
Ellis pointed at herself with one finger.
Even as a newbie, Ellis had been a territory lord in her own right. She’d received hospitality, never given it.
So she shook her head. But Pat and Matt leered slyly.
“Perfect. We like ‘em inexperienced. Both of you, follow us.”
Pat and Matt led the way, with Ellis and me trailing behind.
Ellis paused in bewilderment for a second, then sidled up and whispered.
“Um, Master! What’s the plan from here...?”
“Same as always.”
Crooks who handle dirty, illegal money have one trait: no matter where they crash, their digs are always top-notch.
These guys were no exception.
The mountain lodge at the territory’s edge looked impressive despite its location. Probably Sea Turtle’s handiwork.
Thanks to that, we got decent accommodations. Good or bad, who knew.
In any case, Ellis and I finally had a moment alone.
Unfortunately, no proper bath, so I was wiping her down with a wet cloth.
“Ughhhmmph...”
Ellis made weird noises as I rubbed her face.
“Ellis.”
“Eh.”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Pwease be gentwe...”
Wiping her face was easy. Low-grade slime goo wasn’t hard to clean.
“Um, Master.”
Ellis stared at me intently out of nowhere.
“What.”
“The Witch’s Curse. Was it okay to just hand it over like that?”
“They couldn’t fire it anyway. I’ll get it back later.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer in your hands, Master?”
“I’d have shot them already if it was. Wouldn’t have made it this far undercover.”
“Ah.”
She nodded right away. I handed her a fresh wet cloth.
“Wipe the rest yourself.”
A invisible question mark floated over her head. She blinked at me wide-eyed.
“...How am I supposed to do that?”
“What’s so hard? You defective?”
“No, even normal people struggle to reach their backs. How do I wipe mine?”
“Then don’t.”
“Maaaster... This is torture. So sticky and gross... I’m gonna hurl...”
“Sigh.”
I wanted to drill a hole in her head, but alas, Trivi wasn’t with me.
I turned her back to me and unzipped the bunny girl outfit. Her pristine white skin emerged.
Now that I noticed, always in that outfit, her inner skin was strikingly pale. I’d thought her exposed skin was white enough—turns out there was whiter.
“Hurry... Hurry up...”
Ellis tugged the outfit all the way down.
I could only see her back, but knowing her upper body was bare was distracting enough.
Plus, her massive breasts made them peek out from the sides of her back.
Slimy goo over elegant curves. I took a deep breath for no reason.
“Make weird noises, and we’re done.”
“Of course not.”
Her crisp reply earned some trust.
The moment the warm wet cloth touched her soft skin...
“Heh, heung...?! Maaaster?!”
Splat—!
“Out.”
I chucked the cloth at the back of her head.
Knock knock—
Just as Ellis finished... recomposing herself(?), someone knocked.
“Hey! Get out here! It’s starting!”
Ellis and I exchanged looks.
“Shall we?”
“Yessir.”
How should I mess with these guys? I was already thrilled.