Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: First Experience - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dealing with Blackjack is a bit tricky, and the reason is incredibly simple.
They have a certain bond among themselves. Of course, it's not because they love or respect each other... nothing heartwarming like that.
Loyalty to Elfriede. That's the one thing that sets them apart from Wonderland.
Which makes them tricky to handle.
If one of Blackjack's underlings gets taken out, it's a direct loss of fighting strength for Elfriede, so they come charging in ready to kill. Even if their limbs get hacked off, they'll try to bite the enemy just to fight back.
But how many underlings could there possibly be who are truly loyal to Cherno—a woman stuffed to the brim with money but utterly powerless?
"I respect guys who are into middle-aged women. If there's anyone here who's been secretly pining for Cherno and just dying to get revenge on me for her sake, come at me now."
Not a single one stepped up. They all just hemmed and hawed, eyeing each other warily, but none dared to make a move.
Rough actions always lead to hunger.
I scanned the array of gourmet dishes on the table. But something felt off, so I decided to stick to water.
A glass of ice-cold water. Then I eyed the guys standing there blankly.
One of them caught my attention—the one who'd carried me here on his back, the one who'd treated me with such insolence.
"What's your name?"
"Brand..."
"That's it?"
"Brand... sir."
"Yeah, yeah."
I nodded in satisfaction. I poured another glass of ice water and opened my mouth.
"Alright, Brand. You said you'd hold back earlier. Why are you still holding back? Huh? Do whatever you want."
"I was short-sighted."
"Short-sighted gets you killed. That's how this world works. I'll have another glass of water and then kill you all."
A cornered rat will bite a cat.
At the word "kill," the underlings subtly slipped their hands into their robes.
They were gearing up for a last-ditch struggle, it seemed.
Bam—!
I slammed the hammer in my left hand down on the table with all my strength. Food went flying into the air like feathers.
Bang! Bang! Bbang!
I fired Trivi from my right hand, not missing a single piece.
The food shattered mid-air from the bullets.
That marksmanship, allowing no margin for error, was more than enough to freeze the underlings solid again.
In that heavy, ice-water atmosphere, Brand broke the silence.
"Is there no way we can survive? Like swearing loyalty to you from now on, Lord Florian?"
"I just saw firsthand how loyal you are to Cherno. That's never gonna happen. Your loyalty isn't worth a single tuft of fur from Ellis."
"Then at least tell us what you want. From our position, if we're gonna die anyway, it's only natural we'd think about running for it."
"What I want..."
The guy had a pretty smooth way with words. But that's exactly why he got pruned.
Bang!
Trivi's bullet pierced his forehead. The underlings beside him stared at the falling Brand in shock.
My gaze naturally shifted to the one next to him.
This was the guy who'd glared at me earlier, veins bulging on his forehead.
"What's your name?"
"Dex, sir."
Dex answered, sweat pouring down his face.
"Right, Dex. What I want isn't that hard. Basic manners. You think you're in a position to negotiate with me right now?"
"No, sir."
"Why'd Brand die?"
"Brand was short-sighted. And he couldn't even keep basic manners."
"Exactly."
I nodded, recalling memories of Cherno.
All the stories I'd heard about her in my past life—there had to be something useful among them...
'Treasure.'
A woman who indulged in luxury and pleasure would surely have a treasure or two.
"Hand over every treasure Cherno owned. Wait, no. That'd take time, so just tell me what you know first."
"Hmm..."
Dex pondered deeply. With his life on the line, he was dead serious.
"First off, Duchess Cherno doesn't own the Witch's Curse."
"Yeah, that figures. Not with her magic skills being this pathetic."
"Aside from gold coins, nothing special... Just a few local specialties, as far as I know. The rest probably won't interest you."
"Like what?"
"Edible human slaves."
"Release them right now."
"Yes, sir."
Dex nodded to two underlings nearby, who bolted into the mansion like arrows.
Dex seemed pretty good at social navigation.
"Looks like you've got some street smarts, Dex."
"I hear that a lot."
"Come to think of it, why didn't you jump in while I was killing Cherno?"
"I figured I'd lose."
"Damn, you really are sharp. I'll let you live."
I didn't want to kill a guy who was quick on the uptake and socially adept.
Manpower is manpower. He could be useful until I fully absorbed Cherno's assets.
"...Thank you."
He looked uneasy about surviving alone, but Dex bowed his head anyway.
As we talked, crates of local specialties piled up in the garden by the table.
One caught my eye, so I pointed at it with my index finger.
"What's that?"
"Dog vine incense. Makes beastkin go into heat... Yeah, should I toss it?"
"Nah. Keep it."
Might come in handy someday.
"Cheshire, these supplies belong to Elbalom now. You're in charge of managing them."
"Got it, meow!"
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Now, all that was left was to wipe out the rest of the crew, and the plan for today would be done. I was about to stand up when...
"Lord Florian!"
Dex shouted and prostrated himself flat.
So flat that it rivaled how Ellis had groveled back then, at least.
"I dare to make one request!"
"What?"
"Please spare my comrades too! I can't just save myself!"
"Then you'll die too?"
"Better that than this!"
Look at this guy. I didn't know if it was his razor-sharp instincts driving him, but he was rare talent—not something you saw every day in Wonderland.
But even so, sparing them was tough.
"Your loyalty's too low."
"Truth is, we were uneasy about Duchess Cherno's cannibalism too! That's why!"
"And you're likely to betray again. Just look at you now, latching onto the winner? Who knows where you'll jump next."
"Then... how about this!"
Dex pulled a dagger from his bosom and kicked the ground with mana-reinforced legs. Cheshire's eyes went wide.
"Fl-Florian! Danger, meow!"
"Nah."
I answered calmly. Dex wasn't lunging at me.
Crunch—!
Dex's dagger plunged into Duchess Cherno's corpse.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
He stabbed the body over and over. Then, wiping sweat from his brow, he yelled.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and do the same!"
His comrades rushed over in a panic and followed suit.
Once the duchess's body was hacked beyond recognition, Dex spoke again.
"Believe us now? We betrayed her of our own volition."
"Hmm."
"This dooms us to be hunted by Wonderland forever, and we have no choice but to serve you for life. Please trust us."
I could feel his resolve. But still...
"Don't need you."
I shook my head firmly. Their eyes bulged.
"Even after this... no?"
"Yeah, obviously not. You have to do what I tell you. What good is this stunt? If you're hunted by Wonderland, I should take you in by default?"
"......"
Dex clamped his mouth shut. I stood, hands on hips, and spoke.
"But it's not like there's zero way for you to live. I'll test your ideology once. If I like it, I'll give you a chance to swear loyalty."
"Ideology test... How?"
"Repeat after me."
"Yes, sir."
"Elfriede."
Silence fell instantly at the name. I fired three rounds from Trivi into the air to shatter it.
"You idiots have the most ridiculous mindset. Scared of an invisible Elfriede but not the guy with the gun? Fine. You're all dead."
They all started mumbling frantically.
-El...
-Elfr...
-Elfriede...
"Can't even pronounce it right? No room for you in my organization. Guess we'll just kill you."
-Elfriede!
-Elfriede!
Finally, their pronunciation cleared up. I nodded in satisfaction.
"Son of a bitch."
Elfriede's ears must've been itching today. For real.
Finishing a mission cleanly and heading back is always satisfying.
I walked the corridors of the Wonder Pentanil Mansion, organizing what had just happened.
-Boss! Cherno's dead, so Balrog's gonna flip out soon, meow. She had the biggest trade volume with him...
-Balrog might charge in any second... Y-You gotta fill up that stigma, meow!
Just as Cheshire had warned.
Now I'd be facing Balrog, one of Dnia's knights—the Spade Knight. So yeah, I needed to top off that stigma.
I cleared my throat a couple times and entered Ellis's room.
She was asleep like a baby bunny, clutching a giant rabbit doll tight.
"Mmmnya... Tohihi~ Ah, ahn... Maaasterrrr~"
Drooling and grinning in her sleep gave me chills for some reason. I smacked her butt to wake her.
"To-tohihit?!"
Ellis bolted upright, grabbing her wand but stopping once she saw it was me.
She let out a deep sigh of relief.
"Master... Even rabbits don't touch sleeping ones..."
"What do I look like to you?"
"Actually, I wasn't sleeping. I was meditating. So it's natural for someone to touch me? No, wait, that's not right."
Before I knew it, Ellis was kneeling demurely on the bed.
The silence stretched, and she grew anxious, asking again.
"Um... Master, so what brings you here...? Why smack my butt and get my hopes up..."
"Take your clothes off."
"You're not here to say you've dug a burrow and since it's a rabbit hole, go live there from today, right? I just had a huge fight with the turtle over that earli— Huh? What?"
"Take your clothes off."
"Pardon? Wait, huh? Okay?"
Ellis froze for about three seconds.
"Ah, yes. Of course."
She started undressing fumblingly.
It was a rather sudden first experience.