104
Chapter 104
People say there is nothing harder than making someone else's money, but that is just nonsense spoken by those who know nothing.
'I really don't get why everyone is so slow in the head.'
Hans genuinely thought so.
If you throw away useless morals and act with just a little bit of brains, you can make money easily at any time.
You don't even need to look far; just looking at Hans now is proof enough.
An inn located right next to the Demonic Realm.
Simply by building this, Hans was able to accumulate wealth that would make anyone jealous.
This was truly an innovation in the world of pickpockets.
Just by setting up an inn, the targets walked right in on their own.
'Besides, most of the guys who come looking for me are big winners.'
The main visitors here are adventurers right before entering the Demonic Realm. In other words, golden goblins armed with expensive equipment.
The method of dealing with them was also simple.
Because Hans used to be quite a famous adventurer himself.
A poison extracted and mixed from monsters.
All he had to do was secretly slip it into their food, knock them out, and swipe their belongings.
'On top of that, I don't even have to worry about getting caught by the Empire.'
The Empire's law enforcement is certainly outstanding.
The Garrison captures even petty criminals with their full might.
Well, it's not because they are loyal or have great professional ethics.
It's simply out of greed for money.
Whether for alchemy or other purposes, there is always a demand for human body parts.
Selling off this and that naturally brings in cash. No matter what they do, the record will just state that the criminal suddenly fell ill and died in prison anyway.
That is why criminals fear the Empire's Guards.
They are the kind of bastards who will gladly pocket a bribe, and then meticulously harvest your organs on top of it.
The moment you are caught, death is guaranteed regardless of the severity of your crime.
But here, there is no need to fear them.
An adventurer who challenged the Demonic Realm didn't return?
That is just an everyday occurrence, isn't it?
Even if people disappear, everyone just assumes they lost their lives to some monster or Demon out there.
There is no chance of suspicious eyes turning toward Hans.
It was truly the perfect money-making method.
Zero risk, excellent income, and absolutely nothing missing.
Hans smiled pleasantly. The more he saw the gold coins piling up, the more he wanted to praise himself for coming up with this plan five years ago.
-Creak
The sound of a door opening reached him while he was drunk on his own success. However, a smile actually formed on Hans' lips.
How could he not welcome it when a sucker to be fleeced had just walked in?
Hans quickly assessed the state of his guests.
This was the secret to his survival so far. Letting your guard down was always a big no.
Because avoiding contact with untouchable powerhouses is the best policy.
And those three right before his eyes were....
Jackpot. Kids who have nothing but money.
They were the absolute perfect prey.
A white-haired boy and two girls.
He had released his mana just in case, but it was exactly as it looked.
He couldn't feel any trace of powerful mana.
The white-haired boy definitely had some mana, but it wasn't enough to resist the poison.
'Honestly, at this level, dying here would actually be a merciful death for them.'
The white-haired girl was one thing, but the black-haired girl holding a staff...
Her lack of skill was at an appalling level.
How could a Mage not have a single ounce of mana?
It was so ridiculous that for a moment, he even had the absurd thought of whether there were Mages who used something other than mana.
In the end, the only one with any combat ability was the white-haired boy.
The robes and equipment they were wearing looked premium at a glance, easily worth hundreds of gold.
It was like putting a pearl necklace on a pig.
But having such equipment was completely useless if they didn't have the skills to back it up.
They would probably die the moment they entered the Demonic Realm. If that was the case, dying from poison was a better way to go...
'This works out perfectly for you guys, and for me as well. Hehehe.'
Hans desperately held back his laughter as he welcomed the three youths.
"Do you happen to have a room for three?"
"Of course."
Without an ounce of suspicion, completely unaware of what was about to happen, they stepped into the inn.
"You must be exhausted from the trip here. I'll have your meals brought out right away."
Hans spoke in his most friendly tone.
At the mention of immediate food, they sat down to wait instead of heading up to the second floor.
It had been a while since his last jackpot.
It was hard to take his eyes off them, afraid that those precious golden goblins might run away.
But there was no real need to worry that much.
Hans wasn't an amateur.
An inn being completely empty would be too suspicious, so he had even gone as far as hiring Mercenaries to act as fake customers.
They were all Mercenaries who worked in the field.
Since they were people who made a living by the sword, they would probably just assume the kids were adventurers challenging the Demonic Realm as well.
There wasn't a single element that would raise any suspicion.
Hans leisurely hummed a tune as he began to cook.
He made sure not to forget his special sauce.
After filling the plates with food, he headed back to where they were sitting...
"You lied to me. You didn't say you had a companion."
"No, when heading to the Demonic Realm, you should bring as many allies as you can."
Just as expected.
They were completely oblivious, chatting idly as they waited for the food to be served.
Hans smiled warmly as he served the meals.
A delicious smell wafted through the air.
It looked like a feast that would make anyone's mouth water.
Naturally, the guy ate it without a single shred of suspicion.
"...Wow! This is really delicious! You have to try this!"
He exclaimed in admiration at the taste.
The white-haired girl even offered some food to the boy. The boy, in turn, ate it without a second thought.
Hans' face was painted with confusion.
Far from losing consciousness, they didn't even seem to feel an ounce of pain.
One of the Mercenaries glanced at Hans. His eyes asked if he had forgotten to put the poison in by mistake.
The Mercenary let out a deep sigh. They probably all knew by now that the kids over there were weak prey anyway.
It seemed he was going to step up and deal with them himself.
The man with the fierce face stood up from his seat.
And.......
Crunch, a sound echoed.
Where a human head had been just a moment ago, there was now nothing.
Only a black Beast remained.
It was a sudden turn of events.
Everyone was bound to be panicked, but the people gathered here were all Mercenaries.
Their response was swift.
They all quickly grabbed their weapons. It was an instinctive reaction forged by their experience as Mercenaries.
But those preparations proved entirely useless.
The Black Wolf devoured everything ravenously.
The humans were reduced to chunks of meat.
Right before his eyes, people were losing their human shapes.
3 seconds.
That was all the time it took to wipe out the Mercenaries present here.
Naturally, Hans' legs began to shake uncontrollably.
His complexion grew so pale it was indistinguishable from a corpse. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
And the white-haired boy approached the trembling Hans.
Wearing an incredibly friendly smile.
"Ah, please don't worry too much."
A bizarre sight that completely clashed with the blood-covered inn. Hans, terrified, tried to back away but failed.
Hans helplessly slumped down onto the floor.
"Our guys might be a bit ruthless, but they aren't bad kids. It's just because those guys picked a fight first; they usually don't harm just anyone."
Saying that, the white-haired boy reached out his hand as if to help him up.
Hearing those words, Hans clung to the hope that the man might still not fully grasp the current situation.
A crunching sound rang out.
An indescribable, horrific pain washed over him.
"My hand! My hand!!!"
They had merely clasped hands. That alone was enough to grotesquely twist and crush Hans' hand.
"I'm sorry! It was an accident...."
The man offered an apology like that, but...
Hans wasn't an idiot.
He wasn't stupid enough to think someone could do something like that by accident.
...That was all an act.
That bewildered expression, that apologetic face—all of it was a fabricated emotion, nothing more than a lie.
The reason he was doing this was obvious.
To mock him.
That man had figured everything out from the start and was simply toying with him.
However, even if he realized that, there was no way he could resist.
Resisting a monster who could kill a man with a mere handshake—how was that any different from suicide?
...In the end, there was only one solution left.
*****
There is a limit to how unlucky one can be.
Naturally, my head started to spin.
Ciel had used excessive force against the one trying to attack me. And on top of that, I had failed to control my strength again.
We had caused every imaginable scene in this inn.
How on earth was I supposed to compensate for this? I clutched my forehead at my ever-growing worries.
...But then, something strange happened.
Thud, thud, thud. The sounds echoed one after another.
The innkeeper was slamming his head against the floor right in front of me.
The guy was shedding tears as he confessed.
The scheme he had been plotting.
So... it seemed this man had actually tried to poison us.
I was wondering why the food had such a sharp, bitter taste. It turned out to be poison.
'What kind of ridiculous bullshit is this?'
A disaster had struck before we even entered the Demonic Realm. We hadn't even properly started yet, and it was already like this.
I was letting out a deep sigh over this sudden misfortune when...
"P-Please spare my life! I'll do anything if you just let me live! I'll give you everything I have! So please..."
The guy rambled on as he brought out all sorts of things.
...Artifacts.
Each and every one of them was a priceless treasure.
Items that could even be used to repair the Holy Sword.
Roughly counting them, there seemed to be at least six.
There were even five rare Elixirs that were incredibly hard to obtain.
My worries vanished in an instant. This was more than enough to pay for his life.
I decided to just make him swear a Mana Oath to never do something like this again and let him go. With that in mind, I reached out to pick up the Artifacts he had placed before him.
But right then, a terrified gasp rang out.
Perhaps he misunderstood and thought I was trying to harm him.
With a face as pale as a corpse, he desperately cried out.
"Y-You came here to explore the Demonic Realm, right? I can guide you! If you don't believe me, I can even swear a Mana Oath!"
He said he had frequently gone in and out of the Demonic Realm to gather ingredients for his poison. He promised to guide us anywhere if we just spared his life.
A natural smile formed on my lips.
So it seemed...
What had come to me wasn't misfortune, but rather good fortune.