Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Squirrel's Tears (1)
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Lulu just moved her lips before biting them hard.
A few more minutes passed in silence before she finally spoke again.
"Ha… So you knew…."
Lulu let out a deep sigh and scratched her head vigorously.
Her small hands worked furiously.
"As a gatekeeper, all sorts of information comes your way often."
"I was hoping you didn't know… Well, I guess it was impossible not to."
Then, with the click-clack of her heels, she walked right up to the desk.
"What do you want?"
Lulu slammed her tiny hand down on the desk.
It would be intimidating for a normal person, but with her small stature, it posed no threat at all.
It looked just like a child imitating an adult—cute, first and foremost.
In fact, her ample breasts shaking from the impact seemed far more intimidating.
"I just want to clock out like this."
I only needed to start the quest, and I was done.
I wanted to block them here, hurry home, flop down, and sleep.
"Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes."
"But… why?"
"You said you'd feed me just for talking."
She probably took it to mean accepting a bribe.
But right now, I had no need for whatever bribe she was offering.
Lulu really would provide enough to live on, steadily.
But even if I took it, it wouldn't last long with the guild—and without shedding my slave status, my identity would come out soon enough.
"Just kidding."
"Oh, then…."
"But I can't make exceptions to the rules. Please leave."
Lulu stood there blankly at my answer.
It must have been unexpected.
How many people would turn down a lifetime of support from the empire's second-ranked merchant guild, Fleta?
But… as someone who'd played the game, I knew.
I'd tried the bribe route before.
The maximum you could negotiate for was a measly 200,000 gold at best.
Even that—if you took just 100,000—the guild would collapse midway.
Truth be told, 100,000 gold wasn't insignificant.
For commoners, it was enough to live on for life.
But freeing a slave required a fortune of 1 million gold.
A hopelessly short amount.
In the end, when you weighed it out, the quest was far more efficient.
"Pl… Please, just this once, and I'll make sure you live worry-free for real."
"Sorry."
"How much? 100,000 gold? I'll even build you a house wherever you want."
Lulu leaned her face closer and closer to mine.
We glared at each other like in an eye-staring contest, our faces just a hand's width apart.
A slight lean forward, and our lips would touch.
Acorn-colored eyes and cheeks like soft rice cakes—that I'd rubbed in my hands—right before me.
Her face gave off a sweet acorn scent, or at least that's how it felt.
"……."
"……."
We stared at each other for a long while, until Lulu's eyes began to waver bit by bit.
Her face felt like it was flushing redder by the second.
Finally… Lulu jerked her head back.
"Ah, fine. 10… 150,000 gold. This caravan trip is important to me."
Lulu waved her hand as if admitting defeat.
She even smiled good-naturedly.
Like, this should be plenty, right?
"Hmm… You know what happens if someone hides their identity during inspection, Lulu?"
"That's why I'm…."
"In times like these, especially a beastkin hiding theirs… it wouldn't end as just a regular crime, would it?"
"……."
Lulu froze upon hearing my words.
The wanted poster… I'd definitely shown it to her.
She couldn't possibly be unaware of the empire's current state.
Her confident expression from moments ago had vanished; her face turned icy cold.
"Ha… Fine. 200,000… no more."
Lulu narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
Like, don't push your luck.
This far, it matched the game exactly.
In the game, if you pressed harder here, she'd snap and charge at you.
This was the last point where negotiation was possible.
From her perspective, this was the limit too.
"Sorry. I can't take bribes. We're neighbors, after all—I don't want to arrest you as a felon either. Please leave. I'll head out now too."
Yeah, negotiations had broken down.
The quest was more important.
Lulu glared at me with furious axe eyes.
Her hands gripped the hem of her dress, trembling violently.
She seemed seriously pissed.
In the game, she'd throw a full tantrum here and charge at me.
Then get dragged out by the soldiers.
That would trigger Lulu's quest.
So I'd head home in a good mood, start the quest… and Lulu would dodge the random event coming up later.
One stone, three birds.
Lulu kept glaring at me with venomous eyes.
Her body trembled even harder than before.
'She should charge any second now….'
Knowing she would, I tensed up and waited.
I just had to take a few hits.
Her cute little cotton-swab punches wouldn't even sting.
But her reaction differed from my expectations.
- Knock… knock….
"Huh?"
"Why…! Why when I'm offering this much!!!"
Tears like jade beads rolled down Lulu's cheeks.
She screamed out her frustration.
Wait… this wasn't in the script…?
"Even 200,000 gold isn't enough…? What, should I hand over the guild too?"
"No, that's…."
Lulu's emotions boiled over more and more.
Her tears fell drop by drop before turning into steady streams.
"Ah, I must have no talent as a merchant…. Can't even negotiate right, just crying my eyes out, plans falling apart, can't even find the way, always getting robbed…."
Endless self-loathing.
Lulu's legs gave way, and she plopped down onto the floor.
The streams on her cheeks grew thicker.
Why was she suddenly like this?
This was supposed to be the anger point….
"Everyone… hates only me. Waaah… Everyone hates me. I don't wanna be guild leader."
Suddenly, she sat on the floor and burst into loud sobs, tears and snot pouring out.
It was a bit disorienting.
Lulu clutched her dress and bowed her head.
Wait, had I done something that awful?
In the game, she'd seemed like a shrewd, tough merchant woman.
Seeing her bawl like this made me feel genuinely sorry.
Either way, I had to stop her….
Lulu's quest clear condition was to make her the guild leader.
If she gave up like this, it'd be a problem.
"Um…."
Lulu didn't seem to hear me, just wailing and sobbing on the floor.
Anyone passing by would think she'd lost someone close.
"Uh… um."
No helping it—I stood, walked over to Lulu, and squatted down to meet her eyes.
A tiny girl wiping away her flowing tears with small hands.
Crying like her life was over, no sign of stopping.
I gently placed a hand on Lulu's shoulder.
"Miss Lulu…?"
"Hic… sob, why…."
She sniffled nonstop, clearly feeling so wronged.
Was it really worth crying this hard? Then again, this might be one of the turning points in her life, so maybe.
I had no idea why she was acting this way all of a sudden.
"Maybe… could I ask what's so upsetting?"
So I threw a straight ball.
I had no clue what was making her this upset.
"You… asking 'cause you don't know? I… let you rub my cheeks…."
"Yes?"
"I… showed you my body too!"
"……."
"Isn't that enough?"
"Tha… um."
"I even offered money!"
"……."
Lulu helpfully laid out all the variable points I'd been wondering about.
I had no idea what they meant to her.
I'd never seen behavior like this while playing the game, not once.
Showing her body… I hadn't even asked for that.
I'd just planned a simple body search.
"Um… Miss Lulu? I don't quite get it—could you explain what that means?"
"……."
Lulu fell silent, as if she didn't want to say.
She just bit her lip.
"'Cause I look like a kid?"
"Yes?"
Kid? What was that about?
Her body was small, sure, but far from childlike.
Her proportions were basically a shrunken adult woman's.
Her assets were more than ample even by adult standards.
"I want what I want too… I wanna be guild leader too! Hosfil, Sis—why can't I take them? Tell me…."
Lulu curled up like a pillbug.
Somehow, the variable up top had shifted her emotions.
"Did I take something from you?"
"You… aren't from Sis's side? You knew my name, and showing up next door doesn't add up."
"No. I'm just a gatekeeper."
She must have mistaken me for a spy planted by her sister Lucy.
The circumstances made it easy to think that.
"Don't lie… I can tell just by looking into your eyes."
Lulu peeked up at me sideways.
Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying.
"… Really not Sis's person?"
"No…."
"Th-then… why next door…."
"That… I had business at the inn. Not as Sis's spy."
I answered by cleverly mixing in the truth.
I hadn't known if it was Lulu or Lucy at the time.
Lulu lifted her head a bit more, finally meeting my eyes fully.
Her sniffling face came into full view at last.
Tear tracks marked her cheeks from how hard she'd cried, and her nose tip was red like she'd been drinking.
"Really?"
"Yes."
But what did crying have to do with any of it?
"Th-then… why refuse?"
"Because it's my job."
"200,000 gold?"
"I don't need money separately."
Anything short of 1 million gold was pointless anyway.
"You gatekeepers… don't like money?"
"I do."
"Then why…."
"The job matters more right now."
"Then… women."
"Would any man hate women?"
Money was great in any amount.
But I couldn't take it right now.
Women… well, unless I was gay, of course I'd like them.
"Yeah…?"
Lulu staggered to her feet from the floor.
"Then… let's make a deal. I have to succeed on this caravan trip. If I do, I'll grant you one wish—anything. Money, a woman, whatever I can manage."
"……."
She lifted the hem of her dress to wipe her tears.
Her underwear peeked out briefly, but Lulu didn't seem to care.
This move from Lulu was a strong one.
A future guild leader's promise carried weight.
It meant she'd grant any wish, really.
Turning it down would bruise her pride badly.
It was practically putting up collateral.
But even so, I only had one choice.
Send her away.
"Sorry…."
I started to say sorry and send Lulu off the same way.
But then, it was like time stopped—everything around us froze.
A bizarre sensation.
But familiar. I'd felt it once before.
I blinked once, and a quest window appeared between Lulu and me.
A window I hadn't seen in ages… one I could never forget.
'Squirrel's Tears' Activated
⏰ Time Limit: 29:59
🎯 Objective: Lulu's Favorability to '50', Pleasure Level to '70'
📊 Temporary Status: Favorability (20), Pleasure (0)
🎁 Reward: Eyes of Lust
❌ Failure: Quest: Fleta Lulu Failed
『Accept / Decline』
A hidden quest after so long.
But… something felt way different from before?