Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Slurp
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“Wait a moment, Adel.”
“Yes, Uncle Beru.”
Uncle Beru had something to show me, apparently. He told me to wait and hurried out of the conference room.
Left alone, I stared at the map spread out on the table, lost in thought.
“Hmm…”
The map was…
A rough sketch of Alpharts’ base, hand-drawn by the twin sisters, Aira and Seira.
“Impressive…”
I studied the map for a while before letting out a quiet sigh of admiration.
Its quality was beyond anything I’d expect from children.
“…”
The terrain’s contours, the layout of the buildings.
Even the patrol routes of the guards watching the perimeter—all marked in meticulous detail.
And… as I murmured in admiration…
“Impressive?”
“Super impressive…!”
…I subtly lowered my head.
Right beside me, plastered to the floor, were the two twins.
Seira, with her white hair and red eyes, and Aira, with black hair and the same red eyes…
They were staring up at my face from both sides.
“That wasn’t just any map!”
“That was an amazing map!”
The twins chimed in perfect sync, messing with my head.
I sighed, placed the map back on the table, and rubbed my forehead.
“You two… why are you still here?”
“The boss said to wait!”
“Ordered to stand by here!”
“…Right. I did say to wait.”
Though I don’t remember saying ‘here’ specifically…
I muttered under my breath and shook my head.
Then I turned my gaze back to the map.
“…What are these red dots?”
Red dots were marked at regular intervals on the map.
I pointed to a few with my finger and asked the twins.
“Oh, this!”
“That’s right!”
The two shouted energetically before suddenly clamping their mouths shut.
Drag…
Then the twins dragged over a large whiteboard from the corner of the conference room and popped open a marker with a click.
Scribble-scribble-scribble—
With deft hand movements, they drew a picture, and the result was…
“…A dog?”
A simple line drawing in red marker, exuding a ferocious vibe…
A snarling dog baring its teeth.
“Magic beast present!”
“Fierce pet exists!”
I blinked at the drawing for a long moment…
Then stroked my chin and muttered.
“…They keep a magic beast as a pet at home?”
Even in the gray zone, even among people who weren’t exactly normal…
What kind of insane idea was this?
“Wow…”
Alpharts… maybe he was actually something special.
Keeping a magic beast like a pet could just mean he was deranged, or it could be proof of something extraordinary.
Plus…
Feeding that magic beast meant starting every day risking becoming its meal, right?
“Epic.”
“Totally epic.”
“For realz.”
The twins, thrilled, clapped in unison and dashed back to the whiteboard.
Pop.
The sound of the marker cap opening.
Scribble-scribble-scribble—
The drawing was still crude, but the emotion packed into it was intense.
The twins drew stars over the fierce dog (= magic beast) from before.
Stars in every color floated around the dog’s raised head.
“We need to get a pet too, it seems.”
“For realz.”
“…”
I clamped my mouth shut and stared blankly at the twins for a while.
They stared back at me with equally blank faces, as if expecting me to say something.
“What.”
“…Nothing.”
Just then, the conference room door creaked open, and Uncle Beru made a perfectly timed entrance.
He held a few sheets of paper in his hand.
“Take a look, Adel.”
“What’s this?”
“Rumors surrounding Alpharts. I compiled the most credible ones from what I found.”
I started flipping through the papers Uncle Beru handed me, one by one.
First page.
“Countバイスel dodges crises with uncanny luck…”
That was the gist.
Alpharts supposedly had incredibly sharp senses, escaping even hair-trigger situations by a step.
“…Nah, this doesn’t check out.”
I shook my head.
If he had senses that sharp, he wouldn’t have been humiliated at the banquet hall in the first place.
The guy who couldn’t even handle having his last scraps of dignity shredded in front of all those nobles.
“Tch… next.”
“…”
“Sector 1 has magic beasts prowling…”
This one was believable enough to nod at.
The gray zone was divided into four sectors—east, west, south, north—and Alpharts’ place was in the east… Sector 1.
And according to the twins’ map…
“This seems true. They keep a magic beast at home, after all.”
“Exactly.”
And…
The problem was on the next page.
I turned to the last sheet and froze mid-read.
“But…”
“…”
“What I’m really curious about… why is this here?”
“Ahem.”
“Alpharts’ third leg is over 30 cm…”
“Look, there were so many rumors from Sector 1…”
“It’s just bullshit.”
“…Probably spread by Alpharts’ underlings.”
“Urban legend.”
I sighed and folded the paper in half.
Then, slowly… without a shred of regret.
Rip—
I tore it neatly.
“Guess I’ll head out now.”
“…Yeah.”
Right before stepping out of the conference room…
A sudden question made me stop.
I turned back to face Uncle Beru.
“By the way… what’s this about us wearing masks?”
“Oh, that.”
Uncle Beru rummaged in his pocket without a word and pulled out a white mask.
“Hmm… this mask is our mascot… or trademark, you could say.”
“Ah… okay.”
“For you, Adel, the mask is another symbol of yours.”
“Yeeeah…”
…Even though I personally found the mask utterly repulsive.
***
“Damn…”
Eeeee—
A piercing ring tore through Alpharts’ mind.
“It’s happening again…”
Alpharts gritted his teeth and clutched his forehead.
With every throb of his heart, the ringing in his ears grew more ominous.
…He’d always had good instincts.
No one could match his knack for sensing danger.
That’s how he’d survived countless perils, how he was still breathing in this position.
But…
“Why…”
Now those instincts failed to save him.
The ominous noise that started at the banquet hadn’t stopped yet.
“Are you alright, Sir Alpharts?”
“…Fine.”
He wasn’t.
But he had to say he was.
Otherwise, he’d collapse.
He had to find the ‘next.’
He had to create the ‘next.’
Or else… there’d be nothing left.
“How’s the funding?”
“All secured.”
“Good… well done.”
At that response.
Eeeeeeee—!!
“Guh…”
Alpharts clamped his ears with both hands.
The ringing went berserk.
A chalkboard-scraping, utterly repulsive noise shredded his brain.
“Ah, Sir Alpharts?!”
“Are you okay…!”
His underlings rushed to him in panic.
But…
“H-Huh…?”
No scream, no death rattle…
One person vanished abruptly.
“W-What….”
“Hey, Mirk… what’s going on.”
“Ah, Sir Alpharts…!”
One underling, Mirk, drew his sword.
Gripping the hilt with trembling fingers… he scanned around frantically.
But… nothing was visible.
Mirk could feel something there.
But it was invisible.
“H-Hey… show yourself, you bastard…!!”
Mirk’s voice grew unsteady as he yelled into empty air.
Then.
“G-Gaaaah—!”
“Marcel…!?”
A scream from the other side.
Mirk’s eyes bulged, but nothing was there.
Just two left.
Him and Alpharts.
“Mirk, what the hell…”
“Sir Alpharts…!”
But Mirk—
Vanished.
“What…”
Alpharts looked around.
But… all he saw was pitch-black darkness.
Nothing visible.
The world enclosing him had completely flipped.
Only then did Alpharts realize.
That something… had him perfectly surrounded.
And at that moment—
“Boo.”
“……!!”
Alpharts jolted in shock and whipped his head around reflexively.
At the end of his gaze… a shadow he hadn’t noticed looming.
…Through the gaps in the shadow, golden eyes gleamed coldly, meeting his.
“Who are you…!!”
Terror-stricken, Alpharts instinctively threw a punch.
Less an intent to strike, more a primal flail.
But—
Squelch!
“Guh…!”
Black, viscous liquid rising to his knees grabbed his legs.
A sticky sensation.
Neither mud nor water… it took the form of an abyss.
“D-Damn…”
Then.
Swish…
“……!!”
A cold touch creeping up his nape.
Something approaching to pierce his throat…
“W-Wait…”
“Hm?”
Alpharts raised his voice desperately and looked up.
And…
“Ah…….”
Eeeee—
He wanted to cover his ears, but his body wouldn’t obey.
“…”
The ringing sensed danger.
And… Alpharts beheld the source of that danger.
“Why.”
It was right in front of him.
A silhouette so blended with darkness its form was indistinct.
Yet…
Those golden eyes shining within were all too vivid.
Terror. Monster?
…No.
Just words within human comprehension.
“Calamity…….”
Alpharts whispered through trembling lips.
Yes.
The thing before him…
Was despair incarnate.
“Grrrr…!!”
Alpharts summoned every ounce of strength to stand and bolted away in panic.
***
“Ah. He ran.”
I tilted my head and watched the direction Alpharts fled.
I’d just… met his eyes.
Didn’t do anything special, didn’t touch him.
Literally just ‘boo’ and appeared before him…
Yet Alpharts fled like he’d seen a monster.
“Sigh…”
I sighed and tossed the damp twig in my hand to the ground.
And at the same time…
Squirm—
The black, sticky something rippled.
The abyss that had spread around me until moments ago.
I slowly retracted it.
And from within that darkness—
Ptoo.
Those swallowed by the abyss were spat out one by one, sprawling on the floor.
Soaked to the skin.
Limply unconscious, they looked as good as dead.
“…Still alive?”
Smack-smack.
I slapped their cheeks once each.
“Grrrk…”
Their bodies convulsed at the slaps.
Good… they hadn’t died.
“Hmm…”
Just as I thought things were settling…
- Grrrrowl!
“…!”
Whoosh!
I swiftly wrapped mana threads around myself and leaped back.
Right after…
Boom!
A massive shadow barreled past me.
The impact made the ground quake.
“Jeez… that scared me.”
A beast mixed with fur and scales.
It was… a magic beast.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue and raised my hand.
Swish…
【Red Thread】 coiling around my wrist and fluttering.
Fate lifted its head toward me, and the entity beyond that fate answered my call.
And simultaneously…
────!!
The blue magic beast lost its form.
Torn to shreds on the spot without even a death cry.
“Oh…”
I glanced at the cleanly butchered meat chunks, then slowly turned my head.
Toward the one who’d made them.
“Ah, Neru. There’s another one that ran off over there, want to—”
But.
Before I could finish.
Splat—!
A cat pounced on me, and I flopped flat on the ground.
I blinked up…
At a cat glaring silently down at me.
“…Slurp.”
“……Slurp?”
Neru, straddling my chest, stared wordlessly and licked her lips.
“Churu?”
“…Slurp.”
“…Huh?”
For a while, Neru and I exchanged what seemed like meaningless sounds.
But it wasn’t meaningless.
Neru, starved and reverted to instinct…
Was gradually regaining her speech.
“Want some churu?”
“…Slurp.”
“Churu?”
“………Churu.”
Finally, I was certain.
Not ‘slurp,’ but ‘churu.’
That was the answer.