Chapter 62: To the 3rd Layer (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 62: To the 3rd Layer (3)
Beast-kin make up over 30% of the total population, but they are composed of a wide variety of races.
Among them, the most numerous or socially influential are the Cat-folk, the Ronin Tribe, and the Dragonfolk.
For the record, my master is also from the Ronin Tribe.
In any case, if there was a race as famous as those three, it would be the Rabbit-kin.
As a single race, they account for thirty percent of the entire beast-kin population. Need I say more?
The secret to their numbers was their vigorous libido and a gestation period that was much faster than other races.
I heard it only takes eight months from fertilization and implantation to birth.
Because of this, I know many men see Rabbit-kin women as easy targets and approach them as such. I remember seeing quite a few guys like that back in high school.
But just because they have a high sex drive doesn't mean they're omnivorous.
In fact, they tend to be quite hostile toward men who see them as easy, making them one of the races you have to be most careful with on the first approach.
Though, I suppose they’re not as hostile as those with strong homosexual tendencies.
“A bunny girl?”
I looked the Rabbit-kin woman up and down as she appeared, tearing through the air.
With her bunny girl outfit, blue eyes, and long twintails, she didn't seem like an ordinary woman.
Objectively speaking, based on her looks and figure alone, she was certainly attractive, but everything else about her felt unsettling.
I had a strong feeling I didn't want to get close to her.
However, as I said, her looks and figure were objectively, ridiculously attractive.
True to the bunny girl costume, her large breasts were on full display, complemented by a stunningly prominent pelvis, thigh lines, and an ass that looked ready to burst.
It wasn't an outfit a man could easily look away from.
Even when I tried not to, I couldn't help but steal glances, any more than I could stop myself from swallowing my own spit.
“Ah-ha? Customer, I'm sorry, but my body is not the reward.”
The bunny girl's eyes curved into a smile.
Beneath that smile, a strange excitement seemed to flicker in her gaze.
Was I imagining it?
“Aren't you being a little too obvious with your disappointment?”
“I'm not.”
At my firm tone, the bunny girl let out a soft, sultry moan as if disappointed.
Just like a Rabbit-kin. Was she already in heat?
“Anyway, you're the reward? What does that mean?”
“It's just as it sounds.”
“...You just said you weren't.”
My gaze swept over the bunny girl's chest, pelvis, ass, and finally, her thighs.
How many men in the world could think straight when a woman with a body and outfit like that claimed to be their reward?
“Customer! A gentleman does not seek a woman's value solely in her physical aspects!”
The bunny girl made an 'X' with her hands while making a beeping sound with her mouth.
Her exaggerated gestures, reactions, and every word and action overflowed with playfulness.
Because of that, I had no idea what she was actually thinking.
“Then what can you do for me?”
“Anything you desire, customer!”
“...”
She's dressed like a prostitute, says she'll do anything I want, but claims it won't be physical?
It was the very definition of a contradiction.
“Your gaze is so blatant!”
“...Whatever.”
Of course, I couldn't deny the fact that she had an undeniably attractive face and body.
“You're from the Another World Dating App, aren't you?”
But I already had Iris and Cheon Yeo-hwa as lovers, and I'd slept with Choi Hyena several times.
There was no need for me to be blinded by a woman and miss a valuable opportunity.
“Who knows?”
A smile played on the bunny girl's lips.
Was that a no-comment?
“What if I ask you to tell me about the app as my reward?”
“...”
The bunny girl's expression hardened in an instant.
“Customer.”
Her voice, a complete 180 from before, filled the space with a chilling coldness.
This wasn't just a change in tone.
My instincts were screaming at me.
“In stories, there's something called a MacGuffin. It motivates the plot, but never actually appears.”
This is not the time to run my mouth.
Goosebumps erupted all over my body, and cold sweat trickled down my spine.
“A reader who cluelessly tries to dig into the MacGuffin is not looked upon kindly by the author.”
“...So, you'll kill me if I dig any deeper?”
But I couldn't just bury this issue forever.
On the contrary, I didn't know when an opportunity like this would come again, so I decided to take another step on this precarious tightrope.
At my decision, the smile vanished from the bunny girl's lips.
“If necessary, yes.”
Our eyes met across the subtle distance, just within arm's reach.
Just as I thought I could feel a faint killing intent from behind her icy gaze, a distinct blue energy formed at her fingertips.
It was weaker than my master's, but it was unmistakably Hand Aura.
It was the exclusive domain of masters, an energy that even my strongest barrier couldn't block. Just as that aura was about to lash out at me...
“Customer, you should use your mouth a little more wisely... Kyaaaaaaaaaaahk?!”
CRACK!
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky.
It obviously wasn't my lightning.
It was literally a bolt from a clear sky... no, a bolt from a clear ceiling.
It wasn't a trap; I had stepped on that same spot earlier.
And it couldn't be a monster attack either. A scan for magic power revealed not a single monster nearby.
“Kgh, ugh...”
Vrrr- Vrrr-
Just as I thought the bunny girl had been knocked out by the direct hit, she began to tremble and push herself up. At the same time, a familiar vibrating sound reached my ears.
It sounded like a cell phone ringtone.
“H-Hiiik?!”
Hearing the sound, the bunny girl's face went pale in an instant. She frantically shoved her hand between her breasts and pulled out a cell phone.
I'd only seen it on NewTube, but I guess that really can be used as a storage space.
“H-Hello...? Yes, yes...! What? K-Kill him?! You don't think I was being serious, do you? Ha, haha...”
Ignoring me completely, she held the phone respectfully with both hands. I could see the image of a low-level rookie in her hunched back.
The bunny girl continued the call for a while longer, not caring that her whole body was drenched in sweat.
She repeated the same three phrases like a parrot: "Yes," "No," and "I'm sorry.”
It was as if even expressing her own opinion was an act of sacrilege.
Despite all that, as if it were filtered, I couldn't hear the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Ah, y-yes! Understood!”
Just then, the bunny girl ended the call and let out a deep sigh of relief.
Then, in a way that was so fucking out of character, she started glancing at me and hesitantly approached.
“Heh, hehe... C-Customer...? You know everything I said earlier was just a joke, right...?”
Wringing her hands pathetically, she cautiously spoke to me, looking for all the world like a groveling rabbit.
Oh, right, she is a rabbit.
“A joke?”
“Y-You don't think I'd seriously try to harm you, do you?! Of course, it was just some humor to advance our relationship!”
“It wasn't funny.”
My cold response made the bunny girl's face turn pale again.
Even her rabbit ears, which had been standing up straight until a moment ago, drooped pathetically. I could almost hear the gears turning in her head.
“I-If you felt it was rude, I sincerely apologize...”
“With just words?”
I wasn't sure about the details, but one thing was crystal clear: the power dynamic between us had been firmly established.
It wasn't hard to guess why.
The fact that she had called me "customer" from the start and maintained a submissive attitude throughout the phone call painted a perfect picture.
Imagine this: a company sends an employee to attend to a VIP customer. But this incompetent employee not only spouts nonsense at the VIP but even threatens to kill them.
Their supervisor would be losing their mind.
'And that supervisor must be someone from the Another World Dating App.'
Of course, even this was just a guess without any proof.
In the first place, thinking of the Another World Dating App as a company was just a fantasy of mine.
Nevertheless, I decided to call the person who chewed out the bunny girl "Manager Kim." Giving him a title like that would make it easier to sort things out later.
Besides, judging by this incompetent rabbit's actions, she couldn't be ranked any higher than a basic employee.
No matter how I looked at it, she was an incompetent Gen Z rookie.
“O-Of course...?”
“How are you going to compensate me for the mental distress I suffered from your threats?”
“C-Compensation...?”
The bunny girl's eyes trembled as if an earthquake was shaking them.
“...How about my lovely eye-smile?”
“Don't need it.”
If it were Iris's or Cheon Yeo-hwa's, maybe, but this woman's was useless.
“Then what about the shortest route to the boss of this dungeon's 3rd Layer...?”
“The shortest route?”
“Yes! And it'll only take half a day! How about it?”
It was certainly a tempting offer.
The whole reason I'd spent 1,000 coins on the dice was in the hope that it would help me get to the 3rd Layer.
Besides, it didn't look like I could squeeze anything more out of her, and with time being of the essence, a pointless argument was unnecessary.
“Not a bad...”
Ting-
Just as I was about to accept the bunny girl's offer, a new screen popped up before my eyes.
[On behalf of this app, we sincerely apologize for this rudeness.]
[We cannot presume to understand the humiliation you must have felt, so we would first like to offer you the best compensation we can provide.]
[Compensation Details: Ownership of Noel Ronnidella]
[Would you like to claim it?]
[Y/N]
What the fuck is this?
“W-What's wrong...?”
Noel felt an indescribable sense of anxiety from Kang Hyun-woo, who was staring blankly into the air.
Her hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Hey, can you see this?”
“Pardon?”
Kang Hyun-woo pointed at the screen, but nothing appeared in Noel's vision.
“Um... if it's about the app, I don't have enough authority to see it.”
“Really?”
A shame. It would be faster to just show you than to explain it.
Ting-
No sooner had I thought that than the app gave me immediate feedback.
[Would you like to share the screen with Noel Ronnidella?]
[Y/N]
For sending such an incompetent rookie, their service was fast.
Maybe Manager Kim was getting chewed out by his own boss, too?
[Y]
[The screen is now being shared with Noel Ronnidella's vision.]
There was no reason to refuse, so I accepted immediately.
“...Huh?”
I didn't even need to ask if she could see it; the bunny girl's immediate reaction reached my ears.
In an instant, her eyes filled with horror.
“W-What is this...”
“Well, well.”
Thud. My arm came to rest on the bunny girl's shoulder.
Even so, she couldn't even think of resisting.
“I know, right? The world is full of surprises.”
“C-Customer... Y-You're not going to accept, are you...?”
Forcing a smile, she looked up at me pathetically. In her eyes, I could see a mixture of anxiety, fear, and bewilderment.
That's when I was finally sure of what I had only suspected.
So your name really is Noel Ronnidella.
“Why wouldn't I?”
[Compensation Details: Ownership of Noel Ronnidella]
[Would you like to claim it?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
[Ownership of Noel Ronnidella is now being imprinted on Kang Hyun-woo's soul.]
[Noel Ronnidella has been registered as Kang Hyun-woo's summon.]
“...”
The bunny girl, no, Noel, stared blankly at the screen with a devastated expression.
Of course, that didn't change the predetermined outcome.
“Now then, you should start by showing some respect for your master, shouldn't you?”
I whispered into Noel's ear.
“Head on the ground.”
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