Chapter 235
Chapter 235
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: I Won't Kill You (3)
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The day after Yuri made contact with Glasses Guy.
Early in the morning, the 51st Batch cadets began gathering in clusters.
The faces of those assembled clearly showed signs of exhaustion.
Still, since there had been fewer competitors to fight over lodging during the search process, their condition seemed better than last year's 50th Cohort.
Some among them even looked quite relaxed.
They gathered in small groups of twos and threes, chatting away.
The topics were varied.
The hardships they'd endured over the past twenty days or so.
Bragging about how great their chosen lodgings were.
Complaints about the cold and hunger.
Speculations on why they had all gathered here this time.
The usual conversations that sprang up among new cadets facing their first quest flowed between them.
But there was one topic that stood out particularly among the 51st Batch.
"Did you see that creepy castle?"
It was the Demon King's Castle in the northern forest.
"Of course I did. I heard from one of the 50th Cohort seniors that they call it the Demon King's Castle."
"Demon King's Castle? It did look like that... Why do they call it that?"
"The senior didn't give details, but apparently a Demon King and his Four Heavenly Kings live there or something."
"What? Is that some old folktale?"
"I don't know the details either. But I overheard some people over there earlier... They say bodies came out of it too."
"B... bodies?"
"Apparently a few from our batch went inside. And then..."
"And then?"
"They all came out dead."
"R-Really?"
"You know those kids who aren't here now? They say they all died in that freakish castle."
"N-No way..."
"It's true!"
The tale of the Demon King's Castle and the tragedy that unfolded there spread rapidly from mouth to mouth.
And Moochi, who couldn't help but overhear it whether he wanted to or not.
'Th-This isn't good...'
As the Demon King's Castle built its infamous reputation befitting its name.
Moochi, currently playing gatekeeper at the Demon King's Castle, could only break out in cold sweats.
He hadn't done anything wrong, but for some reason, he felt guilty.
Glancing around at the stares, he quietly slipped toward the outskirts.
But right then.
"Hi?"
A head suddenly popped up at Moochi's side.
"Eek!"
A shadow that approached without a sound.
Lisa, who had casually leaned in with her hands behind her back, smiled with her eyes at the startled Moochi on the verge of panic.
"You're such a scaredy-cat, huh? Hehe."
A soft smile.
Several nearby men were entranced by Lisa's fresh, radiant beauty.
But Moochi, who had already been burned badly before, snapped to attention and stayed on guard against her instead.
"Wh-What do you want?"
"Hmm?"
Lisa circled Moochi with her hands still behind her back.
In the meantime, Moochi glanced around.
'Where are her followers?'
There had to be people tailing her like bodyguards.
Sure enough.
A short distance away, he spotted a few people furtively watching them.
As Moochi scanned Lisa's escorts positioned around the area.
"Hey."
A pale face suddenly entered his view.
The face that appeared briefly vanished downward just as quickly.
"Guh!"
Startled by the sudden move, Moochi stepped back.
Lisa, unperturbed, kept jumping up repeatedly with a big grin.
Lisa, at about 155 cm, and Moochi, over 2 meters tall.
The only way Lisa could meet Moochi's eyes was by diligently hopping in place.
Hop, hop.
"Who... is that person?"
Lisa asked, her lemon-blonde hair fluttering.
Moochi tilted his head.
"That person?"
Only then did Moochi look at her, and Lisa stopped jumping to reply.
"I saw you. With that person at the Demon King's Castle."
"Wh-What are you talking about? I-I have no idea what you mean."
"Don't you think it's a bit late to play dumb? You were standing so boldly guarding the entrance to the Demon King's Castle."
"......"
"And it wasn't just me who saw. Plenty of others did too."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah."
"Haha..."
Moochi awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"So, who is that person?"
At the repeated question, Moochi stopped scratching and asked back.
"Who do you mean?"
"That 50th Cohort senior with the black hair..."
"Yuri h... no, Senior Yuri?"
"Yuri? Ah... So that's her name. Lady Yuri."
Moochi tilted his head at Lisa's quiet mutter.
'Lady?'
He sensed something off, but before he could voice it, Lisa asked first.
"Do you live there?"
"There?"
"The Demon King's Castle."
"Oh, yeah..."
"Hmm..."
Lisa, staring up at him intently, suddenly grew a bit more serious as she asked.
"What's your relationship with Lady Yuri?"
"Just acquaintances, sort of..."
"Have you known each other since before entering the Cradle?"
"Yeah."
"You're close, then?"
"W-Well, yeah?"
Sure, she scolded him every day lately.
Sure, she called him a freeloader who couldn't even earn his keep...
'St-Still, we're friends, right?'
As Moochi hesitantly nodded, Lisa dropped her piercing gaze and flashed a bright smile again.
Then she extended her small hand toward him.
"Here, handshake!"
"...Huh?"
"Sorry about last time!"
"Uh... that..."
"Handshake, handshake!"
As Moochi blinked at her cheerful voice, Lisa grabbed his massive hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously up and down.
"Let's forget the bad memories and get along from now on!"
And with that, she lightly waved and stepped away from Moochi.
"......"
Moochi stared blankly at Lisa's retreating figure.
'What... was that?'
Lisa in the Forest of Beginnings.
And Lisa today.
Bewildered by her completely different vibe, Moochi muttered with confused eyes.
"She's... weird."
Thanks to Lisa, Moochi snapped out of his daze and shook his head to refocus.
A short while later.
Rumble-.
The entrance to the Animal Forest swung open.
"Begin!"
And with that, the 51st Batch's hide-gathering quest officially kicked off.
* * *
Time flew by.
As the sun began tilting toward the western horizon.
In the heart of the Animal Forest.
Between massive trees hung a hammock that looked a bit weathered but sturdy.
Inside it lay Yuri, pillow propped under her head with a thick bundle of fur.
"Hmm~."
Humming lightly and kicking her legs idly, she closed her eyes and recalled yesterday's events.
* * *
As expected, Glasses Guy sighed at the immense interest radiating from Yuri.
'Is this the right thing to do...'
In the hide-gathering quest, the tiger role had traditionally been handled by Black Sword Unit squad leaders.
Among the certified 6th dan squad leaders, those with the least seniority usually took it on.
The problem was that the squad leader assigned for this quest had returned injured mid-mission.
And tomorrow was the quest.
'This is trouble. Is there anyone else who can take it?'
The Black Sword Unit was always short on manpower.
Especially field leaders at squad leader level or above—they were sorely lacking.
And recently, dealing with external incidents had made the shortage even worse.
They'd scoured the Cradle for a replacement tiger, but unfortunately, no certified 6th dan squad leaders remained.
The ones left were certified 5th dan—disqualified.
Nor could they deploy 7th dan or higher section chiefs for something like this.
In their frantic search for a solution, someone suggested a certain pair from the recent Dragon Tournament.
Yuri and Kwonter, who had wielded the holy sword.
But Kwonter, despite being a mere cadet, had circumstances that made deploying him for a trivial quest impossible.
That left Yuri as the natural substitute.
The concern was Yuri Holland herself—utterly unpredictable.
'Back then, maybe, but now I can guess what he'll pull... I can't just fall for it like an idiot.'
Look at those sparkling eyes.
His intentions were plain as day.
So Glasses Guy pulled out his prepared countermeasure.
"Yuri Holland, if you take the tiger role, you're participating as a Black Sword Unit member. Not as a mere cadet."
"So?"
"Thus, any cheating for unfair gains is strictly prohibited."
Yuri tilted her head with a utterly clueless expression.
"Cheating? Unfair gains?"
"It means you can't use connections or any methods to grab hides meant for the 51st Batch or profit personally from it."
Yuri waved it off with a laugh at Glasses Guy's firm tone.
"Psh, who do you take me for? Why would I do that?"
"After the quest, we'll track your accounts and those around you. Any violations, and all illicit points get confiscated."
"I'll pass on the tiger offer then. Good luck."
The moment Glasses Guy finished, Yuri's face hardened, and she turned away.
A swift pivot, as if it wasn't worth hearing more.
'No side income? Am I crazy to do it?'
By the time Glasses Guy proposed the tiger role, Yuri's mind had already mapped out the entire scheme in seconds.
1. Join the hide-gathering and link up with Moochi.
2. Secretly help Moochi gather hides quickly.
3. Hunt at night to siphon off the 51st Batch's hides bit by bit.
4. During the day, lead Moochi to the tiger zone to rest.
5. Near the end, pretend to get "killed" by Moochi and hand over the tiger hide naturally.
6. At quest's close, dump all the stockpiled hides on Moochi for a massive point haul.
The whole plan crystallized in mere seconds.
'This is my chance. A shot at a huge score!'
Moochi's skills were subpar, but with his covert aid, bear hides might even be feasible.
'Last year, I earned 19 million points.'
Doubled to 38 million for first place.
After giving shares to Arin and Poppi, Yuri netted about 32 million.
Despite many quests over the year, none had yielded that much in one go.
'No Arin or Poppi this time, so it'll be slower... but rolling Moochi right, at least 20 mil... no, 25 million easy.'
No better opportunity.
Yet they wanted him to play for free—with a thorough pocket search.
As if Yuri's personality would accept that.
Where did that earlier interest go?
Not a speck of regret as she moved to leave without hesitation.
If not for the voice from behind.
Click-.
"Pay is 10 million points."
Short words, but enough to halt Yuri in her tracks.
She stopped dead.
But didn't turn.
"......"
She simply stood silently.
Glasses Guy's brow furrowed slightly.
"Fifteen."
He jumped it by 5 million at once.
Yet Yuri showed no sign of turning.
Narrowing his brow further, Glasses Guy asked.
"How much do you want?"
Yuri replied simply.
"Thirty."
"Greedy."
"Remove the restrictions, and I can earn more than that. Take it or find someone else."
Now Yuri was openly threatening.
Her tone implied she could wreck the quest if she tried, making Glasses Guy click his tongue inwardly.
'Tch... He caught on.'
This sly opportunist turning so high-handed meant he'd sniffed out their desperation.
Coming to a mere cadet with this offer proved they had no alternatives in the Cradle.
Her casual back-view screamed confidence.
Sighing inwardly, Glasses Guy upped the bid.
"Twenty million."
But with the upper hand clear, Yuri wouldn't stop there.
"Add one condition, and it's 27 million."
"......"
Glasses Guy fell silent.
Conflict swirled in his eyes.
Accept Yuri's deal or not?
As time passed, the turmoil in his eyes faded.
He'd decided.
'No choice...'
They were the desperate ones.
With a heavy sigh, he spoke.
"Haa... What's the condition?"
Yuri whipped around the instant he finished.
"Whoa, my condition's nothing big. It's just..."
Beaming.
As if the cold shoulder never happened, rubbing her hands together with a friendly smile as she approached.
Glasses Guy genuinely wanted to punch her face.
And shortly after.
Having heard all of Yuri's conditions.
"...Fine."
He nodded, accepting them.
* * *
Quiet satisfaction filled Yuri's eyes as she gazed into the encroaching darkness.
She smiled faintly at the gathering dusk.
Rising from the hammock Greta Wigen had set up last year during her tiger stint.
Thud- crack-.
She lightly kicked off the tree and landed both feet on the ground.
Yuri stared at the faint remaining glow of sunset.
Until the crimson hues fully vanished, and darkness blanketed the forest.
With it, her smile deepened.
"Night."
The pure night she'd awaited had arrived.
Time for the beasts.
Flash-.
Golden eyes gleaming sharply in the dark.
Soon, twin tiger eyes traced golden trails as they moved.
Crack-.
In Yuri's hand as she pierced the darkness was the tiger-print leather vest she'd used as a pillow.