Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 34
>Chapter Title: The Blood-Drinking Dagger
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Munch, munch.
When faced with a major problem, most people react in various ways. Some rack their brains to solve it, while others collapse in despair and do nothing but cry.
The gag world was no different. I, too, was one of those types of people.
‘Somehow, it'll all work out.’
In a gag world, you never know what might happen, but even if it does, it's not like you'll die. Even if you do die, it's perfectly normal to become a ghost and continue living an ordinary life.
Because of that, I naturally became carefree.
Weren't you on edge when you were thrown into the arena with Iris?
That was because I was with Iris, who, unlike me, could easily die. If I were alone, there would have been no need to be so scared.
The only thing that worried me was the black mages who might lose their minds over the sight of me not dying, no matter how injured I got.
‘Should I kill them with a cliché line like yesterday? Or should I pretend to know them?’
In a gag world, it doesn't matter if your opponent is rational or not, or what species they are; they can become your family or your enemy.
If you said something like, "Hey, long time no see!" an irrational beast might suddenly start walking on two legs and scratch its head, or rummage through its fur, pull out a cell phone, and make a call, saying, "Mom, do you know someone named Rian? What? My childhood friend?" That kind of development was possible.
Simply put, if you're good at gaslighting, you can even become friends with a monster.
Anyway, there were plenty of ways to avoid problems. That's why, unlike the other chosen slaves, I remained calm.
Seeing this, the other slaves began to have a strange misunderstanding.
"Um..."
"Hm?"
While I was putting a sandwich in Iris's mouth, a slave who, like me, was chosen to go to the arena in Pimax's place, spoke to me.
A slave with a cleanly shaven head that looked like a chestnut bur suddenly collapsed next to me. To be more precise, he knelt and pressed his head to the floor.
"...?!"
"Please, spare my life!"
It was absurd enough that he suddenly knelt, but when he begged me to spare his life, I was at a loss for words.
Munch, munch. Ahh.
Iris, paying no mind to the kneeling slave, simply opened her mouth and waited patiently once the food was gone.
I reflexively looked away from the slave and placed a small piece of sandwich into Iris's mouth.
As I watched Iris chew like an old goat and then turned my head back to the slave, the number of kneeling people had increased.
"Huh?"
"Please, help us!"
"We're so sorry about yesterday! We didn't know you were... such a powerful person!"
All the kneeling slaves were scheduled to participate in the gladiatorial match. I stared at them with a dumbfounded expression and said.
"I have no idea what you're suddenly talking about..."
There were four slaves kneeling in total. Two of them were the ones who had mocked me from behind Pimax yesterday. The other two were slaves I hadn't seen before.
"Ahh..."
"Ah, right."
While I was spaced out, Iris opened her mouth. Like a mother bird feeding her chick, I placed a piece of sandwich into Iris's mouth.
"Please, save us!"
Looking at them, getting straight to the point and only saying what they wanted, made me want to sigh.
"Why would I kill you?"
When I made it clear I didn't understand them at all, the chestnut-head who had knelt first began to explain his circumstances at length.
To summarize, it was this.
Pimax was a powerhouse with skills enough to climb at least two more floors from here. Naturally, the monster he was supposed to face was also very strong.
As anyone could guess, there wasn't a single person on this floor who could fight the monster Pimax was supposed to face.
Being told to fight in Pimax's place was no different from being told to die.
"Since the participants changed, won't the monster we're facing change too?"
In response to my question, Chestnut-head explained with a gloomy expression.
He said that preparing a monster for a gladiatorial match takes a lot of effort. They have to be agitated so they can enter combat as soon as the fight begins, and spells must be cast to prevent them from attacking the arena's guests.
That's why the monsters used in the arena are prepared at least a week in advance. In other words, they had to fight the monster that had been prepared to fight Pimax.
This was also why five people were being sent into a match meant for Pimax alone. It was a way of telling them to try and hold it off with numbers.
And if they failed? They were just slaves, so who cared? They could just buy new ones.
Unless you were as skilled as Pimax, everyone was just treated as expendable. For the slaves chosen this time, it was no different from a death sentence.
And in that situation, I was supposedly their only way to survive.
"Me?"
"Yes! Didn't you use your miraculous power to save even a dying monster yesterday!"
Chestnut-head looked up at me with desperate eyes. He looked ready to grab onto my pants and not let go if I said no.
"Ahh."
I rolled my eyes as I put another piece of sandwich in Iris's mouth.
‘Why should I?’
Surviving alone and surviving while saving these guys were on completely different levels of difficulty. Above all, I didn't want to help the slaves who had insulted Iris along with Pimax.
If I were to help, I only wanted to help the two slaves who hadn't done anything.
"...I'll think about it."
"...! Thank you!"
Chestnut-head trembled as if those words alone were enough to be grateful for and bowed his head deeply. Since Chestnut-head wasn't one of the slaves with Pimax yesterday, I didn't feel any particular aversion to him, so I told him to stop kneeling and get up.
Chestnut-head sniffled, got to his feet, and left with a large-bodied slave. The large-bodied slave was also one I hadn't seen before.
"P-Please, you have to save us! We'll repay this debt no matter what!"
The guys who were sucking up to Pimax yesterday, perhaps unsettled by my 'I'll think about it,' clung to me pathetically until I got annoyed, at which point they scurried away in fright.
"Ahh."
"Iris, it's all gone now."
"Mm..."
Just as the guys left, the sandwich ran out. Iris closed her mouth and nodded. Her small reactions were definitely increasing day by day.
After spending a little more time with Iris, it was soon time to participate in the match.
"It's time for the match. Come out."
I sat Iris on the bed and was about to leave the room right away. At that moment, Iris suddenly tugged on the hem of my clothes.
"Whoa...! I-Iris?"
"Ah...?"
Iris tilted her head and made a small sound. It was as if she were asking, "Where are you going?" I gently took Iris's hand, prying it off as I spoke.
"I'll be back soon, so just wait for me, okay?"
Iris stared blankly at my face for a moment, then lowered her head. She clearly didn't look happy, but time was up, so I had no choice but to leave her and exit the room.
"If you guys lay even a single finger on my little sister, I'll make you end up just like Pimax, got it?"
"Hic...!"
"Hup... W-We won't even breathe the same air in the same space!"
When I growled a warning to the slaves who were out in the hallway to watch the participants leave, they froze up and nodded frantically.
‘I told her to beat up anyone who approaches... so it should be fine, right?’
Recalling the sight of Iris dismembering the monster, I took the elevator down. The five slaves, including me, were led through the same passage as before.
As soon as they entered the passage, the slaves ran toward the weapons laid out on one side.
‘I wonder if there's a light sword?’
Perhaps because my body was still small, it was difficult to wield a longsword. 'Maybe I should just grab a dagger?' I thought, looking over the weapons.
The swords that looked somewhat decent were hung on a rack, while those with chipped blades or that looked like they could break at any moment were crammed into an open-topped oak barrel.
Everything on the rack was a longsword, so I had no choice but to look toward the oak barrel. The other slaves didn't even glance at the oak barrel, all of them searching for a sturdy longsword.
‘Now, where's something usable?’
Like searching for my umbrella in a stand packed with them, I pushed the sword hilts around, looking for a usable one.
‘Ah, this one looks okay.’
I spotted the hilt of a sword that was short, so its handle was buried deep inside. After pushing the other swords aside as much as possible, I tried to pull out what I assumed was a dagger.
*Shnk.*
"Ah..."
The swords were packed so tightly that I ended up cutting my hand while reaching in. Blood dripped down, soaking the dagger.
"Hmm..."
A normal person might have flinched and pulled their hand back, but for me, who healed quickly no matter the injury, it wasn't a big deal.
‘Might as well just pull it out quickly.’
When you're getting your umbrella from a stand, no one leaves their own umbrella behind just because their hand might get wet from the others.
That was why I didn't care about my hand getting badly cut by the swords and just pulled out the dagger.
"Oh."
The dagger I drew with a *shing* had a sharper edge than I expected, and there were no cracks in the blade.
The blade was only about 16cm long, which was quite short, but it didn't look like it would break easily with use.
"There's too much blood on it."
The moment I thought, 'Should I wipe it with my clothes?'
[ ...Are you the one who awakened me? ]
A voice that was impossible to identify as male or female echoed in my head.
*Shwooop.*
The blood that had pooled on the blade was instantly absorbed into the sword.
[ Ahhh... How sweet! Give me more of your blood, now! ]
My hand moved on its own, and the sword plunged deep into my stomach.
[ Khahahaha! Yes, this is it! Ahhh... Blood after hundreds of years is so sweet! ]
A frivolous laugh boomed inside my head.
*Clang.*
"W-What the...!"
I heard another slave who was preparing for the match cry out in terror. I silently looked down at my stomach and frowned.
"I don't even have any spare clothes, so why'd you go and stab me in the stomach without saying anything! If you had just asked, I would've taken my clothes off first!"
The sword, which had been slurping up blood, paused for a moment.
[ W-What? ]