The Snake (4)

Three days had passed since the Blood Axe King, ruler of Chinnimoni, had returned from his expedition to clear a C-rank dungeon — as a corpse. The death of the young king who had seemed destined to reign over the city forever plunged Chinnimoni into turmoil.

Kanisia and Abraham threw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠themselves into the work of restoring order, but the unrest showed no sign of settling. I went to the palace more than once, offering to help, but she turned me down. This was something she had to do herself, she said — for Chinnimoni, and for the friend who had loved this place.

"...If you ever need my help, just say the word. I'll come running. And... hang in there, Kanisia."

"Yeah. Thanks, Alan."

I offered her my support and turned away with a bitter look on my face.

Hell yeah. Jackpot.

On the inside, of course, I was dancing a passionate samba of pure delight. I'd offered to help, sure — but honestly, I had no idea how. How the hell was I supposed to calm a city full of terrified people whispering in corners?

Worse, the soldiers we'd run into on the road back to Chinnimoni had seen the Blood Axe King's corpse. The same soldiers who'd set out with Kanisia and fallen behind when their stamina gave out. News of the king's death spread like wildfire — through the barracks, through homes, through every tavern in the city — carried on those soldiers' tongues.

To put this chaos down, a new King has to step forward.

I felt bad for Kanisia, but unless she claimed the throne herself, this unrest wasn't going anywhere. The chaos existed because the king was dead. That was the whole of it.

Why people were so afraid was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠simple enough. Every Master and Fairy who'd been managing the dungeons around Chinnimoni was dead. Leave a dungeon uncleared and the monsters pile up. They pile and pile until the dungeon can't hold them anymore, and then every last one of them comes flooding out at once. In the game they called it a Monster Overflow. In this world, they called it a Monster Defense Battle.

That was why Chinnimoni was in such an uproar. No matter how tyrannical a city's king or queen might be, people don't leave — because the city is a safe place. There were six dungeons around Chinnimoni, seven if you counted the C-rank dungeon Palos's Bird had used this time. And now that the Blood Axe King — the only one who could clear a C-rank dungeon — was dead, if those monsters came pouring out, Chinnimoni would no longer be anyone's safe haven.

Well. That's a problem for whoever becomes the next king.

"Aquaril. Let's go clear a dungeon today, same as always."

"Yes, Master."

I shrugged and headed out with Aquaril, just like always. I'd been running dungeons with her for the past three days. With my stats having jumped so much, clearing D-rank dungeons wasn't particularly hard.

As we left the palace and made for the dungeon, a rumble rolled through the street off to one side — a building coming down. A handful of laborers were enthusiastically smashing the structure apart with hammers.

"Tsk."

"Had we learned of it sooner, we might have found some manner of lead... It is truly a shame."

"Yeah. It is."

I stopped for a moment to watch, and Aquaril spoke up. I nodded in agreement. The building being demolished was the clan house of the Gibri Family — one of the three armed factions that had represented Chinnimoni, weaker than the Blood Axe King but still a major power. And the Gibri Family had tried to kill Kanisia at the entrance of the C-rank dungeon, only to be wiped out themselves thanks to my timely arrival.

"If I'd just found out a little sooner, I might've found something... What a waste."

Unfortunately, I hadn't learned that Kanisia's attackers were the Gibri Family until yesterday. The fact that they'd ambushed her at a dungeon entrance meant they were members of Palos's Bird. If I'd searched their clan house, I would have found leads on the organization. But by the time I found out and arrived, the place had already been cleaned out.

Whether Chinnimoni's residents had looted it after noticing the Gibri Family was gone, or whether Palos's Bird had cut off their own tail to leave no traces, I still wasn't sure. What mattered was that I'd gotten absolutely nothing from the Gibri Family's clan house.

I know what Palos's Bird is planning. I just have no idea how far their reach actually extends.

In the game, Palos's Bird stopped appearing once the player killed their leader. But that was the game's scenario. Reality was different. Even if you killed the leader, the remnants would carry on his will and keep operating. They'd built a force capable of going toe-to-toe with the Ferdium Empire. They had military power on the level of a nation.

Were people with that kind of massive, formidable strength just going to sit still? History was full of descendants of fallen nations trying to rebuild their countries. You only had to flip through a few pages to know that.

Anyway, to take them down I needed detailed information — but all I knew was who the leader was, what his plans were, and roughly where they'd strike next. Beyond that, I had nothing. That was why even the smallest lead was precious to me.

Thinking about it like that, it's pretty hopeless. Should I just play dumb, latch on, and sponge off them?

The thought of them having nation-level power made the whole thing feel genuinely overwhelming. What the hell had I been thinking, picking a fight with these people? My ranker experience from my previous life?

Fuck no. That was the game. It's completely useless here!

In the game, time doesn't pass unless the player pushes the story forward. The player is the protagonist, and the story revolves around them. But here, Palos's Bird wasn't going to sit still just because I did. They were constantly moving toward their goal.

"...I don't even know what's what anymore."

"Pardon?"

"It's nothing. Come on, let's go."

"Yes, Master."

I let out a sigh and headed for the dungeon with Aquaril. I'd already interfered with one of their ongoing operations. I'd even killed Haggis, one of their Fairies, with my own hands. I'd thrown the dice. Now I had no choice but to move as many spaces as they showed.

First, I grow Snake.

The secret organization I'd founded three days ago: Snake. Its members were just me, Aquaril, Kanisia, and Abraham — a pitifully small group. But given time, it would grow large enough to swallow a bird whole. Until that day came, I'd keep building my strength.

Another week passed. In that time, Kanisia worked tirelessly to settle Chinnimoni's affairs, and I ran dungeons with Aquaril. I'd grown three levels, gained 6 points of Potential, and now held a total of 70 Potential. And as for Aquaril—

She'd grown enormously. From level 40 she'd jumped ten levels to 50, and her stats had increased by a combined 62 points. I'd poured every last Medium Growth Stone that dropped in the dungeons into her without holding a single one back. She'd also acquired a new trait: Disarm.

Disarm was a Common-grade trait, but it had a solid effect. The description was vague about how much stronger those attacks actually were, so I tested it. They hit about as hard as if her Strength were three to five points higher.

Guess the Blood Axe King really was an experience goldmine.

Aquaril had severed the Blood Axe King's limbs. That was probably what had triggered the Disarm trait.

Anyway, today — one week later — was a very special day. Special in a bad way.

My precious goddamn gems...

Watching four thousand gems plummet to a thousand in an instant, I felt like I was going to cry blood. What a waste. Such a fucking waste. But to maintain Uroboros's Avatar — a cash-shop class if there ever was one — I had to offer up those three thousand gems whether I liked it or not. Skip the tribute and I'd lose the class, and worse, I'd make an enemy of Uroboros, a 10-Star monster. I wasn't ready to be Uroboros's enemy. Not yet.

Fuck. I want to be Uroboros too.

Here I was, bleeding and sweating every day to scrape together gems, and that thing just sat there breathing while gems duplicated themselves. Whether it was my past life or this one, the world really was unfair.

"Master. Princess Lora is approaching."

"She is?"

I was in the middle of mentally cursing out Uroboros, our resident professional freeloader, when Aquaril spotted Kanisia coming from a distance. I turned my head and saw her walking toward us, that eye-catching pink hair swaying even from far away. Abraham, her Fairy, walked at her side.

Her steps were light as she came toward us. Her expression looked light, too. And why wouldn't it? Today, she'd handed over every last right to Chinnimoni to the Paladin.

The Blood Axe King. The Gibri Family. The Paladin. Those three organizations had been the three armed factions representing Chinnimoni. With two of them wiped out, the Paladin had naturally become the city's number-one power. You could say the Paladin were the real winners here. Those bastards hadn't done a damn thing, and they'd swallowed Chinnimoni whole.

Not that I'm jealous.

But they'd find out soon enough that what they'd gained was no prize. Chinnimoni was nothing like Indigo, which sat at the southernmost tip of southern Gaiarium. Indigo was a closed-off city, cut off from traffic. Chinnimoni was still a city that merchants sought out. What had happened here would spread to other cities in no time, and countless challengers hungry for a throne would come looking. Before long, a fierce war for the crown would erupt in Chinnimoni.

"I'm here, Alan!"

"My apologies for the delay, Lord Alan."

Kanisia and Abraham ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠soon reached us and offered their greetings.

"Don't worry about it. We just got here ourselves. More importantly — you haven't been suffering too much, have you? Your face is half the size it used to be."

"What?! Really? Oh no! I have to stay chubby to be charming!"

The weight off her shoulders must have done her good. Despite her words, she tossed out the joke with a bright face. Should I make a little move on her before we left?

"Kanisia."

"Yeah?"

"This is your last chance."

"Chance? Chance for what?"

"You can still walk away from me and live the life you want. But if you leave this city with me now, you're stuck with me for life. And it'll be a road paved with blood and steel."

"Heh! And here I thought you were going to say something serious. You idiot."

"Mmph?!"

"M-Master! Princess Lora, what do you think you're doing?!"

Without warning, Kanisia grabbed me by the collar and kissed me. Her tongue shoved into my mouth and ransacked it. What a beast of a woman.

"Pwah~! I've already made up my mind. And... I have no intention of letting those people kill another one of my friends."

"...That's an answer after my own heart."

Come to think of it, it had been a while since I'd had sex with Kanisia. Not once the entire time she'd been at the palace. Even when I went to see her, it was one cup of tea and then I had to leave. She'd been that busy. Receiving that rough kiss from her in that state, there was no stopping my other self from swelling.

"Then let's go. Time to eat a Bird."

I flashed Kanisia a deep smile and turned toward the wide-open city gates.

Birds are a snake's natural enemy. But a snake can devour a bird, too.

I was going to show them that.