Serpent Bandits (4)
Deep in thought, Kanisia, Aquaril, and Abraham sat in silence.
After the pleasant reunion, I turned to the party members and asked about the Snake Bandit Gang. Their scale was far larger than we had imagined, and I wanted to know what position we should take.
The three of them fell silent, unable to decide easily. After all, it was a difficult question even for me.
“Master.”
“Yeah, Aquaril.”
At that moment, Aquaril spoke up.
“Master, what would you like to do?”
“I haven’t decided yet either. That’s why I wanted to hear your opinions. Aquaril, what do you think we should do?”
“Um…”
She hesitated for a moment before voicing her thoughts.
“I believe it would be better to move to another city.”
“Really? What makes you think that?”
“The four of us cannot defeat the Snake Bandit Gang. Even if we slowly chip away at them, it will take a considerable amount of time. Moreover, there is another issue. Master has already eliminated one of their units, and they are likely to view this as a threat.”
“A threat? What do you mean? Explain in more detail.”
“Master eliminated their unit. But the bandits do not know that. So they might think, ‘We were attacked by the Witch Queen’s subordinates.’”
“Ah, so you mean they might believe the Witch Queen’s subordinates killed the bandits?”
“That is correct. In that case, the bandits have two possible courses of action. One is to abandon their base and retreat, and the other is to launch an immediate full-scale assault on Baidu. If they choose the first option, there is no problem. But if they choose the second…”
“…a full-scale war between Baidu and the Bandit Gang will break out.”
“Exactly.”
I nodded at Aquaril’s decisive tone and understood why she had reached that conclusion. What she valued most was my safety. She had chosen to withdraw here rather than risk being swept up in the flames of war.
Not a bad choice… but somehow, it feels like a waste to just leave.
To retreat for safety.
It was never a bad decision. Besides, I could always revive with enough gems, but Kanisia, Aquaril, and Abraham could not.
“I agree with Aquaril’s opinion.”
Abraham, being a fairy like her, readily supported Aquaril’s view. He, too, placed Kanisia’s life above all else.
“What about you, Kanisia?”
“Um… I don’t know? It doesn’t seem bad to retreat like this… haha…”
Kanisia smiled awkwardly, her eyes carrying the clear intention of following my lead.
Whew… she really is something.
I nearly sighed, but managed to hold it back. A so-called “master” offering an opinion inferior to that of the fairies…
I’ll tell her later.
I wanted to say something right there, but I refrained. Aquaril and Abraham were watching. Although I was the leader of our [Snake] party, I was technically on equal footing with Kanisia.
If I criticized her in front of them, it might damage our relationship. Of course, my accumulated image so far would prevent the party from splitting, but still.
Still, I decided it was best to discuss her position and pride when we were alone.
Kanisia needs to be raised too.
I had never planned to keep her as my personal attendant forever. Right now there were only four party members, but once our power grew, she would need to contribute.
Kanisia was as important to me as the fairies.
“Retreating…”
Aquaril and Abraham had chosen to withdraw, even though they were fairies. Half the party was leaving.
But for some reason, it still felt like a waste.
Honestly, I could not be certain whether the Snake Bandit Gang had supporters. Based on their impressive size, I had assumed they did.
What I knew for certain was that the Snake Bandit Gang was larger than what the Baidu guild knew, and their ultimate goal was Baidu.
With this information, could I gain something? Could I really not eat the dungeon they possessed?
But it’s too weak. We can’t do anything.
The problem was that we were weak. If our power had been stronger, we would have defeated the Snake Bandit Gang and eaten the dungeon… Wait?
“…The problem is that we are weak.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Master?”
“…Yeah. That’s right. The problem is that we are weak.”
My sudden excitement left the party members staring at me with bewildered faces.
“Eureka! Eureka! Fuck Eureka!”
Just as the ancient Greek physicist and mathematician Archimedes had shouted “Eureka!” upon discovering buoyancy, I shouted it too.
Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?
“If the problem is that we are weak, then don’t be weak!”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Master, what does that mean?”
“Alan?”
Overwhelmed with excitement, I addressed the party.
“Why do we have to fight the Snake Bandit Gang alone? We can bring in others!”
The reason I could not defeat the Snake Bandit Gang was simple: our power was ridiculously weak compared to theirs.
But the flip side was that if our power became that strong, we could defeat them.
And I had power I could use right now.
“Let’s head back to Baidu immediately!”
“Huh? We just came from Baidu.”
“Go go go!”
“…Why are you suddenly so excited?”
“Ha ha ha ha! Fuck Eureka! Fuck!”
I laughed as the puzzled party members looked at me.
*****
We returned to Baidu and immediately headed to the guild.
“Welcome… Oh? Master Han?”
“Eh? You remember me?”
“Of course. Master Han is so handsome that even if I wanted to forget, I couldn’t.”
“Haha, thank you.”
The receptionist sent me a subtle glance, clearly hoping to do something with me and One Night.
But I was not the kind of man who would flop around in bed with any woman. With Aquaril and Kanisia here, why would I?
It’s not that I’m not my type. Damn it, of course not.
“By the way… I have a few things to ask.”
“Yes. What would you like to know? My home address? Or… my three sizes?”
Don’t be so deadly, just do your job, you woman.
“This guild is operated by the benevolent ruler of Baidu, the [Witch Queen], correct?”
“Ah… no. The Witch Queen does not operate it directly. Prince Pazniri is in charge.”
Okay.
I nodded inwardly.
How busy was the Witch Queen to operate this guild herself? Of course she would assign a subordinate.
The important thing was that the information I would convey would reach the Witch Queen.
“Then, can I see Prince Pazniri right now? I have really important information.”
“Important information? Prince Pazniri is currently unavailable. If you tell me, I’ll pass it on later…”
“No, sorry, but I can’t. This is a matter that affects Baidu’s fate, so I must speak to the prince directly.”
“Eh… um, wait a moment. Let me check the prince’s schedule first.”
The startled receptionist went upstairs. After some time, she returned.
“Um… Master Han?”
“Yes.”
“Would you follow me?”
“Huh? Can I see Prince Pazniri right now?”
“No. As I said earlier, Prince Pazniri is unavailable. However, he has his fairy.”
“Understood.”
I nodded, told the party to rest, and followed the receptionist upstairs. In the room, I saw a fairy lounging on the sofa with her legs crossed, sipping wine.
Serpent?
The fairy had twin black braids and wore a Japanese gosururi-style outfit from her previous life, seen only in photos. An eyepatch covered her right eye, possibly from an injury or otaku syndrome.
Status window.
Race: Fairy (Female / Owen Pazniri)
Attribute: Dark
Traits: Dark Follower, Black Dragon's Blessing
Class: Archer (Lv.30/Master)
Skills:
1. Piercing Gaze (Lv.12)
2. Invisible Arrow (Lv.9)
3. Artillery Mode (Lv.8)
4. Black Dragon's Breath (Lv.6)
Oh? Nice.
I sighed inwardly at Oralisa’s status window.
To confirm whether this peculiar-style fairy was really Prince Pazniri’s, I had opened the status window. She was far stronger than I had expected.
She could immediately promote to 4 stars, and her class level was the maximum 30 for normal classes. In addition, all stats except luck exceeded 40 points.
Her traits were excellent as well.
The rare-grade [Dark Follower] that increased agility by 3 points at night, and the special-grade [Black Dragon’s Blessing] that increased all stats by 1 point upon entering combat and raised the ultimate skill Black Dragon’s Breath by 1 level.
Her style is a bit unique…
I wanted her.
She possessed two excellent traits, and everything else was perfect. Especially since she was an archer, which I did not have, my greed grew even stronger.
If I see an opening, I’ll take her immediately.
If the chance arose, I would make her my fairy right away.
No need to spend 3,300 gems to summon her. I could simply take her.
“You say you have extremely important information? Lick my foot or something. Then I’ll listen.”
“…Huh?”
The receptionist was startled by Oralisa’s bold words. What had she just said?
“Haa… Oralisa-nim.”
Then the receptionist who had guided me here sighed and approached her.
“I told the other masters not to speak to you like that.”
“Huh? This can’t be done? Strange? The master says that?”
The receptionist tilted her head at Oralisa’s confused expression.
“Prince Pazniri said that to someone else? Really?”
“Yes! Last night too, I said that to Piku-piku!”
“…Oralisa-nim. You shouldn’t learn bad words. It’s bad.”
“Really? Bad words? Then the master said bad words? Is the master a bad person?”
“The, the prince isn’t saying he’s a bad person, but Piku is the prince’s fairy, right? It’s not a word said to another master, but to a fairy.”
“Ah~! So I have to say that to the fairy?”
“No, that’s not it… By the way, is that wine? Oralisa-nim can’t drink alcohol, right?”
“This is grape juice.”
“…?”
What’s going on now?
The receptionist was explaining various things while holding Oralisa, and I was dumbfounded. One thing was clear: the fairy named Oralisa was not a normal fairy.