Chapter 35: Please Don't Work With Adventurers (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 35: Please Don't Work With Adventurers (4)
I’ve spent my entire life fighting on the front lines.
I always had trustworthy companions at my side to watch my back, allowing me to focus all my attention on killing the enemy.
Perhaps that’s why. The feeling of fighting to protect something was foreign to me.
Right now, my party and I are surrounded by massive blue wolves.
If I were here alone, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.
I would just hunt the monsters, same as always.
But I’m not alone this time.
Behind me are Zenia and Chris, who is treating his injured leg. The moment I move to kill a wolf on one side, a wolf from the other side will attack them.
Therefore, I had to stand perfectly still and keep the wolves in check until Chris’s treatment was finished.
What the hell was that guy, Kurva, thinking?
It’s not uncommon for people consumed by fear to do crazy things.
I’d seen it plenty of times.
But Kurva was an A-rank adventurer.
He must have faced life-threatening crises countless times…
Or maybe he hasn't?
It’s possible he ranked up by steadily building a record with easy commissions.
Things like bandit subjugations.
An adventurer’s rank isn’t just about skill; their track record is also important, so it was entirely plausible.
Should I have just used my skills?
If I had used the skills from my previous world, maybe Kurva would have trusted me and held his ground. I considered it for a moment before shaking my head.
If I did that, there’d be no point in sticking to this world's skills.
The god of this place who summoned me likely thinks of me as nothing more than a simple game user.
No matter how powerful a ruler of one dimension is, they can’t know everything about another.
It’s like how a mother knows her own family’s finances inside and out, but not the folks’ next door.
That’s why I used the skills that exist in this game, to hide my true capabilities as much as possible.
Still… well, by now, they must have realized I’m no ordinary guy.
After all, a shut-in who used to just play games in his room is now running around swinging a sword like a pro.
But there’s a world of difference between simply being good with a sword and using skills that contain the essence of great heroes.
I’ll use them when I absolutely have to someday.
But right now, there was no need.
Like I said, I was confident I could save everyone.
As for Kurva… if the man didn't want to live, what was I supposed to do?
“Um, Cloud. Chris’s treatment is finished.”
“Can you walk?”
“No problem,” Chris said as he stood up.
From his grimace, it looked like he was still in pain. But I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about that right now.
“Then both of you, stick close.”
The wolves weren’t about to let us go. That meant we had to fight, but with Zenia and Chris in the way, I couldn’t go all out.
I needed to move them somewhere safe before I could fight properly. And as it happened, the 6th floor had the perfect place to solve this problem.
I started walking forward.
-Grrrrr…
The wolves blocking our path lowered their stances and bared their teeth. I ignored them and kept walking. Chris and Zenia, sticking close to my back, swallowed hard.
-Bark!
The closer we got, the more ferociously the wolves snarled.
They threatened us, flashing their massive fangs.
Still, I kept moving forward.
Finally, when we were about three steps away from the wolves…
-Grrr…
The wolves blocking our path stepped aside. Chris and Zenia let out sighs of relief.
We continued on. We went straight, turned right, and sometimes veered left. The wolves followed, surrounding us on both sides and from behind.
They were persistent, but that was about to end.
Because we had arrived at our destination.
“Cloud? Is this the right place?”
“Yes, it is.”
“…This is a dead end.”
“I know. Why don’t you two try walking over there?”
“To the dead end?”
“Go on.”
At my urging, Zenia tilted her head but supported Chris as they walked toward the spot I indicated.
“We’re he—”
-Click.
The floor beneath their feet gave way.
Just before they fell, they both looked at me with wide eyes.
I gave them a little wave.
The look of betrayal was written all over the mother and son’s faces.
“Kyaaaaaaah!!!”
“You son of a biiiiitch!!”
The pair fell into the hole.
Their screams echoed for a while, but it was fine. A pile of soft leaves below would cushion their fall.
This trap was a device used to trigger an event scene in A Knight’s Affair. When you fall, you’re greeted by a sealed room decorated like a forest, completely devoid of monsters.
In other words, it was safe.
There was an aphrodisiac scent, though…
They’re mother and son, so it should be fine.
Deciding to stop with the useless worries, I turned to face the wolves.
“So that’s why you let me pass so easily… you brought the boss from the 10th floor?”
Among the already large blue wolves stood one that looked twice their size. A sharp horn protruded from its forehead, and its razor-sharp fangs jutted out like tusks.
Crackle.
Electricity sparked from its pointed horn.
“This fucking game, I swear.”
I twirled my sword a few times, then leaped into the pack of wolves.
[Frenzied Strikes]
[Frenzied Strikes]
[Frenzied Strikes]
.
.
.
*
To see the true ending of A Knight’s Affair, you have to come to this dungeon.
The dungeon is filled with various traps, one of which is on the 6th floor.
The other traps are shitty in their own right, but the one on the 6th floor is especially vicious.
If you fall for this trap, Isabelle and one of the NTR-perpetrator men, excluding Mars, will fall into a trap room on the 9th floor.
To rescue them, you have to go all the way down to the 9th floor. This means you have to clear floors meant for a party of four with only two people.
Obviously, it’s fucking hard.
You have to burn through all your consumables just to painstakingly make your way to the trap room.
But while the player is going through all that trouble, what are Isabelle and the NTR guy doing?
Are they just waiting to be rescued?
Of course not.
This is an NTR game.
The trap room, decorated like the middle of a forest, has no monsters. Instead, it’s filled with an aphrodisiac scent. Of course, it’s not just any ordinary aphrodisiac.
It’s a special kind that only takes effect if you harbor romantic feelings for the other person.
I probably don’t need to explain what happens next. The reason I pushed those two into the trap without hesitation is because I knew what kind of trap it was.
It’s safe, with no monsters.
And since they’re mother and son, the aphrodisiac won’t affect them.
Could there be a more perfect safe zone for them?
I swear, they will be safe.
Thanks to that, I could move freely. I methodically cut open the bellies of the dead wolves to harvest their mana cores and sliced off the boss monster’s horn.
I’ll grind this up later to make equipment.
After a successful farming session, I headed down to the 9th floor. Heading straight east, I found the trap room.
Hah… but how do I shut these two up?
I had no intention of trying to clear the dungeon with them again. I realized that no matter how well I did on my own, I couldn’t clear this dungeon alone.
That meant I had to take measures to ensure they didn’t talk about the dungeon outside.
I do have a method in mind.
I could just tie them both up and leave them in the slash-and-burn village where I’d done them a favor before.
I’d just leave them there until I cleared the dungeon and compensate them financially later.
Yes, it was a bit barbaric, but it seemed like the best option.
Having organized my thoughts, I pulled the lever.
With a grinding sound, the stone door opened, and I stepped inside.
“Chris♡ Chriiiis♡”
“Mom, stop this. Please, get a grip!”
…?
What the fuck?
Am I seeing things?
I rubbed my eyes.
“How did you grow up to look just like your father♡ Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for Mommy? I’m going to punish Chris for not understanding Mommy’s feelings and tormenting her. Hiyah♡ Hiyah♡”
“Aaaaaaaah!!! Let go of me! I said let go!!!”
“…”
I stepped back outside and pushed the lever up.
With another grinding sound, the stone door closed.
The trap room was full of food like fruits, so they wouldn’t starve. It was also equipped with all sorts of other strange things, so living there wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
On top of that, the stone door couldn’t be opened from the inside…
My problem of keeping them quiet was solved.
Chris, my boy. Big bro will be right back to get you after I eat this Giant Root Herb.
Be a good son until then.
*
After my plan to clear the dungeon with adventurers fell apart, I was deep in thought.
This was a city, so there were plenty of people who lived by the sword.
However, not a single one of them met my standards. And I had no intention of taking someone mediocre.
With the first attempt failed, I only had two chances left.
If I blew these next two chances, the dungeon’s gate would be closed to me forever. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to get the Giant Root Herb.
Unless I destroyed the dungeon itself.
I really don’t want to do that.
Never mind the attention it would draw, using a technique that powerful with this body would result in some serious backlash.
So, I had to clear the dungeon within the next two tries, no matter what.
“It would be perfect if I had them.”
The party members Cloud gets in the mid-game if he loses all his initial ones.
Shedia, the assassin who wields the power of shadow.
Katarina, an exceptional dancer and swordswoman.
Leslie, the princess of the Policia Duchy who uses the power of ice.
These three weren’t upgrades or downgrades of the initial trio.
Their concepts were completely different.
If the first three were a stable, balanced type, the latter three were a slightly unstable but devastatingly offensive type.
And to be honest, I preferred using the latter three.
The playstyle of surviving fights by the skin of my teeth before landing a powerful blow to defeat an enemy I shouldn’t have been able to beat stirred up old feelings of nostalgia.
I was certain.
If I had them, I could definitely clear this dungeon.
But I can’t get them.
Shedia, Katarina, and Leslie.
You can only recruit them after defeating the mid-to-late-game boss, Behemoth.
And it would be a while before Behemoth appeared. It would probably be at least a few months after the upcoming Imperial Gala.
Waiting that long was out of the question.
Shit, what do I do?
I was seriously contemplating the future of my dick when it happened.
“Oh my? What a coincidence. I never thought I’d run into you here, Cloud.”
An employee from the Adventurer’s Guild appeared behind me.
A woman with brown hair and a mature, alluring aura—Elisa.
She casually sat down next to me and ordered the same ale I was drinking.
“…Is it okay for a married woman to be at a pub alone?”
“I’m a person before I’m a married woman, you know? If I don’t take a break like this every now and then, I can’t stand working the counter at the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Ah, I see.”
I gave a half-hearted nod and finished the rest of my ale.
“Aren’t you being a little cold? Especially for two people who share a secret… that’s so mean.”
Elisa’s eyes drooped as she put on a hurt expression.
What is this act?
“You did swindle 2000 Gold from me. And my time, too.”
“Your time… I take it things didn’t go well?”
“It was a spectacular failure. Thanks to someone introducing me to a bunch of weirdos.”
“Seeing as none of the three I introduced you to have returned, it must have been a more difficult task than I thought.”
“…You could say that.”
The two of them are inside, strengthening their mother-son bond as we speak.
“Then it’s no wonder it failed. To be honest, I expected as much.”
“You expected it?”
Elisa nodded and held up one finger.
“Of course. It’s a monster’s nest, isn’t it? How could four A-rank adventurers possibly handle a job that should require the military?”
?
Four of them can’t clear one monster nest?
What kind of bullshit is that?
No, more importantly…
“Then sending those three was…”
“Ah, please don’t misunderstand. I informed every B-rank and A-rank adventurer in the guild. Only five people responded to your commission, and I simply chose the three who seemed the most capable out of the bunch.”
“I see.”
Hmm.
Uh-huh.
Right.
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
“A terrible plan to destroy your happy home by introducing your husband to a young, beautiful woman.”
“Oh my, that does sound terrible,” Elisa said with a chuckle.
“Funny, right? Yeah, keep laughing.”
The corners of Elisa’s mouth turned down.
“…Did I perhaps make you angry, adventurer?”
“You have the nerve to ask that after swindling 2000 Gold from me?”
In truth, it was more about venting my frustration over wasting one of my dungeon entry chances than the 2000 Gold.
But on second thought, she did have a small part in me wasting it.
Maybe this wasn’t just venting, but righteous anger?
“Hmm… for the sake of my happy family, I suppose I should find a way to appease you quickly.”
“Appease me? Are you going to give me my 2000 Gold back?”
“No, something even better.”
Elisa leaned in closer with a seductive smile.
She brought her lips to my ear.
If you say something weird, I swear I’ll slap you with this ale…
“Three S-rank adventurers. Available right now for the low price of 7000 Gold.”
Eh.
“…What are their levels?”
“31, 32, and 30.”
Gulp. I swallowed dryly.
“…What if they’re false advertising, like last time?”
“You can check their stats.”
I can even check their stats?!
My eyes began to tremble.
Ah…
I can’t…
I really shouldn’t splurge this time…
But contrary to my thoughts, my body was honest. My hand was already pulling out 7000 Gold and handing it to her.
After accepting the 7000 Gold, Elisa smiled seductively, her eyes crinkling.
She whispered into my ear, like a soft breeze.
“Thank you for your business, adventurer♡”