Chapter 61
Chapter 61
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Murder Hotel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"......"
"Daniel? We've arrived."
"......"
"Daniel?"
"Yeah, did you call me?"
"I said we're here."
At Hayun's words urging me to get out of the carriage, I shook myself back to reality and stepped down. But my expression must have been grim because Rin and Hayun looked at me with concern.
"You okay?"
As Rin approached me with worry, drawing much closer than usual, a strange feeling stirred inside me.
'......'
It wasn't Rin's fault.
In fact, Rin was the victim.
I knew that, but Eris's bittersweet smile and words as I left for good had lodged deep in my chest.
'It seems you have things you need to do. I can't hold you back.'
Yet even then, she had whispered softly in my ear at the end.
'When everything is over, I'll ask you again.'
A polite refusal.
She had said those words, but I wasn't fool enough to miss that she was subtly showing she had feelings for me too.
Still, a refusal was a refusal.
It had hit me harder than expected, leaving me staring blankly into space more often than not.
"Sigh, snap out of it. She said she'd ask you again later, so she doesn't hate you."
Hayun whispered discreetly in my ear so Rin wouldn't hear. I'd told her about things with Eris since she'd been helping, and sure enough, Hayun was great at steadying my nerves.
"Thanks."
Right. I couldn't afford to waver like this.
I was Daniel McClain, the sherpa who conquered the Demon Realm Forest.
It felt like I'd regressed to the old Daniel before my return, lost in the unknown territory of romance that I knew nothing about. But now it was time to change that.
Maybe my mindset shift showed in my expression.
Hayun gave my shoulder a satisfied pat.
"So, what now? Are you heading back home, Daniel?"
"I wasn't planning to, but... if Rin wants to go, I will."
"What about me?"
We'd only planned to go to Yggdrasil, and now that was done, we suddenly had nothing to do.
Vacation still had plenty of time left.
In this awkward spot, we returned to the Phrygia Kingdom for now, but night had fallen, so we decided to stay in the city of Bethel right by the border.
We had passed through on the way to Yggdrasil but hadn't entered the city proper. It turned out to be surprisingly clean.
Being near the border, it had plenty of inns. Among them, we unpacked at a decent three-story hotel the guard recommended— a bit worn but not bad.
Two rooms, of course.
Girls' room and boys' room. Suddenly alone in a spacious room, I lay back on the bed contentedly.
"......"
Closing my eyes brought thoughts of Eris unbidden. I shook my head, trying to think of something else.
And then.
Whish.
The room was wrapped in quiet stillness, only a faint wind sound drifting in, as the late night edged toward dawn.
"Hm?"
Wind sound?
I bolted up and checked the window right away.
It was closed.
Besides, this wasn't some breeze slipping through a window crack.
Closing my eyes briefly, I strained my ears just in case. People's presence came from right next door to my room.
The key point: my room was at the end of the second floor.
In other words, there was 'someone' in what should have been outside.
Unless they were floating, it meant this hotel had one more hidden room.
"What a ridiculous situation."
It was a bit rundown, but the owner—an elderly lady—had been quite kind, and the price wasn't bad, so we'd chosen it. And they were pulling this?
I didn't know their intent, but it worked out fine.
Better to move my body like this than dwell on useless thoughts. I grabbed my sword and stood.
"Hmm."
What to do.
I'd found what looked like a passage, but I couldn't open it from this side, or maybe there was some mechanism I didn't know about. No way through.
Waiting it out wasn't an option either. Who knew what tricks they might pull—Rin and Hayun could be in danger.
'No, they'd probably target them first before me.'
Two pretty female students sleeping together.
These weren't amateurs; they were pros at this kind of ambush.
"Tricks like this are for the weak anyway."
I just kicked straight through their passage wall.
With a crunch, the old hotel wall shattered in a roar.
Inside was a staircase connecting to the first and third floors. I spotted guys crouched on it playing poker.
"Huh?"
"Wh-what?"
They looked more shocked to see me than I was. I grinned and waved hello.
"Deal me in."
I kicked the face of the guy sitting right at the top of the stairs. They all clustered together and tumbled down.
"Kinda anticlimactic?"
They'd been playing big stakes; I pocketed their thick wad of cash and headed straight down to the first floor.
They'd rolled hard—already out cold.
The exit came out behind the hotel counter. It was dark, hard to see clearly.
But a thin poison needle slicing through the air was easy enough to bat away.
"You deflected that?"
An old woman's voice.
The hotel owner who'd handed us the keys with a kindly smile.
"Little one, you're no ordinary kid. Deflecting my hidden weapons in this darkness."
She tsked, openly mocking me.
'Hmm.'
No presence.
No matter how sharp I tuned my senses, I couldn't pinpoint the old woman.
Trying to track by sound failed too—her raspy voice echoed from all directions.
Clang, clang.
"Y-you deflected that too?"
But something felt off: her hidden weapon skills.
"First-rate at hiding, but third-rate or worse with projectiles. Doesn't that strike you as weird?"
"Sharp tongue on you, brat!"
"Age slowing your hands? Or did you borrow power from some 'other' source?"
No reply, just more projectiles flying in denial.
Another oddity: they came from every direction except behind me, against the wall.
To pull that off, she'd need insane speed or a crowd.
'It's just the old woman.'
That much was clear.
Just me and her here.
So how was she doing it?
Another volley whistled in, but one stood out—different force and sound.
"Got you."
I deflected and leaped straight up.
Nearly touching the ceiling, I spotted her in the dark: clinging upside down like a spider.
Grabbed her head and slammed her down.
Crunch.
The old hotel floor cracked; her scream mixed with a dull thud.
Projectiles still flew, but I swatted them and lit a light.
"Wow, living in the forest kept me out of the loop. Tools have come a long way."
Corner of the counter: autoloading crossbows.
Magic-tracked my position; a switch up top shut them down easily.
"Couldn't tell in the dark, but you're hideous up close."
I thought she was just stuck to the ceiling. Nope.
Four huge, wriggling spider legs sprouted from her back. They pinned her to the floor.
"H-how did you know?! You couldn't! Devil Spider stealth fools even kingdom knights and elves!"
"All your shots had the same force and timing—except one. Figured that's where you were."
"Y-you noticed that?!"
I grinned at her horrified face.
"I've got good instincts."
I wanted to say anyone roughhousing with beasts in the forest could do it.
"You've straight-up become a monster."
This was beyond playing around—she was one.
And Devil Spiders, as she said, were darkness predators even presence-sensitive knights and elves missed.
"A beast from the Demon Realm Forest?"
They lived at the forest's entrance.
Her massive spider legs twitched, trying to escape. It grated on me, so I snapped.
"Where'd you get these? Doesn't look store-bought."
"Shut up! Think I'd tell you? When my comrades arrive, a punk like you is—!"
Slash.
"Gaaaaah!"
One leg off; she shrieked deafeningly.
Old, but vigorous. Devil Spider perk?
"Hm, pain on the cut means it's truly fused."
"Y-you psycho! You slashed to check?!"
Slash.
"Gaaaaah!"
Foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling white. Couldn't go easy—the thick, cloying blood stench from the stairs still stung my nose.
How many had met cruel ends in this hotel's secret?
"Two hands, four legs left now. Plenty more."
I swung my sword at the spider-old-woman again.