Chapter 139
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Unicorn
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Man, so much has happened. I'm really tired.
"Master... hehehe... If I keep watch like this forever..."
"...I'm awake."
After praising Pandora for looking after my body while I was logged into the Fantasy Auction House, I put my [Cleaning Mask] back on in preparation for entering the auction house.
Hmm. Yeah, I need this. At this point, I feel weird without the mask.
"Hmmm... The master's awake too? Hm?"
Erzsebet, who had entered the auction house with me, yawned long and hard as she got up, then stared intently at my face.
"What?"
"...Master. Don't you ever think about just going around with your face uncovered?"
"Nope."
This [Cleaning Mask] has so many functions attached to it. With it on, I can breathe in poison gas without a problem, even underwater... For someone as fragile as me, how important do you think this is?
"Whatever, fine... I'm going to get some sleep."
"Weren't you just sleeping?"
"Feels different. The feeling."
I get what she means, but... maybe it's time to tighten up discipline again? I let her slack off a bit after praising her hard work, but lately, Erzsebet seems to be getting lazier by the day.
She must be a little down from not running into that 'Empress' at the auction house, so I'll leave her be for now.
"Any incidents while I was gone?"
I always get nervous asking my subordinates for reports. Like, what if heroes showed up out of nowhere in the meantime?
"No incidents to report... Ah. Lady Aqua did come up to the surface for some reason and wandered around."
"Oh?"
Good, no incidents. Aqua usually stays in the water, so it's a bit unusual for her to come out... Did she get sulky because I didn't take her to the auction house?
'Guess I should go placate her a little... Hm? What's this? She's underground? Did she go back down?'
I checked Aqua's location with the [Quick Movement] function after hearing the report from my subordinate, but she was back in the underground lake like usual. Eh... Nothing special, then. She must've just wandered around and gone back down.
Anyway, I'll soothe Aqua later...
"Did the dungeon merchant show up?"
"He arrived right as you woke up, Master. Shall I bring him in?"
"Yeah."
I need to pick up my purchases anyway. Unlike my original plan, I ended up buying just one type of monster—and only a single one at that—but all in all, I scored quite a bit.
"Ohoho! Customer! First, allow me to thank you for using our Fantasy Auction House..."
"Skip it. The goods?"
I ignored the dungeon merchant trying to butter me up with flattery again and checked out the items he brought.
The plants can go to Dryad for now, and that cursed magic sword... I wonder if the performance holds even after removing the curse. I'll have Pandora analyze it. The various types of blood for alchemy materials, I'll give to Erzsebet once she's up...
"We have this as well. Be careful. It's in a new container now, but it'll corrode and melt away within 24 hours. With that in mind, this set of 20 storage vials perfect for containing this poison is available for 50,000 gold..."
"No need."
The poison itself cost less than 50,000 gold, so why would the storage cost that much? Sure, it's tricky to store, which is why it sold cheap... But I have my own way to keep it.
"Ah. Be careful. Even a tiny bit inhaled through the respiratory system is lethal."
That's fine too. My max-level [Cleaning Mask] isn't for show. It even withstood poison from a holy relic used by some hero I can't even remember anymore.
I'll store this in my [Janitor's Gloves] or [Janitor's Shoes] later, even if it looks a bit messy... The most important thing is something else.
"The most important?"
"Right here... But be cautious. We've applied enslavement magic due to its nature, but it often ignores it and goes berserk..."
I set aside the other items, and as the dungeon merchant brought up the one I'd been looking forward to most, he fetched a heavily sealed iron cage from the back.
Inside it was a beautiful pure-white horse bound in all sorts of restraints, kicking wildly.
"Oh."
A horn. A real horn on a horse. This is kinda moving. Ever since falling into this world, it's been nothing but hardships, but suddenly I feel a bit better.
"As you're probably aware... The unicorn symbolizes purity and cleansing. Due to that trait, it doesn't mesh well with us demons, making it the cheapest among top-grade monsters."
I bought the unicorn for a mere 330,000 gold. Considering the other top-grade monsters in the previous catalog averaged around 500,000 gold, that's ridiculously cheap.
"Truth be told, its value as a monster is secondary; most of the price comes from that horn. A unicorn horn alone is worth 200,000 gold."
And it even regrows after being cut off after some time. Factoring that in, 330,000 gold is practically giving it away, but...
"Pruuung! Purruk!!"
The moment the dungeon merchant approached the cage while introducing the unicorn, the bound unicorn went berserk.
The enslavement magic's authority was still with the merchant since he hadn't handed over the contract link yet, but it ignored that completely, enduring the immense pain to show hostility toward him.
"...As you see, it only acknowledges 'pure beings' and treats all others as enemies... It attacks humans and demons alike ferociously."
Pure being. 'Pure' can mean many things, but unicorns apply it very strictly.
"We've even mobilized demons who maintained their virginity for ages to tame it, but even they weren't accepted. Though its hostility was less than toward others..."
When people think of 'purity' and unicorns, they imagine pure virgins. Indeed, this world's unicorns are known to favor 'pure virgins' most.
But the unicorns' standard for 'pure virgins' goes beyond mere virginity; even women who approached relying solely on that were rejected, making the criteria extremely stringent.
Nowadays, unicorns' value lies in their rarity for collection, as a source of useful horns, or—if used in combat—throwing one at enemies with restraints loosened. No one left tries to truly 'tame' a unicorn.
But I had my own confidence...
'Wouldn't Jeanne work?'
A bona fide saintess. One who communicates directly with God and has lived her whole life cloistered in a temple—couldn't she pass even the unicorn's picky standards? Its trait of being choosy about habitats won't find anything cleaner than these ruins.
'It likes clean places because of its purifying nature.'
With that in mind, I first took over the enslavement magic authority from the dungeon merchant. Then, approaching the cage for a closer look...
"Be careful. It's a well-made cage, but the unicorn's strength could break it... Hm?"
But as I drew near the unicorn and placed my hand on the cage, unlike its frenzy toward the merchant earlier, it stood still, gazing quietly at me.
"Pruuung... Purruk..."
Then, as I extended my hand, it sniffed as if smelling something, tilted its head slightly, and pressed its head against my hand.
"No way... The unicorn accepts you?"
"...?"
Should I be happy about this? I just wanted to take a close look... Why?
"H-Have you, customer, actually maintained your puri—"
"Shut it."
I silenced the dungeon merchant before his weird misunderstanding and quietly stared at the unicorn, which neither rejected me nor approached eagerly.
'Distinguishing by scent?'
It twitched its nostrils, sniffed me, and calmed down. Maybe unicorns differentiate pure from impure beings by smell?
My gear, starting with the [Janitor's Clothes], doesn't allow a speck of filth, so I have no scent at all. Erzsebet said I lack not just the blood scent all living beings should have, but even faint sweat or body odor...
Perhaps the scent unicorns detect for judgment is completely erased from me too.
"Purruk!"
Still, when I reached to stroke its mane, it snorted lightly as if sulking, so it doesn't fully like or accept me yet.
Just neutral—not good, not bad. Compared to its wild hostility toward the merchant earlier, that's mild.
"Ooh... The unicorn doesn't reject you. Do you have some secret? If you shared it..."
"Take your pay and go."
I shooed away the dungeon merchant gleaming with interest again and brought the non-rejecting unicorn inside the ruins. Along the way, the cursed magic circles under its path faintly erased... A bit of a waste, but proof of its abilities.
"Master. You're back? What did the dungeon merchant... Hah! A unicorn!!"
The demons inside the ruins spotted me one by one and recognized the unicorn in shock.
Unicorns are extremely rare and hard to encounter, but well-known due to their uniqueness. Many recognized the white horse with a horn immediately and approached out of curiosity one by one.
"Purruk!! Neigh!!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Everyone, stay back!"
The unicorn, which had been relatively calm by my side, suddenly went berserk, showing indiscriminate hostility in all directions.
It looked ready to attack if left alone, so I hurriedly held back the other demons and called for the person I'd been hoping for.
"Jeanne?"
"You called... Oh my."
Jeanne rushed over at my call, started to greet me, then spotted the unicorn and her eyes sparkled.
Though a type of monster, unicorns' habits are well-known even among humans. Unlike demons, always seen as enemies, unicorns symbolize 'purity,' so they don't approach humans unpleasantly. Jeanne in particular showed strong curiosity.
"This... is a unicorn, right? So cute."
As Jeanne approached the unicorn delightedly and slowly, unlike its earlier wild snorting, it seemed to sense something and stood still, looking at her.
Jeanne gently stroked its mane, and unlike with me, it accepted without the slightest resistance. Jeanne seemed a bit tense at first but smiled brightly once it accepted her touch.
As if pleased to be acknowledged as a saintess—and a 'pure being.'
'As expected. There's something different about a saintess.'
Well, if it likes pure beings, who else but a saintess? It rejected other virgins before, so purity isn't just virginity, but a saintess should suffice...
"Master? What are you... Ah! The one you bought earlier!"
Right then, as Jeanne and the unicorn were slowly bonding, Lilith approached from afar. Come to think of it, I assigned Lilith to watch Jeanne, so it's no surprise she's here too. Still, I should tell Lilith to stay back a bit...
"Pruuuung!!!!"
"Wh-What?"
And at that moment.
The unicorn, meekly accepting Jeanne's touch, suddenly convulsed like it was having a fit, shattered its restraints before anyone could stop it, and charged at Lilith.
'Damn it!'
Lilith is a dream demon. One that feeds on male essence. Perhaps the purity-obsessed unicorn sensed her aura and flew into massive hostility?
"Shit. [Quick Mo—"
As I hurriedly tried to evacuate Lilith with [Quick Movement], the rampaging unicorn stopped dead right in front of her. And then...
"Neigh!!"
"...Wh-What? M-Master? What's it doing?"
"...??"
As if inviting her to ride, it flattened itself right in front of Lilith.
"Sniff sniff... Pruuung!!"
Twitching its nostrils repeatedly, savoring the scent of this miraculous being—a dream demon who, despite her nature, had preserved her virginity for centuries.