Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: An Adventurer's Private Lessons for Her -10-
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"Knights believe that restraint and endurance will lead them to greater heights. But as an adventurer, I think free expression and action are the true driving forces behind my growth."
"Which of the two is superior?"
"There aren't just those two paths to begin with, and neither holds absolute superiority. That said, individuals do have their relative strengths. If I'd made restraint my guiding principle... I'd probably have died from pent-up frustration. I have to speak my mind to feel satisfied."
"Speaking your mind freely... So that's why you said the more women, the better."
Crack!
I unintentionally tensed up in surprise, my grip tightening hard.
The already-dead guy's neck snapped once more.
"...?"
"I looked into you after we met in the reception room... The receptionist mentioned maids and... various other things."
Rike's voice trailed off smaller and smaller, as if she herself was startled by what she'd started. I bit my lip hard to keep my expression stern.
My words had come back to bite me like karma, but I stood tall.
"...Men are all like that without exception. If anything, the ones who aren't honest about their desires are the creepier perverts."
"Is that so...?"
"It's true. Put a hundred men in a room, and every single one is a pervert."
I had no idea which disloyal bastard had leaked my tavern adventurer talk.
Whoosh!
I tossed the twice-neck-snapped corpse into the furnace and continued the simple lesson amid the cleanup.
The human settlements scattered across this mountain were quite distant, given the vast radius dominated by Nematos.
Even better, most folks here had spotted black mages a few times and just shrugged it off when they paraded around in robes. Made things way too easy.
Aaah! You fool, Groto!!
How the hell did I end up giving this lecherous old geezer something to hold over me?
Even a heartless black mage like me should have some camaraderie with folks from the same group, right?
'The moment I get a chance, I'll drain every drop of blood and kill him...'
The thought of that beautiful beauty hiding a moldy old man's guts inside made my stomach churn.
"It'd be nice if you still had some intact young kids left."
"...How many do you need?"
"You're busy too, so I don't need many. Just about ten pretty ones will do."
"I'll prepare them..."
Kidnap another ten healthy, pretty kids?
That casual "just about" choice of words ignited murderous rage in me.
Damn desk-jockey who knows nothing about fieldwork.
Does he think that's easy?
'Useless trash who can barely manage parlor tricks...'
Hell Broom had certainly contributed greatly to Nematos's growth, but Groto couldn't acknowledge him as a true black mage.
The guy was just a con artist who'd picked up some spells—nothing more, nothing less.
"Well then, I'll take my leave until then."
"...I'll prepare a comfortable rest for you."
Should I sync up with Cribento and just kill Hell Broom outright?
He showed up once a month, turned my insides upside down, and left. I was running out of patience.
'Damn... damn...!'
Even after dozens of enchantments on the sacrifice vessel and my face skin, it was still a mystery how he'd figured out I'd once belonged to the Black Circle.
Groto had considered killing him right here and playing dumb.
But what if he'd shared that info with others? The fear held him back.
Running away and abandoning everything wouldn't solve it either.
The real "monsters" of the Black Circle and Nematos would track him down somehow, making him writhe in agony for life.
'...The future terrifies me.'
It felt like massive walls closing in from all sides.
Knowing the answer for now was to cater to Hell Broom's whims, he moved to summon one of his underlings outside.
'Huh?'
A sudden change furrowed Groto's brow.
"Please wait just a moment."
"Something wrong?"
"Seems there's an issue with the familiars... I'll check and be right back."
Hell Broom nodded absently while groping the young woman in his lap, lost in his desires.
Groto knew his true nature, so watching the "beauty" fondle her felt like nauseating dissonance.
Unable to stomach the horrific sight, Groto squeezed his eyes shut and headed outside.
Even he, who could dine before rotting corpses, drew the line there.
-
Descending a floor and opening the door, he was greeted by his subordinate's corpse—but Groto wasn't surprised.
If anything, his boiling rage cooled.
—Come forth.
At his gesture, two skeletons rose from the earth, shoving aside the dead underlings to clear a path.
"What kind of bastard is this? Kills everyone and casually heads back down from the front door."
Groto passed the skull-smashed corpses and descended to the outside.
At the end stood a robed figure holding a warhammer in one hand.
One more under a distant tree.
And another with a bizarre black sword that seemed to slice the eyes just by looking.
'...Even I can tell that's dangerous.'
If only Cribento, his combat meter, were here to gauge them—but the guy was predictably absent when needed.
"Unbelievable. From the Church?"
The faint divinity flowing along their weapons grated on Groto's nerves.
But the Church didn't skulk around in robes; they proclaimed openly.
High chance it was an impostor masquerading as Church.
'Even so...'
Ridiculous.
To catch him here, they'd need at least a Holy Knight Captain.
He'd survived endless real combat back in the Black Circle days.
Not like your average black mage lounging at tables doing sleazy rituals.
Thinking of Hell Broom inside suddenly made these intruders a welcome distraction.
'Sacrifice vessel's fully stocked.'
Plenty of compliant offerings scattered around for emergencies.
In this rotting pit where sacrifices didn't resist, a black mage was a walking disaster.
Hiss.
The silent intruder suddenly stepped back and hurled a sword from who-knows-where.
"Hup!"
Crunch!
The sword embedded in the blocking skeleton.
A bit startled, but his response wasn't slow.
"Now that I look closer, I finally remember. Shut up and hurry up with your mangy black mutt already."
"Ha... what?"
These guys talked like they knew everything about him.
Felt like being stripped naked and tossed into a city.
Now some punk knew his hidden ace—even Hell Broom didn't—that he'd kept secret.
Unbelievable.
The world kicked and bit at him while he stood still.
"Ha—hahaha...!! Looks like I need to clean house today..."
His resolve finally hardened.
Human memory is truly remarkable.
No matter how routinely I'd made Rike's rescue a must after my first playthrough in my past life.
Something I thought I'd forgotten clicked into place the moment I saw it, my brain tingling before—pop!—it surfaced.
Once one piece recalled, the rest followed in droves.
I didn't remember the incinerator boss's name, but I knew his magic.
During the quest, even groups of holy knights struggled against his black magic prowess.
Which meant killing this guy involved a freakish pattern.
Protagonist and Rike focused on dodging the swarm of familiars.
Meanwhile, holy knights smashed the skeleton wall to stab the main body—clear.
Now I had to solo it.
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"Ha—hahaha...!! Looks like I need to clean house today..."
Thud!
A red coffin-like thing erupted beside him.
The sacrifice casket, black mages' main weapon.
It spewed the stench of rotting corpses and fishy blood in all directions, asserting its presence.
Its grotesque form was ominous as hell.
An inverted black cross etched on it, thorny vines coiled tight.
Blood oozed from the slight gap, soaking the ground.
Anyone could tell it reeked of danger.
But better to wait for him to summon his contracted familiars than rush in now.
Even if I ambushed and killed him outright, no real gain.
—Come forth.
Dozens of skeletons clawed up from the dirt with bony hands, scraping the earth.
Freed from Mother Earth's bonds, the bones gathered around the black mage, forming a thick wall.
"Hoo... impressive skill. That looks sturdy."
Wary of it, he still checked if anyone was sneaking out of the building.
Even if I missed, Rike kept eyes on it—so if Hell Broom was inside, he was already trapped rat.
"I don't know who you are, intruder, but thanks—you've firmed my resolve. No matter the future, everything here dies today to sate me."
Hidden behind bones, the man's voice rang clear.
"Just to confirm—Hell Broom's in the building, right?"
"...Yeah, he is. You after that trash too? Too bad—he's already marked for me."
—All of you, come forth!
Crackle. Crackle.
Skeletons proliferated like bacteria, far more than before, engulfing the entire building.
It turned into a bone prison in seconds.
Watching it, he still couldn't wrap his head around why.
'First time seeing this scenario?'
"Heh heh heh... If I'd known we shared a target, we could've talked more."
"Oh yeah? Infighting among black mages?"
"No point explaining now. Well... you could call this a fight over Hell Broom's life."
Snap!
The black mage flicked his fingers, mana stirring.
Screeech—!!!
Thorny vines unraveled from the casket, which creaked open.
A sinister voice like tinnitus leaked from the black mage's lips.
—■■ ■■■ ■
The blood soaking the ground reversed flow, greedily sucked into the casket with vitality.
Evidently hiding plenty of humans inside, bloody waves surged and crashed into the vessel.
Grind!
The sound of something solid being pulverized.
The blood-gorged casket spat out something black and massive.
Thud! Thud!
—Grrrrrr...
From a casket barely big enough for one person, a house-sized wolf emerged amid dust clouds.
Its fur blazed black hellfire, six red eyes glowing.
Its split tail curved like a scorpion stinger, sharper than any sword, poison beading at the tip.
Green flames rippled around its maw with every breath.
"Aaah—!! Magnificent every time."
The man's ecstatic voice drifted from between skeletons.
'No need to pierce the bones from the start. Just take down that wolf—clear.'
This black mage shared life with his familiars and had to control them directly.
Sure enough, the skeleton wall had thickened even more in the interim.
Now nothing was visible through the bones.
"You've waited this long—shall we begin?"
Before the big show, I habitually rolled my neck and shoulders a few times.
This time, with solid rewards on the line, it wouldn't end in one or two easy strikes.
"Waited for you? Absurd... Did killing a few weaklings here make you lose your fear? Can't you see this majesty?!!"
—Graaaah!!!
The familiar roared a flame-laced howl, feeling dissed too.
I leaped back from the erupting blaze, drawing a sword and spear.
"Kuh—finally something worthy of me."
"Laughing? Has the terror broken your mind? You've been spouting nonsense."
I stabbed the sword into the ground and properly gripped the spear.
Fwoosh!
Blue flames burst from the spear tip.
"Monster extermination? That's my specialty."