Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Reward
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Karen's house had several magic tools for cleaning, so wiping away the traces of last night's events was a simple matter.
Even though it was sex that somehow fell short by 2%, my body felt incredibly light today, thanks to having done something that could at least be called sex.
"Mm... you're up already?"
I'd woken up early in the morning, headed to the training grounds, and was doing some light stretching when Karen emerged, rubbing her eyes. She looked like she'd had a restless night, and she greeted me.
"You look tired."
"...Eh, just didn't sleep well."
Karen, who always seemed so full of energy, was showing a rare moment of weakness. Curious, I asked about it, and she yawned while stretching.
'Whoa.'
Just as my eyes were drawn to her breasts swelling even more as she stretched her body out, I remembered seeing her naked by accident yesterday and apologized again.
"Master, about last night... I'm really sorry..."
"Ah, no. No need to bring it up."
Karen waved it off, saying she wasn't bothered at all.
Her face seemed a little flushed for someone who didn't care... but no need to dwell on it.
'Hmm...'
Instead, memories of last night kept bubbling up, stirring my excitement.
Still, I took a small breath and drew a line.
'A duplicate is a duplicate. The original is the original.'
Having thoroughly enjoyed myself with the duplicate, I shouldn't project those feelings onto the real Karen like some entitled fool.
Honestly, while indulging in Karen's body last night, a few questions had come to mind that I wanted to ask her about...
'Take it slow. Slow.'
If she asked why I was inquiring, I'd be at a loss for excuses.
It's only been a few weeks since I met Karen. Keep that in mind.
If I got ahead of myself, feeling close just because I'd mixed with her duplicate, it'd end up in a mess with nothing to show for it.
"By the way, Master... you said you heard about the guild request I took on?"
"Yeah. That's why I went looking for you after hearing about it."
I suppressed my curiosity and lust toward Karen, pretending to be casual as I started a light conversation.
The topic was my promotion exam that I'd taken.
"What happened with that request?"
"Ah... come to think of it, I didn't tell you. Bottom line: you passed the exam itself. But the necromancer part won't count toward your record."
"Won't count toward my record?"
"Normally, even without an official request, taking down Evil God followers gets credited as achievements. But this time, it was such an irregular situation, and to keep the citizens from panicking, they've decided to cover it up."
Cover-up... a cover-up, huh.
It rubbed me the wrong way a bit, but I could understand it.
If people found out a necromancer had been hiding in the sewers right under where they lived, even I'd lose faith in the city's defenses.
"It might not sit well, but try to understand. The higher-ups are always like that."
"I'm not really bothered by that part."
If anything, I was relieved it wouldn't be publicized.
Just looking at Clarice's attitude during the interrogation, even if I was just a lowly E-rank, news of a necromancer getting taken down by the likes of me would draw unwanted attention.
As someone holding a few secrets, I wanted to avoid the spotlight.
"But the reward money will be generous. And the promotion exam was a success, of course."
"Oh... that's unexpected. I figured since they weren't counting it as a record to cover it up, they'd ignore an E-rank adventurer and hush it all away."
"When I went to the guild and saw that was the direction they were going, I threw a fit."
"......"
What was that? Why did Karen's face seem to glow?
Was this the grace of a master...?
Apparently, a former A-rank adventurer could just storm into the guild and raise hell.
"I told the Revel branch chief you're my disciple, so you shouldn't run into any trouble, investigations, or harassment."
"Ooh... Master...!"
"No need to look at me like that, it's embarrassing... Anyway, head to the guild, and you should get your D-rank badge and the reward. Want me to come with?"
"No, I'll go alone."
"Alright. Oh, before that..."
-Whoosh!!!
With that, Karen tossed something my way.
I caught it reflexively and felt its substantial weight in my hand as I looked at her.
"Master, this is...?"
"I told you. If you ranked up to D, I'd give you something good."
I gazed at Karen's grinning expression and then at the object in my hand.
A longsword with an overall black sheen.
It exuded a premium quality utterly different from the one I'd been using, its heavy presence waiting for its new owner in my grasp.
"It's the sword I used back when I was active as a C-rank. Made with black iron as the base, so it's light and sturdy. It holds mana pretty well too, but that's irrelevant for you right now..."
I half-listened to Karen's explanation of the sword while, as if entranced, drawing it from its sheath.
'Sharp.'
I hadn't cut anything with it yet... but no doubt about it. This sword was on a whole other level compared to my old one—a true masterpiece.
It fit my hand perfectly, as if made just for me, and the evenly forged blade maintained perfect balance without any shift in the center of gravity.
"And... I was just going to give you the sword, but since you did something even greater, I should throw in some extra compensation, right?"
I was already thrilled with just the sword, but Karen handed me one more item.
A sturdy leather pouch.
"It's a lowest-grade sub-space pouch."
"Sub-space?"
"Think of it as having more space inside than it looks like from the outside."
From the name alone, I could guess what it meant, so I reached into the pouch.
A pouch only slightly larger than my palm somehow allowed me to insert my arm up to the elbow.
"Higher-end sub-space magic tools come as accessories with all sorts of functions, but this one's basic... Still, it should hold enough rations and camping gear for long-term requests."
"...! Thank you!"
Karen said it like it was no big deal, but I'd heard rumors about sub-space magic tools before.
Even the cheapest ones cost hundreds of gold... and she was just handing it over like this.
Maybe the greatest stroke of fortune since coming to this world wasn't my Duplication ability or the changes from using the Black Sacred Relic—it was meeting Karen?
"I've given you your reward, so get going. I need to prepare to head out myself."
The way Karen treated this level of reward so nonchalantly was so cool, anyone would fall for her.
'It makes my conscience sting all over again.'
With a master like this, what I did last night... No, that was the duplicate... Yeah. It shouldn't count against the real Karen, right?
.
.
.
Leaving Karen's mansion, I headed straight for the Adventurer's Guild.
There, a man who looked higher-ranking than the usual receptionists came rushing out, led me to a small room, and handed over my D-rank adventurer badge and the reward money.
"We've added a bit more than what the Temple and Guild appraised. It won't fully repay the hardship you endured, but..."
"No, it's fine."
"Th-then, please put in a good word with Lady Karen..."
"......"
I'd expected some strong-arming or pressure to shut up... but the man, who introduced himself as the vice branch chief, pleaded with me in an incredibly humble manner.
'Master... what the hell did you do?'
Might've been my imagination, but the vice guild master's face had a bruise. No way... Nah, probably not.
Anyway, thanks to that, the reward from the guild was 20 gold coins—exactly the same amount as what Laila's master had given me before.
'Is hush money fixed at 20 gold in this world or something?'
A trivial doubt crossed my mind, but I'd ranked up to D as desired, and now I had a nice sum of money.
Since I was already at the guild, I asked the receptionists for some info, took a minor request, and left the city.
'Can't wait to try it out.'
The black iron sword Karen had gifted me as a promotion reward for reaching D-rank.
My hands itched to test this sword asserting its presence at my waist as soon as possible.
And... a few other things I was dying to check right away.
"Gruk!!"
Arriving at the mountain path east of Revel, I soon spotted a familiar monster: short stature, green skin.
'Goblins really are everywhere.'
"Kerruk!!"
I slowly drew the black iron sword from its sheath, watching the goblin charge at me, drooling.
Even on its first use, it felt perfect in my hand. Timing it right, I swung with crisp precision.
-Slash!!
"Kek!!"
"Whoa."
And that was that.
The aggressively charging goblin met its end in a single clash, its head severed clean off.
'This is insane. Even cutting through the cervical vertebrae, there's no resistance.'
It wasn't just slicing skin—it cleaved straight through bone—yet the blade felt no hitch.
Thanks to its perfect balance, swinging it didn't tire my arm or wrist much either.
And... above all...
"It looks badass."
A black longsword. A bit chuunibyou vibe, but damn, it looked cool.
Though personally, I preferred red over black.
Like the one I used in the ruins underground...
'...No. Don't think stupid thoughts.'
A sudden desire welled up from deep inside, but I desperately suppressed it.
The desire born from hearing about Gula's 'Digestion' ability from Karen and guessing the cause of my body's changes.
'If I duplicate Gula again and absorb nutrients...'
Just like my body underwent near-evolutionary changes before, maybe I'd gain even greater power?
Especially after nearly dying again this time, the temptation was hard to resist with an easy path to strength dangling right in front of me.
-Slap!!
"Get it together."
I smacked my cheek hard to snap out of it.
...Too hard? In manga, they do this, but now my inner cheek tastes faintly of blood...
'Back then... it was because Gula fixated on the high-quality prey right in front of it that I survived.'
I closed my eyes, recalling the moment I duplicated the Black Sacred Relic, the Sword of Gluttony, Gula.
The famished Gula awoke and immediately devoured the nearest prime prey.
Not me, a mere E-rank adventurer, but the Evil God follower with his strong body and power first.
Only as a second choice did it take part of my arm, letting me survive.
But what if I duplicated the relic again?
'Not sure if this phrasing fits, but... if Gula saw my body now, wouldn't it still look pretty tasty?'
Botch the duplication trying to absorb nutrients, and I might end up as the nutrient instead.
Even after time passed, the sensation of Gula eating part of me back then hadn't faded.
Thanks to that, I still felt like I could recreate it and duplicate Gula... but this was a power I really shouldn't use lightly.
'If there's prey even tastier right in front of it, maybe it'd ignore my evolved self...? No. Just... stop with the crazy ideas.'
Even as I tried to steel myself, temptation kept blooming in a corner of my mind.
Another me inside whispered in my ear as it drew near.
'It's fine. You won't die.'
...The kind of line that explains why men die young.
Whipping myself for being tempted by that, I suppressed it and recalled my original goal, avoiding thoughts of Gula's duplication.
"Sword check's good enough..."
I cleared away the three goblins that had come running at their kin's screams only to die the same way, wiped the blood from the black iron sword, and sheathed it.
I'd rushed out of the city like this not just to test the black iron sword's power from Karen.
'While the 'proficiency' is still fresh.'
With the 'proficiency' toward a certain target still lingering in my mind, I wanted to experiment with something—which was why I'd come here.
No way I could test this inside the city.
"No one's around...?"
I climbed a tree to survey the surroundings, checking for any people.
Even with my sharpened post-evolution senses, I only picked up monsters like animals or goblins—no human presence.
Still uneasy, I double- and triple-checked, then headed to the densest thicket just in case. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused on one image.
'I... could duplicate living beings. And corpses too.'
I'd duplicated Karen while she was still alive, full of vitality, perfectly.
And back in the sewers, in a pinch, I'd duplicated a 'corpse' to lay a trap and manipulate the necromancer.
So... what about something in between? A living being and a corpse?
Could I duplicate that undead-like existence I'd fought in the sewers... directly?
'Proficiency is sufficient.'
I'd fought it covered in its fluids, touched it, torn it apart and killed it—proficiency was more than stacked.
Now... time to reap the results.
"Duplication."
I invoked it, visualizing the walking corpse in my mind.