Chapter 330: Loot
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 330: Loot
"Phew..."
As the last glimmer of light faded from Fullar’s eyes, Liya abruptly let go and rolled off her, her chest still heaving.
She looked at her hands, stained red with blood, and pursed her lips, fighting back the urge to cry.
She had killed again...
She really hated this.
She truly didn't want to do it.
But... but there was no other way. In that situation, if she hadn't acted, Muen would have been in grave danger.
She had to do it, didn't she?
Speaking of Muen...
Liya suddenly looked up, meeting a pair of wide, dumbstruck eyes.
The two of them stared at each other.
Seeing Muen’s stunned expression, Liya’s heart leaped into her throat. For some reason, she felt incredibly nervous.
"It... it’s not what you think!"
Liya waved her small hands frantically, explaining in a rush:
"I... I’m not the kind of person who likes sneaking around and stabbing people. I... I just..."
"That was incredible."
Muen finally snapped out of it. Looking at Fullar, who had died with her eyes wide open, he instinctively rubbed his own side before praising her.
"Did you defeat Barton all by yourself, Liya? You’re usually not one for fighting."
Liya defeating Barton was truly beyond Muen’s expectations.
After all, even in the original novel, while Liya was exceptional in many ways as the Saintess, her lack of direct combat ability was a concrete part of her character setting.
But for the girl to appear here, she either had to have escaped Barton or defeated him.
Since Barton hadn't caught up yet, it had to be the latter.
And judging by the proficiency with which she had just remained hidden, approached, and delivered a one-hit kill... Barton’s end might have been rather miserable.
Amen...
Muen couldn't help but start praying for the man.
"As expected of you, Liya."
Seeing the girl staring at him blankly for some reason, Muen praised her again.
"I thought you’d only be able to shake him off, but I never expected you to defeat him outright. You’ve completely exceeded my expectations. Truly impressive."
His tone remained gentle, his smile bright.
There was no hidden meaning in his words; it felt like the instinctive concern and praise of a kind person.
However, Liya stared at Muen’s face for a long time, as if dazzled by that smile.
Then, she lowered her head.
She looked at Fullar, who still stared up with unseeing eyes.
Her small hand clenched the air slightly.
She seemed to be searching for the sensation she’d felt just moments ago.
Hmm.
The corners of Liya’s mouth curved slightly.
It seemed...
It wasn't as unpleasant as she had imagined.
"...Hmm?"
Catching a glimpse of the girl’s profile and noticing that ambiguous smile, Muen felt a sudden, inexplicable shiver.
Wait, I didn't just awaken some strange new trait in her by tossing out a few compliments, did I?
Surely... surely not.
"Ah, right."
Having no time to dwell on that, Muen suddenly asked nervously:
"Um... Liya, did you see anything just now?"
"See what?"
Liya, her heart gradually calming, looked up in confusion. "What do you mean specifically?"
"Just... well, something about me?"
"Something about you?"
Liya thought for a moment and shook her head.
"No. When I arrived, I saw this person using magic, so I immediately concealed my presence and approached. As for your side... I wasn't really paying attention."
"Is that so?"
Muen breathed a sigh of relief.
"That’s good then."
That was a close one.
In that split second earlier, he naturally hadn't had the time to deploy his Alchemy Domain, so his Crimson Flame had been exposed without any concealment.
With anyone else, he might have been able to bluff his way through, but Liya was the future Saintess of the Church of Human Life. If she found out he was connected to an Evil God, not only would all his previous life-saving preparations go to waste, but she might even take it upon herself to "enforce divine justice" and eliminate him as a world-threatening heretic before Ariel even got the chance.
Fortunately, she hadn't seen it.
"Still... I really have to thank you, Liya. You truly saved me this time," Muen said with a smile.
"It... it was nothing big."
A faint blush crept back onto Liya’s cheeks.
"Haven't I been saved by you many times as well?"
"That’s different. I was the one who dragged you into trouble before, so I had to take responsibility. But this time, you really did save my life."
Muen crouched down and began rummaging through Fullar’s belongings, speaking casually:
"I honestly thought I was a goner just now. I’ll have to find a good way to repay you later."
"..."
Liya lowered her head, shyly tracing patterns on the ground with the tip of her toe.
Her small hands were hidden behind her back.
She clenched the air again.
...
"What are you doing?"
Liya looked curiously at Muen, who was busy crouching over Fullar’s body. He was patting her down in a way that made him look like a pervert with some very specific fetters—the kind who would be arrested by the Imperial authorities and locked away until he rotted.
"Collecting the loot, of course!"
Muen’s eyes sparkled as he rubbed his hands together in excitement.
"The dungeon is cleared, isn't this the part everyone looks forward to most?"
Just like the protagonist of a novel, after a life-and-death struggle with an enemy, collecting enough loot to fund the next level-up was the kind of plot point that made the blood pump.
But Muen was quickly disappointed.
"Why is she so poor?"
Muen looked at the items in his hand with pure disdain.
Aside from a single spatial ring that looked somewhat expensive, there were only a few accessories of such low quality that, in the Duke’s estate, they would only be fit for decorating a doorframe.
He had already tossed the magic wand aside because he couldn't use it, and... the quality was abysmal.
"That’s it?"
Muen sighed helplessly.
"How is this supposed to be satisfying?"
After fighting a boss for so long, all she dropped was some worthless inorganic trash. If this were a game, it would definitely be slammed as a "shit-tier" title.
In the end, his only hope rested on the spatial ring.
After a moment’s thought, Muen drew Elizabeth.
Although a brute-force breach might damage the contents, it was his only option.
The trope from his past life’s novels where "the protagonist clears the mental imprint with a single thought" simply didn't exist for these spatial magic devices crafted with specific magical and alchemical techniques.
Without the specific magical frequency, it was like a lock without a key; one could only force it open. Even forcing it was difficult; at the very least, his Lockpicking LV8 was completely useless here.
Fortunately, for Elizabeth, it was no trouble at all.
As the blade swung down, the hardened magic device shattered instantly.
The contents burst forth like scattered flower petals, fluttering down and burying Muen.
"Muen..."
Liya’s voice came, sounding a bit cold.
"Is... is this the 'loot' you were talking about?"
"..."
After a brief silence, Muen snatched away a piece of thin fabric covering his face.
Hmm, purple, with lace. Far inferior to Senior Sister’s taste, but still enough to make a man’s imagination run wild.
Feeling the girl’s gaze—which was currently treating him like absolute scum—Muen’s mouth twitched.
Dammit, I forgot there would definitely be intimate wear inside.
"Ahem."
With a flick of his mana, Muen blew the surrounding items away and coughed dryly.
"You’ve got it wrong. I’m not interested in this kind of stuff."
"...Really?"
The girl’s skeptical gaze swept over him.
Thinking of a certain previous incident, a guilty Muen quickly changed the subject.
"An-anyway, Liya, if you see anything you like, just take it. Consider it compensation for the things you lost earlier."
With that, Muen turned away as if fleeing, rummaging through the pile on the ground. After searching for a while and finding nothing of interest, he muttered, "Novels really are full of lies," picked up a reasonably pure magic crystal, and began to recover his mana.
Liya blinked, finally shifting her gaze from Muen to the items scattered on the ground.
Unlike Muen’s disdain, she quickly discovered many items of significant value.
Precision-crafted magic devices, scrolls thick with mana, magical beast cores of decent purity...
"It’s not as bad as he said."
This was, after all, the collection of a genuine Fourth-Tier Mage. It was enough to make many people green with envy. In fact, the sheer abundance made Liya slightly regret not stripping Barton’s spatial magic device as well.
Could it be...
Liya stole a glance at Muen’s profile.
Did he say that on purpose again?
The girl’s thoughts began to wander once more.
Ultimately, she said nothing and silently gathered a few items that would be useful to her.
"Huh? A book?"
Suddenly, Liya’s eyes lit up. She picked up an inconspicuous black book from the ground.
The book had no title, but on the cover, the faint outline of a curvaceous woman was visible.
A mage’s personal book... could it be a record of some rare magic?
The book-loving girl grew excited. Ignoring everything else, she flipped it open right then and there.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Snap.
The girl slammed the book shut, her face turning bright red.
"Wha—what is this?"
The text and the illustrations in this book... why were they all so explicit?
And there were things about "techniques" and whatnot... aren't those things supposed to be instinctive?
"How... how could..."
How could such a shameless book exist?
Thinking of the heart-pounding content she had just seen, and then thinking back to that scrap of lace that barely covered anything, Liya spat inwardly. As expected, that mage was not a good person.
But... but...
Liya stole another glance at Muen, confirming he was still focused on recovering his mana and hadn't noticed her. She let out a long sigh of relief.
Then.
Liya looked left and right.
After ensuring that no one would notice her small movements at a time like this...
As if possessed.
She secretly tucked the book into her bosom.
"I... I’m only doing this so I can find a safe place to destroy it later..."
The girl’s cheeks remained flushed as she clenched her fist with conviction, whispering to herself:
"That’s right, just to destroy it..."
"I won't look at it!"
"Absolutely not!"