Chapter 102

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes. She’s a powerful Monster Tamer. Depending on the monsters she’s tamed, she’s strong enough to take on both Kelly and me at once. She’s practically a one-woman guild. Human race. She’s probably seventeen this year.”

“She’s young.”

“To be precise, she’s a young psycho. She’s half-insane. Loves money, betrays people as easily as breathing, and loves killing. For the record, we were victims once, too. She stabbed us in the back during a labyrinth run. It stung quite a bit.”

“Wow….”

“But since freelance hunters of her caliber are rare, most people tend to just let things slide. At the end of the day, a force equivalent to a Master-level who can be hired by anyone as long as the pay is right is extremely precious.”

“You say she can be hired as long as you pay her? Then why don’t we just hire her?”

“We can’t. She never accepts requests from teams or guilds that have beautiful long-lived races. As you know, both Kelly and I are quite the beauties. To the point where anyone who isn’t a block of wood like you, Orabeoni, would be dying to get us into bed.”

I decided to ignore the last part for now.

“Beautiful long-lived races? What kind of weird quirk is that?”

“My thoughts exactly. Well, that’s why she’s called a crazy bitch. And like I said, there’s some bad blood between us.”

“I get why hiring her is a no-go. But does she have mental resistance?”

“Specifically, one of her tamed monsters has that ability. It’s an incredibly rare chick called ‘Saint Sol.’ Just having it around protects the owner’s mind. The moment it appeared on the auction block, that girl dropped 17 billion on it.”

“Hmm… the conditions are met then. Strong. Mental resistance. So how are we going to kidnap her? Summon her, whack her in the back of the head, and drag her off?”

“That would be difficult. Since she usually operates alone, she’s extremely cautious.”

“Then?”

“There’s a place called the General Guild. Its Guild Master is a human named Pipette. He once tried to hit on Kelly and me without knowing his place and got burned pretty badly.”

“And?”

“He’s been harboring a grudge and an obsession toward us sisters ever since. We’re going to use them to lure her out.”

“How?”

“Like I said, Pipette is obsessed with us. He’s tried to merge our guilds several times. Of course, it was impossible. Hmph. As if he could dare offer up such a shabby guild to us.”

“Hmm….”

“In this situation, if we propose a Guild War with the condition of a guild merger, he’ll snap at the bait in a heartbeat.”

“Aha. Since his combat power is lacking, he’ll call for reinforcements?”

“Exactly. And there are very few forces that can be hired so conveniently and on such short notice… unless it’s a certain money-crazed lunatic tamer.”

“I see.”

Chel, who had been grinning at my response, added in a chilling tone:

“…And while we’re at it, we’ll clean up the General Guild for good. Honestly, I’ve been patient long enough.”

Two days later.

A dark night, the moon hidden behind clouds.

“So! If we win the Guild War, you’ll definitely accept the merger!?”

A blonde, pug-nosed human male in flashy full-plate armor flared his nostrils as he looked back and forth between Chel and Kelly.

“Yes. That’s what I said.”

“And no quitting the guild after losing, right!? It means you two sisters definitely come under my guild!?”

“Yes.”

“And if our General Guild loses, we simply hand over the money?”

“Yes. As you know, our guild’s financial situation is a bit tight. We were looking for someone to squeeze for cash, and you and the General Guild came to mind.”

“Hehehe… you bitches! Do you know how long I’ve waited for this day!? I’ll win. I’ll definitely win. Once I win and slowly make you submit, I’ll XXX you, then XXX you, and make you crawl under my legs!!”

Wow… look at that cheap mouth.

“Especially you, Kelly, I’m going to XXX and then XXX you for real! You better be ready!”

Hmm… this isn’t just a simple grudge or obsession. What exactly happened in the past?

“Anyway, so? Mr. Rapist?”

“Who are you calling a rapist!?”

“I mean, you’re screaming about how you’re going to rape us with your own mouth, and you find it unfair to be called a rapist?”

The rapist momentarily fumbled for words.

“You… you bitch…”

“Whatever, Mr. Rapist. On our side, five of us will step up: me, Kelly, this Orabeoni here, and those two over there. So? Who’s coming out for your side?”

At that, the man’s scowl vanished, replaced by a sinister smirk.

“Heh… hehehehehe.”

A triumphant laugh. The man’s flushed face instantly returned to its normal color.

“There is only one player on our side. If that one person loses, I’ll admit total defeat.”

“Are you sure one will be enough? Mr. Rapist.”

“Heh… once you see who it is, you’ll flip your lid.”

“Oh ho….”

“Elizabeth-nim! Please!”

A man in a suit jumped out from the driver’s seat of a magic stone car, its headlights still blazing, and politely opened the back door.

From within, a pair of high-heeled pink loafers and long, white legs emerged.

Following them, a beautiful girl with a dark blonde ponytail (clearly dyed), wearing a marine-style blouse and a tight skirt, stepped out of the car and let out a long yawn as she stretched.

She looked to be in her late teens, just as Chel had said.

“Elizabeth-nim! Please!”

“Shut up, you retard.”

Chel narrowed her eyes and shifted her gaze to the girl.

“Elizabeth. Long time no see.”

“Tell me about it. Long time no see, Big Sis Chel. I really didn’t want to see your face if I could help it… but things ended up like this again. What can I do? Being a pro means doing the job once you’re hired, right?”

“Right. No need for long words between us. Fine. Let’s get started.”

The girl clapped her hands together and quietly called out the name of her pet (monster). It was a summoning ritual.

“Come out. ‘Pooh’.”

With a violent K-boom, a massive one-eyed giant burst forth from thin air.

Standing eight meters tall, it was an overwhelming figure that fully deserved the name ‘giant.’

“Some of you might already know him… but I’ll introduce him anyway. This is my obedient pet, ‘Pooh.’ His race is Cyclops. So? Who’s the first to die?”

…You brat. Aren’t you afraid of getting sued?

“I’d like to deal with Big Sis first.”

“You really haven’t changed a bit.”

“Right. I still hate elf bitches and anyone with animal ears.”

“Crazy bitch.”

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I hate other races. I just hate the females of other races.”

I interjected without realizing it and asked the girl, “And why is that?”

At that, the girl glanced at my face, spread her arms, and did a little pirouette.

“This Oppa is handsome, isn’t he? Fine. I’ll tell you. As the saying goes, ‘A flower does not stay red for ten days; beauty is fleeting’. This beautiful face of mine will be finished in ten years just because I’m a human. Isn’t that too unfair? That they get to maintain their youth for hundreds of years just because they’re female demi-humans? That’s why I want to balance things out a bit.”

“……”

“So, whenever I get the chance, I’m going to kill every single female demi-human. Every last one of them. Without exception.”

…Right. Well, I figured she wouldn’t be normal.

It’s always like this with the women who show up around me.

I turned to Chel and Kelly and asked, “It seems like all the key players are gathered… no need to drag this out, right?”

“Yeah. Please, Orabeoni.”

“It’s a bit of a waste to lose a Cyclops… but I guess killing it is the right call for now. Do as you wish, Orabeoni.”

Elizabeth, listening to our conversation, let out a short, mocking laugh.

“What are you talking about? You’re saying this handsome Oppa here is going to do what to a Cyclops? Exactly how? With what skill?”

I smiled as I drew Astraphe.

Shh-ring.

Then, I jumped lightly toward the beast growling down at me and drew a long line with my sword through the empty air.

Cheeeeeeeeeng.

Dimensional Fracture.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-gak!

The space tore along the trajectory of my blade, and a pitch-black fissure over five meters long appeared.

While the onlookers stared blankly at the scene, unable to comprehend what was happening—

“Gwaaaaaah…?”

The Cyclops, unable to even let out a proper death rattle, quietly collapsed onto its side, half of its torso devoured by the rift.

K-booooooom…!

“Uh….”

“Uhh….”

“Huh…?”

“Wh-what…?”

I glanced at the people who had forgotten how to speak and turned to Chel and Kelly.

“Chel. Kelly.”

“At your command, Orabeoni.”

“Here, Orabeoni.”

“Chel, why are you suddenly using formal speech?”

“No… I just, did it without thinking. But what… what was that? You said you could defeat a Cyclops, so I thought you’d just cut its legs or take its head or something… but that… ha, haha….”

“We’ll talk about that later. You said you were cleaning up the General Guild, right? Isn’t now the chance?”

“Ah, aah…! Right. CK!!”

“Oh!”

“Oh, ohhh!!”

“Oooooh!!!”

Only then did the guild members snap back to their senses at Chel’s command, their shouts rising in unison.

“Sweep them all away!”

“““Yes, ma’am!”””

Led by Chel and Kelly, the warrior-class members charged fiercely at the General Guild members.

“Hahaha!”

“Shit! What did I just see! Hahahaha!”

“We’re hitting the jackpot! To the moon!! I told you CK was going to the moon!?”

“Kill them all!!”

The guild members showed no mercy, as if they had suffered quite a bit at the hands of the General Guild in the past.

Crunch! Thud!

They trampled them ruthlessly and delivered soccer kicks. Shield charges slammed mercilessly into those trying to stagger back to their feet.

K-boom!

They sniped mages trying to escape with arrows and dropped lightning on priests attempting to cast area-of-effect heals.

Even in a fair fight, the General Guild would have been no match, let alone being ambushed while half-insane with shock.

In the end, within less than two minutes, they were all either dead or subdued.

“Kugh…”

“Aaargh!! My arm! My arm!!!”

“I’m sorry! Spare me!! Please, just my life!!”

“Don’t show mercy. Kill them.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Slice! Crunch!!

“Wow. A total mess….”

I assisted our priests by picking out only our allies for simple healing, then turned my gaze toward Chel and Kelly.

They were engaged in the final battle(?) to put an end to today’s conflict.

“You guys! What the hell did you do to my Pooh!?”

“Are you blind? Can’t you see? He died from a single slash from Orabeoni.”

Elizabeth shrieked from inside a hexagonal pillar shimmering with blue light that now encased her. The composure she had at the start was nowhere to be found.

“Don’t make me laugh! What is this!! What is this!!!”

“What do you think? You’re screwed.”

“Senior. Let’s watch our language. ‘Screwed’ is a bit much for a young girl.”

“What is this bitch even saying now? Who are you to say that to me?”

Elizabeth, listening to their banter, exploded in rage once again.

“How dare you… how dare you do that to my Pooh! Do you know how hard it was to tame him!!!”

Chel let out a snort of derision.

“Eli-kid. Forget about Pooh or whatever—why don’t you worry about yourself first?”

“Worry about me!? Why!? Do you think Pooh is the only pet I have!? Once my summoning cooldown is over, you guys are—!”

“Really? Then I guess I should kill you before the cooldown ends.”

Elizabeth tapped on the transparent hexagonal pillar surrounding her.

“Hmph. You think you can break the Aegis? This thing stays perfectly fine even if a Meteor falls right next to it!”

“Yeah, I know it well. Aegis. And not the 4-bit or 8-bit version, but the 12-bit Aegis. That thing costs as much as several mansions in the capital, so of course the performance is good. It even has an auto-reaction function, since it moved on its own to absorb the shockwave while its owner was just standing there with her mouth open? Impressive. Truly impressive.”

“Th-then back off. I’ll forget about today, too.”

“Kuk, kukuk…”

“Puhut, puhuhuhu!!”

At Elizabeth’s cute(?) bluff, Chel and Kelly burst into laughter simultaneously.