Chapter 46

“Even though there were empty rooms available here, those two insisted on getting a separate place. I thought it was suspicious, so I followed them. And guess what? They sneaked into the backyard storage to avoid prying eyes and started sharing a rather amusing little conversation.”

“Wow, such a refined hobby you have, Demon King.”

Shia jingled her earring and laughed slyly.

“As long as you don’t get caught, it’s not a crime.”

“Goodness, you’re shameless.”

“So, you disapprove?”

I grinned and patted Shia’s head.

“No, good job.”

“Heehee…!”

In truth, the two were talking without the slightest awareness that Shia was right beside them, filming everything.

-This is wrong! It’s seriously wrong! You saw that new guy fighting on the third floor today, right!? With that damn iron club of his, he wiped out goblins, orcs, and even plague rats all at once! Do you honestly think a Novice could do that!?

-Hank…

-Of course not!!

-…

-There’s no way Manager Kate, the one who wrote his introduction letter, didn’t know about this. Which means the two of them set me up from the start. I told them! I told them over and over again I didn’t want anyone above Gold rank! And yet they ignored me and sent that guy! This isn’t just insulting me—it’s an insult to my father, the lord of Ferom!

-…

-That bastard! He must have been laughing at me the whole time, watching me struggle! How ridiculous I must have looked! Damn it! I will never—never forgive him! I’ll tell Father, and we’ll make sure those two…!

At that moment, Sparks threw her arms around Goldie, hugging him tight.

Squeeze.

-…Hank. Calm down.

-S-Scala?

Sparks brought her lips close to Goldie’s ear and whispered sweetly.

-Hank… that man is nothing but a pebble in the road. He’s not worth your anger, not worth your time. Strength? Sure, maybe you’re a little behind now. But you’re younger. By the time you reach his age, you’ll be far stronger than he ever was. Don’t tell me you lack the confidence?

-…No, that’s not it.

-Exactly. And that man might boast about being gentry, but at the end of the day he’s just a nameless drifter. You, on the other hand, will reclaim your rightful place as heir of Ferom, taking it back from your brother and ruling over three thousand peasants. Do you really think a wanderer like him even compares to you?

-…No. Absolutely not.

-Then don’t waste so much emotion on him. Don’t even think of him as a person. Think of him as something useful—a piece to move on the board.

-…A piece?

-That’s right. A chess piece. We’re going to keep going—down to the sixth, seventh, eighth floors. And now, at just the right time, this piece has fallen into our hands. We should use it well. So don’t get so worked up. Instead, embrace it with boldness, show the measure of a true leader.

Goldie stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head roughly.

-No. I can’t do that.

-Hank. Please.

-…

-…Sigh. Then what exactly do you plan to do?

-Kill him.

-Hank!

-My mind’s already made up. Don’t interfere.

-But that’s…!

-I told you to stop! Don’t you get it!? Because of Illeia, he has to die!!

-…What do you mean by that?

-Illeia’s trying to cozy up to him! You seriously haven’t noticed her clinging to him and chattering every chance she gets!?

-No, that’s just because it’s her first time with anyone outside our party, so she’s curious—

-No! That’s unmistakable affection!

-…

-Females are naturally drawn to strong males. Fine, I admit it. He’s stronger than me. That’s why the eyes that used to look at me turned to him. Which means! Unless I can instantly become an Aura User, I have no choice but to kill him!!

-Hank, wait—!

-Don’t tell me to calm down! Don’t tell me to accept it! Am I supposed to just watch while those two roll around together!? Illeia is mine! She’s been mine from the moment I dragged her out of that church!!

-Hank. Illeia never even looked at you that way… ah, forget it. Fine. So what? No matter what, you’re dead set on killing him?

-Yes! That’s decided!

-And how exactly?

-As much as it infuriates me, I can’t beat him head-on. I’ll have to strike when he least expects it.

-Hank. You said it yourself—he’s strong. Even if you and I, no, even if Cheche and Selan join in and the four of us attack at once, our chances are fifty-fifty at best.

-…

-And even if we succeed, do you really think Illeia will forgive that? If you truly want her, then you’ll have to make it so she doesn’t know, or at least in a way she can accept as inevitable. Do you have a plan like that?

-That’s what I have you for, Scala. That’s your job, isn’t it?

-…

-Scala. You know me better than anyone. Better even than my own family. You must have expected I’d come to this decision. Careful as you are, I’m sure you already have one or two methods in mind. Am I wrong?

-…

-Scala. My number one mage. Tell me the way.

-Haa… the sixth floor.

-What?

-On the sixth floor… there’s terrain that shifted during the last Great Shift. There used to be a spring there, but now… it’s been replaced with a ‘Monster Summoning Trap.’ More precisely, a trap disguised as a spring.

-Interesting. And?

-…I’m the only one in this party with a map. And I have two versions: one from before the Shift, and the other updated after. If we hand the pre-Shift version to the newbie the moment we step onto the sixth floor, and make him guide us, he’ll lead us straight to where the ‘spring’ used to be.

-Oh…

-That way, not only do we get rid of him, but we can also pin the blame on him for leading us into a trap. The dead can’t defend themselves. And after that…

Sparks’ calm and quiet explanation continued. Goldie’s lips curved into a grin of delight as he listened.

-Brilliant… that way, Illeia would never suspect me. Excellent. Let’s go with that.

I stopped the recording and couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief. The chuckle quickly turned into a snicker, then into full-blown laughter.

Rage? Anger? None of that. Emotions like those only arose when someone could truly harm me—mentally or physically.

If it had been comrades who treated me well, I might have felt betrayal. But I never had expectations of them in the first place, so where would betrayal come from?

No, their reasoning and motives were so absurd it went beyond pathetic—it was almost entertaining.

“Ku-kuk… ah, damn. What a bunch of clowns.”

Beside me, Shia, still laughing, asked in a voice tinged with amusement.

“So? What now? Are you going to go slice their throats right away?”

“No. What for? Leave them.”

“Oh? That’s not like you, treating human lives as more than flies.”

“Hey, don’t make me sound like garbage. Sure, I might not see people as people, but I don’t treat them as flies. Let’s say… dragonflies, maybe.”

“Isn’t that the same?”

“Excuse you. Dragonflies are beneficial insects, flies are pests. You can swat a fly without thinking, but a dragonfly? You hesitate, wondering, ‘Should I?’ That’s a pretty big difference.”

“….”

“Anyway, I can’t crush them now. It’d break the party. Like it or not, this is our first proper quest, and I need to get paid.”

“You’re planning to catch them in the act, so the failure becomes their fault, right?”

“Exactly. I was wondering how I’d put up with that damn Goldie for a whole month… and now they’ve practically handed me the perfect excuse.”

“Why not just submit this recording to the Guild?”

“It’s only a plan so far. For ordinary adventurers, that might be enough, but him? He’s got his father’s name behind him. If I smash his head over something he hasn’t even done yet, it’ll get noisy.”

“Hm. True.”

Shia nodded in agreement.

“So, is that the end of it? Nothing more after this?”

I tried to restart the recording, but Shia, sounding a bit flustered, stopped me.

“Don’t. There’s nothing important beyond this.”

“Oh? Saying that makes me want to see it even more.”

Shia suddenly grew serious, her tone weighty.

“My dear. I warn you, don’t. If you watch further… you’ll surely suffer a great shock and be wracked with self-loathing.”

“Eh? Me? Shock? Self-loathing? From those two idiots? I wouldn’t even blink if a flying spaghetti monster suddenly appeared and devoured them right here.”

“Hmph. Foolish one. Humans always regret only after they’ve touched the fire.”

I punished her needless, cute warning by tugging her cheek, then hit play again.

.
.
.

The video once again showed Sparks trying desperately to sway Hank.

-…Haa. Hank. Please, think about it once more. Isn’t this going too far? Killing him is too risky. Even if it’s my plan, what if it fails? Can’t we give it a little more time…?

At that moment, Goldie, frowning at her nagging, clamped her mouth shut, as if he’d had enough.

-Hank. Are you even listening? Han—mmph!!

With his own lips, no less.

Simply put: a kiss. And not just any kiss. A deep kiss.

“Th-that… that shameless…!!”

They went on for a while, noisily smacking lips in a filthy exchange of saliva that had zero regard for hygiene. Then, as Sparks blinked in dazed surprise from the ambush, Goldie caressed her cheek and whispered softly.

-Scala. Let’s stop talking about this.

-Hank….

-You’ve done your duty as a mage just now, so… now it’s time to fulfill your duty as my concubine. You’ll please me, won’t you, Scala?

-W-wait. Not here… ah…!

And just like that, the two started rubbing against each other, their movements growing more frantic by the second. Clothes scattered in an instant.

-Scala….

-Ah, Hank… a-a little slower…!

Rip.

I ground my teeth without realizing it.

An uncontrollable fury surged up like molten lava.

Shia had been right. I was being dragged down into the deepest, darkest pit of emotions, wounded beyond measure.

-S-stop…

-Why always stop? You like it too…

“You—you—you little brats who still have blood fresh on your foreheads (expression for being young and immature), daring to do something even I’ve never—so easily!?”

From the look of them, these punks weren’t even clumsy—it wasn’t their first time!

At my side, Shia chuckled with a mocking grin.

“Did I not warn you? That you’d regret it?”

“Brazen degenerates. Shameless fools. Ill-bred wretches who don’t even know the old saying ‘boys and girls shouldn’t sit together after seven.’ By the name of Confucian Dragon and all the virgins in the world, I will never forgive you two. I swear I’ll—”

-Kyaa! Hank! Hank!!

I’ll never forgive you!

-Ah, ahhh…!

N-never…!

-Y-yes… more…

“…”

Uh… maybe I should just forgive them?

Right then, Shia smirked and firmly pressed the artifact’s stop button.

“Lewd scenes are forbidden.”

Beep.

“Hey! Why’d you turn it off!? Couldn’t you see I was watching with full concentration!?”

And so, the fourth floor.

“Five war rats. Five hobgoblins. Two stray orcs. Scala, hold back the war rats with magic and buy us time. Cheche, take the orcs. Selan, cover Cheche and Scala with your bow. Illeia, stand by. Newbie, you’re with me—we’ll handle the hobgoblins first. Any objections?”

“None, Young Master.”

“Understood.”

“Y-yes!”

“Got it.”

“And you, newbie?”

“Fine by me.”

“Good. Let’s go! Scala!”

“Flames, spread wide! Flame Bomb, first level!!”

Boom!!

A ball of fire swelled in midair and exploded with a roar.

As the war rats caught in the blaze screamed and rolled across the ground in agony, the party took it as their signal and charged forward.