Chapter 51: I’m earning my keep.

The succubus, who’s in charge of gathering mobs, was squawking.

It’s noisy.

It’s time to exploit the tone-deaf.

“Alright, let’s go with the soundwave attack.”

I set the Siren and ended my turn.

“No, it feels like I’m the one who’s tone-deaf now. Ah. Fine! I’ll do it.”

The Siren complained for a moment before starting to sing.

The song was awful enough to make me not want to interpret the lyrics.

And that song was…

“I am~”

For a moment, I had to suppress the impulse to grab my mace.

I burst the eardrums of the poor orcs who had been swept here by temptation.

“Ugh! Just kill me!”

“Ugh!”

“Uuuugh!”

Watching the orcs suffer with blood streaming from their ears was oddly entertaining.

But it was more like groaning than screaming.

Disgusting.

Purification is needed.

It was time for the mermaid princess’s soap bubbles to make an appearance.

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

“Just eat what you’re given. Why are you being so picky?”

The mermaid princess grumbled at my words before sending soap bubbles flying to take down the orcs.

As the bubbles touched the orcs, they burst, and the orcs’ bodies turned into chunks of meat.

The ancient orcs, who were already vulnerable to mermaid attacks, began to be wiped out.

However, there were so many of them that it hardly mattered.

The orcs kept coming.

“But don’t you think we could handle this ourselves? Do we really need to involve mermaids and sirens?”

“Well, it’s a hassle.”

“Honestly, you don’t seem all that normal either.”

“And we still have to earn our keep. We didn’t just come to watch, did we? To be honest, if we don’t do something like this, we’d be worse than the young girl.”

The Pixie at least made maps.

She was even still making one right now.

Unlike earlier, she was coloring it too.

If this were a war, we could easily gather intel on the enemy’s fortresses, stationed troops, and food supplies.

Even though I don’t know how it works, that pixie has the ability to prank.

Depending on the conditions, I guess she could be considered the world’s strongest.

I told you, she made the giant stallion impotent, right?

She even pranked her wife.

Well, it’s kind of interesting.

“Hey, there are too many of them!”

Is it my turn to step in?

The mermaids had already reached their limit.

“Cheonma, please handle the right side.”

“Got it.”

Even the orcs affected by status ailments hadn’t completely lost their combat ability.

Even in games, it’s a rule that you still attack even when thrown into chaos.

The two mermaids aren’t bad at long range, but they’re hopeless in close combat.

I raised my mace with all my strength.

“Holy Crash!”

KWA-BOOOOM!

I struck the ground.

The orcs instantly turned into magic stones.

“Ah, there’s something satisfying about smashing them like this.”

“If you were going to do this, you should’ve helped sooner.”

The Succubus, dripping with sweat, said with hollow eyes.

It’s a pitiful sight, but they still need to earn their keep.

“Earn your keep. You didn’t think you could just watch Neko Cheonma’s lightsaber show for free, did you?”

“So, is it over now?”

“No? Not yet.”

How could it be over with just that?

There are still so many orcs left.

“What? There’s still more? It looks like we’ve almost got them all.”

“The map the pixie gave me says there’s still more.”

It seems like it would be a good idea to keep the pixie as a regular member.

That map is definitely useful.

“Let the map do its job! Why does it even have military secrets?”

The Succubus, sweating profusely, cried out.

That’s what makes it better.

If I were alone in the hero world with just one pixie, I would’ve gone to hunt the Demon King by myself.

Of course, I couldn’t be sure of victory.

But at least the war would have ended earlier.

“Either way, it’s good for us.”

Sigh.

“Fine, fine.”

The succubus gathered the orcs several times.

The mermaids also inflicted status ailments on the enemies multiple times.

Neko Cheonma and I hit the orcs with all our might.

CRACK!

We repeated this at least five times.

Finally, after one last blow with my mace, we completely wiped out the orcs.

All that was left were the magic stones.

Isn’t this alchemy?

The magic stones piled up everywhere.

First, I cleared the grasslands with the mermaid princess’s bubbles.

What remains is the huge barracks, where the boss is likely hiding.

Judging by how it hasn’t come out, it seems sluggish and unaware that its subordinates are dead.

Let’s leave that for later.

For now, we need to handle these magic stones.

“Wow. There are so many magic stones.”

The number of magic stones lying scattered on the ground was even greater than when we captured the sick ones.

It was even clear, almost like a jewel.

If these weren’t used for anything specific, they could easily be used to make women’s accessories, and they would likely generate a lot of money.

“At this rate, we could set up a building.”

Looking at the purified magic stones that were listed on the internet marketplace, their price was quite high.

If they were this sparkly, the price could probably be whatever the seller wanted.

“Let’s just take them for now.”

“How much of this do you think will go to the Heavenly King?”

Ah, right, I should give some to the Heavenly King.

“I’m thinking of splitting it fairly.”

“By the way, there’s the drone, right?”

Ah.

Right.

There was the drone.

I secretly glanced at the drone of the Heavenly King, who was lurking in the back and probably just spying on us.

It looked rather shady, and it seemed like it was watching what we were doing.

[“So, you’ve finally realized.”]

“Oh! It has such a low profile, I didn’t even notice.”

[“That’s a bit harsh. But if you look at this alone, the purity is very high. It could be used in a variety of ways without needing purification or any other process.”]

“So?”

[“If we finish this, it could go for 200 million to 300 million in the black market. The prices are fluctuating a lot right now.”]

You should speak plainly.

If someone can buy something with the higher-ups’ money, it’s obvious they’d have manipulated the black market prices.

However, selling this many magic stones on the market personally is also problematic.

Even if the members here share them, it’s too much for one person to sell.

[“Plus, it’s not just the market; even if you sold them offline, with this amount, you’d need to add extra fees and labels. Unless it’s through a guild.”]

Ugh, it’s complicated.

“So, what do we do?”

[“Should we sell them for you?”]

“Hmm, let me think for a moment.”

Why would they offer to sell them?

Are they planning to take advantage of me?

This feels suspicious.

Very suspicious.

They say there’s no family when money is involved.

Look at the elf, for example.

Even if the husband made a mistake, the wife wouldn’t buy anything from him.

The husband is at fault, but the wife is petty.

[“Anyway, we’ll buy them at the highest price.”]

“How can I trust that? I’d rather leave the matter to the succubus.”

Make some sense.

It’s obvious that even if they sell on my behalf, there’s no guarantee that all the money will come to me.

No, part of it will be paid off as debt.

The price could be marked down a lot lower than the cost.

If 400 million comes in, they could easily reduce it to 300 million or 200 million while clearing the debt.

[“Even if it’s an analogy, this is my honor at stake.”]

What honor does he have when he can’t even approach the woman she likes?

Well, in this case, I should ask the members.

“Hmm, what do you think?”

“I think you’re going to get scammed. Look at those creepy eyes.”

The succubus pointed at the drone’s lens.

Maybe it’s the latest model, but it almost feels like Jeon Taeyeon is watching us through that lens.

Yeah, the lens is definitely making it look like she’s smiling.

“Even though it’s a lens, that Jeon Taeyeon woman is unnecessarily creepy.”

It’s just an excuse, really.

But honestly, doesn’t she look like that?

[“No, I’m angry. Should I really get mad? I could bring all the Hunters here right now. Though it might increase the competition.”]

Competition.

Hmm.

To be honest, who cares about competition?

The fifth floor is already finished.

“No, I think I’m going to get scammed. You’re a merchant. A merchant who sells money.”

[“But I wouldn’t make a fool of someone I like.”]

I don’t think that’s true.

If the woman you like asked for a 1 billion discount, wouldn’t you just get rid of it for her?

I was about to argue but stopped.

This wasn’t really the time to be having such a conversation.

Boom!

As usual, after dealing with the trash mobs, the boss monster appeared.

It looks like it’s an orc this time.

“Hey, look over there!”

The succubus pointed behind me.

Where the succubus pointed, a ridiculously large orc was standing.

It was a creature of massive size, a blend of dozens of orcs gathered together.

Looks like it came out of the barracks.

“Is it smaller than that thing?”

It seems smaller than the cursed mass of sick ones we saw last time.

“Krraaaagh.”

Just as expected.

This is the orc boss I’ve seen so many times in the Hero World.

It’s surprising how the orcs from 4,000 years ago are no different from the ones now.

The only difference is that it’s a little bigger and scarier, and its intelligence is even lower.

The orc boss, holding a gigantic mace, approached.

“Who dares to annihilate my soldiers?”

It was a heavy, rumbling voice.

I had no idea what he was saying.

Was the language different in ancient times?

The orcs’ words earlier were understandable, but this…

I wonder if he’s asking how many of his subordinates I’ve killed.

“I see. You, huh. You annihilated my subordinates?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t know what he meant, but I answered anyway.

“Kahaha! There was a human female like you? But you made a mistake. The revenge of my subordinates is the duty of their commander.”

Why does he talk so much?

He’s saying things I don’t even understand, it’s giving me a headache.

It’s not even worth listening to.

Crack!

I charged and shattered his skull with my mace.

Back in my day, you just fought without saying a word.

So a noisy monster like that deserved to have its skull cracked, right?

-You’re sounding like an old-timer.

Come on, I learned all this from the goddess!

-I never taught you that…