Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 38: Promise (1).

“Are you okay?”

I reached out my hand toward Raize. I thought this boy, who was filled with fear, wouldn’t be able to get up on his own.

Raize ignored my offered hand and got up by himself. As he stood, he brushed the mud off his robe, stirring up dust.

“…Do you think I’m a kid?”

‘Isn’t he a kid?’

Looking at Raize, who was even smaller than the petite Eunha among our group, he seemed like nothing more than a young boy. However, I didn’t say this out loud.

Children working at this age tend to have a complex about their age.

Bringing it up and scratching at his complex wasn’t a good thing. I was careful not to touch on his complex and changed the subject.

“So, are you going to show me that magic or whatever?”

“…I was caught off guard. Now that I know, it’ll be different next time.”

“Yeah, yeah, do better next time.”

No sooner had the words left my mouth that wolves started running from afar. Their fur, adapted to the pitch darkness, stood out awkwardly in the now bright light.

Looking down at Raize, he too seemed to have spotted the wolves as he immediately raised his staff and began chanting in an incomprehensible language.

Only when the wolves were close enough to make out their expressions did the magic finally complete.

“Lightning Spear.”

I’d seen mages from a circus perform magic at festivals before. It was nothing impressive.

Thus, I thought that no matter how great magic was, it wouldn’t surpass or even match Seoyoon’s abilities.

However, the magic of an orthodox mage was far beyond just that.

“Go.”

A spear flew with Raize’s incantation.

At that moment, lightning and thunder filled the dungeon.

A mage is like artillery. A battlefield avatar that holds deadly power in a single strike.

It was only natural that such mages did not challenge the dungeon.

Just as it took time to fire artillery, mages also needed preparation time.

Thus, a dungeon filled with darkness was a place where mages found it quite difficult to be active.

Just as you can’t move a loaded cannon, a mage couldn’t roam around prepared with magic.

But now that the darkness covering the floors from the first to the tenth had vanished…

A mage had become the most fearsome artillery of all.

“Hoo…”

Crackle. Lightning sparked all over Raize’s body. Due to his immense magic resistance, the current flowed entirely into the ground.

After taking a deep breath, Raize looked at me with a confident expression. His expression was so overly arrogant that I wanted to pinch his cheek mercilessly.

“Amazing. Is this magic? Then what I’ve seen so far is…”

“…A true mage doesn’t show their magic easily. Only amateurs who haven’t fully learned use magic recklessly.”

Raize said this and shrugged. He remained silent about the fact that he used magic to catch monsters that could have been caught with a sword.

Well, he did say he came to test his resistance to magic in the first place… I thought as I picked up the mana stone and put it in my bag.

Seeing this, Raize’s eyes sparkled.

“Is that a mana stone?”

“Yeah, why? Haven’t you seen one before?”

“I’ve handled many, but it’s the first time I’ve seen one freshly made like this.”

“Do you want to take a look?”

I said so and handed over the mana stone. Raize took the mana stone, held it up to the ceiling light, sniffed it, licked it, and even bit it to verify the taste.

After completing his verification process and realizing there was no significant difference with the mana stone, he spat out the blood and dirt from his mouth.

“Nothing different.”

“Well, they’re all the same mana stones.”

I put the mana stone Raize passed into my bag and set off to find the next monster. Fortunately, after some time, monsters reappeared from somewhere, and unlike the first floor, the fifth floor had more monsters than people.

“Come to think of it.”

Raize, who was preparing magic, suddenly stopped his chant and looked at me. I looked down at him with a puzzled expression.

“We need leather to test magic resistance.”

“Leather? Right. How do you get monster leather?”

“You don’t know? And you’re an advanced adventurer.”

“…No, I know. Yes.”

In truth, I didn’t know either. However, I lied without realizing it. I had just become an adult and couldn’t easily admit not knowing or being unable in front of a kid.

Not long after, I thought of a method. Monsters turn into mana stones when they die, so if you skin them while they’re alive, they shouldn’t die.

Whether it was actually possible or not, as soon as I decided to do it, several methods came to mind to make it possible.

‘I won’t need that much.’

My sword struck the neck of the charging Shadow Wolf. Then, and again, the sword strikes continued.

Like painting a picture with a single brushstroke, the sword path continued endlessly. It was the pinnacle of swordsmanship that achieved my desires without any waste.

However, Raize, who was unfamiliar with swords, simply thought that high-level adventurers were usually capable of such feats.

“Screeeech!”

I grabbed the neck of the last Shadow Wolf and slowly sliced open its belly. The monster groaned in pain, scratching at my arm with its teeth and claws, but it couldn’t penetrate the faintly manifested invincibility.

After a while, I completely skinned the creature and handed the pelt to Raize.

“Here, experiment quickly. It’ll disappear once it dies.”

“…Alright.”

Receiving the skin, he began his experiment. Soon, the wolf, dead from infection, transformed into a mana stone, allowing him to continue experimenting on new monsters…

After gathering data from dozens of monsters in this manner, Raize finally achieved his desired results.

Inside the elevator heading to the first floor, Raize spoke first.

“…A week, you said.”

“What about?”

“Your colleagues resting. You said a week.”

“Ah, right.”

“Then… for a week, I’ll join you.”

“For what?”

“Party.”

Raize looked up at me as he said that. I could read it in his expression. He didn’t think I would refuse.

Well, kids at this age always think they’re absolutely right. If they grow up well, they become confident leaders; if they don’t, they turn into whiny brats.

And I was good at handling kids. My father’s kendo dojo was always full of elementary schoolers and kindergarteners.

“I don’t want to.”

“…Why?”

“Just because.”

Hearing those words, Raize seemed to chew on his lips, pondering over what to say. But before he could speak, we reached the first floor.

The door opened, and we headed out of the dungeon. Even while walking, Raize, deep in thought, trudged along absentmindedly.

“If you team up with me…”

“Huh?”

“If you form a party with me. I’ll tell you a secret.”

“A secret?”

“A secret only I know. I’ve never told anyone.”

It seemed Raize thought I would be intrigued by that. But to deceive an adult with such words, you’re ten years too early, kid.

I flicked his forehead with a sharp snap. Raize immediately clutched his forehead.

“Ouch!”

As he looked up at me with tearful eyes, I knelt slightly to meet his gaze.

“When you ask an adult for something, isn’t there something you should say? Secrets or whatever, it’s like wetting the bed.”

“Wh-what?! I never wet the bed.”

“Sure, sure, got it.”

Raize clutched his robe tightly after hearing my words. His fists were trembling, seemingly quite indignant. Or perhaps he was scared.

However, not long after, he spoke in a trembling voice.

“P-please…”

“What?”

“Hoo, hoo. Please, form a party with me…”

Seeing him trembling with a flushed face, I thought it was amusing to tease him. But I instinctively knew he’d get angry if I continued, so I patted his head and nodded.

“Okay, sure.”

“Th-thank you…”

“No need to thank me.”

“Ugh…”

Watching him tremble with fear at those words somehow made my heart feel full.

After leaving the dungeon, we divided the loot among ourselves and parted ways. We promised to meet again tomorrow morning.

Outside, it was well past noon, and the sun was setting. Twilight would soon arrive. The sunset viewed from the medieval-style city was a spectacular sight. Perhaps my sunset-watching seemed suspicious, as a guard approached.

“I need to conduct a search.”

“Oh, yes.”

The guard, with a rather high-pitched and somewhat excited voice for a man, spoke to me.

I tilted my head and handed over my guild card. It was as good as an ID in this city of adventurers.

The guard, after scanning the card a few times, grabbed my arm.

“You’re the person reported for theft.”

“Uh? What do you mean…?”

“A thief who stole my heart.”

“…?”

Making a joke, the guard lifted her visor. A familiar face popped out from under the helmet.

“Ilone?”

“Long time no see!”

It was Ilone, the captain of the city guard.

“Did you wait?”

“Not really.”

After that, I headed to the guard station with Ilone. I wasn’t brought in for stealing hearts; Ilone needed to change clothes after her shift.

She emerged in casual clothes, adjusting her outfit with a slightly shy expression.

The clothes she wore were truly just for commuting, so it was understandable she felt a bit embarrassed showing them to me.

We headed straight to the pub. It wasn’t the tavern I used as an inn, but a slightly more upscale establishment.

“Is it okay to eat at a place like this?”

“It’s fine, I’ll treat you.”

“No, but you…”

“What? Even after seeing this?”

I pointed to my guild card. The silver-plated item was possessed by only a few in this city, and it indicated that my income was among the top tier.

Perhaps my daily wage was equivalent to her monthly salary, though I didn’t bother to say it aloud. Doing so might have left her feeling disheartened.

As soon as we sat down, we nibbled on the basic snacks the staff brought out and promptly ordered beers. Two glasses of cold lager with ice floating in them were served, and after a toast, we each took a light sip.

“What have you been up to all this time?”

“Me? Well, thanks to you, I’ve been clearing out illegal organizations, and because of that, I received rewards and a bit of land from the lord, just living like that.”

“You’ve been living a busy life.”

“Yeah. Busy. So much that I couldn’t keep promises.”

“Promises?”

“Forgot? You promised back then.”

Since it had been over a month, it took quite a while to recall what she was talking about.

But eventually, I remembered. We had made plans to go on a date after the festival ended.

‘Oh, dear.’

“Since we’re meeting now, let’s set a date. How about this weekend?”

Ilone said with a beaming smile. I couldn’t refuse that smiling face, so I nodded in agreement, saying okay.