episode_0113

“Ah…, you were the hero?”

“…You’re not as surprised as I expected?”

Levia tilted her head, but didn’t seem too surprised.

Until now, the concept of a hero was only circulating in the vague eastern continent of Philgreah, but at least in the central continent of Philgreah, and the western continent, which has relatively frequent exchanges with the central continent, the title of hero holds considerable significance.

But Levia, for some reason….

“Actually…. A hero came to visit before, too.”

“A hero came before? Who? Surely not me?”

“Pardon?…. Ah, no. It was definitely…. Sir Abel, I think.”

“Ah….”

That bastard, huh.

Well…. Levia’s chest is equal to or greater than the ample chest of a white tiger, and her beautifully tanned brown skin under the golden road’s unique sunlight blends with her bunny girl outfit to create a lovely feeling like a cute black rabbit.

A hero like Abel, who is crazy about women, would be tempted.

“But if that Abel guy targeted you…, are you okay?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

That woman-crazy bastard wouldn’t just leave such a cute girl alone.

Especially since he came to visit, it clearly means he was targeting Levia.

Even so, Levia is walking around this casino unharmed?….

“In crude terms…, did he bother you, or something?”

“Ah…. Yes, he did a bit….”

Levia, who had a sheepish smile, then looked at me and said.

“W-Well…. I’m sorry, Hero. I don’t think I can fulfill your request.”

Well, I thought that might be the case.

Nothing can be done….

I nodded as if I understood.

“Then it can’t be helped.”

“Yes…. I know my place. Sir Leon told me in a slightly roundabout way, unlike Sir Abel, but I don’t have the ability to support you…. All I have is my body. Sir Leon wants that too, doesn’t he?”

“…Huh?”

Wait a minute. Something’s strange?

I think Levia is misunderstanding something….

“Wait a minute. I didn’t want your body.”

“You didn’t want my body?…. Then what do you want from me…. Are you trying to bring someone like me, who is nothing, into the hero party?”

“That’s because!….”

Thinking about it again, a small doubt arises whether saying, ‘I need the luck you possess!’ would sound even more like nonsense.

“…Just asking for reference, what did Hero Abel say?”

“Sir Abel…. told me to join the hero party. So I told him I didn’t know how to fight…. He said he could do all the fighting himself…. I…. j-just need to…, s-spread my legs when he wants…, a-and moan…loudly…, and that’s enough….”

“….”

Is he crazy?

This is why I get unnecessary misunderstandings!!

“…Haa. Never mind. For now…, that’s enough.”

“I-Is that so?…. Then I’ll g-go now….”

“No. Stay there.”

“??”

I stopped Levia, who was trying to get up in a hurry.

“You’ll just go back to work if you leave here anyway. Rest as much as you want. Like I said before, no one can see you here.”

“??….”

Levia looked at me as if she didn’t understand.

I glanced at her and pondered for a moment about what to do next.

“Ah, right. And this.”

“?”

What I handed to Levia was a gold bracelet.

The way to tip employees here is to give them expensive ornaments that have been prepared in advance.

It’s because it’s hard to carry around coins or gold coins as tips. There is such an unspoken rule, so conversely, the employees here basically don’t wear ‘accessories’.

Wearing accessories means that they are skilled employees who receive that much in tips.

“It’s a tip.”

“O-Oh…. T-Thank you.”

Levia shyly received the gold bracelet I handed her.

Thankfully, she’s accepting this.

Well, basically, refusing a tip from a customer is considered disrespectful, so they are trained not to.

‘…Well, that’s not that important.’

What should I do going forward….

* * *

『Black Rabbit Headband』

This equipment item can be obtained by clearing all the sub-quests related to Levia mentioned earlier.

The stat increase is weak, but this item has a unique option,

Increased encounter rate with rare monsters within the Gold Road area.

Increased drop rate of special equipment within the Gold Road area.

Increased amount of copper coins, silver coins, gold coins, and large gold coins dropped when hunting monsters within the Gold Road area.

It has these 3 effects.

‘And this is the ability that weakens Levia’s luck ability.’

In the original game, Levia and the hero Leon meet inside the casino.

When the player enters the casino, they can meet the NPC Levia, and the quest proceeds from the moment they talk to her.

The content of the quest is that Leon, who learns about Levia’s circumstances, tries to help Levia and raise money to free her from the casino. As a method for raising money here, he hunts monsters, and at this time, a buff called Levia’s Blessing is applied.

This buff is the same as the Black Rabbit Headband effect I mentioned earlier, but it grants an enhanced effect, which is quite powerful.

‘This is what I’m aiming for.’

In the game, it has no effect in areas other than the Gold Road due to balance issues, but if it deviates from the framework of the game and comes here, the luck effect will definitely be exerted even outside the Gold Road area. And the very rare monster I have to find is naturally a fragment of the Demon King.

‘I already know the location of the Heavenly Demon, so it doesn’t matter, but I don’t even know where the Demon King’s fragments will be in the future. If I have to wander around directly on my own, I’d rather borrow Levia’s power to increase the probability of meeting them by chance. I’m confident I can win if I just meet them.’

That’s why I came to the Gold Road to take Levia before going to the Holy Kingdom….

“That Abel bastard….”

Walking back to the lodgings with heavy steps.

I cursed Abel once, who disrupted my perfect plan.

“It’s impossible to persuade Levia directly…. Then, is the casino owner the one I have to persuade after all?”

Even in the original game, in order to free Levia, the debt Levia owes must be paid off.

During that liquidation, Levia feels sorry for the hero Leon, and eventually gives up on her own and is sold to a wealthy man.

The last thing she hands to the hero Leon is the headband I mentioned earlier.

“Ah, you’re here.”

“Young master! You’ve arrived!”

“This place is really the best. They give us a lot of delicious things as ordered.”

“…Ah, is that so.”

As I was thinking, I returned to the room where we would be staying, and I saw the kids enjoying a cool staycation.

“Hmm? Hero, did you perhaps visit the casino?”

“Yeah.”

“…Aha~, I was wondering what the rabbit was all about, but you wanted a bunny girl? If that’s the case, I can wear it anytime….”

“Stop the nonsense there.”

Ah, I’m getting tired for no reason.

I lay down on the empty bedding.

“I’m going to sleep first.”

“Huh? Already?”

“If you’re bored, go sightseeing in the town. You guys are strong enough that you won’t get beaten up here.”

As soon as my permission to wander around came out, Lucy said excitedly.

“Then we’ll do some shopping here~”

“Sho, shopping?”

“What is shopping?”

“I mean looking around the market~”

Listening to the laughing voices of the women, I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

After calming my mind through sleep, I visited the casino early in the morning.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not business hours yet….”

“In the name of the hero, I want to meet the owner of this place.”

“Yo, hero?….”

I took out my pure white holy sword.

According to Levia’s words, Abel also came to this place, so he must know about the holy sword.

As I expected, the expression of the guard who was blocking me changed the moment he saw my pure white holy sword.

“J-Just a moment…. I will go and tell the boss. So until then…, please wait….”

“Okay. I understand.”

The wait didn’t last long.

One employee who came with the guard guided me inside with a very flustered look.

Following the employee-only passage, I was soon able to meet the current owner of this casino.

“So, the hero has come to visit.”

“Are you the owner of this place?”

“That’s right. I became the owner of this place by chance.”

A one-eyed middle-aged man with short, dark brown hair.

In addition, he seemed to have trained considerably, as his spirit was quite impressive.

I don’t know about his skills, but his spirit itself might not be inferior to Baekryeon or Seollin.

Anyway, I strode inside and sat down on a chair placed for guest service. He also briefly set aside the work he was doing and got up from his seat and sat across from me.

‘This person, his leg….’

One of his legs is a prosthetic.

Noticing my gaze, he chuckled and said.

“I think I used to be a mercenary back in the day. I must have been injured then.”

“It’s as if you don’t know yourself.”

“Well, that’s right. I don’t have any old memories.”

He doesn’t have old memories?….

Is it amnesia? I’m a little curious about that too, but the important thing is that’s not it.

Just as I was about to tell him the main point, he opened his mouth one step ahead, as if he already knew.

“I’ve received a report about you. You seem to have quite a lot of money.”

“…Well, yeah.”

“You want to buy our bunny…. Levia?”

“…You already noticed?”

“There are a lot of things I hear when I do this job.”

So he definitely has the ability to run such a large casino.

“Yes, as you said, I want to buy her.”

“Why?”

“Because she is essential to me.”

“Hmm…, an indispensable being…. Well, you’re better than that bastard.”

That bastard…, that must be that guy.

“Hero Abel?”

“You know him. Did you hear it from him? Or from Levia?”

“Levia told me.”

“Ah, well. It must be difficult for you to even talk to him right now.”

What does that mean again?

When I frowned, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“Anyway…. That guy said something outrageous like he would ruin this casino if I didn’t hand over Levia.”

“….”

He even said that kind of thing.

He really lives without thinking.

“Of course…. He was convinced and went back through proper persuasion, though.”

Considering that guy’s personality, it wouldn’t have been normal persuasion.

“950 platinum coins.”

“…What?”

“950 platinum coins. That’s the money Levia has to pay back. Actually, it’s a bit more, but I neatly cut it off in units of large gold coins.”

“…Crazy. What’s so much?”

It’s more than I thought?

Of course, it’s not like I can’t afford it.

“There’s the cost of her eating and sleeping accommodations, but…. It seems like the biggest thing is that. That girl…. is still looking for her father. She keeps hiring mercenaries to keep looking for her father’s traces in the Gold Road. The cost of introducing trustworthy mercenaries and the cost of hiring those mercenaries, their activity expenses, and so on…. It’s piled up a bit.”

“….”

There was almost no mention of that when I met her in the game, so I didn’t know….

At this point, she was still looking for her father.

Well, it’s been about 2 years since she came here to find her father….

“Okay. 950 platinum coins. I’ll pay.”

“…Hmm.”

“…?”

What’s wrong.

When I said I would pay, the other person’s expression suddenly became subtle.

“Whether you can pay that or not is…, besides the point. Indeed.”

“…What’s wrong.”

“I won’t sell.”

Is this bastard kidding me?