Chapter 25: Settlement (2)

Chapter 25: Settlement (2)

I
took in my surroundings.

A
dingy alleyway, where even the sun was shadowed by buildings.

Even
as I ventured deeper, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was
amiss, yet those guys surprisingly followed me without resistance.

“Hey
there, male. Stop right there.”

“If
you obey us, there won’t be any bloodshed.”

I
shuddered in anger at the sound of their voices as they spouted the
usual three-letter words.

“Nu,
who are you?”

“You
don’t need to know who we are.”

Thwack-.

They
drew sharp daggers from their loins.

[Zelvin
LV.11]

[Mercy
LV.9]

Though
they posed no particular threat.

“Hee.
Hee.”

I
reacted with surprise.

If
there’s one thing I’ve learned from my battles with Deluna, it’s this
little psychological tactic.

The
more I look like shit, the easier it is to catch them off guard.

In
a way, it’s a tactic I can use now that I have a status window

“Ha,
look at that surprised reaction. Quite talented at making one’s
uterus twist.”

“If
the helmet reveals something decent, I could sell him off as a slave
or a prostitute.”

“You
fool. Why would a man cover his face? He probably looks messed up.”

“That’s
true. But with a good body like that, there should be plenty of
demand.”

Seeing
them already plotting how to deal with me, it seems my act of being
easily intimidated is working well.

They
laugh confidently as they gradually approach.

The
opponent brandishes a sharp weapon, threateningly shouting about rape
or selling me as a slave.

To
facilitate smooth communication, I brought out the right tool for
conversation.

‘At
this point, it’s self-defense, right?’

With
justification in place, all that’s left is to swing the axe.

***

“Help,
help, help⋯”

Zelvin,
who has axe marks all over her body, begged, wringing her hands.

Beside
her was Mercy, her supposed companion, but she was not begging as
fervently as Zelvin.

Her
thighs had been axed, and she’d passed out immediately afterward, her
eyes rolling back in her head.

I
asked, pointing the axe at the stunned Zelvin.

“Why
did you come after me? Were you trying to avenge Deluna? What the
hell are you guys doing? Who told you to come after me?”

“Who
told you?! What kind of bullshit are you talking about?”

“Heh.
You’re trying to play dumb?”

I
raised the confession dispenser towards Zelvin, who was looking at me
with a bewildered expression on her face.

With
a little tingling pressure, the man or woman will tell me the answer
I want to hear.

“Now,
wait, I’ll tell you!”

I
shove the confession dispenser into the nape of her neck, and she
immediately opens her mouth, her face a deep blue.

It
works.

“It’s
only natural for a woman to think of eating a man when she sees one⋯”

I
don’t think so, since she’s just talking nonsense. I guess I need to
poke her harder to get a better effect.

“Who
told you to say that? I asked you who made you do it.”

“If
you want to find the one who made you do it, it’s our womb. We just
wanted to see what we could do with you out of the kindness of our
hearts⋯”

“⋯⋯what?”

Something
is wrong.

Aside
from the fact that her words make my head spin, I feel like the
conversation from earlier is disjointed and off-kilter.

“You
didn’t come to retaliate for Deluna’s corpse because she had the same
puppet curse⋯you
just followed me?”

I
carefully mouthed the name of the curse.

“Puppet.”

“⋯?”

“The
86574th puppet, that’s you, with 88574.”

“⋯?”

Zelvin’s
face turned even dumber. Like she didn’t understand what I was saying
in the slightest.

“Puppets⋯?
You mean puppet shows? If so, they sometimes perform on the streets
in the Outlaw District. I often go to see them because they’re fun.”

“No,
not that shitty show-“

Just
as my frustration was about to rise to the top of my head, a
possibility flashed through my mind.

‘These
assholes. They don’t realize they’re cursed?’

But
I quickly shake my head.

‘No.
How could they not know?’

It’s
not just because I have a status window.

Once
an explorer or whatever heads into the Labyrinth, there’s a small
chance they’ll be blessed or cursed. The Labyrinth blesses and curses
everyone equally.

Blessings
and curses are confirmed at the Temple.

Explorers
usually check for curses after each trip to the Labyrinth, so it’s
impossible to tell if you’re cursed.

When
I worked at Diana’s Inn, I’d hear drunken adventurers blabbing about
what curse they’d gotten today and how their lives would be ruined.

‘Well,
there are some cases like my question mark blessing, but I don’t
think the puppet curse is one of them.’

The
question mark blessing didn’t even show up in the status window.

The
puppet’s curse, on the other hand, was detailed like a normal
blessing or curse.

Then
it should show up in the temple’s appraisal.

‘Appraise
and not tell them?’

Serif
would immediately write down the results on a piece of paper for
others to see.

But
do all priests do that?

I
remembered Adolf’s face. With one exiled for sodomy, would all the
priests follow the rules?

Can
I be sure that among all those priests, there isn’t a single puppet?

I
mean, aren’t blessings and curses bestowed in the Labyrinth in the
first place?

What
and whose puppets are they in the first place? The puppets of the
Labyrinth, or someone else? A group? An organization?

‘⋯No,
that’s too much of a leap. Let’s stay cool.’

The
thought of an enemy instantly fills me with worry.

I
take a deep breath and clear my head.

Anyway,
she didn’t seem to know when or where she’d gotten the puppet curse,
much like I did when I got the question mark blessing.

Putting
aside what I couldn’t figure out right away, I’d see what I could
find out.

“You
two are outlaws, right?”

From
the sound of it, this was no ordinary explorer.

I
pressed down hard on the confession dispenser, and the answer popped
right out.

“Yes,
I am.”

“Then
how come you were sitting in the Explorers’ Alliance?”

“The
buildings of the Explorers’ Alliance are only forbidden to the
branded. So unless you’re a known outlaw or a wanted man, you’re
allowed to stop by for a visit, but I’m not one of them.”

Zelvin
pulled a wooden plaque with an unusual engraving from her bosom.

“I
was an outlaw. I’m in the process of rehabilitation, and I’ve been
doing well until now, when you tempted me with your body! Eek!”

When
I asked her about the rehabilitation process, she explained that it’s
a way for people who have left the outlaw life behind to kiss the
Alliance’s ass and get a new identity in order to become explorers
again.

“The
stamp on the plaque is proof that I’m a reformed explorer.”

‘The
Explorers’ Union. What a bunch of money-crazed bastards.’

How
is this any different than a criminal wearing an electronic anklet
paying the police to remove it?

“So,
by any chance, do you know about this woman named Deluna?”

“Oh.
I do. She was my classmate in the rehabilitation program. She
graduated first because she was a fast learner and didn’t commit any
crimes along the way, but apparently she fell back into crime again.”

“And
you know about the Blues Clan she was in?”

“Blues?
There’s no way I could forget those bastards. They’re notorious for
dirty dealings in the western lawless zone. They’re the kind of scum
who default to slave hunting.”

Zelvin
gritted his teeth in exasperation.

“Especially
that clan matriarch. Her name is Vesta, and she used to be a
sixteenth floor explorer.”

Sixteen
floors is pretty deep, even for a mid-level.

–
Do you know who’s above me? Huh?! No!

I
had assumed that Deluna’s dying words were spoken because she knew
who the puppet master was but her words, and her lack of awareness of
the curse, made me change my mind.

‘Is
she just being a bit of a bully for her clan?’

–
That’s what slaves are for. That’s what Vesta gave her to me to do.

Come
to think of it, didn’t Grumpy also say that Vesta gave her to Deluna.

“Ma,
I’ve said all I need to say. Now put the axe away⋯
we were wrong⋯”

Zelvin
sounded desperate, as if she wanted to be left alone.

The
interrogation hadn’t yielded much. I felt like I had to get something
to fill the void.

“If
you’re guilty, you should compensate the victims. Let’s settle
amicably with ten silver coins.”

“Pee,
we’re the only ones who were harmed, that’s bullshit, and we don’t
have that kind of money!”

“What,
you want to start the rehab process all over again?”

“⋯No,
what kind of thug are you-?”

“What,
you want to go back to being an outlaw?”

I
pointed the axe at her, and Zelvin looked at me with a look that
said, “What kind of asshole are you?”

“⋯Cough,
you’re sure you’ll shut me up if I gave it, right?”

“Think
about it.”

“Kaaaagh,
let go of me, you devil!”

It
was a waste to let these guys go already.

There
was no immediate information to be gained, but they were cursed.

I
finally compromised and settled for five silver coins, mutually
agreeable, and just enough to know where they live to investigate
their curse further if I had the means.

“⋯Sad
Cat Inn. Room 105. Mercy lives there.”

“If
you’ve changed residences the next time I visit, something
interesting is going to happen.”

“⋯⋯You
devil.”

With
that, I raised my axe, and she scurried off with Mercy in tow.

I
stared at them, thinking.

What
do they have in common with Deluna?

All
three were reformed explorers.

‘In
other words, all three were outlaws in the past.’

If
I had to guess with the information I have now.

There’s
something in the outlaw territory in the west and it’s damn
dangerous.

***

The
next day, I, Jermi, and Grumpy met at the Explorers’ Union to settle
our paychecks.

I
couldn’t help but pinch myself on the back of the neck as soon as I
saw her walk through the door.

“Grumpy.”

“What?”

I
called out to him in a shaky voice, and she looked up at me with a
puzzled expression on her face.

[Currently
enslaved]

[Denshi
LV.7]

[Blessings
and Curses currently held by Denshi: 3]

[◆
Curse of the 1389th Puppet]

–
Denshi became the 1389th puppet.

–
All stats +1 when maximum conditions are met

“You.
What the hell are you wearing⋯?”

“????”

Grumpy
wore a face full of skepticism at the simple question.