Ch.48Unfair Treatment-Savvy NPC (7)

“Damn it! Damn it!!”

Avalitia burst out of the inn cursing, adjusting her clothes as she rushed toward her carriage.

How did grabbing that princess’s luscious breasts once lead to this situation? She truly couldn’t understand.

To think she’d lose all the money and jewels she brought—it was genuinely absurd and infuriating.

Originally, the sin she represented was Avarice (Avaritia). She didn’t mind spending money on investments for her future or to eliminate risks, but this situation—bordering on robbery—was enough to provoke her anger.

Moreover.

-CRASH!! BANG!!!

“Ugh!! Get them out quickly!!!”

What on earth was this female(?) golem? It was tearing apart the carriage interior, pulling out all the hidden jewels and money.

It wasn’t even recklessly destroying things, but precisely targeting secret compartments and magical containers while avoiding damage to everything else as it extracted all the jewels and gold.

Truly, she couldn’t even tell it to stop at this rate.

“……”

“……”

The carriage interior finally fell silent after the golem’s arms were filled with jewelry boxes and gold nuggets.

The carriage was sturdy because it was high quality, and because of that, the emergency funds hidden inside amounted to nearly ten million cans. The golem had precisely extracted and removed every bit of it.

Was this truly insane? Perhaps, being made of stone, could it smell jewels and gold? Avalitia couldn’t comprehend the situation at all and deliberately pushed against the golem’s shoulder as she tried to board the carriage…

-THUD!!

“Eek?!!!”

“……”

She had clearly pushed against its shoulder with force, but why was she the one thrown back? No.

More accurately, she wasn’t just pushed back—she was flung away. How could this happen to her, one of the Seven Deadly Sins?!

The golem stood in place, expressionlessly looking at her fallen form with a tilted head. What, what on earth was this?!

“D-Damn it!!”

The blonde woman beside him also seemed incredibly skilled, but that thug-like man and the golem he controlled were completely monstrous, beyond expectation.

They were at a level she couldn’t possibly match with mere physical force.

Even if she revealed her true form here, Avalitia felt she would struggle just dealing with this golem and the man. She jumped into her carriage without even fixing her clothes.

“Damn it, damn it…!! You think this ends here after what you’ve done?!!”

But battles aren’t fought with just one approach. She had tried to avoid using her powers, but she couldn’t let this slide after being humiliated like this.

“Just wait. From this moment on, I’ll make you regret this continuously.”

Her pupils transformed into those of a goat as she activated her power. The power of avarice means hoarding what’s yours and not sharing with others.

And once she has marked something as “hers,” even if it goes to someone else, it will eventually, unconditionally return to her grasp. Yes, even if it’s property or life itself.

-Groooo…!!!

Dark smoke began flowing from her body, gradually spreading outside through the cracks in the carriage. By the time it was a short distance from the carriage, it had become completely transparent as it headed toward the inn.

‘My things, what I had, the checks and jewels I marked as mine. They’re all mine!!’

Though she couldn’t mark the princess or that man, there were few valuables in the entire city that didn’t bear her mark.

Eventually, when her possessions entered their hands, her power would automatically manifest, and they would gradually lose her things.

In the end, the items they lost would naturally return to her, and this would continue in a chain reaction. And ultimately.

‘When the time comes, you’ll eventually fall. And when that happens!!! I’ll repay today’s humiliation in full!! I’ll make both of you my slaves!! Make you lick my feet!!! And I’ll grope those breasts all I want!! Until they’re bitten!! Until they shrivel!!!’

Naturally, all the things she considered hers—money, everything she had—would all become hers again, and eventually they would fall.

The good thing about this power was that once something belonged to her, even if temporarily lost, it would return and belong to her again. Also, it couldn’t be detected by human-made magical covenant tools, so it escaped their scope.

But there were also drawbacks, which was why she had been reluctant to use it.

However, she wasn’t a kind enough demon to just sit still in a situation where she’d been so thoroughly humiliated…

-THUMP!!

“Eek?!!!”

Suddenly, the carriage shook violently. She hadn’t even ordered it to depart yet—it was too sudden.

Avalitia momentarily halted her power use due to the unexpected shock.

What on earth?

-Creeeeak.

“Wh-What?”

The carriage door slowly opened, and sunlight from outside began to seep into the carriage. A shadow gradually invaded the carriage interior through the backlight.

“Uh, huh?”

What appeared through the door gap was the golem she had just shoulder-bumped. She(?) was staring at her expressionlessly.

What’s going on all of a sudden?

“Wh-What?! Why are you standing there?! D-Do you think there’s still something left to take?! There’s nothing left!!”

Her voice trembled uncontrollably. In this situation where the thief was feeling anxious, Avalitia shouted, and the golem, unlike before, just stared at her without holding anything, then slowly began to raise its hand.

And then.

-SHIVER!!!

“Eek?!! Wh-What?! Wh-What are you…!!!”

The golem pointed at her with its raised hand and remained still. On the surface, it looked like it wanted to request something from her.

However, Avalitia couldn’t help but have a seizure at the situation unfolding before her eyes.

-Hissssss…!

The golem was emitting the same magical energy as her, and even perfectly controlling it to return it to her.

Avalitia couldn’t believe that it was controlling the magical energy perfectly to make it invisible to others, just like she did. What on earth was this golem…!!!

-Screeeeeech!!!

“Eek?!!!”

The golem withdrew its extended finger and drew it across its own throat, making a sound like nails on a chalkboard.

A thin line appeared on the seemingly delicate golem’s neck. Avalitia couldn’t help but understand the meaning of this action.

‘…If I touch it, I die. Th-That’s what it means?!’

Magical energy. The energy being returned to her now was the power she had just been emitting.

She didn’t know how this golem had managed to control and return it to her, but one thing was certain.

‘O-Only Pride can do something like this. That means this golem is higher-ranked than me, perhaps a direct servant of that Pride?! Wh-Why is something like this with those humans?!!!’

She misinterpreted Gor’s actions and could only nod vigorously, understanding what he wanted to say.

Seeing her reaction, Gor seemed satisfied, nodded once, closed the carriage door, and left.

“Haa. Haa. Haa. Wh-What. Wh-What are they? A human stronger than me. A human smarter than me. A golem vastly stronger than me… No, a golem of higher rank than me? Wh-What is this…”

Ragni’s disheveled clothes slipped further, revealing her naked body, but it was soaked with cold sweat.

In the end, Avalitia learned just one lesson without understanding anything else:

Those people must never be messed with.

She quickly departed in her carriage.

She left without knowing that someone was watching her carriage as it disappeared into the distance.

*

[Absorption Effect: Eat and grow stronger.]

[Mimicry Effect: Absorb and 100% mimic the opponent’s actions. Luck is proportional to the opponent’s luck. (Target: Demon Avalitia. Mimicking [Power of Avarice].)]

[MP: 11]

[MP was cutting it close.]

Gor detected the status window the moment that female demon removed the scarf from Ragni’s neck.

However, the distance was an issue. He was in another room with Ira and had no way to prevent the situation.

So all he could do was watch everyone fall into danger while nervously eyeing the corner of the status window, but he wasn’t foolish enough to be tricked twice after being tricked once.

Moreover, a demon’s power.

The moment he confirmed the effect of [Power of Avarice], Gor used almost all his MP to forcibly absorb and mimic it.

Fortunately, he was able to counter and return the power’s activation, but if it had fully activated, he couldn’t have stopped it. No matter how he thought about it, he didn’t have enough MP.

Well, returning it right in front of her instantly consumed 160 out of his 170 MP. He couldn’t have even dreamed of casting a sunlight spell.

[But this much deserves praise for a fine play, right? Wonder if I’ll get a reward if I ask.]

Gor picked up the jewels and gold nuggets he had placed on the ground and headed back to the inn.

He had no idea what emotions the demon was feeling, what fear she was experiencing, or how she was thinking as she moved away.

On this day. Without predicting at all how the snowball they had set in motion would roll.

*

“Whew!! Tired from using my brain.”

What? You’re asking what brainwork I did?

I’ll proudly claim that I have a 10% stake since Ragni executed Plan 7, Status Window gave instruction 2, and I added improvisation to the performance. No? Shh!!

“…I’m really sorry.”

“Hm? What do you have to be sorry about?”

Maybe it’s because I used my brain and acted after so long. I collapsed onto the bed in the room, and Ragni approached to apologize to me again.

“If I had behaved better, no. If I had handled the followers more quietly from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened. I made you and Ira cross a dangerous bridge. I’m truly sor—”

“Shh. Stop. Earlier you were bullying the market owner, then your personality changed, and now why are you in gloomy mode? Don’t do that.”

Being a virgin, I’m very inadequate at responding to women’s reed-like emotions. I really wish she wouldn’t do this.

Moreover, thinking about it, I’m really tired now after staying up all night and putting on this show. Let’s just think of it as a happening and move on, okay?

With that thought, I wave my hand, and she silently approaches and sits on the edge of the bed.

“…Alright. Then, thank you. For not abandoning or selling me out.”

“Ha! I’m not the type to pick up dogs or cats and then abandon them.”

“What? Am I a dog? Or a cat?”

“You’re too smart, so maybe a monkey?”

I don’t want to think I’m dumber than dogs or cats. Monkeys… I’m not sure. I’d have to compare.

“Hehe. I see. Then, are you a trainer?”

“I’m a tamer, actually?”

“…Pfft. That’s right.”

Seeing her finally smile slightly, I unconsciously reach out my hand. Ah, I’m tired.

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry. When things become safer and better, I’ll let you be free then. At the very least, I won’t send you off to someone you dislike.”

As I extend my hand with half-closed eyes to stroke her hair, Ragni quietly accepts the touch.

Hmm, not as much as Ira, but her hair is really soft too.

Well, she pretends to be an adult, but she’s still a minor at 18. Even if this world doesn’t have such standards, at least in my mind, that’s how it is.

Enjoying the sensation at my fingertips, I quietly closed my eyes. I guess I’m really tired both physically and mentally, so I can’t go on anymore. Time to sleep.

“Good night.”

“…Night.”

With the sound of Windows 98 shutting down in my head, my consciousness terminated. And then.

“…I’ll be your female slave forever. You don’t need to set me free.”

Ragni’s quiet voice failed to penetrate my sleep firewall.