Chapter 117

Chapter 117

117th Episode: Black Street “Damn it…” “….Hoo.” Tarliman Levote sighed softly as he looked at the man sprawled on the table. For mercenaries, drinking with an enemy they fought to the death with yesterday wasn’t a special occasion. Especially if the opponent had considerable strength to acknowledge. Perhaps it was because he couldn’t shake off his old habits, even after becoming a guard for Count Tyvon. Even though he was a demon, Tarliman didn’t find Kaldin unfamiliar. However, the fact that he felt Kaldin was pathetic was unavoidable. “I didn’t know when we were fighting, but now that I see you, you have quite a miserable personality.” “Shut up. Damn it, if that old man hadn’t ambushed me….” Could he have won against the old man even if he hadn’t been ambushed? Tarliman could confidently answer no to that question. Kaldin in front of him had been defeated quite miserably. ‘….Still, his recovery is amazing.’ The impact would have turned an ordinary human into mincemeat, but Kaldin in front of him didn’t seem to be seriously injured. Moreover, he was even pouring alcohol into his mouth now. “Anyway, what are you going to do now?” Tarliman asked, emptying the beer in his glass. The girl, the reason they fought, had been taken away by the old man. Tarliman had no reason to fight Kaldin anymore, and Kaldin, though somewhat resentful, didn’t intend to vent it on Tarliman. At that question, Kaldin drank the whiskey in his glass and replied. “I have to go get her back. I can’t abandon her.” “Hmm?” At his words, Tarliman shrugged as if surprised. He briefly considered how he should act as Count Tyvon’s guard, but soon came up with a simple answer. Just stand by and watch. After all, this issue had nothing to do with him. He knew that Count Tyvon coveted the girl, but that didn’t mean he had to hand her over to the Count, his contractor. Besides, the Count had acknowledged that the old man had obtained the girl through a ‘fair trade,’ hadn’t he? For Tarliman, he just needed to have a light drink with this man and return to his main job. “You’re going to get her back? How are you going to do that?” ….Still, it wasn’t that he had no interest in Kaldin and the girl. A love story between a slave and a member of the underworld was a subject that aroused people’s interest. Of course, it was a biased story interpreted from Kaldin’s perspective. “What else can I do? I have to go to his hideout and get her back.” “How? You already lost to that old man. And quite miserably. Do you think you can win even if you go again?” To that obvious question, Kaldin smiled bitterly and replied. “….It’s not like there’s no way.” He didn’t know the old man’s identity, but it wasn’t like there was no way. If he borrowed some resources from Sartun, it would be possible enough. Kaldin reorganized his thoughts and suddenly had a question. ‘….But what is Muren thinking?’ Funnily enough, Sartun still hadn’t noticed his betrayal. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that he hadn’t considered the possibility. Kaldin himself didn’t know the reason. If Muren hadn’t mentioned his betrayal yet, there was a possibility, but was there a reason for him to take such action? It was a bit anticlimactic for Kaldin, who had ambitiously planned to leave, but the situation wasn’t that bad. Anyway, he couldn’t beat the old man with his own strength alone. But if the members of the Kaldin Family joined forces, it would be possible enough. “….” Tarliman smiled bitterly as he looked at Kaldin, who was deep in thought. He found it a little hard to understand that he was so infatuated with a girl he had only spent two days with. Was she that attractive? Tarliman thought of the girl’s appearance in his head and nodded slightly. Well, she was cute. Except that she was a little young. It certainly wasn’t Tarliman’s taste, but he was someone who respected other people’s tastes. Tarliman emptied the beer in his glass and got up from his seat. “Anyway, I hope things go well for you. I’ll be going now.” However, Kaldin stopped Tarliman from leaving. “Wait.” “Why? I’m telling you in advance, I have no intention of helping you.” “I need your help.” “….Are your ears blocked?” Tarliman shook his head in disbelief, but Kaldin continued in a low voice. “It’s nothing much. Just show me what you received from that old man. That’s all.” At his words, Tarliman closed his mouth. He thought he was unconscious, but he had seen everything. “….Why should I do that?” “I’ll pay for the drinks.” “Hey, if you’re going to act generous with just 50 rads-” “And this too.” Kaldin said, taking something out of his pocket and throwing it to Tarliman.

-Swish.

Tarliman unconsciously caught what was flying towards him. He examined what Kaldin had given him and gave a hollow laugh. “….Gold coins?” “Sorry. I don’t have much.” It wasn’t exactly little. As in any era, gold had high value. Even to Tarliman, who was ignorant of precious metals, the gold coins Kaldin had given him seemed to be worth at least 1,000 rads. “….Is that girl that important?” “I don’t know, I just don’t want to lose her.” At that answer, Tarliman smiled bitterly. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then sighed and took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Haa, damn it. Whatever will be, will be.” As Kaldin had expected, the old man’s residence was written on the paper. The old man’s intention was clearly for Tarliman to come and find him, but he had no intention of going there from the start. “And, I don’t need these gold coins.” Tarliman said, handing the paper and gold coins to Kaldin. There was no particular reason. It was just an action that stemmed from the feeling that he didn’t want to get involved any further. “Is that so? Then I’ll gratefully accept them.” “….You really have a knack for making people look shameless.” “That’s how underworld people are.” Tarliman chuckled at those words and looked at Kaldin for a moment. Whether the demon in front of him had fallen in love with a girl he had only met for two days or not was irrelevant to him. However, he couldn’t say that he had no feelings of support at all. He turned his back on Kaldin and muttered in a low voice. “….Now that it’s come to this, do your best, ‘Lolicon’ Mr.” What did they call perverts who were obsessed with young girls in the original world? // “….” I was holed up in Quirjev’s workshop, reading the notes he had researched. I was interested in his research, but the fact that I had nothing else to do was even bigger. Quirjev had gone out to contact Mien, and somehow I was left alone in this workshop. So I had to have something to do. Well, I had Quirjev’s permission to read it, so there was no need to hesitate. Besides, I was a little curious too. Even though I hadn’t been initiated for long, I was a magician. And unlike other magicians, I had also mastered martial arts, a discipline that deals with qi, so examining magic from a different perspective didn’t feel boring. In some ways, martial arts was a discipline that dealt with qi more deeply than magic. The difference was that magic was interested in the laws of magic itself, and martial arts made the effects of magic on the human body into laws. Quirjev’s research focused on human body modification, as well as the transplantation and enhancement of living things. All of that was the result of his efforts in various ways to create the Sage’s Heart, but seeing that he had even asked me for such a request, it seemed that he had not been able to achieve it after all. Sage’s Heart, Perhaps it was because I was learning martial arts, but I couldn’t help but acknowledge that it was an amazing concept. Strictly speaking, the Sage’s Heart was more necessary for martial artists than for magicians. Magicians already had excellent alternatives such as spellcraft and magic books. Because of that, they could use magic without having to circulate magic power within their bodies. However, martial artists were not like that. For martial artists who constantly consumed internal energy, the Sage’s Heart was essential. In this world, unless you had the ability to absorb other people’s qi like me or El, it was impossible to practice martial arts. Even if you tried to learn martial arts with the magic power of monsters by applying toxic arts, it was impossible without building a foundation. Unless you had built up your body with qi like me, trying to accumulate poison like internal energy would only turn you into a cripple or kill you. And even if you practiced qi, you couldn’t escape the side effects of poison. Just like I was now, you could only endure it. To truly be free from the side effects of poison, you would have to practice qi to the extreme and undergo a complete transformation, but when could you reach that level in this world? Even if you used Yin Demon Arts to absorb essence, you would have to be embraced by countless men in the future to complete qi. You would definitely have to gather much more essence than you had lived so far. But if you had the Sage’s Heart, it would be different. If you had it, you could learn martial arts without having to defile your body like me. Not only me, but Emiliana and El could also become stronger more easily, and you could help other friends who had been reincarnated in this world learn martial arts. In the end, this experiment was necessary for me, not Quirjev.

-Thud.

Ending my thoughts, I closed the notebook I was reading. The more I thought about it, the more the justification for me to have impregnation sex with a tentacle monster called Laufer increased. ….I felt a little complicated, but I couldn’t help it. Also, to tell the honest truth, I was a little excited. I clearly knew in my head that this was wrong, and I felt fear about whether I could handle the consequences, and I knew that this would have a huge impact on me…. …I felt like my chest and lower abdomen didn’t think so. A damp desire surged, and my body heated up just by thinking about it. Was it the result of being unknowingly brainwashed by accepting the desires of men so far, or was it the masochistic tendencies I originally had? I hated the idea of being impregnated with the seed of a monster, but at the same time, I wanted it. The moment I realized that, I smiled bitterly and muttered. “…I wish I had been forced.” Then I could have mentally won by saying it was okay. I could have comforted myself by saying that I was enjoying it in my heart, but it was unavoidable, so it was okay, this much was nothing. But thinking that I had to jump in with my own feet made me feel uneasy. It felt like I was facing my own dirty side. Anyway, it wasn’t a very good feeling. I was about to look back on myself. Suddenly, a sound rang in my ears.

-Kuung!!

Hearing that sound, I turned my gaze towards the door of the workshop. Then, once again, a heavy sound rang out.

-Ku-kung!

The dull sound was coming from beyond that door leading to the dark corridor. // ———= Author’s Note ———= Talin Levote -〉 Changed the name to Tarliman Levote. Kaldin and Talin have similar sounds, so it’s very annoying when I write.