Chapter 118

Chapter 118

Episode 118: Deficiency The loud noise subsided, and soon familiar voices echoed from beyond the hallway. “Ugh! What the hell is this?!” “Watch out! It’s attacking!” “Karus, you take the left!”

-Thump, clang!!

Along with that, the sound of fighting something resonated. “…..” No doubt about it. Those were the voices of the Kaldin Family.

-Swish! Thud!!

“Ugh!?” “Damn it, these bastards are too tough!” Their voices were filled with urgency. What were they fighting? It was hard to tell from the distance, but it was probably those monsters that Quirzejev kept. There was no reason to find it strange. Some picky and secretive mages were said to set up various traps in their workshops to prevent theft. Quirzejev seemed like a picky enough mage, and he seemed to have quite a few devices, especially tentacles that looked like familiars, so it wouldn’t be strange if he had placed a Guardian in his workshop. “Damn it! It’s above us too!!” “Shit, that’s disgusting!” Listening to their voices filled with intense emotions, I blankly got up. How did they know I was here? It hadn’t been long since Kaldin collapsed. Unless Quirzejev was more famous than I thought and the location of his workshop was obvious, or they were being followed. Or…. “….Could it be.” Suddenly, I remembered Quirzejev handing a note to the young man who used the magic sword. And the words he said, to come and find him if he wanted a reward. ….Could it be that this guy blatantly revealed the location of his workshop? Well, a workshop has various meanings for a mage, so it’s not impossible, but I couldn’t help but think he was too naive. It might not be the case, but since those people came all the way here, it was Quirzejev’s responsibility. ….Or is it my fault? “…Nah, no way.” I considered opening the door and helping the Kaldin Family, but I decided against following them now. I would only get in their way, and there was no reason to help them. But, does anything in life ever go as planned? While I was sitting on the chair, lost in thought, the shouts from outside gradually subsided and eventually disappeared.

-Thud, thud.

Along with that, the sound of multiple footsteps echoed closer. This probably meant that they had broken through Quirzejev’s security. “This is troublesome….” I muttered softly and got up. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the workshop that could be used as a weapon. There were a few pieces of firewood for the fireplace, but I’d rather punch them myself than use that. Maybe it was because the owner of the workshop was a mage, but it was a shame that there wasn’t even a poker, even though there was a fireplace.

-Swish.

I got up and prepared to greet the Kaldin Family. It would be best if I could persuade them to go back, but they wouldn’t have come in the first place if they were those kinds of people. It would probably be easier to use my fists. And, more effective. Enduring the throbbing pain in my ankle, I stared at the door, and I could hear them talking quietly beyond the door. “What is this? How do we open it?” “Boss. I don’t have a good feeling about this. Should we go back now…?” “Karus, if your intuition was really that good, I would have died more than a dozen times by now.” “That’s true. He’s just being dramatic.” “….Hmm, this looks simple on the outside, but it’s quite a complex device. It’s mechanical, so it’ll be hard to unlock with the magic destruction scrolls we brought.” ….It seemed like it would take them a while to get in. //

-Click.

Still, perhaps because they were thieves who didn’t neglect their lock-picking skills, or perhaps they received some kind of dice roll bonus, they eventually managed to open the workshop door, even though it took them a while. And Kaldin, who was trying to enter first among them, looked surprised when he saw me standing in front of the door. It wasn’t the wolf form I had seen last time. Except for the parts where my arms were transformed, I looked no different from a human. “Hello.” It would be awkward to just stare, so I greeted them first. Then Kaldin answered with a dazed expression. “….You’re more okay than I thought.” “Right? That mage grandpa. He’s a better person than I thought.” “Your thinking is surprisingly broad.” “I think so too.” After a short banter, Kaldin glanced behind him and said to me. “Let’s go right now. It’s dangerous to stay here for long.” “….Kaldin.” “We got lucky. That old man left the area.” I smiled bitterly as I looked at Kaldin, who was speaking happily. I felt a little sorry to pour cold water on his excited appearance, but I had to say what I had to say. “Kaldin, I’m not leaving here.” “….What?” “Layla?” “What’s wrong all of a sudden?” It seemed that not only Kaldin was surprised by my words, but also the members of the Family behind him questioned my words as if they were dumbfounded. Seeing them as if they had come to rescue a captured prisoner, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly. From their point of view, it wasn’t wrong. Quirzejev bought me as a slave, and they thought they had come to rescue me, who was held as a slave. However, even if I followed them, I would still be a slave. Would the two choices be that different? Either I would give birth to tentacles here, or I would become a sex toy there. Both are attractive options, but if I had to choose, I would choose not to leave Kaldin. I would have enough agreement with Quirzejev, and he was my backer. “What if that old man drags you to Mnemosyne? Haven’t you heard what they do to slaves there?” “Layla, if you’re saying that for us…” Hmm, they’re misunderstanding a bit too much. And what is Mnemosyne? I wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time. Kaldin and the members of the Family seemed to have misunderstood my words and were trying to persuade me. Did they think I was staying here to protect them? It was a situation where they could misunderstand, but there was no reason to tell them about my relationship with Quirzejev. It was better to hide the story of the Necromancer School, and the Kaldin Family wasn’t close enough to tell them about it. “….Layla. Think again.” Kaldin said quietly, staring into my eyes, but I only had one thing to say. “My answer is the same. And Kaldin, if you care about me, can you just leave quietly?” Kaldin seemed to think for a moment at the words I threw like a question, then shook his head. “No. I can’t do that.” And, as if vowing to himself, he continued. “….If you refuse, I’ll have to take you by force.” In the end, that’s the answer I get. I had a feeling that would happen. The emotion he had for me was closer to possessiveness than love. Or, to be precise, it was love with the name of possessiveness. I don’t like that very much. It’s like a black desire disguised as something pure. If it’s white, it’s white, and if it’s black, it’s black. Black disguised as white. It’s unsettling. I might even follow him if he cursed at me, grabbed my hair, and said, ‘Shut up and come with me, you bitch.’ “Hmph.” I smiled as if answering his words, and took a stance. Then I murmured quietly. “Try it if you can.” I didn’t think Kaldin would back down nicely anyway. Then I had no choice but to show my skills as well. “….You’re going to fight us?” When I took a stance, Kaldin muttered as if he was dumbfounded. I guess it would be a little absurd even if I thought about it. A woman who was used like a public sex toy suddenly challenges him to a fight, it must be laughable. Even if I showed a little bit of my skills last time, it wouldn’t be enough to change that perception. He must be regarding me as inferior. That’s an unavoidable instinct. I had been under him countless times, screaming in pleasure, begging for his mercy with a coquettish voice. I had shown him my weakened self countless times, and I had seen him accept other men’s penises powerlessly and miserably, and act cute. Well, so even if he knows in his head that I’m strong, he’ll deny it in his heart. “….Layla, are you serious?” “Damn it. She’s already gone crazy. Is it already too late….” “How harshly was she treated in that short amount of time…” The reactions of the other Kaldin Family members were not much different. Unlike Kaldin, they knew that I was just a powerless woman, so they couldn’t believe it even more. Their carelessness wasn’t a bad thing for me. “I won’t say much.” I smiled at them and drew up the inner strength from my dantian. The magic power absorbed from the troll was poison, but poison is also a type of energy. If used well, it can be used enough.

-Tap.

“….What?” Scanning Kaldin’s bewildered expression, I jumped into his arms. At the same time, I spread my palm and thrust it into his chest. It was partly to induce carelessness, but he wouldn’t have been able to block it even if he had been prepared.

-Thwack!

Didn’t someone say that? First strike is the truth of life. // “Cough!?” “Gasp!!” Kaldin, who was hit in the chest, bounced back with the gang member standing behind him, and rolled down the hallway.

-Thud!

The distance was surprising even to me. How unprepared was he for the technique to land so cleanly? Even Emily would have been able to block or avoid it. That’s not to say that Kaldin is weaker than Emily, though. “….H, how?” Looking at Kaldin, who had flown away, Jasker, a member of the Kaldin Family, muttered blankly. Hob, who had a goblin-like appearance, also had rich human-like expressions. His face, which was surprised and dazed, looked a little stupid, unlike when he had his dick in my mouth. “You don’t need to know.”

-Swish!

After answering lightly, I once again spread my palm and hit his chest. Jasker quickly crossed his arms to block my palm strike, but “Cough!!” That didn’t mean he could withstand a palm strike filled with inner strength. In the end, he also bounced away like Kaldin. He should have blocked it with a shield if he wanted to block it. Of course, there’s no way the underworld gang members would carry such things, so he wouldn’t be able to block it, but. It was a bit of a waste of inner strength consumed by the palm strike, but if I made some agreements with Quirzejev, I could easily gather inner strength in the future. There was no need to be too stingy now. As I sent three people flying in an instant, the remaining three gang members shouted in surprise. “W, what the hell!?” “Layla! How could you…?” The total number of subordinates Kaldin brought was five. I had just sent two people flying, excluding Kaldin, so there were three left. My ankle was a little strained, but this was no problem.

-Swish!

Seeing them take out daggers and take a stance while panicking, it was commendable that they were an organization in charge of combat in the underworld. Considering that, their first response seemed stupid, but I could let that slide. However, daggers cannot injure me. I stretched out both hands, snatched the daggers they were aiming at me, threw them away, and sent each of them a palm strike. “Cough!” In that way, two humans rolled on the ground with coughing. Now there was only one person left. It was Karus, a black panther beastman. He had a look of astonishment, but he was holding a short sword and taking a stance as if he was trying to calmly deal with my movements. Indeed, is it a stance worthy of a beastman skilled in combat?

I gave Karus, who seemed tense and stiff, a light smile. I liked his barbed penis, but this side of him wasn’t bad either. “I’d like you to leave now.” There was no need to beat everyone to a pulp. A few gentle words and an impression that they couldn’t win against me was enough. Quirjev might arrive at any moment, and I didn’t want to get annoyed. Besides, I didn’t really want to kill them all. Unlike the Lockard Family of Lakers, I had built up quite a bit of camaraderie with these guys over time. However, it seemed my wish wouldn’t be granted so easily. “…Damn it, it wasn’t a lie that you were a force to be reckoned with.” I turned my gaze towards the voice and saw Kaldin, who had already fully summoned his powers, getting up while muttering in a daze.