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The Nymphs and Pluto’s Underground Labyrinth
110 ? Nymph Cult and Pluto’s Underground Labyrinth #8
The bandits, who had lost their will to fight, were subdued in an instant.
In fact, the individual skills of the thieves themselves were not that outstanding.
If he had been a skilled warrior to begin with, he would have had a more decent job instead of living off of theft.
I heard that it was mainly the stragglers who couldn’t collect the 20 silver for the guild membership fee who ended up down this bad path.
20 silver.
Twenty pieces of silver is a lot of money, but unless you are a slave, you can easily save up enough in a year if you put in the effort.
There is no way that those who don’t make efforts and only plan mean things to exploit others can be strong.
Of course, I don’t know about the named thieves who are wanted by the kingdom. Anyway, these guys turned out to be surprisingly unremarkable compared to how confident they were when they first appeared.
Deering-.
『Zod lv. 7
Condition: Night blindness》 Hay fever》 Hard palms》
In reality, the leader of the bandits, Twin Swords and Zod, is only level 7.
The remaining living guys, when I checked their pulses, were roughly level 3 or 4, or at most 5, adventurers of the Iron Tier.
The remaining eight were captured alive, except for the two who died after having their necks pierced by ice picks, and were grouped and held in one place.
Kwak, kwaak.
“Hey, tie it gently. I have a disease that makes me feel pain if I’m tied too tightly!”
“Then I’ll write a three-line poem using a clay pot, so recite the rhyme. Depending on your reaction, I may gently tie it up.”
“Thu, … thud!”
“Get hit with a pot, you little shit! That’s what I told you to do, you little shit.”
I struck the head of the thief with my club as hard as I could while he was whining and asking me to tie him up gently.
“Kkueek!”
With that scream, the local broadcasts that had been muttering here and there suddenly turn off.
“Okay, Sval is finally quiet. Those little shits are talking too much.”
Anyway, just having eight thieves kneel down in one place was quite oppressive. Even if they are low level, they become stronger when they stick together.
No matter how great a hero is, if a sword is put into his body, he will die. If he is surrounded by several people and beaten, he will die.
So I was lost in thought about how to deal with this group of bandits.
“They are truly vile and ignorant. All of these guys should be executed!”
Velmina, the Ice Wizard, gritted her teeth, insisting that all the bound bandits must be killed.
It must be because he was really angry at the fact that he had said earlier that he would take him to the cave and make him an ice-making slave. No, even aside from that, the wizard Velmina was merciless to the bandits.
It was this guy who stabbed the first two people in the neck. He doesn’t even hesitate to kill people. Is he as cold as ice because he’s a wizard who controls ice?
“What do you think, Mr. Didier?”
“If you’re going to cut someone’s neck, it’s better to do it all at once. Even I can’t sleep soundly listening to the screams of those who are halfway to death.”
Sling.
Didier soon raised his large double-edged axe. If he were to cut with such a heavy weapon, a person’s cervical vertebrae would be sliced like thin pieces of tofu.
“The taste of executing a prisoner is the exclusive prerogative of the party leader. Here is an axe. I think it would be difficult to cut off the head with the party leader’s club, so I will lend it to you specially.”
Didier, like the ice wizard Velmina, seems to have no objection to executing these bandits.
It would be a world where things like human rights and respect for life would sound like a madman’s joke. The lives of criminals and thieves are like killing a mosquito that sucks human blood.
However, from my perspective as a modern person, I began to ask myself whether it was okay for me to easily take their lives.
“Luna, what do you think?”
“Me? Me, I… .”
Luna’s emerald eyes scanned the thieves. There was some sort of emotion flashing in those eyes, but it was difficult for even I to read what it was.
“I’ll leave it up to Hassan’s choice.”
“hmm.”
In the end, it seems like the decision is mine.
Sling.
I took the double-edged axe from Didier and hoisted it on my shoulder. The thieves who were already trembling at the sight flinched even more. Perhaps they sensed their own deaths.
I said to them.
“You have committed sins. The first is the sin of robbery. The second is the sin of violence. The third is the sin of Sebal. I don’t know what it is, but there must be so many sins that I don’t know about.”
“… .”
Silent thieves.
A quiet atmosphere settles in, as if everyone is listening to what will come out of my lips.
“But I will forgive everyone.”
“Is that true?”
“But this axe tells you not to forgive.”
So it’s half and half.
I think it would be good to make it neither dead nor alive.
* * *
The items I got from the thieves were seven long swords and about 5 silver coins. The rest of the items were just junk, so I just threw them in the field.
They decided to leave the disposal of the seven longswords to the dwarf Didier later, and divided the five silver coins they had between the five of them, one silver each.
Didier says this while loading seven long swords into the trunk-like compartment of his carriage.
“Nothing accumulates more karma than killing people. That’s why the party leader who takes on various annoying tasks is given the right to kill people as a reward.”
“Is that so?”
“But why would you refuse that? I don’t understand. In the eyes of the Samaritan warrior, they aren’t worth killing—is that what it was? They were rather weak for a bandit.”
“… .”
Instead of answering, I thought back to what had just happened. The humans who had been rapidly frozen by Velmina’s ability.
We pushed them into a deep hole dug by the golem.
They will melt after the guards Luna summoned with her magic throw them into the prison.
Didier did chide me for blowing karma, but honestly, I didn’t get any benefit from killing bandits.
Because my karma, or task, doesn’t come from killing people, but from giving them massages and giving them strange quirks, curses, and abnormal statuses.
And if you cut off eight people’s heads at once, your dreams will be in turmoil.
“…Long live chaos.”
Deering-.
『Name: Hassan Lv. 17
Strength: 7
Agility: 4
Stamina: 6
Task: 42 182
Grace: Blessing of Chaos》 Shining Hands》 Cloak of Night》
Anyway, I quickly pressed my palms before freezing them, which raised the task value a lot, so I guess I got what I wanted.
While I was feeling satisfied in my own way, Didier closed the carriage’s cargo hold and added a few more words.
“Honestly, I don’t know what else those thieves can do with their lives, other than spending time in prison and eating and drinking. To tell you the truth, you’re a total failure as a warrior.”
“okay.”
I just thought it was so-so in response to the harsh evaluation. In the first place, I had never said with my own mouth that I was a great warrior or anything.
It’s just that other people have their own preconceptions about appearance and either praise or criticize them.
“But as a human being, he’s a likable person. A person who cuts off people’s heads without hesitation may be a good comrade, but he’s not a very desirable person as a friend.”
“So, Mr. Didier and I are friends?”
“Aren’t we all friends from the moment we get on the same carriage? Anyway, our luggage is all loaded. I think we can set off now.”
We set out again, leaving behind eight half-buried blocks of ice.
Since we ended up losing about half a day unintentionally, I told the coachman to hurry up and urge the horses a little more.
slap.
With a small whistle, the two horses began to trot. Before I knew it, the sunset was beginning to set on the plains of Kalan, which were filled with flowers.
Ring, ring. Ring.
The only noise in the carriage was Didier’s snoring.
Perhaps because they were all exhausted from fighting the bandits, they all folded their arms and closed their eyes, dozing off.
I, too, took advantage of the silence to conserve my energy. That was when I was trying to get used to the silence.
The ice wizard Velmina, who was wiping her small wand with a handkerchief, opens her mouth in a soft voice.
“Did you say it was a shadow binding curse?”
At those words, Luna’s shoulders, who were looking out the window, flinched.
“But, why?”
“It doesn’t compare to my instant freezing magic, but it seems to be quite effective in restraining human actions.”
“That, that’s a very high-level spell that only magicians can use. I think it was a lucky success.”
“A sorcerer. Ideophee’s magic is surprisingly useful.”
“Yes, your magic is quite strong. You can pierce through two people’s necks in an instant…”
“of course.”
With that, the women’s conversation ended briefly again. Will a warm picture of them acknowledging each other’s strengths be drawn?
If we can continue this friendly atmosphere, I think it won’t be too bad for the labyrinth raid that we’ll soon arrive at.
* * *
It was late in the evening, so we stopped the carriage to rest our tired horses and decided to camp. The campsite was the site of an abandoned temple that had been used during the last suppression of the cult.
At that time, the surrounding area was filled with gloomy fog and swamps, making it an incredibly scary space, like the set of a horror movie.
Now, the sight of the flowers and long reeds swaying back and forth under the moonlight was quite beautiful and charming.
“This is the temple of the goddess Ceres. It’s been abandoned for a long time. Tsk. It breaks my heart as a believer of Ceres to see it left like this. Party leader, let’s clean up the area a bit. What do you think?”
“Okay, then. If we’re going to camp anyway, we’ll have to clear out the site.”
With everyone’s consent, work began on creating a campsite.
I clear away any rocks that are around or level the ground. Then, the dwarf warrior Didier wipes the statue of the goddess covered in bird droppings with a rag.
Push. Push.
Gecko. Gecko! Gecko. Gecko. Gecko. Gecko. Gecko.
“Whoa, Moonlight Lizard…! Shh! There, over there!”
Luna spotted a strange blue lizard among the dark bushes and ran towards it.
Luna, you’re so bad at pitching tents, you know. That’s what happens.
“Even a soft sofa is not good for sitting on for a long time. Even a hard rock is good for sitting on.”
Beside her, the ice wizard Velmina sits on a flat rock, taking a rest. Paranoy is warming himself by the fire he just lit.
I built a tent using stakes and ropes on the flat ground and called people over.
“Now let’s boil some water.”
Anyway, after we set up the tent and created some noise-causing obstacles around it, we unpacked our bags, sat around the stove, and boiled a pot.
As the brass pot was boiling with herbs, mushrooms, pieces of meat, and other ingredients, and was giving off a delicious aroma, Dwarf Didier took something out from his bosom.
“Ahem, ahem. Hmm.”
It feels like he has something to say, but he doesn’t feel like talking on his own and wants someone to talk to him.
I decided to ask, pretending to be fooled.
“What is that?”
“You mean this? Oh-. What is this? It’s magic powder. If you sprinkle this on any food, it will taste amazing. I made it. How about putting it in once? If you don’t like it, then don’t worry.”
Didier explained it as if he had been waiting for it. But magic powder is so damn suspicious.
So, when I poked at what was inside that tiny pouch with my finger and brought my tongue to it, didn’t a salty yet indescribably artificial taste spread across the tip of my tongue?
If you want to find a similar taste, the root of taste.
It feels like MSG. I never thought I would experience this mysterious taste as a magic powder created by dwarves in this world.
“It tastes good.”
“Oh, really? It’s made with a lot of hard work, from rock salt and crab shells to dried pollack powder. It’s great when added to soups like this.”
I vaguely understood that dwarves are very hardy. It seems that some of them are not just good at hammering iron or stones, but also good at cooking.
So, thanks to Didier, we were able to eat a decent stew for a field meal.
“It’s delicious for a meal eaten outside.”
Even the Ice Wizard, who was known to be picky about food, ate two bowls by himself.
As I fill my stomach with warm food and the campfire is warm, the evening spring breeze blows gently and I feel sleepy.
As our hearts began to melt away, we each took care of our equipment and exchanged a few words with each other.
It was just a brief statement of their ambitions, such as why they became adventurers and what they would do in the future.
That alone was enough to make these awkward guys feel like colleagues.
“Anyway, if I earn about 5 more gold, I can open a decent restaurant over there at the south gate. Actually, I have some recipes ready.”
Velmina, the ice wizard who had been quietly listening to Didier who was speaking curiously, opens her mouth.
“A restaurant run by dwarves? To be honest, I can’t imagine it. Maybe if you worked as a blacksmith or a carpenter, you wouldn’t know.”
“Ha, everyone says that. Don’t you think business will go better that way? Because it’s unique.”
“Hmm.”
“If you say that they don’t suit each other, I guess the same goes for the wizard.”
“Me?”
“Your skills in handling ice magic are top-notch. With that level, you could probably get a job as a court magician in a small kingdom and be treated well. Why are you hanging around in a place like this mercenary group?”
Actually, I was a bit curious about that too.
Although not as powerful as Elfriede, who could wield fire magic without a spear, Velmina was also one of the strongest magicians I’ve ever seen.
Velmina’s karma value is around 15, right? But since battle magicians usually add 10 to their karma value, it’s like she’s at level 25.
At level 25, you probably don’t have the skills to face a group of bandits in a place like this.
But Belmina just laughed as if she had heard a funny story.
“There’s not much interesting to talk about. Instead, let’s listen to the story of Miss Nymph here. I heard she decided to serve Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. How about taking a look at the hearth shop while killing time?”
“A brazier?”
At the mention of the brazier, Luna, who had been petting a blue lizard, stood up from her seat.
“I love the brazier! It’s great because I’m bored of spending time at night!”
That strong reaction left me with no choice but to ask back.
“What is a brazier?”
“Oh, it seems like the party leader is inexperienced. That’s good. Since there’s a wizard, I’m sure he’ll be able to find an attribute that suits this occasion.”
Finding properties? This was the first time I heard of it.
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Hyoong… .
