The three of them, “Blade Fang,” had become famous in the Adventurer’s Guild. Of course, in a bad way.
Several young Adventurers who had associated with them had gone missing in the Dungeon.
In the Dungeon, where one was constantly facing death, novices sometimes lost their lives due to carelessness, which didn’t become a major issue. However, the situation changed when one half of a young male and female Adventurer pair reported to the Guild that they had been attacked by “Blade Fang” in the Dungeon.
Even so, in the Dungeon where monsters disposed of bodies, no remains were left, and there was no evidence, so they were not charged with any crime. Instead, they came under the scrutiny of the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Letting that guy escape was a mistake…”
“We’ve been too successful until now. Instead of trying to sell the woman, we should have just killed her and taken the money.”
“In the end, that woman died too. Is it about time we left this place? If we stand out too much, the Thieves’ Guild will also glare at us, you know?”
The three were Adventurers but also “Thieves” belonging to the Thieves’ Guild.
They weren’t pretending; both were their real jobs. However, as low-ranking Thieves with poor Thief-related Skills, they came up with the idea of earning money by hunting novices in the Dungeon instead of stealing.
Thieves don’t usually kill ordinary people to prevent incidents from escalating. If the location is a “Dungeon” and the target is an “Adventurer,” it’s a gray area, but this time, they were suspected of a crime, and the Thieves’ Guild had also begun to glare at them.
“Moving somewhere else is fine, but will we have enough money until we get back on track?”
“You spend too much money. Have you paid your dues to the Guild?”
“Either way, we need to earn a bit more.”
To start “work” from scratch in a new location, they would have to pay dues to the local Guild branch, which was a painful expense for them as low-ranking Thieves.
To earn the necessary money, they decided to do this “job” two or three more times, and while scouting for their next prey at the Adventurer’s Guild, they spotted a girl.
The girl, who seemed to be a Magician, was being harassed by young Adventurers. To them, she was still young, but she had an “aura” that made them understand why the young boys were interested.
She was probably from a good family. Even though she wore cheap armor, her bearing suggested good lineage.
She looked like she had money and was good-looking. She was an ideal prey that could fetch a good price if sold to a noble. Perhaps she was as naive as she looked, as she accepted their offer to help her and agreed to accompany them for a few days.
The girl’s name was Aria. They checked her Adventurer’s Guild tag and confirmed that she was a beginner, a Rank 1 Adventurer.
Because they, with their bad reputation, had approached a “beginner,” they were about to be stopped by an Adventurer’s Guild staff member. However, they managed to successfully lure Aria away by inviting her to try exploring the Dungeon.
Aria seemed to be a Rank 1 Light Magician. If she was good-looking, well-mannered, and could use healing Magic, she should sell for a considerable price.
They had lured her away to avoid the Adventurer’s Guild staff, so they might not be able to do “work” here anymore, but this girl alone would be worth several times their usual earnings.
Aria had an “aura” that made them think so.
Even in the carriage heading to the Dungeon, Aria didn’t talk much and gazed out the window with a wistful air, reminding them of an unattainable flower.
She was pretty but not a stunning beauty. Her personality wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t particularly charming.
However, the aura that Aria possessed was that of a captivating “woman” with a mysterious charm that made them unable to take their eyes off her and made them want to possess her, even though they knew she was still a child.
“Bewitching”… The word came to mind.
If she could make them think that way at this young age, how many people would she bewitch when she grew up? How many would abandon their fiancés and positions to seek her? They even felt a chill for a moment.
As the three silently watched Aria’s shimmering pink hair flowing in the wind, captivated, Aria suddenly turned around, and their hearts leaped at the sight of her eyes.
“Are we almost there?”
“Ah, yes, almost.”
The medium-sized Dungeon, their destination, came into view. This Dungeon was said to have been formed about three hundred years ago and had only thirty floors, making it relatively beginner-friendly.
It was originally a natural cave, but after becoming a Dungeon, the passages became wide and flat, and the rock surface glowed faintly, making it easy for people to enter and monsters to inhabit.
The monsters that appeared were mostly insect-types like caterpillars, and there wasn’t much benefit other than collecting Magic Stones. However, there were still unexplored areas and many blind spots where people didn’t come.
“Aria, this way.”
“There’s a good hunting spot over here.”
“Keep it a secret from the others, okay?”
To trap the girl, they led her through the crowded first floor of the Dungeon and into the depths of the second floor.
The three were also Adventurers, but their combat abilities weren’t very high. All three were Rank 2, with a combat power of only around 120. When they attacked Adventurers, their usual tactic was to use poison first.
During breaks, they would mix a weak sleeping drug into her food and drinks.
They didn’t mix in too much. If they gave her too much sleeping drug too quickly, she might die.
However, they had mixed it into her lunch and tea during the break, but Aria’s condition remained unchanged from the beginning.
(Were we too cautious?)
The short-haired man glanced at Aria, who was following them without any signs of警戒.
The red-haired man was in charge of administering the poison. He was a womanizer, but he shouldn’t be interested in a child-like girl. Seeing him talking to Aria repeatedly as if trying to get her attention irritated the short-haired man.
Could he be “serious”? The thought crossed his mind, and he looked at the buzz-cut man, who was also looking at the red-haired man with a displeased expression.
(Could it be that he’s also…?)
The short-haired man shuddered. He wondered if both of them had been captivated by the girl’s “bewitching” nature and were trying to make her their own.
That couldn’t be allowed. If they were going to let these guys have their way with her, he might as well take her for himself.
Looking at Aria, his eyes were blurred by her radiance. His chest tightened just by looking at her. As he stared intently at Aria with his blurring thoughts, the red-haired man, who had been staring at her in the same way, suddenly collapsed as if he had fainted.
“Hey, what’s wro…”
“Ugh… ah.”
The two who tried to rush to his side realized that they couldn’t speak properly and collapsed like the red-haired man.
What had happened? Strangely, they hadn’t encountered many monsters until they came here, but had they unknowingly stepped on a Dungeon trap?
In his blurred thoughts, the short-haired man remembered Aria’s existence. If this was poison, Aria, being a Light Magician, might be able to do something about it.
Clinging to that faint hope, the short-haired man raised his face and saw Aria, with cold eyes, looking down at them while quietly drawing a sharp, black Blade.
(…I see.)
In those freezing eyes, the man suddenly understood.
She was not a delicate butterfly to be hunted by a mantis, but a beautiful, venomous spider that ensnared and devoured the mantis with its web.
＊＊＊
I slit the throats of the three men, who were unable to move due to the poison, with a Knife to finish them off. I should hand over their tags to the client as proof of completing the request.
It was surprisingly easy to take care of them, but I think it’s because these three were unusually careless around me. …Were they surprisingly lenient towards children?
These three took me to a place where other Adventurers wouldn’t come, so I can leave the disposal of the bodies to the monsters.
Now then–
Hyun!
I ducked low to evade the Blade thrown from behind, and the crescent-shaped Blade pierced the Dungeon wall.
If you aim for the “gap” in the moment after finishing a job and eliminating the enemy, you should be able to easily defeat most opponents. I easily evaded it, confirmed the familiar Blade, stood up, drew my Knife, and looked towards the back of the passage.
“Why don’t you come out now?”
When I called out to the darkness, the air wavered slightly, and a man emerged from the shadows.
“…That’s strange. I was quite confident in my Stealth, but when did you notice?”
The one who appeared was Guy, a Cruz man who had taught me various things at the Assassin Guild.
“From the church last night.”
“From the very beginning! Ugh, I’m losing confidence.”
“You were hiding properly.”
Still, he’s not as good as Viro. On the contrary, because he’s skilled, I could clearly see his human form.
“So, how did you dodge that last attack? I don’t think I’m that bad.”
“More importantly, what do you think you’re doing?”
What was thrown from behind was the Crescent Blade that Guy had. I managed to dodge it, but I could have died if I messed up.
“You’re not going to tell me it was just ‘a greeting,’ are you?”
“Of course not.”
Guy grinned and pulled a crescent-shaped one-handed sword from his waist, twirling it on his hand.
“It’s a request from Keira. She wants me to make you suffer. She can’t move because Dino is watching her, so I’m taking her place.”
So, he’s not thinking of killing me, who is the master’s “hostage.” No, Keira might have tried to kill me, which is why Dino is keeping an eye on her.
“What’s wrong, Ash-covered? Aren’t you surprised? I was playing the nice older brother pretty well, wasn’t I?”
“Aren’t you the one who’s not surprised, Guy? Did you notice my gender?”
“Yeah. You really ‘transform’ when you dress properly, you know? Normal people wouldn’t know, but even a kid can tell when someone’s body has grown as much as yours. A man and a woman have different hip positions.”
“Hee…”
I didn’t know that. I’ll keep that in mind.
“You were just unlucky to be targeted by Keira. She’d be satisfied if you just had a big scar on your face. Just suffer quietly. And don’t get too cocky from now on. You want to live a long life, right?”
Guy took a stance with his Crescent Blade, exuding killing intent. He has low Mana, but his Status is simply high, making him a troublesome opponent to fight head-on.
“That’s not important… but you haven’t told me why I’m not surprised and how I dodged that surprise attack earlier, have you?”
“Huh?”
While maintaining a stance ready to attack at any moment, Guy stopped moving slightly at my words.
“It’s because…”
I strengthened the Magic I had been casting for several minutes.
“I ‘believed’ that woman would definitely try something.”
“Huh? …Ah? Ah,”
Guy knelt down with a puzzled look and raised his voice in confusion.
“W-What’s going on? Could it be poison?!”
Guy glared at me with bewildered eyes at his suddenly immobile body.
“When did you…? There shouldn’t have been any time to do that!”
“I’ve been using poison the whole time.”
Poison doesn’t have to be used in liquid form. Strong poisons have strong smells and tastes, so I had been gradually vaporizing it with 【Wind】 since entering this area, deceiving his sense of smell. Vaporizing it weakens the effect, but it’s not a problem if you take your time.
“Why can’t I move…? Damn…”
“It’s a nerve toxin from the poison spider that Master made. It’s pretty effective even if you have poison resistance, right?”
“If you use something like that, you’ll also…”
“I know the contents of the poison.”
I waved the hand that had been using 【Treat】, which I think Guy couldn’t see.
No matter how powerful the poison, I can erase it with 【Treat】 if I know the type of poison. Originally, it takes time to erase poison with Magic, but it’s possible to deal with it if it’s in small amounts. Thanks to that, I had been silent the whole time, but those three were careless, so they didn’t notice.
“…Hah… hahaha… Ridiculous… Using poison on yourself, are you crazy?”
“I know.”
“Come on, seriously…? Everything would be settled if you just suffered a little, you know? If you do something stupid and the Guild finds out, do you know what will happen to Serejula-sama?”
Just as I am Master’s “hostage,” the Master, who cannot escape, is also a “shackle” that binds me.
That’s why Dino and Guy think that Master and I cannot antagonize the Assassin Guild.
“Guy, for an Assassin… you’re naive.”
“What…”
When I threw a ceramic bottle, it broke near Guy, and some of its contents adhered to him.
“W-What is this smell…”
“The poison and ‘insect repellent’ should be spreading soon, so try to endure it.”
I moved away from Guy, who was still kneeling, leaned against the Dungeon wall while using Stealth, crossed my arms, and waited for that moment.
A few seconds later, I heard the approaching footsteps of Monsters who couldn’t wait for the poison to spread, and Guy’s face turned blue as he understood the meaning.
I won’t fight head-on with this kind of vanguard Assassin.
I investigated this Dungeon and found out that it was insect-based, bought Monster materials at the pharmacy in this town, and made insect repellent and pheromone-based “insect attractant” to assassinate the three of them.
“Die here.”
“Ash-covered! What do you think you’re doing! Are you trying to antagonize the Assassin Guild by doing this!”
Guy, whose presence was revealed by the smell even while using Stealth, slashed at the approaching caterpillar with his one-handed sword while paralyzed by the poison.
A few caterpillars would not be a problem for someone with Guy’s strength, but what if there were dozens of them? The more he moved, the more the poison spread through his body, and the caterpillars rushed in one after another, attracted by the smell.
“Ash-covereddddddddd!!!!”
Guy’s figure disappeared as he was swallowed by the swarm of caterpillars.
Amidst the sound of bones and flesh being crushed, I answered his last question to Guy, whose consciousness and existence may not even remain.
“My ‘prey’ is you guys.”
Aria has chosen the path of antagonizing the Assassin Guild.
She will assassinate the Assassin Guild from within.
Aria’s “Heroine’s Demonic Charm” is not a Skill or Divine Protection, but the result of the strong manifestation of the Old Melrose Royal Family’s “blood” that had been uniting people’s hearts. It doesn’t work on everyone.
The next update is scheduled for Sunday.