WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈
Chapter 11: Special Reward # 1
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The woman I met underground, Ms. Estelle, spoke.
“You read my book and came to seek my teachings, so that makes you my disciple. You may be proud. This is my first time taking on a disciple too. It is an honor not just anyone can enjoy.”
It sounded reasonable enough.
Even if it had been nonsense, it was better to play along at times like this.
What if Ms. Estelle suddenly got pissed off and screamed?
All the octopus monsters in this building would come swarming here.
“Then, Master, this disciple would like to get out of here and return to the barrier, but I have been struggling because I cannot find an exit. Where should I go?”
“A good question. This magic circle drawn before me is an escape magic circle. There are magic circles like this all over the university, and they activate from time to time.”
“Ooh!”
“Stand on that magic circle and think of the place you came from. But it makes this master so lonely to part with her disciple as soon as we have met. Will you come again?”
Honestly, I did not want to come back.
That was when I swallowed those words back.
“Come again, and I will teach you magic.”
“Oh, really? Can I become a mage too?”
I imagined myself shooting lightning and fire from my hands.
Just thinking about it made me feel amazing...!
“No. I can tell at a glance. You have no aptitude for magic.”
“Aw, then learning magic would be useless.”
Disappointment welled up in an instant.
I had only hurt myself by getting my hopes up.
“What use is there in teaching a carp to swim? Or teaching a pigeon to fly? It only means something when you teach a cat hiding in the shade how to swim and fly.”
What was that supposed to mean?
As the difficult words made me suddenly dizzy, Ms. Estelle laughed.
“If you learn magic from me, you may not become a mage, but you will learn how to deal with mages. You can become a cat that hunts carp and catches pigeons.”
Ooh.
It sounded incredibly convincing.
People who studied really did speak differently.
This must be why people studied.
When I got back safely, I should read more books too.
“Then I will be going now.”
“It is such a shame to part with a disciple I have only just met.”
“Me too. It really is a shame!”
“I cannot let you live here forever. Shall I give you homework until we meet again? Make sure to read the fifth paragraph of the book I wrote beforehand.”
“Yes! I will do my best!”
Step.
I stood on the magic circle and pictured the strategy room in the barrier.
Words appeared before my eyes.
「Would you like to return?」
Good.
The moment I accepted in my mind, it felt as though my body passed through black mist.
At the same time, my legs trembled.
“I lived!”
It felt like I had barely survived after sticking my head into a tiger’s mouth.
Why?
Because of Ms. Estelle!
Most people locked in prison had a good reason for being there.
Of course, there were people like me who became a fourteen-time offender through sheer injustice.
But Ms. Estelle did not seem like that kind of person.
Why else would those cultist octopus fanatics have locked her up?
It was a miracle I had returned alive after meeting someone like her.
‘Who knows what would have happened if Ms. Estelle had not been tied up.’
Honestly, I had been terrified!
I was glad I escaped.
“But where am I?”
# # #
A pitch-black full moon floated like a bumpy mirror on dark blue water that came up to my wrists.
There was no moonlight and no ripples, only a chilling silence.
“This is not the strategy room.”
The scenery reminded me of the riverbank at night where I had run from the guards.
Just as I wondered where I might be, something approached me.
【Offer up Ether.】
【Then I shall grant you my blessing.】
If I had to describe it simply, it was a huge snake.
An anaconda straight out of a movie.
But human arms grew from its head like antlers, and what looked like scales were human faces.
Could I really call that a snake?
It was a monster!
It looked terrifying enough to make me piss myself, but the huge snake approached and bowed its head to me.
【Offer up Ether.】
【And I shall give you.】
【The blood of a serpent.】
【My name.】
Still, this was a pattern I knew.
It had felt like this when I made a deal with the idol Asibarr, right?
The monster snake in front of me was probably an idol too.
‘Back then, I met Asibarr while returning to the strategy room after killing lots of Nightrings. This time too, I meet an idol while trying to return to the strategy room.’
Were all idols strange-looking?
The dwarf holding a severed head seemed normal compared to the snake in front of me.
“So, what does the blessing do?”
「Snake’s Blood Lv.1」
「The blood flowing through your veins becomes poisonous. Your resistance to poison also greatly increases.」
Ooh, this was another intense effect.
Increased poison resistance.
Quite a few people in this world died after getting stabbed by poisoned blades.
Food poisoning was dangerous too.
What if I became resistant to things like that?
That alone made it valuable.
“How much is it?”
【Ten million Ether.】
What?
That was fucking expensive.
“I don’t have that much.”
【Then half of that?】
“I don’t have that either.”
Damn it.
This snake-like idol had come here without even knowing what was in my pockets.
Then the snake hissed.
【Then my name. For all the Ether you possess.】
I had a total of two hundred thousand Ether in my bag.
There was more in Hermit’s pointed hat, but that was not mine, so it did not count.
Buy the name of the skeletal snake that had appeared before me for two hundred thousand Ether?
Was it worth that much?
But...
When I thought about it, I had received all sorts of help from the idol Asibarr today.
If I knew the name, I might be able to get help when I needed it.
More than anything, what Asibarr had said earlier bothered me.
Idols’ feelings toward the Blessed were not purely benevolent.
Who knew whether it would harm me if we met and made no deal at all?
So buying even the name of this strange snake seemed like a good idea.
But all the Ether I had?
Was that not too expensive?
“How about one hundred thousand Ether for the name? I will save up Ether later and definitely buy that blood thing too.”
Could I negotiate with idols too?
I wondered if I had done something foolish for no reason.
Then the skeletal snake nodded.
【My name is Derzurak.】
“Derzurak?”
【Palabradike.】
“Palabradi... Der... Pala... um...”
【Sabranik.】
“...Wait, wait a moment. Would it be alright if I just called you Sabr?”
Crack!
The terrifying skeletal snake opened its mouth wide.
Was it trying to eat me for shortening its name on my own?
“Sabr was too short, right? I will call you Sabranik.”
But?
It continued holding its mouth open, so it seemed to want something.
“Ah.”
I took an Ether Bundle from my bag.
When I threw one hundred thousand Ether into the snake’s mouth, it shook its tail with a soft rustle.
【Death to the traitor emperors.】
“Pardon?”
Who was going to die?
Soon, the black night and mist surrounding me began to clear away.
The round table in the strategy room appeared before me.
“Oh!”
I was back!
At the same time, the reduced weight of my bag immediately brought my mood down.
The headless dwarf Asibarr had given me a blessing and told me its name for one hundred thousand Ether.
Sabranik had only told me its name.
I did not know whether Asibarr had been generous or Sabranik was just stingy.
But?
I decided to use the mindset I had learned while living on the streets for so long.
Extreme positive thinking.
“Maybe Sabranik is an incredibly amazing idol? If it sells blessings for ten million Ether, maybe it is a major figure whose name is written in that book called The Compendium of Idols.”
Thinking that way made it all make sense.
Of course, I would have to ask Hermit for the details.
I wondered whether the others had already returned, so I looked around the barrier facilities.
But Hermit, Hammer, and Felix did not seem to have returned yet.
# # #
Only after a few hours did bright lights shine in the strategy room.
As I approached the strategy room while reading a boring book, I heard loud voices.
“I told you we should not have sent him alone!”
“Then what were we supposed to do? If we had followed, we would all have died for nothing.”
“He might still be alive.”
“Why did you all come out so late?”
“...Huh...?”
“...Ha...”
“What...!?”
The people who had each been talking stopped.
Only then did I get a proper look at their faces. They were covered in wounds, and their armor was broken and scratched, smeared all over with filthy bodily fluids. They looked like beggars.
“Why do you all look like that?”
“You little brat! What the hell happened to youuu!”
Booming!
Hammer shouted from beneath Hammer’s helmet like a loudspeaker.
“We thought! You could not get out! So we waited for you! Until nightfall! Fighting those heretics to the very limit! And this, thissss brat, how did you get out before us!”
Hammer, Felix, and Hermit said they had waited for me in front of the entrance.
Even though I had gotten out of the underground prison a long time ago.
“This brat even took a bath in the meantime! You smell nice too!”
“Well, this is what happened.”
Chatter, chatter.
I did my best to explain the whole situation to the party members who seemed to want an explanation.
“That is what happened. Here is your pointed hat.”
“Ah, my hat!”
Hermit hurriedly took the hat from my hand.
Felix squatted down when he saw that.
“You escaped through the underground prison. Seeing that you really brought back the hat, it does not seem like a lie. Haa... Then why did we spend five hours fighting those heretics...?”
“Felix, cheer up! We all came back alive in the end, we got the hat back, and we earned more Ether along the way, so is that not good enough? Still, our Yore really has a talent for making people worry!”
Hammer suddenly hugged me and lifted me up and down.
I had only just washed, but now I was covered in the tentacle monsters’ bodily fluids again.
Now I had to wash again!
“You met Estelle in the underground prison?”
Hermit asked me after I was finally put down.
Apparently, the emotional reunion with her pointed hat was over.
“If that woman really was Estelle, you were lucky. She is a first-class wanted criminal who fled beyond the barrier into the Land of Night. No one knows how many people she has killed. You could have been murdered too if one thing had gone wrong.”
Hermit’s words made my blood run cold.
I had been talking with a human butcher.
It did seem likely.
Would just anyone be locked in a terrifying underground prison guarded by monsters?
As relief washed over me, my legs trembled.
Then one fact came to mind.
“Hermit, I made another deal with a different idol on the way back. I wanted to ask if it might be a famous idol this time. Its name was...”
“Okay, okay, we can talk later. First, let us settle up! Settle up! Hurry up and settle up! Wash! Eat! Sleep! I am sticky as hell!”
Hammer pushed us hard toward the bonfire room.
On the way, Hammer added something as though making a great resolution.
“By the way, you know the payout from the skill book we obtained this time? I am giving my whole share to Yore. I think our party will be more stable only if Yore levels up.”
Give all the money to me?
What level could I reach then?
It seemed like I needed to be at least level 10 before I could pull my own weight!
Footnotes:
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