Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat - Chapter 21

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈

Chapter 21: Ratas

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The Erdari, my lifelong enemies.

Just as I discovered one had infiltrated the Wall and was about to fight to the death!

Jermain stepped between me and the Erdari.

“Jermain, what’s going on? You know those demons?”

I wanted an explanation.

Then the filthy demonspawn’s eyes gleamed.

“A rat bastard is causing a scene. Should I kill him? I have a personal interest in him. I’d like to take his head and poke around his brain.”

Kill me. Poke around my brain.

They said such murderous things as easily as taking candy from a pocket. Truly an evil bastard.

Jermain spoke.

“Enough. He’s a rookie who joined our guild recently. Looks like he was standing watch for that party.”

“Rendo explorers leave a Thief on watch duty?”

“I know, it’s strange, right? Most parties wouldn’t have a Thief stand watch. Who knows what they might get up to while wandering around at night? That party must be pretty careless.”

Jermain chuckled as she patted the Erdari on the back.

“I’ll handle him, so let’s move somewhere else first. You brought the goods properly, right? I’ll be disappointed if you came empty-handed like last time.”

Jermain and the demonspawn were about to leave the arrow storehouse.

What a completely confusing situation.

“Is this for real?!”

Was I really supposed to let my lifelong enemy go like this?

Just as my teeth ground with frustration, Jermain glanced at me and made a cutting gesture across her throat.

She probably meant for me not to act up and stay quiet.

At that moment, I regained a little of my senses.

According to Hammer, the Erdari didn’t need to spend Ether to level up.

That was why their average level was 15.

‘Each one is on Felix’s level.’

Felix was an annoying young master.

But even I had to admit that his skill at slaughtering humans and monstrosities was incredible.

‘If I fight one head-on, I have little chance of winning.’

‘In other words, Jermain showed up just in time and saved my life.’

Fuck!

It was my own conclusion, but I didn’t like it at all.

Why was Jermain dealing with demonspawn like that?

I already knew Jermain wasn’t a good person, but still.

# # #

I traded watch shifts with someone from another party.

It was a familiar face.

“You’re the bounty hunter from Hendrix’s party, right?”

“Double Sword. You’re Yore, right?”

Two swords crossed in an X on his back.

The name Double Sword!

What a cool nickname.

“Your party puts a Thief on watch duty.”

“There are some fucking complicated reasons for that.”

“I figured.”

I casually asked the man, who looked like a veteran.

“By the way, aren’t you afraid to stand watch, Mr. Double Sword? Those sneaky Erdari bastards might suddenly appear.”

“Huh? That won’t happen. Look at this Wall. The night kin are usually crazy, but there aren’t many vicious bastards crazy enough to crawl upside down up a Wall this high.”

“If there aren’t many, that means there could still be one or two.”

“Could be. But I’ve never seen one.”

I have!

As I gritted my teeth inside, Double Sword patted my shoulder.

“It’s better not to see them. They’re born assassins. They make no sound when they walk, see well in the dark, and wield a blade better than most knights. If you run into one alone, shit your pants immediately.”

“Excuse me?”

“A guy I know shit his pants, and they just let him go. Maybe they thought he was too filthy and disgusting. I hear they have sensitive noses.”

Even Mr. Double Sword, with his cool nickname, seemed to think facing an Erdari head-on was dangerous.

Now I truly realized how dangerous my situation earlier had been.

‘I really almost died.’

Anyway.

After trading watch shifts with Mr. Double Sword, I headed straight to the library.

Me, who got sleepy after reading just a few lines, visiting a library.

Even I was surprised.

That was how badly I wanted to learn about my enemies!

But once I actually arrived at a place full of books, I already felt my resolve weakening.

Fortunately, there was a familiar face.

“Hello! You’re the mage from Hendrix’s party, Grandpa, right?”

“Oh, you recognize me? And you even came to greet me first. Setting aside that you’re a Thief, you’ve got quite a bright sprout for one of today’s brats.”

“Hehe, my nickname is Golden-Sprout Yore!”

“I am Saxon Freud von Bartz Dobarkan ibn Iwood.”

“...”

“...Just call me Sir Saxon!”

“Sir Saxon! That’s a cool name.”

Sir Saxon was the mage from Hendrix’s party, led by the huge axe-wielding man.

His long white beard practically advertised, “I’m a mage!”

After talking with Hermit and Estelle, I had learned that mages were the sort of people who itched to tell others about everything they knew.

This old man was surely the same.

‘A good chance to learn about those demon bastards!’

Ahem.

I cleared my throat and asked.

“Then, Sir Saxon, are there any books about the Erdari? I’d like to read some, but I don’t know what to take out or where to find it.”

“I could tell you. But do you expect me to tell you for nothing?”

“Hehe, that is a very reasonable point! But you’re different from the other mages I’ve met, Sir Saxon. They were always dying to ramble about this and that first.”

“Hohoho. Those Mage Tower types who like sitting at desks and scribbling with pens are like that. But mages who worked on battlefields and in the field, like me, are different. A person should pursue practical benefits, you know?”

Oh.

Mages honestly seemed like difficult people.

But Sir Saxon suddenly felt friendly, like it wouldn’t be strange to find him using magic to scam people in a back alley.

‘I felt this with the old man from the Thieves’ Guild too, but old people are never easy opponents.’

As expected, surviving was proof of strength.

I took out a cola from my Black Bundle at my waist and offered it to Sir Saxon.

“Will this do?”

“What is this used for?”

“Like this, like this.”

Pssht!

When I opened the cola and handed it over, Sir Saxon’s heavy-looking eyelids widened slightly.

“What an interesting object. Was it made during the Empire’s golden age? I’ve never seen a preservation container like this. The contents seem to be some strange water.”

“Hehe, you really are a mage, Sir Saxon.”

Sir Saxon soon gulped down the cola.

I worried he might spit it out, but he didn’t.

“It tastes like my brain is being fried. Getting close to young people and learning about new things like this is a pleasant experience.”

“Then, what books would you recommend?”

“Sure! Urp. Ahem, let’s see. There should be something worth reading around here... Ah, here it is. 「The Night Kin」. It’s a book about the clans living in the Land of Night and their habits. It wouldn’t hurt to read it.”

It was an extremely thick book.

I took it to a quiet corner of the library and brought a lamp close.

Flip.

When I opened it, there were many nude drawings of men and women standing with their limbs spread wide.

Fortunately, this looked readable.

Then one page caught my eye.

「The Erdari are called the nightmares of the night.」

「Unlike their beautiful appearances, they delight in indiscriminate slaughter.」

「To them, the world is divided into ‘Rendo’ and ‘Shando.’」

「‘Rendo’ is an ancient Nardil word meaning beast or something without a soul. ‘Shando’ means human or something with a soul.」

Rendo and Shando.

Come to think of it, the group that shot me with arrows had said things like that.

“That one called the explorer party ‘Rendo.’”

So they thought of us explorers as beasts?

That was why they killed us as freely as they slaughtered cows, pigs, and chickens.

“You filthy Erdari bastards!”

“Filthy? We bathe three times a day.”

I jumped at the voice behind me.

When I turned around, the Erdari I had met at the Wall was looking at me.

Shing!

I quickly pulled out a shuriken from my waist and aimed it at their throat.

At the same time, I seriously considered whether I should stab them or shit my pants.

The problem was, I didn’t really need to go.

But despite having a shuriken aimed at their throat, the Erdari looked at me without fear.

“Jermain told me to ignore you, but your scent has been bothering me.”

They even sniffed me like a cat smelling another cat that had entered its territory.

“Certainly, if I closed my eyes and only smelled you, I could mistake you for Shando. Why is that?”

A cold shiver ran through me, and I felt terrible.

If I shouted right now, would Sir Saxon over there help me?

As I thought that, the Erdari gave a faint smile.

“I’d like to take your head back and dissect you at my leisure, but Jermain wouldn’t like that. I want to keep dealing with her for a long time, but you’re bothering me... Is there only one way...?”

The demon’s lackey poked my chest with a finger.

“I’ll take your Ratas.”

Take something from me?

Since the demonspawn had said it, they were surely after my soul.

“Fuck off!”

Whatever it was, I didn’t want to give this bastard even a drop of sweat.

So I swung my shuriken, and the Erdari smoothly stepped back out of range.

“Why did you attack me?”

Rustle.

The cut shoulder strap made their clothes softly slide off.

The revealed figure resembled the nude drawings I had just seen in the book.

“Strange. I may not have a hobby of grooming my appearance, but I was told my looks are beautiful enough for you Rendo.”

The Erdari grasped their own full breast.

Their waist was slender, and their crotch was flat, but my eyes were immediately drawn to it.

‘Fuck, she was a woman!’

The only reason I could keep aiming my shuriken after learning she was a woman was the effort I had put into training my resistance to women, and my resentment toward the Erdari.

The Erdari narrowed her eyes.

“Ah, I see. I heard that among you Rendo, some people put material greed before instinct. Unfortunately, I don’t have your currency. But I have something much better.”

The Erdari rummaged through her torn clothes and took out something round.

It looked like a stone.

It was slightly bigger than a fist.

“This is a 「Breakthrough Stone」. You’re crazy about these, aren’t you? It’s precious even to us, so I think this should be enough to trade for your Ratas.”

A Breakthrough Stone!

Was that really a 「Breakthrough Stone」?

If it was the one I knew, this was truly exciting.

However!

I didn’t trust anything the Erdari said!

“Exterminate the Erdari!”

I shouted with conviction.

At that very moment, a loud crash rang through the library.

Sir Saxon soon came running toward me with his staff.

“Boy! What happened?!”

Sir Saxon’s eyes turned toward the naked demon woman and me.

“Double Swooooord! Ring the alarm bell! The Erdari are invading!”