WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈
Chapter 41: Night Has Fallen. Mafia… # 1
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I ran through the underground waterway in a panic, heading for the exit.
But there were plenty of Erdari near the exit too.
‘Is there no way around this?’
If I stayed here, the Erdari pursuit party might find me.
I quickly racked my brain and pulled a raincoat from the Black Bundle.
It was just a rag, but its hood came down to the tip of my nose, enough to hide my face.
‘They said my smell is similar to an Erdari’s.’
‘So as long as I hide my face, they won’t figure out who I am.’
A strategy to disguise myself as an Erdari.
This had better work.
Thump. Thump.
I tried to calm my loudly pounding heart as much as I could and stepped forward.
“Is Valara really here?”
“That bastard said so.”
“Ah, that disgusting Rendo bastard.”
...Please.
...Let me just pass quietly.
Quietly...
“You there.”
But then one of the Erdari spoke to me.
“Me?”
“Yeah. Where are you going alone? Where did you leave your partner?”
It was a female Erdari with sharp eyes.
As if her fierce gaze was not enough, there was even a knife scar around her eyes, making her look even more vicious.
‘If they find out who I am here, I’m fucked.’
‘She said partner, right? Partner?’
My brain worked faster than usual.
Could it be some rule that the Erdari here moved in pairs?
Think.
Think!
Put your soul into the lie!
“A treasure disappeared from Valara’s corpse. It looks like those disgusting Rendo bastards took it, but judging from the traces, they can’t have gone far.”
“A treasure disappeared?”
“Why would those Rendo bastards take it?”
A chill shot from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.
My lie was working!
“I told everyone to split up and look for them.”
“Spread out!”
“We have to find them!”
Swish, swish.
The Erdari scattered in every direction.
This year’s Grand Prize for Acting is mine!
I happily headed toward the exit, but just before I turned the corner, someone grabbed my shoulder.
It was the Erdari who had spoken to me earlier.
“By the way, who are you?”
“Who am I?”
What should I say?
Brain, full throttle!
Remember when you worked on a voice phishing team!
“You don’t know me? It’s me. I’m actually disappointed that you don’t know who I am. We even ate together.”
“Who are you? You’re about a head shorter than me, so... are you Narwen?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Who else would ask such a ridiculous question besides Narwen?”
The Erdari tilted her head.
I gave her a grin.
“Right. You have a good eye.”
From now on, I was Narwen.
Whenever I fooled Erdari from now on, I would use the name Narwen!
“Then I’ll search over there.”
First, I put some distance between us and went to the magic circle for entry and exit.
The moment I stood on it, I felt a thrill shoot through my entire body, as if a stream of soda had burst inside me.
“You stupid Erdari bastards!”
You actually fell for that!
Kehehehehe!
I escaped, deeply satisfied with having fooled the Erdari.
# # #
There were countless headless statues.
This was Asibarr’s trading place.
【Kakatkat! You’re still going around doing strange things!】
【Very entertaining!】
Hop!
The dwarf sitting on a headless statue’s shoulder lightly jumped down and approached me.
The severed head in their hand giggled.
【To think you survived by deceiving Nagdrazil’s descendants. You truly are my Blessed!】
“Nagdra what? Who’s that?”
【Read more books!】
【Books create a treasure vault in your head that cannot be stolen!】
“Yep.”
【Anyway, Blessed, you’re carrying around a strange necklace.】
“They said it was some kind of treasure key.”
Could Asibarr know what this necklace was for?
As I quietly got my hopes up, Asibarr let out a sigh.
【A guest of the Night who cannot even recognize an item’s value!】
【The times have changed far too much!】
“It’s expensive and good, right?”
Should I sell it right away?
As I considered that, Asibarr clicked their tongue.
【That is a key for trading with a certain idol.】
【When the time comes, you will learn its purpose on your own!】
“Is it a dangerous idol, by any chance?”
I remembered the trouble I had gotten into after obtaining the Eight-Armed Great Mother Idol.
That spider demanding my organs had made my life hell.
At my story, Asibarr’s severed head laughed.
【Blessed.】
【Every idol is dangerous!】
That was true.
Even gentlemanly Asibarr might lie to me and deceive me.
It was always best to be suspicious.
“So, Asibarr, do you have anything to trade with me?”
【I shall deepen your Black Eyes by one stage!】
【The price is 1,000,000 Ether.】
I currently had around 2,000,000 Ether.
It was nearly half of what I had, but Asibarr’s Black Eyes had helped me every time.
Without it, I might have died several times already.
“Deal!”
【Contract established!】
# # #
Ssssss.
It felt like fog was clearing away.
When I came to my senses, I was standing in the Strategy Room, where a huge table had been set up.
“So, what changed?”
Black Eyes had reached Level 2.
What was different from before?
When I looked into the mirror in the Strategy Room, words appeared before my eyes.
「Summoning Necklace: A talisman of yearning that seekers walking the Night once searched for.」
「Raises each of the wearer’s stats by 10%.」
It was the necklace Moltma had given me.
A 10 percent increase to my stats?
Wasn’t that the same as gaining one level?
They said that after Level 15, leveling up cost hundreds of millions of Ether at minimum.
By that measure, this necklace was incredibly valuable.
Moltma!
My friend!
I’ll never forget you for the rest of my life!
When I left the Strategy Room, many people had gathered in the training ground.
They seemed to be doing twisting exercises, and the cries of agony already sounded familiar.
“Everyone, I’m back!”
I waved to everyone.
Soon, they stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
“The platoon leader is back!”
“Yore’s here!”
Everyone rushed over.
They tossed me into the air, and I rose so high that it was terrifying.
“Pretty! I heard all about what you did!”
Instructor Roze came over and smacked my shoulders.
Even I thought my performance had been impressive.
I found the Akam lord and played a decisive role in defeating them.
I was the MVP.
“So, what did you do and see while you stayed behind until the end?”
At the instructor’s question, I remembered staying behind alone to earn Ether.
“A bunch of those evil Erdari bastards came crawling in!”
“The Erdari came to the Akam citadel?”
Instructor Roze frowned.
The weasel was startled too.
“Instructor, weren’t the Erdari active in the Second Legion’s territory?”
“This certainly isn’t normal. I need to report it to headquarters quickly.”
“Good work!”
Instructor Roze smacked my shoulder and headed off somewhere.
After that, we were given about a day of rest.
They said it was always like this after a twenty-four-person deployment.
The weasel in the seat beside me shook his Ether purse in delight.
“We earned around 2,000,000 Ether per person from one deployment! I heard your raiding party also got loads of Red Potions?”
The weasel smiled as he calculated money beside me.
The Land of Night really was great.
You could make a ridiculous amount of money.
There were lots of good items too.
‘When’s the next deployment?’
‘Honestly, I don’t want to rest. I want to go out again right away.’
As I maintained my dagger and shuriken, my body itched with anticipation.
The problem was that the order to remain on deployment standby kept coming afterward.
The next day, and the day after that too!
“Instructor! When can we go to the Land of Night?”
I wanted to earn Ether!
“Please send me to the Land of Night!”
What was the point of having a huge table capable of sending out twenty-four people?
They were not using it.
Instructor Roze placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Pretty, you’re the first Thief I’ve ever seen as enthusiastic about reclaiming our homeland as you are! If every Thief were like you, the Empire would have already reclaimed its old lands!”
“Then are you letting us deploy?”
“No.”
This couldn’t be happening!
My whole body itched so badly I could die.
Instructor Roze wore a grave expression too.
“It’s an order from headquarters. The Erdari appearing in Akam territory must be the cause. Rest comfortably until the graduation ceremony in a few days!”
Pat, pat, pat.
Instructor Roze patted my back.
My anger toward the Erdari grew even deeper.
‘Those bastards have never helped my life in any way.’
I had finally gotten new equipment and skills, but I could not use them.
As I watched Instructor Roze walk away, words appeared before my eyes.
「Inspect Possessions」
「Success Rate: 10%」
「Cost: 10,000 Ether」
...Oh!
This was the first time words like this had appeared.
The only possible reason was that I had raised Black Eyes to Level 2.
Ten thousand Ether for one look.
It was expensive, but...
Instructor Roze was incredibly skilled.
She must have valuable items too, right?
Gulp.
Let’s do it.
「Possession Check Successful!」
「Large Hammer: Crushing Fracture」
「Hammer Unit Epaulet」
「Secret Document」
「33 Gold Coins」
Ooooooh!
It felt like electromagnetic waves were frying my brain.
‘I can really see someone’s possessions?’
A skill every pickpocket in the country would dream of!
It hurt that 10,000 won disappeared every time I used it.
But if I used it well, I might be able to earn even more than that.
“Excuse me, Instructor!”
“Why are you calling me?”
“A lot of my fellow trainees are interested in your love life!”
“Me? I like a man who can protect me! But I haven’t had the chance so far! There’s no man stronger than me!”
“Then if I fight you and win, do I have a chance?”
I drew my dagger.
Instructor Roze grinned.
“If you can even scratch my skin with that toothpick, I might at least consider it.”
“Vile Slash!”
Swish!
I thrust my blade forward quickly.
But Instructor Roze lightly twisted aside to evade the attack, then grabbed my wrist and slammed me into the ground.
“Who ambushes someone while shouting their skill name?”
Boom!
My vision spun.
Every bit of air in my chest burst out.
“Guhhhhh!”
“Depending on the situation, even the ground can become your weapon like this.”
“...Yes, ma’am.”
Instructor Roze turned around and disappeared around the corner.
I brushed myself off and stood up, carefully holding the Secret Document in my hand.
“Hehehe, shouting the skill name was a trick.”
If the other possessions disappeared, it would be obvious.
But this Secret Document...
If I read it and put it back, nobody would know.
The perfect crime.
Flip.
After making sure nobody was around, I opened the scroll.
「To Lieutenant Colonel Roze.」
「Among your platoon members is someone conspiring with the Night’s kin.」
「Keep them on deployment standby until the person is identified and the matter resolved.」
「Lieutenant General Curtis」
What...!?
A chill ran down my spine.
‘One of my fellow trainees is conspiring with the demons?’
‘Tch, so that bastard is why we’re on deployment standby!’
Who among my fellow trainees could it be?
Honestly, everyone was suspicious.
Including me!
But I had a rough idea of who it was.
There was only one person who would conspire with demons!
Author’s Note
September 7th...!!! There are readers who sent support...!!!
marvel****_504!!! Thank you for the support...!!!
For the full details of my thanks, please check the announcements...!!!
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