WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈
Chapter 47: A Friend of a Friend of a Friend
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“Hammer, you don’t need to worry about the Thieves’ Guild for a while.”
It was an especially chilly morning.
I found Hammer jogging in the Training Ground and spoke to them.
“Don’t need to worry? What do you mean?”
“I went and reached an agreement with them!”
We had agreed to a temporary truce.
Jermain said she’d try to make that much happen.
You could call it a grace period.
“Yore, I knew you had been in contact with the Thieves’ Guild for some time, but...”
Hammer stopped.
I could feel the pressure of their gaze through the helmet.
They probably didn’t like that I was dealing with the Thieves’ Guild.
Someone they knew was hanging around bad people, after all.
“You really do make everything go smoothly!”
But then Hammer suddenly pulled me into a hug.
Ow! Their hard armor was crushing me!
“Argh! Let go of me!”
“How did you persuade them? There must be conditions.”
“As expected of you, Hammer. You’re quick to notice.”
“Nothing in this world comes for free.”
Hammer laughed from behind the helmet.
I gave a simple answer.
“I agreed to catch the runaway, Debora, and hand her over to the guild.”
“That bitch? This won’t be easy.”
“But isn’t it better than having no room for compromise at all?”
“That’s true. Between us...”
Hammer leaned closer.
“Hermit and Felix can be a little inflexible about this sort of thing.”
“Jeez, that’s why you and I have to suffer.”
“But Yore, there’s something you must always keep in mind when dealing with the Thieves’ Guild.”
“That I should watch my pockets?”
“That before you’re a member of the Thieves’ Guild, you’re a member of our party!”
They were telling me to set my priorities straight.
Honestly, Hammer didn’t need to worry. I had no real sense of belonging to the guild.
I wasn’t close with the Thieves’ Guild itself. I was personally acquainted with Jermain, the guildmaster.
Then what if a problem arose between Jermain and Hammer’s party?
Which side should I choose?
‘It could definitely happen.’
I should set a standard.
‘Help whichever side can earn me more Ether.’
Setting that standard made me feel much more secure.
# # #
“Walu, walu!”
“Waluwalu!”
Michanic University.
Tentacle monsters with squid-like things growing from their heads greeted us.
“Flying Thunder God Shuriken!”
Whoosh! Crackle!
A blade filled with the power of lightning flew swiftly through the air.
It pierced the chests of two tentacle monsters in a row.
“Whoa!”
A gasp escaped me.
The power was incredible!
“Newbie! What was that!?”
Hermit was shocked.
I retrieved the shuriken and rubbed my nose.
“Hehe, cool, right? I spent three hours thinking up that technique name.”
To be honest, I hadn’t settled on it yet.
There was always room to change it later.
Felix stabbed the corpses that had been pierced, finishing them off.
“You can finally pull your weight against weak trash mobs.”
Just as Felix said, all the weak monsters at Michanic University went down in one hit.
Which meant?
My hunting efficiency had been maximized!
Clink!
Clink!
Ether dropped!
Tentacles dropped!
“Hehehe!”
I felt amazing.
We had been hunting for two hours straight, but it only kept getting more exciting.
“Oh, look at this! Myscanic Ore!”
Hammer picked up a stone from among the tentacle monsters’ byproducts.
It looked like a purple honeycomb.
Tiny holes covered it, and just looking at them made the back of my head itch.
“This stone is sometimes found only at Michanic University, so it’s called Myscanic Ore. Mages love it.”
Hammer held the stone out to Hermit.
Hermit took it, her eyes gleaming greedily beneath her pointed hat.
“The more numerous and densely packed the holes are, the higher its purity is considered. Looking at how tightly packed these holes are... Puhuhuhu!”
“Hermit, what can you do with that?”
“The good thing is that I can find out what I can do with it!”
What did that even mean?
Anyway, Hermit was strange too.
“Shh, stay alert!”
Hammer suddenly shouted.
When I turned my head, several men were approaching us.
“...Thieves!”
Hermit recoiled in horror.
They had keys, hooks, and screwdriver-like tools hanging from their belts. They really did look like Thieves.
“Damn, we’ve got rotten luck.”
“We’re done here. Let’s just leave.”
“Let’s go get drunk instead.”
A party of four Thieves.
Only members of the Thieves’ Guild could form such a disastrous combination.
They recognized us too.
“Huh, it’s Hammer’s party.”
“Fancy seeing you here.”
“Hammer, should we kill them?”
Click.
I heard Felix adjust his grip on his sword.
‘This crazy bastard!’
The Human Butcher’s nasty habit was acting up again!
I stepped in front of him.
“Guys, didn’t you hear from Jermain? We’re in a truce.”
“A truce. That’s right.”
“We don’t want a pointless fight either.”
The Thieves were more cooperative than I expected.
Then I remembered what they had said while approaching us.
“You said you had bad luck. Did something happen?”
“That Desperado is over there.”
“That’s why we were leaving.”
“Are you talking about Star Hunter Velzer?”
Hammer asked.
The Thieves nodded.
“Yeah.”
“That dagger-wielding bastard who reeks of blood.”
“A horrible murdering bastard.”
Fuck, that outlaw Velzer was here at the university?
The scar on my neck stung.
It was the scar I got when I crossed paths with Desperado Velzer last time.
Anyway.
After warning us to be careful, the Thieves left.
Hermit sighed in relief, relaxing her shoulders.
“I thought we’d have to fight Thieves again.”
“Pahahah! So Yore really did reach an agreement with them!”
Hammer patted my back.
It was also good that we had learned Velzer, a dangerous person, was beyond that corridor.
“Then let’s retreat for today.”
“Hammer, how about we take on Velzer?”
Felix inspected his bright red sword, Flesh-Cutting, Bone-Severing.
Hermit checked her staff too, looking eager.
“I’m in great condition today too!”
We were different from the last time we encountered Velzer.
Our equipment had been upgraded a lot too.
But Hammer still put safety first.
“It’s Velzer. If even one of us gets badly hurt or dies for nothing, we lose more.”
A Desperado at least Level 15.
Just how terrifying was Velzer for Hammer to be this scared?
Crack.
Then an odd sound rang out.
Hermit jumped and checked the bag at her waist.
“The... Familiar Egg!?”
Hermit took out the egg and screamed.
I looked over and saw a tiny crack near the top of the Familiar Egg.
“Why did it suddenly change? What is this? I don’t know what it is, but I need to go study it!”
“With Hermit like this, I don’t think we should continue exploring.”
Hammer unfolded the map.
“The exit is nearby.”
How much I had missed Hammer’s magic map!
I didn’t realize it before, but it was a ridiculously convenient item.
“Hammer, is there an entrance near the underground area too?”
“There is one. Over here.”
“Ah, Newbie, you’re going to see that woman, aren’t you!”
Hermit was startled.
Felix’s eyebrows twitched.
“...That woman? What suspicious thing are you planning now?”
“It’s not suspicious. I have business to take care of.”
“Felix, it’s fine to let Yore have a little freedom.”
Hammer pushed Felix on the back.
The three of them left through the exit first.
Thanks to that, I got some time alone.
“The direction is... this way!”
Swish, swish!
I hurried underground to meet my master, Estelle.
Since Velzer, who possessed Gaija’s blessing, could come after me, I needed to move quickly.
# # #
There was a prison underground at the university, something like a torture chamber.
It was sinister and damp, the sort of place I would avoid if possible.
My master, Estelle, lived in a place like that.
Though calling her my master was a stretch. She had never properly taught me anything.
‘Master and disciple.’
‘As long as this little role-play keeps going smoothly, she won’t harm me.’
Hermit said Estelle was a scary person.
Apparently, she had killed several people at the Mage Tower, escaped, and fled beyond the Wall.
I didn’t really want to see her either.
She was scary because I could never tell what she was thinking.
“Master, are you here? It’s Yore...”
I called out to Estelle as I slowly headed underground.
The underground level of the university had changed quite a bit since my last visit.
Candles had been neatly lit everywhere, and there were all kinds of scientific-looking tools lying around.
Bubble, bubble.
Liquids and gases boiled wildly. Were those things called flasks?
Other than that, I had no idea what anything was.
“A guest after so loong-.”
Then a woman appeared.
She had short hair with ends curled up like roses, and a stylish cape like a military officer’s over her shoulders.
Below it, a red cloth barely covered her chest, while her ribs and stomach were fully exposed.
‘I once saw prostitutes who said they came from the desert.’
‘Their clothes looked similar!’
It was an extremely suggestive outfit.
I froze at her unexpected appearance, and the woman let out a low laugh.
“Disciple-. Why are you so surprised-?”
“Uh... are you Master Estelle?”
“Of courrse.”
No way!
The Estelle I knew had been a mummy wrapped in bandages!
I never imagined such a sexy older woman was beneath all those bandages!
“Disciple, what is it-? Your face is red-.”
Her languid voice brought me back to my senses.
This was embarrassing for no reason.
“Hehehe, I’m just not used to Master’s changed appearance.”
“Oh, this body-? It’s a body I like for once-.”
A body she liked?
What did that mean?
‘This sounds like something I’ll get fucked over for digging into.’
I should just get to the point.
With Velzer somewhere in this university, I didn’t have much time.
“Ahem, Master. There’s something this disciple wishes to ask.”
“And what might that be-?”
“Do you have a particular knack for finding people in the Land of Night?”
Jermain had told me so.
If I wanted to find the runaway Debora, I should seek out Estelle at Michanic University.
‘I was shocked to hear Master Estelle’s name come from Jermain.’
Did they know each other?
It really was a small world.
Estelle soon let out a long hum.
“Finding someone is simple enough-.”
Estelle took out a statue about the size of a human torso from somewhere.
It was shaped like a woman with eight arms.
“Gah! That’s the Eight-Armed Great Mother Idol!”
“Oh? You know this? My disciple is smarter than I thought-.”
Of course I knew it!
Do you know how much trouble that thing caused me?
“...Where did you get that?”
“I asked Thieves to obtain it-. This gives one ‘knowledge.’ Of course, it requires a suitable offering-.”
Was this the item Estelle had asked Jermain to obtain?
What a small world.
Anyway.
“Master, I want to find Debora, who fled to the Land of Night and founded the Night Thieves Guild.”
“How much should I charge...?”
Master was about to say something in her lazy voice.
Clink.
‘A coin?’
I saw an Ether coin on the ground by Master’s bare feet.
‘I should pick it up quietly.’
‘But Master is barefoot...’
Just as I lowered my head, thinking I should pick up the coin anyway, a chill ran down my spine.
Whoosh! Thunk!
A dagger grazed the crown of my head and lodged in the wall.
“You were lucky to avoid my surprise attack.”
It was a strangely affected voice.
When I turned around, Velzer was walking toward me with a dagger in hand.
“I found you, Trickster Yore.”
Fuck!
Why now of all times?
Estelle soon frowned.
“You entered my laboratory without permission.”
Author’s Note
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Footnotes:
“Flying Thunder God” references the Korean name of a technique from Naruto.
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