Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat - Chapter 67

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 67: Rice with the Devil! # 2

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“...Could I join your party too?”

“Nimble, weren't you planning to go home?”

“I had no idea Ether could be rolling in like this!”

Our party was good at earning Ether.

On lucky days, we each earned at least several million Ether as our daily pay.

Instead of hunting dangerous boss monsters, we killed relatively safe regular monsters and looted Treasure Chests for Ether. That was another major advantage.

“What do you need Ether for?”

I was suspicious of Nimble.

It was better to be suspicious of women at the Wall.

Nimble clicked her tongue.

Was she annoyed that I kept asking questions?

It seemed like her favorability toward me had dropped, but that couldn't be helped.

I had to do what I had to do.

“If you want to convince Mr. Hammer, you need a convincing explanation.”

I glanced at Mr. Hammer.

Quick-witted as ever, Mr. Hammer joined our conversation.

“I don't know what this is about, but being convinced is important!”

“We can't accept suspicious people as companions.”

Click.

Felix placed a hand on the scabbard at his waist as well.

Maybe because of the mood, Nimble finally lowered her tail.

“It’s because of the Soul Contract.”

“Why the Soul Contract?”

“Breaking a contract with a demon takes a huge amount of Ether.”

“Breaking a contract with a demon? Kraaah! That's a real headache!”

Mr. Hammer shook his head with a groan.

“These demons provide stronger blessings than idols. But they are famous for demanding harsh prices in return!”

“Harsh?”

Demons offered blessings stronger than idols.

I was very interested in what their price might be.

“You see, idols do not just come into being. They are beings who ascended after accomplishing deeds worthy of worship.”

Damn, was this suddenly a lecture?

I was already getting sleepy and dizzy.

Still, I forced myself to listen. Mr. Hammer noticed and continued.

“The point is that idols were once mortals like us! Many of them understand the hearts of mortals! That's why their contracts are more lenient.”

“Ah, I totally understand.”

I had bargained with idols several times.

In Sabranik's case, no deal could happen without bargaining.

“But demons? They are evil from birth. They have no mercy.”

Click.

Mr. Hammer folded his arms.

“Nimble, what contract did your tribe make with a demon? Depending on what it is, it could put our party in danger. We need to know.”

“We increased the amount of Ether we gain.”

“By how much?”

“Normally, we get Ether once for every two monsters we hunt. If we're lucky, it can come from a single one.”

What kind of underwhelming effect was that?

The excitement I had felt turned into deep disappointment.

But Mr. Hammer was greatly impressed.

“That's a fucking powerful blessing.”

“Really?”

“Normally, you only get Ether once for every three or four regular monsters you kill.”

Even with a simple calculation, that was a fifty percent increase in Ether gain.

Fuck, when I thought of it that way, it really was an insane blessing.

“For such a powerful blessing, the price must have been steep.”

Mr. Hammer asked.

Nimble ground her teeth.

“Every ten years, we have to offer a virgin from our tribe to the demon Valder. This is the tenth year. At this rate, Daisy or I will be offered as a sacrifice.”

“Ah. So that's why Beast King Yan-Mit was trying to marry you two off to unfamiliar men like Felix and Yore.”

What did that mean?

When I frowned, Mr. Hammer whispered to me.

“If they're not virgins, they can't be offered as sacrifices!”

Aha!

Anyway, I understood why Nimble wanted to break her clan's contract with the demon.

“Good, Nimble. Your explanation satisfies me.”

Mr. Hammer held out his hand to Nimble.

Nimble stared blankly at it.

Mr. Hammer let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground.

“For fuck's sake, it looks like there's someone else I need to teach Imperial common sense to!”

# # #

“Wait, this pile of dirt is suspicious.”

Nimble scraped away the dirt with her hands.

She looked exactly like a dog digging in the dirt.

From the soil she dug up, Nimble picked up a strange root.

“This is Nightroot!”

Nimble was delighted.

Mr. Hammer was happy too.

“Isn't that the root old men line up to buy?”

It looked like something similar to ginseng or wild ginseng.

To me, it just looked like an ordinary plant.

‘It was hard to learn the skills of ginseng diggers, and they never shared them easily.’

In this world, knowledge and information were money in themselves.

People did not easily teach others what they had struggled to learn.

We earned roughly five million Ether that way.

A daily income of 1.25 million each!

Even Felix grinned.

“...At this rate, there might not be room for Hermit when she comes back.”

A party could only have four people at most.

Like Felix said, if Nimble became a permanent member, someone would have to leave.

The thought suddenly scared me.

‘...They're not going to kick me out, are they?’

Scary.

With that feeling, we returned!

Ssssss.

The scenery soon changed, and I found myself in a place like a luxurious palace.

It was somewhere I had never seen before.

It was similar to the Cheperi Family estate.

But this place, filled with marble and red carpets, was more impressive and luxurious.

‘Which idol has come looking for me this time?’

I was nervous.

At that moment, a pitch-black crow flew in.

Caw!

Whoosh.

The crow burned fiercely.

Soon, a man with bat wings and crimson eyes appeared and offered me a wine glass.

“Would you like a glass of wine?”

He wore refined clothes like a gentleman.

The pair of horns on his forehead stood out.

He spoke.

“You have been getting involved with Valdruk, Valder, and my foolish kin often, have you not? Yore, at this rate, you will not live out your natural life.”

Demon General Valdruk.

Valder, the Demon of the Mountain.

At those names, I understood exactly what the man before me was.

“A demon!”

“Please call me Samael.”

The demon Samael.

I raised my guard to the fullest.

Samael waved a hand at me.

Whoosh.

A book flew through the air and came before me.

「Book of the Magical Phantom Thief: Written by Luifang, a petty thief who coveted magic. It explains magic in enough detail for even an idiot to understand. It twists the soul, allowing one to learn a single spell.」

Fuck!?

A book that would let me learn magic!

With this book, I could learn magic too?

‘I can only learn one spell, but that's still good!’

The fantasy I'd always dreamed of was right here.

That was why my suspicion surged.

“What is the price?”

“Nothing.”

No price?

For free?

I could get stronger for free? What kind of Erdari nonsense was this!?

‘Fuck, what should I do? This has to be a scam!’

Kakakak! A loud laugh rang out.

I turned around and saw a dwarf holding a severed head, laughing noisily.

【Idiot, moron!】

【Nothing in this world comes for free!】

Asibarr!

Samael, who had been acting like a relaxed gentleman, openly frowned.

“An old ghost like you was not even invited. Why are you in my palace?”

【I'm a nighttime visitor!】

【That's what thieves do!】

That was true.

Thieves entered other people's homes without invitations all the time.

Asibarr spat on the Book of the Magical Phantom Thief.

The book changed as though it were shaking off dust.

「Book of the Magical Phantom Thief: Replica. A counterfeit imitation of the book written by Luifang, a petty thief who coveted magic. It twists the soul and allows one to learn a single spell, but causes the loss of several skills.」

Oh, fuck!

A book that let me learn one spell in exchange for several skills?

All my skills were precious. Losing them would hurt badly!

“You scammer! Selling a fake!”

I quickly hid behind Asibarr and pointed at Samael in anger.

“Tch.”

Pop!

Samael turned into a crow again and flew away.

The scenery changed in the next moment.

A temple filled with headless statues appeared.

It was Asibarr's residence.

“Asibarr! You saved me!”

【Samael is an important figure.】

【It is not bad to be acquainted with him.】

【Something good will come of it someday!】

Asibarr had saved me from the demon's trick.

Unexpectedly, Asibarr thought highly of Samael.

But I had almost lost my skills after falling for the scam, so I hated demons even more.

“I'll never make a deal with a demon!”

【Who told you to make a deal?】

【A demon's home is full of treasure.】

【Steal from them like a proper thief!】

Oh, ohhh?

Thinking about it, that made sense.

Samael's palace really had been as grand as a king's residence.

‘There must be lots of expensive things there.’

I had been overwhelmed by the sudden situation and had not even considered it this time, but I should try next time.

【I was going to show you a demon's home if you gave me the Soul Contract.】

【But they approached you first, so there's no need for that now!】

【Kakakak!】

Asibarr laughed noisily.

Watching Asibarr, I suddenly became curious.

“Asibarr, were you a goblin by any chance?”

【.........】

Asibarr stopped laughing.

It was the first time Asibarr, who always laughed so loudly, had gone silent. I was flustered.

‘That's scary!’

Had I asked something I should not have?

But I was curious.

Idols were incredibly powerful beings, right?

Even Sabranik's shed skin had been enough to block Demon General Valdruk.

“...How did a petty-thief goblin like you become such a great idol?”

Maybe Asibarr was an even greater thief than I thought.

I asked because I thought I might learn something from Asibarr.

Then Asibarr started laughing loudly again.

【There is only one way for a thief to become great!】

【I stole something that no one else could steal!】

Hiss, hiss.

At that moment, I heard a snake.

When I turned around, Sabranik was crawling toward us.

【My Blessed one, do not listen to the lies of a ghost.】

【More importantly, give me stones.】

As expected of a stone-eating snake, Sabranik could smell stones incredibly well.

I stuffed Sabranik with all kinds of raw gems and ores.

Asibarr mocked the sight.

【One of the Three Fiends that brought down countless kingdoms is now reduced to eating stones!】

【Ghost, begone.】

Whoosh!

With a swing of Sabranik's tail, Asibarr scattered like mist.

Sabranik hissed with satisfaction.

【My Blessed one, receive the price of your service.】

Words soon appeared before me.

「Snake's Fangs: A blessing unlocked while possessing Snake's Blood. Allows the user to bite a target and inject poison.」

「Snake's Tongue: Raises the chance of succeeding at difficult persuasion. However, failure will make the target highly suspicious and wary of the user.」

「Snake's Eyes: Allows the user to intimidate lower-ranking targets and make them cower.」

Fuck!

There were so many good graces that my head was about to explode!

But my decision did not take long.

Fangs and tongue?

I was not sure if fangs would actually be useful.

Could I not just coat my dagger in blood and stab people?

The tongue... looked nice, but the risk was too great.

Pass for now.

But the eyes?

They simply had benefits.

I could crush someone with just a look?