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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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“P-please… stop…”
The would-be assassin was whimpering, his body twitching.
“Ugh, disgusting.”
He looked like he had just been… violated.
Luke killed him.
[ Level Up! Check your status! ]
“So easy~”
Even irredeemable trash could be recycled into experience points.
What was the author thinking, giving him experience for killing people?
If someone with homicidal tendencies had this ability, the empire would have been destroyed long before the Demon King even showed up.
“Luke.”
“Yeah, you done?”
“Yes. I’ve recorded their location and the client’s information.”
“That was anticlimactic.”
The assassin, who had boasted about not revealing anything under torture, had spilled everything in just a few hours, reduced to a whimpering mess.
It would have been faster, but Luke had wanted to… prolong the interrogation.
According to the assassin, the client was Daine Buckley, a baron of the empire, who ran a small trading company as a front for his illegal slave trafficking operation.
“What are you going to do now?”
“What?”
“Are you going after him now?”
“Nope. I’m going to sleep.”
He had been up all night dealing with those assassins. He needed sleep.
According to Earth’s labor laws, the maximum working hours were eight hours a day.
He had already exceeded that, hunting Rhino Horns, Iron Horn, and assassins.
He needed his rest.
Even if monsters, demons, or the Demon King himself attacked, he was going to sleep.
“…You’re not going after him immediately…?”
“Why? He doesn’t even know his assassins are dead.”
Why should he sacrifice his precious sleep time for someone who wasn’t even asking for help?
This was a violation of labor laws. He was going to report this to the labor board.
“Anyway, I’m going to sleep. Don’t disturb me.”
“…Okay.”
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Luke was a man of his word.
He fell asleep instantly.
Luna watched him sleep, thinking…
…I want to go alone.
She hadn’t bothered to find out who had kidnapped her.
There was no point in dwelling on it.
But now, she knew.
The man who had destroyed her family was somewhere in this city.
How could she possibly remain rational?
She wanted to kill Daine Buckley right now, even though it was early morning.
But there was one reason she couldn’t: Luke.
If I fail and get captured…
…she would die.
Not by Daine Buckley’s hand, but by Luke’s.
From what she had seen, Luke was a decisive man.
If she went alone and got captured, this was how it would play out:
“Drop your weapons if you want the hostage to live!”
“Whatever! We’ll die together!”
And then, he would kill them both.
The image played vividly in her mind.
He would definitely do it.
She couldn’t bear the thought, so she forced herself to remain rational.
“Sigh…”
But rationality made the wait even more agonizing.
To distract herself, she picked up a rag and started cleaning.
Keeping busy would make the time pass faster.
She cleaned the blood splattered on the floor and walls from the assassin’s demise.
After she finished, she lay down beside Luke and closed her eyes, willing time to pass quickly.
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“Let’s go~”
“…We’ll get caught if we’re not careful.”
“If we get caught, they’ll come to us. Isn’t that better?”
“…”
They were standing in front of the entrance to the underground hideout, as described by the assassin.
It was hidden deep within a dark, narrow alley, a maze-like network of backstreets.
They would have never found it without the information.
“It’s a shame I don’t have any tear gas.”
What was the defining characteristic of an underground hideout?
No windows, or tiny ones with poor ventilation.
One entrance, surrounded by walls.
A tear gas canister would have been perfect. He could just toss it in, yell “Gas! Gas! Gas!” and they’d either stumble out choking or pass out inside.
Then, he could just stand at the entrance and slice and dice them as they came out.
“What’s tear gas?”
“It’s like… a bottle you throw that releases smoke.”
“Like a smoke bomb?”
“More painful. It makes you cry and cough.”
He had never actually used tear gas, but he had heard it was unpleasant.
“Anyway, let’s go. I want to finish this quickly and get my sword from the blacksmith.”
“So, we’re definitely killing them…”
“If you’re going to kill someone, you have to be prepared to die.”
That was just an excuse.
He was killing them for the experience points.
He descended the stairs. It was pitch black, with no lights.
He wasn’t sure if anyone actually lived down here.
And the stairs were long.
They must have really wanted to hide.
He missed escalators and elevators.
After about ten minutes, they reached a steel door.
A lantern beside the door provided a faint light.
Knock knock.
He knocked on the door, which looked like it required a password.
A small slot at eye level opened, revealing two eyes.
“Password.”
“I love you~”
The slot closed.
“Huh? That’s not it?”
Knock knock.
“Password.”
“Have you heard of the Way?”
The slot slammed shut.
“Damn it! This is annoying!”
Knock knock.
“Sigh… password.”
“Your mom.”
Bam!!!
He punched the door, sending it flying into the wall.
“Whoa.”
“…That was excessive.”
“Whatever. I’m going to kill them anyway.”
The man who had asked for the password was probably dead or unconscious under the door.
But he liked to be thorough. He stepped over the door and jumped on it a few times for good measure.
“…”
“Okay, no sound. He’s definitely dead.”
Beyond the door was a narrow corridor.
At the end of the corridor was a wooden door with ornate carvings.
He opened the door.
The room was surprisingly luxurious for an underground hideout.
A figure sitting in a chair across the room spoke.
“Hah, those foolish commoners came to their deaths—”
“Holy shit! Luna, the pig talks!”
This was fantasy!
A talking pig!
He was momentarily awestruck.
He had thought it might be an intelligent orc, but its skin color was definitely pig-like.
“You bastard…! Who are you calling—?!”
“Who keeps a pig in clothes? And in a room like this? Shouldn’t pigs be in pens? The owner of this place must be an idiot. ”
“Luke… that’s Daine Buckley, our target…”
“What?! That’s a human?!”
How could that be human?!
This was fantasy, indeed!
Even pigs could be human.
“Well, I guess if you can polymorph into a human, you can polymorph into a pig too.”
“You…! Hans!!”
“As you wish, Master.”
The pig squealed, and a man in a butler’s uniform emerged from the shadows.
He immediately charged at them. Luna intercepted him.
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Clang!
Luna’s daggers clashed with Hans’s sword.
“Hehehe. You’re quite skilled for a slave, but you can’t beat Hans!”
Hans was Daine Buckley’s butler, but he was also a highly trained assassin.
He wouldn’t lose to a mere slave, especially not in a sword fight.
Cuts appeared on Luna’s body.
Even Daine Buckley, who knew nothing about fighting, could see that she was losing.
“…Ugh!”
“Hahaha! You fool! You came here to die!”
“Luna’s going to evolve! She’ll win after she evolves!”
“…?”
A voice beside him startled Daine. He turned around.
Luke, who had been with Luna just moments ago, was now sitting on the table beside him, eating popcorn.
“W-when did you…!”
“Master!”
“Don’t mind me. Just keep fighting. Or she dies.”
Luke pressed his finger against the top of Daine’s head.
Daine, helpless, could only watch the fight, his face pale with fear.
But Hans, distracted by Daine’s predicament, started losing ground.
Daine had to do something.
“Your slave will die if you don’t help her. Are you okay with that?”
He hoped to goad Luke into joining the fight, creating a more favorable situation for Hans.
But Luke was crazier than he thought.
“If she dies, she dies.”
He wasn’t going to be held hostage by sentimentality.
In this dangerous world, you couldn’t afford to be soft.
An S-rank monster was going to attack the academy in a few months.
If she couldn’t handle this, she’d be dead then anyway.
“W-what?! She’s your slave!”
“Shut up, you noisy pig!”
Luke punched Daine in the head.
“Squeal?!”
“That’s more like it.”
“Master!”
Hans, distracted by Daine’s cry, turned to look, giving Luna an opening.
She decapitated him in one swift motion, her body enveloped in wind.
“Hans! No!!!”
“…?”
The anguished cry wasn’t from Daine.
“You wanted me to lose…?” Luna asked, looking at Luke.
“But it wouldn’t be fun if it ended so quickly. I didn’t even finish my popcorn.”
Hans was dead.
Daine was out of options.
“Let’s finish this pig off.” Luke said, approaching Daine.
“W-wait! I’ll give you money! And prettier slaves than her!”
Survival was his priority.
He could recover everything else later: his money, his butler, his revenge.
“Oh…”
Luke seemed to be considering the offer. Typical commoner, swayed by money.
He should have done this sooner.
“Yes! Just spare me, and you can have anything! Money, sl—”
“RA!”
Wham!
Luke punched Daine in the face, sending him flying off his chair.
“Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The barrage of punches continued until Luna intervened.
“L-Luke, stop!”
“Why? Are you going to kill him?”
She desperately wanted to, but he was a noble, even if a corrupt one.
If she killed him, there would be an investigation, and they would be held accountable.
If this kept happening, they’d be banished from the city, or worse.
“I have a better idea.”
She whispered her plan to him.
“Whoa… even the Demon King wouldn’t do that…”
“So… what do you think?”
“Sounds fun.”
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It is contagious !!!!!