How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 10

12. Aim for Advancement to the City (3)

Looking back, he was quite the character.

Not only was he handsome, but he also possessed magical artifacts that seemed incredibly valuable.

At first, I thought he was just a naive young nobleman who didn’t know the ways of the world.

Being captivated by his appearance and getting greedy was a mistake.

Ludel and the merchants who were traveling with him attempted to ambush the boy named Sylvester in the early morning a few days after they started traveling together.

They planned to steal his belongings, tie him up, and sell him to a slave trader.

But when they came to their senses, they were the ones who had been ambushed.

Rather, the moment Sylvester was attacked, he smiled gleefully as if he had expected it.

“These morons never change, no matter the era.”

With just a flick of his hand, people were sent flying and the ground was gouged out.

In an instant, half of the group had their heads chopped off.

Ludel was paralyzed with fear.

He was going to die.

In the end, he abandoned his pride, prostrated himself, and barely survived by handing over all his money and the carriage.

“Even so, it’s unlikely that such monsters are common. That kid can’t be one of them.”

“…Yeah, they can’t be common.”

Ludel recalled Eilon’s appearance.

He was handsome, but that was it.

He didn’t have the same intense presence as that boy.

He must be just an ordinary country bumpkin.

If so, it should be fine.

“Besides, the losses are enormous. If we don’t make up for them quickly, we’ll be in danger, right?”

There’s no reason to hesitate.

“Alright. We’ll take care of that kid tonight while he’s off guard.”

Ludel smirked as he made his decision.

At that time, none of the merchants, including Ludel, knew that a semi-transparent water spirit was hovering around their heads, tilting its head in curiosity.

* * *

‘Yep, yep, I figured as much.’

I shook my head in the corner of the carriage.

My appetite suddenly waned.

Just the usual run-of-the-mill merchants with transparently awful personalities, just like in the original story.

The reason I knew their true intentions was thanks to this water spirit who’s currently chattering away on my palm.

-So! Everyone! Ambush? Mark?

Undine was gesturing wildly with her body, hands, and arms as she enthusiastically explained.

She was remembering the words the merchants had said and telling me.

‘……There’s also this way to use spirits.’

Spirits aren’t just limited to using their unique abilities.

By applying spirit manifestation [allowing a spirit to partially materialize and interact with the physical world], you can also spy on those with low perception.

For example, the royal family has spiritists who specialize in infiltration and information gathering.

“So~ what should we do to those admirable gentlemen?”

-What do? What do?

“I’d love to turn the tables on them.”

I stroked Undine and smirked.

“But we have to wait for the right moment.”

If I interrogated them now, they’d just deny it.

“Remember this well. Evidence must be caught on the spot.”

You have to corner the culprit in an undeniable situation to make them break.

‘Well, I was half expecting it anyway.’

As soon as I found out who they were, why wouldn’t I avoid them?

I planned the trip assuming they would betray me from the start.

The protagonist received donations, so why shouldn’t I?

‘I want some too!’

I was just thinking that my travel expenses were a bit short.

I can’t miss this opportunity.

That’s why I deliberately acted like a gullible kid and hitched a ride on the carriage.

It’s a kind of entrapment.

And as expected, those idiots had their eyes on me.

If things go as planned, they’ll try to attack me tonight.

It’s a truly desirable outcome.

‘So, how should I repay them?’

The thought of repaying someone’s malice is always enjoyable.

How should I twist their expressions?

I was grinning as I pondered.

* * *

As it got dark, Ludel chose a suitable place and ordered them to set up camp.

“Let’s camp here for tonight.”

Soon, the merchants skillfully started a fire, finished preparing the campsite, and began whispering about deciding on a watch schedule.

Watching them, I suddenly thought.

‘Come to think of it, do I have to stand watch too?’

I really don’t want to.

I tried to join in and decide on a shift, but Ludel stopped me.

“Eilon, you’re fine. Go inside and rest.”

“…Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course, of course. You’re a guest for now, aren’t you? We even received payment, so there’s no need for you to stand guard.”

The other merchants nodded in agreement.

“It’s your first time traveling, isn’t it? Think of it as a small gift.”

“Yeah, it must be tough.”

“Rest today.”

The merchants spoke kindly, urging me to go inside.

A watch exemption? Gee, I feel like dancing.

‘Do they think I’m an idiot? They’re acting like saints.’

Excessive kindness is always accompanied by ulterior motives.

There’s a saying that you should be wary of guys who offer you the last cigarette, guys who offer to take your watch, and guys who put mint chocolate ice cream in your coffee.

These guys are plotting something evil.

Who said that? Me.

Even if I paid for the ride, I’d still have to stand watch.

There’s a limit to kindness.

‘Well, if I don’t sleep comfortably, they’ll be in trouble too.’

Their intentions are so obvious that I feel like sighing instead of yawning.

But I have to smile for now.

I’m not the one being fooled. It’s you.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept your kindness.”

“You can rest in the carriage. I’ll even lend you a blanket.”

I wonder why a certain fairy tale comes to mind.

Is it the logic of ‘I’ll give you lots of delicious things to eat so you can get nice and plump!’?

I guess it’s universal for villains to be the kindest.

Well, there’s no reason to refuse.

I obediently holed up in the luggage compartment of the carriage, wrapped myself in a blanket, and sat huddled, thinking.

‘How should I deal with those guys now?’

There’s no need to wait quietly, right?

I don’t think I’ll lose if I fight, but waiting openly is foolish.

‘Should I set up a trap?’

I looked around to see if there was anything useful.

There was a sack that looked useful.

Is it grain inside?

It looks like they bought it from our village.

I gathered a few sacks, stacked them up appropriately, and covered them with a blanket.

I adjusted the angle to make it look like I was asleep under the blanket, then slipped out of the carriage and hid nearby.

‘If they don’t attack like this, I’ll be the only one doing something pointless……’

I quietly held my breath and waited for their actions.

Waiting for a villain to attack… I’m not some kind of pervert.

Just as I was falling into a slightly complicated mood.

I heard footsteps.

They were so faint that I wouldn’t have noticed if I had fallen asleep.

The merchants slowly surrounded the carriage where I should have been sleeping.

‘In the end, they can’t break their habits……’

At this point, there’s no point in denying it.

‘So~ how should I return the favor to those donation angels?’

Since there are many of them, it’s foolish to fight openly, even if they’re easy to deal with.

I summoned the Sandman, the spirit of sleep.

The Sandman yawned and asked.

-……Why~?

“See those guys over there? It seems like they can’t sleep, so could you put them to sleep for me?”

-……Easy.

The Sandman immediately became a spirit manifestation and headed towards the carriage.

They don’t have the ability to notice a spirit in its spirit manifestation state.

As the Sandman emitted waves of sleep, the merchants began to stagger and fall one by one.

When the first one fell, the merchants tilted their heads, and when the second one fell, they shrugged their shoulders as if they realized something was wrong.

It’s quite enjoyable to watch.

‘It’s very effective even against humans.’

If they fall asleep under the influence of the sleep waves, they won’t wake up easily for about an hour.

But there are also unexpected things.

The last one left, Ludel, staggered and knelt down, but didn’t fall asleep.

“……Ugh, what is that? Hey, wake up! What are you doing?!”

He looked back and forth at the fallen fellow merchants and fell into a state of panic.

‘He withstood the Sandman’s sleep?’

Even though it’s a spirit manifestation, so the effect is weaker, how can a mere merchant withstand it?

I was a little surprised, but I soon guessed the reason.

‘Ah… is that it? If he has that, he might be able to withstand it.’

Maybe there’s no need to worry.

Rather, it’s good that only Ludel is still conscious.

There’s something I want to confirm.

After sending the Sandman back, I summoned a Sprite [a small, mischievous spirit often associated with nature] as a spirit manifestation instead.

‘See that guy over there? If he gets close to me, shock him with electricity.’

-Okay!

It’s a precaution.

After giving the instructions, I revealed myself.

I leisurely approached Ludel and even waved my hand as if I was happy to see him.

Because I have to talk to him, I also released the sleep effect.

“Hello~ Mr. Ludel, it’s a nice night, isn’t it? The night air is so chilly, right?”

“……You, you.”

“Why are you all coming here in a group at this late hour? It’s embarrassing.”

I smiled at the merchants who had already passed out.

“So, what’s the matter? You’re not old enough to be playing around so late, are you? You’ll be tired tomorrow, right?”

You’re all too old to recover, right?

Unless they’re idiots, they’ll know I’m being sarcastic.

“……Wait a minute! There’s some kind of misunderstanding!”

Ludel reached out a hand, trying to calm me down.

“Misunderstanding?”

“Yes! It’s a misunderstanding! Listen to me!”

What kind of excuse will he make?

I’ll wait, but instead of words, he took out a dagger hidden in his chest.

There are misunderstandings that can be resolved with a dagger.

I didn’t know, the world is so scary.

“Die!”

Thinking I was off guard, he tried to stab me forward without hesitation.

I sighed in disbelief.

“……Haa, I knew it.”

The moment he tried to extend the dagger, a faint flash of light flickered in front of me.

Zap!

“Kghack?!”

He screamed strangely and dropped the dagger.

The blade of the dagger that fell to the floor was slightly red-hot.

The electricity that was shot out as a counterattack, as instructed, penetrated the dagger like a lightning rod.

“Kugh… what, what is that?! What is that……”

From his point of view, he could only recognize that something suddenly flashed in front of me.

‘His tactics are obvious.’

Catching someone off guard and stabbing them is a basic tactic of social life.

I like it very much too.

I lightly kicked the knife that had fallen to the floor, slid it behind me, and coldly ridiculed his foolishness.

“I guess I misunderstood. I thought it was attempted kidnapping, but it was attempted murder. This is scary, isn’t it?”

“……Ugh!”

Ludel must have thought it was impossible to deny it, so he dragged his butt back.

But then, for some reason, he widened his eyes again.

He even pointed his finger at me.

“Yes! You, you’re a wizard! What’s happening now! It’s all magic!”

“Wizard? Are you out of your mind?”

I was speechless at his absurd nonsense.

“It’s no use denying it! I don’t know what you did, but if it’s magic……”

He was trembling with paralysis from the electricity and took something else out of his chest.

What he took out was a charm that looked like it was carved from wood.

Maybe that thing is……

“……That’s a magic resistance charm, right?”

“Yes! With this, I’m not afraid of magic!”

A magic resistance charm [an item that reduces the effects of magical attacks].

It is a type of protective magical tool that is made to manifest resistance to mana.

‘I wondered why he didn’t fall asleep properly, so that’s why.’

The power of the spirit of sleep is a pure mental power, so the effect varies greatly depending on the magic resistance.

Of course, if it’s just that much of a charm, I can put him to sleep even if I raise the power a little more, so it won’t be a big problem.

But he didn’t know that, so he smiled viciously, thinking I was in trouble.

“Kuhahahaha! How is it! I happened to meet a wizard and spent a fortune to get it for emergencies!”

“……So?”

His confident expression crumbled at my calm reaction.

There’s no need to listen to a long story.

I switched the Sprite’s state to normal summon.

It’s partly to show off, and partly to properly increase the power.

“What, what is that……”

“Something like this.”

This time, I instructed him to shoot a proper electric shock.

“Try blocking it with that great charm of yours.”

Zap!

Zzzap!

“Kghaaaaack!”

As the electricity flashed about twice like an explosion, Ludel finally screamed and fell, writhing hideously.

“I told you to block it?”

Zzzzzap!

He can’t even resist.

He couldn’t block the electricity even with that great charm.

“H-how…… Kugh! The wizard said I could definitely block it?!”

“Well, spiritism is affected by magic resistance. But that charm is cheap? You’d be lucky to block a 1st circle spell [a basic level of magic] with that.”