How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 179

199. Finding the Magic Tome (4)

‘I have no choice but to properly counterattack…’

I had been holding back because there was a chance I might kill him if I counterattacked, but I can’t afford to anymore.

Even though the current attacks aren’t fatal to me and I’m recovering, if I keep getting hit, something strange could happen.

More than anything, there will be witnesses.

The mercenaries are probably coming down to check on my safety too.

Let’s fight properly and end this quickly.

‘A sword… well, even if I take it out, it won’t be a match for that guy…’

Instead, I summoned the Fairy Staff from the air.

“I’ll give you a proper fight, Mr. Black Clothes. No, Dires.”

The opponent flinched, seeming surprised.

It was worth calling out his name on purpose.

And perhaps he realized that something had changed in me.

“…Monster.”

I faintly heard the voice from under his mask.

He must have sensed the mana I was emitting.

“Try to dodge if you can.”

As I amplified the spirit energy through the Fairy Staff and activated it, an even more powerful water spear was created.

Not like before, when I was just messing around.

“I’ll face you properly just once.”

I created a whopping 10,000 water spears, enough to densely fill this entire floor.

Relentless indoor bombardment with 10,000 water spears, let’s see how you handle this.

As I slightly tilted the staff, the water spears poured down like a torrential rain.

“You monster!”

This time, I clearly heard the guy’s scream.

I’m watching closely, not missing a thing, wondering how he’ll react.

However, contrary to my caution, it seems he had no time to avoid this.

With each water spear that bombarded him, his body was tossed around and flung away like a paper doll due to the water pressure.

The overwhelming difference in power sometimes cannot be resisted even with skill.

Moreover, the actual impact must be considerable.

It wouldn’t be strange if all the bones in his body were shattered or if he died on the spot.

The only reason his limbs are still attached is probably because he’s quite skilled.

This was too much.

I clicked my tongue only now.

I should have only launched about 5,000.

‘I can only hope that he’s strong enough not to die…’

After all 10,000 water spears had fallen, I removed the water without leaving any behind.

Once the water was gone, the guy, completely unconscious, floated aimlessly before getting caught on a nearby obstacle.

It doesn’t seem like he’s pretending to be unconscious.

“…Is he still breathing? Good.”

I barely confirmed that the guy’s chest was faintly moving.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that I hadn’t killed him after all.

If I had killed him, there would be no chance to clear up any misunderstandings.

‘Then the problem is these guys…’

I turned to look at the guys who were also unconscious inside the iron spider.

Among them were men with animal fur and ears, still unconscious.

‘Beastmen…’

They all have appearances that are quite rare in this area.

And lastly, that black hood.

I carefully took off the guy’s hood.

The one unconscious with a painful expression was a beautiful young man who was breathtaking to look at.

And I saw the distinctive ears unique to elves.

“…And of all people, this friend is an elf.”

Beastmen and elves… aren’t they all faces that are hard to see in the Selbas Kingdom?

And all the roles are extras, not characters appearing in the original story.

‘There is no officially recognized group force consisting of beastmen and elves in the Selbas Kingdom… but…’

If my guess is correct, it’s not that they aren’t mentioned in the original story.

The relationship between them and this Tower of Ruins.

And lastly, the magic tome that’s supposed to be here.

Thinking about all of that, I sighed.

‘I guess I won’t be able to get the magic tome today.’

It’s not that I can’t do it if I wanted to, but if I did, I’d have to see a lot of innocent blood.

Then it’s better not to choose that.

Instead, I’ll have to choose another method.

After roughly outlining that method in my head, I roughly poked the elf youth’s side.

“Wake up. Why are you sprawled out in a place like this?”

I also slightly changed my tone.

From now on, I have to treat him with respect.

So, let’s kick him awake with respect.

It’s not exactly to get revenge for being hit earlier.

“Kkeueueueueuk?! Eueueueueueuk!”

“Oh! You’re awake.”

It seems like his bones are broken, as he twitches greatly in pain.

“I know it hurts, but get up. No, more than that, is this the time to sleep? Are you sleepy? If you sleep here, you’ll really die.”

As I kindly warned him, he finally opened his eyes wide and took out a dagger, trying to stab me.

But it won’t work.

Moreover, I don’t even need to use my abilities to stop this much.

I lightly grabbed the guy’s wrist as if snatching it away.

But for a moment, I almost let go, realizing that his arm was already broken. Because of my attack.

‘And yet he doesn’t lose his will to fight. He’s no ordinary tenacious guy.’

This is close to obsession.

In fact, there’s an unusual amount of venom in the guy’s eyes.

You can’t do this much with pure malice.

“…First, calm down and listen to me. I’m sorry for making you look like that, but I had no choice.”

I explained and immediately took out a potion, roughly shoving it into the guy’s mouth.

As the guy was shocked and tried to resist, I coldly said, ‘It’s a potion.’

The guy reflexively swallowed it and soon opened his eyes in shock.

Because it really was a potion.

“With this, you should be able to move a little.”

“…What’s your scheme?”

“First, listen to me. This is an accident. I didn’t even know you guys were here.”

More than anything, as soon as I came in here, those guys were the ones who crashed into me on those iron spiders.

Well, maybe that knight Nilton seemed to know something.

“Besides, you’re quite skilled, so I wasn’t confident in subduing you haphazardly. Understand?”

“……”

He doesn’t seem to believe me. Of course.

I’m going to tell him the information that will shake him the most.

He’ll definitely be surprised.

I forcibly put my mouth to his ear and whispered.

“Actually, it’s not that, but…”

Whisper, whisper.

“H, how?!”

“Looks like I’m right.”

The guy was flustered, then realized that his attitude was a mistake and bit his lip.

“…I can’t believe those words.”

“I know. I wouldn’t believe them either if I were you. So.”

I let go of the wrist I was holding.

And in the blink of an eye, the guy had retreated all the way to the wall.

“As expected, it’s my potion. The effect is really good.”

“……”

“You don’t have to be wary, I won’t chase you. Take your friends and go back quickly. Things will get troublesome.”

After saying that, I waved my hand and turned my back.

I won’t catch him even if he runs.

‘There’s no way to have any more conversations here anyway.’

The mercenaries and soldiers I left above will be chasing down here soon.

I can’t show them their faces.

“Go quickly.”

“I don’t think of it as a favor.”

“I have no intention of that. What kind of favor after I beat you up? Pfft! Don’t be ridiculous, just go back.”

I laughed as if I was dumbfounded, and soon I couldn’t hear any sound.

I glanced back and he was already gone.

And those who were unconscious inside the iron spider were gone too.

I’m glad they listened well. Good adults.

“…His feet are incredibly fast.”

I chuckled lightly, sat down anywhere, and waited for the people I left above to come down.

* * *

It took longer than I thought for them to come down.

It took at least three hours for the mercenaries and soldiers to reach where I was.

‘They probably thought I was dead and just came to check the situation…’

I feel a bit sad, but their judgment wasn’t wrong.

It’s common to give up on fallen allies.

“E, Aileon?! You were alive!”

Of course, they were surprised as soon as they found me.

They must have thought I was dead.

“What did I say! I told you he’d be alive!”

“But we had to be careful.”

“What?”

Soldiers and mercenaries are arguing in the back.

It seems the mercenaries thought I would be alive, and the soldiers thought I would be dead.

Okay, let’s keep that in mind. Hehehehehehe.

For now, I pretended to stop them and intervened in the argument to mediate.

“I hope you all stop. It’s natural that you can’t come down rashly when you don’t know the situation.”

“……I understand.”

“Ahem! Don’t misunderstand. I certainly didn’t mean to say that I wouldn’t save you.”

“I know.”

Nilton readily apologized, but I just brushed it off lightly.

Because that’s also a lie.

“I’m really glad you’re alive.”

That’s also a lie.

……Wait? More than that, is this also a lie? Did you want me to die?

“More than that, what happened? Those iron lumps……”

“Of course, it seems they were somehow damaged by the impact of the fall.”

I explained appropriately.

However, I left out the part about the beastmen who were inside, and about that elf named Dires who ambushed me.

There’s no reason to say it.

“The problem is from now on.”

Finally, I stated my purpose.

“Problem?”

“Even with just these three iron spiders, we wouldn’t have been able to handle them easily if it hadn’t been for that accidental crash earlier.”

I deliberately started talking as if I couldn’t handle these things.

It will be quite credible.

My appearance is also a mess right now, so I look like someone who barely survived.

It wasn’t intentional, but it was worth getting hit so hard.

“These came down from the upper floors, right?”

“……That’s right.”

“Then they must be the guardians protecting this place.”

Why wouldn’t there be gatekeepers guarding something precious like a magic tome [a book containing spells and magical knowledge]?

It’s common.

Of course, they don’t doubt it.

It’s a request I made with that premise in mind.

“What about it?”

Nilton asks as if he’s dissatisfied with something.

I didn’t have a very good feeling.

Because what I’m about to say is obvious.

“We can’t handle the floors above with our current strength.”

I coldly pointed out that fact, pretending to say it.

“Let’s retreat.”

And I suggested a retreat.

This isn’t about exploring the tower.

‘I have to change the plan.’

Of course, that’s information I don’t intend to tell anyone.

I must never let them go up.

* * *

Of course, the atmosphere was completely turned upside down.

“Exploring this place is the request made by the lord, do you know what you’re saying?”

“Our job is to carry out missions, not to die in vain.”

I spoke somewhat excessively.

Those words aren’t directed at the soldiers.

It’s what I said to the mercenaries who are listening to the conversation.

“……Well.”

“We wouldn’t be able to handle it if these monsters were swarming around.”

“Just now, we weren’t confident in dealing with all three of these guys. Yes, that’s right.”

They coldly distinguished the difference in power and began to draw a line between what’s possible and what’s not.

It’s a golden rule in this industry.

A reckless guy dies.

Especially mercenaries between ranks B and A tend to adhere to that principle even more thoroughly.

Otherwise, they would have died a long time ago.

Opinions will already start to diverge among them.

Whether to continue the request as is.

Or to withdraw and reconsider.

“These guys……”

“……Knight, let me say one thing.”

One of the mercenaries lowered his voice slightly and stepped forward.

He’s a relatively old and high-ranking mercenary.

“The request is based on the premise that the current force can explore, right?”

“Y, yes, but.”

“But the situation has already changed too much.”

We can’t handle it with our strength.

It seems that the mercenaries have that perception ingrained in their minds because of my claim.

“At this rate, even the knight will be dead.”

“Ugh……”

When he mentioned it so bluntly, the knight had to rub his neck and was horrified.

His gaze is directed at the sharp claws of the broken iron spider.

“……H, but the request is.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re giving up on the request. It’s just that we need to withdraw and reconsider for now.”

“Or……”

I intervened with the intention of adding fuel to the fire.

What? I was the one who started the conversation in the first place. So I have to finish it.

“Is this perhaps a request where it doesn’t matter how many mercenaries like us die?”