How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 110

121. Meeting and Grace as Planned (2)

I used magic to thoroughly conceal my sound and presence.

Hiding in the bushes, I spotted someone running through the forest and watched closely.

From what I could see, it was a woman dressed as a maid, carrying someone on her shoulder.

‘Suspicious.’

It was obvious at a glance. She reeked of villainy.

That’s right.

Cindy was the name of the kidnapper Sylvester encountered back then.

A maid who had served the princess for over 10 years.

But her true identity was a kidnapper who had been bought off by the Empire ten years ago.

A so-called double-jobbing maid.

‘Is it that hard for maids to make a living? Kidnapping their own masters.’

Thinking such nonsense, I looked at the baggage on the maid’s shoulder.

The woman who was the victim of the current kidnapping.

Okay. It’s the princess herself they’re after.

‘I can intervene right away.’

First, let’s stop that maid.

I reached out and summoned a bolt of spirit lightning, firing it off lightly.

But not to hit her.

If I mess up, the person I’m trying to rescue could get electrocuted too.

Unfortunately, the princess being delivered alive right now has almost no combat ability.

In other words, she’s dead weight.

If she gets grazed even once, she might die.

The blue flash of light fell right in front of the fleeing maid, and she reflexively jumped back to create distance.

‘……She’s quite cautious. She doesn’t show any rash behavior right away.’

She’s even refraining from looking around to focus.

More than anything, she shows no sign of dropping the hostage.

‘I need to separate the hostage from her somehow…….’

I might be able to precisely pierce her with lightning if I aim, but there’s still a chance of messing up.

So, trying that would not be a wise move.

‘……I’ll have to bait her a little.’

If she doesn’t show any openings, I’ll have to make her show one.

I drew up mana and began to chant a spell.

2nd Circle Magic, Illusion Siren.

A prank-like magic that creates auditory or visual hallucinations.

With my current level of achievement, it’s difficult to create illusions, but I can make them mistake things with auditory hallucinations.

“……Tch!”

At that moment, the maid suddenly clicked her tongue and jumped to the side.

She fell for the auditory hallucination I created.

‘According to plan.’

I immediately activated spatial teleportation, preemptively appearing in the direction the maid was jumping.

Even if she notices, it’s too late now.

“Hello? Maid-nim [term of polite address]? You’ve worked hard running with that baggage.”

“……!!”

As the maid gasped in shock, my fist, which I had put all my strength into, slammed into her side.

“It looks heavy, so I’ll carry that baggage for you. Ah, you don’t have to refuse. My kindness is mandatory.”

I’m not confident in hand-to-hand combat, but hitting a target that’s right in front of me isn’t that difficult.

Thud!

As if an iron ball had been embedded in her torso, the maid’s waist twisted at an angle that it shouldn’t, and she was thrown away.

And the impact made her drop the hostage, the princess.

“Oops, you shouldn’t drop the hostage.”

I summoned gnomes and sylphs [earth and air spirits] to catch the princess with fine grains of sand and wind, and then firmly wrapped her up.

Instant sand house complete.

If I protect her like this, she won’t get hit by stray bullets.

‘For now, stay in there…… until the situation is sorted out.’

Because there’s a former maid over there who’s still sending out murderous intent filled with poison, I need to finish that first.

“……You, how dare you interfere.”

The maid, Cindy, who had been hit by me and flew away, gets up.

She recovered even though she was hit head-on?

I felt like I broke a bone or two when I hit her?

Looking closely, there’s a bottle rolling around at her feet.

She even prepared potions?

‘Well, originally, in this development, she was supposed to face the protagonist for a few moves before getting cut down…….’

Presumably, she’s an Advanced Aura Practitioner [someone who can use their life energy to enhance their abilities].

If she were any higher than that, she wouldn’t have fallen for my pathetic trick.

‘It’s okay, that’s enough to fight.’

While I was thinking, the maid took out a weapon first.

A rather thin short sword.

It’s thinner than what’s normally used, probably to be used as a throwing weapon.

A faint blue light flickered on the blade.

“I won’t allow interference. I have to get it back.”

I can see her firm will not to give up.

A determined resolve.

“Huh? ……Wait? Why do I have to hear those words from a kidnapper or something?”

Despite my protest, the maid Cindy charges at me.

“No time for unnecessary 余裕 [leeway/composure]…….”

“There’s no time to spare…… I know that!”

I half-ignored the maid charging straight at me and scattered lightning with spirit magic in all directions.

“Not you, I’m talking about those friends over there!”

“H-How?!”

The maid Cindy flinched and was shocked.

“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t know that? That there were other ambushes?”

The lightning that spread in all directions wrapped around the group in black clothes that were trying to ambush me from my blind spot.

“Kkeuaaaaaaak!”

The electrocuted guys rolled on the floor, and I finished them off by striking them with lightning several more times.

As expected, the guys who just died are also villains who should appear in this incident.

‘That’s right. Of course, there’s no way they wouldn’t have a group.’

Bad deeds are more reassuring when done in groups.

The number of enemies Sylvester took down when rescuing the princess in Volume 4 was seven in total, including everyone.

‘For now, the corpses I’ve taken care of…… four.’

Excluding that maid, there are still at least two more hiding.

‘No, maybe I should assume there are more than that, just in case.’

Let’s assume that there are three enemies remaining, and that there may be more.

It’s better to think that way, just in case, so it’ll be easier to respond when something happens.

At that time, the faintly felt sound suddenly stopped unnaturally.

‘They hid again.’

They don’t think that a simple ambush will work, so they’re hiding their presence and waiting for me to show an opening.

The maid also jumped back to create distance.

I can feel the murderous intent to find an opening and stab me.

How annoying.

More than anything, those guys are making one mistake.

Why do they think I have to fight those guys who are hiding their presence until the end?

“……First, I advise one thing. Double-jobbing maid-nim and those detestable friends.”

“…….”

“You guys better run away right now.”

I smiled and raised my hand.

In the air, spheres of lightning, fireballs, water bombs, and all kinds of elemental orbs floated.

Random spirit magic activation.

Only then did the maid feel that the power I possessed was unusual, and her voice trembled.

“……What are you doing?”

“What else could it be, it’s obvious.”

What’s the most correct choice I can make in this situation?

Bravely and quietly fight against the villains?

Wrong.

The protagonist did that, but I’m not that brave.

So, like an ordinary citizen.

“Oh my, everyone come out and see! There are kidnappers here! Someone’s going to die!”

Reporting it is normal.

Don’t underestimate the common sense of a working adult.

This is how you screw them over!

I shouted loudly and scattered all sorts of elemental attacks from the spirits in all directions, spreading them out and dropping them.

There’s no need to aim.

Kwaang! Kwakakakakakang!

They landed with loud explosions and light, making the area noisy.

I don’t care if they hit or not, it’s indiscriminate bombing.

I think I can feel the kidnappers’ dumbfounded emotions.

“What are you doing…… Have you lost your mind?”

“Huh? Well, if I do this, the knights will come soon after hearing the commotion without me having to deal with you, right? Right?”

“Kteut!”

Only then did they realize my intention, and the kidnappers seemed anxious and swallowed their breaths.

They must have already noticed the princess’s disappearance and a commotion must have broken out.

With this much noise, the sound can be heard from far away, and it even flickers with flames and light.

If they still don’t notice, they should all return their positions.

More than anything, there’s no reason for me to fight quietly.

I have justification, and if I make as much noise as possible to attract attention, it’s over.

“So, what are you going to do?”

Someone will come after hearing the commotion.

Most likely, it’s the knights from the principality.

In the meantime, can those guys defeat me and transport the princess?

Impossible.

I raised the corners of my lips and gestured provocatively.

“Well~ can you keep going?”

I know. It’s impossible.

“If you want to keep going, you can come at me as much as you want, I don’t mind?”

So, come at me as much as you want.

I win just by holding out.

Is it because I was tired from staying up all night?

For some reason, I enjoy messing with the enemy like this.

Come on! Be frustrated! Be upset!

“Y-You cowardly bastard!”

“Hey, even so, that’s not right. How can you say such things from your mouths.”

At least I’m different from you.

Because I’m justice!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the kidnappers soon chose to retreat.

“……I’ll remember this.”

“……You’ll regret that choice.”

The kidnappers spit out additional words.

Geez, they talk a lot.

“Hmph, regret? Don’t make me laugh.”

I don’t chase after them.

That’s even more dangerous.

Even though they look like that, they’re experts in ambushes, so there’s no guarantee that I can completely subdue them.

However, I don’t let my guard down because they sometimes attack while pretending to retreat.

‘People will come soon…….’

First, I stopped the original work’s character from being kidnapped.

I tapped the sand house that was protecting her.

“It’s safe now. Release.”

At my command, the sand house collapsed and disappeared.

And I saw the hostage who was still peacefully out of it.

The main character of Volume 4, Princess Elnia Mel Falgentania.

No doubt about it.

That was roughly the description.

Not only her name but also her appearance is clearly no different from the person in the original work I read.

But this lady is still sleeping soundly even in this situation.

‘Should I wake her up first?’

I thought about making a bucket of water as big as a washbasin and splashing it on her, but I thought that was a bit too much, so I canceled it.

People’s actions determine their first impression.

There’s no reason to deliberately mess with her.

‘I can leave her alone for now.’

It doesn’t seem like she was given poison or a sleeping pill.

I also have an antidote just in case.

If necessary, I can lend her an antidote artifact.

After waiting for a while, she groaned as if she was uncomfortable, “Ugh…… ugh ugh ugh,” and shook her head.

Thinking about it, her fate is also unfortunate.

To be honest, I don’t know what it feels like.

Should I ask her sometime if I get the chance?

Soon, she regained consciousness, slowly opened her eyes, and blankly raised her head.

“……Ugh ugh ugh. It hurts.”

“Oh dear. Looks like you bumped into something. Here, I have a potion. It’ll be a little effective for bruises.”

I slipped her a potion.

She accepts it obediently.

She listens well.

“Ah…… sand…… it’s scratchy.”

“Because I unintentionally threw you into a pile of sand. I won’t accept any complaints. It’s a world where people do sand baths on purpose. Ah, is there no such thing here? If it’s uncomfortable, take a bath later.”

“Yeah, that’s right…….”

It seems like she hasn’t grasped the situation yet.

She drank the potion as she was told and looked around blankly, then she realized something was wrong.

“Ugh, why is the room so cold?”

“Because this isn’t the princess’s room. This is a remote forest near the castle.”

“……Aha, that’s right……”

She nodded languidly with a feeling that she didn’t understand at all, then lay down again.

No, if you sleep there again, your mouth will turn crooked, lady.

What kind of noble lady suddenly sleeps on the street.

Even in the original work, she had a bit of a selfish disposition, but this isn’t it.

“Then Cindy? Wake me up later…….”

And then she stopped talking as if she belatedly thought something was wrong.

“……Cindy?”

I slowly sighed and then.

“I’m not Cindy. Cindy is…… well, she’s probably running hard in the forest right now.”

Bye-bye, Cindy.

I hope you don’t make it safely back to your hometown.

“……Ugh!”

Only then did she shrink back in full alert and backed away.

“Who, who are you? What are you doing to me…….”

“No. Gee, you’re asking that quickly.”

Well, she fainted and woke up to find a strange boy talking back to her in a forest, so she’s about to faint again.

It’s commendable that she’s not crying.

If it were a more difficult situation, I would have considered knocking her out again, but at least I don’t need to bother with that.

What should I say?

Let’s drop the pointless jokes.

I can’t give her a good impression, but I have to reassure her.

“Please rest assured. You were being dragged away by someone, and I, who was passing by, happened to find you and intervened a little on the spot. It was a coincidence, though.”

I emphasize ‘passing by’ and ‘coincidence’ as much as possible.

Especially coincidence is important! Coincidence!

Because coincidence is where you save the world!