How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 132

145. There are Treasures in the Basement (3)

“Tch, you just can’t stand seeing others comfortable.”

“Or what? Is your reputation just a hollow boast? Even this old man has heard of your fame as a mercenary.”

“Provocation won’t work on me, okay? Do you think I’m some jobless bum stuck in a cheap tavern?”

The red-haired woman shook her head, looking annoyed.

She, too, was a mercenary hired directly for this request.

A mercenary of S-rank according to the Empire Mercenary Association standards.

Ellaut Esselneus.

“I’ll make sure you get your money’s worth, so just wait and don’t worry, old man.”

“If you’re going to say that, why don’t you help those guys over there?”

As Clopord said, the soldiers they brought were still struggling to capture the castle.

They, too, were moved by Clopord through magic.

Thanks to that, they were able to launch a surprise attack with this many troops without being detected at all.

“Aren’t you going to help those youngsters?”

“They’re not my subordinates. And it doesn’t seem like it’s time for me to work yet.”

She would intervene if necessary.

“…And I’d like someone worth fighting to show up.”

Ellaut chuckled and didn’t abandon her attitude of just watching.

A third party, who had been shrinking and listening to their conversation silently, couldn’t stand it anymore and burst out.

“What are you saying! Can’t you cooperate more properly! With more sincerity!”

The one who raised his voice at them was none other than Nelvis Mel Falgentania.

He, who had been imprisoned in the basement just a little while ago on suspicion of colluding with the enemy, shouted as if he would spit from his mouth.

Clopord completely ignored him, and Ellaut just mouthed, ‘Ugh, annoying’.

The reason Nelvis was here was that Ellaut had directly dragged him here a little while ago.

As soon as the attack began, she briefly left her seat and returned a few minutes later carrying that brat on her back.

It seemed she had sneaked into the castle in the midst of the chaos.

No, if you had time to sneak into the castle in that chaos, shouldn’t you have completed the request instead of bringing something useless?

Clopord gave her a half-blaming look.

“…So why did you bring him?”

“…No, I just sneaked in to take a look and he was in the underground prison. I heard he was a collaborator of the Third Prince, so I brought him out just in case. …Honestly, I’ll admit it. I’m regretting it.”

Ellaut readily admitted her mistake.

Even in the midst of that, Nelvis, who had no idea what they were thinking, was shouting.

In the end, Ellaut couldn’t stand Clopord’s glare and turned to Nelvis.

“…Ah, you scruffy dude over there? We’re just watching the situation unfold for now, so why don’t you just watch quietly?”

“What if it fails while we’re doing that! More than that… Scruffy? Wait a minute!”

“Exactly. It’s not like we’re just standing by doing nothing, you know? Look, look at that chaotic scene. There’s no need for me or this old man to intervene here.”

“But you haven’t secured Elnia yet, have you!”

“Of course, we’ll secure that missy too. Because we need her. I’ve already told those guys not to kill any women in fancy clothes or maids. Got it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do your job more seriously!”

“Haa… Ah, really.”

In the end, she seemed to have reached the limit of her patience, frowned, and suddenly grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up with one hand.

“Can’t you just shut up? …You know what? I don’t really like people like you.”

The hand grabbing his collar tightened even more.

“Especially stupid people like you who don’t even appreciate their own homeland.”

“…Ugh, cough…”

“Do you understand? If you don’t understand…”

“Ah, I understand! …I understand!”

Nelvis barely moved his head.

“Yeah~ If you just keep your mouth shut like that, there won’t be any problems.”

As if that was okay, she smiled again.

Swish.

Nelvis’s head fell off.

She threw away the corpse that had lost its head as if she didn’t care.

“Yes, please shut up niiice and quietly.”

“…Heh? Not that I want to interfere, but is it okay to kill him like that? You brought him all the way here, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about, old man? Anyway, the Prince said that guy is no longer worth using and is going to be abandoned soon, so I don’t think it matters.”

She brought him in because she hoped he might have some information she hadn’t grasped.

But he didn’t have that either.

At that point, Nelvis’s fate was sealed.

“I was told to clean up before it’s over, so it’s okay to take care of it now in advance.”

“…Hoo? From what I heard, it was ‘you can kill him if he’s uncooperative’, right?”

“It’s up to the mercenary’s on-site judgment. If you’ve entrusted it to a mercenary, follow the mercenary’s method until the end. That’s common sense, right? I wonder if the eminent magician knows that?”

“I was quite active in the field when I was young, but that’s the first time I’ve heard such nonsense.”

“And anyway, we’re both just moving because we were asked to, so who’s going to complain?”

“…Fine.”

As if he didn’t want to say any more, Clopord shook his head and tapped his staff on the floor.

Doo-oong. Doong!

With a strange reverberation, a cross-shaped line was drawn in front of his eyes, and soon the line opened, revealing space.

8th Circle Space Magic, Gate [a high-level spell used for teleportation].

“Oh? Old man, are you going back already?”

“I’ve done what I was asked to do. The rest is up to you. Isn’t that enough?”

And Clopord also has things to do.

He helped with this surprise attack, so he has to return to where the Prince is and do the next thing.

Anyway, his departure was scheduled.

More than anything, this mercenary was hired to entrust the face for the attack.

The rest is her job.

“Ah. Yes, that’s right. Then go back safely.”

Ellaut waved her hand roughly, taking her eyes off the old magician who already had one foot in the space beyond the portal.

“I just want to hear one thing. So when are you going to do that thing? Mercenary?”

She was going to ask one last time to confirm.

But the answer that came back was unexpected.

“It turns out that if you drive people into a corner, they really do things you wouldn’t expect.”

Right now, it’s just an attack to provoke those inside the castle.

“The request I received wasn’t to capture the castle, but to secure the Duke’s artifact, right? I don’t know exactly where it is. But the castle is terribly large. Annoying.”

The reason Clopord didn’t smash the entire castle with magic was because he was worried that he might smash the treasure he was aiming for as well.

If it was okay to destroy everything, then that old man alone or she alone would have been enough.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Then we just have to watch until they bring it out~.”

There’s no need to go around looking for it in the chaos one by one.

Just have them bring it out themselves.

“If you set fire to a house, people will still pack up and bring out important treasures.”

Ellaut insisted and grinned.

“…Hmph, do as you please.”

Clopord disappeared beyond the gate without hesitation, as if entrusting the remaining work entirely to her.

She, who had completely taken over the mission, was just watching the situation of the Duke’s castle with binoculars.

She’s still waiting for the right time.

“So~ when will the precious person in question come out with that treasure?”

* * *

While defeating the monsters that kept appearing several times, or avoiding the traps, I clicked my tongue as if I was troubled.

Because it became a bit annoying.

“The path is too complicated…”

The traps and monsters were nothing, but what bothered me unexpectedly was the complicated path.

“Ugh, this…”

“Did you get lost again?”

We arrived at another dead end in front of us.

This is the third time already.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with this path. I almost cursed without realizing it.”

I clicked my tongue and took out the parchment, roughly redrawing the path I had taken so far and putting a checkmark on the place I had just entered.

The problem is that this is the third time I’ve come in wrong.

Is this a path!

‘They’ve twisted it in two or three layers.’

It’s quite troublesome.

The original work described the path as complicated, but I didn’t realize it would be this complicated when I actually experienced it.

‘Come to think of it, the protagonist also solved it by wandering around the path several times.’

I was prepared, but it’s a headache.

At first, I thought it would be just a maze, but it’s more maliciously complicated than an average dungeon.

“…Hmm, I’m sorry about this.”

“Didn’t you have any maps or anything?”

“It seems they didn’t even make one.”

The Princess drooped her shoulders as if she was truly disappointed.

“I sincerely think that our ancestors didn’t even trust their descendants.”

Yes, let’s curse the ancestors.

You morons, Falgentania Dukedom ancestors!

‘On the other hand, thanks to her ancestors, I can be involved like this.’

Should I be grateful from my point of view? Should I curse? It’s complicated.

“Hmm… the parchment has become quite complicated.”

The Princess peeked out from behind and looked at the parchment I was recording, and her face turned pale.

“It looks like graffiti.”

“Because the path is complicated. But at least one thing is certain.”

I put the parchment back in my arms and said.

“It will be difficult to move forward like this even if it takes several days.”

“What about going back?”

“That’s not difficult. I’ve definitely marked the path, so I’m being careful about that.”

The problem is the way forward.

There is no detailed walkthrough for this even in the original work.

Because the protagonist solved the problem with his innate talent.

‘Moreover, abilities don’t apply here.’

Since the Labyrinth Resident ability is not activated, it is impossible to explore according to intuition like when I was exploring the Deyal Dungeon in the past.

‘I could learn a new ability, but that’s a waste.’

Influence Points have been gathered unexpectedly, but I hesitated to use them right away.

In fact, there was something that kept bothering me.

I realized it a little while ago.

…….

…….

…….

…….

Points were still being generated regardless of my direct actions.

I just walked!

What is it?

‘Influence Points are being generated separately from this dungeon exploration.’

What could be the cause?

I was worried that something might have happened above, that is, outside.

Because it happens even if a situation occurs that interferes with the original work due to my actions or someone else’s actions.

But I didn’t tell Princess Elnia about that worry.

There is no definite basis, and nothing will change even if I tell her.

So the points currently collected will be used somewhere soon.

I have to prepare for the next crisis.

I’ll use it if I have to, but I don’t feel the need for it right now.

“Aileen? What are you going to do now?”

“The Princess said it would be difficult if it took time, right?”

“It’s not just that. If I have to. I don’t mind if it takes some time. I don’t mind sleeping outside.”

“I don’t like that! And what kind of precious young lady is talking about sleeping outside?”

“Aileen, what terrible prejudice are you talking about? Did you expect me to say something extravagant like ‘I can’t sleep unless it’s a bed’ here?”

“No. I want to say that.”

“…You can’t sleep.”

Actually, I’m annoyed.

These days, I can’t sleep well unless it’s a pretty expensive hotel bed, right?

So I want to solve it as quickly as possible.

“I can’t help it, Princess. First of all. In order to break through here, can I do anything?”

“Hmm? I don’t mind that. …Wait a minute. Aileen, what are you going to do?”

“It’s nothing. Just…”

After receiving confirmation, I reached out to the wall.

Summon the gnome to grasp the structure of the wall.

It’s impossible if it’s a dungeon, but this is just a building.

If it’s just a simple stone, I can grasp the thickness.

“How is it?”

-About this much! Maybe this much!

The image the gnome is explaining is roughly sympathetic.

“Hmm, hmm. That’s about right.”

Smiling, I summoned the shadow spirit, Plulite, next.

“Got it? Carve it out beautifully. Pretty is the key.”

-Nyaa~.

Plulite starts to manipulate the shadows, making a cat-like sound.

The shadow soared and pierced the wall as it was.

“Aileen, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see.”

The shadow blade that was inserted soon rotated, carving out only a part of the wall in a circle.

And.

“Hutcha!”

When I lightly kicked and pushed out the carved area.

Thud!

The neatly cut cross-section of the wall was pushed out, creating a passage.

“Tada! Here’s the way.”

I bowed politely and pretended to guide them.