How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 272

The Stolen Center (3)

“An illusion… like a hallucination?”

“It’s different in specifics… but let’s just say it’s something similar.”

If it were a simple hallucination, I likely wouldn’t be fooled in my current state.

Of course, if the opponent were a top-tier expert, they might have a way to trick me, but that would only be possible if they were directly targeting me.

Yet, even to my eyes, the Empire’s city and the citizens living here look incredibly vivid.

‘…I’ve figured out the trick itself.’

If I hadn’t known, I would have been confused too.

But for now, I won’t act like I know more than I do.

“It seems they’ve disguised it somehow…”

“Only the appearance, though. It’s strange that no one is going in or out from the start.”

It means they’re not trying to deceive us completely.

Just…

“Is it a trap?”

“…That sounds even more dangerous.”

“I’ve roughly grasped their intentions, so let’s leave it alone for now.”

Breaking the illusion itself is possible at any time.

With that said, I decided to explore the interior first.

“As long as we pretend to be fooled, nothing much will happen… for now.”

“If you say so…”

Yoon Han seems scared, but he seems to trust me since I assured him, and he hesitantly takes the lead to guide me through the city.

“The Imperial Palace is straight down this road… Shall we go?”

Are you crazy?

Who’s dumb enough to rush into the boss’s area as soon as they arrive?

I’m not that naive.

“Walking straight to the Imperial Palace right now is like openly challenging them to a duel, so let’s hold back.”

“But…”

“I understand you’re worried about the Princess, but there’s nothing we can do.”

“…I understand.”

“But Aileon? What exactly are you concerned about?”

He must be curious about my intention to wander around even though I know this is a false scene.

“I wanted to assess the situation, and there’s something that bothers me. There’s something I want to find.”

“Hmm?”

Actually, there is something I’m looking for.

I don’t care about this false scene, but if my guess is correct, there must be traces somewhere.

“It seems a bit difficult to find just by wandering around…”

Did I overthink it?

“Let’s look around a bit more, and if it doesn’t work…”

I was about to say I’d change my plan when…

It’s noisy.

“It’s over there.”

Yoon Han also noticed and turned his head towards the direction of the sound.

Sure enough, hiding and looking, I saw two kids being held and dangled by what appeared to be shop owners in the shopping district.

“…It just looks like they were caught stealing something.”

“Indeed, it does.”

I nodded seriously and subtly stepped forward.

“Aileon?”

Crusoe and Yoon Han seemed not to expect what I would do, and they blankly watched.

I gestured that this was okay and approached the center of the commotion.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Let me ask first. Did those kids do something wrong?”

“It’s none of your business. Or are you an acquaintance of these kids?”

“No. I don’t know them. I don’t even know whose kids they are.”

I smiled and looked at the names of the two kids.

And conversely, I looked above the heads of the merchants who caught them.

There’s nothing there.

There is no name.

Since entering this island, there hasn’t been a single name above the heads of any of the people I’ve met.

Only I could know.

“So, kids? I’ll tell you in advance, close your eyes. It’s going to be a bit dazzling.”

The kids didn’t know what to do but closed their eyes as instructed.

Boom!

The lightning that Sprite struck swept through the merchants, shattering them into pieces.

Nice shot.

“Wait a minute! What are you doing?!”

Eventually, Yoon Han was startled and disobeyed the order to hide, jumping out.

“What… what are you doing…”

“I’ll tell you in advance, those aren’t humans.”

“…Pardon?”

“The real humans are these ones.”

I subtly lifted the kids I had caught in the meantime and said.

But why are these kids looking at me with eyes that fear me more like a monster than they did the merchants earlier?

“…Imperial Knight, look at those fragments.”

Crusoe pointed to the floor, as if Yoon Han still didn’t understand the situation.

The merchants who were shattered by the spirit’s lightning I had just struck.

Yoon Han turned his gaze away, trembling as if he had seen something terrible, but soon he was shocked.

“…Crystal shards?”

“See? They’re not human, right?”

What was shattered was definitely not fragments of something that used to be human.

They are shards of crystal with a reddish tinge.

“This is the identity of this city that they have disguised.”

I had noticed it from the beginning.

Simply because I couldn’t see their names and roles.

Thanks to that, I could guess what kind of tricks these guys were using to some extent.

“Among the villains, there is someone called the Empress. This is a fake made with her ability. They made it really well.”

“Why go through such a troublesome process?”

Crusoe asked back as if he couldn’t understand.

It’s certainly a troublesome task.

“There must be some meaning behind it.”

I can’t know that much.

Because it wasn’t something that happened in the original story.

“At least, I don’t think they would do this just because they’re bored…”

I’ll find out gradually.

“Well, I don’t know what the conclusion is, but anyway, these kids will know.”

“Ah…”

The two people’s eyes turned to the kids I had rescued just now.

I, who pointed out that all the humans in this city are fake, deliberately intervened and saved them.

“Those children are real humans.”

“As Mr. Crusoe said, they are real humans.”

I don’t know how humans became such rare beings, but anyway, they are humans I found like finding a bean in a drought.

I’m really glad.

The kids were focused on our attention.

“Aaaaaah…”

For some reason, they are terrified.

“Um, I just defeated the scary monsters?”

I approach them to mean that it’s okay, but for some reason, they step back and sit down.

…I’m hurt, me.

“Do I look scary?”

“Rather than that, you, who shattered those fakes in an instant, look more like a monster. It’s understandable.”

Crusoe says coldly.

That hurts even more.

At this rate, it doesn’t seem like it will get better even if Yoon Han or I approach.

Should I calm them down with the Sandman [a being or spell that induces sleep] once? If I make them a little sleepy, their fear will subside?

As I was thinking about such convenient and ominous things.

“…Sigh, you two step back for now.”

For some reason, Crusoe looked at us both with pitiful eyes, then pushed us back and stepped forward to approach the kids.

She’s probably going to calm the children and ask them about the situation instead of us.

“Can she do it?”

“Well? Mr. Crusoe is usually blunt and overbearing, right? She’ll be just as scary as we are?”

“You’re both noisy.”

See?

Anyway, Crusoe approached the children and then.

“Hey kids, are you okay?”

…Who are you?

A gentle voice that is not like her usual self.

To put it roughly, it’s like the voice of a host sister of a children’s educational program that airs in the morning when I lived on Earth.

“You were almost in a dangerous situation. Are you hurt?”

Is it because a kind and beautiful older sister is more friendly than two blunt men?

According to such dirty world principles, there is a change in the attitude of the kids.

I think I can hear a triumphant hallucination saying, ‘See? Right?’

“…Um.”

“Yes? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah, no…”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about those two people. Even though they look like that, they are both kind people.”

Kinddddddddddd?

I want to argue about a hundred things about the phrase ‘even though they look like that,’ but I held back for now.

Anyway, it’s important to get information from those kids.

And…….

“…Mr. Yoon Han, I’m asking this now, but you know how to use a sword to some extent, right?”

“…At least I’m at the Aura Practitioner level [a skilled martial artist who can manipulate their life force].”

“Hmm… you’re not completely useless.”

Well, it would be funny if a guard knight, even if he’s a low-ranking one, couldn’t use a sword at all.

“Then, when I signal, I want you to protect those two kids.”

“What?”

“There’s no time to explain. …Actually, saving those two kids was quite accidental.”

A late confession now.

Originally, I had no intention of causing a commotion.

However, I knew what would happen if those kids were caught, so I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“…They’re coming.”

As I raised my head.

I felt a presence on the building.

Citizens, or rather, fake citizens.

“Haa… Thinking about it, it’s a natural thing. I smashed them so loudly.”

Crusoe sighed as if she understood.

“They will tolerate simply wandering around, but they will not allow causing a commotion. …Probably.”

And my actions are no different from hostile acts.

In other words.

“Should we call that combat mode?”

The skin of the fake citizens melted as if it were flowing down, and soon only the blood-colored crystal bodies that were the skeletons inside were revealed.

The kids shrink back when they see it.

When I winked, Yoon Han blocked the front of the kids as if protecting them, as I instructed.

Crusoe also told the children, “Don’t leave that knight,” and grabbed her staff tightly and stepped forward.

“Do those things have combat power?”

“At least they have the power of a soldier who has reached the end of Aura Practice.”

It seems like nothing, but there are many of them.

And it’s annoying.

“Crystal Doll.”

It is one of the Empress’s main soldiers.

One of the abilities to automatically track targets conditionally, regardless of the will of the main body.

It’s really annoying.

“First of all, we have to thoroughly destroy these guys.”

I shouted, drew Killmuris, straightened my aura, and swung it.

At that moment, the sword I swung hit the torso of the Crystal Doll that had flown right in front of me.

Kaga Gaga Gaga Gaga!

A roar like scraping metal rang out, and the guy held on.

“Where do you think you’re going! You should be shattered like a piece of crystal!”

I roughly grabbed the sword with both hands as if cutting it with force and flew it as it is.

The Crystal Doll, which was split in two, spun around in the air and crashed into the ground.

“Haa… ha. It’s hard to cut…….”

It seems that the saying that it is harder than ordinary metal is not a joke.

‘…It feels like the power of the sword is being halved.’

The only reason I could cut it was because the density of my sword was high, and the rest was because I pushed it with brute force.

“Did you get rid of it?”

“What do you mean, this is just the beginning.”

It’s not over just because I’ve dealt with these things a little.

Pajijijijijijijik.

A noise like crystal shards rubbing together rang out, and dozens of Crystal Dolls additionally appeared.

“Aileon! Behind you!”

As I understood and quickly jumped back, Crusoe chanted magic as if taking over.

“Plasma Nova!”

A sphere of fire swelled and swallowed the Crystal Dolls as it was.

As the fire went out.

The melted crystal dolls sat down as they were.

“…I can’t believe it. Even ordinary steel would evaporate as it is.”

“The durability of these guys is not normal. It will be difficult to destroy them unless you push them with force.”

I swallowed dry saliva, enduring the still-felt heat.

The broken Crystal Dolls start moving again.

The guy I smashed is reassembling the broken body again.

Those that were melted by Crusoe’s magic are solidifying back to their original shape as if their shape is being rewound.

“These guys also have an infinite resurrection gimmick.”

“…What’s the solution?”

“You have to kill the main body that made these things.”

I’m not kidding.

That’s really the only way.

Even in the original story, even the main character shuddered at this ability of the Empress.