How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 29

Punishment with Punishment (4)

‘The crime guild… I don’t like them, but they must have a lot stashed away.’

I know the evil deeds they have committed.

Human trafficking, illegal trading of unauthorized items, collecting protection money, and so on…….

Clearly, the profits they’ve made from these must be substantial.

The store was destroyed in the attack, and I need to buy new magic tools.

I need to at least make up for the losses.

Let’s take what we can.

‘If possible, I hope there’s something I can immediately benefit from…….’

I hurriedly began searching the hideout.

First, the warehouse has several types of herbs.

Some I can use, but most of them are probably prohibited items for trade.

‘It’s too risky to use those and get caught…… I’ll give up on that…….’

After continuing to search the warehouse and other places, I entered a room at the end of the hallway.

Unlike the other rooms, it’s quite tidy.

There are expensive-looking liquor bottles and several high-quality swords standing [leaning against the wall].

It’s easy to guess whose room it is.

‘Is this Singel’s room?’

If so, there must be something worth taking.

‘Usually, the boss or a close aide directly manages most of the funds.’

I searched his room.

I overturned all the furniture and felt along the walls and floor as I searched.

Then, when I moved one of the drawers, I saw a scratch on the floor.

‘It’s here!’

I immediately pried open the floor, and inside was a chest filled with precious metals.

I don’t have an eye for the value of jewels, but it’s definitely enough to buy the store I couldn’t afford at least thirty times over.

‘But I can’t exchange it right away.’

Let’s keep this for now and exchange it little by little.

I also found additional cash that I could use immediately.

Roughly estimating, there are 70 gold coins, 80 silver coins, and I gave up counting the copper coins.

‘……Just carrying the money bag alone would be quite a struggle.’

If it’s such a heavy load, it’s fine if it’s even heavier.

There’s nothing more to take.

I decided to leave without any regrets.

This is the end of my bad relationship with this damned crime organization.

This minor neighborhood dispute has come to an end.

* * *

Two days later, the entire city was in an uproar.

The news of the Black Serpent crime guild, which had been a nuisance, being annihilated was revealed.

A passerby who suspiciously noticed that their hideout was unusually quiet peeked inside and was horrified to find it full of corpses, and reported it.

After that, the rumor spread quickly.

Soldiers were going in and out for investigation and cleanup, so it couldn’t be hidden.

More than anything, the Black Serpent’s collectors, who had been harassing merchants and citizens, were nowhere to be seen, so naturally, the truth was bound to come out.

“Kya! That’s so refreshing.”

“Of course, they received divine punishment. Absolutely!”

Even after hearing the news, no one felt any sympathy for them.

They were just a bunch of people who had accumulated a lot of resentment.

No one would dislike celebrating with a dance.

“But who on earth punished them?”

“How would I know? Even the soldiers in charge of the investigation don’t know.”

They conducted an investigation, but found nothing.

All they found was that the Black Serpent was annihilated without any signs of resistance.

They examined the man who was the only one with signs of a fight, but in the end, they found nothing.

“Who cares who he is?”

“Thanks to him, people like us can stretch our legs and sleep comfortably from now on.”

The citizens simply expressed their gratitude to the unknown person, chattering and toasting.

* * *

You have generated a minor influence.

Influence is converted into points.

Acquired Influence Points: 2pt

Remaining Influence Points: 29pt

Huh? Influence points are coming in little by little even though I’m not doing anything?

I can guess the reason.

‘Tch, that topic hasn’t died down yet…….’

The Black Serpent annihilation incident.

That topic, as it’s called, is still spreading throughout the world.

Of course, because I’m the culprit. I’m the culprit!

Fortunately, I haven’t received any suspicious glances.

Even if they investigate, there’s no way for them to notice my actions.

They probably know about me causing a ruckus at the store and the nighttime attack.

However, they can’t identify the culprit based on resentment alone.

‘Everyone has a motive.’

If they were to identify the culprit based on resentment, most of the citizens living in this city would be suspicious.

The soldiers came to me a few times to ask questions, but they just went back after I made up some excuses.

‘More than anything, this case isn’t worth investigating that much.’

It’s not like they have no means of investigation at all.

However, it’s something that consumes a significant amount of manpower and money.

There’s no way they would waste that just to uncover the truth about the crime guild’s annihilation.

This case will be buried without anything being known.

‘That’s better for me too.’

There’s no benefit to be gained from it being known.

It’s not like anyone will give me an award for doing a good job.

Rather, the number of guys who are wary of me will only increase.

It’s not like all the crime guilds have been annihilated yet, so other crime guilds might try to get rid of me.

I’ve already taken plenty of profits, so there’s nothing to be sorry about.

Let’s forget about the Black Serpent or whatever it was.

‘The problem is what’s next…….’

I’ve been resting and thinking little by little for the past few days, forgetting about business.

Even if I wanted to work, I couldn’t.

I had to clean up the corpses, wipe up the blood, and buy new things to replace the broken ones.

I had plenty of time to worry about the future.

I thought about it while slowly eating the food I bought from a street vendor earlier.

‘It’s unsettling to barely win a drawn-out battle against a mere gang leader.’

The problems I realized last time are mountainous [numerous and significant].

I’ve thought about improvement measures, but it takes time.

I’m not going to neglect effort, but I need a shortcut.

I need a way to get stronger!

‘Besides steady training, what I need is…… that, after all?’

It’s not like there’s no way at all.

The original work mentioned numerous ways to get stronger.

Training methods. Serendipity [fortunate chance or accident]. Or drugs. Modification, etc…….

There’s a training method that the protagonist used, and there are methods he made others do.

Let’s use the information more actively.

No, not just use it.

‘Let’s steal it.’

If it’s this time, I can guess exactly one way to get great power at once.

‘I have to go to the dungeon.’

I have information.

Information called the original work.

Considering that I’ve encountered extras and minor villains one after another, the information from the original work that I know is likely to match up quite a bit.

‘The problem is how far I can utilize that information…….’

If I use it too much, I’ll end up interfering with the protagonist’s actions.

I have to avoid that at all costs.

‘If, by any chance, the protagonist fails to get what he needs and loses or dies, it’ll become troublesome…….’

Because that guy and his friends have to save the world.

I’m not going to replace him, so I have no intention of interfering with him if possible.

Let him save the world alone.

I won’t do it.

‘A line where I can benefit without interfering with the actions of the protagonist or main characters.’

It seems picky, but it’s not impossible.

I just have to avoid the main characters’ actions.

‘For example, even if Rood or Singel disappear, it won’t greatly affect the plot.’

Even if they disappear, the protagonist won’t face great adversity or fail to get what he needs.

There are many guys like that among the minor characters.

Minor characters! Petty villains!

‘I just have to steal what those guys have!’

Until now, I’ve been getting the spoils of war from villains I happened to encounter.

This time, I’m going to actively steal it.

The place I thought of for that is the dungeon.

It’s a clue I barely managed to recall while recalling and recalling the descriptions from the beginning of the original work.

It’s a kind of MacGuffin [a plot device or goal that drives the motivation of the characters] that only exists as a setting.

‘……Deyal Dungeon!’

Deyal Territory, which is about 20 days away on foot from here.

A dungeon will be discovered there.

The basis is a statement from a certain character in Volume 3 of the original work.

Galden.

Presumably, that guy’s role is around a minor character.

His first appearance is at the end of Volume 1.

He appears as a cadet who is strangely competitive with the protagonist, who entered Roant Academy, which is run by the kingdom to learn more about the world.

However, whether he’s in a rival position is somewhat ambiguous.

Because it was clear that his skills were far behind.

He was overwhelmingly defeated even in mock battles.

‘He’s a so-called minor character who makes the protagonist stand out.’

Even so, it’s not like he’s an unskilled person.

It’s just that the protagonist is a cheat [overpowered or unfair advantage].

He leaves the academy around the vampire incident in the middle of Volume 2.

The reason is revealed from the middle of Volume 3.

When he reappears, Galden reveals his true colors.

As a villain.

When he reappears, he doesn’t hide his villainous side and reveals that he’s a member of some secret organization.

And he reveals his ambition in front of the protagonist.

This power is the power I obtained by conquering the Deyal Dungeon! With this power alone…… With this power alone, no one in the organization will ignore me anymore! I can even defeat the executives!

He will block the protagonist’s path while showing off the ability he obtained from the dungeon.

However, the development after that was futile.

‘In the end, that guy couldn’t even fight Sylvester again.’

He reappeared after all that effort, but died in the very next scene.

The executive of that organization, who was displeased with his solo actions, pierced Galden from behind and killed him.

‘At the time, he got quite a bit of flak [criticism] for that development, right?’

Even now, when I recall that content, I’m a little doubtful as to why the author developed it this way.

Is this all?

There were many unexpected developments even after that.

But I’m grateful for that sloppy development now.

Thanks to it, I survived!

‘Thanks to that guy’s futile end, I saw a way to get stronger.’

The mentioned dungeon.

A villain who obtained abilities but couldn’t use them properly and met a futile end.

Isn’t that a good prey!

Such a pushover is always welcome!

‘Even if I steal the dungeon that Galden will obtain first, no problem will arise.’

Whether that guy is there or not, the flow of the original work is established.

In the first place, Volume 3 deals with a separate incident, and Galden only popped up in the middle.

Even if that guy doesn’t get the ability, the original story will probably unfold without any problems.

So let’s preempt the Deyal Dungeon.

‘The fact that Singel is here means that the current time is before he goes to the organization meeting.’

If so, the current time is around the beginning of Volume 2.

The time flow of Volume 2 takes about three months for the incident to end.

In the meantime, while the protagonist defeats the Vampire Lord, Galden conquers the Deyal Dungeon outside the original story.

‘There’s no news yet that the Deyal Dungeon has been discovered.’

I quickly spun my thoughts in my head.

I immediately began to come up with a schedule that would likely match that time.

‘……The departure deadline would be about two months from now.’

Even considering the preparation period, I can’t spend more than that.

It’ll be too late.

Let’s get what we need, find and conquer the dungeon, and get the rewards.

What do I need?

‘First of all, it’s money.’

Money is everything.

Everything is connected to money.

From travel expenses to necessary equipment.

Food, a place to sleep, etc., it’s impossible to have everything without money.

For now, I have the Black Serpent’s funds in gold coins, so I can cover quite a bit.

I can also slowly dispose of the jewels.

I don’t have to worry about travel expenses with this.

‘The problem is that it’s still a little short.’

To be clear, it’s not like I don’t have money.

I’ve obtained enough gold coins to not starve for the rest of my life if I live normally.

But it’s far too insufficient to live safely in this original work.

‘The problem is that I don’t have enough gold coins…… not nearly enough.’

If I want to get stronger, I have to go to the dungeon.

If I want to go to the dungeon, I have to prepare as quickly as possible, but the problem is that I need money.

I want to try to conquer the dungeon in the best possible condition.

I’ve also thought about the sales I can make while opening the store for the remaining period, but it’s still quite tight.

Then there’s only one way.

“Two months…… I have to work hard.”

That’s the only way.