Chapter 85
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In front of the “Silver Orchid” base in the 4th District of the dungeon.
A group of “Gem Snake” men was stationed a few hundred meters away.
It’s generally said that it’s better not to get too close, and this was the edge of that distance.
They say this distance is safe from Ferris’s attacks, but Ferris was… now watching them from a ladder leaned against the base’s fence.
”There’s not a thousand of them. But the fact that they’re here means…”
’It means they don’t need to set a trap to control you.’
When I replied while watching them too, Ferris climbed down the ladder, and I followed.
”It was them who got impatient and came out. They probably thought your supply transport would eventually stop, but since it keeps happening every day, they couldn’t just wait around for something that might not come.”
’It seems that way.’
It had been a week since Ferris decided to stay here, and I had been making multiple trips with a cart from “Hooters” to bring necessary supplies.
Because of that, my plans with Ms. Monoka kept getting postponed, and every time I delivered magic stones to the orphanage, she actively invited me, and yesterday, she even tried to kiss me.
Since I was keeping an eye on the “Gem Snake” movements while loading up at “Hooters,” I had built up some supplies.
So, I ended up in a bit of a bind, but I had to be careful since Nero and the others might see me.
That aside.
Of course, it was unclear if they were part of “Gem Snake,” but someone tried to stop me… then me as “Fraud” showed up and dealt with them, so those kinds of people stopped appearing.
Of course, it was me who did that, and “Fraud” was just a fake image created with “Magic Armor.”
While I was transporting as many supplies as I could every day, I received information that they were planning to invade this base.
With that many people, it was something anyone could find out.
Because “Mose” was noticeable to “Gem Snake,” I was at “Hooters,” and when I got the message from “Silver Orchid,” I turned invisible and jumped over the square in front of the dungeon where they were preparing to attack, and I informed Ferris first.
After “Silver Orchid” set up a defense, a large number of them arrived.
I don’t know why they stopped waiting in the town, but now that they were here, we had to respond.
’So, what do you plan to do?’
When I asked, Ferris answered with a look of disbelief.
”What do you mean? If they take that position, it’s going to be a hassle, right? I’ll take care of it.”
’Since they came out, I think you should consider that they can control you here too…’
”Then it’s even more reason to deal with it quickly, right? If they can control me anywhere, I won’t know where they’ll strike next, and I have to stay on guard until this is resolved. That’s just a pain.”
Well, that’s a fair point.
Plus… the amount of supplies I bring to this base is limited, and it’s like this place is being starved out.
If I could create the necessary supplies with “Imitation,” it might have been a better situation, but the supplies I brought in were sourced from “Hooters,” and when Ferris returned to the town, she would question the difference between the amount shipped by “Hooters” and what arrived at the base, so I held off on that.
As a result, some women at this base started tempting me to help them with food and other things.
Not all the women here are scared of or dislike men; many seem to be people who were targeted by “Gem Snake” and were rescued.
Of course, I turned down those requests.
I could have given them supplies as if I personally sourced them and received payment, but it was clear that if I got caught, it would lead to trouble.
Since they were targeted by “Gem Snake,” they were good-looking, and those women would show off their bodies to me.
Given that I couldn’t hold back, I took Ms. Monoka’s ‘invitation’ and let her suck me.
And then, the other party (Gem Snake) arrived at such a place.
It’s not hard to imagine that the mental burden would be great in a situation where “Gem Snake” could attack at any moment, and that it could turn into something bad.
It’s not impossible for a small incident to trigger a fight when stress builds up too much.
It’s not clear how much Ferris is aware of this, but
”I have to get rid of them as soon as I find them…”
It seems that she considers anyone with such power as an entity that should be eliminated.
If that’s the case, my “invisibility” might also become a target for elimination… what should I do?
It would be best if I didn’t have to use it.
* * *
As we were talking, Ferris and the other combat forces of “Silver Orchid” finished their preparations and left the base through the gate, leaving behind the minimum defense force.
I joined them, and Iris and Seria stayed at the base.
Iris is not a useless fighter, but she is hiding the fact that she can use magic.
The reason I accompanied Ferris and the others is… from their point of view, I am undoubtedly a cooperator of “Silver Orchid,” and I thought that being close to them would make it easier to understand and respond to their interactions.
If I could use invisibility, I could easily find the person trying to control Ferris by going behind the other party, but I can’t let Ferris see me using invisibility.
So… I was asked to be on the lookout for the back of “Silver Orchid,” which only has a few dozen people, and I approached “Gem Snake” in the back position.
In response to us, the other party also took up a combat stance and waited for us, and the distance between the two sides narrowed to about 50 meters (164ft).
It’s probably because they are confident that they can control Ferris that they don’t shoot arrows at this distance.
The distance narrowed further, and when it was about 10 meters (33ft), Ferris stopped and spoke to “Gem Snake.”
”You’re late. I heard that the snakes who were afraid of me were recently lively.”
””…!””
The men of “Gem Snake” became hostile as she said it in a taunting manner, and at that moment, two men broke out of the group.
”Hmph, it was you who were sneaking around. Are you tired of cowering in your cage?”
The man who answered, with his good physique and stern face, was Ulgar, the second son of the Duke family, as Charlotte had told me.
The man next to him, with a similar physique and a slightly sharper face, spoke.
”Well, I’m glad you came out. It’s better to have the bitches we’re surrounding injured and have to pay for healing magic than to have them healed.”
”Yeah, as a tool for negotiation or as a toy for you, it’s better if they’re not injured.”
The man who answered, with his arrogant attitude, was Ulgar, as I had expected.
Then… the man next to him must be the representative of “Gem Snake.”
I think his name was Aaron, and when Ulgar spoke, Aaron smiled and answered.
”Either way, if you use them, her body or her head… or both will go crazy.”
As Ulgar nodded in agreement with Aaron’s statement, Ferris interrupted their conversation.
”You seem very confident. I heard that you can control me, but can you really do that? If I remember correctly, you were scared of the man named Fraud and were obedient to him. So why didn’t you control him?”
The two men narrowed their eyes in disgust at her words, and Ulgar replied.
”He’s unknown, and there’s no information on where he is, even from the testimony of those who have seen his face. So, it’s more efficient to control you and then lure him out and confront him.”
”That’s if you can control me. Since you’ve come this far, there must be someone in your group who can control me, so why don’t I just kill everyone before I’m controlled? I couldn’t kill without a clear reason before, but if it’s to harm me, I can kill without hesitation.”
*Crack, crack…*
Ferris cracked her knuckles and said this while trying to be intimidating, but… the two of them didn’t seem to relax at all.
”Cough, cough…”
No, in fact, a smile appeared on Ulgar’s face, and he was chuckling softly.
”…What’s up with that? It’s creepy.”
As Ferris looked at him with a puzzled expression, Ulgar taunted her.
”Yeah, you’re right. But that’s only if you succeed… Do you really think you can kill us?”
”Huh? Then…!?”
Ferris took a step forward at Ulgar’s words, but… she didn’t move any further, and I could sense something was off with her attitude right after that.
”What? My body…?”
”Ferris! Are you okay!?”
Hearing Ms. Luka’s worried voice, Ferris turned her head to look back.
”Only my head can move. It seems like I can feel my lower body, but it won’t listen to me at all.”
”Wha!?”
That answer sent a wave of shock through the “Silver Orchid” group.
I was no exception to the surprise, trying to figure out when she got controlled and who was controlling her… but the others hadn’t made any noticeable moves since earlier.
So, it seems that controlling someone doesn’t require any obvious preparation.
It’s possible that there are no conditions at all for the act of controlling someone.
Even my ability has almost no conditions for execution as long as I have magic power, so it’s not impossible.
Well, it seems there are definitely some restrictions when it comes to creating things.
For now, I need to find out who is controlling Ferris… just as I was thinking that, Ferris suddenly turned and moved right in front of Taia (the man-hating woman).
”Dodge!”
”Huh?”
*Crack!*
Just after the two voices were heard almost at the same time, an unpleasant sound echoed in the area.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply