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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Ambush
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Smack!
“...Huh?”
I, who had drawn my axe and was about to charge at the woman, Deluna, stared blankly, mouth agape, at the sudden turn of events.
“...Uh, what?”
Even Densi, who had been slapped, looked bewildered.
“Hmph… Densi. What do you mean, ‘run away’? If you say things like that, it makes us sound like bad people, doesn't it?”
Deluna looked down at Densi with a refreshing smile.
Then she grabbed Densi by the collar, lifted her head, and began to forcefully slap her cheeks.
“If, you, say, things, like, that, what, happens, to, my, reputation?! Huh?!”
Smack, smack! Smack! Whack! Thud!
The sound of palms striking cheeks soon changed to a beating accompanied by fists.
Refined groans, like 'ugh' and 'eck,' echoed through the stiff corridor.
No one dared to move amidst the sudden commotion.
“How is it that you’ve been under me for over a decade and haven’t changed at all? Get a grip, now.”
Spit!
A glob of phlegm landed on Densi’s cheek. Densi, whose face was bruised and eyes swollen, couldn't even think to wipe it away before collapsing into unconsciousness.
“Oh dear. Big Sister. Wasn’t that a bit too hard on her?”
“Please. Slaves are meant to be used like this. Lady Vesta gave this one to me for precisely this reason.”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
The armed women fawned over Deluna, who had just savagely beaten Densi.
Watching the women brush off their hands and start chattering about things only they knew, I quietly assessed the situation.
There were seven opponents.
The woman I’d seen at the Explorer’s Guild, Deluna, Densi, and five other combatants with drawn swords.
‘Deluna is the leader of this group, the rest are her subordinates, and Densi is Deluna’s slave? And who is Vesta?’
I wasn't entirely sure, but this was the fragmented information I'd gathered so far.
I wasn’t particularly interested in Densi getting beaten like a dog on a hot summer day. It was just 'Oh, she’s getting beaten,' nothing more.
The only thing I was curious about was why they put on such a 'show' in front of us.
“H-h-h…!”
I soon understood why. A terrified voice came from behind me.
Jeremy, that idiot. He had fallen right into their little charade.
When people witness someone being brutally beaten right in front of them, their thoughts instinctively freeze up.
Frozen thoughts paralyze the brain, allowing for only simple thinking and actions.
It means they are forced into one of two actions: their bodies tensing up in fear, or making idiotic sounds like Jeremy.
Ultimately, the woman staged that charade to create a tense atmosphere and psychologically pressure us.
I nudged Jeremy with my heel. Only then did Jeremy swallow his breath.
“Hmph…”
Deluna saw my action and smiled faintly.
More precisely, she was staring at me with a sticky gaze.
What did that smile mean? Damn it. Was this what visual rape felt like?
If I were a woman, I felt like I would have just gotten pregnant. It was utterly creepy.
“I’m so sorry~ for the commotion. She wasn’t like this before, but now that she’s grown up, I guess my slave doesn’t listen very well.”
Deluna, in a genuinely apologetic tone, carefully put her hands together and bowed her head to me.
From her appearance alone, she seemed like a very polite and sweet woman.
Enough so that if I had seen her outside the Labyrinth, or if it had been our first meeting, I might have simply let it go.
But having witnessed her cruel true nature just moments ago, my expression naturally hardened.
“My name is Ellie. Since this is fate, how about we—”
[Deluna LV.10]
[HP:(2) Strength:(4) Agility:(3) Wisdom:(6+4) Dexterity:(5)]
[Current Blessings and Curses held by Deluna: 2]
‘Why does everyone I meet act like this?’
Watching her nonchalantly spout a fake name, I raised my guard even higher.
“This doesn’t seem like a good meeting. Let’s just go our separate ways.”
“…”
At my firm reply, Deluna’s expression momentarily stiffened.
“That damn male dares to—while Big Sister is speaking—!”
“Enough.”
The subordinate, who was about to snap back at my words, shut her mouth at Deluna’s restraint.
“Yes, it’s difficult to have a pleasant meeting in a dangerous Labyrinth where anything can happen. Shall we look forward to our next encounter? We’ll go ahead first.”
“Fine.”
We pressed ourselves against the corridor wall as much as possible. They moved along the opposite wall.
“See you next time.”
“…”
“You won’t return my greeting. Well, fine.”
They continued to scrutinize me as they moved past.
The two parties moved away from each other as if crossing paths. Soon, they vanished from sight.
The distance was so great that even if I put my ear to the ground, I couldn't hear any vibrations or footsteps.
“Th-they’re gone… Phew…”
Once they had completely disappeared from sight, Jeremy let out a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a situation to relax yet.
“They’re a cunning bunch, aren’t they?”
“Huh?”
“They haven’t left yet. Those bastards.”
“What?! R-really?!”
My senses still picked them up.
At a precarious point, just barely within my perception, I could feel them standing still, no longer moving.
‘The Beastkin I met last time passed by cleanly, but these ones are quite obsessive.’
Indeed, their gazes had been unusual from our first meeting until they left.
‘And circumstantially, they’re 99% involved with slaves.’
If we get entangled with them, who knows what could happen. We’d be lucky if we don’t end up as dismembered, living dildo slaves.
“They’re coming.”
After a long pause, they turned back and began to return in our direction.
Even if we kept going straight, the escape portal was still quite a distance away.
The levels of the apparent combatants, excluding Deluna, averaged around 4 to 6.
Even if I could, Jeremy would definitely be caught.
I considered leaving him behind, but this guy follows me better than I expected.
In a world where there's no one to trust, it's better to have at least one more person on my side.
Stat-wise, it was worth a shot. Thinking of them as stronger, more intelligent Goblins made me feel much more at ease.
There was a short amount of time before they returned.
“Jeremy.”
“Yes, Big Brother! I’m ready!”
“Oh? Good. Then, take it off.”
“…Huh?”
Jeremy asked back with a dumbfounded expression. Why are you tilting your head? You heard me right.
“Take it off. All of it.”
***
“Densi. Are you out of your mind? Huh? Damn it, how much trouble are you causing just because of you?!”
Thwack!
“Kehek!”
The armed women’s fists slammed into Densi’s abdomen. Yet, as if their anger wasn’t sated, the women continued to punch her.
“If you hadn’t said ‘run away,’ damn it, we would’ve beaten him senseless and taken him as a slave already, tsk!”
Densi felt the weight of the foot pressing down on her head and let out a faint, bitter laugh.
“Oh? You’re laughing? You’re actually laughing?”
Wham! Thud!
The beating continued, but the more it did, the more Densi smiled.
‘Your punches don’t hurt at all…’
Just a month or two ago, these same fists would have made her tremble, but for Densi, whose preferences had become strange due to someone’s 'etiquette training,' pain no longer felt like pain.
“Stop now.”
At Deluna’s command, they froze stiff, like puppets with their strings cut.
Deluna quietly stared down at Densi, then bent down to bring her face close.
Densi involuntarily averted Deluna’s gaze. It was due to learned fear.
“You. You knew that man, didn’t you? The one with the helmet.”
“...!”
‘How?’
Densi naturally wondered. She hadn’t said anything, so how did she know?
“As expected, it’s true, isn’t it? Did you really think I wouldn’t be able to read your expression, after being your master for over ten years?”
Deluna, scoffing as if in disbelief, continued.
“I had a bad feeling about it. Why would you suddenly do something you’ve never done before? You’re not someone who feels guilty about turning others into slaves, are you?
I’m quite curious. Why would a dog, who only faithfully obeyed orders to avoid being beaten, tell that man to run away? Huh? Answer me. Did you not want him to become a slave like you?”
“…”
Pat. Pat.
Deluna stroked Densi’s bowed head.
Just like an owner praising a dog and coaxing it into action.
Their actual situation was no different.
Densi had been abandoned by her parents, sold to a slave trader, and lived as a slave for over ten years, with Deluna being her owner.
“When did you meet that man? The only time I’ve recently given you freedom was when I sent you to the 1st floor for new recruit training, and you came back alone then. Did you perhaps meet him then? Or could it have been before that? Tell me. Quickly.”
“…”
Densi remained silent.
It was because Deluna’s questions had also confused Densi’s own mind.
‘Why, exactly, did I tell that man to run away?’
Certainly, at their first meeting, she had intended to make him a slave.
She had planned to sell him as a slave, clear her own slave debt, and start a new life.
She even went further and considered raping him. With a man who had a body and face that made her ovulate, she could lose her virginity—honestly, how could she resist?
But absurdly, she was reverse-ganked and subjected to immense violence disguised as 'etiquette training,' awakening something dormant within Densi.
Throb.
Densi felt her solar plexus, where he had hit her, burning hot.
At the same time, her mind felt clear. The answer was simpler than she thought.
“You won’t answer?”
Smack!
Densi’s head snapped to the side. Her cheek stung.
But it didn’t really hurt anymore.
Rather, she felt a faint pleasure.
Of course, it was less than the dirt under a fingernail compared to the pleasure he had given her…
“Well, fine. I can hear your reasons slowly once we’re out of the Labyrinth. Look forward to it. When we get back, I’ll put you in the punishment room you hate the most.”
Deluna, shaking her hands as she stood up, took her eyes off Densi and looked at the combatants.
“We’ve stalled long enough, haven’t we?”
“Yes. We’ve moved as far away as possible without losing them, so they’ll surely think we just passed by. They’ll be sufficiently off guard, so now is the perfect time to ambush.”
“Good. The man with the helmet, I can’t quite make out his face, but his body alone is definitely top-grade… and the guy with the spear seems like a decent mid-grade catch, so for the 1st floor, this is quite a haul, isn’t it?”
“Seeing that they’re heading towards the escape portal instead of the 2nd floor, we can roughly gauge their skill. Plus, they’re men, aren’t they? Big Sister won’t even need to step in; we can finish this ourselves.”
“Yes. This slave hunt will be quite entertaining.”
As Deluna grinned, thinking of the profits she’d reap once they left the Labyrinth, the combatants carefully asked her.
“Big Sister, um, perhaps…”
Deluna saw the women’s flushed faces and immediately understood what they wanted.
“Of course, once we catch them, we’ll have our fun. But no permanent damage, alright?”
“Kuh! As expected of Big Sister!”
They spoke as if their victory was already guaranteed. Drooling faintly as they imagined the sweet fruits of their plunder.
‘Idiots…’
In that place, only one person believed they would lose.
***
Deluna’s group slowly retraced their steps. Silencing their footsteps, they stealthily tracked their prey.
The combatants’ eyes were already half-glazed over with thoughts of satisfying their lust.
And as they passed the Goblin wall where they had encountered the men.
“P-please, save me! Big Sisters!”
A naked man stumbled towards them.
Deluna cautiously observed the man.
‘…Isn’t that the guy with the spear from earlier?’
Her eyes went to his clothes, which looked forcibly torn, and fresh scratches that seemed newly inflicted. He was without any weapons or his spear.
“...It seems like other people got to him first.”
“...From that point onward, proceed with caution.”
The upper levels of the Labyrinth have quite a few slave hunters who capture and sell the weak or men.
There were only two men. They would have been attractive prey for other slave hunters as well.
“H-h-h… I was so, so scared… D-did you purposely come back to save us?”
“Uh, y-yes…”
The man hugged the woman at the front, his face flushing.
For creatures who thought with their wombs, the scene before them was enough to prevent any rational thought.
The combatants, whose brains were already half-pickled by lust, couldn’t take their eyes off the man’s body, despite Deluna’s warning.
However, Deluna, who was slightly further away from the man…
‘…Huh?’
A sense of incongruity.
Observing the current situation, she felt a profound sense of incongruity.
‘What is this? This feeling, I’ve definitely felt it somewhere before…’
A sensation like being caught in a spiderweb. A feeling like walking straight into a trap.
“Ahem. Ahem. So. Were you being chased by slave hunters?”
“Yes. H-h-h… All my equipment was taken, and my food and clothes were stolen too… H-h-h…”
When people witness an illogical scene unfold before their eyes, their thoughts instinctively freeze up.
Frozen thoughts paralyze the brain, allowing for only simple thinking and actions.
Like their bodies tensing up in fear, or the women, blinded by lust, focusing all their attention solely on the man’s body.
It means severely narrowing the scope of human thought, preventing a broader perspective.
“M-my party member too… H-h-h, they were dragged away by those people… I, I barely managed to escape…”
“R-really?! Where! Where is he now?!”
It was a familiar situation. Yet, at the same time, it felt strange.
Amidst the profound sense of incongruity, Deluna waited for the man to speak.
Finally, the man, who had remained silent, opened his mouth.
“Right here.”
THWACK!
Deluna couldn’t even scream, simply staring at the axe embedded in her neck from behind.
“Peek-a-boo.”
It was as if the man was smiling from inside his helmet.
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