6-3 Part 3
Rescue Operation
— The Sewer Rat That Devoured the
Detached Palace —
Translator : PolterGlast
"Hawa, was it night outside...? Mmm, Mr. Moon is
bwight..."
Emerging from the underground tunnel, we naturally ended up
next to the fishing hut. When Dulin popped her head out of the burrow,
squinting at the light, Sister Atomina and Jii were waiting with bated breath.
"Dulin-chan!!"
"Hahe... Hawa?!"
What happened next was cliché. The deeply affectionate
Sister embraced Dulin completely. The tension must have snapped, for Dulin's
eyes welled up, and large teardrops spilled over.
"Big Sister Atomina... Dulin, Dulin
didn't do anything... but I was scawed... The scawy auntie said mean things to Dulin...
Uuuuu... I don't want the Imperial Capital anymowe, Big
Sister...!!"
"Dulin-chan, I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't
save you sooner..."
Then came the wailing. Even from Sister, who should be
twenty-three by now... Furthermore, I didn't miss Jii crying in sympathy upon seeing that.
Every single one of them is so sentimental. Well, fine.
Before Sister's attention turned this way, the mysterious Firefly-san returned to the bottom of the
hole.
I have to open the gates of hell—no, the Gates of Divine
Punishment. However, thinking about it carefully, now that it's come to this,
there was no point in the costume.
It felt wrong to spoil the moment, so I turned back without
saying a word. I returned to the depths of the Detached Palace and
proceeded down the other underground tunnel.
This is the road to hell leading to the bottom of the lake.
If I shatter the deepest bedrock with this steel Shovel, the lake water
will flow into the foundation of the Detached Palace. That will likely
inflict serious damage on the surface structures—damage so severe that calling
it mere 'harassment' would be an
understatement.
In short, I'm going to wreck the building's foundation. If
it only tilts a little, that would be a lucky outcome for them. Eventually, I
arrived in front of the Gate of Divine Punishment.
I already did this once in Corin Village. If I smash
through here, my own body will be in for quite a ride.
"Auntie, I'll have you pay the price
for making Dulin cry that much."
But the opponent crossed a line they shouldn't have. If
Father won't punish you, then I will deliver divine punishment in his stead. In
the name of the Evil Dragon Zirant. I hope the dirty sewer rats you hate
so much devour your mansion's foundation.
『Do
it, Ashley! Deliver our divine punishment upon the pests nesting in the
Empire!』
Zirant's
permission was granted. The Apostle of the Evil Dragon thrust his Shovel
forward, creating a large crack in the bedrock. Immediately, pressurized lake
water sprayed out from the gaps in the rock.
"This might be bad..."
I might have overdone it. Having destroyed the bedrock in a
fit of rage, I was forced to sprint through the underground tunnel as fast as I
possibly could.
By the time they figure out the entry route over there, the
interior will already be flooded. They can no longer track our footprints.
"Shinza-sama,
you disappeared suddenly, and now what is this commotion?!"
"Phew... Just a little something."
I had run through the underground passage with water rising
to my knees. Though I could have dug upwards if it got dangerous, it was quite
a thrill. Everyone was surprised to see a sewer rat appear from the waterlogged
earth.
"Why is water overflowing!?"
"Because I connected it to the lake."
"Pff..."
Just as Jii was
at his wit's end over my appalling act of violence, a puff of air escaped
Sister Atomina's mouth. When our eyes met, she seemingly couldn't hold
it back anymore.
"Ahahaha! What is that, Ashley?! That face! Is
that supposed to be a disguise?! You idiot, it doesn't suit you at all! There
is no way someone like that actually exists! Ahahahaha!"
Sister burst into laughter, telling me my mustache and
glasses didn't suit me at all. I kind of liked them; how cruel. Do they really
look that bad...? But more importantly, Sister—
"Aneue, that
name—"
"Oh my, did I say something wrong...?"
Yeah, absolutely wrong. I am the mysterious Firefly-san, and I want to remain just Shinza.
"Ha, hawawawawa, Firefly-san was Ashley-sama?!
A-Atomina-oneesama's little brother! Hawa, hawawaaa?!"
Dulin backed
away from me. She covered her mouth in sheer surprise, then for some reason hid
behind a tree, poking only her head out. If it's about the kiss earlier, don't
mind it. Looking at it, it's slightly bruised and has become a mark I can't
show people, but don't worry about it.
"Oh my... sorry Ashley, I just felt so
relieved... It seems I exposed you, fufufu."
"Aneue would
have exposed it eventually anyway; it doesn't matter now. More importantly,
let's run."
While washing the mud off my legs below the knees in the
lake, I warned my companions that this was no time to be relieved. Everything
will be discovered by morning. I want to leave Aunt Du's territory by
then. That is why I specifically called Sister here.
"W-Where to...?"
"To the family Sister married into. The Duke Ion's
territory."
I rescued her, but Dulin's situation isn't great. The
false charges pinned on her won't be wiped away easily.
In that case, having Sister and my brother-in-law, Duke Ion,
protect her—or fleeing the country if all else fails—were the only options.
- Chivalrous Thief - 【Steal Durin Andvaranaut】 Completed
- Completion
Reward: EXP 500, Shovel LV 0.5
(Already Acquired)
- Well
done. The Alchemist Dulin shall surely become your strength. Take pride in
seeing Dulin's smile now; you have done what only you could do.
- Table of
Contents –
【Name】 Ashley
【Lv】 16 → 20
【Exp】 1870 → 1890 →
2390
【STR】 41 → 43
【VIT】 110 → 120
【DEX】 99 → 108
【AGI】 82 → 88
【Skill】 Shovel LV 3.5 → LV 4 Scoop LV 1
Like a slow-acting poison, that detached palace will surely
crumble day by day. However, as a price for a life ruined, that is far too
light. Do not slacken your hand in retaliation, Ashley.
Well now. I just want to protect Dulin from the hands
of evil. Excessive retaliation against Auntie isn't my goal. Besides, since we
ultimately don't know what Auntie was thinking when she kidnapped Dulin,
you'd want to be thorough, wouldn't you, Zirant?
【Book
of the Evil Dragon】
- Adventure - 【Complete 3 Jobs at the Adventurer's Guild】 1/3 Complete
- Reward:
EXP 450 / ???
- Exploration - 【Do another 10 laps around the Imperial Capital】
- Reward:
VIT +100
- Exploration - 【Do 1 lap around the Maritime City Naglfar】 1/3
- Reward:
EXP 100 / VIT +5
- Business - 【Grow the Hez Company】
- Reward:
DEX +100
- Purge - 【Bury 5 Villains】 2 Remaining
- Reward:
EXP 900 / Shovel Lv +1
- Purge - 【Steal 300,000 Crowns of Dirty Money】 570 / 300,000
- Reward:
AGI +100
- Investment - 【Spend a total of 10,000 Crowns】 1,806 / 10,000
- Reward:
EXP 1000 / Premonition of an Encounter
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