Chapter 70: The end of the chase; she becomes monster

April 15th, 2023

Beta Reader: My_Own_Worst_NPC

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The small boat we were on was towed by the Cimas just off the coast of the island. The ship was originally owned by Janice, Cecily’s arch-enemy, however it also seemed that Janice obtained it by commandeering it from someone else.

Anyway, it’s mine now so I’ve done some renovations here and there. The hull has been refurbished by using [Repair] and the interior of the ship has also been furnished rather elaborately, to make it a comfortable place to spend time.

The wind picked up, and the lights of the commercial district beyond the waves were flickering in dim light.

I wonder if they have found the white maggot yet?

In the end, not just Cecily, Sierra, and Master Elza participated in the manhunt, but some of the guild staff and skilled adventurers were also joining, so I don’t think she will be able to get away.

“Okami-san, the table is ready!”

Originally, I had prepared a lunch box to have dinner in the waiting room of the brothel, but I couldn’t because of the white maggot fiasco. I felt bad for Sierra and others who were in the middle of the search, but we had to eat something to keep our strength up in case of an emergency. The wind in the middle of the sea is pleasant, and since we are away from the land there are no mosquitos and bugs here.

“Miina and Rouge, take a seat. Goku and I will prepare the rest.”

They’re here to protect me just in case. And I told Miina and Rouge to sit down while I took out the food from my basket and arrange them on the table.

I also brought along two Wonders, one Goku, and six Harrys here with me.

“Don’t worry, my barrier magic will repel anyone suspicious from coming close to us. I’ll show you the ace that I got up my chest.”

“Up your sleeve, Rouge. You’ll show me what you got up your sleeve, not your chest.”

“Well, doesn’t matter whether it’s up my chest or my sleeve, I can show you whichever you want!”

Right. She’s really proud of her hidden big breasts.

“Rouge-san, please stop saying stupid things so we can start on our dinner already!”

 I then urged Miina and Rouge to calm down (they were excited for different reasons) and served them Red Boar meat and Nut Terrine as appetizer. It’s quite a hearty dish, but it should be fine since the two of them are still young.

“Uooh, this looks really delicious,” said Miina excitedly.

“This is the first time I’ve had such an elegant meal on a ship!” Rouge exclaimed.

Well, you could say we’re having a Dinner Cruise right now. Both Rouge and Miina are cute, so if it was the usual me, I would have been enjoying this rare opportunity. That being said, I’m worried about Cecily and Sierra’s safety, so I barely had any appetite.

———————————————————————————————————————-

We spent the night on the ship.

Since there was only one cabin, Rouge and Mina were forced to sleep on blankets laid out on the deck. I actually didn’t mind if it was the other way around, but they said, “There’s no way we can let a man sleep outside like that,” so I was the only one sleeping in the bed.

Also, there are only three of us here right now… When we finally return, there’s bound to be some gossips about us, huh.

…

“Okami-san, are you awake? One of your pigeons just arrived.”

Hearing Miina’s voice, I quickly open my eyes and jumped out of the cabin; I haven’t gotten a wink of sleep because of how worried I am. Outside, I found Poppo No. 3 with a small letter tied to its leg.

‘Dear elder brother,

Please return to the pier on the Crescent Beach.

                                                          Sierra’

The letter was a short one-sentence letter with no other details.

“It’s from Sierra, she said we should return. There’s nothing else written in it.”

“Are you sure it’s Sierra’s handwriting?”

We double-checked the letter, but there was no doubt that it was Sierra’s handwriting.

“Anyway, let’s go back while keep cautious.”

I ordered the Cimas to pull our small ship back to the cove, and when we are near enough, we saw Sierra and Cecily at the pier, waving to us. From a distance, they seemed to be fine.

Our ship has a shallow draft, so it can go into the cove. As soon as we were alongside the pier, Cecily extended her hand to me and helped me disembark.

“We’re back. How did it go?”

“It’s becoming a bit troublesome situation.”

Sierra’s face is usually pale, but right now her complexion is different from usual.

“What happened?”

“We managed to follow the white maggot with Poppo’s guidance, but she managed to escape into the dungeon.”

That’s another troublesome place she managed to run off into.

“It’s certainly a hard place to track her down, isn’t it? But how could she hope to survive in a place like that?”

“She’s strong in her own right. She can make water by using her magic, and she can probably steal food from adventurers who are exploring the dungeon. Not to mention there are also edible monsters like Cockatrices.”

  So, it’s theoretically possible to survive and live inside the dungeon as long as you don’t encounter vicious monster…

“However, it would still be impossible for her to go into deeper dungeon floor just by herself. No one can do it alone.”

“No one… Not even you, Sierra?”

“Aah. Even for me, that’s impossible. After all, there’s only so much a single person can do…”

It is what it is, I suppose.

“And what about Master Elza?”

“She’s keeping watch at the entrance of the dungeon.”

From the looks of it, it seems like nobody got a wink of sleep.

“Cecily and Sierra, both of you look like you need some rest. Have you eaten anything yet?”

“We haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

“Alright, I’ll prepare something for you two.”

I then whispered something close to Sierra’s ear. “I’ll prepare some blood for you. Mix it with alcohol and drink it before taking a nap.”

“Thanks. And please prepare a bit more amount than usual.”

Blood has a rather strong smell, so Sierra has promised not to drink blood in front of everyone. I’ll let her drink it at my room later.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

After that, the dungeon was closed for awhile. The guild office has put together a dedicated search team and they have thoroughly searched the dungeon from the first basement floor to the third floor, but the figure of the white maggot was nowhere to be found.

Was she already eaten by a monster, or did she already gone to the 4th basement floor or maybe even beyond?

The search team was led by Master Elza, and among the team member was Cecily, Sierra, and the muscular female warrior ladies that frequently visit my restaurant.

It seems that they really wanted to search toward the 4th basement floor and maybe even further, but it was judged to be too unrealistic, since from there onwards tough monsters will appear, and even someone as skilled as Sierra or Master Elza would have a lot of trouble exploring alone there.

After 10 days of searching, Master Elza finally announced the end of the white maggot pursuit. The dungeon was then re-opened, and adventurers continue exploring as usual.

So far, there have been no reports of the discovery of white maggot, nor reports of any adventurers been found with signs of being killed by her. Of course, there are deaths inside the dungeon every day, so there’s no way to make sure whether the death is because of white maggot or the work of monsters. Basically, the white maggot is now treated the same as the monsters in the dungeon.

“Basically it’s the kind of a monster that you can hunt and kill, but won’t drop a single magic stone, huh…”

Also, Cecily seems to be frustrated until the end. Maybe deep down, she really wanted to finish her job by herself, since she and the white maggot were from the same country. She didn’t want to talk much about her past though, so I didn’t know the details…

…

 ♢

Sierra’s high-pitched laugh echoed in my room.

“Fuhahahahaha! The age of man is over. From now on, it’s the beginning of the dark era of the demonkind!”

“No, please, stop…”

I backed away trembled, from fear.

“Despair! Lament! You are helpless before me, now offer up thy vitae as sacrifice.”

Sierra then ripped my shirt off.

“Oh nooo––– ”

“Gaze upon mine crimson eyes, that I may watch your life fade into the endless abyss!”

The suspiciously glowing eyes have somehow mesmerized and bewitched me. And as my body is losing strength, I can only surrender myself to Sierra.

And so Sierra brought her teeth closer to my neck, bit down, and greedily devoured the blood that sprung forth.

*slurp* *suck*

“So? How is it, does it taste good enough?”

“Ah. Shirou, you dummy. Don’t break character yet and let me enjoy the play a bit more.”

“Sorry, my bad… Aah, I feel darkness is seeping into my body…”

“Fufufu… Relent, for under this moon’s light, every drop of your essence is mine to savor.”

 Me and Sierra are in the middle of playing vampire. She didn’t really bite me though, only pretended to. And the blood? It was created by my creation magic.

After Sierra has been doing ten days of hard work inside the dungeon, searching for the white maggot, I feel it’s only fair to give in to Sierra’s request. At first, I didn’t think it would be fun, but as I got into character I started enjoying myself. Although, I feel a strange sensation whenever she licks and sucks at my neck.

Afterwards, I’m going to give Cecily and Master Elza the massage service, and I particularly looking forward for having the massage session with Cecily. Afterall, it’s been a long while since I last saw those giant pair of knockers.

Alright, let’s bring out the massage oil and give them Shirou’s special massage service!