The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature-Chapter 51 : I Have a Favor to Ask

"Really? You lost it all without getting a single penny back?"
"Yeah, that's right! How many times do I have to tell you!!"
"Ahahaha!!"
The woman burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
It was a blatant sneer.
"See, what did I tell you? You're destined to earn money honestly, not gamble."
"Damn it, what's wrong with me!"
"You have terrible luck. You're the only one who can't admit it."
At the woman's cold remark, Buggy ground his teeth and made an excuse.
"...It's not that my luck is bad, some bastard cleaned me out."
"Oh my."
The woman's expression suddenly changed, and her face hardened.
"...It makes no difference whether you blew it all on the slots or got worked over by someone."
"I'm telling you, that bastard definitely cheated!"
"If it was cheating, he would have been sanctioned. That place is famous for being strict about that kind of thing."
"Those morons must not have noticed! Otherwise, there's no way he would keep winning and I would keep losing...!"
"You're full of excuses. How pathetic for a macho man who usually boasts about being a real man."
Having lost the verbal battle, Buggy couldn't contain his anger and had a fit.
The woman, who had been enjoying the surrounding chaos as a side dish to her drink, spoke again.
"So, you didn't get so distracted by such a trivial matter that you couldn't do your job, did you?"
This time, her serious expression was genuine.
Even the self-centered mad dog didn't put his feelings before his work when it came to business.
"Yeah, I did my job."
"The item?"
"It's genuine. They said it will be delivered to the organizers the day after tomorrow."
"Are you sure?"
"If he has the guts to bluff when his head is about to be blown off, I should be deceived out of courtesy."
"..."
Feeling something amiss in his uncharacteristic magnanimity, the woman narrowed her eyes and interrogated him.
"He's an Auction employee, right? How did you clean up afterwards?"
"Even a city government investigator wouldn't be able to tell."
Buggy said confidently, thumping his chest.
"I turned him into mush, hehe."
It was a chilling laugh.
A pressure that was hard to come from a small frame enveloped the venue.
It was a madness that would frighten even a healthy adult man, but the woman only frowned.
"Seeing you laugh so disgustingly, you must have laid a hand on an unrelated person again."
"No, it was to eliminate a witness."
"How long are you going to use that excuse?"
At the antics of the troublemaking rookie, who was no less than the existing members, the woman gave sincere advice.
"Don't do things that don't help the plan. You'll get seriously screwed one day if you do."
"That's what I'm hoping for. If they get in my way, I'll smash them all."
It was better if the number of opponents increased.
Madhouse's mad dog was the type to get excited the more he was cornered.
The woman dismissed such a real man's bravado with a snort.
"You still haven't come to your senses even after going broke?"
"Argh! What does it matter!"
"Anyway, I think it's for the best."
It was a blatant change of subject, as if she thought he would blow his top if she teased him any further.
"You don't have any money now, so you can't participate in the auction. To get that item, you have to succeed in this one."
"Damn it, there were a lot of other things I wanted to buy..."
"What are you worried about?"
It was an expression that treated him like a fool.
"We can just steal it then."
It was a definitive tone, as if that had been the plan from the beginning.
Buggy looked blank for a moment, then let out a laugh.
"...Hehehe."
"What's the difference if we add a few more things when we're already smuggling out the Mage Tower's stolen goods?"
"You're a pretty crazy bitch too."
"What are you talking about, stealing other people's things is the most thrilling thing. Especially if it's a pretty and valuable item that's up for auction."
Her gesture of flipping back her long side hair was coy, as if she wanted to insist that she was different.
"Why would I clean up after you if I'm not even going to get paid for my trouble? Be grateful, if it weren't for this big sister, you would have had to work your ass off alone."
"I'm grateful for that, but."
Buggy didn't hide his rotting face and looked the woman up and down.
"Big sister my ass, an old hag who's old enough to know better has no conscience...!"
Kwaang!
A loud noise echoed.
Buggy's face, having been hit on the back of the head, was slammed into the table.
"As planned, I'll cause a scene at the venue, so you properly recover the item and come back. If you get excited and cause a scene again and waste time, I'm leaving you behind."
"...Yeah, okay."
Buggy got up from the wreckage as if nothing had happened.
The table was broken, but there wasn't a single scratch on his fine skin.
His noble-looking face was stained not with pain, but with greed.
"The Blade Knuckle of Ainsipal, that's my item."
The armed group, Madhouse.
They were an antisocial group that acted according to their own desires, regardless of whether they had a request or not.
***
"This is the list of items you have won. Please check for any discrepancies one last time and then sign."
I looked at the list the auction house staff handed me.
The auction items I had won totaled five.
It might seem small compared to the fortune I had amassed at the gambling den, but this was my best.
'If I had just raised the price moderately, they would have stopped, but they chased me to the end.'
I knew it, but the money-squandering of the nouveau riche was never something one could get used to.
It was natural for the competition for the elixir to be fierce, but to think they would bet their lives on a mere rock that was just a little rare.
I thought I would have at least thirty percent left over, but I was completely screwed.
'Still, I won them all.'
It wasn't something to be upset about when I remembered that it was someone else's money anyway.
As long as I had obtained the elixir I had aimed for, it wasn't a loss.
"The items you have won will be delivered immediately."
I left the private room, receiving the polite treatment of the Auction staff.
When I came out to the lobby, Colin was waiting for me with a sullen expression.
"You're here?"
"Wipe that look off your face. You're scaring people."
"Ugh, can't I even be annoyed?"
A person who looked like a barbarian who had come down from the mountains was scowling, so even the security guards were on alert.
Colin, who, despite appearances, often paid attention to his surroundings, grumbled and smoothed the wrinkles on his forehead.
"It would have been fine if you had just lent me the money."
"..."
Colin's sulking had started yesterday.
Since I had earned a lot, it wasn't like I couldn't give him a cut.
But it was a different story if it was someone who had gone broke after betting even his research funds, saying he would win it back.
You have to know how to take responsibility for your own mistakes.
Wasn't the last commotion at the Mage Tower also caused by him neglecting his duties?
Apart from him being a good person, his bad habits needed to be corrected.
"You have money to spend on a few of those useless stones, but you don't have money to lend me?"
"Useless? They're precious to me."
Luminous Stone, Storage Stone, Moist Stone.
Mutant stones befitting a fantasy world.
As Colin said, they were treated as junk items even in the game system, but I had an idea to utilize them.
Unfortunately, Colin, a petty man who didn't know my grand plan, did not hide his dissatisfaction.
"What are you going to use that for? I didn't know you were the type of person who enjoys putting a stone in a display case and sprinkling water on it."
"Collecting stones isn't a bad hobby... Anyway, I'll explain later."
He was so sulky that every word he said was sharp.
But that wouldn't make me lend him money.
And I didn't have any money to lend anymore.
I replied, giving him a hint.
Fortunately, Colin knew how to separate public and private matters.
In an instant, mana gathered around him, and the sound from the outside was blocked.
"Why the sudden barrier?"
"Has there been any progress in the search for the traitor?"
"Unfortunately, it's the same. But I've pinpointed the transaction location."
"...Hmm."
"Did something go wrong?"
"Yes."
It went very wrong.
"The best plan was to secure the traitor before the transaction, but it's troublesome that there's no hope for that."
"What's so troublesome? Even if his skills have improved by leaps and bounds, he's no match for you or me."
"There are others besides us who are after the Blade Knuckle."
The appearance of Buggy Vile was not something to be taken lightly.
Just remembering the incident of the Auction massacre was a sufficient variable.
So did this guy just happen to come to commit a massacre at the perfect timing?
To assume so, there was a lack of plausibility.
No matter how much Madhouse didn't restrict individual activities, to put it bluntly, there was no gain to be had.
An increase in fame? A display of skill?
There were many other ways to prove this.
Considering the grudge that would be built with the gang behind the Auction, the losses were immense.
It was more realistic that it was an accidental incident befitting a mad dog.
'But the story changes if one keyword is inserted.'
The Blade Knuckle of Ainsipal.
Its widely known owner was none other than Buggy Vile.
'What if he heard the rumor about the Mage Tower's stolen goods and was after it? What if the Auction massacre was a consequence of that?'
It was more than just my conjecture; several suspicions fit perfectly.
"...The Mage Tower must look pretty pathetic."
Colin, who was organizing his thoughts just like me, spat out coldly.
Even as a wanderer, he had pride in his home.
"Well, there were many beasts living without a future in this city. So, what kind of guys are they?"
"Madhouse."
"Cough!"
But it was a pride that would soon disappear.
"...Is that true?"
"It's certain."
I saw his face myself.
"Madhouse... This is troublesome."
It was a name that even the gods in the clouds, the Mage Tower, would know.
The wanderer Colin, who had been active in the secular world for a long time, would also know its danger well.
"It'll be difficult to face them with this force. Should I bring in the Mage Tower?"
"They won't care. On the contrary, they'll probably try to silence us using it as an excuse."
"Ugh."
It was a sigh full of frustration.
His expression contorted and relaxed repeatedly, as if he were weighing what to do.
The artifact was important, but not to the extent that the head of the school would risk his neck for it.
I lent him a hand so that his worries wouldn't last long.
"The good thing is that they are a small number. It's not an operation under the name of Madhouse either."
It would probably be just one person acting as a diversion and Buggy, two in total.
There was a basis for this.
Madhouse was not a harmonious group that would lend a helping hand for personal desires rather than a request.
"...It sounds like you have a plan."
A hint of expectation was evident in Colin's voice.
I nodded.
It was the correct answer.
"Let's change the plan. I'll raid the scene alone."
"When it's not enough even with the two of us together?"
"It's okay."
It was better if I was alone.
Colin was not a weak force, but in front of monsters outside the standard, he was nothing more than a hindrance.
"Just in case, please wait at the auction house, Head of School. You can send me the location of the tracked traitor through the communication device."
It was possible to miss the scene and have the genuine item flow into the auction house.
It was unlikely to happen, but it was never a bad thing to have insurance.
"I will recover the item."
It was something I had to do, even if it wasn't for the success reward of the nominated request.
'I can't give a sharp claw to a mad dog.'
It was a time when the clouds of war were gathering.
I couldn't miss the chance to weaken the power of a monster I might meet as an enemy.
"And I have a favor to ask."
"Just say the word."
"I asked Sage to create an artifact. I would like you to help her finish it by tomorrow."
"I'll do my best."
I received a reconfirmation from Colin.
It wasn't just anything; it was the most important key to the plan.
The success or failure of this request depended on it.
***
The same night.
The Mage Tower's wanted fugitive, Lütgen, was on the phone with someone, sweating nervously.
"Are you sure it's safe?"
[Of course. Our Auction guarantees complete anonymous transactions for auction exhibitors.]
"How can you guarantee that I won't be tailed?"
[Our establishment's experts will guard the scene. And even if you are tailed, we will guarantee your safety until the transaction is completed.]
"...And after the transaction?"
[From then on, it's the exhibitor's responsibility. Please be careful not to have the unfortunate incident of not being able to receive the auction payment.]
"Damn it!"
Lütgen nervously threw the communication device and ended the call.
"...Hoo, hoo. Right, there must be a reason for their confidence."
The city's largest black market where all sorts of stolen goods were traded.
There were not a few groups of thieves who aimed for it.
Fortunately, there had been no stories of the Auction's auctions being disrupted so far.
As long as they didn't want to tarnish the prestige they had built up, the Auction would do its best.
Even if that interferer was the Mage Tower.
"Let's leave this city after receiving the payment. If I bribe the barbarians in the south and settle down, I'll be able to spend the rest of my life comfortably."
It was the dream of a Mage Tower researcher who had been worked like a slave his whole life.
Lütgen, holding the stolen goods in his arms, spread the wings of his rosy imagination.
That's why he didn't notice.
"Is that the bastard?"
"That's right, so don't get all worked up and charge at him now, hold it in. I need to get my fee too. It'll be easier for me to steal other things if the auction house's security guards are reduced tomorrow because they're dealing with that guy."
"Stop nagging. I get it, so get lost."
"What an attitude."
Two men and women hidden in the darkness were sending him greedy gazes.
(End of Chapter)