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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 18 - Short-Term Contract Worker (10)
The Void. A dimension of all forgetfulness and disconnection.
Thus, the Void is akin to the night, a time of forgetfulness and disconnection.
To confront a foe, one must understand their nature, and the same applies to the spacetime called night.
Barolus.
Command the existence of the Void born from the quest for the Night Face.
Barolus... this was the incantation to make first contact with the "Faceless Demon" Night Face.
“Barolus!”
Arzen chanted the incantation with an overflowing anticipation that burned within him... and the Void responded to the Apostle's command.
It was... disconnection.
A tremendous power that severed all that existed in reality with overwhelming force.
???
The demon's arm pierced a hole in the sewer wall.
Cracks spread extensively around it.
This was the sewer of the Seven Great Cities.
A place built and maintained with extreme technological prowess.
The strength of its construction was so robust that it hardly needed describing.
‘But to break this…?’
It was undeniably a strong force.
Truly, it was a powerful force, but even the mere moment of its emergence made Arzen's hair stand on end.
‘The load of this power doesn’t make sense!’
The energy circulating throughout his body was suddenly consumed all at once, causing a rush of heat that burst forth from his nose and mouth.
‘Crazy, how am I supposed to use this in real combat?’
There was another issue.
No, it wasn’t just an issue.
‘I can wipe away the blood. But what’s unfolding before my eyes right now…!’
This wasn’t something that could be resolved by merely wiping it away.
‘Mom, what do I do?’
If they demand full payment for repairs, what on earth will I do then?
* * *
"Arzen, why are you so down?"
The next day, upon arriving at City Hall, Milviet noona asked Arzen.
"Don't tell me... it didn't go well?"
It didn’t just go not well—his adventuring life was at risk of turning into a life of debt.
'How much will the repairs cost?'
What would Samson's reaction be when he told him?
Would he laugh it off and go check it out himself, only to see it and say something like?
- I sense something suspicious coming from this crack. Arzen, you little brat, what did you do? Witches! This guy is up to something!
- What? It really is suspicious. Arrest him! Take him to the Chamber of Repentance.
- Gyaaah!
The worst-case scenario unfolded in his mind.
Arzen grabbed his head, which had been pressed against the desk, and began pulling at his hair.
'And what... 1 second? 2 seconds? That's it? That's all? It just disappears after that?'
He was filled with deep regret.
If he could turn back time, he would toss any notion of "romance" to the wind and quietly level up his Void Bugs.
'Damn it... I have no choice but to use my specialty: lying. I'll hide roughly 98% of the truth. I'll tell them 2% of the truth—something like, "an unknown force caused the crack in the outer wall."'
Even if it's only 2%, it's still technically the truth.
'It counts as truth.'
As always, the scumbag Samson showed up to work about an hour late, yawning.
"Chief Samson."
"Oh, yeah. Long time no see? Someone filed a complaint recently saying that the sewers don't smell anymore. Guess that means my performance rating is up. Thanks."
"I have something urgent to tell you..."
"What is it? Just say it. What could be so important?"
"Well, um... yesterday, while cleaning the central district... I noticed a crack in the inner wall, along with signs of something having pierced through."
"What?"
"Sniffle, I don’t know what caused it either!"
Samson tilted his head, scratching the back of it leisurely.
"Well, that’ll give those guys a little less work to do."
"?"
"Do you know how much money is just lying around out there?"
"??"
"Especially in a place like Karsiko, one of the seven great cities, where tax money overflows."
"???"
"Every year, we do sewer repair work. Sometimes we even make up cracks that aren't there, just so we can break it and then repair it again. The construction companies make a killing off it."
No doubt, Samson had been pocketing a massive amount of under-the-table cash from that process every year.
'He really is a consistent scumbag!'
But Arzen was glad that it was because of that same scumbaggery that his crime was being covered up.
"Chief Samson, may you be blessed!"
"Why are you acting so weird, cut it out."
Arzen kept bowing his head in gratitude to Samson, who waved him off with a puzzled expression.
'At least this problem is solved. Solved, but...'
The chance to instantly double his Void Bug fleet...
'Romance, my ass!'
He couldn’t forgive his past self for trading it away for a one-second glimpse of a demon’s arm.
"Sigh..."
With so many things overlapping, Arzen had lost his motivation ever since the Giant Slime subjugation.
Partly because there weren't any more tough foes like the Giant Slime.
And partly because the exhaustion of making a poor choice in a moment of overconfidence hit him like a wave.
'Besides, now I have the strength to take down a Giant Slime without much trouble!'
Did he really need to keep working hard to the point of nearly bleeding for it?
"Sigh..."
And so, he lived lazily.
He’d arrive at work late and leave early… he even gave up on Void training.
As for the sewer slime extermination, with his 22 Void Bug squadron, he could wipe out an entire district if he stayed up for two days straight.
He could finish it all in one week when the slimes swarmed.
"I'm here to file a complaint."
Then one day, while he was lethargically slumped over his desk right after arriving at work, he heard a familiar voice.
When he looked up, he couldn't help but let out a small gasp—it was that crazy archer.
"The Water Department is over there."
"I'm here for the Sewer Department."
"I'm just a contract worker. I don't handle complaints."
Just then, Milviet noona clutched her belly dramatically and said,
"Oh no, ouch! My stomach! My stomach hurts so much I can't handle it. Arzen, you take care of this one. As a contract worker, you still need to help with complaints."
Shit, stop with the nonsense already.
'I almost said that.'
Irritated, Arzen got up, and Sora sat down across from him.
"So, what’s the complaint?"
"...Bribery."
It was said so casually that he had to doubt his ears.
Bribery? Bribery complaints?
If there was any department where such a thing existed, it could only be this Sewer Department.
'Samson, you lunatic...!'
Just how deep does your scumbaggery run?
"If it's that kind of issue, the person in charge is... oh, they're not in yet."
But then Sora dug around in her belongings for a while.
After much rummaging, she cleared her throat and placed something curious on the counter.
It was… a paper bag, emitting a warm, sweet aroma.
Peeking inside, he saw cookies dotted with raisins.
"It's a bribe."
Sora said, almost as if making an excuse.
"I heard you've been low on energy lately. Raisins have nutrients that are supposed to boost stamina. You need energy to kill more slimes, which means more spoils for me to pick up."
Whatever kind of structure Samson had built in this sewer management department, the fact that bribery was so openly exchanged...
'If you’re going to be a scumbag, being one as good as Samson definitely has its perks!'
Due to his once penniless past, Arzen had a policy of never refusing free stuff, but… this woman was a maniac, so he needed to be cautious.
"You didn't put anything in this, did you? Like, slime filth or something?"
At that, Sora's face turned bright red, and she punched Arzen on the top of his head before vanishing.
She left before he could point to the sign that said, 'Violence against clients is never justified.'
He pulled out the largest cookie.
On the back were markings made with tiny raisins—three little figures and one big figure.
'Huh, did those kids... help make this?'
Arzen chuckled and bit into the cookie.
It couldn't fully satisfy a palate that had already tasted cake, but it wasn’t bad.
The crunchiness had its own appeal, different from cake.
* * *
'Maybe I'll just live like this.'
After finishing work that day, Arzen gazed out at the city streets bathed in the hot sunlight.
It didn’t seem like a bad idea to settle down in Karsiko.
Located between two continents, and being a major city, the cost of living and security here were more stable than anywhere else.
'I could take on a few odd jobs from the adventurer's guild, then during the summer, work as a civil servant clearing out the slimes and stockpile money...'
With the power he had now, he could clear out the entire sewer system of a major city.
'And since I've already made a good impression on the Witches, landing a public office job would be smooth sailing.'
There didn’t seem to be a need to push himself to become some great adventurer.
After all, wasn’t what he really wanted simply this kind of peaceful life?
Did he really need to choose a harder path again?
"..."
From that day forward, for quite a long time, Arzen spent his days deep in thought, gazing out at the city and the sea.
Then, life threw a curveball.
About two weeks later, when he was about to make a big decision, he showed up at City Hall, only to find the atmosphere unusually bustling.
"What's with the rush?"
Even Milviet noona and that corrupt Samson were sighing in frustration, cleaning every nook and cranny.
"Don’t even ask. A Dragon’s coming."
"What?"
"A Dragon! One of the Dragonfolk!"
The Dragonfolk.
Guardians of this world.
Even the Witches who followed the Dragon Scriptures were merely practicing the teachings the Dragonfolk had passed down in their Draconic tongue.
"Why are the Dragonfolk coming?"
"How should I know? Just help out. Your contract’s almost up, so don't slack off now."
The Dragonfolk could fly, so there was no way to know in advance when they would arrive.
You'd only know when they were right at your doorstep, so the frantic energy made sense.
Arzen gulped.
Come to think of it, why were the Dragonfolk coming here? Could it be... they were after him?
- There’s a suspicious energy coming from here.
- Gyaaah!
Arzen decided running was the right call. He had to get out of here immediately.
"Hurry up, everyone!"
But there was no chance to escape.
The Witches were leading the cleaning efforts.
They were using magic to clean every inch of the place at an impossible speed.
'If only they cleaned like this all the time, things would be so much easier!'
Arzen, who had been about to make his escape, was caught by the Witches and roped into all kinds of labor.
'Damn it, I need to get out of here...'
He had finally managed to find a moment to slip away from the Witches' watchful eyes when it happened.
With a tremendous gust of wind, The Flame descended into the front courtyard of the city hall.
At that moment, all thought vanished from Arzen's mind.
'Is there anywhere else in the world... where something this... awe-inspiring exists... just by its form alone...?'
He was overwhelmed by a primal sense of reverence.
"Wow, I never thought I'd live to see something like this."
Samson approached the window where Arzen stood, speaking in a tone of disbelief.
"They say there aren’t even 100 Dragons left in all three Dragon legions, and here we are, seeing one of them."
The Dragonfolk are divided into three types: Red Dragons, White Dragons, and Yellow Dragons.
Each has its own role to play.
Red Dragons embody destruction, White Dragons represent balance, and Yellow Dragons maintain order.
The division of power among the Witches mirrors this same structure.
The ‘Red Witches’ govern military affairs.
The ‘Blue Witches’ manage civil matters.
The ‘Yellow Witches’ oversee both religious and legal concerns.
Since the official name of the Republic is the Republic of Dragonkind, it only made sense that all of the Witches' culture had been handed down from the Dragonfolk.
So, perhaps the bizarre spectacle unfolding in the courtyard right now was only natural.
"We greet the Great Flame."
The mayor of Karsiko and the Grand Witch, two figures Arzen had thought stood at the pinnacle of power, bowed deeply with trembling voices.
Three Ronin stood atop the Dragon's back.
Their outfits made it obvious they were Ronin.
Ronin are warriors who seek to achieve a body and spirit as strong and refined as a Dragon's through martial arts.
'The Red Pilgrims...!'
And these weren't just any ordinary Ronin.
'They're the Red Pilgrims, founded and led by Akirea, leader of the Red Dragon Legion!'
These are the ones who maintain the order of the Adrion Continent, the very same ones even the notorious Divine Guillotine avoided crossing paths with.
Arzen's heart pounded furiously as he instinctively pulled the curtain over himself, hiding by the window.
"If you'd sent word ahead, we could have prepared a modest reception..."
At the mayor's words, the Red Dragon snorted, releasing a thick, black cloud of smoke.
「No. We are following the command of the Last Flame. We must move on to our next destination immediately.」
"And what urgent matter requires such haste...?"
「We are searching for certain individuals.」
The youngest-looking of the Red Pilgrims leapt down from the Dragon's back and pulled a wanted poster from his robe, handing it to the Grand Witch.
"Divine Guillotine recently trespassed into the Forbidden Zone of the Ruined Territory. It appears they were consumed by the Abyss."
"Divine Guillotine... that reckless band of adventurers, right?"
"It is certain that they were wiped out, but Lord Akirea believes there are survivors."
"What?"
"We are looking for six who were not involved in the mission. They vanished just as the pursuit began. Here are their portraits."
The Grand Witch flipped through the six wanted posters, studying the faces of these individuals, whose ferocity was evident even in their likenesses.
"Should I make copies and distribute them across the Tershe Archipelago?"
"We would be grateful if you did so, Grand Witch."
There are only thirty Grand Witches in the entire Republic.
At that level, she could address a Red Pilgrim without deference and even hold a brief conversation with the Red Dragon itself.
The witches under her command, however, couldn't even dream of speaking a single word.
"What do you think they're talking about?"
Arzen cautiously asked as he glanced out at the courtyard again from behind the curtain. Samson yawned.
"How would I know? We’re too far to hear anything. And it's not like they're coming inside, so why the hell did they make us clean? This is why I hate these damn showy events."
The Red Dragon suddenly raised its head.
Arzen quickly ducked out of sight, slipping away from the window before its gaze could meet his.
He wasn't the only one hiding—Samson, too, had pressed himself against the wall.
Even a crooked scoundrel like him understood that a Dragon was something truly terrifying.
"..."
The Red Dragon seemed to gaze intently at the window where Arzen had hidden.
Its fiery eyes, flickering like flames, appeared to be assessing something.
But as soon as the pilgrim returned to mount its back, the Dragon unfurled its massive wings and soared into the sky.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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