Butcher Demon Chapter 342

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Butcher Demon Chapter 342 Shadow Trap

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"Welcome back. Did you have fun?"

Late at night, when I got back to the ramshackle house, I was met with warm smiles, no sharp edges. Tiriel grinned brightly, happy to see me back from my time in the brothel. Kyo was also smiling, relaxed, and content. Grinning. Smiling.

The two of them leisurely sipped tea together, while smiling.

——This is a trap.

I could see right through their facade.

If I say I had fun, they'll say, "Then we're no longer needed," and I'd lose them. If I say it wasn't enjoyable, they'll say, "Then there's no need for you to go to such filthy places anymore," and I'd lose the brothel. It's a dilemma. The watershed between love and desire. That smile is like that of an ambush predator, patiently waiting with its jaws wide open.

If I said I had a good time, they'd probably say, "Guess you don't need us anymore," and I'd lose them. But if I said it wasn't, they'd likely respond with, "Then there's no need for you to go to such filthy places anymore," and I'd lose my access to the brothel. It's a dilemma. Like standing at a crossroads between affection and desire. Their smile is like that of an ambush predator, patiently waiting with its jaws wide open.

Having read through the dark intentions of the two, the answer I give them was——

"Hear, important info. Faye, help."

The correct answer was to quickly change the subject.

"Important information?"

Tiriel tilted her head. Good, she's taking the bait.

I immediately unfolded the top-secret info I got from Simonyan.

Namely —— He's on the verge of having an ED.

"What?"

I was met with a piercing gaze. My mistake.

One more time, I revealed the information about the land at the feet of the Aides statue.

"——That...wasn't that ...really useful information!? That's amazing Gevaudan!"

With a poof...... Tiriel's expression relaxed.

Kyo next to her also looked surprised, confirming my words for a second and third time.

"You saying that if we buy the land at the feet of Aides-sama, we get a large temple as a bonus?"

"Simonyan, confirm, exist. Me, check, next."

"Who owns the land then?"

"I'll talk to Master Forkulin tomorrow. He's well-connected, so he probably knows. I trust him more than just some random rumor!"

"The sooner the better. Is there anything I can do to help?"

From there, we pressed on with our strategy meeting until dawn. Thankfully, I succeeded in muddying the waters for now. Phew, that was a close one. By the way, if someone asks me if I enjoyed Butt Wall or not, the answer is yes.

——Two days later.

We gathered at the feet of the aforementioned Aides statue.

This area is close to the central lake in the lower levels, just a short walk away. The view of the city from an elevated point is stunning, but looking up the bowl-shaped city from below was also an overwhelming panorama. And from this spot, craning my neck to see the collapsed Aides statue only adds to the ache in my neck.

Debris larger than human bodies scattered all around, making it clear that no houses could be built there.

Thinking that it would be too rash to act solely based on Simonyan's words,  I visited this place yesterday to conduct my own investigation to confirm the truth.

As a result, I have a strong hunch that the hollow he mentioned really does exist.

When I punched the rubble near the statue's feet, the echoing sound that returned was strong. It suggests that there's a large hollow behind it.

However, it's still uncertain whether it's really there and how much space there is inside.

Also, the things scattered here are not like normal rocks——they're unusually hard and heavy. It seems like it would take a long time to clear these rocks and make this place habitable. Even with something like me that has capabilities closer to a heavy-duty machine on foot.

Thus, having concluded our preliminary investigation, we hurriedly contacted the landowner. Strike while the iron is hot.

And now, we're here, about to do both the site visit and sign the papers to buy the land simultaneously. Faye and Yakumo are here with us too, since they're involved. Seems like Suse managed to pull some strings to get them temporary access.

"Are you sure it's alright here? You don't have to decide in such a hurry..."

Susu, who has been helping us a lot, also hurried to the scene. He's worried that we're getting involved in some nasty situation. I haven't told him about the hidden temple yet.

"Kehhhhh! This devious Butcher!"

The mean Grandma Skemes also tagged along as a watchdog.

Seriously, this old lady. No matter what I do, she always pops up out of nowhere to criticize everything I do. Why does she have such a grudge against me? Well, today she made an exception and gave permission for Faye and the others to enter, so I guess her heart was all that rotten.

...

The landowner's name is Eamon. We were introduced to him by Kyo, who pleaded with Forkulin to arrange the meeting. Eamon has a thick, bearded face and lifeless eyes.

What's a bit worrying is what Kyo mentioned when Forkulin introduced him to her, he said, "It's better to stay away from that guy."

But we can't back out now. Even though we've got several concerns, we're set on going through with this deal.  Besides wanting to earn money to go to the brothel, I also wanna set ourselves up and really start looking for Titania and the others.

Eamon guided us and we walked around the land full of rubbles.

"Ah..."

Finally, Eamon turned to us and said with a lifeless voice.

"Actually, this land has been gaining attention recently... I've had some other people asking about it too. Until last month,  this land was worth next to nothing, but now... yeah... if you guys want me to turn down all the other clients, I'll need a hundred thousand Elds from you, or I'll lose out big time."

A commotion ran through the group.

——He's trying to pull a fast one.

Based on what we knew earlier, this land was only good for docking fishing boats, nothing more. It was supposed to be cheap, like around ten thousand Elds all year round.

Ten thousand Elds would amount to several month's worth of labor at most. We were counting on being able to easily pay off debts or whatever after working for about a year. So when he was suddenly asked for ten times that amount, all of our plans completely fell apart.

"There's no way for a Butcher to live in this place! Get out of town already!"

The Skemes old lady spat out triumphantly. So the new client for Eamon, who has recently appeared, was right in front of us. She might still be a rotten old lady after all.

With a hundred grand, our plans are screwed. Tiriel and Kyo are whispering to each other, looking all serious, and their faces are grim.

"——Ah, what the hell. I can give you a loan for land purchase if you really want to, but what do you want to do with it anyway? Considering the type of land it is. Personally, I wouldn't mind letting go if possible,"

Eamon said he could lend us money.

Just to be sure, I looked back at everyone to confirm their intentions.

Kyo shook her head slightly, Tiriel gave a thumbs-down, Komugi made an 'X' with her beak, Faye also shook her head, and Susu visibly relaxed, seeming relieved not to have caught hold of with such strange land. Meanwhile, Yakumo wandered around playing alone while blowing his flute.

*Pe-hyororo, pe-hyororo*. Listening to that flute, something in my chest throbbed. Maybe it gives me courage.

——Hmm...

But, you know, if we're going to use Meteor Lake as a base to find everyone, we still need a livelihood, and we need a place to accept them when they reunite. There's no guarantee we'll find everyone at once.

Given that, if we're going to use Meteor Lake as our base to search for everyone, we still need a place and housing for the girls who've joined us to stay. There is no guarantee that I will be able to find everyone at once.

　Right now, I was thinking about what I would do after I got out of debt.

To be honest, I'm considering taking on the debt by myself. Worst case scenario, I could just run away in the night.

I don't want to live here, and I don't want to blend into an alien society. Even Faye and the others probably don't intend to settle here permanently. Once I protect Abigail and the others, that's it. Disband. I'll disappear, alone. That should be fine.

Even if I'm wanted in Mifosis, it doesn't matter. I can live in the mountains and, if pursued, I'll fight back.

And finally, if I can find Titania and she can take me to her homeland, Agartha, I wouldn't care less about Mifosis.

So, I was optimistic regarding the debt. *Pe-hyororo, pe-hyororo*. I whistled the tune in my mind.

"Deal."

"Ehhh?! W-wait... Gevaudan-san, a hundred thousand is quite a lot, you know?!"

Kyo grabbed my arm and stopped me.

　It's about three years' worth of labor. There would probably be interest, and living expenses are necessary, so the actual period would be longer. But it's okay.  I'm willing to borrow all the money I can get by self-mortgaging.

"I, alone. Loan. Agree."

As I said that, Faye reluctantly stepped forward.

"Please reconsider. We didn't want to go that far——"

"Oh, you've got some balls down there."

Eamon interrupted Faye and raised his voice in admiration.

"I like you, how about this, I'll throw in the surrounding land as a bonus."

"Out, of nowhere."

"Hahaha. I may look like this, but I'm still a businessman. Well then, here are the deeds. And here's the contract.

Eamon took out several pieces of paper from his side bag.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold up! don't decide without talking first!"

Tiriel scolded me, but I didn't have time to explain now. Meteor Lake doesn't have much space. We need to buy it quickly. A place where this many people can live together may never come up again.

"Tiriel. Contract, read."

"Hey, hold on...!"

I handed her the contract. I'm illiterate in alien language, so I need her to read it for me.

"Ugh..."

Tiriel hesitantly read what was written on the document. 

Meanwhile, as I glanced at the contract, I saw lots of empty spots, which seemed weird. Was this some kind of alien writing? I still couldn't understand what it said.

The contract was pretty standard. A loan of a hundred thousand Elds with an annual interest rate of one percent. The land mentioned covered the area around the Aides statue's feet, and with the additional land Eamon generously threw in, it went all the way to the lakeside. The contracting party is Gevaudan.

"Wait, can a pet be a landowner too?"

Kyo suddenly voiced a question. That's right. I was Kyo's dog, Woof.

"Oh... Is that not acceptable to you? It does seem rather ambiguous. Typically, pets aren't considered contracting parties. Well, anyway. The contract specifies that the signer is the subject, so whether you're a pet or not shouldn't matter, I think. Besides, he can communicate normally."

"Is that really the case...?"

Kyo glanced around for help from Susu, but he just shook his head with a puzzled look. Even though he's a prince, he probably doesn't know much about land-related rules.

We reread the contract several times, and since there didn't seem to be any problems, I conveyed my intention.

"Really? Are you really, really!?"

Tiriel was nervous. Kyo, Faye, and Susu tried to stop my rash decision, but you know how it is, sometimes you just gotta go with the flow and seize the moment.  I once heard about a man who bought a piece of land on his way home from a night out to buy drinks. So, well, I guess it's okay to buy a piece of land that was introduced to you as a sign of friendship in the brothel.

"Very well, then, go ahead and sign that paper――,"

Eamon said that and rummaged through his side bag.

"Oh, wait, the pen..." 

Eamon panicked.

Then, out of the blue, Yakumo handed him a pen over from his side. After handing the pen to Eamon, he walked away.

"O-Oh... Sorry. Then please sign here."

*Scratch, scratch*——Gevaudan.

It looked like flowing cursive, but it was just that my handwriting was that messy. It's an Earth letter, but it's still a signature, so it should be fine.

"W-We... bought it..."

"I can't believe it..."

Tiriel and Kyo held up the completed contract, half worried and half excited.

——And then.

Unexpectedly, thick clouds covered the sun.

As a result, a dark shadow fell on the contract——

"――? ...???"

"Um? What?"

The two blinked in confusion.

Curious, I leaned in, and I noticed that there were more words crammed into the paper than before.

What could this mean...?

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