## Chapter 436 – Those Devilish Bastards
I slipped under the covers and clutched the fairy necklace tightly.
My grip contained the wishes and yearnings of children. As I clenched my fist, channeling that almost desperate desire, my hand began to tremble.
ㅡTsupat!
Soon, a bright light leaked from between my fingers.
Of course, it wasn’t as bright as an LED bulb, but it was still a decent light, enough to find my way through the darkness of the forest, even without moonlight.
ㅡLatras’s Necklace.
In the end, I’d wavered between Undine and Latras but chose the flashlight. I figured I’d be moving around at night more often than purifying contaminated water.
It’s better to choose the one you can use more. That’s how tools work. I’d always thought it would be nice to have a flashlight, but I never really needed a portable water purifier.
Once I made up my mind, Lady Risha enchanted the fairy necklace with the light attribute in just one day. I held it tight, showering it with love in gratitude, which, as usual, turned into a complete mess, but the fact that she woke up earlier than me and made breakfast was twice as wonderful.
The remaining spirit cores weren’t particularly useful, so I went with Winnie and sold them all. Selling all five together got me 40 silver, which I was extremely satisfied with.
They were more expensive than I thought.
The main reason for the high price was that there weren’t many mid-level spirits nearby.
“Hehehe.”
Anyway, this necklace will be very useful as my flashlight from now on.
Since it’s a combination of a mid-level spirit core and a fairy necklace, it can be used semi-permanently as long as it doesn’t break.
In other words, it’s rechargeable. Because that Latras bastard is a light attribute, just exposing it to sunlight during the day is enough to make it shine for hours at night.
I can only describe it as a solar-powered flashlight.
But since it’s a necklace in the first place, it’s smaller and easier to carry than a flashlight.
It’s a pretty convenient item.
I don’t have to carry it around; I can just wear it like a necklace, so I don’t feel the weight. Plus, the light is bright, and the battery lasts a long time.
As expected, artifacts imbued with magical power are really convenient, just like those of modern science. It would be great to have a refrigerator at home. Well, there’s something similar to a refrigerator, but you can only see it in the kitchens of noble families.
“What are you doing alone under the covers? If you’re jerking off, just ask your sister to do it for you, okay?”
As I was grinning and fiddling with the necklace, Karin lifted the blanket. Today was a holiday. The other wives had gone out together to do some grocery shopping, and Karin had stayed home, saying she was tired.
“Why would I jerk off?”
I only jerk off when I’m giving it to Alaune every other day. I have four wives, so there’s no need to waste my energy.
I’m practically a male lion.
“Then what are you doing?”
“I was just testing this necklace. I think it’ll be really convenient to use when I’m working at night.”
“That thing Risha made for you? It’ll be convenient, I guess. Anyway, grab your sword and let’s go to the backyard. I heard you’ve been working hard because you want to draw out your sword aura?”
“Did Cloudie tell you?”
“Yeah. Well, I’d like to tell you how to do it, but sword aura is really a matter of personal skill. Still, I should help my husband from the wife’s point of view, right?”
I immediately threw off the blanket and pulled out a pair of shorts. Even on a holiday, I can’t skip training. It would be great if Karin could watch me train at home.
“How about we work up a sweat and then have some sex with your sister?”
“Hehehe, you know exactly what I want!”
“You’re such a cute little thing. Come on.”
I went straight to the backyard with Karin.
It’ll take a while for them to come back from grocery shopping anyway, so I’ll play with Karin in the meantime.
* * *
Thus, my daily life was roughly a repetition of finishing one or two jobs a week, training in between, taking a break on the Swordsman Guild’s holidays, and then going back to work.
Actually, even though it’s called a weekend, my wives hardly ever leave me alone. Except for the occasional eating out, grocery shopping, or going shopping, I’m constantly being drained. I’m working like a studhorse, my back is breaking.
Anyway, I steadily built my career by handling incidents that occurred near the city and completing commissions from other magicians and alchemists, and I spent my time smoothly.
There was nothing particularly special.
Hunting monster hordes, collecting materials, etc. I handled jobs ranging from D-rank to C-rank. Sometimes I went with Winnie alone, sometimes with Cloudie and Winnie, and sometimes I worked alone.
Of course, no matter which party I moved with, no strong enemies appeared.
It was very peaceful. Well, the appearance of monster hordes was never peaceful, but it wasn’t a problem for me.
Perhaps that’s why.
Even though I continued to cut down monsters, steadily accumulating skills and experience, there was no particular progress in my mana. Increasing the amount of mana also felt stagnant from some point on.
I also tried fighting with the manifestation of sword aura in mind throughout my swordsmanship, but there were no gains.
Just in case, I even stopped by the library to look for some books, but there’s no way something like that would be in the library. Even when I read the autobiographies of heroes, they just skipped over the training scenes, damn it.
It was just a story about how they killed everyone and succeeded, but it was so interesting that I ended up reading a whole book.
And so, the end of summer approached.
I don’t know when I’ll be able to reach C-rank. I’m steadily building my career, but it’s only been a year since I became a D-rank. A year is a bit short to gain more credibility.
“Are you going out, honey?”
“Yeah. Do you need anything? I’ll buy it when I come back.”
“Hmm, not really. You’re going to the guild, right? Have a good trip.”
I left Winnie, who was reading a magic book, and went outside.
Originally, I should have gotten a job and gone out yesterday, but there were no good jobs, so today was another day off. Still, since it’s morning, I should go to the guild. Cloudie is still asleep.
Winnie had a tendency to be a bit overprotective of me after the incident where I was kidnapped by harpies, but it seems that it has faded a bit as we continue to work together, and recently, I’ve been going to work alone more often.
This mainly happens when Winnie’s magical research is in full swing.
ㅡStep, step.
I head straight for the Adventurer’s Guild.
It takes about 30 minutes to walk. Pedestrians are moving busily around, and carriages are passing by. I haven’t seen that Copsen bastard lately; I wonder if he’s doing well.
I wonder if he’ll be there today?
I’ve been earning money steadily recently because I’ve had a lot of work, so I’ve repaired my equipment and bought new things that I didn’t have. I’m currently properly equipped with a quilted armor, a breastplate, greaves, gauntlets, and shoulder pads.
If I earn a little more money, I might be able to buy plate armor.
The weapon is the black iron longsword I received from Karin, which I’m using very usefully, so there’s no need to change it, so I can focus on armor.
Anyway, I arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.
And I saw a familiar face.
“Isn’t that the barbarian bastard!”
“You son of a bitch, aren’t you Copsen!”
Damn it, it feels good to see Copsen after so long. I was thinking about what this bastard has been up to, and then I noticed that his equipment was in pretty good shape.
“What? What’s with that armor?”
“Are you curious? Ah, I’ve been itching to tell you, but I couldn’t see the barbarian bastard!”
Copsen grinned and stuck out his chin. I don’t know what kind of gesture that is, but it seems like he wants to brag.
“Hehehe, I’ve just been doing well. No, I don’t think you’ve been diligently saving money, so did you win big at the casino or something?”
“No, you son of a bitch, I was going to tell you first, but how did you figure it out!”
I guessed roughly, and it seems like that was the answer, as Copsen screamed in a fit.
It seems like this bastard, who had only been failing, finally hit the jackpot at the casino.
“Damn it. Look here, barbarian. If someone wants to brag, you should just listen. That’s common sense, common sense. I was happy to see you after so long, but what is this?”
His equipment had changed to pretty good stuff.
He’s wearing what looks like a good sword, an iron breastplate, and even gauntlets. He looks like he could go around and act like a thug.
“That’s true, but you should only do that to women, you idiot. There’s no need for that kind of consideration for a guy.”
“That’s surprisingly convincing. Anyway, let’s go eat breakfast.”
“I already ate.”
Lady Risha made it for me before I left.
“Damn it, just eat.”
“Alright.”
I can eat more anyway.
We immediately moved to a nearby restaurant and ordered food and beer. The beer came out right away, and Copsen grinned as he drank it.
“Hehehe, I was really lucky. I’ve never had such luck in my life. I bet all the money I’d saved up in one go, and I hit the jackpot. I won five times as much.”
“Damn, you won a lot.”
For some reason, his skin looks a little better, and the shine in his hair seems stronger. Five times as much is enough to do that.
“So, I was thinking of gambling again to increase the money, but I had a feeling it would be a disaster, so I bought all the equipment first. Since I have money, I was going crazy thinking about investing only half of the money I won. So, I spent the money quickly.”
First of all, the moment he used the word ‘invest’ in gambling, this bastard was destined to fall. If he considers gambling itself an investment, there’s no way he can quit.
“The reason is a bit stupid, but yeah. Good job. Combat power comes from equipment.”
We roughly shared those stories and reported on each other’s recent activities. It seems that Copsen is also working hard as an E-rank adventurer. But it seems that it will be a long time before this bastard reaches D-rank. It usually takes years. And he occasionally fails quests.
“So, how’s the barbarian doing?”
“I’m a D-rank, so I’m just working like crazy. But now that I see your face after so long, I have something I want to ask.”
“What? Are you going to ask if there’s anything special going on? If you buy me food, I can’t refuse.”
“Damn it, order whatever you want.”
“Oh!”
And so, I ended up buying Copsen food.
He says he doesn’t have much money because he spent all the money he won from gambling.
Of course, listening to stories about the world while buying him food is nothing but a gain, not a loss.
“Hmm, there’s news that an old mansion was discovered in a deep forest about three days away from here, should I call it a dungeon? Well, a mansion suddenly appearing is suspicious, isn’t it? But it seems like some guys went there.”
“Mansion?”
A mansion was discovered in a deep forest?
Well, this area has such a rough forest that an old villa might have been abandoned.
But that area is completely outside the city and villages, so it would be really difficult to build a building there, right? Could there have been a village near there in the past?
If so, we might be able to find something if we search it.
“Anything else?”
“I think you know this, but haven’t imps been found a lot recently?”
“What the hell, imps? What are you talking about?”
I’m not lying, I’m hearing this for the first time.
“You’re really ignorant of rumors. Anyway, a lot of imps have been appearing in the vicinity. Priests and nuns are raising their voices, saying that it might be an ominous sign.”
Imps are beings said to have come from hell or the demon world, and they are evil monsters that seem to be treated somewhat similarly to spirits. Well, some say they should be included in the demon species, but I don’t know for sure.
However, all I know is that they are weak and small monsters that even Kim Kat, when he was a noob, has caught a few times. You can often encounter them if you go into the deep forest.
I even encountered hellhounds when I went to the dungeon with Elise, Copsen, and Meria in the past.
Imps are often killed by adventurers because they are nothing special except for the fact that they look quite grotesque.
I think they survive by eating corpses or something, but they certainly look demonic, so they are called ‘harbingers of ominous events’ among adventurers.
“Well, there seem to be quite a few drunks who say that the end is coming. Maybe it’s the psychology of wanting to be compensated equally with the end as a result of a life wasted on alcohol. Other than that, there’s nothing particularly special.”
Copsen said that as he drank the beer in one gulp.
Imps, huh.
