NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40 - Episode 40: Insuring with Insurances...
Episode 40: Insuring with Insurances…
“Ahhhh!! Don’t come near me!!”
Is this an act? “Don’t come” could also mean “Come.”
Perhaps he wants someone to come.
Like when a comedian stands in front of a hot bath and says, “Don’t push. Absolutely don’t push.”
Is there some kind of strategy involved?
To defeat him for sure, I need to crush all the hidden tactics.
“If it comes to this, I’ll use my last resort.”
Oh?
So, he was still hiding something after all.
“D-Don’t get closer!”
While saying that, the hero reached into the subspace.
Is it an interdimensional storage box, an item box?
Is there still some item left?
“Now, do you recognize this girl?”
He took out a girl.
What!?
“Stasa!”
She was the orphan girl sent as a spy to the Rontomelda territory by the hero.
She sent me a letter a few weeks ago saying she was feeling unwell, but was she caught by Cea?
This guy, even though he’s a hero, seems to be good at using hostages as shields.
Stasa glanced at me briefly and whispered with tears.
“Lord Zaus… I’m so sorry…”
“Hyahaha!! The tables have turned, Zaus!!”
Since Cea was trained by his master Gebarugonza to level 82, it was easy to detect Stasa’s presence.
I messed up. I was too focused on training myself and couldn’t think about Stasa.
This is entirely my fault. Sending a 16-year-old girl as a spy to the enemy’s stronghold.
“Stasa… Don’t worry. I’ll rescue you soon.”
“Ohh! Don’t make any suspicious moves! If you do anything strange, I’ll snap this girl’s neck!”
Stasa… She looks quite swollen, and her body looks thin.
“What did you do to her?”
“Kukuku! She was lurking around me, so I caught her and tortured her.”
“Torture?”
“Kukuku. If she answered immediately, I wouldn’t have done anything. She’s a stupid girl. I reduced her food, slapped her cheeks. Haha! Then she shed tears and gritted her teeth.”
That’s terrible…
“Are you still a hero after all this?”
“Hmph! Killing the enemies of the hero is justice. Whether they’re women, children, elderly, or sick. Anyone who opposes the hero is evil.”
“She’s not guilty. I ordered her.”
“Kukuku. I thought so. I thought it would be something like that.”
“Release her.”
“Hyahaha! That’s up to you!”
“I’m the ruler of evil. What belongs to my subordinates belongs to me. And what belongs to me also belongs to me. So… Stasa’s failure is also mine.”
“What? Are you trying to say that it’s your fault that she’s caught?”
“That’s right. So, Stasa, don’t cry. The blame lies with me, the ruler of evil.”
“Hyahaha! It’s too late to repent now! Even if you apologize, I won’t forgive you! Even if you kneel down, it won’t work. I won’t forgive you!!”
She cried even more.
“Ugh… Lord Zaus!!”
“Just endure a little longer.”
“Ugh.”
Cea leaned back and laughed heartily.
“Kikikikikikyaa!! This is hilarious! It’s no good!! My stomach hurts from laughing too much! Poor Stasha, supported by an incompetent ruler like Zaus!!”
“D-Don’t speak ill of Lord Zaus!”
“Kukukuku. My bad. I sympathize with your situation!!”
Phew.
“Tell me your demands.”
“Kukuku. First, raise both hands. Slowly. Surrendering. Pose like you’re surrendering. Kukuku.”
Now, what demands will be made?
“Don’t move yet. Keep your hands up. Kukuku. Shall we use this?”
The hero took out a fruit knife from the interdimensional storage box.
He threw it on the ground.
It’s not exactly a weapon, but…
“Kukuku. I want you to stab this knife into your heart.”
“Oh?”
“Kakakaka! I didn’t say anything like that when I was holding the great sage. I thought I’d beat you to a pulp. But not this time.”
In other words,
“He wants me to make myself commit suicide.”
“Bwahahaha! That’s right! I won’t hold back anymore! I’ll thoroughly deal with you! I won’t make any mistakes!!”
Certainly, if I make myself commit suicide, the difference in levels won’t matter anymore.
However, not taking action also indicates how cornered he is.
“Cea… It seems like that’s your final plan?”
“Hahaha! That’s right. I carefully planned it out. I used the level 999 rock golem and, just in case, the great sage as a hostage. And finally, this girl. I layered insurances upon insurances, devising a flawless plan to defeat you that would absolutely not fail!!”
“I see… the end, then.”
Indeed, it’s good that I acted cautiously. If I had easily disposed of him after saving the great sage, Stasa would probably have starved to death in the subspace by now.
But, if this is truly the end… it’s not a crisis. It’s the perfect opportunity.
“Now, pick up the knife. But take it slowly. If you make any strange moves, I’ll kill Stasa. Got it?”
“…………….”
“Hey. Don’t just stand there like a log, move!”
“…………….”
“If you move. Kukuku. Well, I understand you’re scared. Kukuku.”
“Cea… You said earlier that you planned to defeat me, layering insurances upon insurances.”
“Kuhahaha. Of course. I’m a genius, after all. I didn’t leave any loopholes in my plan to defeat you.”
“I see… Actually, I did the same. I planned to defeat you.”
“Hmph… That ends now. Kukuku. My victory will close the curtain.”
“Do you know a man named Chin?”
“Huh? The weapon merchant, right? That bastard who hoarded the swords I wanted. If I find him, I’ll kill him.”
“That was me.”
“What!?”
“I disguised myself as a weapon merchant. I did it to prevent strong weapons from falling into your hands.”
“You piece of…!! …Hmph. Well, that struggle ends now. Kukuku. It feels good to think that burying you will be my revenge against Chin! Gyahahaha!”
“The weapon shop owner… He complained a lot about you. He said he wanted revenge.”
“Hmph! He was an incompetent shopkeeper. It’s natural for him to suffer violence from me. He didn’t sell me the sword. He should be grateful he wasn’t killed.”
“The shopkeeper wanted to get revenge on you.”
“Hahaha! What’s this weak mob saying? After I kill you, maybe I’ll kill the shopkeeper next.”
“I, in the guise of Chin, gave him a chance for revenge.”
“Huh?”
I snapped my fingers with both hands raised.
“Hey, what was that snapping earlier!? Don’t tell me you called for reinforcements?”
“Do you think I’d do something like that?”
“Don’t make any suspicious moves. It’ll take less than a second to snap this girl’s neck!”
“Did you enjoy the candy?”
“Huh?”
The hero started trembling.
“Ugh… N-no…”
“Honey and milk candy. Creamy and sweet. Delicious, isn’t it?”
“H-How do you know? Th-That candy… It was… It was from the weapon shop owner. He couldn’t sell the magic steel sword… so… he gave me the candy!”
“I disguised myself as Chin and gave the candy to the shopkeeper.”
“What!?”
“With that, I could get revenge on the hero.”
“What!?”
“Why is this happening!? N-No!! My stomach… i-it hurts…!”
“That candy is cursed. It causes stomach pain in response to my finger snapping.”
Snap!
“Gwoooohhhh!”
“Adding the sound of snapping fingers accelerates the stomach pain.”
Snap!
“Nugooohhh!!”
Snap!
“Guhhhaaa!!”
“It’s like this.”
Snap!
“It hurts!!”
Snap!
“Gyaaaa!! Nyaaaghh!! Fuugyanya!!”
“Now, Stasa. You’re safe now.”
“Lord Zaus!!”
She hugged me tightly.
“I’m sorry for making you suffer.”
“Lord Zaus!! I’m so sorry!!”
“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. There, there.”
“Waaaaahhh!!”
I pulled out a potion from my pocket.
“Drink this.”
“Sob… What’s this?”
“This is an item I received from the great sage Caphrodyte. It can heal any wound.”
“S-So precious of an item for me!? I-I can’t! Please let Lord Zaus use it!”
“Just drink it.”
“Ugh. Thank you very much.”
Stasa’s wounds were instantly healed.
Alright.
“Meel. Take care of her.”
Stasa should be fine now.
Now then,
“Hey Cea. I’m removing this collar.”
I shattered the magic-sealing collar.
Hmm.
Feeling refreshed.
My magic is restored.
Now, it’s time for the Law of Halving that reduce my level by half.
This is similar to a weakening curse spell. Just a little effort…
“Mmm!”
Alright.
It’s lifted.
“I’m back to normal now. My level is 6000. Oh, and since the skill of doubling my status is active, it might be effectively 12000.”
“Aggghhhhhhh… T-t-t-t-t-t-t-ta-tazu-gede…!”
Is this acting?
“Don’t worry. I’ll never hold back.”
I won’t let my guard down or underestimate him.
With all my might…
“To defeat you.”
I summoned the jet-black sword from subspace.
“Demon Sword…”
—
The candy event is in Chapter 21. If you’re interested, please go back and read it again.