<679 – Irresponsible Pleasure (27)>
All the suspicious actions that Oknodie had taken so far were rationalized by one magical logic.
“She’s the Director’s Daughter, so she must have learned something.”
Anyway, the Foundation is bad.
But this time, the vibe was different.
“Does the Director know the identities of the Demon King’s Four Kings and their whereabouts?”
“No matter how much implicit communication there has been with the Demon King’s Army, they wouldn’t disclose such intimate cards. For the Foundation, it would be like the Demon King knowing the identity and actions of the three direct subordinates under the Director.”
The Butler firmly denied Pasible Yep’s question.
“If something like that were to happen, we would never be able to carry out our duties as the three direct subordinates, constantly fearing that the Demon King would attack us and putting our lives and the existence of our subordinates at risk. It absolutely must not happen.”
“So you’re saying that our Dark Princess did that as easily as breathing? Not once, but twice.”
“Twice?”
“Ah, the first time was the Demon King’s Four Kings, [El Niño], who infiltrated to break out the worst criminals from the Gift Academy’s Great Prison. Our branch has received formal reports that the Dark Princess cut off their breath using the Holy Swords of the other Saintesses.”
“I exchanged that information for the info on killing the Four Kings and Devil Eye Jelly!”
Clap!
“Ahem. I did well, right?”
Oknodie proudly put her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest, thinking someone was complimenting her.
No one was praising her, making the Butler’s worries deepen.
“I simply can’t gauge the depth of this child’s informational prowess. Is it the Director’s information? If not, where on earth did she obtain such information? Could there be a secret department in the Foundation that I’m unaware of? Is there a network among the demons digging up the Demon King’s internal data? What’s the reason and purpose for keeping that from me?”
Thoughts spiraled endlessly, but there was no answer.
Because no answer existed.
Thus, he had no choice but to select a temporary answer to convince himself.
“According to the common sense of the Middle Realm, this is an absurdity impossible for the Foundation. If Darknodi, who is the decoy, is an Dark Saintess, and the original Dark Princess Oknodie is also an existence crafted from the [Spirit]‘s body and soul, then that mystery becomes somewhat understandable. If it’s the mysteries of another realm, then nothing would seem strange.”
At least for the time being, they had to rest easy knowing that the Dark Princess was not an enemy.
Unless they were planning to sever ties with the Foundation and Gyeolsa, they could not afford to turn against her.
“I judge the Dark Princess’s statement as [Information Support]. What kind of support will the other executives provide? Think carefully and respond. If we don’t root this out now, a second City of Pleasure may arise, and a new Demon King’s Army and Demon Realm may be born in some distant land where you can’t take action.”
Darknodi reached into her cloak and pulled out a small mana potion.
Pong!
With a cheerful sound, the potion was opened, and Darknodi, with a blank expression, poured it into her mouth, making a face as if she was in pain.
“It tastes terrible.”
“Gah! Darknodi… did you, by any chance, make a [Garbage Potion] series?”
“The worse the taste of the materials, the more the recovery amount increases.”
“No matter how that may be, potions are something you drink often, so they should be tailored to tastes like strawberry, grape, and orange!”
Even a player who could use techniques to temporarily block all sensations wouldn’t dare use that when faced with a dire battle situation!
The veterans, having invested great effort in the perfect recipe, had succeeded in making the taste match with the colors of each potion.
Red Health Potions are strawberry-flavored.
Blue Mana Potions are grape-flavored.
Orange Stamina Potions are orange-flavored.
Yet, despite this effort of the veterans, Darknodi simply made a potion that maximized recovery and tasted worse than garbage and gulped it down.
She had made a potion that led to the loss of taste in a completely different sense than blocking sensations.
“I’ll give you mine. Throw away those trash ones!”
“No.”
While the main body and the decoy were bickering, those watching thought Darknodi would use magic.
The inference that Darknodi would use magic since she drank the mana potion established a strong causal relationship.
Would you drink an expensive mana potion without using magic?
However, whether it’s Oknodie or Darknodi, the veterans would gather materials even while stumbling, collecting whatever they could, and even if they leaned on a wall, their hands would reach through to steal materials from neighboring dorms!
Darknodi was a veteran who could drink mana potions without even using magic.
Baaa!
But even among veterans, there are astonishing actions.
Darknodi was brazenly spitting in an empty potion bottle while sticking out her tongue in front of many people, who were watching her carelessly.
“What are you doing to my face?!”
“…Shut up. Stop bothering me.”
“Why on earth would you do something like that?”
“The body of a magician is a powerful mana catalyst. Fingernails and hair are the same, but saliva is especially effective, you know.”
“Then just cut your hair, please!”
“No! I love this hair. I don’t want to be a bald Strength Marine!”
“!!”
The unfortunate veteran character [Strength All-In Skivvy] lost his hair due to being over muscled!
Darknodi, who had the memories of operating with Oknodie’s body and the gameplay knowledge of a veteran, couldn’t hide her irritation at prioritizing looks over performance.
“You said to take care of looks earlier. Were you just throwing that out of politeness?”
“No!”
“Then my spit is better than your hair, right?”
“Well… but just cut a little bit of your hair!”
“No. I like the current length. I don’t mind wearing any equipment, but I will take care of my body. Someday, I want to become the original body. This flesh is strong proof that I am the same as you.”
If she hadn’t had the horns of a vampire on her forehead, wings on her back, and a tail draping from her behind, her claim might have had some persuasiveness.
Anyway, Darknodi, who silenced Oknodie with her own logic, crafted the [Darknodi's Dark Magic Potion].
She extended the bottle towards the Butler.
“…What do you want me to do with this? You can’t be serious about asking me to drink this?”
Darknodi’s dark mana was the same as the amount of mana Oknodie had started with at the time of creating her permanent decoy, so while her mana’s purity and quantity are considerable, having to drink this potion was a big ask for the Butler, especially after witnessing the making process.
“Are you crazy? Why would I drink this? This was made by absorbing the power of the dimensional gate you opened after driving out the Mayor of the City of Pleasure.”
“…”
“If I cast [Mana Detection] on the bottle to identify this realm, the Demon King’s Four Kings Red Tide, sensing our presence, will respond, so I presume that’s what you meant to give it for!”
Darknodi looked at the Butler with a disgusted glare, as if he were garbage.
The executives, who had the same thought as the Butler, tried to avoid eye contact, making an effort to escape the feeling of being blamed too.
“So what were you implying while looking at me with your pathetic eyes, thinking you had something impressive to offer?”
As Darknodi looked at them with a menacing expression, Galik Fried Chicken and Pasible Yep exchanged awkward smiles.
Darknodi’s expression didn’t soften at all, and soon Galik Fried Chicken, who was feeling the pressure of being sidelined, spoke up first.
“Support in manpower has already hit its limit, and we can’t send more… But can we send a food truck?”
“……”
“The garlic chicken is really delicious, you know. Ahem, I just wanted to treat you. I’ll make all kinds of chicken. From the Family’s basic recipe fried chicken to seasoned chicken, soy sauce chicken, and tri-colored chicken!”
The Butler, about to say something about the hopeless fellow lacking any executive vibes, shook his head after seeing Galik Fried Chicken’s frightened, rat-like face.
“There’s nothing to squeeze out any further. A food truck is fine. Just sign a contract.”
“What kind of contract is this? I can’t read any of it.”
Darknodi, who had been peeking from behind, laughed mockingly at Galik openly.
“What a fool. Look at how you treat others while offering a contract like this.”
“…What kind of contract is this?!”
Darknodi decided that it was better to keep quiet about the fact that this contract meant that if the principal is hit hard enough to equal death, the subordinate will take the damage instead, opting to keep Galik in anxious and fearful uncertainty instead.
Pasible Yep, witnessing this, realized that not satisfying the Butler’s needs meant they had to offer something in return.
“How about the one-time usage right of my personal guard?”
“…!”
“Look at this. Even the guard is so eager to sacrifice for the executives that it doesn’t utter a single word of refusal.”
Sing, whose voice could not make a feminine sound, glared at Pasible Yep, as if she would immediately kill him with her gaze if that was possible.
“I have no interest in women.”
“It could be quite useful in terms of combat power. After all, she is a house-level competent person who has awakened to the level 4 domain.”
“I suppose she’s competent enough to take along on an interdimensional expedition. Not bad. I will accept that proposal.”
Sing, who felt a different kind of urgency, glared fiercely at Pasible Yep.
The confident Pasible Yep, whose face was skeletal now that everyone who knew him was dead and could now boldly attend the executive meeting in his skeletal state, even left a word of encouragement.
“Ah. Please refrain from consuming meat ten days before going to another realm. If you smell like meat, it would be perfect for being eaten by spirits.”
“…”
“As a service, I can cast a spell for skeletal transformation if you want, but do you want to try it for yourself?”
Sing coldly turned her head and rejected the offer, reminiscent of some skeleton instructor somewhere.
The Butler remarked after witnessing that scene.
“What a caustic guard. It’ll surely be amusing to teach them how to wield a sword.”
