Chapter 22: Keeping one's word

"One of yours tried to steal my servant using her skill."

Cranberry said offhandedly while grinding her foot on Shanks's head.

"If my family name was Greed I would, maybe, even find that endearing."

She tilted her head and glanced at Zombie, the blue boy positioned himself between her and the big woman and the rest of the fallen Dandelions, which caused Cranberry to smirk with satisfaction.

"We didn't know, I beg of you, lady Pride, show us mercy."

Shanks managed to speak even though his face was almost completely buried in the forest soil by that point.

"Mercy? But you attacked me first? I'm only protecting myself, you know? Self-defense. It's a legitimate self-defense."

Shanks wanted to curse but he managed to stop himself and Cranberry continued mockingly.

"And we even took care of this pesky birdie that would gobble you up otherwise. Not only greedy, but ungrateful too..."

Her voice became a lot colder, and the rat-faced man could swear that he feels her glare stabbing into him.

"A cowardly bunch that can't even take on a lousy griffin, I doubt that you own anything that could compensate for showing me such disrespect... I guess that I could turn you into experience points... But I've read that humans don't give much of it at all."

Cranberry frowned when she felt Shanks flinch.

"...why aren't you saying anything? Was I mistaken when I said that you have some brains in you...?"

"Ugh...!"

The girl put just a tiny bit of force into her foot and Shanks's head already felt like splitting in half.

But that pain cleared his mind.

Why did that girl waited and talked to him instead of just killing them all as she said she should?

She wanted something.

She was already strong so there was a good chance she wouldn't want the Dandelions to work for her as hired muscles...

That left a resonably clear answer.

She was a young noble lady that wouldn't lower herself to do some menial tasks.

She could easily kill a griffin, but did she even want to bother with taking it apart and clearing the mess?

Monster corpses attract more monsters.

The stronger the corpse the stronger the lured monster, eventually the whole area would be flooded with dangerous beasts and the land would become uninhabitable.

They currently were in close proximity to the Pride's family lands.

"I-in exchange for our lives we will help with dismantling and transporting the monster carcasses!"

Shanks exclaimed hurriedly, praying that his hunch was correct.

The pressure on his head disappeared and the rat-faced man was even able to stand up.

He dared to look at the red-haired girl and as she noticed that, she nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, and you will be selling them too. I'm feeling generous so you will be able to keep one-fifth of the profits."

Cranberry smiled towards Zombie, and the blue boy smiled back and nodded.

"Thank you! You are very generous, lady Pride!"

Shanks bowed deeply but Cranberry hadn't even looked at him anymore.

Instead, she just pointed in a seemingly random direction.

"Somewhere around there, if you go that way, you will find a few more dead griffins."

"Graough. (Seven.)"

While Cranberry was explaining, Zombie raised seven fingers to illustrate how many monsters have already fallen.

"Th-that many?!"

Shanks gasped and Uresha flinched but they were mostly ignored.

"Graough. (Master's follower isn't allowed to come over unless the area's safe.) Graough. (So we're wiping off monsters that are causing a disturbance.)"

Zombie groaned the explanation, but others couldn't understand him at all.

Cranberry, on the other hand, started looking around without much interest in anything that the rest was doing.

Shanks and Uresha looked at each other unsure whether they're allowed to go help the rest of their group but, when even the blue boy stopped paying attention to them and went over to his master, they finally risked it and moved.

They weren't stopped at all so they quickly carried the unconscious warrior and mage and helped the wounded priest to get up.

The Dandelions always had some medicine on hand in case In're would run out of mana, but now those were used on In're since she was not only missing a few teeth and bleeding profusely from the broken nose but also seemed to have a concussion and couldn't focus enough to use her magic.

Even with the precious potions used it took her about half an hour to come to herself and only after hearing what happened from Shanks, began healing the other two.

"Fuck me... An undead that doesn't fucking burn? What kind of bullshit is this...?"

After waking up, Lairs sat on the grass and complained while massaging her stomach.

"You want to hear something worse? That girl hadn't even used a skill when she hit me. What kind of strength is that? Her level must be insane! Damn it, what we got ourselves into..."

Groaned Rotte from the ground, still partially paralyzed.

"Oh, so now you start thinking?!"

Shanks scolded them and hurriedly glanced back at the red-haired girl and her blue servant.

"We've seen them took a griffin in less than five minutes but your dumb assess still thought it was fine to attack them?!"

He continued, getting agitated but speaking in a hushed voice not to annoy the noble lady.

"And you! In're! Couldn't you even wait a few seconds before using your skill?! Rotte is a moron and we're all responsible for keeping him as the leader, but what you did was simply idiotic!"

"..."

In're didn't respond and just looked away, while the green light was pouring from the palms of her hands into Rotte's body.

After a few more minutes, when Rotte was already back on his feet, Cranberry approached them with a sour face.

The Dandelions all stiffened.

"We are going ahead, take care of any corpses you find in the area, send the money from selling the parts to my house. Don't try to cheat me for your own good. I know the market prices."

The red-haired girl said offhandedly, without paying much attention to the tense atmosphere.

"If you try to pull of something stupid like before, there will be no mercy."

She added and walked away.

"Graough. (You better take that to your hearts, because my master isn't joking.)"

Zombie growled at the Dandelions and followed after Cranberry.

"That's one problem taken care of."

The red-haired girl hummed.

"Oh, hey, Zombie, don't you think that Mary is too weak? She wrote that she's level fourteen now, isn't that way too low?"

She asked.

"Graough... (That depends...)"

Zombie tilted his head from side to side, unsure how to properly answer.

"I think it's because she only has that pup as her tamed monster, she should have at least five at the minimum..."

Cranberry squinted her eyes and scratched her chin.

"There were some broken shells in one of the nests, right? Adult griffins are hard to tame, or so I've read, but a chick should be easy."

A sinister smile bloomed on her face.

"I guess I need to help my follower get stronger, Zombie, new plan, we'll find the griffin chick and catch it for Mary."

Cranberry declared while stretching her back.

"Graough! (Good idea! If she'll have a flying beast, she and Arion will be able to come over a lot more!)"

The blue boy growled excitedly which made Cranberry laugh.

"Ha ha! I bet you're just happy to see that mutt."

Cranberry poked Zombie's side.

"Graough! (Master, don't be mean to Arion! He's such a good boy!)"

The master-servant pair was already disappearing between the trees in good moods when it happened.

/A subtype of charm skill detected

/Warning

The skill level is higher than the magic defense status of the Servant

/Calculating...

/Rotten brain title is active

Charm skill: Failed

"..."

"GRAOUGH?! (IS THAT HEALER SERIOUS?!)"

Cranberry froze in place while Zombie roared furiously.

The blue boy turned back and was about to rush at the adventurers that were seemingly busy, aside from In're looking in their direction with shining eyes, visible even from the distance, but he stopped.

He felt a crushing pressure coming from his right, where his master was.

When he looked at her, he flinched and backed away a few steps.

Cranberry was beyond furious.

Her rage became almost corporeal.

Her whole body was shining so bright that even Zombie couldn't tell how many skills she stacked on top of each other.

He glanced at her hand, she was gripping the bat so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"...didn't want the carrot, then get more of the stick..."

Cranberry muttered and disappeared while the ground where she was just standing on, exploded in a fountain of soil, grass, and leaves.

"In're, don't think about anything stupid, and let's just go."

Shanks stayed behind the others to call for the woman that was lagging behind.

"I understand that you want the undead, but this one is absolutely off li..."

*CRUSH*

He turned back just in time to see how In're's head explodes from being hit by Cranberry who materialized in front of her out of the thin air.

"...!"

He couldn't even start screaming in time, In're's headless body fell forward while a fountain of blood erupted from her neck.

/Early mid-level player defeated

Master and servant gain EXP

/Error

/One of the characters essential for the story was killed

/Calculating...

/Adjusting the story

/Error

/The story did not progress enough

Unable to adjust the story at the current stage

/Calculating...

/Master receives a penalty

Title received

Ruthless

"I don't need those who can't listen."

Cranberry shook the blood off of her bat and glared coldly at the rest of the Dandelions that became petrified with terror.