Chapter 186: Cave

"Let's forget it then. A cornered enemy is the deadliest. Maybe she still has some trump cards up her sleeve even if you do manage to reach her."

"It is what it is, then. Also, Devil, I really don't appreciate you butting into my fight." Ayame states her frustration.

"I know, I'm fully aware. We will discuss this as well when we get back home." I try to placate her as much as possible.

"... Alright." She reluctantly relents for the time being. "So what's this about you stealing an artifact?"

"Check this out!" I grin, unable to suppress the childlike glee rising inside me. I reach into my pouch and pull out a tiny object, no larger than my palm, glowing faintly with a silvery aura.

The artifact is small now, thanks to the button I pressed earlier, and its once-monolithic size is now reduced to something I can easily hold in my hand. It looks almost unassuming- a smooth, polished sphere with delicate runic engravings running along its surface. But what makes it extraordinary is its energy.

It pulses with a mysterious, ancient power, and my Primordial Eyes show its hidden aura stretching far beyond the physical form.

"So this," I begin, waving it slightly in the air, "is the Legendary rarity artifact that was making Ghost struggle to find the outpost in the first place." Then I quickly explain its intricacies to them in more detail, knowing neither Blossom nor Ayame can see its descriptions with their normal humanoid eyes.

Blossom's ears perk up. "So this is the gadget responsible for Ghost having such difficulty finding the place!" she chirps cheerfully, clearly not understanding the enormity of what we've just stolen.

Ayame, however, doesn't miss a beat. She steps back- her entire body jerking in shock. Her feet stumble awkwardly, and before I know it, she's fallen straight on her butt, legs splayed out as if the weight of this realization literally knocked her off balance.

"Y-Y-You-" she stammers, her hands flailing for a moment. "A-a legendary artifact... the kingdom's... that's... that's high treason, Quinlan!"

Her voice comes out garbled, and I swear I can hear her mumbling incoherent nonsense behind her mask as if her brain is scrambling to process the consequences.

"Quinlan? I don't know who that is, my name is Devil, m'lady. Also, that's right. We are hardcore criminals from this point on, babe. Maybe the most wanted in the entire nation." I say while chuckling, then make an attempt to pacify her poor, overloaded mind. "Calm down.

It's going to be fine. We're not getting caught. We've been diligently hiding our identities."

"Caught? C-c-caught?! That's not-! I- We-" She struggles to get her words out, clearly on the verge of an exaggerated anime-style breakdown. Even her sword seems to tremble in her grasp.

Blossom tilts her head curiously, looking down at Ayame. "Is Blade alright?"

"Of course she is, just a bit winded." I state jokingly.

I hoist Ayame over my shoulder like a heavy sack of potatoes, grunting from the weight of her armor. With a playful smirk, I deliver a swift smack to her behind. Sadly, her armor absorbs the entire impact, leaving me feeling like I just slapped a brick wall and not at all a perky feminine butt.

She doesn't offer any reaction- no protest, no sharp retort, just more of her muffled, incoherent mumbling from earlier.

I chuckle to myself. I really fried her brain, huh? Calling her "babe", a nickname she particularly didn't like due to my joke of calling her Quinlan's Beautiful Battle Babe back when we were registering for the adventurer plates, and if that's not enough, even smacking her behind like that didn't get a rise out of her.

Normally, I should be getting ready to avoid an incoming sword swing right about now.

"Yep, she's definitely gone," I mutter, more to myself than anyone else.

'Today I have been greedy like hell, and it all paid off. Let's just go for the home run, shall we?' I can't resist the temptation of succeeding in our mission, even if it's risky. Your next chapter awaits at m,vlempyr.

I'm a greedy little gremlin.

Time to visit the cavern to get the [Geimroot] so that my plump alchemist can make me into a Wizard.

"Lead the way to the cave entrance you saw during your initial scouting session, Ghost. Make sure you watch out for any kind of trap." I command.

"Yes, Master!" Blossom is quick to agree. Searᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

As I follow Blossom's lead toward the cave, I get a very short summary from Blossom regarding her method of monster baiting. As I listen more and more, I burst out into a hearty laughter.

Typical Blossom. What an adorable airhead.

The numbers and strength on both sides also mean that we should have half an hour to finish what we set out to do, if not more. Perfect.

Then, with Ayame still being slung over my shoulder, I can't help but repeat my earlier actions as I give her a few playful smacks on her armored bottom. It's more so to amuse myself than anything, as she'd been rather mischievous recently.

There's no reaction at first, just her continued mumbling, but then I hear a cute, low growl from her.

It's not conscious, not yet- just a primal, instinctive sound. She's starting to come around. Her body shifts slightly, tensing under my grip.

I decide to stop spanking her for fun. For now.

I don't need her swinging that menacing katana at me the second she gets her wits back. "You awake yet?" I ask, leaning my head closer to hers.

There's no immediate answer, just more incoherent muttering. I estimate that a few more minutes shall do the trick.

We descend into the cave, its cool, damp air quickly swallowing us in darkness. Blossom leads the way with such soft and silent steps that even when I perk my ears she is still almost completely inaudible.

Her airhead nature sometimes makes me forget that she is, in fact, a deadly, silent, and extremely specialized mass murderer built to take out targets that are even higher level than her.