Chapter 22 – The Red Crows Fall: Female Mage Thalia
“Hey you! Why are you sleeping in a place like this! Wake up! I don’t get what’s going on here!”
The mage yelled as if trying to divert her anxiety, maybe out of relief, or maybe because she was strong hearted to begin with.
Ah, this won’t do, I fell asleep.
“… Ah, morning. Sorry, sorry, I fell aslep”
That was a dumb line, if I could say so myself, but it’s true, can’t be helped.
It would’ve been a lot of trouble if the mage slipped out like a thief. Shouldn’t let my guard down.
“Who the hell are you? What is this place? Help me out here!”
She’s lively, huh.
… for now, I had to bring this girl down somehow.
Luckily, I could carry her away now with this pace, though it might not be so lucky for her.
“I’m Elliott, a guy hiding and living around these parts. … I used to manage the inn you guys ate and drank out of you see”
Yup, I did not lie.
“Dungeon master …? No, I dont’t think a boring guy like this could be such a big shot …”
I can hear you you know? I can hear you.
Well, if she misunderstood then there’s no need for me to correct her.
“That aside, can you tell me your name? I’m not going to ask you to pay for what you ate and drank?”
She was vigilant, but she didn’t seem to consider me dangerous.
… well, even though I could use magic, it’s just enchantment, I’m not physically strong either, and I’m carrying my body lightly.
Would it be better if I wore something that would be effective to bluff with like Astarte said after all?
“Thalia. I’m Thalia. And don’t you ever shorten it”
Surprisingly, she meekly answered.
… this girl, could she actually be na?ve?
Anyway, let’s just have a chat … or maybe that’s difficult after all.
“Come on, get this rope off of me! I can’t use magic or run away like this”
Well, that happens when you’re tied up, right.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you go free. I have my position to consider, you see?”
“You, are you actually the Dungeon Master’s man? That’s dirty! You tricked me!”
This girl … isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, is she?
But nevermind that.
“Are you thirsty? Hungry? It seemed you were in the middle of dinner?… Thalia, was it? Did you notice that your friends were poisoning you?”
“… eh?”
She made a blank look.
So she actually hadn’t noticed.
She might be actually younger than she looked.
“I confirmed you were staying in the second floor room. I saw your uneaten food there. There are sleeping drugs and aphrodisiacs in the water jug. You were certainly the last of them to wake up.”
Those words startled Thalia.
She realized the aphrodisiacs were still inside of her.
“H, hold on!? What do you mean? Are you saying you put the sleeping drugs and those … aphrodisiacs in there!?”
Well, there’s that possibility.
This girl seemed to be out of place among those ruffians.
According to Gustav, she’s a newbie, right?
“You’re unexpectedly na?ve, aren’t you. Your friends put those drugs in. … I don’t think they were going to take your life, but doing something unbecoming while you’re sedated is a different matter”
“!!”
She looked as if she didn’t want to believe what I said.
But it was written all over her face that she was fighting the thought that it might have been possible.
“B, but … to do that, to friends”
Her voice trembled, let’s give her one more push.
“Friends? I think you were new, but do they seem like the sort to cherish their friends to you?”
Since I only had the information Gustav brought, this was actually mostly guesswork on my part.
But seeing how Shiro was treated, I could see that they weren’t exactly the well-mannered type.
“The reason you didn’t end up like Shiro was because you’re a mage and were strong enough to resist. Still, if nothing had happened they were planning to rape you last night. … but that’s just my guess, I might just be trying to make you uneasy, too”
Thalia looked anxious, but she still glared at me, showing her will to resist.
“… did you make Shiro betray u? Did the Dungeon Master? What happened to Shiro? And what’s with the tail …?”
… I suppose I should explain.
If so, it should be faster just to show her.
I lit up a candlestick and adjusted the room’s lighting.
I moved the partitioning wall and showed her what’s happening in the next room.
Moans and rough breaths, and the choking smell of semen.
The remaining members of the Red Crows were in the room, covered in strange patterns.
Locked in a grapple with Astarte, Dahlia, and Shiro.
The orgy had been going on for two hours already.