My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 20Vol 2.

When we stepped inside the house, I finally became completely certain—she was a black magician.

A massive cauldron bubbling in the kitchen, dried frogs and insects neatly arranged on the table, a bright red snake displayed on the wall, the air thick with the scent of medicinal herbs...

As we stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, she brought over three teacups and placed them on the table. Inside them was a suspiciously dark liquid.

"Drink up."

She flashed us a meaningful smile.

"It's a rare treat...."

'...Is this even safe to drink?'

I eyed the contents of the teacup with deep suspicion.

A black color and an odd smell—was this poison meant to kill us? No, more importantly, could I even trust something given to me by a black magician in the first place?

"Is this really safe?"

"Yes, in fact, it's extremely good for the body...."

...Hearing that made it sound even more suspicious. No, rather, it felt like it would make me healthier by using all the wrong ingredients....

"What exactly is in this?"

"Hmm, let's see..."

The woman tilted her head slightly and gave a sly smile.

"Black goat and earthworms?"

"Pfft!"

Karon, who had already brought the cup to his lips ahead of me, sputtered violently, coughing up the tea.

"Ugh, what the hell is this? You got it all over yourself."

"Here, tissue."

Aquila handed me a tissue, and as I wiped the table, an odd sensation crept up on me, making me stop.

...This really does feel like taking care of a child.

No, wait. That’s not the point right now.

"So, what exactly do you need from me?"

When the woman asked, I composed my expression to look as serious as possible and opened my mouth.

"We need your power."

"Hmm. What kind of medicine are you looking for?"

"...Excuse me? Medicine?"

I blinked in confusion, only to realize something had gone horribly wrong.

"Wait... You're not a black magician?"

"Huh? I'm a herbalist."

...Damn it!

I clutched my head and groaned, and both Aquila and Karon, who had struggled up the mountain with me, looked equally defeated.

We were so sure she was a black magician!

But now, the dried herbs, frogs, insects, snakes, and large jars inside suddenly made perfect sense.

Right. She was just an ordinary herbalist.

The black cat? «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Just a pet.

The black hat, black clothes, and skull earrings? Just a fashion choice.

"Wait a second, then why are all the plants around this house withered?"

"Oh, I poured some failed potions out there...."

...That explained it!

And the black goat and earthworm tea—so it was just an herbal tonic. Now that I thought about it, even on Earth, there were things like black goat soup and tonic broths made with worms.

I stared down at the dark liquid before me with a bitter expression.

Would this taste like home?

'In romance fantasy novels, the taste of home is supposed to be kimchi or tteokbokki...'

Who would've thought I'd find it in black goat and worm broth?

As I sank into despair, the woman spoke up.

"Were you looking for a black magician?"

"Ah, well, no, no! We're not rebellious traitors trying to use black magic or anything, ha ha! We're just... patriotic citizens looking to report them...."

Worried that she might turn us in, I hastily made up an excuse.

But the woman only gave me a knowing smile and said,

"A black magician visited here recently."

"What? A black magician was here?!"

My eyes widened in shock, and she continued.

"Black magic potions require medicinal ingredients, after all. I actually have quite a few connections with black magicians."

So we hadn't come to the wrong place after all.

‘Of course! No wonder this house was so deep in the mountains!’

It was the perfect meeting spot for a secret exchange.

"A black magician came here not too long ago. I have quite the network with them, you see. For example..."

"We need information!"

Sensing she was about to start boasting, I collapsed to my knees before her.

Aquila, startled, immediately yanked me up and plopped me onto the sofa instead.

"I’m looking for a specific black magician! His name is Victim—do you know him?!"

When I asked in a desperate tone, her expression shifted slightly.

"Victim?"

She knew him!

"If you're talking about Victim... he’s the very black magician who visited me recently."

At that moment, my entire demeanor changed.

I crossed my legs arrogantly, lifted my chin, and murmured in a chilling voice.

"Heh... So I've found you."

"...Excuse me?"

The herbalist blinked, baffled by my sudden shift in attitude. But I didn't let up.

"Hmph. To think he'd flee, only to get caught so soon... how adorable."

"...What?"

The herbalist, who had been so confident moments ago, now looked at me like I was insane.

"So, where is my little kitten?"

By the time I asked that, she had already been completely swept up in my pace. And judging by how easily she gave up the information...

"Uh, he was here just yesterday. He said he was heading to a pawnshop in the capital to deposit some belongings and get some money."

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"A pawnshop, huh... Heh."

"...Also, why do you keep saying ‘heh’ out loud?"

"Heh."

Ignoring her question, I sprang to my feet.

"Secretary Ka!"

"Yes!"

"Prepare everything! We're searching every pawnshop in the capital!"

***

"That crazy bastard is completely shaken off by now, right?"

Victim, the tarot reader and black magician, had been running from Salvia for several days.

He had fled in such a hurry that he hadn’t managed to grab enough money, so he had decided to pawn some of his belongings. Still, he had recently bought materials from an herbalist, meaning he could craft some black magic artifacts and sell them for cash.

"Why the hell are there so many crazy hetero sapiens in this world?"

He grimaced. His fear of hetero sapiens stemmed from an unfortunate past encounter with a lunatic of their kind, and now, the one chasing him wasn’t any better.

And just as he was about to leave the pawnshop...

"Found you."

"AAAAAHHHH!"

A whisper right in his ear made Victim jump out of his skin.

Standing there before him was none other than the lunatic he had been desperately avoiding—Salvia!

"H-How did you—?!"

"You really thought you could escape from me?"

Something about her voice was off. There was madness in it. The sheer derangement in her tone made Victim shudder involuntarily.

"You’ll never get away from me."

"Aaaahhh!"

"It's time to end this little runaway act and come home. Heh."

"Ugh, no, please—!"

In the end, he didn't even get the chance to resist. He collapsed in an utterly helpless heap.

***

We caught Victim!

Karon and Aquila had a firm grip on him, and afterward, we brought him back to my place—where Aquila also stayed. Winter, who had been resting at home, even showed up to help with the interrogation.

The three of us stood in a semicircle around Victim.

With the ever-stoic Winter on one side and the sharp-eyed Aquila on the other, Victim looked like he was about to faint.

"So, Victim, you are a black magician, right?"

"Y-Yes! I am! But I swear, I’ve never done anything truly evil! Please, have mercy—!"

"And why should we believe that? Never killed anyone?"

"Never! I swear! I also never kidnapped hetero sapiens or orphans to enslave them! Never harvested human organs for magic! And I—well, I did try to imprison someone once, but I failed, so I think that should count as innocent!"

"...You tried to imprison someone?"

I glanced at Karon and made a slicing motion across my throat.

"Go fetch the tools—"

"W-Wait! That person tormented me first! I just wanted to temporarily trap them! But I failed! And after that, they just bullied me even more!"

"Ah, so it was retaliation. And unfortunately, you sucked at it."

"Y-Yes! Exactly!"

"Alright. And that’s the absolute truth, correct?"

"Yes! It is!"

Honestly, this interrogation was just for show. I already believed that Victim wasn’t a truly evil person.

From what I had seen so far, he was way too much of a coward to actually do something bad.

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And then Winter spoke, adding more certainty to my assumption.

"His heartbeat is normal. He’s not lying."

‘...Wait. Is Winter a human lie detector?’

I had underestimated him. Winter, Male Lead Power +45.

Anyway, I decided to believe Victim.

"You really haven’t committed any crimes?"

"Yes! ...Aside from tax evasion."

"...Yeah, well, the Adolph Empire deserves to lose some tax money."

Alright, time to get to the real reason we brought him here.

"As you can see, we’re hetero sapiens, and we’re preparing to bring change to this empire."

"Y-Yes! I see that!"

"I assume you want change too? Surely you're sick of all the oppression you've suffered?"

"Well, that’s true, but..."

"Then why not join us on this journey? We need allies."

At that, realization dawned on Victim’s face. He finally understood why we had captured him.

And his expression changed immediately.

"Aha! So, in short, you need my help!"

"That’s right."

"Then the power dynamic must shift, hoho!"

Suddenly, he raised his chin high and gestured for Aquila and Winter to step aside.

They both shot me a Do we really have to humor this guy? look.

I sighed and nodded. Right now, we needed Victim on our side, which meant we had to stroke his ego a little.

"Obtaining my assistance won’t be so simple."

"Heh. No matter what trials you set forth, we shall overcome them."

"Salvia, why are you talking like that all of a sudden...?"

"Ah, whoops. It just slipped out."

Victim took his time, building up suspense, before finally laying down his conditions.

"I shall grant you three trials. The first trial is..."

I braced myself. What would he demand? A monster extermination? A grand duel?

"Haaa... My house has been a complete mess since I had to flee in a hurry. Someone needs to clean it, do the laundry, and wash the dishes. Hohoho!"

"Ha... ha ha...."

I clenched my teeth, forcing out a dry laugh, while seriously considering whether violence and fear would be enough to tame him.

But no. That wouldn’t get us true cooperation.

And so, just like that...

Aquila, Karon, Winter, and I began our full-scale cleaning of Victim’s house.

***

"Hmm? There’s still dust between the floorboards."

"Son of a bitch, that was my line...."

"For the twenty-second time, stop complaining in my presence! Hmph! How rude."

"That one was Winter’s line...."

These were my exhausted mutterings as I scrubbed Victim’s house.

The only silver lining was that I wasn’t alone in my suffering.

Aquila, Karon, and Winter were stuck here too.

Because our house was the closest, we had been assigned the privilege of winning over Victim’s favor.

And this little bastard was picky as hell. He nitpicked every tiny thing like some kind of army drill instructor.

"Hmph! Today, you shall do the laundry, clean the house, wash the dishes, and go shopping!"

"W-Wait, but we just cleaned yesterday—!"

"Cleaning is a daily task! Ugh! You people must be absolute filthmongers! Ah, while you’re at it, clean the bathroom and basement as well!"

"Goddamn it...!"

As he pranced out the door like some fairytale stepmother, I let out a despairing wail.

At least Cinderella got to go to a ball.

I got reincarnated into a romance fantasy novel, but instead of some grand banquet, my life was just an endless cycle of labor—and my only destination was a return to the military.

As I suffered, Aquila and Winter diligently kept working, like the diligent little soldier bots they were.

And, as always, Karon lingered by my side, constantly checking if I was okay.

Despite my best efforts, the cleaning never ended. No matter how much we did, Victim always found new tasks.

"...I can’t take this anymore."

I finally made up my mind.

No matter how hard we worked, Victim was never going to be satisfied. He was just going to keep exploiting us like unpaid laborers for the rest of our lives.

So, I decided on an alternative approach.

"We’re going to scam Victim."