NOVEL WEB Chapter 8
“Hey, wake up.”
-Bang! Bang!
“Huh? Wha—!”
I jolted awake to the sound of metal clanging against metal. Lying on a floor that felt almost indistinguishable from the dirt, my whole body ached and felt grimy.
“The boss said to make sure you get three meals a day. Of course, since we’re not exactly swimming in riches, all we can offer you is this… slop.”
The thief, with a bandage wrapped around one eye, handed me a bowl of greenish mush, wearing a thoroughly unimpressed expression.
Wow, what a lovely presentation.
I didn’t expect much from slop, but seriously, do these idiots not know how to cook?
Why is the mush black?
“Was the grass supposed to be black?”
“No, we just threw in some weeds we found outside.”
“…So, you mean you added green grass?”
“Yeah.”
….
‘From now on, I can definitely enjoy this slop.’
Feeling a bit hazy, I smiled to myself.
Sure, it wouldn’t pack the same punch without some coins, but this simple form of hypnosis is totally doable without them.
“Well, being stuck in here, I can’t really complain about this much.”
After flashing a smile at the thief who brought me the mush, I immediately lifted the bowl and gulped it down.
-Gulp. Gulp.
The mush quickly slid down my throat. Though it wasn’t much, I at least felt some level of fullness.
Considering I don’t usually eat a lot anyway, this is quite manageable.
“Ah… Thanks for the meal.”
As I set the empty bowl down on the floor, the thief stared at me in disbelief.
“You… you ate all of that in one go?”
“Yeah? So what?”
“We had to hurl it up twice because it was so disgusting!”
“Uh… Well, I have my own methods.”
“…Wait a minute.”
Suddenly, the thief jumped up and dashed off somewhere.
‘What’s going on with him?’
Before long, the thief returned with two or three companions.
They all carried bowls of slop.
“Hey, can you share that method of yours with us?”
“Our biggest issue is food, but we always end up hurling it back up.”
“The only one among us who can cook is Johnson, but even he can’t make tasty mush from grass…”
“Well, it’s simple enough.”
Seeing their desperation, I decided to start on the left one by one.
They all lined up, looking at me with eager anticipation.
“First… what’s your name?”
“Kilson. Please, I want to eat mush that tastes good!”
“Alright then, Kilson. Can you look into my eyes?”
We locked eyes. It felt a bit awkward, but hey, I had no choice since they took my coins.
Kilson’s eyes started to lose focus as he stared at me.
“Now, try a bite of the mush.”
“Okay.”
Kilson trusted me and immediately chugged the mush.
-Gulp. Gulp.
As the mush kept sliding down, the eyes of the nearby thieves widened, and suddenly Kilson dropped his bowl.
“It… it’s delicious…”
After that…
“Me, me too!”
“I can’t believe mush can taste this good!”
“Hey, if you come here, you can eat mush that tastes good!”
“I want it! I want it first!”
The waiting thieves, along with others outside, rushed over after hearing the news and begged me to help them enjoy the mush too.
Since it wasn’t that tough of a task, I made sure everyone who showed up enjoyed their mush…
“Blergh. Ugh, that was good. Thanks, thanks!”
“Zech, want me to throw in a few more mats?”
“How about asking the boss for a walk time?”
“That sounds pretty good! Then I gotta tidy up the floor while we’re at it.”
“Phew… it’s been ages since I’ve had such a satisfying meal.”
Before long, the thieves were all eager to cater to my comfort.
“Um… so do you have anything to alleviate the boredom? There’s nothing to do locked up in here…”
The only thing that could provide me with some stimulation while being cooped up is the alluring sexual jokes from the female thief.
“Hmm… now that I think about it, we don’t really have much to do when we’re bored either.”
“True. We can’t really date anyone. The boss is, you know… a bit different, right?”
“Exactly! The boss feels more like a Female Troll than a woman!”
“Haha! Yes, yes!”
“Right! Sure, the boss is pretty, but somehow doesn’t come off as a woman!”
“Always getting beaten up for being ugly, how could she look like a woman!”
“We’ve been with her for years; of course, she wouldn’t look like a woman!”
“My first love was the boss, and now I wonder if I was crazy.”
The thieves chattered noisily.
“Um….”
What do I do about this?
“Haha! Zech, what do you think? Do you think our boss seems attractive to outsiders?”
“No way! She’s a total mess!”
“Pfft!”
‘…Do I have to tell them.’
“Hey, guys?”
Mind taking a glance behind you?
“Huh?”
As I spoke, the thieves all turned around.
“…You’re about to get whacked by a Female Troll now.”
““Oh.””
Everyone collapsed under the furious swings of the Female Troll.
“Ouch..! I think I hit my head…”
“I’m all bruised up…”
“Ugh, don’t tell me I got hit in the bones…”
“If you don’t shut up, you’ll get another whack.”
““…””
“Ugh… idiots.”
The female thief sighed deeply and dragged a chair over to sit in front of me again.
“So, you made our kids enjoy their mush, huh?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Sure, I appreciate that, but… you mentioned something about us not having an outlet. When we’re bored, all we can do is gather herbs or just sleep—those are our only choices.”
“Hmm…”
So what now?
“Then I’ll make something up myself.”
“What..? With what’s in here, what do you plan on making?”
“Well, just to let you know, I’m quite imaginative.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Normally, I’d be writing, but here I don’t really have paper or pens, and reading what I wrote doesn’t seem all that entertaining.”
“So you’re saying it’s not entertaining?”
“If you all help just a bit, I can come up with something that we’ll all enjoy, right?”
“Ooh!”
“What’s that?!”
“You can do that in a forest?”
“Yes, it’s very simple and I’m sure you’ll all enjoy it a lot.”
But first, I need to gather some supplies.
“Can you all get into the zone?”
“Get into the zone…? Are we acting or something?”
“I’m not really into acting, to be honest.”
“Theater is something nobles enjoy and not us.”
“Hmm, it’s similar, but it’ll be more fun than that.”
“What exactly are you planning?”
“Tabletop Role-Playing Game.”
“Table what..?”
“We’re going to do something called TRPG for short.”
But since I’m a fanfic author, it’ll probably be in the fantasy genre, right?
***
Sadly, Gi Gachae’s lover Elizabas ultimately sacrificed herself to stop the Black Reaper.
“Nooooo! Elizabas! Waaah!”
“Hey, Gi Gachae! I understand you’re sad, but if you keep this up, the remnants of the Black Reaper’s minions will get you! Let’s head back to the village for now!”
“Wah, Elizabas..!”
“You all returned to the village, and the villagers encouraged you to take a rest.”
“Eliza, bas..”
“…Hey Chief, can you tell everyone to stay clear of where this guy’s resting?”
“Ah, of course.”
“Gi Gachae, we’ll be sleeping in that building over there, so come find us once you’re feeling better.”
“Elizabas…”
“…Hoguwai, just leave him be for now.”
“Got it…”
Once everyone had left, Gi Gachae, cooped up alone in the inn, started to notice something weird.
“…Huh?”
In the corner of your room, you could see something white.
“This, this is..!”
“Oh my, it seems a fragment of bone presumed to be from the pinky finger of the Black Reaper has been found. This house seems to have been where the Chief stayed.”
“…Something feels off.”
At that moment, you start to feel an unsettling vibe. ‘Huh? Why is the Black Reaper’s bone here? Come to think of it, that Chief was unusually good at hiding his hands earlier…’ you think.
“…Chief!”
Gi Gachae sneaks out of the inn late at night, heading towards the house where the Chief is currently staying.
Your allies who adventured with you were also nearby.
“Huh? Gi Gachae, are you feeling better—?”
“Move out of the way.”
“Hey, Gi Gachae. I don’t know what happened, but you’re looking pretty rough. You should just rest since it’s late…”
“Chief is the criminal!”
At Gi Gachae’s desperate shout, you all finally listened seriously to what Gi Gachae was saying.
“What’s going on?”
“I think the Chief is controlling the Black Reaper!”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense! To control the Black Reaper, he’d need to exchange his bones with its bones! There’s no way a mere village Chief could do that—”
“Check this out.”
You all noticed the ‘finger bone’ in Gi Gachae’s hand.
“This is…”
“Yeah, it’s a finger bone of the Black Reaper.”
“Get in there immediately!”
***
“Graaaah! I can’t believe I’m dying at the hands of a bunch of adventurers! Elizabas, how did I deal with that girl?!”
“…It’s Elizabas’ revenge, you demon!”
“Graaargh!”
Gi Gachae’s sword pierced the heart of the Chief, and he no longer breathed.
Scenario, end.
…Zech! You’re a genius!
“Wow, that was amazing!”
“Hey, I want to go next! I want to try!”
“Wah, that was such a sad story…”
“Zech! Zech! Zech!”