…What did you just say?
That little something that chewed and cracked in the back of my mind almost seemed to holler, making me wince. Amidst that, the situation still progressed moment by moment in the clearing right below me, heading toward the worst possible outcome.
“Bwahaha! Of course, this ain’t free labor! —Hand it over to me!” He turned to one of his subordinates.
“Wha?!”
Sweating profusely, Buffon grabbed the bag one of his followers brought to him, his portly belly jiggling in its sebum. Then, he flipped the bag on its head, spilling a large amount of provisions with a thud. Bread, ham, and sausages tumbled out, creating a mountain of supplies on the ground.
“Ah…?!”
The little blue eyes of the Cursemaker glimmered with envy as she eyed the mountain of food. She was the one who managed to halt the movements of the Trents around them with the red marks etched all over her body.
“Bwahaha! Look, doggy! These are all the snacks we got for you! As soon as we make an honorable retreat because our splendid hunting doggy managed to stall that monstrosity and fulfill her duty, I’ll hand all of this to you!”
His belly swayed as he pointed at all the scattered rations.
“And that’s not all! Once we’re back in town, I’ll even treat you to anything you’d like at my favorite high-class eatery! Got it? Now, move your tail, quick! What’s your answer?!”
“Yes…! Master…! —Torment and bind completely!” As soon as she chanted, the gentle breeze around swirled into a vortex of Darkness, causing the ragged cloak that barely managed to do its job to flutter. Get faster updates on NovelPing.
The red patterns engraved into her body glowed intensely and shot out one after the other, slithering and arching toward the massive Giant Trent in front of the party.
Perhaps sensing Buffon and his goons’ withdrawal, the girl not only stopped the movement of the newly sprouted Trents but also the giant one ahead of her. As she did, the gigantic monster howled wind out of its crooked crevices in confusion, extending a multitude of branches toward the fat man and his party. She managed to stop even that with her curse.
“Guh…! Ugh!”
However, with the bewitching trees now multiplied to seven and her also restraining the Giant Trent, the effort required for such feats had been exponentially increased. She took a significant toll on her body, sweat trickling down her petite and straining body.
“Bwahaha! You’re doing well, doggy! Alright, keep it up! Keep restraining that monster tight, just like that!” Buffon said as he began cautiously retreating from the scene.
Yet, in the midst of his withdrawal, his plump arms and sausage fingers extended toward the stacked mound of provisions. He yanked bread, ham, and sausages one after another, holding them all greedily against his arms.
“Bwah?! What nonsense are you spouting? Speak decently, lad! Didn’t I mention it earlier? ‘As soon as we make an honorable retreat because our splendid hunting doggy managed to stall that monstrosity and fulfill her duty, I’ll hand all of this to you!'”
He didn’t stop grabbing food from the pile.
“In other words, since we haven’t retreated yet, this is still shared property of our party! There’s no problem at all! Come, lads, take as much as you can now! The town is still far away, so you don’t wanna run out of strength midway, eh? Bwahahaha!”
“I see! That’s the stuff, Mr. Buffon! In that case, I won’t hold back at all!”
“Me neither!”
“Count me in too!”
“Sigh. I know it’s a healthy amount of sophistry, but it is what it is! After all, that child is tainted with the attribute of Darkness, so there’s no value in her just completing her obligation as our doggy!”
One by one, the members of the Fellowship of the Hunters reached their gluttonous hands toward the mound of food, dwindling it down to a single piece of dirtied and dry bread.
“Ugh…! Kuh…! Uwahh!!!”
At that moment, standing alone on the bloody front while desperately holding back the Giant Trent and the small Trents, a tear slid down from the petite girl’s sad moon eyes.