Unlike ordinary warriors who form equal peer relationships, the demon warriors bound by the “Conversion Contract” are tied to a master-servant relationship in practice.
Rumi, furious to the tip of her tail, can unleash a “Grrr, Kyahhh!” without Ark’s consent.
However, no matter how much she tempts him, Ellis cannot lay a hand on Ark without his approval.
But where there is loss, there is also gain.
Demon warriors have a superior resonance with their summoner compared to ordinary warriors.
Neb’s ears perked up.
Arachne’s legs clicked.
Ellis’s chest puffed up.
“It seems to be going smoother than expected.”
“…I want steak…”
“Hmm, we should arrive within an hour.”
“Huh? What’s this?”
Everyone except Tina, the fool totem with a 0% prophecy accuracy rate, could feel the summoner’s spiritual pressure gradually approaching.
“Rene, start retrieving them.”
As the summoner’s spiritual pressure grows stronger,
the influence of the demon’s magical power diminishes.
Before any mishaps occur and their identities are exposed,
Rene’s spiderwebs, spread all over the streets, swiftly retract!
Bundles of thread, tangled with all sorts of junk, slowly get sucked into the wide hem of her skirt.
Of course, the performance of the wind veins wasn’t good enough to perfectly retrieve all the spoils.
Thud.
When something fell where Rene had walked,
Pick, pick.
Renatel naturally bent over and picked it up.
Thud. Pick, pick.
Thud. Pick, pick.
Though not as flexible as a feline, the canine’s waist moved tirelessly with its own agility.
Renatel felt a deep sense of existential crisis.
Did I make a contract for this?
I feel so worthless…
A short while later, in a secluded alley.
Crash—!
The items wrapped in spiderwebs around Rene’s thighs and the items in Renatel’s pockets spilled onto the ground.
Having harvested, it was now time to process.
Neb and Tina’s delicate hands tore open the cocoons one by one, pulling out the contents.
《Warning. The public security of the Great Hwan Empire has been poor recently. Following the warning of Rear Guard Unit 38, please walk along the main streets.》
“Oh my, Unit 38. Are you worried about me now? How touching. It feels like I’ve made a friend, I’m sooo happy!”
[>_<]
《…Friend. Affirmative. Rear Guard Unit 38 is willing to establish a friendly relationship with Ellis. However, please abide by the agreement.》
“Of course! Hehehe.”
《But how long are you going to keep hugging me? Not a denial. Lack of tactile sensation, disappointing.》
“Friends can have physical contact too. Hehe, if we meet in person, I’ll definitely hug you tight!”
Originally, Rear Guard Unit 38 had the duty to monitor whether “Level 3 Visitors” were engaging in any suspicious activities.
But instead of catching the criminals attempting to hide and launder stolen goods, it was busy chatting and laughing with Ellis.
Having been played by Ellis’s tongue, it ended up leaking all sorts of secrets.
A fine example of a public servant.
While Ellis kept Rear Guard Unit 38 distracted with her words,
the other demons began sorting through the items “carelessly lost by citizens.”
Tina, the former deputy manager of Ark’s general store, showcased her appraisal skills!
Junk.
Alchemy materials.
Cash assets.
Coins.
After sorting them out based on various criteria, Neb and Rene quickly stuffed them into several pockets.
“No food…?”
“Pig, you can buy some with this.”
During the process, the master of eating, the Demon of Gluttony, made a slightly sad face, but Neb’s scolding helped ease the sense of loss.
There was still some time before Ark would arrive nearby.
A full wallet brings leisure.
After getting new clothes from a nearby fabric store that perfectly matched what the locals wore,
and grabbing some food from street stalls,
They finally reached their final destination in District 2: the train station, enjoying their leisurely stroll like real travelers.
“So many people…!”
“Looks similar to Celestia.”
“Nom, nom…”
Amidst the exclamations, indifference, and eating,
“What is this…?”
Ellis faced the ticket vending machine, feeling like she had hit a wall.
But.
[V_V]
《Rear Guard Unit 38 will kindly explain how to use it for its *friends*.》
After emphasizing the word “friends,” Rear Guard Unit 38, having transitioned from surveillance to travel guide, alleviated Ellis’s distress.
This must be what they mean by “friends are there when you need them.”
Of course, there were a few hiccups.
“…I’m not a pet…!”
“Oh, right.”
They once bought a pet ticket for Renatel and had to cancel it.
“Hey! Tina, you’re not a kid!”
“Shut up, idiot…”
After subduing the brat who was clearly a child but insisted on having an adult ticket,
Three adult tickets.
Two child tickets.
With the train tickets purchased,
Party 1’s mission was successfully completed.
* * *
Without navigation, a minimap, or even a map.
We somehow managed to navigate through the underground waterways.
“Meow meow!”
“Ugh, I’m so done with waterways…”
“So many interesting things!”
We arrived at a massive underground cavern.
To be precise, it was the central hub of transportation crossing the Great Hwan Empire:
the depot of the “Silk Road Train.”
Though still underground, it was a much more open and spacious area compared to the smelly waterways, making it feel more livable.
Of course, it was still too early to let our guard down.
《Malfunction detected. Repairing.》
《You. Leaking oil.》
《System activation. Ready.》
Various labor robots were busily moving about.
“Shh, let’s quietly head over there.”
Switching from a chase to a stealth mission, we tiptoed toward what seemed to be a passage leading above ground.
Fortunately, there were piles of cargo everywhere,
providing plenty of places to hide.
Solid Snake.
Possession complete.
Warriors, just follow me.
Sometimes boldly, sometimes stealthily, we made our way toward the exit.
[★☆☆: After arriving at the train station, find a way to board the train to Hanseong. (1/2)]
[★★☆: Do not get caught by the Imperial Guard or the Inspectorate. (2/2)]
[★★★: Board the train within 2 hours. (0/2)]
The quest seemed to have updated, and the status window chimed.
Our Party 2 hadn’t technically arrived at the train station yet, nor had we found a way to board the train.
So, Party 1 must have achieved the one-star condition.
Moreover, they hadn’t caused any trouble,
so the two-star condition was also safely met.
“Let’s go up. Rumi? Take the lead and check if there’s anyone ahead.”
“Woof!”
As we painted our way up the seemingly endless square staircase,
“Woof…!”
Whenever we sensed someone, we quickly hid in any nearby passage.
Each time, our eyes inevitably drifted toward the elevators installed in the passages, but encountering someone inside would definitely cause problems.
Biting back tears, we continued to abuse our thighs, grateful for the lax security, and kept climbing up, up, up.
Finally, we opened the last door leading above ground and stepped outside.
“Wow!”
“So cool, woof!”
With the warriors’ exclamations as our sound effects,
We were finally outside.
The scenery of Hamgyeong, a border city of the Great Hwan Empire, spread out before us.
Somehow, the familiar design, resembling a local city packed with industrial complexes, didn’t impress me much, but the warriors’ eyes sparkled with wonder.
And not far away, our destination, the train station— Hamgyeong Station, came into view.
And then.
“Master!”
A small, soft creature in a cute outfit came running over and hopped.
Even though we hadn’t prepared separate outfits, it seemed they had custom-ordered hanboks in various colors from somewhere.
The four demons and Renatel appeared, their colorful garments fluttering.
Though we would soon separate again,
Party 1 and Party 2 had assembled!
“Kuh…”
Ignoring Saha, the bikini girl, who looked slightly resentful, I posed two questions that came to mind.
“What, how did you know to come here? …And why are you all dressed like that?”
“Hehe, we had a good connection.”
Ellis gave a suspicious smile.
And Neb, who timidly walked over,
“Here, take this.”
“Huh?”
She handed over some rather heavy pouches.
Peeking inside, they were filled with gold, silver, and jewels.
Surely they didn’t steal them, right?
《Handsome villain. Rear Guard Unit 38 will show leniency this once. Unauthorized departure is illegal, so please restrain yourself.》
Given that the Rear Guard drone was still attached, they probably didn’t boldly commit theft.
But still, there was a whiff of crime.
For now, I stored them in my inventory as evidence.
I’ll have to sort through them after confirming the clearance of District 2.
Anyway.
“Good job, Ellis.”
“Ark, you’ve worked hard too.”
Even if I have to sort through it later, for now, I praised Ellis, the capable leader who had successfully completed the first round without incident.
Now, all we had to do was reach the train station—
《Warning. Rear Guard Unit 38 has identified an unregistered individual in its field of vision, excluding beastmen. Identification process initiated.》
It’s over…
《The silhouette closely matches the C-class wanted targets, the “Female Quartet Wall Terrorists.” Please prove your identity. If unable to do so, emergency protocols will be activated.》
……
When did you guys get your faces out there…?
I hurriedly approached Rear Guard Unit 38.
It definitely wasn’t because I was trying to distance myself from Party 2.
“Ah, these are friends we met nearby after a long time. Um, our friends are very kind and friendly, you know? Ah, it must be a misunderstanding. They couldn’t possibly be wall terrorists or anything like that, right? Haha, hahaha. Ahaha.”
And I did my best to defend them.
It definitely wasn’t because I was afraid of being implicated and considering cutting ties.
Really.