Sword of Gluttony Queen - Chapter 32

Chapter 32 : Cerberus’ Fangs 

「…………」 

Mani was standing on the side with a lonely look on her face during my long conversation with Fedor-san.
… It seemed that they’re acquainted. Even though Fedor-san was easy going and they don’t seem to be strangers, they just… don’t have a common topic.
… It might just be my wilfulness but I want him to take Mani along to the《Demon’s Den》 too.
It would also become a good experience for her.
I meant I might be able to recommend Mani as our porter. 

「U-hm, say, about the porter…」 

「… Ah, sorry. I’ve no intention to hire a porter right now.」 

「… EH?」 

Fedor-san then grabbed his cross necklace and raised it to the front. 

「It’s thanks to this magic tool. Its name is 《Sub-Void Cross》. Though it only gives little to non-existent status corrections to its user, it’s a proper magic tool made with battle bone and a demon core. But its true worth is this… 《Box》.」
 

A magic circle appeared in front of Fedor-san and then it was followed by a distortion within the space of the magic circle. Inside that space-distorted circle, a box appeared.
「It’s 《Paradox [Space-Time Magic]》. Amazing right? As long as I have this, I can safely keep my luggage inside this box and take it out later. I finally got myself this item. Though it doesn’t have a large capacity, it can take around one person’s worth of luggage.」 

「W… WOOOW!」 

I heard of rumors about this kind of item before but, this is the first time I saw the real thing myself.
If this item was a common item, all porters would’ve lost their jobs. 

The devils who could use 《Paradox》itself were quite rare, thus increasing the rarity of these magic tools.
Moreover, since it was 《Sub-Void Cross》 which specialized in 《Box》 to minimize luggage, that meant we’re left with minimum luggage to carry and more demon cores and battle bones to take back.
You could think of this as more advanced tactics of a veteran adventurer. 

And that kind of magic tool was normally sold at millions of Temis.
Nay, this magic tool wasn’t that convenient to use at all.
Fedor-san who could use 《Paradox》 with the newly gained magic tool was even more amazing than the magic tool itself1.
I mean, 《Paradox》 was a type of magic with high degrees of difficulties.
He was clearly in a different league compared to a rookie like me. 

But… Mani wouldn’t be able to come with us huh…
I think Fedor-san will eventually allow her to come along with us as a miner if I begged him, but I don’t want to force him if possible. 

「I also want to experiment on some smithing techniques with my newly gained levels. Don’t worry about me, Dean. I mean it’ll become a good experience for you too.」
 

“Moreover, I’m not that familiar with that person”, Mani whispered with a small voice. 

「… Thanks for your consideration but, you should do your best to assist them so that you won’t become a hindrance, okay.」 

Mani added those meaningful words in the end.
Though I had no idea about what she meant for a moment, I instantly noticed her message when I read between the lines. 

「Ah, I understand.」 

In short, she told me to not overuse 《Bersera》’s abilities in front of the others.
Adventurers were banned from investigating other people’s magical swords but, it doesn’t mean that Fedor-san and Edda won’t suspect me from using unusual battle arts. 

I guess it was safe to use 《Odo Perception・Low》 while saving 《Petit Dimordi》 for the worst situation.
I guess I don’t have to tell them about my real level too.
Normally, it would take quite a while to raise your level if you fought in a party.
That was why it would cause me endless trouble if they knew how much my level had risen within a short amount of time, by defeating the demon beast whose level was above mine. 

Just in case, I told Fedor-san that I was 【Lv:15】.
Nevertheless, my true level was far above that. 

「And then… I heard a rumor that 《Cerberus’ Fangs》 appeared again in demon labyrinth. I’ve heard that an entire party got annihilated by them.」 

「《Cerberus’ Fangs》 again huh…?」 

「… Is that the name of a demon beast?」 

Edda suddenly asked with a sullen voice.
Fedor-san shook his head. 

「Nay, 《Cerberus’ Fangs》 are human. It’s the moniker for the trio who are robbing the other adventurers deep inside the labyrinth…. Their identities are shrouded in mystery since they slaughtered each and every single one of their victims.」 

Fedor-san explained so to Edda.
Yes, 《Cerberus Fangs》 wasn’t a demon beast’s name, it was the moniker for humans.
It was the moniker of certain robbers who are active in Romburgh city for the last few years. They are famous for destroying the corpses of their victims and robbing their magic tools.
Robberies in the demon labyrinth rarely happened but all of Cerberus Fangs’ victims were top-ranking adventurers who died without intact corpses. Moreover, the name of the suspects never came out to the surface. 

In the first place, it was way more profitable to hunt large numbers of C-rank demon beasts if Cerberus’ Fangs are that powerful.
Though it was true that you can get easy money from selling the magic vessels of others, it was hardly profitable if you consider the weight of your own life.
Some believed that Cerberus’ Fangs were psycho killers. 

In addition, although the number of such powerful adventurers in Romburgh City who had the ability to kill other adventurers in the depth of a labyrinth can be counted with two hands, it wasn’t a simple matter to find them.
The mysteries over Cerberus’ Fangs’ identity raised various speculation such as “The culprits are devils!”, or “The culprits are protected by the army” and many others. 

The reason why there was a rumor that 《Cerberus’ Fangs》 was a three man killer team was mainly because of the residual of various magic on the body of its victim, which required at least three magic vessels. 

「But, they do have the skills to back their actions. They’re at least as strong as me since even 《Adelheid of Poisonous Spider》 was killed by them. Aside from me, I don’t think it’ll be a simple matter for them to kill Edda. That’s why if they’re targeting us, they might use a dirty sneak attack.」 

It seemed that Fedor-san hated them. 

I was getting scared when I heard the news that 《Cerberus’ Fangs》 started to move again. That was why I won’t condemn the people who decided to take a short rest from adventurer business until the situation calmed down.
Robberies in itself aren’t that rare since some people would be starved unless they did. 

Nevertheless, I could at least measure someone’s power or their position as long as I have this 《Odo Perception・Low》.
I guess I’ve to tell Fedor-san as soon as I have found the three-person team that matched his description.