Chapter 498: Borrowing a Person and a Purge

He lay like a corpse on the bed for a while.

Only then did Rod properly get up, slipping on some clothes while he was at it.

Going commando for the better part of a day really wasn't quite proper.

While tidying up the mess in the room, he suddenly spotted a little white vest-style brassiere tucked by the bed corner.

Wow! Original scent!

No need to think about it.

It was definitely left behind by Miss Xiao Ke in her panicked rush to escape.

Rod held it under his nose and took a whiff.

The faint fragrance of grass and trees — just as he'd expected, it was her scent.

A certain dignified gentleman raised an eyebrow and cheerfully tucked it into his bosom.

No wonder the ancients always had people who liked to collect a girl's original scent.

Don't laugh — seriously, don't.

This kind of close-fitting little garment carrying a body's fragrance really does hit the spot.

Just from the smell, Rod's thoughts drifted back to last night's intimacy with Miss Xiao Ke, and he was getting a bit of a reaction.

Noon.

The witch Dimia came to call, requesting to borrow the ghoul Pan Ni.

Apparently, the communication between Old Gentleman Humbert and the town of Tayles had received a response.

She needed the undead army's help to open up a new trade route.

"A response already?"

Rod couldn't help feeling a little surprised.

It was only yesterday at noon that the bait plan had been formally agreed upon — using the resumption of ore trade with the town of Tayles on the eastern edge of the Ke Plains to lay out the Jin Along bait in advance.

And today they'd already made contact?

"Humbert probably didn't want to hold you all back, so he specifically paid a Harpy to fly to Tayles and deliver the letter."

Dimia said with a smile.

The witch Young Lady was unusually not wearing a mage's robe today.

Her top was a high-collared lace long-sleeve blouse, with a slim-cut deep-purple velvet long coat over it, the cuffs and hem inlaid with tiny gems.

Her bottom was a high-waisted black silk long skirt, slit up the side to the knee, faintly revealing a pair of slender legs.

Despite being wrapped up so thoroughly,

it still showed off that petite frame packed with almost exaggerated curves; the broom-shaped pendant on her chest kept bouncing with every movement, while the waist-to-hip line drew in sharply — breathtaking.

A smoking-hot figure.

But looking up, one found an innocent, harmless baby-fat face.

"Harpy… eagle-women, you mean? Their express letters don't come cheap."

"We can chat about whatever we like in private, but out there we can't just say those four words outright."

Dimia said with a wry smile.

Eagle-women.

Like witches, banshees, and succubi — yet another all-female race.

They possessed the head and body of a woman, with wings and bird talons in place of hands and feet.

Although, like the banshees, they were saddled with the name "harpy," in reality they much preferred others to call them the Harpy race.

They were a race that possessed the continent's foremost flying speed.

Their vigorous and agile figures were naturally nothing that banshees — those walking bundles of negative energy — could compare to.

On top of that, many of them worked as letter-carriers across the continent, and their warm, diligent natures won people over.

Because of this, including themselves, many spoke up on their behalf.

They hoped to change that old-era, stigmatizing name for their race.

It had even caused quite a stir a few years back, and the newspapers at the time had piled on, denouncing plenty of people who called the Harpy race "eagle-women" outright.

Even elderly folks who slipped up out of habit and couldn't correct themselves in time found all of public opinion turning on them at once.

Much like how, in his previous life, across the ocean, you couldn't just call a Black person the N-word under the beacon of liberty.

"Is that so?"

Tally, yawning behind them, voiced a question.

Today she was a simple, rustic beastkin with sheep ears, and to play the part she wore only a plain-colored wrapped dress, complete with patches and holes.

"I had a cousin who, wanting to transform into an eagle-woman more perfectly, once went to their nest to observe them — and found that their older generation just called themselves eagle-women outright, with quite a bit of pride in their tone, too. If you ask me, this whole Harpy race movement is just people who've eaten their fill and have nothing better to do."

"…Why did your cousin want to transform into a Harpy?"

"She knew of an underground auction that traffics in eagle-women. Those human nobles have tastes similar to yours, Master — they all like non-human races. So my cousin figured she'd disguise herself and slip in among them, hoping to latch onto some noble and be kept by him, with five or six men taking turns on her every day, never short on essence."

"Uh…"

That's you all for you — worthy succubi, indeed.

"Does Master want to go too? I know that place — just don't know if it's been busted up yet."

"No need."

Dimia still couldn't quite get used to how boldly succubi spoke.

She raised a hand to fan her faintly blushing cheeks, quietly filing the matter away in her mind, planning to use it in the next chapter of the brave Orphiel's adventure story.

She steered the topic back to business.

"Perhaps it's precisely because Humbert was so generous that the folks in Tayles saw his sincerity — the reply came very quickly, clearly stating their willingness to discuss the matter, and even saying they'd send someone over to talk. Should be just a few days."

"Understood."

Rod nodded. "You plan to publicize this as groundwork, and during this period purge the unstable forces along the trade roads of the Twilight Hills."

"As expected of Mr. Rod—if this succeeds, we won't just be able to ambush the Black Dragon, we can also open up trade routes to the town of Tales and, not far from it, the cities of Shan Lun and Star Dusk!"

Dimia laughed out loud.

He could almost picture the scene of Shi Ying Town growing prosperous afterward.

Rod laughed too.

"In that case, not just Pan Ni—I'll lend you Ami and Chris as well. Let her go work in the Twilight Hills."

A mere decoy wouldn't necessarily succeed.

Since the Black Dragon Mikhail is raiding the trade roads of the Twilight Hills to replenish his stockpile, Shi Ying Town must strengthen its defenses on every front—best to give the Black Dragon Mikhail no chance to raid at all, or to succeed if he tries.

Only under such high-pressure conditions can a large batch of Jin Along's shipments truly serve as a decoy.

"Wonderful! The beast-plague defense line in Claw Valley Mountain has been in good shape lately, and the Wendigos can spare some hands. And with the Blizzard Mercenary Corps Rod hired watching the town, we can rest easy!"

The witch Young Lady grew excited.

Shi Ying Town's military strength had always been a problem.

Seventh-tier and sixth-tier were rare and never enough no matter how you looked at it.

Now that hands could be freed, they could finally clear out the Twilight Hills, which had long been in chaos!

"Oh right, Rod, the price our City Hall is offering is this—take a look, um, if we add Miss Ami and Miss Chris—"

Friends are friends, business is business.

Dimia knew how to handle people; he immediately began revising the prepared contract.

Rod waved his hand.

"This time you negotiate with the three of them. See what they want for themselves—I'll call them over in a bit."

"Ah."

Dimia stole a glance at his face, feeling all the while that this man spoiled his subordinates a bit too much.

"Oh right, Chris will demand an outrageous price—just go with the City Hall's budget. Don't give her more on my account."

The Banshee Chris was a money-grubber; if you let her name her own price, she could bankrupt the City Hall.

As they spoke—

Rod had already arrived at the Water Cedar District, about to approach the Emerald Tree.

When Dimia arrived, he had just begun his patrol for the day. The witch Young Lady hadn't really wandered around since dealing with the sand tornado in the Death Desert, so she tagged along for a stretch.

They happened to pass a wild plum tree, and the great tree actually shook and made a sound.

"Oh—my lord Rod, good afternoon."

"Eek!"

Dimia was startled a little, and even tripped on a tree root breaking through the ground beneath her feet.

Just as she was about to fall, Rod reached out in time to steady her.

She bumped into his arm and hurriedly braced herself with both hands.

Originally the arm had been resting right against her abdomen, but by inertia her whole body dropped quite a bit, so the giant rabbit was actually lifted directly by the arm.

The soft, plump sensation instantly traveled along the skin straight to the brain.

Rod: "."

Dimia's pale-pink cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and she hastily let go and stepped back a few paces.

Her eyes darted about in panic, and she caught sight of the speaking tree behind her.

She said in surprise, "A Nature Spirit?"

The great fruit tree slowly turned around, revealing an aged face.

"Indeed. This old one's name is Li Zi, in service to my lord Rod. My apologies, Young Lady, for startling you."

The Nature Spirit Li Zi.

Born from the Emerald Tree's 【Verdant Domain】, Rod had previously added points to him, and had even rolled out 【Dawn Dew Fruit】, which boosts magic accumulation.

"Rod, your forest actually has Nature Spirits now too?"

Dimia's surprise still hadn't faded—the birth of a Nature Spirit only occurred in forests where natural power was extremely abundant.

Nowadays the continent is populous, and Emerald Court has been affected in turn, so Nature Spirits rarely appear.

The history of Windwall Forest isn't exactly long, let alone compared to a great forest on the level of Emerald Court.

Rod waved his hand and laughed:

"Just a small trick."

Li Zi, off to the side, looked at Rod, then at Dimia.

He seemed to understand something, and said of his own accord:

"My lord Rod, a new batch of 【Dawn Dew Fruit】 has finished nurturing. I recall you mentioned wanting to give some to a certain mage Young Lady as a gift—may I ask who?"

As he spoke, he lowered his branches, revealing three glowing, bright-red fruits brimming with spirit.

Rod gave him an approving look.

"The very one before us."

Dimia had been blushing, and suddenly was swept up in pleasant surprise by his gesture.

"For me?"

"Of course. With you holding the line in front of Shi Ying Town, the forest has the good days it has now. The good stuff naturally includes a share set aside for you."

Having said that—

The 【Dawn Dew Fruit】 had already been handed into her hands.

Feeling the spiritual fruit in her hand, Dimia opened her mouth, momentarily unable to speak.

It could only be said that, for a witch who had been spoiled by forced growth due to the great expectations placed upon her, and then completely crippled and fixed at the early stage of the sixth rank, the feeling of being remembered was extremely rare.

After undergoing the adjustment of her magical circuits within her body by Rod and her good bestie Sharon, she had progressed at a tremendous speed; she had only just broken through to the middle stage, and immediately there were signs of advancing yet another step.

Once the two had finished discussing matters, naturally they would each go their separate ways to attend to their own affairs.

Before leaving, the witch Dimia said as follows:

"With this fruit, tonight I can advance to the high stage of the sixth rank. Starting tomorrow, I'll have even more confidence in clearing up the chaos of the Twilight Hills."

Alright then.

It seems the first step is always the hardest.

The next morning.

Rod was just lying in bed hugging Tally and refusing to get up, when he was awakened by Dimia's cry for help.

(End of this chapter)