Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 147. Three Companion And A New Quest

“There’s a large space ahead.”

Hagg, the dwarf, glared into the depths of the mine and declared with certainty.

“A hall?”

“Indeed. And there’s a strong presence, too. We shouldn’t proceed recklessly.”

Hagg licked his thick fingers, seemingly reading the air’s flow by how dry they felt.

“This way.”

We followed Hagg’s guidance as usual, but unlike the previous corridors, which were designed for people to walk through, some areas were so narrow we had to squeeze through.

“What the hell…?”

“It’s some sort of ventilation shaft… ngh… it’s tight.”

“Well, if Hagg can get through, we’ll manage somehow…”

After crawling for a while, we emerged into a slightly more open space. Climbing up the sloped passage had been exhausting. The space ahead was open, and air whooshed from behind us. Peeking out, it seemed we had reached a hole near the top of a vast chamber. Fortunately, the chamber was lit by several bonfires, providing enough illumination. It was unlikely anyone below would notice us.

I cautiously peered down and… was rendered speechless.

It was a scene straight out of hell.

In the flickering, dim firelight, green vermin squirmed. A mass of goblins had gathered in one corner. Lying there were nearly ten women, completely naked, draped across a pile of animal furs. Each of them was drooling bodily fluids from their faces, giggling weakly with vacant eyes. Occasionally, goblins standing beside them forced what looked like gruel into their mouths. Some of the women were giving birth, their legs forcibly spread. The slimy, green offspring they bore were clearly not human. Adult goblins carried the newborns away like luggage, while the other goblins swarmed the women, immediately beginning the breeding process again, as if it were routine.

“Ugh…”

Next to me, Lalaila turned pale and retched. Yaralai quickly moved to comfort her, so it didn’t seem to be a major issue. Faf, the young girl with horns sprouting from her forehead, let out a muffled, derisive laugh.

“What… is this…”

That was all I could manage to choke out.

“It’s like… a vermin breeding factory…”

Hagg’s face was contorted with rage. Yaralai wore the same expression. And no doubt, so did I. The reason was simple: I found myself acting on impulse, doing something I could hardly believe.

“Hagg… Yaralai… take care of the exits.”

“What the—”

Before I knew it, I was leaping into the darkness.

A wave of energy enveloped my entire body, surging through me, bringing my physical strength to its peak. With a resounding thud that shook the air and ground, I landed. Normally, a fall from such a height would be fatal, but now that I was grasping the intricacies of wave combat, it wasn’t an issue.

“You bastards… don’t think you’ll leave here alive…”

Why was I so emotional? Why was I so angry? I didn’t know. But one thing was certain: in the face of this grotesque scene, I felt no fear—only a deep, burning rage.

The goblins started to panic, seeing an intruder suddenly appear. I couldn’t even tolerate their stupid reactions.

“At the very least, atone for your sins with death.”

I punched the goblin in front of me with a technique I had recently mastered: Tornado Martial Arts. My fist, aimed straight with a slight twist like a corkscrew, turned the green vermin into chunks of meat, as if I’d punched through tofu.

“You will all die here.”

And so, the one-sided massacre began.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

When I came back to my senses, about 30 minutes had passed.

The enormous chamber, which had housed over 300 goblins, was now filled with corpses. Of course, I hadn’t killed them all myself. Without Hagg and Yaralai, I would’ve been overwhelmed by sheer numbers and died. The goblins had no fear of death, attacking relentlessly from all directions, even using their comrades as stepping stones. Now I understood why Hagg and Yaralai had been so cautious with these goblins, despite their lowly status.

“Honestly… that was reckless of you… but you did well.”

“Yes. Akira, now, warrior.”

“Kukuku… I recorded your exploits. You can enjoy watching it later.”

“…What about them?”

“Lalaila’s tending to them. They’re alive…”

“…I see. So their bodies are just vessels now?”

The women we had saved continued to wear vacant smiles, unable to comprehend their rescue. It was painful to even look at them. I glanced at Lalaila, who was diligently treating them, gathered together in one place.

“…Lalaila, how are they?”

“Physically… just a few scrapes… but…”

She didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t need to. It was clear to anyone.

“Use this to clean them.”

I produced a bucket full of water and handed it to her along with a towel. Lalaila’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly shook her head and began wiping the women’s bodies.

Remaining balance: ¥9,663.

“Faf, help out.”

“Kukuku… why should I…”

“Help.”

I probably glared at her with cold eyes.

“Kukuku… fine, but you owe me.”

“Do what you want.”

Leaving the women’s care to the girls, the men gathered a little distance away.

“So, is there any way to treat them?”

At my question, Hagg and Yaralai both wore grim expressions. That told me everything.

“If they were elves, with enough time, they could recover. We have some medicine… though it’s not very effective…”

“Medicine? Can’t we use it to help them?!”

“It’s not impossible… but probably futile.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard it takes about 100 years for them to heal. Whether it’s the medicine or natural recovery… it’s hard to say.”

“One hundred…”

I was speechless. That kind of treatment wasn’t feasible for humans. This was why Yaralai had hesitated.

“Damn it!”

Without thinking, I punched the wall with a wave-imbued fist, shattering part of it and sending pebbles scattering. Neither of them said a word, despite being caught in the spray of debris.

“I hate it! I hate unfairness! I had enough of it in my old world! I can’t just stand by and watch people suffer from a cruel fate! Is it arrogant of me to want to save them?!”

“…Not arrogant. Akira, admirable.”

“It’s naive, but if it’s possible, I’d want to do something as well…”

I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing through the cave.

“I don’t care who it is! Just help save these women!!”

In response to my roar, a calm voice answered.

-Request approved. A new quest has been added.-

A mysterious voice echoed in my mind.

“…What?”

I froze, then hastily closed my eyes to check the SHOP’s quest menu. It had been updated. The new quest was definitely there.

-Quest 2: 20,000 yen- -Quest 3: 1 yen-

Quest 1 had already been cleared. Quest 2 must’ve appeared some time ago. But what I needed to look at now was… I immediately purchased Quest 3.

Remaining balance: 9,662 yen.