Chapter 36

"Refuse? You! Do you know that we are Rank 2?!"

A man in his early thirties with a well-built body bellowed.

Rank can be seen by using a measurement magic.

In a battle between explorers, the difference in combat power becomes apparent. There are four of them, all Rank 2, and they have abundant combat experience. Even if we consider that they are weakened, we can't win against them. "I have to use my trump card."

"Yes, I can't just give away food for free."

Still, he refused. To be honest, the meat of the monster weighs about 150 kg, and water can be created in unlimited quantities. Giving it away wouldn't hurt his finances, but there were other camped explorers around, and their eyes were on him.

If he showed any weakness, the surrounding crowd would turn into hyenas and take everything from them in an instant.

"Huh, you must really want to die. We are starving. We were lured by the delicious smell. Don't expect us to have any reason. We'll even kill to eat the meat."

The man thrust his sword at Soji's neck. A thin line of blood flowed, and simultaneously, a blessing activated and healed him.

Seeing this, Kuna and Anne's murderous intent and magic power swelled.

"Don't move! Both of you!"

Soji shouted to stop them.

"But, Soji-kun..."

Kuna's voice, on the verge of tears, made him feel murderous towards the man in front of her. But he suppressed it with all his might. He had to endure. If used properly, this situation could turn to their advantage.

"Kuna, it's fine. I'm okay."

Soji smiled gently. In such situations, showing composure is best. Kuna and Anne glared fiercely at the man. The veteran explorer flinched under their gaze.

"Alright, calm down. I just said I won't give it away for free."

"What?"

"If you want to buy food and water, I'll gladly provide it."

Yes, a formal transaction wouldn't show any weakness. Moreover, it could be used as advertising for future business.

"Do you have the position to negotiate, you?"

"I have the position to negotiate. I do."

He glared back at the veteran explorer, who showed a bit of rationality in his eyes. At least he seemed willing to listen.

"You intend to take it by force, but even if you take our food, you can't eat it normally. ...Kuna, bring some meat from the side of the tent."

"Yes, right away."

The veteran explorers watched Kuna's movements closely, as if ready to kill at any strange move.

"Let's start cooking."

Kuna brought a chunk of loin meat. He thinly sliced it and quickly sprinkled salt. He cut it into two pieces, purifying one and leaving the other as is.

"Kuna, cook it."

"Yes, Soji-kun."

Using Kuna's magic, the slices were heated from the inside and instantly turned into steaks.

The smell of the meat spread, and the explorers in front of him swallowed hard.

"The first one is the meat I've cast a spell on. This is a sample. Eat it as you like."

He nodded to Anne, who poured water into a glass and handed it to the veteran explorer.

The man swallowed hard and bit into the thin steak.

"Delicious, delicious!"

He chewed and swallowed the meat, tears streaming down his face, and drank the water. He must have been very hungry, as he completely let his guard down, his stern face softening.

This is a perfect opportunity, but with four of them, a surprise attack would be a bad move.

The explorer who finished eating quickly turned back to them.

"This isn't enough. Now that I know how it tastes, I have to get it no matter what."

His eyes turned completely animalistic. Then, I'll wake him up a bit.

"I cooked another piece of meat, but I don't recommend eating it. This one hasn't been purified by my magic. As you know, it's full of miasma and not edible. Even though it's cut from the same piece of meat, the properties are completely different. Without my magic, this meat is poisonous. Taking it by force would be meaningless. If you don't believe me, try it."

The veteran explorer flinched at Soji's words.

But taking it by force would be meaningless. He probably wanted to confirm this.

"Hey, you. Eat it."

"R-Really!?"

He called one of the porters and made him eat the steak. This was a cold calculation to avoid losing a main member even if it was poisonous.

The porter, feeling the fear of it possibly being poisonous, but lured by the smell and the fact that the veteran explorer had eaten it, devoured the meat. The other party members watched enviously.

The moment the porter put the meat in his mouth, he showed a deeply satisfied expression.

"This is delicious."

"Hey, is it a lie?"

"No, you'll see soon."

"Hey, this, my, stomach, it hurts, my stomach, my stomach!"

But the next moment, he vomited the meat due to the miasma and writhed in pain.

Unless you're Rank 3 or higher, eating unpurified meat will result in this.

"See, I told you."

"Indeed, it becomes like this if you don't do anything to it."

"That's right. So, taking it by force is pointless. If you buy it, I'll properly process it."

"You could threaten us."

"I'll resist with all my might. If you want to kill me, that's one thing, but do you have the leisure to incapacitate me?"

These guys could probably kill him easily, but incapacitating him would be tough.

His gaze briefly shifted to Kuna and Anne.

He was probably thinking of using them to make him comply.

Soji sent a genuine murderous intent towards the veteran explorer. If he tried to do that, Soji would use his trump card and kill him without hesitation.

The veteran explorer sensed something from Soji, raised his hands, and muttered, "I surrender."

Normally, there would be no need to fear him, but his instincts must have sensed the danger, which is why he survived this long.

"Phew, I get it. I lose. I'll buy it. How much?"

"Enough food for your entire party, two days' worth of dried meat, and a lot of water for 200,000 bal. How about that?"

"That's a rip-off."

"Considering it's the 4th floor underground, I think it's a fair price. Not to mention, I'll include the most valuable water in the underground labyrinth."

In fact, there are merchants who do business in the underground labyrinth for explorers, but they usually charge about five times the market price. The risk of opening a shop while being attacked by monsters and the cost of transportation make it unavoidable.

"True. Alright, I'll buy it. I only have 100,000 bal. How about the remaining 100,000 bal in exchange for this?"

The veteran explorer threw a fist-sized magic stone.

From the looks of it, it's a high-level Rank 1 magic stone. It would be worth 200,000 bal at a cash exchange. This is acceptable.

"Agreed. I'll prepare the food right away. Please sit over there. And here, this."

Soji threw a water bottle. It was just filled with water, so it contained about 2 liters.

"Use this to quench your thirst. If you have empty containers, I'll fill them with water, so please bring them all out."

"Thanks. You three, how much water are you carrying?"

"That's a trade secret."

Soji put a finger to his lips.

He didn't want to say that he was making water from the monster's blood, as it would probably make them look disgusted.

◇

He brought several plates piled high with dripping steaks to the veteran explorers.

They devoured the meat like wild dogs swarming around food.

Alright, the bait is set.

Did the prey take the bait? Soji looked around.

Explorers who had moved away when they realized it was monster meat were now gathering around them again.

Their gazes were focused on the explorers greedily eating the meat.

Soji intended to sell the monster meat. After all, the meat of the giant boar-like monster had about 150 kg of edible parts. It was impossible to carry, and it would be a waste to throw it away.

However, even if he wanted to sell it, no one would buy monster meat normally, and even free samples would be refused. Even if he and Kuna ate it in front of them, they might suspect their constitution.

So, he came up with the idea of using the veteran explorers.

By feeding the meat to other parties, he could make them believe that the meat itself was specially prepared and edible.

"Hey, buddy. Can you sell us that meat too?"

An explorer setting up camp called out to Soji.

"Of course, I'd be happy to. But it's expensive."

"I don't care. I'll pay anything to eat soft, juicy meat in a place like this."

Soji smiled inwardly. Alright, it's going to get busy from now on.