Готовый перевод Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 30

Chapter 30

There are often situations in our lives when we make purchases that we don't need. And it seems to be cheap, almost for nothing, or even for free, but a clear understanding that you have no idea why you bought this thing and what to do with it now haunts you. It's a real-life situation, you could say it's textbook. So I, too, managed to get into it, albeit in a slightly unclassical way. And the "purchase" turned out to be closer to the concept of problematic than useless.

The girl I brought to my shop was just such a suitcase without a handle. It was a test of the Ring's properties, but a sixth-level townswoman was even less useful than a new bread maker, given that I had never used the old one. Frankly, I had found a ballast for myself, one that would be a hindrance to my life. A low-level woman cannot withstand the pace and speed of my travels, will not survive the battles that I get into with enviable frequency, and will demand regular intervention and rescue from me. At least Ygra can stand up for herself in battle, not to mention be an excellent hunter and prepper.

To be quite honest, I used the Ring on her in the first place because I don't feel sorry for that kind of scum. Whether she's pretty or not (between you and me, not really), she's caused the death of quite a few innocent people whom she lured in cold blood into a trap from which they weren't going to be released. Anyway, if the Ring gives her something resembling the aforementioned possibility of gender reassignment, I'll just cut her up and be done with it. Yes, it wouldn't be a very pleasant thing for me to do, but my conscience had gone on vacation anyway, turning over its duties to rationality and a sense of humor. The nightmares would not plague me (rather the opposite), and I would not be sad.

In general, the ideal victim for the experiment. The main thing was not to make a habit of dragging everything that moved into bed. I've been hungry enough since that affair in Ostmark, but not so hungry that I've had to jump on the first pair of boobs (not counting Ygra).

As I laid my burden on my bed, I watched her change with a kind of surprise, and even, I confess apprehension. Her body was changing right before my eyes. Not instantly, but fast enough for my high perception and inquisitive eye to discern the changes. It was a rather eerie sight, I admit, reminiscent of the ominous valley effect. Seeing such a change is simply unpleasant, even though she becomes, objectively speaking, much more beautiful than she used to be. If her initial appearance had been a C-plus, or even a B-minus, at most, she was going to be a solid A.

The changes were not as drastic as those of Ygra. Still, even the ugliest person would be handsome in comparison to the prettiest swamp ogre. So she remained recognizable, just different. Her skin had lost all hint of wrinkles and scars, her features had become finer and more refined (but still within the image of a beautiful townswoman rather than a fairy), her hips had increased somewhat, and the clothes covering her breasts had become cramped. The overall impression was that someone had taken the collective image of a "young middle-class townswoman," and then sexualized it as much as possible and added to it the features of the original.

Now she looked pretty fuckable, I even had to give myself a mental smack. We don't fuck the ones we're going to kill, Kostik. And I had originally cast a submission on her just to see how the Ring would work.

I realized that she wasn't going to wake up in the next couple of hours, so I went back to the lab to start preparing for my departure. The shadow sphere would not let me miss her awakening and possible actions, and the clairvoyance would warn me in case of any unpleasant tricks. It is not a sense of danger, which does not react to anything but a threat to life and health! Clairvoyance is far more versatile and multi-faceted!

The work was not particularly difficult, but it was extremely... routine. After all the events I had experienced, it seemed very strange to me to do such an ordinary job. Subconsciously I expected some kind of trick or the beginning of the invasion of goblinoids in the city. But everything remained as before. And numerous test tubes and pouches of ingredients were stacked in massive chests. Into the "honestly bought" massive chests went what was not pitiful to lose. That is, pitiful, of course, but not deadly. I collected the most valuable compounds and reagents in a hand-held case, which I came to town with so that if there was a problem, I wouldn't lose the most successful samples.

The rest of the wool of the ill-fated yeti went into a separate bag, as did the last two claws. I still hope to find a craftsman somewhere that will make me daggers out of them, because I'm tired of walking with ordinary, not even enchanted, steel in my hands. I'm no fucking hero if I don't have the Mythical Spear of Piercing the Heaven of Virginity. Not that I lacked cool artifacts, but why not?

The equipment was extremely bulky, but it was quite transportable, especially if you have high strength and good Tetris practice. I think I can pack it all into one wagon, or two at the most. Then I'll decide whether to stash all this junk in a cache somewhere and then go light or drag it along at the speed of a normal caravan.

While I was thinking about how to neatly stack the distillation cube, my experiment began to show signs of life. At first, she looked around perplexedly, then she froze, and clairvoyance told me that she was reading a status update, followed by a brief moment of panic, then a cautious attempt to stick out from behind the door to the room and all that. After calming down, the girl went back into my bedroom and began to examine her altered body. If the sphere readings are to be believed, the first thing she did was feel her tits. Our boy, though a woman!

The jokes didn't stop me from keeping track of her every decision, though, while at the same time remembering to finish my work with the equipment. And then there was some strange moment, as if she decided on something, after which I suddenly wanted to be much more careful with her. The clairvoyance was unwilling to indicate the source of possible... not dangers, not even problems, but just something unpleasant for me personally, but even a hint was enough for me to get serious.

The girl sat down on the bed, facing the door, and herself... exposed her torso? That doesn't sound like a clever attack tactic. Or is she trying to seduce me? I'm not going to be seduced! But wait, Kostik, you're being silly again. Remembering the effect that one looks at a naked Ygra imposes, the idea of "attacking the naked front" no longer seems silly. Of course, I could easily repel such an effect, but she doesn't know that! But then what happened to the ring's promised loyalty to the bearer of the artifact?

My clairvoyance told me that fidelity was in place, but the cunning bitch had decided to test her newfound ability on me first, and only then to think about what to do with her lover. Especially since her lover was obviously very badass, and she didn't want to die. What else could she think of my "at least you're not sorry"? No, if she had to go to her death for me, she wouldn't think twice about it, but she didn't want to end up dead without even talking to me properly.

I finish packing the equipment and take a step toward the door to the room, but something stops me. It's the same promise of inconvenience and mild unpleasantness that never went away. What makes me think her ability is exactly the same as Ygra's? I never saw her status, so it could be anything. What if there's something stronger than an attractive body?

I'll take precautions just in case.
T.N.

I could have gone into stealth, but I preferred to be as cautious as possible. Even if it would be overkill. So instead of walking with my feet, I moved with my steps, finding myself at her back. She still hadn't noticed me in stealth. And I suddenly wondered what I should do next. Put a dagger to her throat and demand Status? It would be silly, and I didn't want to touch her - whether it was contact pheromones or some other nasty thing triggered by a Perverted Mentalist's Ring.

The idea had been on my mind for a long time, but I hadn't had time to test it out. There were all these problems, cults, and other things that kept me from trying the shadow-stealing idea. But I could check it out right now, which I did.

The first attempt ended in the same way as every theft - the possibility of a change of appearance. The second and third attempts ended in the same way, and the girl was already nervous, no longer hearing my footsteps or the sound of dragging furniture. On the eighth attempt, I decided not to take the stolen shadow for myself, but to leave it in place, but under my control.

The result came rather quickly - from the eleventh time, which is a great indicator. Apparently, the Shadows had grown, as well as the two skills obtained for a high score in this characteristic. In any case, the key to victory was the need to carefully dose the power invested and almost stop attracting someone else's shadow to himself, leaving it next to the owner. It seems not to have stolen it, but it is no longer his, but yours... It's completely insane logic, but it really worked that way!

What did I do? Oh, I just remembered the first time I got a point in that skill! It wasn't a disguise that I wanted, but the ability to control the body of the person whose shadow I was using as puppet strings. So I sensibly assumed that higher levels of this skill would be able to do that. I still couldn't directly control someone else's body, and the ability was hardly focused on controlling someone else's body (clairvoyance was back on), but at least I could paralyze someone whose shadow I had subjugated to my will.

And so the girl immediately froze like a stone statue, unable to move a single muscle. Now we're going to ask you what you wanted to do to me. I didn't stall, but before I spoke, I had time to read the system alert about my increased ability in a couple of seconds.

Stealing of the shadow: 2/7

Allows, with a tangible expense of reserve, to take someone else's shadow, thus taking the form of a stolen shadow; allows to pass off someone else's shadow as your own, deceiving many status assessment abilities; with high concentration, allows to leave a subordinate shadow on the original host, with limited effect on him; When moving sharply, a stolen shadow has some chance to unfold; when actively using shadow manipulation, the shadow can unfold; under the influence of enemy skills, the shadow can unfold.

I noted in passing the happy news of the increased disguise, and made a note to check the range of effects I could have on the owner of the stolen shadow. And then I concentrate on the conversation, as if I really had to deal not with a simple bandit, but with a dangerous adversary.

"No unnecessary movements and nonsense," I tell her indifferently in her ear. "Show me your Status. Complete, with all the new additions. And no jokes, please, I don't want to clean the room of blood."

Honestly, she wasn't so much frightened as she was outraged and fucking offended! As if I had a reason to trust her, and she wasn't up to anything incomprehensible. I almost believed it, yes! But let me take off my rose-colored glasses because they rub the bridge of my nose.

After about five seconds, I received a new system message that contained exactly what I demanded. And I wanted to find the creator of my ring, and then ask him for the weed he was drugged with. Because any slightly normal person would not think of such heresy. It's not that it's dangerous to me, I can see a lot of ways to use the ring's powers, but fuck that!

Name: Tarija

Race: Human

Level: 6

Titles: Companion of the Hero

Characteristics Points: 0
Class Points: 0

Characteristics (standard):
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 15
Endurance: 15
Perception: 30
Concentration: 1
Energy: 1

Special:

Concentrator of Subjugation (Chest): 9/9 (gifted)

Demonstration of the concentrator to the open eye of an intelligent anthropomorphic being instantaneously suppresses the will; allows complex, multi-step orders to be given to subordinate individuals; allows long-dormant behavioral matrices to be left; the memory area responsible for the moment of receiving the order is securely suppressed; the victim selects logical reasoning for following orders or is not aware of inconsistencies in behavior; allows the victim's memories to be modified broadly; not detected by most of the passive and active

Skills:
Trade: 8 (apprentice)
Thievery 4 (apprentice)
Housework: 16 (journeyman)
Pretend: 21 (journeyman)
Dagger wielding: 5 (Apprentice)
Lovemaking: 14 (journeyman)

To be honest, I found it extremely difficult not to laugh like a horse. No, just think about it and think it through! A skill that has nine levels at once and can penetrate almost any defense is the top tier of the legendary grade. The skin-deprived cultist's ability, also a brain-beater, was probably even weaker. If not in its power, then in its variability.

I just reminding you that an attack so powerful on the mind could penetrate even my heroic defenses. I was able to get through it with my Gaze, which offset the effect of the attack. And I don't even want to think about what exactly this pretty lady would have come up with if she had actually managed to catch me on, but don't laugh, her hypno-boobs! Bitch! It's like I'm not in a dystopian fantasy, but in some lame hentai novel!

No kidding, that could have been a really dangerous situation. So what if she remained head over heels in love and infinitely faithful? What good would it do if I brought her slippers in my teeth? Perhaps the same Gaze, as well as my dreamwalker skills, would help me shed the nastiness that controlled me, but I didn't want to test that possibility. Certainly not on myself.

Apparently, every single one of the granted bonuses was thrown into a single ability, but a really strong one, matching the second, or even third, the rank of at least a legendary class. Too strong to keep me calm, too useful to discard. My dream walker powers so far have been far less comfortable and varied. Oh, man! She now, if she acts smart, has every chance of stupidly taking over the city in her own hands! Show the boobies to all the big shots by going down the chain from the lower ranks to the most important ones, and that's it - Kraj is in her pocket.

And I can't kill her now, because my greed is choking me. I'm not sure if it's almost useless in combat, but it's too valuable to give up such a resource. Even if it is a danger to me, too. But it is precise with the danger that my dreams will help me. They're much slower, of course, and they're not a hundred percent guaranteed, but I can train an ordinary sixth-level townswoman with ridiculous characteristics.
T.N.

In fact, that's exactly what I did, sprinkling some sleeping dust in the face of a paralyzed woman who was beginning to panic. I needed that kind of stuff myself. So I turned her over on her stomach (so as not to get hit by accident) and lay down next to her. After a couple of heartbeats, we were both asleep, and I was determined to get to work.

If my first impression was that Tarya was a complete bitch, then a detailed study of her life only confirmed this opinion. She wasn't particularly bloodthirsty or cruel, but she genuinely didn't care about anyone but herself. And she learned to walk on other people's heads very early on.

The fifth child and second daughter of a not-so-rich family, she was always on the back burner and cared for only when she was remembered. Given the fact that by her tenth birthday the girl's father had been drinking heavily and regularly beating up everyone he could get his hands on, her temper couldn't have been sugar coated.

She got a job early on, where she sometimes stole if she was sure of impunity. She was good at lying and pretending, always getting away with it, even if she had to betray yesterday's accomplices. She even signed up for an adventure with robbery and murder, clearly planning to get out of it in time, and with luck to poison her colleagues, so that they would not betray her person.

The ring was working properly, and she was physically unable and unwilling to betray me, nor did she wish me any harm. But to tweak my attitude toward her, just a little, so that it wouldn't be considered dangerous... why not? Besides, she can have fun with the one she adores, and then erase the memory, or not erase it, but make it my idea. All for the beloved's sake!

She had all kinds of fantasies running around in her head. The kind that wouldn't make it into hentai. A rich imagination, however, a very rich. From fairly standard hobbies to very clever scenarios and perversions. Not that I'm so against it, but fuck it!

After going through the experience of her life, I began, in addition to the standard triggers, to instill in her an understandable reflex - never, under any circumstances, apply to me the gifted ability, except by my direct order and permission. I left the latter in case I needed to check the effectiveness of this boob attack of hers. At the very least, I want to know whether the Gaze will block it and whether I can recover my memory through my dreams. Theoretically, it should work, as it did with the cultist, but in practice, I'm not so sure anymore.

Okey.

It's time to wake up.

"Get up, I know you're already awake." I suppressed the urge to kick her.

Well, I don't like her personality, I don't like her abilities, and I don't like her either. And doubly disgusted by the need to keep her alive - too useful and strong an ability she got from the generosity of the admin.

"I'm up, I'm up." She stretched out sleepily, not turning to face me and pulling her dress back into place to cover the "main caliber. "You could have been more polite."

It's funny, but she has an amazing ability to adapt, going through the various manners of conversation and trying to find one that appeals to me. And she does this more unconsciously than really deliberately. A high skill at pretending, I suppose. After all, she now instinctively and on the first try has chosen exactly the behavioral algorithm, which almost does not piss me off. No attempt at fawning, the very minimum of pretense, and the maximum of a businesslike approach - as if you were talking to a colleague at work. It was close enough to the real her that my clairvoyance was not disturbed by her lies and yet rational enough that I did not get angry.

"As if you cared." Commenting on her witticism. "Do you understand the situation in which you find yourself? Are you aware of the prospects and consequences you face?"

It's like a brain test. She seems to be a smart girl, but we have to figure out how smart she is and how stupid she is. The percentages, so to speak.

"You did something to me, and now I'm with you forever." She summed up the effect of the ring in a surprisingly clear and succinct way. "I hope I don't have to snot and ask you to be with me."

And now she is scared to death, and she is afraid not only of death but also of being useless to me. And the latter frightens her much more than death. She keeps convincing herself that with her new abilities she won't be unnecessary, but her nerves were shaking.

'Better without drama, you're right." I confirm her hunch. "I'll be honest, you piss me off. And you're only alive because the ability you've discovered is too valuable for me to refuse to use it."

"Yes, sweetie." She immediately picked up on my words. "With such power, I can just take anything I want. All the gold and stones, just tell me who I want..."

I interrupted her speech with a dejected shake of my head. She's smart, no doubt, but she's still stupid. She might think that this was the best use of her new ability for me, but she couldn't grasp the fact that robbery and looting were not the only ways to get rich. In her mind, honest work has always meant poverty, and she has never set for herself any goals other than "to live well, rich and luxury".

I don't need money, and, anticipating your assumption, I don't need to bring girls either. Your ability will come in handy if I need to create an agent of influence or erase someone's memory in a hurry. And no, I'm not a spy... or a cultist... and damn it, I don't work for the secret police! Stop thinking nonsense. I don't read your mind, you fool!

Man, a vivid imagination can be a vice, too. I had to spend a couple of hours bringing to her mind the importance of party politics. About having to travel a lot and being exposed to a lot of danger. About how I would rather kill her on the spot than let someone read her status and that it was better for her to kill herself than to be captured by anyone. That her only title was better not to be thought of at all.

We discussed a lot of things, and as a result, she was very satisfied. Why shouldn't she be? I wouldn't kill her, I'd take her out of town, and I'd let her stay with me. She certainly didn't want to get into any trouble, but she was willing to go to hell for me. Fucking ring! Couldn't I have been given some kind of super pickaxe?

"Yes, yes, I've got it all memorized, you can be sure I'll do everything you said." For what must have been the thousandth time, Tarija repeated the phrase. "You can trust my, heh heh, comprehension."

And her face is so funny at that, I don't even doubt that she's trolling me. I'm ready to change my mind now, but all the preparation and reassurance are regrettable. Roughly speaking, right now I want to test my heroic defense and Gaze defense against the ability of my new (non)combat unit.

Of course, I made sure of that. I put the woman back to sleep and worked on her dreams again, carefully instructing her and giving her all the necessary instructions. I didn't want to risk it, but I needed to know if I could fend off such an attack, or if my abilities would no longer apply to her.

"Okay. Let's go over the list." I look at her grimly and give permission.

In response, she smiles and pulls down her dress, exposing two very suggestive spheres with delicate pink...

So.

Experiment number one: attempted subjugation while the shadow Gaze was active. A complete failure, that is, a complete success, but a complete failure of tits-power! The first good news, which can't help but bring a smile to my face.

In my shadow vision, her body looks black and white and not at all arousing. And I can see the stained blood on her hands - she's killed before, and more than once. Her breasts seem to be covered in strange cobwebs, folded into incomprehensible but rather beautiful symbols, concentrated as much as possible around her nipples. At the moment of eye contact, a weightless cobweb seems to fly into me, almost invisible even in this mode of vision, but it had no visible effect, dissolving upon touching me. Or rather, to my Shadow-soaked eyes.

The command to stand on one foot was just a verbal command that had no effect on me. I didn't even feel a trace of outside influence - it was too microscopically small an amount of power invested in the ability.

Cross it out.

The only pity is that you can't keep your gaze on all the time. It's exhausting, it hurts my eyes, and it's very easy to go cuckoo from constantly looking at the Shadow.

Experiment number two: an attempt at compulsion without the help of Gaze, only on my heroic persistence and no less heroic stubbornness. To be honest, I'm a little worried.

"Ready." I give the command to start, and she lets go of her dress again, exposing her spheres, literally mesmerizing the gaze with the bumps already hardened by cold (or excitement)...

"How much longer are you going to think?" I can't stand the long pause.

In response, the girl, barely able to contain her laughter, pokes her finger at my left hand, now raised directly above my head. It's such a hint of... Wait, but in the script she was supposed to give me the command to raise my left arm. Which I'm now holding high.

But she hasn't even moved yet, and I'm holding my hand just because... because it's comfortable for me to keep my hand where I want it, that's all. So she hasn't used her skill yet. I should just put my hand down and go on, but why should I put my hand down when I'm much more comfortable that way?

Well.

Stop.

I'm definitely not under the influence of skill, simply because it's impossible. I wasn't affected by skill. But just to be safe, I'd have to dive into The Shadow. It's a stupid thing to do, but I'll do it, even though the giggling girl didn't use her ability on me.

It felt strange - as if my eyes were blinded by a strong wind. The imaginary wind and the familiar chill of The Shadow cleared my mind, too. I no longer felt the need to hold my hand up, and I knew clearly that the skill had actually worked, though I still couldn't remember how it had. The desire to wring her neck was stronger than ever. A very unpleasant ability, very, very unpleasant, even dangerous.

I give the trigger order, which instantly puts the bandit girl to sleep, and then I fall asleep myself. In the dream I do see a strange, weightless web of silk entangling a certain part of the dream. I literally tear off this web, dissolving it in my power, and immediately gain access to the seconds cut out of my memory.

"Ready." I give the command to start, and she lets go of her dress again, exposing her spheres, literally mesmerizing the gaze with the bumps already hardened by cold (or excitement)...

"Hey! Can you hear me, Tin?" She asks somehow surprised, breathing fast and clearly excited by what's happening.

"I hear," I answer smoothly as if a little drowsy.

I don't look lost, asleep, or hypnotized at all, just staring at the nipples of the townswoman controlling me with her technique.

"Then raise your left hand and forget about it." Even without clairvoyance, I can see how much she wants to do something besides this order, but she restrains herself. As she covers her breasts back in her dress, I have time to raise my hand and come to my senses. I even catch a glimpse of the way she adjusts her clothes. And then I just wait for the "beginning" of the experiment.

"How much longer are you going to think?"

I woke up and could hardly keep my hands from reaching for the daggers. Calm down, Kostik, she's loyal to you. In fact, since when did I become so aggressive? I remember that I almost never got angry with Ygra, although her exposure boiled my brains just like that. Or was it because I could hold back then, and not now?

"Wake up."

"Mm-hmm." She wipes her eyes. "One more time, please."

Oh, no, I wasn't wrong, she's really getting high from it!

Experiment number three: an attempt to put me to sleep instantly, without a working Gaze.

It ended quickly and partly successfully. Partially, because the result was ambiguous, or rather, we both won in some way. She showed me her tits, and I fell asleep immediately, not even hearing (or remembering) the order, but when I fell asleep, I immediately dropped the influence and woke up, activating my Gaze at the same time.

Conclusion: she can put me to sleep with one word, but it will not give her even a second of time won - I did not even begin to fall (on a specially laid mattress), as I came to full alert.

Experiment number four: an attempt to cheat dream walking with a more complex order.

Tarija showed me her tits again, after which I immediately went to drink a cup of water, and then I lay down and fell asleep. I had to wake up and drink another cup, and then come to my senses.

Fortunately, as soon as I fell asleep, I immediately dismissed the control, and the second part of the order went to nothing. It amused me how my mind interpreted the urge to drink water and go to bed, even though I knew, damn it, that that was what the prearranged compulsion had been. But my mind stubbornly avoided the subject, thinking only of the fact that I was thirsty, that I was tired, and that I should sleep and then continue to work on the analysis of the ability of my ward number two. I'll just drink some water first.

On the other hand, now I'm sure that even such high-level control won't stay on me longer than I can do without sleep. I could get paranoid that way, too, to be honest. I mean, I could get it if I didn't already have it.

A few more experiments were conducted, in which I found out that the compulsion I'd applied could convince me not to use shadow steps or to check myself with dreams, which, naturally, did not make me happy. Just in case, I used a trigger and erased the memories of the last few experiments from Tarija's memory. To her, they would seem like ordinary half-forgotten dreams that would melt into oblivion by morning.

Yes, we stayed up late into the night, at least no one interrupted us. I had a strong urge to fuck the bitch, but I decided to wait on it. At least to think over the results. I had abstained before, and I would hold out for a few more days.

The fact that Hero's ability to ignore the effects upon the mind still has a limit was extremely unpleasant news to me. I had realized before that there was a limit to this protection, but several encounters with legendary creatures had convinced me that the limit was still far away. Not that far, as it turned out!

From the statistics, I've gathered (I've seen enough bullshit to be entitled to call this data statistical), my defense easily crushes one-step attacks on the mind, even very strong ones. Moreover, the stronger the attack, the more obvious it is, the better - the heroic defense will only get stronger. My defense is also strong against slow-acting, gradually accumulating effects, which I've worked out how to counter on Ygra.
T.N.

But beyond a certain limit of power and, more importantly, of subtlety, my defenses are no longer able to withstand it. My mind is still protected by the Gaze (though I don't fully understand how) and the ability to step into the Shadow Plane and the final insurance is Dreams. This, combined with clairvoyance, gives me a wide enough window of opportunity to keep out the kind of influence that would push through my defenses.

Anyway, congratulations, Kostik, you've grown up and entered the big leagues, where the standard defense doesn't work anymore. I'm sure that the further development of my skills will strengthen the defense even more. For example, Gaze will automatically activate at any attempt to influence the mind (also clairvoyance told me), or simply the defense bar will be higher.

Another reason not to stand still, but to evolve.

With all my hectic life, I'm always expecting problems, even with things that aren't the hardest. I can't even go out for pies properly! There's always some story going on, after which all I have to do is survive another mess. I'm slowly getting used to it, but it's still kind of creepy.

So I was surprised when an unorthodox matter of finding a way out of the city without losing my lab equipment and belongings was solved in a ridiculously simple way. It took three hours to find the next trader fleeing the Kraj. Agree with him on a place in his caravan and rent (with the possible subsequent purchase) of two wagons pulled by calm and well-fed mares - ten minutes. To move all the transportable things into these wagons, using the hiring of scowling and taciturn movers - two hours. To break the arm of an impertinent man who decided to pocket a couple of expensive-looking things is one second.

Twenty-four hours later, we ( Tarija and I) were leaving the hospitable Kraj, ready to have an adventure on our asses. Well, I mean, I was ready, and she had no choice but to agree.

The most difficult part of our preparations was to communicate with Ygra, who had had time to rest and get bored, and who had to be convinced that she would have to follow our caravan. At the same time, we had to avoid being seen by the sentinels, not to leave the forest, and not to die of boredom because of our terrible slowness - the speed of the caravan is not comparable to the speed of our recent march through the forests and swamps.

And then there was the problem of introducing Tarya to the ogres, which common sense wouldn't let me give up on. I did not doubt at all that the monster, seeing a strange human girl beside me, would think that I had brought her something to eat, and then simply eat a hearty lunch of unlucky young lady.

So many problems, so many tasks, that I just don't give a shit.

I drove out of town, lying on my wagon, my ears plugged up with shadowy earplugs so that I couldn't hear the cabman's scolding. At my side was Tarija, who had finally left the city she hated, curled up in a state of near zen. For the first time in a long, long time since my cult hunt had begun, I felt simply and humanly good.

Should I get the simple human pleasures once in a while?

The journey in the caravan is not at all like the romance of the road - the dust, the shrieks of the carriage drivers who did not share the road. and passengers who didn't like the faces of those walking beside them, the constant jolting and the blazing sun. After the first couple of hours, I wanted to go back to the Kraj, especially since I hadn't robbed the magistrate's coffers.

The need to constantly monitor the environment for random glances, ears, or poisonous snake in the boot adds extra excitement. And monsters are very common here - the green-skinned are not fools and may well bypass the city from the flanks to attack the departing caravan. Of course, the locals are no fools, either, so they're always checking the roads. In addition, the caravan is accompanied by a detachment of guards and hired adventurers, who will accompany us until we leave the cordon.

An attack is still possible (it's a common situation), but caravans passing through the wilderness have always been a tough nut to crack. Well, in case of danger, there is a way to run away. At the same time, you can bury my "legend".

That's why I wasn't at all upset when I noticed the savages quickly and coherently surrounding the camp of our caravan, marking in my shadow sphere. I was not disappointed at all when I noticed that the savages were rapidly surrounding our caravan's camp and noting my shadowy sphere.

Apparently, this identity of mine will have to be buried after all.

* * *

Done.

There were no сrits, although the hero had a good chance of getting "love to bear slippers in his teeth". No kidding, this was (and still is) one of Tarija's favorite fantasies.

Why he left her, I think, is also clear - the note about taking over an entire city is an exaggeration, but not a particularly big one. There is no one in the region with the ability to block her. And only two people with a chance of dropping control with a lucky break.

The escape from the city was successful, but it was unsuccessful in avoiding an attack on the caravan. It's a platitude, but that's the way it is.

There's quite a lot planned for the next chapter, so there will be plenty to do this weekend. Including, by the way, preparing new options for the next arc.

Weapons of brainwashing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YeZprxr-IJBOVaDXliZUqjPjgLCKxN8Z/view?usp=sharing

Внимание! Этот перевод, возможно, ещё не готов.
Его статус: идёт перевод

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/80370/522747

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP