Volume 2, Chapter 10 – The Kraken’s Slumber

The previous casual demeanor seemed entirely feigned as the bald man’s expression instantly turned vicious, reminding Yisi of a local thug straight out of a movie.

“You brats, get the hell out of here!”

Roaring, the bald man stomped up the stairs, cursing under his breath. His familiarity with the place made it clear he’d done this many times before.

Left behind, Nix quickly bowed with an apologetic smile.

“Miss Yisi, my apologies for the unsightly scene. Those kids must have used the beds here, making them unsuitable for your use tonight. Shall we move on to the next place?”

“No need. I never intended to use the furniture here in the first place.”

The overturned tables and chairs were already rotten from years of neglect, and coupled with the bloodstains on the floor, Yisi felt an urge to completely renovate the place. Even with Camilla’s cleaning magic, it would take at least a week to procure new furniture and hire staff before the tavern could officially reopen.

After scanning the area to confirm there were no dangers, Camilla approached Nix and asked,

“Why was this tavern closed down?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I remember Darc mentioning it once when we were drinking. Apparently, it was due to a lack of customers and the constant extortion by beastmen under various pretexts, so the owner sold it off.”

“And the bloodstains?”

“From a fight between the tavern owner and some beastmen.”

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The bald man, now descending the stairs, answered while dragging a beastman boy of about six or seven by the collar. Despite the boy’s desperate struggles, he couldn’t break free from the man’s iron grip.

“But rest assured, miss. No one has ever died in this tavern.”

“That’s a relief.”

Yisi exhaled softly. Even with her Level 427 strength, she was still afraid of ghosts and the like—not because she couldn’t handle them, but out of sheer psychological fear.

Soon, her attention shifted to the boy in the man’s grasp.

“This is…?”

“Just a beastman brat who snuck in. Don’t bother being nice to him, miss. These creatures only take advantage of kindness—give them an iron coin today, and they’ll come back tomorrow demanding copper.”

“Is that so?”

Ignoring Yisi, the man walked straight to the door and kicked the boy out.

“Scram, and don’t let me see you again.”

“Mr. Darc will definitely go to hell when he dies.”

For a moment, Yisi thought she had spoken, but upon reflection, she realized it was Camilla.

Does Camilla have a sharp tongue?

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Yisi blinked but didn’t comment. This seemed to be the first time Camilla had voluntarily spoken to a stranger—a remarkable improvement.

The bald man, Darc, didn’t seem to mind, clapping his hands as if nothing had happened.

“In my line of work, you’ve got to be ruthless. Would you ladies like to check the basement and upstairs? The beds are unusable, but the rooms are intact. A quick cleanup and some new furniture, and this place will be ready for business. If you need workers, I can help arrange it—though there’ll be a fee, of course.”

“Then we’ll trouble you, Darc. I’ve decided to buy this place—51 gold coins in total. As for the worker fees, we’ll discuss them after we find candidates.”

“Heh, you’re unexpectedly sharp, miss. Tell you what—I’ll waive the worker fee if you let me drink here for free in the future. How about it?”

“Dream on.”

Camilla coldly answered in Yisi’s stead. Darc shrugged and began counting the gold coins in the pouch.

“Well then, here’s the tavern’s deed. The transfer paperwork is already prepared—just press your seals here, and it’s done.”

“Will this be recognized by the city lord?”

In Yisi’s eyes, property purchases required official stamps.

Perhaps pleased with the one-gold-coin fee, Darc looked rather cheerful.

“Of course. The city lord was paid when this tavern was built. Subsequent sales are private transactions—they only care about taxes. If you doubt the deed’s authenticity, Nix can verify it. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave now, ladies.”

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With a wave, Darc strode out of the tavern.

“Nix, it’s late. You should head back too—your caravan is waiting.”

“But this deed…”

“No need to verify it.”

“If you say so, Miss Yisi. Well, if you encounter any issues, feel free to reach out to me or Darc. That guy might seem careless, but he’s actually sharper than I am.”

“Got it.”

After hesitating, Nix placed a small pouch on the counter—the clinking sound suggested it held gold coins.

“Then I won’t disturb you and Miss Camilla any further.”

Soon, Nix also left, leaving only Yisi and Camilla in the spacious room—along with the two wolf pups Camilla had tied up near the door.

With nightfall, the surroundings grew quiet. In the past, being alone with Camilla in a dimly lit room like this would have sent Yisi’s imagination running wild. But now, surrounded by dust and cobwebs, she simply didn’t have the energy for such thoughts.

“Onee-sama, shall we start cleaning the first floor?”

“No, let’s clean the rooms on the second floor first. We’ll stay there tonight.”

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Though she hadn’t deliberately purchased a wooden bed, back in Ragnarøk, the game had featured all sorts of beds. While sorting through her inventory earlier, Yisi had discovered an item called The Kraken’s Slumber—a bed that permanently increased the sleeper’s magic resistance by 1 point, with the effect triggering once every ten days.

For someone like Yisi, whose magic resistance already exceeded five digits, The Kraken’s Slumber was practically useless. But for Camilla, whose magic resistance was still in the double digits, it was an incredibly precious item.

When the two reached the second floor via the creaky, seemingly fragile wooden stairs, they found the beds just as Darc had described—completely unusable. Moldy, blackened, and reeking of urine, sweat, and beastly stench, it was no wonder beastmen were unpopular, given their notorious odor.

“Ugh… I can’t believe they lived here.”

“For them, any shelter from the wind is enough. Onee-sama, shall we begin cleaning?”

“Yes. I’ll store the beds in my inventory and dispose of them outside. Camilla, you handle the floors and walls. We only need to clear out—no, two rooms for tonight.”

“Understood. [—Cleanse.]”

As Camilla chanted, a breeze infused with tiny white particles swept through the room. Wherever it touched the walls or floor, the grime vanished as if erased by an invisible hand, restoring the wood to its original color in moments. In less than ten minutes, the cobwebs and dust were gone, and the foul odors had disappeared entirely, replaced by the faint scent of timber.

After storing the filthy beds, Yisi paced out the room’s dimensions before placing The Kraken’s Slumber in the center.

Then, the whole person froze in place.

True to its name, The Kraken’s Slumber was a bed with a cute octopus-head decoration at the headboard, its frame composed of writhing tentacles. Worse yet, the tentacles weren’t static—they were alive, undulating rhythmically. When the cartoonish octopus eyes spotted Yisi standing nearby, its countless tentacles immediately stretched toward her, leaving just enough space for her to lie down, as if beckoning her to sleep.

Translator Note

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