No Panties Dungeon (Part 7)

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[Yua Mikami Perspective]

For my family, strength is the main goal in occupying the family hierarchy. Without the power to silence someone's mouth, it would make you an outcast in the social order. Looking down on someone's abilities is very difficult for me to do because of my limited strength.

My childhood was spent with harsh training and manners that showed the grace of a Battle Shrine Maiden. As a family that produced generations of Battle Shrine Maidens, my rigorous training exceeds the general training that other families learn. Especially with my father's big ambition who wants me to be part of the Shirayuki family. A family that trained Battle Shrine Maidens to their breaking point. The honor and dignity of the family rests on my shoulders.

However, reality says otherwise, I have low abilities that are difficult to improve.

Realizing my shortcomings, the thought occurred to me to end my life by drinking poison.

With no hope of surviving and fulfilling my family's wishes, a small escape occurred. Leaving the house unprepared and thinking about the next step in the journey.

It was during the escape that I realized that my position was much luckier than other people's. Meeting someone who is looking for a morsel of food to survive has opened my eyes. My weak heart made me reach out to them, trying to lighten the heavy burden I felt.

My first experience of meeting someone made me understand their anxiety regarding the Void invasion. The presence of the Battle Shrine Maiden on the battlefield helped reduce their worries about the destruction that was humanity's nightmare. That little escape made me determined to continue trying and pursuing my weak ability to defeat the Void.

If there was one dirty way that could increase my strength, it would be the sweet poison that hurts my body that I would swallow!

The hard training I did lasted until I was old enough to receive the Shirayuki family's training. This meager ability will become a topic of conversation that will tarnish my family's good name. I had rejected my father's offer to force me to enter the Shirayuki family's training.

Armed with a cunning plan and adequate finances, my father sent a letter of request to the Shirayuki family administrator and dragged me into the Battle Shrine Maiden training run by the Shirayuki family.

The Shirayuki family shouldn't have bowed down in such a dirty manner and rejected my family's request. However, money has become an uncertain direction. Without going through any special requirements, my name was registered as a student undergoing training at the Battle Shrine Maiden managed by the Shirayuki family.

This feeling of humiliation made me anxious and let my body wander around the Royal Capital to forget the sensation of humiliation. The dirty methods my family used suppressed my enthusiasm to become a Battle Shrine Maiden.

My journey around the city made me remember the need for humans who need money to get things. The tactics used by my father were a necessity that humans could not possibly refuse.

This small epiphany calmed my heart but did not diminish my guilt over the failure of someone who dropped out of the training roster. Leaving one space for my name which is someone's game behind the scenes.

For some reason, I feel that the Shirayuki family is not a suitable place to practice.

I accidentally saw an old woman selling food items. At an age where she gets tired easily, the old woman works hard arranging her merchandise and separating rotting foodstuffs into special wooden boxes. Seeing that she was exhausted, my hands moved again without orders. Helping an old female trader who cleans up the trash from her merchandise.

Whether coincidental or not, I met a mysterious young man who appeared suddenly. The young man looked suspicious because his face was covered by a hood. The clothes he wore were the same as common merchants who formed trade alliances. The conversation between him and the old woman sounded harmonious as if they knew each other until a forbidden word rang in my ears.

The forbidden word is Hidden One. A murderous organization managed by the kingdom and killing for political purposes. The old woman should have been frightened but her demeanor remained calm as she praised the young man for his achievements within the forbidden organization. His attitude seemed quite polite and he respected the old woman as a fellow trader.

Do all Hidden Ones have this kind of polite attitude?

The old woman invited a foreign young man to enter her small shop and gave him rotten food.

"Um, is that okay? Letting strangers enter a private shop just like that?" I asked, surprised by the old woman's polite attitude towards him.

"It's okay, he's not the kind of person I should hate."

"Umm…" hearing that short answer made me worried.

So, I'm going to help out in this shop some more.

After a few minutes passed, I noticed a foreign young man concocting something using simple alchemist tools. That made every little action attracted my suspicion until a fox girl stood next to me, moving her tail and closing her eyes to focus on her sense of smell.

*Sniiff...

*Sniiff...

Her sharp nose smelled something she was looking for and slowly opened her eyes.

"Shiishouu!!"

Her small scream made me startled and reflexively pulled her body as she tried to run towards the foreign young man who was holding a dangerous device. A small disturbance that occurs will create a large explosion that will destroy the shop.

Actually, what was he making using such a dangerous tool?

Noticing my serious gaze, the fox girl restrained herself and stood calmly. Her excited tail slowly lowered following her calm demeanor. Her ears twitched and she looked at the foreign youth man with a strange smile.

It seemed they knew each other.

After the tool that the young man made was finished. He tries to pay the rent along with the rotten food that is his special concoction. As far as I know of alchemist knowledge, rotten chilies, and peppers only produce a pungent odor.

I don't know what he made.

The old woman merchant politely refused the young man's gift of money. My ears occasionally hear praises about the Hidden One who created a long history and is respected by fellow traders.

Until a small incident occurred. A fight between a foreign youth man who is a former member of the Hidden One against a fox girl. The weapons they use are knives and short swords. The small match was won by the young foreigner when the fox girl was exhausted by the fast tempo of the fight.

Seeing that fast fight, my body trembled in front of two different forces. The foreign youth felt like he had a terrifying hidden skill while the fox girl had unpredictable fast attacks. To an amateur observer like me, their fight was a dance that relied on fast movements and anticipation of attacks that blended into a mesmerizing performance.

My heart beat fast when the smell of the young man's sweat entered my nose. Something inside me seemed to like the scent and encouraged my body to follow it.

The small commotion they made was magnified by the presence of another figure who looked disgusting. That disgusting figure forcibly opened the road and spread terrifying terror around him. Several merchants turned their eyes and prepared to leave.

The conversation between the strange young man and the disgusting figure made me angry. Even the fox girl next to me felt the same way and prepared to attack. The foreign young man restrained my emotions with the fox girl named Shion.

A small negotiation took place between them. Presenting expensive items owned by young foreigners. I noticed the item he was holding, it was a glass bottle made from rotten chilies and pepper. The ability of that disgusting figure can assess items precisely and accurately. Removing the rot from the attempted fraud carried out by a young foreigner named Ahmed.

I almost laughed cynically when I saw the failure of his deception until the bottle in his hand fell and created a large smoke bomb explosion. The thick, spicy red smoke made my eyes burst tears. My tears came out quickly and blurred my vision. The coughing sound was loud and resounding.

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