Chapter 57: My hypocrisy is weak
ㅤThe girl received the Cockatrice’s Beak with a bewildered expression.
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ㅤ”Take it… Huh? What is this thing?”
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ㅤ”Ah, you’ve never seen it before, have you?
ㅤThat’s a Cockatrice’s Beak.”
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ㅤ”Huh?”
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ㅤ”You know how a chicken has that red, droopy part under its beak? Well, the Cockatrice has a similar purple pouch, and that drops as the Cockatrice’s Beak.”
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ㅤ”Huh?”
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ㅤ”Ahaha, it took quite a bit of work to get, you know? I fell into a pit and fought an Abyss Worm… Well, those struggles weren’t really related to the Cockatrice, though.”
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ㅤ”Huh?”
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ㅤ”I even asked how to use it. It was hard to ask without letting them know I had it. I asked the master of the Dungeon Front Tavern…
ㅤApparently, if you hold the beak so that it directly touches your skin, it gradually cures Stone Fever. It takes about a month, so it’s quite a process.”
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ㅤ”No, uh, huh?”
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ㅤ”Ahaha, well, please try it out. Think of it as a leap of faith. You’ll die if you leave it alone. If it doesn’t work, you can curse me all you want.”
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ㅤ”A-Are you serious?”
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ㅤ”Ahaha, totally serious.
ㅤWell, that’s all I had to do.
ㅤAhahahaha! Take, uh, take care!”
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ㅤUnable to bear the girl’s gaze, which flickered between me and the beak, I just ran away.
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ㅤ（Yeah, I’m definitely not cut out for this kind of thing.）
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ㅤMaybe I should have just asked the gatekeeper-san to give it to her.
ㅤNo, but it’s a valuable item, so I was worried about having other people involved.
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ㅤ”But… Yeah, mission accomplished. It might be hypocritical, but this is probably all I can do.”
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ㅤWith a strangely buoyant feeling, a mixture of embarrassment and relief, I wandered around the town.
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ㅤMy mind was fuzzy, and I don’t remember much, but the next thing I knew, I had found a safe-looking inn and collapsed onto the bed.
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ㅤ”Phew… What should I do next?”
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ㅤI buried my face in the pillow and pondered my future plans.
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ㅤThe inn seemed to be the biggest one in Loft. The food was delicious, and I was able to take a long, relaxing bath.
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ㅤ”After seeing how Shizu-san and the others are doing, I’ll find some excuse to leave Loft. Staying too long seems like it’ll lead to unnecessary trouble.”
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ㅤI must have been tired.
ㅤThat night, I slept like a log without even dreaming.
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ㅤOf course━━there was no way I could have realized it then.
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ㅤThat my kindness… had been far too naive.
