Chapter 180. Impostor
［I’ve heard many rumors about you, Explorer. Haha.］
The Elephant Merchant.
From the moment I first saw him, I felt something was off.
Unlike the Crocodile Merchant I had previously encountered, whose power wasn’t diminished by the Explorer’s ability, the Elephant Merchant’s strength had clearly been weakened.
As I pondered this oddity.
【Bubble Bubble】─What’s this? That guy calls himself a Wandering Merchant? Wandering Merchants are supposed to be crocodiles.
I remembered something from Elise’s chat.
A warning I’d seen every time I used the vending machine.
Only crocodiles can be Wandering Merchants.
Wandering Merchants who aren’t crocodiles don’t exist.
That long-forgotten warning resurfaced in my mind, and I immediately instructed Hedgehog to summon Abyss Lord.
The Elephant Merchant wasn’t a crocodile but an elephant beastman.
In other words, the probability that he was an impostor was nearly 100 percent.
［Doom-ba. Is it time to dance, Master?］
［Doom-doom-ba! You summoned me quickly!］
Abyss Lord was summoned.
As usual, he wiggled his hips playfully, but upon spotting the Elephant Merchant, he abruptly stopped.
His demeanor became unusually serious.
He seemed to be gauging the opponent’s power, carefully on guard.
【Pururu】─Geon’s expression looks pretty serious.
【Bubble Bubble】─Even Abyss Lord stopped shaking his hips when he saw that elephant.
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Hwang Mir】─They both seem wary of the Wandering Merchant.
【Yumi】─It’s because that elephant is a fake Wandering Merchant.
【Luna-chan】─Huh? There are fake Wandering Merchants?
【Rizenova】─Didn’t I tell you last time? Wandering Merchants are crocodiles. Anyone who isn’t a crocodile is an impostor.
【Luna-chan】─Oh yeah, you did say that.
【Luna-chan】─So that elephant trumpeter is an impostor, o_O
【Bubble Bubble】─Almost certainly.
【Mysticism】─😠
The Elephant Merchant glanced briefly at Abyss Lord, then turned back to me with the same gentle smile and spoke.
［There’s no need to be so wary. I have no intention of harming you, Explorer.］
He took a step forward.
It seemed he was trying to approach me.
“If you come any closer, I’ll consider it an attack. Stop where you are.”
I exuded killing intent, stopping the Elephant Merchant in his tracks.
Fortunately, he heeded my warning and halted.
I maintained my guard and asked him.
“Are you really a Wandering Merchant?”
［Of course. Why would I lie about something like that?］
“Don’t even think about deceiving me. Be honest. I already know that only crocodiles can be Wandering Merchants.”
［······.］
The Elephant Merchant’s expression twisted.
He looked slightly flustered.
【Pururu】─Show your true colors, you elephant bastard!
【Mysticism】─🤬
Anyone who isn’t a crocodile isn’t a Wandering Merchant. They’re an impostor.
It seemed he hadn’t expected me to know this information.
Apparently.
That warning had been added to the vending machine relatively recently.
［Where did you obtain that information?］
“I don’t think I’m obligated to tell you that. If you explain why you’re impersonating a Wandering Merchant, I might consider telling you where I got the information.”
［…It seems there’s been a misunderstanding, so let me clarify. I am not an impostor. I truly am a Wandering Merchant. The information you obtained is false.］
【Bubble Bubble】─Still lying until the end.
【Hwang Mir】─Shameless elephant.
The Elephant Merchant let out a deep sigh.
Then, scratching his head, he continued speaking.
［Perhaps the Ancient Labyrinth provided that information, or maybe the Crocodile Merchant spread such rumors to you.］
【Pururu】─Wrong. He said it came from the vending machine, you idiot.
【Mysticism】─Wrong guess. 🤭
［Explorer, surely you don’t blindly believe everything the Ancient Labyrinth or the Crocodile Merchant tells you, do you?］
“I’m not blindly trusting them, but I trust them more than an unidentifiable creature like you.”
While I was exchanging words with the Elephant Merchant in a standoff, the monsters enjoying the meat party had quietly gathered around me.
Judging by their expressions, they had overheard everything.
The monsters regarded the elephant before them as an enemy, radiating intense killing intent and standing on guard. Even Merino Ula, the weakest among them.
“Everyone except Abyss Lord, stand down. He’s not someone you can handle.”
Even if a fight broke out.
I had no intention of sending my monsters into battle.
If they attacked him, they wouldn’t even scratch him and would end up dead in vain.
Currently, the only one capable of confronting the Elephant Merchant was Abyss Lord.
Of course, I could also fight him to some extent.
【Luna-chan】─The Gauntlet says his monsters can’t handle him? o_O
【Luna-chan】─Does that mean this elephant is SSS-rank?
【Yumi】─No way.
【Rizenova】─If he weren’t SSS-rank, there’d be no reason to say such a thing.
【Rizenova】─The Crocodile Merchant was also SSS-rank, so it’s not strange for this Wandering Merchant to be SSS-rank too.
【Mysticism】─🧐 But he’s a fake, isn’t he?
【Pururu】─Exactly. How can a fake be SSS-rank?
【Bubble Bubble】─Hmm. He doesn’t look very strong, though.
【Rizenova】─Wandering Merchants seem to adopt harmless appearances to avoid suspicion.
【Hwang Mir】─Does that apply to fake Wandering Merchants too?
【Bubble Bubble】─I didn’t mean he looked harmless.
As the Assistants’ chats flooded in.
The Elephant Merchant stepped back slightly, as if to ease my wariness, and spoke.
［Explorer, could you please listen to me for a moment?］
He didn’t seem intent on fighting.
While he was clearly a fake Wandering Merchant, he didn’t appear particularly hostile.
This wasn’t a bad situation.
I didn’t want to fight if I didn’t have to.
Fighting an SSS-rank being would lead to massive losses on our side.
Even if my other monsters didn’t directly join the battle, they’d inevitably get caught up in it.
Moreover.
Even if Abyss Lord and I worked together, victory wasn’t guaranteed, so avoiding combat was preferable.
Ideally, resolving things peacefully through dialogue would be best.
With that in mind, I decided to hear him out rather than engage in an uncertain fight.
“…I don’t know what you want to say, but I’ll listen. Go ahead and talk.”
［Hmm. First of all, I’d like to say this: you shouldn’t blindly trust the information provided by the Ancient Labyrinth. Much of it is mixed with falsehoods.］
“Falsehoods?”
［That’s correct. Normally, information is sold at a price higher than items, but to earn your trust, I’ll share this information for free just this once. First, I’ll create a space cut off from the Ancient Labyrinth so we can speak comfortably.］
The Elephant Merchant wiggled his trunk.
The surrounding space was tinged with gray.
［This should suffice. Now, let’s see… Since you chose the Assisted One trait, I’ll share a piece of information that should earn some trust.］
*Plop.*
A snot bubble emerged from the Elephant Merchant’s trunk, forming a soap bubble.
【Pururu】─Gross.
【Hwang Mir】─What the hell is he doing?
【Mysticism】─😡
Inside the bubble, a single scene appeared.
It felt similar to watching recordings through Iris’s crystals.
However, what I saw now wasn’t a video but a still image.
［Do you know what this scene depicts?］
【Bubble Bubble】─How would Gauntlet know that?
I closely examined the scene within the soap bubble.
Monsters with faces twisted in rage.
Someone surrounded by those monsters, their body brutally crushed.
It resembled the scene of Min Hyeong-seok being betrayed and killed by monsters in the past.
“…Is this an explorer betrayed and killed by monsters?”
［Correct. Your insight is impressive. As you guessed, the explorer in this image met a gruesome end after being betrayed by their companions. This happened a very long time ago.］
“And why are you suddenly showing this to me?”
［To reveal the truth, of course. Explorer, what trait do you think that explorer chose?］
“Obviously, the Dominant One trait.”
I answered without hesitation.
After all, monsters tamed by the Assisted One are said to never betray.
However.
It seemed my answer was wrong.
The
Elephant Merchant chuckled softly and shook his head.
［Incorrect. The explorer in this scene chose the Assisted One trait—the same as you. Despite that, they were betrayed by their tamed companions and met a tragic end.］
“…What?”
【Pururu】─?
【Yumi】─???
【Hwang Mir】─What?
【Bubble Bubble】─What’s he talking about?
【Mysticism】─😶
【Luna-chan】─Didn’t they say tamed monsters never betray?
【Rizenova】─That’s what we thought.
［Tamed companions never betray their explorer? That’s false information. The truth is, even tamed companions can betray. That is the real information I’m sharing with you.］