Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

Dog beastman, fairy, deer mask, restaurant mama.

They all looked just as they should based on their settings, so even if things got extreme, I could still understand.

‘Above all, they were beautiful too.’

But turning a dragon into a reptilian maid?

There’s a limit, isn’t there?

‘Sure, she was pretty, though.’

At this point, it feels like a clear insult to outsiders.

‘Pretty, so it’s understandable, but still…’

“Excuse me, would you like to order? If not, we’ll go ahead and suggest a menu for you!”

Hearing that voice, she sounded just like a maid, but the brightening orb that opened up in her mouth as she finished that sentence was definitely something else.

Soon, as the orb started glowing fiercely and wriggling around, I had a feeling that not moving might lead to some seriously bad stuff.

“Muyun, dodge!”

“Ugh!”

As I grabbed the stiffly stunned Muyun and threw us to the side, something was shot in our direction all at once.

Pewww!

Sparkling flames whizzed by, and I heard some special effects sounds.

Is that what shooting stars look like, swallowing enemies like a pink balloon?

Though it seemed trivial, it exploded with a bright flash accompanied by a crashing sound as something huge fell at the impact point.

“Ugh!”

I got swept up in the blast, but fortunately, I ended up completely buried in the snowy terrain.

Thanks to Muyun, I came out of the snowball, and before I could even regain my senses, I noticed something flying toward us.

“Tanton!”

This time, Muyun reacted, scooping me up like a princess and jumping right away.

I couldn’t hear much due to the snow, but it was clear that something had crashed in.

Damn it.

That damn White Mask.

Did she seriously bring us here to face these lunatics by ourselves?

Is it just me, or are the Deputy Director of the Knights and that jerk both equally terrible?

“Are you, are you okay?!”

Muyun’s face turned red as she quickly set me down.

“Yeah, for now, I’m okay.”

We were gasping for breath, but the dragons hovered above us, looking down with smirks.

They looked completely at ease.

“Master! Don’t you want to taste the menu you ordered?”

“Otherwise, it might make us too sad knowing we prepared it for you.”

Those guys.

They blatantly toyed with us while casually spouting those cringy lines!

I felt those nightmares flooding back to when I lost a bet with a friend and had to go to a maid café by myself.

“Blow the flute.”

In that moment, the Gardener’s voice echoed in my mind.

Right, essentially, the reason the White Mask dropped me here was to maximize the power of this horn flute.

That meant simply dodging wouldn’t accomplish anything.

As I kept thinking that I was borrowing some power and brought the party flute to my lips—

Peeep!

A finger from the Gardener touched the inside of my mind.

“Show the strength to the crow’s attendant who is intoxicated by its own ashes.”

From within, ripples started to spread.

As I scratched the emptiness like scooping water, the previously barren area transformed into a field of flowers in an instant.

Is this how it feels when your head becomes a flower garden?

This time, unlike before, there wasn’t any breaking space or dimensions, none of that happened.

Just—

Tap.

I could feel something soft, pillowy, and warm wrapping around my neck.

W-What is this?

I was startled and about to turn around, but—

“…Don’t look now, just keep going.”

A voice suddenly made my body freeze.

Soft sensations were trailing down not just my shoulders and neck, but all over my back.

As if the Gardener was clinging to me.

That kind of feeling.

I clearly wasn’t trying to summon her—so why…?

“This is somewhat akin to what you’d call ‘divine descent’ in human terms. The Masked Woman referred to it as a contract, but it’s essentially the same as forming a bond with us. It’s like saying, ‘I’ll give you my body, so let’s be together.'” (Gardener)

(TN: Previously, White Mask was referred to with a gender-neutral pronoun, but I changed it to “he” due to the character’s masculine and dominant traits. However, since Gardener mentioned that White Mask is a woman, I will revise the earlier chapters accordingly.)

Hearing that made me realize—

This is just like marriage…

“What are you even thinking? Focus on what you’re doing right now.”

Thinking that way made the vines tighten around me.

Flowers crawling up my skin.

They clutched to keep me from leaving and sweetly whispered in my ears, blossoming against my face.

One side of my eye was filled with blossoming flowers.

But my vision was still clear.

…Is this what it means to be transformed?

“Tanton! There’s something strange crawling on your body! It’s creeping up—Eep!”

Muyun was starting to distance herself from me.

I wonder how it looked to her.

If that’s the case, I must look like some kind of grotesque horror show out of a gory story.

Well, whatever.

As long as I’m okay, right?

I was just caught off guard by the sudden soft sensation; it’s not dangerous.

“Alright, listen up. There are a lot of seeds around here. Thanks to the freeze, they’ve been preserved well and should be useful.”

Seeds.

It’s a gentle term, but it essentially means corpses.

This place called Geumgu.

How many humans must have died for it to earn that name?

The Gardener’s hand came into view, and looking where she pointed, I saw snow-covered spots.

Some of those were places where we’d been buried to escape the dragons’ attacks.

Did we just come out and not even notice?

…Guess I should keep this a secret from Muyun.

“Right now, you’re borrowing some of my power. The very essence that creates the world’s gardens. Now, try to decorate it as you wish. Flowers will bloom at your hands.”

The Gardener’s hand landed right in the center of my chest.

Her tiny fingers entwined like vines, sharing their warmth with me.

“…Try not to have any weird thoughts. With your current mental strength, you might not be able to use it properly, so concentrate.”

Listening to the Gardener made me recall how badly I’d summoned the Watcher initially.

Every time the Gardener’s hand brushed across me, it glimmered slightly.

It seemed like she was taking something from my body.

Since she was using high-level powers, nothing would come free, but I figured asking that later would be better.

“…Feel the seeds. Stop glancing at my hand.”

Cough.

Yeah, she did say there were a ton of seeds around here.

That corpse there, this corpse here…

For some reason, it felt like I was sharing insights with those seeds, like cold feelings and information about their locations were flowing into my brain.

I asked those beautiful, yet monstrous beings.

“Do you know what it means to kill someone?”

The dragon maid tilted her head at my question.

“Master is speaking? How unusual, I didn’t expect a reorder.”

“My lady commanded that all humans here are to be used as prey.”

The Gardener whispered in my ear, as if to refute me.

“Despite their looks, they’re outcast gods under the Dragon Slayer. That means they don’t need to eat; they derive pleasure from merely killing humans.”

That means these beings are inherently killers.

Even if there’s no distinction between good and evil in the predator-prey relationship.

Even if they can’t bring death that swallows everything like a hunter.

Then, I shall give them their ‘punishment’ in my own way.

“T-Tanton! What are those?!”

As I carefully opened my eyes at Muyun’s cry, what lay before me was the landscape I had manifested.

A snowy field blanketed in white.

From the sheer cliffs, life was resurrecting.

Where there once was only seeds, numerous flowers bloomed beautifully.

Awakening from the nightmare of death, blossoms emerged in this harsh cold.

I was entranced by the ecstatic contrast.

“Do you feel my power now?” (Gardener)

“…It’s amazing.” (Tanton)

Feeling the distant power of the Gardener, I realized it was just a fraction of her ability.

Seeds bound by death, the souls filled with sorrow were being returned to this world, wielding the power as if I were a king.

Maybe because the duration was extended so drastically.

That feeling of omnipotence didn’t fade away.

“Master? It seems you’ve finally decided to try the dish you ordered. I’ll serve it right away!”

Meanwhile, the dragons were prepping to attack again, their orbs glimmering.

Could they not see this flower?

With the Gardener’s words, I felt the nerves of the flowers blooming before my eyes connecting directly to me, and soon I was certain that I could move those stalks myself.

Yeah, I should at least say something like this.

“Bloom.”

Whoosh!

As soon as I thought that, I heard the sound of a whip cracking all at once, followed by the sound of something wrapping around.

“Eek! The stalks!? Where’d they come from so suddenly?!”

“Why aren’t they falling off…?!”

The stalks emerging from the flowers all flew toward the dragons, successfully binding them.

But why did they look like they weren’t just tied up randomly, but rather formed into a certain shape…?

Well, probably just my imagination.

Though they were struggling and angrily cursing, it was no use; they were under the power of the Outsider.

I stepped toward them.

Because the Gardener hadn’t fully manifested yet, Muyun, who still had her wits about her, caught sight of the spectacle and her voice grew louder.

“Is this what the White Mask said…?”

An expression of awe rose in Muyun’s eyes as she simply watched my actions.

While they looked, I wouldn’t mind at all.

Yeah…

I decided to deal with the Outsiders in my own way.

“W-What…?”

“Master…? What are you…?”

A huge shadow loomed over the tied-up dragon maid.

Sometimes, it wouldn’t be too bad to enjoy things as Leydan Tanton would.

This was the moment ‘that guy’s’ spirit would awaken.

—

#

On a high mountain eroded drastically, exuding a bleak vibe.

Maidens line up in the central area of Geumgu.

They wore elegant, antique clothes—unlike the fake maids in a maid café.

“My lady, we’ve received word that an outsider in a mask has entered our domain.”

One of them approached, bowing gracefully to a figure.

“Look up.”

As the maid dragon lifted her heavy head, a woman with crossed legs lounged in a chair.

Her black hair was tied in two braids.

Long horns sprouted from the top of her head.

Dressed in black, she gave off the feel of a noble from a duke’s family.

And her glowing yellow eyes looked like they could set everything ablaze.

Her glance commanded newer information.

“That can’t be all, right?”

“Yes, in addition, two more humans have been discovered.”

“I see. So that’s what happened.”

Nodding, the lady outstretched her hand toward the maid.

Before the maid could show any expression, she disappeared from sight in an instant.

She was simply vanishing as if nothing had ever happened.

“You ought to speak faster before I ask. You’d make me use my energy on fruitless tasks.”

“””Yes, my lady.”””

Then with nothing unusual, she rose from her spot and began to walk.

Without flinching as if it were natural, the other maids stood silently in their positions.

Even as a dragon, her mere gesture could erase her kin.

Dragon Slayer.

Reaching the mountain’s peak, she gazed at the distant scenery.

The Dragon Slayer lazily fanned herself with her fan, eyeing the vast landscape.

“Hmm, I can sense those damn weeds in my domain.”

Her long dragon tongue flicked over her lips.

“Let’s see what exactly they’re doing.”

She squinted her eyes slightly, observing beyond.

A new maid came to support her, gazing back at the dragon’s face.

But wait, is that a blush on the great dragon lord’s face?

The fan cracked.

“What, whaaat is this horrid act!”

—

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