episode_0109

‘Ugh… you idiot…’

In the dark forest clearing where darkness had descended, Lian muttered curses under his breath, covered in a blanket.

‘Why are you acting like such a fool…’

Lian was already aware that Noah was worried about him, and that she was making an effort for his sake.

Even though he knew, things weren’t going as he intended.

[Hehehe…]

At that moment, the laughter of Magma, who was sucking blood from his thigh, could be heard.

‘I see, I see!’

‘What do you mean you see?’

‘I understand why my partner is suffering so much!’

Magma chuckled and spoke in a subtle voice.

‘Surely it’s because you’ve been fixated since seeing that naked woman last time, right?’

‘Ah… I wasn’t talking to Gargandoa…’

Due to not having anyone to consult with, Lian had confided in Magma, who couldn’t converse with others.

It was too frustrating at that time, but listening to Magma’s blunt words made him regret the past.

[Hehe, if it’s that kind of problem, the solution is simple!]

‘A solution? Is there one?’

With a small hope, Lian waited for Magma’s words. The response that came back shortly after exceeded Lian’s imagination.

‘Just keep watching until you get used to it!’

…

To the utterly unhelpful advice, Lian decided to cleanly ignore Magma’s words.

‘- So if you do that, everything will be resolved. Are you listening, partner?’

‘Uh, yeah, I’m listening. Mm.’

‘Hehe, what’s most helpful to the partner is this body, Gargandoa!’

Hearing Magma’s triumphant voice, Lian let out a small sigh.

‘I have to walk all day tomorrow, so I should rest now.’

After pulling out the Magma stuck in his thigh, Lian tried to summon it back immediately. At that moment, Magma changed into a round shape.

Normally, the creature would have returned to its original form when held in the palm, but this time, Lian looked at the smooth sphere with a puzzled expression.

‘I hope no one saw that.’

Lian glanced outside the blanket. Noah and the others were all asleep, and in the distance, silhouettes of people standing around campfires could be seen.

Each group had a bonfire lit, crackling and emitting light.

Turning the blanket back over his head, Lian looked towards Magma.

‘Why did you suddenly become round…’

As he shifted his gaze from the Magma in his hand, Lian froze in place.

The black spherical object in his hand had transformed into a delicate hand.

Kigigik.

Lian, eyes wide like a robot whose circuits had shorted, stared at the warmth that had taken over his side.

‘How about it, partner?’

A naked woman with black hair and red eyes smiled at Lian.

“Ugh..!”

Lian instinctively stifled a scream with his right hand. He stared through the frozen shock at the fair-skinned beauty occupying his space.

‘Why, why can I see everything?’

While Gargandoa lay on her side, crucial parts were covered, but it was a precarious state, almost visible yet not quite.

Usually, in such situations, sudden events would occur, leading to the exposed areas being covered. But nothing happened now.

The stiffened brain managed to find a plausible answer.

‘Surely… it’s because she’s not human but a weapon…?’

Since Magma wasn’t a person but a weapon, it was entirely possible…

‘That doesn’t make sense!’

There have been many similar incidents in the comedy world, but never once has there been an exposed appearance.

Even when I tried to figure out what had happened by rolling my head, I couldn’t continue my thoughts because of the dizzying scene in front of me.

[Once you get used to it, it will be resolved, so come on, touch this body quickly!]

Saying that, the demon stuck to Lian. The moment something big and soft touched his arm.

“Cough…”

Hoo-ha! Blood poured out of his mouth. Lian seemed about to faint immediately, but when he saw the demon’s appearance spitting blood and glaring dangerously, he suddenly became scared.

It felt like he was in a dangerous situation in several ways. Just as Lian was trying to break free from the cloth with both hands, his wrist was grabbed by the demon. Naturally, the exposed upper body came clearly into view.

“Cough…!”

Blood poured out again. Then the demon blushed his face lovingly and approached Lian.

“Do humans eat dessert after meals?”

The demon mumbled dangerous words while pursing his lips. The red tongue that matched the blood that splattered on her white jade-like face captivated Lian’s gaze.

Like prey caught in a spider’s web, Lian just stared blankly at the approaching red lips and pupils without moving a finger.

The moment they got so close that their breaths could be felt.

“Lian!”

“…!”

Noah’s voice was heard from outside the cloth. At the same time, the image of Gargandoa in front of him disappeared.

Unable to keep up with the sudden change in the situation, Lian blinked his eyes.

Flap, the cloth covering his head was suddenly pulled back.

“…! As expected…”

“Ah…”

Noah looked at the bloodied cloth with a serious expression. Lian finally came to his senses. When he turned his gaze towards where the demon had been, the demon, which had turned into a thin needle commonly seen in Hanbang hospitals, was lying there.

“No matter what, such a shameful sight shouldn’t be shown to other humans.”

Unable to understand the meaning of the demon’s words, Lian couldn’t say anything. It was because of Noah’s loud voice that some of the people in the crowd were starting to wake up.

Lian saw the strange movement of the demon’s tongue and the fresh white skin floating in front of him, but now was not the time to think about such things, so he quickly got up.

“Sorry, Noah. For causing a disturbance. I’m fine.”

“Ugh…”

Noah looked at Lian with a face full of things he wanted to say, then lowered his head.

“…If you feel like you’re going to vomit blood, tell me in advance because monsters in the forest may gather if they smell blood.”

“Ah! Sorry…!”

Lian immediately apologized to Noah and then glanced around restlessly. It was because the scene he had just seen overlapped with Noah’s body.

“Can you tell the others who seem to have woken up that everything’s okay? I’ll clean up this blood.”

“…Got it.”

Noah suppressed the urge to scold repeatedly and got up to tidy up. Lian was sincerely grateful to Noah for that.

“Sorry for causing a commotion at night, and thank you.”

…!”

At those words, Noah’s eyes widened like lanterns. Emotions that couldn’t be read on her face were drawn multiple times and then scattered.

“Okay, leave the rest to me.”

“Yeah.”

With a dazed face, Noah reassured the group looking at her as if asking what was going on that it was nothing serious.

Meanwhile, Lian put the blood-soaked cloth in his bag and took out a new one. He changed into a clean top, wet the rough cloth with water, and wiped his face vigorously.

Before long, Lian became neat and tidy.

When the situation calmed down, Lian saw Noah, who was calming down the awakened people. Before long, her gaze turned to the ground.

Lian couldn’t face Noah more directly than before.

As time passed, she had forgotten about the soft, smooth, and new information about the pure white things in her head. This time, it even reached her skin.

“If this continues and I dream about it…”

Lian recalled herself doing laundry by the riverside in the early morning with a pale face. It was something she didn’t want to experience even if she died.

“Hmm, one experience was indeed not enough. Don’t worry, I will help you a lot in the future!”

“No! Please don’t! Just don’t do it!”

“Hehe, feeling embarrassed, are we? Even though this body has taken on human form, it cannot hide its greatness.”

Normally, Lian would have just passed by with an indifferent face saying, “Okay, okay,” but this time, she couldn’t say anything. As the black sword said, ‘it’ was magnificent and great.

After a long silence, Lian finally managed to articulate a negative statement in her mind.

“Anyway! Don’t transform into human form in the future!”

“Running away from one’s weaknesses is not manly! A true man knows that being cool and overcoming them is what makes a real man!”

It sounded like a cool line from a boy’s comic, but in reality, it was a vulgar phrase telling her to get used to women through her exposed self.

“But some things are just not meant to be!”

“You were freaking out about changing shape all over the place.”

Still captivated by the beautiful woman with crimson eyes and jet-black hair cascading down to her waist, Lian heard Gargantua’s words as provocative.

Lian clutched her head and let out a groan.

“Don’t think about it. Don’t remember… Just a moment…”

Realizing something suddenly, Lian spoke urgently.

“By the way, Gargantua, you… are a woman?”

“If you’re talking about the gender for reproduction, no.”

“Then that form must have been changed arbitrarily…”

“But the female form is correct.”

Lian collapsed onto the mat.

“That appearance earlier…”

“It’s one of my forms.”

That statement immediately made Lian want to faint.