episode_0009

When I came to, the first thing I saw was a crystal floating in the air. Oh, right. I’m back. Just a moment ago, my body was so sensitive that I would overreact to even the slightest touch, but now it was as if everything that had happened up until then had been a lie.

‘The last one… I don’t really want to think about it.’

When I briefly recalled the brain-burning stimulation, my body trembled and rejected it. Well, I don’t need to force myself to think about it. Just one more time, one last time. I think I only heard that sound for over thirty minutes. It might actually be a good thing that I was drugged. After taking a few deep breaths, the painful memories sank beneath the surface. Okay. I’m calming down.

I meditated for several seconds while being hit by the falling water drops. Finally, I got up and raised my head. The queen spoke to me as if she had been waiting for me. The only difference was that she was wearing the same clothes as the first summoning.

“You’re up. Judging from what you see here, it doesn’t look so good, right?”

“Your Majesty.”

“Huh? Tell me.”

I want to quit being a warrior – that would have been all it took to say that, but the words didn’t come out easily.

If I quit, what happens then? Do I go back to my old room? Do I go back to wasting my time on the game site or refreshing the page every day to find new games?

I didn’t like that. There would be no one to welcome me back to reality. That’s why I liked this place, even if it was only for a short time. It was the first time I’d received such gratuitous favors since I was a student. The queen who made guidebooks by hand, Mayhen who always took care of me even though it was her own way, the fruit shop owner Cecil who gave me food when I was hurt, and the people. Honestly, the only woman who spoke to me kindly in reality in the past few years was the beauty shop owner. I didn’t want to go back. However, what if I quit being a warrior and still stayed here? Would I still be kind to you if I quit being a warrior? It wasn’t something I really wanted to check.

I was scared of people’s kindness disappearing. Even burdensome kindness was better than nothing. However, I didn’t have the courage to continue being a warrior. Right? I thought I would come back if I got ‘seriously’ hurt. However, what these people thought was ‘serious’ and what I thought was ‘serious’ were completely different. And when I lost my will to fight, when my whole body was overwhelmed, I had no strength or will to fight. However, even though my brain seemed to melt from the drugs and the pain, I didn’t go back. When I came back, my lower body and limbs had been eroded by the demonic energy. Perhaps to be judged as incapable of fighting, one would have to have one’s waist cut off or all of one’s limbs amputated.

It was nice to be able to hold a sword and swing it. Here, there was no stupid thing like not being able to control your own arms and legs properly and getting caught on the corners of a desk or a doorway. Beyond your hands and arms, even the sword moved as you wanted. And the unknown power that turned back time and regenerated your body. When you could freely control the power of the goddess, you could feel like you were a truly special person.

But when I met a truly strong opponent, when Bartholin appeared after absorbing all the magic stones, I felt helpless.

Did my expression seem too serious? The Queen spoke first in a gentle voice.

“There are a lot of empty buildings here, warrior.”

“…Huh?”

“Because there are so few survivors. The buildings that were built are not being used properly, so adding one more family member does not cause any problems.”

“You might like it. Everyone who lives here is longing for change. The increase in people is welcome, and I don’t mind it. Can you come over here for a moment? I have something I want to show you.”

The Queen opened the window and beckoned to me. The black night sky was studded with twinkling stars that I could not see where I lived.

“When you went outside the barrier, time was still fixed here. But outside was different. Time outside, which had stopped completely, was flowing as usual.”

She lifted me up and sat me down on the windowsill, pointing at the moon with her finger. I obediently followed.

“Ugh…ugh. Look, it’s a real moon. Of course, the moon rises after the sun sets. I’ve wanted to see this sight for years. They say you only understand the meaning of something precious after you lose it. Even if I forcibly blocked the sky and blocked the light to create an artificial night, it never looked this beautiful.”

It was a beautiful moon. A large, round moon. That was the extent of my impression, but it must have been different for these people. As I was looking at it, a familiar energy flowed out from the Queen’s fingertips. The energy that flowed out flowed down the window like a low-density gas that spreads on the floor.

“Uh, what’s that power?”

“Yes, not as much as you, but I can handle a little bit of power. The royal bloodline is the direct descendant of the goddess. Compared to you, it is a small power, and it is difficult to control it in detail, but it is possible to flow it like this. It is obtained by purifying the magic that has consumed your body.”

I see. I wondered where all the magic energy that had accumulated in my body while fighting with Bartholin had gone, and it turned out that the Queen had cured it. When I came to, the amount of magic energy accumulated in my body had been transformed into energy, so I thought my body had absorbed it on its own.

“Ah, the magic itself was purifying itself. There were no external injuries on the body. However, it kept convulsing, so it seemed like it was injured somewhere, so it was acquired during the treatment process. Now, look below.”

The queen, who had corrected my words, pointed to the flower bed. The flowers on the ground were slowly blooming.

The petals that had been curled up to form a round curtain gradually spread out as the stems rose. What was carefully kept between the petals was a crystal that was smaller than a fingernail and as transparent as glass. It was beautiful as it shone in the moonlight. And when the light that spread out from the sides of the crystal touched the petals, the widely spread petals began to sparkle.

“How is it? It’s Jim’s favorite flower. Moonlight flowers are flowers where the pistil and stamen are entangled. On top of the pillars that rise like that, fine powders gather to form transparent crystals. Light that passes through those crystals becomes a specific wavelength of light, and when it touches the petals, it sparkles. It attracts bees and butterflies.”

“If it blooms during the day when the sun is up, it cannot withstand the heat and the crystals melt. However, if there is no light, it cannot attract other insects. That is why it is called a moonlight flower because it hides in the petals during the day and blooms together with the moonlight.”

A flower bed that was softly lit. There was no need for additional lighting. Was it because of the sudden light? People gathered one by one.

“Wow! The moonflowers are in bloom?”

“It’s pretty, but I thought I’d never see it again.”

Some people were watching through the windows of the building, others were sitting in front of the flowers and looking at them. The townspeople were all looking at the flower beds and talking.

“How about waving your hand?”

Hyunho hesitated for a moment, but then waved at Mayhen, who was smiling at him from the park. Mayhen and everyone else responded.

“Thank you, warrior! ”

“You’re cute, warrior!”

“Hey kid, do you want to come over to my house? I made something delicious!”

…There were some useless words, but everyone welcomed me. Yes. Let’s do this one more time, warrior. Some might call me a fool. Do you want to go out and fight again after being treated like that? But this is worth it. I’m not doing anything bad, I’m just helping others. And if I really feel like I can’t do it, then like the queen said, I can just go live in an empty house. It was foolish of me to have worried all this time.

“Your Majesty, is that warrior okay?”

When she looked back, the queen had a pale complexion, like someone sick.

“I feel a little chilly. I’ve been here too long. I’ll just pack my things and go.”

“Oh, yes. Get some rest.”

The Queen stumbled a little and disappeared out the door. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know the Queen’s name. I’ll have to ask Mayhen later.

‘Thank you. I will try my best.’

My complicated mind has been somewhat sorted out.

***

“Brother…? Where did you go?”

It was a great time, but my brother suddenly disappeared. Who on earth could he be? And how did he disappear in an instant? Bartholin still couldn’t get over the excitement of having sex for the first time in his life.

“Magic… This is definitely magic!”

Of course, it wouldn’t have been my brother’s doing. If he knew how to use magic, he would have used it first. And even though I was a little aggressive, my brother definitely liked it. This is definitely a bitch who is jealous of me and my brother. Yes, we were having a good time. What kind of bitch is she?

Bartholin created a fingernail and chewed it. He was a slime after all. Although he was a succubus slime, he had almost no magical abilities. All he could do was physically attack, transform his body, and absorb things.

Absorption? Yes, there was absorption. Just like you eat rocks that fall to the ground, you eat guys who can use magic.

With that thought in mind, Bartholin decided that he had to get out of the meadow quickly first. He didn’t know who had kidnapped his brother, but with his current level of skill, he couldn’t block magic. Getting stronger quickly was the top priority. With that in mind, Bartholin moved his body quickly. Wherever Bartholin passed, the grass was completely dry, as if someone had sucked out all the moisture.

Originally, it was nearly impossible for a slime to become stronger. Neither Bartolin nor Hyunho knew this, but the stone was originally a fragment left behind by a high-ranking succubus. It was a magic stone left behind by one of the knights of the empire who died. Perhaps the knight was badly injured after that and was unable to take the loot. Originally, no matter how big the slime grew, it would not have been able to absorb it. There were two reasons why it was possible. The slimes that were easy to combine because the impurities in their bodies disappeared, and the magic stone that was split into several pieces. In fact, it was all Hyunho’s karma.

Bartholin moved quickly, but did not miss anything to absorb. Birds sitting on trees were pierced by thorns sprouting from their bodies, and they rotted and fell apart. Energy drain used by succubi. And the remaining corpses fell into the slime body and melted. The absorption rate was close to 100%.

‘Brother, just wait a minute… I’ll save you…!’