episode_0039

The Garden and the Table.

A quiet dining place.

“Do you know my name?”

The pink-haired woman locks eyes with me.

Her somewhat intimidating gaze seemed like she was testing me.

I hesitated.

Up until now, the conversation had been flowing smoothly.

The guy had been answering questions without any hint of suspicion and providing detailed information.

I was in the position of the master, and he was just a messenger from the guild. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me.

So, what was the intention behind that question?

Suddenly asking if I knew his name.

A strange sense of unease crept over me.

I worried if we knew each other from before.

Unfortunately, I had left Cecilia in the room and came out alone, so I had no one to ask. Even if she had come with me, I couldn’t have asked openly here…

Anyway.

Nothing would change.

I continued to play along.

“Do I need to remember your name too?”

“…Oh, no, not at all!”

He awkwardly bowed his head.

I’m not sure if he bought it, but…

It was too late to turn back now.

“Stop the nonsense and just focus on your role.”

“…Understood.”

Although his response was delayed, the woman simply bowed her head without saying anything else. Then she continued the conversation with a slight smile.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will answer anything.”

Slightly suspicious, but…

I didn’t press further.

I asked about the slave hunt.

The meal went better than expected, and after finishing the meal, the woman asked me to come to the guild if I had more questions.

“I look forward to seeing you again next time.”

“Sure. Go on.”

Nod.

The woman politely bowed her head and left the garden to return to the guild.

It went better than I thought.

Since I mentioned resolving the incident in the elf village, there shouldn’t be any more dispatches of slave hunters, and I gained useful information.

Of course, if I hadn’t been found out.

I’m sure he noticed something, though…

“Master! Did the conversation go well?”

As the meeting ended, Cecilia appeared.

It’s perfect timing.

I can find out by asking him.

“It went smoothly. At least on the surface.”

“What?”

“He suddenly asked me for his name.”

“T-then…”

“Let me ask one thing. Do you know the relationship between that guild member and Cardepion?”

“Yes. Cardepion had a conversation with him recently, and before that, whenever it was about guild matters, Ian always came.”

“Ian? Is that his name?”

“Yes.”

“So, did I know his name too?”

“Yes. You couldn’t not know.”

As expected.

I was definitely caught.

He, who usually knew everything, suddenly forgot his own name and started asking about the guild in detail?

It’s suspicious.

If only I had come a little later, I would have been prepared.

However, it’s too late now.

Ian must have realized that I wasn’t Cardepion or that something was off.

Answering each question was probably just a way to get out of there.

“Master?”

“Sigh… There’s nothing we can do.”

I returned to my room and thought slowly.

What will happen now?

Will another master come to eliminate me?

Will the owner of the city come looking for me?

I’ve already gathered a lot of information, and since this body is fake, it doesn’t matter if I die, but thinking that I was immediately exposed made me feel a bit disappointed.

I don’t know.

Just have to wait and see.

But it won’t be easy to take me down.

If possible, I should meet the owner of the city at least once.

First, let’s prepare for an attack.

Contrary to my thoughts…

For some reason, days passed without anything happening.

*

Ian.

She felt something was off.

The author, with a face full of malice, always held back and asked.

“I’m a little bored, so tell me how the combination works.”

Such a useless question.

Why?

“Was there no other problem?”

He’s talking about things he doesn’t usually talk about.

“I want to hear more details.”

Why is he listening so seriously?

He didn’t even bring up any vulgar stories.

There was never a single instance of sexual harassment.

That made her look at him differently.

There was no one around.

Just Kardepyon and himself.

The author, who always had several slaves by his side, monopolized the meal table alone, as if it were prepared specifically for him.

Did Kardepyon have such consideration?

The author, who always behaved arrogantly?

The atmosphere was subtly different than usual.

Not showing malice is evidence of that.

Although he acts like he’s in a high position, he seems softer than before.

Even talking about the work of subordinates.

“I told you. I’m bored. Tell me more about yourself so I can enjoy it. Who knows? If I find it interesting, I might help you.”

Interest?

You, who always only paid attention to the body?

You, who always found talking about work annoying, are now willing to listen and even help?

Yan’s intuition is very good.

He caught on right away.

“You… you’re not Kardepyon.”

Of course, it can’t be determined for sure.

He looks exactly like Kardepyon on the surface.

The feeling itself is almost the same.

Rationally, it’s likely that something has changed.

The problem is that it’s hard to believe that the arrogant ruler has changed.

However, intuition is speaking.

Kardepyon never changes.

The person in front of him might be someone else.

That’s why.

“Yesterday, a merfolk slave was captured in the Mist Forest and sold at the auction house for a high price-”

You subtly leaked information about this place.

As the guesses gradually became more accurate, Kardepyon seemed to be interested, as if he was hearing something he didn’t know at all.

Although some known information was deliberately mentioned, he seemed to be listening calmly. It should have been boring and ignored.

It’s not like he’s deliberately listening again.

In the end, when the conversation had progressed to a certain extent, he tried to find out one crucial fact.

“Do you know my name?”

He can’t not know.

It’s a question that could make him angry for saying something strange for no reason.

However, the man.

“Do I have to remember your name?”

He showed a reaction that was not appropriate for him.

A dragon who usually remembers most of what he sees even forgot his own name.

It’s impossible unless it’s someone else.

“Of course, you’re not Kardepyon.”

He firmly believed.

Someone else disguised as Kardepyon.

Most likely, the real Kardepyon is dead, and the most likely culprit is…

“The Elf Village.”

The person came from there.

Something that should never be overlooked happened as a member of the slave association.

However.

“It’s a mess…”

He stayed quiet as if he didn’t know.

It shouldn’t be known to anyone.

It’s something that only needs to be kept to himself.

With that determination, he finished his meal and parted ways with the man.

*

97th day in the Mist Forest.

“Muchan. Do you have any worries?”

“Just something strange.”

After returning to an elf body, she lay quietly on the bed, lost in thought.

The woman must have realized that I was a fake.

But she didn’t take any action.

No, she even asked me to come to the association if there was anything she could help with.

Why?

Tap, tap.

Shaela sat next to her and knocked on her arm.

“What’s wrong? Need help?”

“…I don’t need help. I just thought about why there was no reaction even though I was caught infiltrating the city.”

Tilting her head as if she didn’t understand.

I reluctantly explained what had happened in the city to Shaela in detail.

Shaela responded with a blank expression.

“Should I go and overthrow them?”

“…Is breaking everything the only thing you know how to do?”

“What’s with that pathetic expression? Don’t you trust me? Huh?”

“Listen. There might be a hundred more people like Cardepion in the city. And there might be rulers with different levels of power, and the owner of the city is much stronger than them. Probably a god like you.”

“…Is it really that serious?”

Was this too much for Shaela to handle?

A displeased expression formed on her face.

She must be grappling with the same dilemma as me.

How should we confront this?

She asked in a slightly subdued tone.

“Muchan. I’ll ask you seriously. Do you want to protect this village?”

“Yes.”

“Can you stop them if they attack?”

“I can’t stop them.”

“But aren’t you too complacent? If they all attack at once, even I can’t stop them all. We need to come up with a plan.”

“I’m doing my best, you know?”

“Then why don’t you accept humans?”

“Humans?”

“I saw them while strolling. Every day, countless humans fall and die here. Just gathering them alone would become an undeniable shield.”

It was an unexpected topic.

Not accepting humans?

Are they planning to use them as a source of power?

I answered as best as I could think of.

“Most of them are weak.”

“Strength in numbers.”

“But wouldn’t they just be a hindrance?”

“No, that’s just your prejudice.”

“…It’s annoying and doesn’t help, though?”

“That’s because you can’t control them.”

“Control?”

“You mentioned before that humans left the village without permission.”

“That’s true but…”

I remember. Shaela had been able to speak in complete sentences, and she had briefly explained everything that had happened so far.

She pointed that out.

“That ambiguous attitude is the problem. Humans shouldn’t be treated like that.”

“…?”

Maybe she had a lot to say.

Shaela suddenly started preaching.

About the lack of communication.

About controlling them properly.

About there being many good humans.

About how even if they were weak, gathering all the humans in the junkyard would create a powerful army.

“Sometimes abnormally strong individuals among humans emerge. To make use of them, you need to properly control other humans.”

She had a very proactive attitude.

Could it be… that she wanted me to accept humans?

“Muchan, do you hate humans?”

“…Not really. There are some decent folks in this village.”

“Then what’s the problem? Just make use of those folks. You failed once, so now you don’t know how to control them?”

Shaela’s question made me think again.

The humans who had left that day.

Could I have stopped them in the first place?

If I had shown more interest and communicated better, could I have used them for good? Maybe I had just been too ambiguous.

“Think about it seriously. If it’s a human problem, I can help. I’m a goddess. Controlling humans is not difficult for me. And… if there are good folks, it wouldn’t hurt to make them believers.”

“Believers?… Is that your true intention?”

“Well, it’s a win-win situation. Like I said, sometimes strong individuals emerge among humans. The main point is that both you and I have nothing to lose.”

“Is that so.”

Strangely, I found myself believing her.

I may not have accepted humans properly, but if she was a goddess, things might be different.

If we became stronger together, the rulers might not be able to stop us, and there might even be a human equivalent of a ruler appearing.

In that case.

“I’ll think about it properly.”

“Right. That’s all I ask.”

My values had shifted slightly.

Even if humans were bothersome and uncomfortable, if we could gather and use them effectively, they might be useful.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Hmph. If you know, give me more fruits. Preferably better ones!”

“Other fruits?”

“I’m getting bored~”

“Bored? Weren’t you eating to recover?”

“Well, that…”

“Or is the effect wearing off a bit?”

“Yeah, that’s it! The effect is not that great anymore. This is more important than humans. I’m going for a walk, so make some good fruits.”

“…Alright. I’ll try my best.”

Sizzle.

“Just you wait!”

Swoosh~

Shayella headed outside the house.

As usual, she opened the stem pathway and headed straight to the center of the mist forest.

Her enthusiastic figure.

Somewhere along the way, I had started taking her help for granted.

So I should also make an effort.

Drip.

I raised a strand of stem.

Shayella was not satisfied with the fruits I gave her. She demanded more and more, or asked for new fruits.

I plan to meet those demands.

It seems possible.

Created from the nutrients I squeezed out weakly during my weak days, it is now just a byproduct that I can easily create.

Then, what if I squeeze out as much as possible now?

Drip…

I created a stem pillar in the center of the house.

Connecting the ceiling and the floor, I compressed numerous nutrients and mana around the center to bulge out.

Endless nutrients from top to bottom.

Adjusting the fruit with the main body.

Mixing nutrients and energy like the Taiji symbol, they merge into something new.

More, faster.

I devoted myself to it as much as possible.

The mixed energies mix again, and the combined something changes anew.

It repeated gradually.

However, it takes quite a bit of time.

It’s not easy to contain all the nutrients at once, so I have to slowly inject them to naturally seep into the fruit like the Taiji symbol.

At this rate…

It will take at least a month.

Taking advantage of the gradual input of nutrients, I created two more fruits. This should be enough to endure and have some left over.

This fruit will be much better than life itself.

Flash.

At that moment, a brilliant idea came to mind.

What if I contain the characteristics of the life forms I have absorbed so far in the fruit?

For example, if I understand the life information of Cardelphion and create a fruit that mimics the dragon’s energy?

Modified fruit.

It’s worth researching.

But even replicating it completely is difficult. With my current abilities, it will be difficult to contain the characteristics of a life form in the fruit.

In that case…

“I should start with the body.”

I slightly changed the direction of my thoughts.

It is structurally much easier to modify the body with different life characteristics than to contain the characteristics of a life form in a small fruit.

The modification of the fruit is postponed.

Right now, modifying the body is more important.

By modifying the body, eventually, I will be able to naturally modify the fruit as well.

That way, I can become stronger.

But before that.

Swoosh.

I looked at the three pillar fruits in the center of the house.

Fruits evolved far beyond life. They need a proper name first.

The contemplation didn’t last long.

Elixir Fruit.

That’s what I named it.