episode_0058

My head turned white.

Shaela’s finger, piercing my nostrils, entered my mouth, spreading a sharp taste.

“Phew….”

Spit.

I spat out his hand and pushed him away.

Hehe.

Huff~

Looking to the side, I saw Shaela, flushed from drinking, sleeping soundly with a smirk on her face.

What is this guy really up to….

I sorted out the situation.

After creating a modified fruit in another world pierced by a dimensional stem, I returned to find a clone lying on the bed, serving as a pillow for Shaela and Tinia.

I sorted it out, but it’s still a question mark.

Why are Shaela and Tinia lying next to me….

So, I examined the clone’s memories.

“Oh… right.”

Drunk and asleep, Shaela caressed and fumbled Tinia on the bed.

Huh?

“This doesn’t feel right.”

With a mumble, he suddenly woke up from his sleep, turning his head around with sleepy eyes.

“I found it. A pillow.”

His gaze landed on my elven body.

He got up and approached me.

“Right~ here. Come.”

He held my hand with one hand and pulled me to the bed, where we lay down together.

And that’s how the situation is now.

“What on earth is this guy….”

It’s mind-boggling.

I knew that he talks in his sleep more when drunk, but is it a disease to bring me to bed treating me as a pillow?

I had no choice but to transfer my consciousness again.

Fortunately, I have multiple bodies.

I moved from the dryad standing quietly in the corner to the bed where the clone was lying.

Swish.

Gently, I picked up Tinia with my fingertips, growing a stem.

“Uh… M-Master?”

There’s no need to keep a being that can’t even be a proper pillow here.

I lifted him up, looking at him with a stern gaze, and headed outside.

“Master? What’s happening-”

Thud.

“Huh?”

I dropped him in the yard.

“Go home and sleep.”

“Y-Yes!?”

“If you want to sleep here, make sure you can be Shaela’s pillow when you come back.”

“Wh-What!?”

Swish.

I returned after leaving the shocked Tinia behind.

Looking at Shaela, who was still asleep, I gently stroked the forehead of my elven body.

“…Right.”

He seemed oddly satisfied.

No, more importantly, why does this guy keep trying to stroke me? I initiated it, but I never thought it would go this far….

He’s even just receiving the strokes these days. Knowing that a single touch could easily erase one of my bodies.

“Do you feel wronged by this?….”

I gazed at the guy who was drunk and asleep.

He seems to have no resistance. Maybe it’s okay now.

Moreover….

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

Whether it’s a joke or sincere, he has never rejected my touch until now.

It’s just that I haven’t done it until now.

So.

Swish.

I placed my hand on his forehead.

“Uh…”

No response.

I continued to stroke.

Swish swish~

Although the dryad’s hand is made of tree branches, it can be as soft as a bedsheet if desired. So, I gently stroked his forehead softer than human flesh.

Phew~

There was no sign of him waking up.

His eyelids twitched for a moment, but there was no response afterwards.

I briefly thought about poking his nostrils with my finger, but refrained in case he woke up and it resulted in death.

I just continued to stroke and watch him.

His cheeks slightly flushed from alcohol.

His lips slightly raised in a gentle smile.

A calm expression.

She looks so cute like this.

Even though she is a magnificent being like a goddess, she seems to feel emotions like a human. She bleeds the same red blood, and when things get tough, she becomes so pitiful that she cries.

I have seen all of those aspects of her.

So, Shaela…

“As expected, he was just a brute with no knowledge.”

Thud.

“……?”

Just now, Shaela’s face seemed a bit crumpled… Is it because of her mood?

Could it be that she’s pretending to sleep?

Maybe to try and get something from me…

Surely it’s just her mood.

Ah, probably.

Swish.

I let go of her hand and stepped back.

Let’s stop here for today.

I feel an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

*

Day 146 in the Misty Forest.

Kaboom!~

The 6th modified body awakens.

As usual, I arranged the grotesque bodies and examined each one carefully.

Snick.

And finally, I could smile.

Because there was a successful experiment.

Thud.

I brought that successful experiment in front of me.

I dressed it in stem clothes and examined it.

Black hair.

A decent height.

It looks completely human, but this guy can use Swallios’s abilities.

In other words, it was a success.

I only infused the necessary power into a perfect body.

Although there is only one essence now, someday I will be able to merge several essences perfectly.

Therefore.

Gurgle.

I reabsorbed all the failed experiments.

I will send the biological weapons to Balkan separately and put them aside, creating a new fruit of life.

I plan to continue experimenting steadily until meaningful results are achieved.

Now, next.

Zap~

I transferred consciousness to a new body.

I tested a human avatar roughly.

Hop.

Boing~

Whoosh, whoosh~

I bent my knees.

Jumped a little.

Rotated my arms.

“Hmm….”

The body wasn’t particularly strong.

At best, it’s at the level of an early-stage Elven monk.

But it has a powerful magical talent. Because Swallios’s essence itself was entirely magical.

Plus, hypnotism and brainwashing abilities.

Zap.

Whoosh~

As I was gauging my body’s condition alone…

“What are you doing?”

Suddenly, Shaela approached.

Her disheveled hair looked as if she had just woken up from a nap. Without waiting for me to answer, she came closer with an interested look.

“Oh… a new body?”

Tap, tap.

Like she did to me in the past, she tapped the new body a few times.

“Hmm~ Weak. It’s hard to transfer shock, and the muscle structure is nothing special. But… the mana circuit is very long and wide, right? With this circulation speed, it would be advantageous to use magic.”

Surprisingly, she accurately assessed my body.

Just by tapping it lightly.

“How do you know that?”

“If you’re as good as me, you can easily figure it out.”

I felt a sense of irritation.

So, even though I knew it wouldn’t work, I cast an ability that she hadn’t figured out.

“I can use this ability too.”

“Huh?”

Hum~

I used hypnotism.

A slightly enhanced ability compared to before.

Her eyes turned red with a non-physical force covering Shaela.

“Ugh….”

“Alright, how about…… huh?”

Shaela’s movements stopped.

She seemed to be completely under the hypnotism.

It was an action I did without any thought of her pride, but her reaction was strange.

“Hey?….”

“……”

She stood still, as if she were truly hypnotized.

Naturally, she should have easily shrugged off something like this.

“Why are you acting like this?”

To my surprise, she was indeed under the hypnotism.

It’s absolutely impossible unless she deliberately did it…

Could it be?

Did she deliberately fall for it?

Come to think of it, on the day I hypnotized her with a glare, she muttered to herself about trying it out while taking a walk.

So…

Is it really?

“Hey?”

He shook his hand in front of the guy’s eyes.

Even with a blindfold, he could grasp everything. But there was no response.

“…Is he really under the spell?”

I can feel it.

Connected to my abilities, Shaela’s mind.

The guy is staring at me in a dazed trance.

“Is this a lie?… Why aren’t you coming to your senses?”

Still no response.

Just standing there dazed.

Just in case, I instructed him with my abilities to raise one hand above his head.

Swoosh.

Indeed, the guy’s hand went up.

He was under the control of my abilities.

Gulp.

Why?

How?

Why on earth?

Many questions arose, but at the same time, a desire rose in my mind.

If I wanted to, I could manipulate him as I pleased. To use such a powerful goddess as my own personal puppet…

Sigh.

“I didn’t save you with any ulterior motives. I just wanted to see you again.”

Pat.

I raised my hand to Shaela’s head.

And gently stroked it.

I don’t know why I got caught up in it, but Shaela, who was quietly sitting there, looked cute.

I’m satisfied with just being like this for a while.

I’ll have to let him go after a little sightseeing.

Therefore.

“Shaela?”

“…Yeah.”

A dazed response.

It’s working well.

He would answer any question I asked right now.

Without hesitation, I asked what I was curious about.

“Did you intentionally get hypnotized?”

Nod.

“Why did you do it on purpose?”

“Because you’re just a plant.”

“………?”

It may sound like a dazed response, but is it because of the mood that it sounds unfortunate?

No, what does it mean to be called just a plant?

“Is it because I’m a plant that you’re acting all touchy-feely and affectionate?”

Nod.

“Because you’re a plant.”

“Was it intentional?”

“Because you’re a plant. No matter what I do, you don’t respond well. How much bolder do I have to be?”

“…I’m the one asking the questions, right?”

“……….”

“Anyway, you’re saying you kept teasing me because I’m a plant.”

“…Huh…….”

Even under hypnosis, his nature doesn’t change. Even though he seems dazed, his original personality is coming through.

What is this… a new form of discrimination against a different species?

Teasing a plant because it doesn’t react much.

But what exactly does teasing mean to him?

Is it to stroke?

To approach in a touchy-feely way?

Intentionally getting hypnotized?

No, it seems like all of them…

Well, he’s an unpredictable guy.

I looked at him for a moment.

“…The blindfold is annoying.”

Swoosh~

I untied the blindfold.

His dazed gaze stared at me.

His cheeks were slightly flushed.

“Hmm… Your eyes seem to have fully recovered, so why are you still wearing a blindfold? Is there a need to hide your pretty face?”

Well, that’s good.

Since I put him under hypnosis, I asked him everything I was curious about.

“Shaela. Answer me.”

Nod.

“Why do you wear the blindfold?”

“It’s a means to suppress recovery.”

“Oh, right. You said you could deliberately suppress recovery and make the fruit stronger. So is it to seal off anything related to vision as part of that?”

“And.”

“And?”

“You ignore the constraints of the physical body. That’s how you can be perceived clearly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Even if you’re a plant, you’re still a plant.”

“………?”

What does this mean?

It feels profound.

Shiver.

Anyway, I roughly understood the reason for wearing the blindfold.

I moved on to the next question.

“Why do you always try to stroke me every time you look at me? Is that to tease me?”

Nod.

“Because the response is the biggest when I stroke you.”

“What do you mean by the response…”

“Because you get embarrassed. And when that happens, a pleasant smell comes from you when I get close.”

“What’s that smell again?….”

“The fragrance tickles my nose.”

“….How do you see me?”

“As a pet.”

“What….”

A pet, huh.

What kind of treatment is that?

“Do you really think of me that way? You even said ‘Mu-chan is Mu-chan,’ right?… No, just tell me how you see me.”

“Sometimes, a playful child I want to tease.”

“And.”

“A mirror-like presence that accepts me as I am….”

“Hmm?”

“…A being that shone brightly in the darkness.”

“Oh. That’s a decent evaluation. Keep going.”

“A lone candle. So sometimes it looks bigger. A companion that I can’t do without….”

“Don’t stop, keep going.”

“…Not a master, but a plant I can casually talk to….”

“What did you say?”

He keeps interrupting.

It feels like he’s embarrassed about something.

Avoiding certain words on purpose….

Fortunately, amidst the long and serious response, one thing could be inferred.

If we list his words.

Accepts me as I am.

Can’t do without.

Can casually talk to.

It’s obvious from his behavior.

Indeed, Shaela….

“You have no friends, do you?”

“…No.”

His response is a bit slow.

Without giving up, I asked for more details about what he thought.

“You said before that you have a bias against being called divine. You said there’s no need to act high and mighty, at least not you. Isn’t that right?”

He nodded.

“But it’s strange. You seemed very goddess-like when dealing with elves and humans. It felt ingrained, not like an act but something you did every day.”

“…….”

“You. Weren’t you like this before? Were you lying?”

“I had to be upright.”

“See. You must have had no friends.”

“…….”

I thought he was always bright and cheerful, but he wasn’t. He probably acted high and mighty in his original world.

I won’t say it, but he’s practically a loner without a friend he can talk to comfortably.

He’s lost everything now.

So maybe his light-hearted behavior is just to forget about it.

Was it very difficult for him?….

“I’ll do better in the future.”

“….?”

“When you’re struggling, you can rely on me too.”

I don’t know if he’ll remember, but saying this made me feel a little relieved. I remember when he first resurrected, trembling and crying. Even a god is ultimately a being that feels emotions.

I hope things will get better from now on.

With that in mind, I looked at Shaela’s face.

Flush….

His face seemed slightly redder than before.

Maybe because it’s been a while since I’ve seen those eyes, even in a dazed state, they looked beautiful.

“You’re pretty.”

Flush….

“Huh?”

Shaela’s focus shook slightly.

His face seemed even redder….

What’s going on?

Even if he understood the words in a dazed state, there shouldn’t be a response…

Blushing could be an unconscious reaction, but isn’t it strange for the focus to waver like that?

“Shaela?”

“…Yeah.”

He’s clearly following along, but just in case.

I had to check once.

So.

Tap.

Stroke~

I pet his head again.

“…….”

No reaction.

Just in case, I added more power.

Sss-

The sensitivity increased.

It must have been at least several times more sensitive.

With his face.

Swish, swish~

He flinched!

Flush….

His eyes opened slightly wider.

Even his focus wavered for a moment.

A reaction far from a trance state.

Indeed.

I didn’t see it wrong.

In other words, Shaela wasn’t completely under the spell. He had some resistance….

Huh?

He stiffened.

Something sent chills down my spine.

Could it be that you’ve been pretending to be under hypnosis all this time, just to test me?…

No, no.

It’s strange to think that you deliberately fell under hypnosis just to tease me. Maybe you got caught because you were confident you could break free at any time.

“Shayla?”

“…Yes.”

“Are you sure you’re not under hypnosis?…”

“…Oh, no?”

Huh.

She seemed flustered just now, didn’t she?

But it didn’t sound like the tone of someone under hypnosis?…

“Really… Shayla?…”

“…Yes.”

It’s definitely not a lie.

She’s still under hypnosis.

I can sense that her mind is still being held captive by the reddened eyes.

This is evidence that she’s under hypnosis.

But….

What if she can control it herself?

Shayla might be capable of that, right?

“……”

Swoosh.

Swiftly!

I put the blindfold back on.

I tidied up my messy hair.

Returning to my original state, I watched her from a few steps away.

Please let nothing happen.

Please let nothing happen.

Please let nothing happen.

Please let nothing happen.

Hum~ Swoosh.

I released the hypnosis ability.

I continued to gaze at Shayla.

“Shayla?”

“Yeah? Did you call me?”

Was she worried?

Her response seemed as if nothing had happened.

“Do you remember what just happened?”

“…What just happened? Hmm~ I feel a bit dazed. Was there something?”

“Well… I used my hypnosis ability on you, and I thought you were affected.”

“Oh~ So? What did you do?”

“…Nothing?”

“Really… What a boring lie.”

What’s going on?

I clearly heard a denial.

No, if she was under hypnosis, shouldn’t she be angry or worried about her physical state?

As if she already knew….

I quickly changed the topic of conversation.

“Well, anyway… this body can use magic and hypnosis abilities. It’s the most successful of the modified bodies I’ve created.”

“Are you going to use that body for activities now?”

“No, not really. It’s just for support. Changing bodies like changing pajamas doesn’t appeal to me anymore.”

“I see~ It’s nice to see you growing up. I think I’ll go for a walk.”

“A walk?”

“I just want to feel the breeze.”

Whoosh.

She didn’t engage in any further conversation and headed towards the center of the misty forest today as well.

Her words were casual.

It’s still awkward….

It’s so suspicious.

That’s not the Shayla I know.

But then.

I received memories from the stem that Shayla had been feeding on.

In those memories, Shayla…

“I should have ended it with the pet plant… Why are you so persistent in asking? You’re so good at reading between the lines… I accidentally said something weird. Aaah!!!”

She screamed in anger, then calmed down and stroked her head.

“I know the plant baby is cute… But suddenly saying that… Ugh!!!!….”

Her face turned red with embarrassment.

Boom!!

Boooom!!!

An earthquake shook the forest.

It felt like a tantrum.

It lasted for a while.

She definitely heard everything I said.

If Shayla had resisted or lost control, she could have easily disappeared.

Gulp.

…Let’s be more careful in the future.