Ch.104NPCs Who Work Hard Even Without NPCs (1)

“…So. You bathed together?”

[Yes.]

“And then you collapsed right away?”

[Yes.]

“And you tried giving him a potion?”

[Yes.]

His HP had been depleted.

I hadn’t paid any attention since there was no physical damage to my master’s body, but who would have thought that my sturdy master would suddenly collapse?

I, foolishly, only checked my master’s HP depletion after he had already collapsed.

[-Occupation: Forest Keeper NPC- Level: 552 Name: Jack. Age: 19.]

[HP: 250,996+???]

This isn’t something that can be recovered with just one or two potions.

When he first collapsed, my master’s HP was in the late 190,000s. He hadn’t been directly hit by any enemy attacks, so I have no idea where all that HP went.

As soon as he collapsed, I immediately moved him to Ragni’s room. When I barged in and laid my master on the bed, Ragni, who is sensitive to sleep disturbances, was rubbing her eyes and getting up irritably. But when she saw my master collapsed with his upper body exposed, her eyes widened, and she got up right away.

I immediately explained the situation to her in writing.

“…We should either go to the hospital or call a healing mage to recover him. There are no visible external injuries, and if he’s not waking up after taking three potions, it could be overwork or possibly a head issue.”

[……]

She’s the smartest one in our group. That’s why I chose Ragni and decided to show her my master’s condition.

As I expected, despite having just woken up at dawn with her eyelids still heavy, Ragni calmly and seriously examined my master’s condition.

“…There’s no need to worry too much. He probably collapsed from overwork or fatigue.”

[How can you say there’s no need to worry?]

Correction, Ragni says this while flipping her bangs and even yawning. And I’m a bit dumbfounded by her attitude.

Wait, isn’t she the woman who’s always all over my master saying how much she likes him? My master has collapsed, for crying out loud!

“No. The situation… *sigh*. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Didn’t he collapse because you squeezed him dry?”

[…What?]

When I write back confrontationally, Ragni instead gives me an incredulous look, quickly scans my body, and speaks again.

“Goodness. I thought I’d never get tired of traveling with Jack, but really. Since Jack showed us that side of himself that night when we were in our beast forms, I had my suspicions, but to think he’d have a taste for golems too. It’s obvious he either got dizzy and collapsed while playing messily with you in the bath, or he collapsed from exhaustion because you squeezed him too hard…”

[That’s not it at all?!]

What is this woman saying? Does she seriously think my master had intercourse with me?

After everything she’s seen of my master, how could she have such delusions…

“…It’s not? Do you think there’s any credibility to what you’re saying, looking the way you do right now?”

[Ah.]

The way I look right now.

I’m wearing revealing, form-fitting clothes that I wanted to show my master. I suppose it’s not strange for her to misunderstand… Though, of course, my master didn’t react to me even like this.

“See? You squeezed him dry, didn’t you? Just how much did you squeeze? More importantly, is Jack’s ○○ still intact?”

[…Your language is too vulgar.]

“No, this is important! You’re a golem, after all. You’re made of rock!! A human body went in and out of a stone? You’re saying he did piston movements in there? What if it’s not overwork or fatigue, but that his thing got ground away…”

[No. We didn’t do it.]

I ended up speaking informally without realizing it in response to Ragni, who lowered her voice and frowned irritably.

Ah, I somewhat understand why my master occasionally spouts harsh words at us. This is how it goes.

“…You didn’t do it?”

[We really didn’t. There was hardly any physical contact, let alone anything intimate.]

The truth is that I had [inserted] my master [into my body] completely, but I don’t feel obligated to tell her that much.

I’ve already savored every inch of my master’s body with my slime body. My body could even create an exact replica of my master right now if I wanted to.

Though regrettably, I couldn’t push my slime below his groin.

“…Then, is it really overwork? Was today’s battle too intense, or is he showing aftereffects from being attacked by an enemy?”

[What should we do? Should we take him to the hospital?]

“…Even if we go now, we can’t get treatment. What hospital would be open at this hour? Let’s let him sleep in my room for now, and take him early tomorrow morning. For now, let’s keep this a secret from Ira. We should have Rey go shopping or something.”

[Then, what about the operation master prepared…?]

“It’s not impossible without him, but it’s not something we absolutely have to do. It’s not something we need to do when Jack has collapsed. Now, if that’s decided, let’s rest. His breathing is steady. There are no external injuries. We’ve given him potions. We’ve done all we can at this hour. I’m incredibly sleepy. If we want to move quickly tomorrow, we need to rest now.”

Ragni speaks as if it’s no big deal. But I don’t miss the trembling of her hands.

She’s probably extremely worried but deliberately not showing it. To avoid making me worry, and also to comfort her own emotions.

After saying all that, Ragni naturally lies down on the bed.

-Thump.

[No. Wait.]

“Wh-what?”

[Why are you naturally getting into bed next to master?]

“Why, you ask?! This is my bed!”

[Even if the bed is yours, this house itself belongs to master, doesn’t it?]

I grabbed Ragni as she tried to lie down snugly next to my master. But then.

-Smack!!

[?!]

“It’s my room! Get out! I’ll take care of Jack! You go watch Ira! What if Ira has a worried expression when Jack wakes up?! Jack would be angry, wouldn’t he?!”

[Ugh?!]

Her resistance is stronger than I expected. Though I’m not using my full strength, I’m surprised that her physical strength is enough to shake off my hand.

Moreover, while what she says isn’t wrong, I can’t help but be bothered by Ragni’s obvious attempt to sleep next to my master.

No. It’s my turn today, you all have received plenty of rewards already!

[Fine. Then I’ll take master and go to Miss Ira’s side.]

“What?! If Jack doesn’t wake up in the morning and Ira gets worried, what then…!!”

[Do you think I don’t know that you’re treating my master like a side dish?]

“!!!”

Ragni’s face turns redder than her pupils at my written words. As I thought, she was planning to sleep next to my collapsed master with such thoughts.

Did she think I would just stand by and watch?!

“You, you! Y-y-you golem! I heard from Jack that you have a sense of self, but y-y-you per…!!”

[I didn’t like it before either when you were talking about how your butt still tingled after master spanked you. I don’t want to see that kind of thing again. I’ll take master and wake you up early in the morning, so sleep alone.]

“D-d-don’t be ridiculous!! You think I’d throw away an opportunity like this?! You, you!! You’ve already enjoyed everything!! You lewd golem!! You’re just Jack’s masturbation tool!!! I’m the one who’s going to bear his child!!!”

[So what if I’m lewd. I don’t care if I’m just a masturbation tool! Don’t you want to please master just the same?! I’ve been annoyed for a while that you call him master just like I do. And you’re more lewd than I am, you do it every day when master isn’t around!!]

The two females(?), who had been worried about Jack until just now, suddenly began arguing about who would take custody of his body.

While they were arguing about whether to move Jack next to Ira or not.

-Shiver!!

[…Magic power.]

“Wh-what?! Why is that girl moving first?!”

In the dawn when the Forest Keeper collapsed, the situation began to flow in its own way.

*

[Human transmutation? What are you suddenly talking about? Are you an alchemist?]

The imposing figure behind me, who looked like he might tear off my limbs while claiming to reveal the truth if only I’d open the giant door, tilted his head in question at my words.

…Phew. At least it doesn’t seem to be that “truth” thing. I thought I might have been reincarnated into another manga world from [Eight].

“Just talking to myself. So, who are you and where is this place?”

[You’re suddenly being formal?]

I feel like I should.

No matter how much it doesn’t seem to be “that,” one tends to become very small in front of an unknown entity that looks like it might tear off your limbs.

[Speak comfortably. If anything, I should be the one being formal to you.]

“…Is that so? Then, who are you and where is this place?”

[Haha. I’m someone you know well, and this is your mental landscape.]

I try to process what this guy is saying as he laughs for some reason.

The only such being I know well would be the one that appears after human transmutation, but…?

And this is my mental landscape? That thing? The so-called inner world of one’s mind?

…That can’t be right, if it were my world, how could it be this pristinely white?

[You don’t know who I am?]

“I do know of a being like you. But clearly, you’re not that. So why don’t you just tell me? And if this is my mental landscape, can I wake up if I want to?”

[Hmm, I see. I thought you knew me, but you don’t know [me] after all? Well, looking at your mental landscape, you don’t seem to know much about spirits either. I did bring you here.]

Oh, he’s just talking to himself like he’s on cloud nine? It’s supposedly my mental landscape but I can’t access it, and when I ask if I can wake up, what’s he on about? And you know me? I don’t know you?

-Crack.

[W-wow, you’re more hot-tempered than I expected?]

“Not really. It’s just that in my life so far, people who don’t answer my questions properly usually end up not getting along with me. That’s all.”

The fragment of the Spirit King scratches his head as if embarrassed, sensing that my hostility has subsided. Wait, he doesn’t even have a face, so what’s he doing?

[You’re planning to fight the Chancellor, Naika, aren’t you?]

“It’s not about fighting. She messed with us, so I’m just making sure she doesn’t pull that crap again.”

[…We call that fighting, you know.]

I shrug my shoulders as the Spirit King’s fragment mentions the Chancellor’s name, as if he had heard our plan.

Ragni said she made insulting remarks and even threatened Ira. I’m just going to give her an appropriate punishment for that.

For my sister’s future academy life, and to restore Ragni’s self-esteem.

[…Right. She wasn’t originally like that, I don’t know how she ended up this way.]

“So, is that why you called me here? I’m not interested in the Chancellor’s past. If you’ve said everything you wanted to say, can you let me wake up now?”

[No. I have two favors to ask. One is related to Naika, but the other is a separate matter.]

Hmph, he has a lot of demands. He says I saved him, but instead of offering me something, he’s asking me to do this and that. I don’t like it.

Besides, Gore must be very worried about me by now.

Having collapsed like that, Gore might even be thinking she made some kind of mistake.

Thinking about it this way makes me even more annoyed. Forget about favors, I should really give him a good smack on the crown of his head…

[And if you grant my request, I’ll arrange for your sister to contract with the highest-grade fire elemental I know as compensation. How about it?]

“Please go ahead! I’ll do whatever you ask!!”

Oh my, what an honorable person you are!!!