Chapter 111: The Giant’s Fruit

As I was absentmindedly chewing on a sandwich, feeling all the strength drained from my body probably due to overexertion, my body gradually became hot.

What’s this? Why am I getting so hot?

“Hey, isn’t it too hot for everyone?”

“Huh? It’s not hot at all? Isn’t it rather cold?”

“I don’t feel particularly hot either.”

“It’s cold…”

“Oh?”

Why am I the only one feeling so hot?

No, why do I feel hot right now? As my companions said, the air in the labyrinth is cold, but I’m feeling extremely hot right now.

It feels like heat is rising from inside in a strange way, so it can’t be because of the bonfire.

‘Could it be? Have I been poisoned? Or cursed?’

It was neither.

I opened an antidote and drank it, and got checked for curses, but there was no positive reaction.

I’m burning up for a fundamentally different reason. My insides are hot.

“Clothes. I need to take off my clothes.”

“What? Porter. What on earth are you saying?”

“I feel like this heat will end only if I take off my clothes…”

As if possessed by something, I started taking off my clothes piece by piece. For some reason, I had a strong premonition that I could escape this heat only by taking off my clothes.

“He’s really taking them off?”

“No, Sion…”

Despite my companions’ attempts to stop me, I took off the armor Moira had bought for me and the helmet I was wearing.

When I took off all the clothes I was wearing, I felt like the heat was disappearing. So taking off my clothes was indeed the right answer.

“No, why is this person doing this!”

“You need to keep your underwear on!”

“Uh… Mr. Porter..!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but. I feel like I need to… take off my clothes.”

“This person has gone mad!”

“Saint! Please put down your Bible! I don’t think killing him is right!”

“Ro, Rosie..! Stop the Saint..! Porter! Please stop!”

In the end, I ended up taking off even the last piece of underwear.

Only then did I feel liberated and the heat disappeared. The cold is coming back.

“Haah.. Haah.. The heat is finally gone.. Oh my goodness.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes. I’m sorry everyone. I felt like I would die if I didn’t take off my clothes…”

“Why on earth did you develop such a strange habit? What is this?”

I struggled to answer the Saint’s question.

“It seems to be a side effect of the ring.”

“A side effect of the ring?”

“It was the ring of etherealization, right?”

“Yes. That ring has a side effect. Probably… a side effect that causes heat to rise from inside the body if you don’t undress.”

Most things made by Raphnel have side effects.

For example, most items have somewhat perverted side effects, like erection-inducing tonics or excitement-inducing stimulants.

The side effect of the etherealization ring was probably ‘undressing’.

It makes your body hot as if you’re going to die from heat until you take off all your clothes, and the side effect only ends when you’re completely naked.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that the side effect only activated quite some time after the battle ended. It would have been really troublesome if this side effect had activated during combat.

‘And if I use this well..’

It might be able to act as a self-heating system in cold regions.

Since the heat keeps rising until you take off your clothes, wouldn’t it work well in extremely cold places?

It’s worth experimenting.

‘Even side effects can be useful depending on how you use them.’

Just as a tonic can become an erectile dysfunction treatment if used well, any side effect can be beneficial if used appropriately according to the situation.

As Raphnel said, whether it’s an ability or anything else, the result varies greatly depending on the user’s capacity.

“I’ll put my clothes back on now.”

“Yes, yes. Please hurry and put them on. My, what a peculiar side effect.”

“Hehe..”

I put my clothes back on. Unintentionally, I ended up showing my companions something they shouldn’t have seen.

Unlike Rosie who had seen my naked body before, I committed a great discourtesy to Paramel and the Saint.

“By the way, Porter.”

“Yes, Saint.”

“It’s much… bigger than I expected.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Hmm. Nothing. Rosie will be pleased.”

“No, what are you talking about!”

“I see why you’re so popular.”

“No, Saint!”

The Saint looked me up and down with interest.

Surely not. It would be a big problem if even the Saint started showing interest in me. I already have too many women involved with me. I don’t want my romantic relationships to get any more complicated.

“By the way, Porter. That giant over there. Can you store it?”

“Uh.. It’s too big to store all at once, but if we cut it into pieces, I should be able to store it.”

“So we can cut it up, right?”

“Yes. If you cut it into parts, I should be able to take it all up.”

“Then we need to discuss the sale proceeds of that giant.”

The Saint brushed off the bread crumbs on her hands and approached the giant’s corpse.

“The best part of a Quiklops is the eye, but the eye is almost completely shattered.”

“I believe the gallbladder and heart are also expensive.”

“That’s right. The internal organs are useful too. The large and small intestines, if cleaned and dried properly, can be used for everything from leather armor materials to various other things. The skin is the same.”

The Saint stroked the giant’s body and then looked at me.

“How much do you want for transportation costs?”

“How about half of the sale proceeds?”

“Half? Isn’t thirty percent enough?”

“From the testicles to the giant’s blood, I can take everything up cleanly. It will bring in an enormous amount of money. Even after giving me half, it would still be a considerable profit for the Order, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

“I don’t think we can agree on thirty percent. And the one who dealt the most damage to the giant hunt was my companion.”

“That person’s attack was indeed effective. But you know that without me, Raphael, and Paramel, she wouldn’t have been able to cast that magic, right?”

“So let’s split it half and half.”

To be honest, my contribution to the giant hunt was almost negligible.

But in the end, it was Helena who blew up the giant’s head.

No matter how much the Saint and Raphael threw their bodies to tie up the giant’s feet, it was Helena who dealt the fatal blow and landed the finishing hit.

So demanding half of the giant’s sale proceeds was a fair request.

‘We need massive funds to pioneer the underground city. And asking for half is a reasonable demand.’

The Saint stared at me blankly for a while, then soon nodded.

“Alright. Halsi did play a significant role. Let’s do that.”

“Thank you.”

“No need for thanks. It’s Halsi’s achievement, so it’s her credit.”

The Saint cleanly promised to give half.

Of course, we can’t just gloss over this with a verbal agreement, so I plan to draw up a separate contract with Guild Master Moira as an intermediary when we go up.

“Let’s divide the giant’s corpse tomorrow. Everyone, rest for now.”

“Sa, Saint… Are you planning not to sleep again..?”

“Meditation is enough.”

Fria told Paramel not to worry, as if it was no big deal, in response to his concerned words.

‘How many days has it been since she slept?’

It seems she’s barely slept since the heretics started appearing in earnest.

Maybe because she’s half-transcended human limits, she can handle such a grueling schedule for days without sleeping.

“Mr. Paramel. I’m trying to set up a shower tent. Can you help me?”

“Yes. Ju, just a moment.”

All of our companions were covered in too much blood.

It’s better to wash this off quickly when possible. If left alone, it can attract insects and easily lead to skin diseases.

“Without Raphael.. it’s a bit hard..”

“Indeed.”

Raphael was strong, so he used to set up tents quickly.

I’m newly realizing his absence.

“It’s done.”

“You go wash first.”

“Is that okay..?”

“Yes. I can wash last.”

I gave up my turn to Paramel. He looked like he was about to die, so it seemed better to let him wash quickly and put him to sleep. And I prefer to wash leisurely at the end.

While my companions were washing, I was staring at the bonfire when Halsi woke up.

“Hey. Got any water?”

“Here you go. How’s your body?”

“I’m dying.. This body is ruined. I don’t think I can use it anymore.”

“I see…”

Helena said the Apostle’s body was ruined.

It’s become a body that can no longer use magic because it’s completely messed up.

She says the magic circuits are completely destroyed as a result of forcibly using 10th circle magic. It seems we’ll need to get her a new body.

Still, thanks to her showing such a spectacular performance, we were able to get half of the giant’s sale proceeds, so it’s a profit. She probably deliberately fired off 10th circle magic to get more sale proceeds.

It can be seen as Helena’s own action aiming for profit.

“When we go up, let’s pick one from the criminal slaves.”

“Please make it a woman this time.”

“You prefer a woman?”

“Yes. I prefer a woman. I’ve lived as a woman all my life. It’s really uncomfortable trying to use a man’s body. Even when urinating, having something dangling there is quite awkward.”

“Haha..”

It seems she was troubled in various ways after being forcibly changed to a different gender.

‘I’ll have to buy a female slave.’

I’ll have to get a criminal slave.

I should get a woman with magical aptitude from among female criminals.

‘I need to get a body for Roy too. There are a lot of expenses coming up.’

Still, if we dispose of all the corpses of the giant and the dead trolls, we should be able to get a considerable sum of money. If we find good buyers, we shouldn’t have to worry about money.

“Sion. You can wash now.”

“Ah, yes. Just a moment.”

A soaking wet Rosie called me.

It seems it’s my turn.

“Are you going to wash?”

“Yes. Do you want to wash too, Halsi?”

“No. I’m fine. This body seems ruined anyway. It might be better to die.”

“Ah..”

“Is there anything you want me to do before I die?”

“Not particularly.”

“I see. Then can you lend me a dagger? It’s really painful being in this body with all its magic circuits burned out.”

“….Here you go.”

Helena took the dagger and immediately slit her own throat.

It seems she found it too painful and preferred to be in a soul state.

“Aack!!! Sion! Why did Halsi…! What on earth happened!”

“Well…”

Rosie was very flustered when Helena suddenly committed suicide.

I explained the situation to her.

“Huh. Suicide due to unbearable pain…”

“Yes. It seems she was in a lot of pain.”

“I think this is unavoidable. Even among inquisitors, there are those who choose suicide due to pain. This must be one of those cases. My, we’ve lost another companion.”

Rosie looked at the dead Apostle with a bitter expression.

I put the Blue Apostle’s corpse into my inventory.

-This is better.

‘You’re here.’

-I got a bit lost on the way. By the way, where’s Roy?

‘He’s asleep. He seems to have overexerted himself.’

-I see.

Roy seemed to have taken some damage, probably because I forcibly brought him along when escaping earlier.

Now he’s sleeping without saying anything.

‘I was planning to leave Roy in the labyrinth. But that won’t work now.’

The original plan was to trap Paynel’s soul in the vine bean and leave Roy to guard the central district.

But now that Roy has retired, Paynel will have to guard the central district alone.

‘I hope that heretic bastard does his job well.’

He can’t pull any tricks since his soul is bound by chains, but without supervision, I don’t think he’ll work diligently.

It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do about it.

‘Let’s feed the giant’s blood to the bracelet before washing.’

Since I can’t get blood on myself again after washing, it’s better to put blood on the bracelet before washing.

I stabbed a knife into the giant’s torn skin and squeezed out blood.

The bracelet of growth raises the wearer’s stats when fed demon blood.

Troll blood raised health, orc blood raised strength, and goblin blood raised perception.

I wonder what stat will increase when I feed giant’s blood to the bracelet of growth.

When I lightly touched the bracelet to the pool of giant blood, the bracelet started trembling.

This is a different reaction from before.

“Wh, what!”

As I tried to pull my hand away from the pool in surprise, Helena stopped me.

-Wait. Let’s see! Something.. something is being absorbed in a different way than usual..!

‘What!?’

Helena seemed to have sensed something.

In the end, as she said, I waited quietly to let the bracelet absorb as much of the giant’s blood as it could.

After about 3 minutes, the bracelet’s trembling stopped.

At the same time, a flower bloomed and withered on the bracelet, and a bright red fruit fell off.

“This is…”

What is it?