Chapter 28

Chapter 28

28: Karaldin “You really didn’t have to go this far…” I muttered with a wry smile, and Mien shook her head with a gentle smile. Her black hair swayed with the movement. “You’re our savior. We should at least treat you this much.” “That’s right. It’s just a meal. It’s not nearly enough.” Eira nodded in agreement. We were currently sitting in a restaurant in Karaldin, known as a decent place. I had stopped by with Emily to check on her, and somehow ended up being invited to dinner. I only intended to drop by with Emily to see how she was doing, but these people are more kind than I expected. “If the rescue had been delayed even a little, we might have gone crazy.” “Yeah, it was getting dangerous. If you hadn’t come…” Eira stopped talking and shook her head as if she didn’t want to think about it. I nodded in agreement with her words. Hmm, well, yeah. That’s true. It wouldn’t be polite to keep refusing, so I decided to eat quietly. “Then, I’ll enjoy the meal.” “Yeah, don’t feel pressured.” Besides, the fragrant steak in front of me was definitely too tempting to refuse. Having grown up eating only black bread and dried-up meat, I had never enjoyed such luxury even in Lakers. Sometimes when I went on business trips with the guard, they would give me delicious food, but they always put semen on it as a topping, so it was hard to say if it was really delicious. “…” And, it seemed that Emily felt the same way. She was staring at the steak in front of her with a blank look, and her eyes looked so wistful. I understand. How often would she, the daughter of an ordinary villager, have eaten meat seasoned with spices? But Emily went even further, shedding tears while holding a fork and knife. Tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving dark marks on the table. Wait a minute. Why? “…E, Emily?” I called her name in confusion. Was it that touching? No matter how innocent she is, I didn’t think she would be so moved by food that she would cry. Well, I guess Emily might, but I didn’t expect her to actually do it. When I called her name, Emily flinched and lowered her head, muttering. “Ah, I, I’m sorry. I was just reminded of the old days…” Hearing her words, I patted her shoulder silently. Because her words reminded me of something. The old days. A memory I had forgotten. Even when I tried to recall it, it was a faded memory that only made me think, “Ah, there were times like that too.” “It’s okay. Everyone has their own hardships.” Eira waved her hand with a bitter smile, and Mien nodded as if she understood. Still, I was probably the only one among them who truly understood her feelings. Fortunately, the meal we were treated to didn’t turn into a disaster because of that. The steak was very delicious, and Emily and I soon regained our energy, chatting with the two senior adventurers with smiles on our faces. // And when the time came, Emily went to work at the Adventurer’s Guild, and I joined Eira and Mien in taking on a simple quest at the guild. “Originally, you’re not supposed to be able to take on quests during your probationary period, but…” Meryl Brishian, the counter girl at the guild headquarters, trailed off ambiguously, but Mien handled it well. “The report from yesterday should have been submitted. Ryla single-handedly cleared the goblin cave and brought back the chief’s head.” I thought she was exaggerating my achievements too much, but when I thought about it, it wasn’t wrong. If you kill the chief who leads the group, the goblins won’t unite. They will continue to scatter and remain in small groups. That’s why killing the chief is so significant. “Just a moment, I’ll look for the relevant documents in the branch’s storage.” After waiting for a while, Meryl checked the documents and nodded as if she understood. “Well, with this much, it’s okay even without a recommendation. I’ll have to verify the facts, but… I’ll put your name down for now.” I wondered if it was okay to handle things that way, but on the other hand, I thought it was possible. After all, this isn’t a modern society with a highly computerized system. I could just dismiss this kind of thing as a common practice. Charka was nowhere to be seen in the guild. I was curious about what he was doing, but I figured he was doing well on his own. // The quest we received was simple. Collecting slime from the underground waterway. In a way, it wasn’t even a quest. It was just issuing a regular hunting permit. When I asked why slime, Eira replied with an awkward smile. “It’s not good to just be idle, but I don’t want to go back into the Mesheen Great Forest right away…” Even though she seemed tough, that incident must have been quite a shock to Eira. On the other hand, Mien, who had experienced the same thing, didn’t seem to care much. Was it because she was a mage? After buying the necessary supplies, we went down to the underground waterway and slowly walked towards the sewage treatment plant. “Ugh, I really can’t get used to the smell here.” “Just a moment, it’ll be okay soon.” When Eira complained, Mien replied calmly. She took out a spellbook from the bag she was wearing around her waist and turned the pages.

-Flipping sound.

After turning the pages for a while, she found a certain section and held the spellbook in one hand, bringing the crystal hanging from the end of her staff to the page. “Arlto Kirum.” As she chanted the spell, the crystal at the end of the staff glowed faintly, manifesting magic. Mien put the spellbook back into her bag and glanced at the staff, which was emitting a faint light. “Is it a little better now?” “…It really is.” The stench had disappeared. I had heard that magic was amazing, but experiencing it firsthand made me realize that it really was amazing. To be honest, I want to learn it. I looked at her with a curious voice and asked. “Mien, how can I learn magic?” Usually, this kind of question would be difficult, but Mien asked back with a gentle expression. “Are you interested in magic?” “Yes.” It would be a lie to say I wasn’t interested. Even though it’s Noma World, magic exists in this world. And in a very mysterious way and form. Mien looked around the underground waterway for a moment, then opened her mouth again. “Usually, there are three ways to learn magic. You can join the Magic Guild, enroll in the Royal Magic Academy, or be directly tutored by a mage.” “Of course, none of them are easy.” Eira grumbled, shaking the torch she was holding. Mien smiled and continued. “If all else fails, there’s the option of self-study… but it would be difficult without a foundation. You need geometry and mathematics to learn magic.” I didn’t know much about magic, but I knew the basics. As I nodded with an interested look, Mien continued her explanation. “Usually, mages use inscribed magic. Monster hides are infused with mana, so they inscribe them and take them out when needed. That’s why spellbooks are more precious than life to mages. Some spellbooks are passed down through schools, and powerful monster hides, such as dragon parchment, can contain incredible magic that isn’t possible with ordinary monster hides.” Mien told me about various facts about magic that I didn’t know. The relationship between staves, mages, and spellbooks, and the types of magic. “Spellbooks store spells, and staves amplify them. Mages play the role of adjusting the mana in between. Without a spellbook, you can’t use complex spells, and without a staff, you can’t use powerful spells. Plus, it consumes a lot of mana.” When I asked what happens if you don’t have a staff or spellbook, Mien smiled and shook her head. “It’s not always the case.” Mien rolled up the sleeve of her robe and showed me her arm. I hadn’t noticed it the day before because it was faint and she was wearing a cloak, but her arm was covered in geometric patterns. “It’s a tattoo for emergencies. Human skin is no different from monster skin after all. Well, there are other ways, such as making hand seals.” Having learned martial arts that similarly manipulate ki, I could understand the structure of the magic Mien was talking about. Whether it’s martial arts or magic, this world has developed by using life force as much as possible. And by amplifying it and inscribing it on hides, they minimize their own life force consumption. Moreover, by using mental power to minimize their life force consumption, it was similar to shamanism in a way. After talking for a while, we finally arrived near the sewage treatment plant in the underground waterway. Eira put the bait she had brought on the floor, and Mien took out her spellbook again and chanted a spell. “Ante Sa Romva.” Then, she took out a red ruby from her bag and held it to the end of her staff.

-Whoosh.

The ruby burned in the shape of a small butterfly and began to float around her. Mien smiled softly and explained. “Familiar Spirits. They’ll light the way as a substitute for a torch.” The glowing butterfly looked quite beautiful. …I was almost tempted to quit being a knight and go learn magic. // It’s a bit of a funny story, but slime is a monster that is the foundation of this world’s civilization. This monster, which has a body made of mucus and a fist-sized core in the center of its body, melts organic matter and uses it as nutrients. It sounded trivial at first, but it wasn’t. In any world, when a city is built, various wastewater and waste naturally accumulate. The Kilkard Kingdom’s architecture and waterway system were excellent, but when the size of the city grew beyond a certain point, the technology of this world had its limits. What fills that limit is slime. If you throw slimes that indiscriminately melt and absorb organic matter into the sewers, you can say that the problem of waste and sewage treatment is half solved. That’s why you shouldn’t catch slimes carelessly. If slimes become extinct in a city, they must be imported from another city immediately. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can just leave slimes alone. The underground waterway is a place where slimes and rats compete for food, but sometimes the slimes multiply to the point where humans have to deal with them. Just like now. “That’s a slime?” I muttered in disbelief as I looked at the giant slime in front of me, but Mien nodded as if she was used to it. As a side note, Eira had gone off on her own to collect the slime’s core. “Karaldin is a place where monster corpses are often dumped, so there are some like that.” Mien replied, but the fact that it was shocking didn’t change. “Even so…” “I understand. Actually, cities like Karaldin are a bit special. The Magic Guild deliberately imports and releases such species to easily obtain samples. They are that much more soluble, so be careful.” Still, the slime I knew was a creature with a fist-sized core and about the size of a small dog, not a monster with a core the size of my head and bigger than me. The slime, made of light green mucus, was wriggling towards me. It wasn’t approaching very fast, but I didn’t know how to deal with it.

-Squish, squish.

“What should we do?”

With the Lakers, I could just reach in and pull out the core, but that was a slime the size of a puppy. This one’s like a boar, so it doesn’t seem possible at all. I’m not soluble in the slime’s dissolving fluid, but I don’t want them to find that out. No wonder not many people were taking this quest. Of course, I could cut it with a sword, but cutting the core wouldn’t make the quest worthwhile. “Don’t worry. I’ll extract it with magic. When I cast the spell, slice the front of the core with your sword.” Mien said calmly, turning the pages of her spellbook. There seemed to be no hesitation in her touch. Then I should do as she says. I drew my sword and straightened my posture.

-Tsureuk, tsureuk.

The slime was approaching me, making strange noises. I took a deep breath and relaxed my body. “Silma Ro Handz.” As soon as I heard Mien’s voice, I lunged forward and slashed through the slime’s goo.

-Skeok.

With a sharp sound, the goo up to the front of the core was split. The core, slightly smaller than my head, was revealed between the glistening goo. “Ha!” Mien yelled in sync. I stepped back and glanced at Mien, who was pointing her staff at the slime’s core. “Hut!” Then, with a powerful shout, she pulled the staff back.

-Swoosh.

The slime’s core was pulled out from the gap in the goo. Mien examined the core, which was dripping with green goo, and smiled brightly. “Your swordsmanship is amazing! When I’ve partied with other people, it’s rarely been this easy to extract…” “I learned some swordsmanship a while ago.” I made a rough excuse and swung my sword once in the air. Following the trajectory of the sword, green goo splattered on the walls of the underground waterway. Mien put the slime’s core into the backpack behind her and spoke again. “Then, shall we keep catching them?” ———= Author’s Notes ———= This will be a breather chapter. If there’s no sex scene, it’s a breather chapter. And there’s plenty of material left. I’m writing it as it comes to mind, so I don’t really know how the story will progress. In fact, there’s so much material that the problem is how to put it all in and connect it naturally. There are still many friends to find… I wonder if it will ever be completed.