Chapter 29

Chapter 29

29: Karaldin Mien and I spent some time walking through the underground waterway, collecting slime cores. I would split the slime with my sword, and Mien would extract the core with her magic—a repeating pattern. Aira moved separately, targeting smaller slimes, so the party’s combat became a two-person team. “Silma Ro Handz!”

-Chareuk! (Sound of something being pulled or detached)

The more I see it, the more I feel that magic is a fascinating power. Just touching the staff and pulling was enough to bring the slime’s core and the nerve cells connected to the goo along with it, which was quite an impressive sight. I understand why magic is necessary. Normally, trying to catch a slime of that size would damage your body because of the dissolving fluid. We continued to hunt slimes the size of boars, memorizing spells in between. Eventually, when our backpacks were full of slime cores, we took a break inside the underground waterway. “Amazing. Your swordsmanship seems even better than Roan’s.” I tilted my head, puzzled by the familiar name, and Mien continued with a faint smile. “He was someone I used to guard. He’s dead now, though.” Mien’s eyes looked sad as she said that, but her expression was calm. Seeing her like that, I thought that Mien might not be as young as she looked. Mien’s outward appearance made her seem, at most, in her early twenties. Her flowing black hair and a slightly larger build than Emily made her look mature at first glance, but her face still had a youthful quality. However, that didn’t mean she was really in her twenties. Aging can be prevented in many ways. If even the succubus arts have the ability to suppress aging, there’s no guarantee that magic doesn’t have such power. Besides, looking at her magical skills, it was hard to believe she was really in her early twenties. Hmm, how old is she? I’m honestly curious. I pondered for a moment, then decided to ask her age. “How old are you, Mien?” It’s a slightly rude question, but this much should be okay. She probably isn’t that old, right? “…That’s a secret.” But Mien didn’t answer. She continued to speak with a smiling face. “It’s taboo to ask a magician’s age.” ….Wait a minute. She was smiling, right? That was a little scary just now. // Still, we had filled our quota, so we lit a bonfire and waited for Aira. Of course, in the meantime, I asked her things I was curious about. “Can I learn magic too?” “Yes, of course. I learned magic around Ryla’s age.” It was a question I asked without much expectation, but I got an unexpected answer. …If she learned it around my age, how old is she? While I was secretly estimating her age, her voice rang in my ears again. “I can teach you the basics, even if it’s not complicated. Would you like to learn?” “Really?” “It’s okay. Ryla is my benefactor, and the Academy is aware of all magicians anyway. You won’t be able to participate in seminars unless you’re officially registered with a school, but it should be fine if you’re just learning a little.” She answered casually and then asked me back. “But why does Ryla want to learn magic? It seems to me that you already have considerable skill as a swordsman.” Actually, there wasn’t any particular reason. No matter how much martial arts I learn in this world, the progress is bound to be slow. So, I wanted to learn magic to gain more power. Besides, magic seemed convenient in many ways. Martial arts are a discipline specialized for combat, but magic wasn’t. It seemed like it could be used in various aspects of daily life. Of course, in the back of my mind, I also thought that I might be able to enjoy a more thrilling life by cosplaying as a magician. You know, something like… Pretending to be a frail magician and paying burly guards with my body instead of money, or being holed up in goblin or bandit lairs like Mien, being abused like a slave until someone rescues me and I become their companion. I’m thinking about it in too much detail, and I feel a slight dampness in my crotch, but it should be fine. “I just wanted to learn it since I was young. I just didn’t have the opportunity.” Still, I shouldn’t be too honest, or I don’t know what I’ll hear. What I said was also true. “….” Mien had a thoughtful expression on her face at my answer. It didn’t seem like she was hesitating to allow it, but was she thinking about something else? But Mien soon erased that expression and nodded with a smile. “Okay. Ryla saved me, so I can do anything for you. It’s hard to take you as a disciple, but teaching you the basics isn’t difficult.” She stirred the bonfire once with her staff and continued with a playful smile. “I’m telling you in advance, you have to be prepared. Magic is quite difficult, you know?” Hmm, that’s an interesting thing to say. I may be a blonde loli who looks stupid right now, but I was a model student who was always in the top ten in my class in my previous life as a high school student. Besides, I was a science major. I’m not afraid of math at all. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’m really a loli. “Yes, please do.” I nodded with a confident smile. It was a little later when Aira returned. Aira, who returned with her backpack full of slime cores, had slime goo all over her cloak. She grumbled as she approached the bonfire and put down her backpack. “Ugh, the smell is awful.” “Good work.” Looking at the contents of the bag, it contained smaller cores than the ones we had collected. Now I roughly understood how to collect slime cores. Following Aira and Mien’s specialties, we would divide them into large and small ones to collect. That was a skill that Aira had built up in her own way. I think it’s a good method. Now that I’ve roughly gotten the hang of it, I think I can come and collect them myself later. As I was thinking that and looking at the slime cores, something suddenly occurred to me. “By the way, what are these cores used for?” It was Mien who answered. “They are usually transported to the Magic Guild and exported to other cities. The cores are often used for experiments.” Come to think of it, I had heard that before. Slimes have the characteristic of changing their properties depending on the surrounding environment. It was said that it was possible to produce various types of slime by giving them various environmental factors. The probability of failure is much higher, but once you succeed, you can sell it for a high price, so it’s popular. “Usually the base of the slime is a dissolving fluid, but through experiments, it is possible to handle medicines or even metals like mercury. With some modification, it can also be used as a substitute for soap to cleanse the body. It is also a practice target for summoning magic.” I didn’t care about the other things, but keeping my body clean was quite interesting. From experience, it was always a chore to wash after being passed around by several men. I don’t care about other places, but it’s always the hair that’s the problem. There are more than one or two guys who get horny for blonde hair. We warmed ourselves by the bonfire a little longer, packed our backpacks, and headed outside. “Arlto Ro Kirum.” Just before leaving the underground waterway, Mien cast magic again to carefully remove the smell from her clothes, and seeing that, I strongly resolved to learn magic. // The total amount received after submitting the slime cores to the guild was 600 Rad. Divided by three people, it was 200 Rad each. It wasn’t a very expensive amount, but it wasn’t a cheap amount either. After saying a brief greeting to Emily and leaving the Adventurer’s Guild, Aira looked at us and asked. “The work is done, so do you want to go for a drink?” “Alcohol?” It’s not that I’ve never had it. No, I should say I’ve had quite a lot. The guards and the Rockard Family all liked to drink, and they always gave it to me when I was with them. The problem was that they didn’t just make me drink with my mouth. In fact, I probably had more poured into my lower mouth or my backdoor than I drank with my mouth. “This is also a necessary thing as an adventurer. When a quest is over, you have a drink to celebrate surviving.” I nodded at Aira’s words. I glanced at Mien, and she seemed to agree as well. “Come to think of it, I need to report my survival too. I haven’t been there recently.” The sun was already leaning quite far to the west. I stopped by the inn where Aira and Mien were staying to wash up. Then I took off all my equipment and headed to the tavern in simple clothes. The ‘Sky Squirrel’ tavern we headed to was a cozy and neat place that women would like. Of course, due to the nature of the tavern, there were bound to be men, but the ratio of women was relatively high. “Kha-hah!” “So that’s when I…!” As we opened the door to the tavern, rough and noisy voices echoed from all over. And among them, a familiar face caught my eye. It would be more accurate to say that my body was familiar with the face rather than my face being familiar with it. A giant orc, clearly different from humans, was sitting near the counter, drinking. “Huh?” I made a sound without thinking and then looked again in detail. Orcs mostly look similar to human eyes, so I had to check carefully to recognize him. ….I think it’s him. He’s wearing the same clothes he wore back then. “Do you know someone?” “Maybe.” I nodded at Aira’s question. To meet him in a place like this, what a coincidence. “That’s good. Should we join him?” “Do you know who he is?” “No. I’ll get to know him from now on. So, who is he?” At her words, I silently raised my hand and pointed to the giant orc. Then Aira and Mien widened their eyes in surprise. “Charka? You know that person?” “Is he famous?” I was more surprised by her reaction. He seemed strong, but did Aira know him too? It was Mien who answered that question. “He’s one of the five strongest guards in the Letilla Guild. How did you get to know him?” Is that like the Five Great Masters of Karaldin? He certainly looks strong, but it’s a bit ambiguous compared to me. I feel like I can win, but I’m not very confident. “Um…he’s the one who recommended me to become an adventurer.” When I answered absentmindedly, Aira and Mien looked even more surprised. According to them, Charka had never recommended anyone, even other orcs. Anyway, he seemed reliable and skilled. In any field, connections are important. It was no different for adventurers. Charka was alone, so we decided to join him. “I can drink with peace of mind today.” I was momentarily puzzled by Mien’s laughter-filled words, but I soon understood what she meant. It’s probably inevitable that three women would be heavily targeted for hunting. And, if Charka is there, I can guarantee that there will be no trouble. With the party’s decision made, I naturally approached him and spoke. “We meet again.” “….It’s been a while.” Charka answered with a slightly surprised expression as I approached. “I heard the story. You defeated a group of goblins.” “The rumors have already spread that far?” I tilted my head, wondering if rumors were really faster than words, but Charka shook his head with a slight smile. “No. That’s not it. He told me you were the recommender.” I see. That makes sense. Well, it would be strange if he didn’t tell me. If you’re a recommender, it feels like you’re a successor. “I heard and thought you would do that. You’re really amazing.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” It was an embarrassing compliment, but I’ll gratefully accept it. I chuckled and replied, then got to the point. “Oh, and I came with my colleagues today. Would you like to join us?” “…Colleagues?” Charka’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at those words. Maybe it’s because he’s an Orc, but I can’t tell if he’s angry or surprised. “Yes, we took on a request together.” As I said that and pointed to the table where Mien and Eira were seated, I could see unfamiliar men approaching them. “….” Indeed, the sex drive of the men in this world is amazing. They’re already being hit on. Of course, the reason for that is also because Eira and Mien are quite beautiful. Charka looked in the direction I pointed and then nodded. “I understand. Let’s do that.” ———= Author’s Note ———= I wrote the underground waterway because of the magic part. There were people who wanted slimes. They’ll appear later anyway.