episode_0026

When I woke up, it was around afternoon with the sun rising high.

Arna, who was waiting for me to wake up, smiled and stroked my head when I opened my eyes.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Uh… … .”

How much did I sleep?

But I slept very refreshed.

“You were very tired, right? Jihoo I guess my sister overexerted herself without even thinking about how difficult it was.”

“No, uh… It’s okay now.”

“Do you want to rest more, Jihoo? My sister and Larissa will come back.”

I woke up right away. I had such a strange sleep that I actually wanted to move.

“No, it’s okay. Let’s go right away.”

As soon as I woke up, I saw Larissa fidgeting beyond Arna, who was looking at me worriedly, asking if I was okay.

If I had made a mistake with the magic I cast last night, I would have died. I guess I was doing that because I couldn’t wake up until too late.

“Sister… I suddenly feel a bit dizzy… .”

“Huh? Why, why?”

“Yesterday’s magic… .”

“Magic?”

As soon as she spoke about magic, Arna turned to Larissa.

“Well, well, I don’t know? I’ll go there first and investigate!”

Larissa hurriedly ran to the crypt.

Meanwhile, Arna used recovery magic on me and hugged me.

“Jihoo, are you in a lot of pain? After all, it would be good to take a break, right? I’ll do it quickly and come back.”

“I feel better because I was hugged by my sister.”

I nuzzled my face against his chest, buying myself a little more recovery time.

It’s good to be by Arna’s side by serving one person, but it’s also good to be held like a baby, rubbing your face against your older sister’s chest, and just quietly receiving what she gives you.

It’s like a dog or cat that gets food when you just show it a little bit of cuteness.

When I crossed the line the other day, I thought something had happened to me, but the truth is, isn’t this happiness?

Maybe it’s because I woke up after a good night’s sleep, but I feel like my thoughts are a little healthier.

“Really? Then I’ll hug you more. You can go slowly. I will stay by your side until Jihoo gets better.”

“Ugh… .”

As I continued to press my face against her chest, Arna soon let go of me.

“Now, wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

Then he hurriedly got up and turned toward the crypt.

uh? What did I do wrong again?

“Arna! There’s slime inside.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

And for some reason, Arna just walked away without even looking at me.

Are you still concerned about what happened back then?

After that time, I thought it wasn’t much different from my usual Arna, but looking back, I think there were subtle differences… … .

As I sat there thinking about these things for a while, Larisa motioned to me.

“Is Jihoo going to be outside?”

“Uh, uh. I’m going.”

I got up right away and followed Arna.

So we all went into the crypt together. As soon as they entered the crypt, Larissa told them about what she had researched beforehand.

“There was no movement. Right now, I think I can just approach stealthily and lightly scratch the body with a knife.”

Larissa held out a bottle with preservation magic to Arna.

Arna nodded and disappeared.

“Wow, the elf’s hiding… .”

Larisa rubbed her eyes and nodded in satisfaction when she saw Arna, who could not feel her presence even though she was next to him.

Arna took the lead, and Larissa and I followed slowly at a distance that would not interfere.

And soon a slightly larger space appeared.

A slime appeared in the center of the space. A round lump of liquid stained with a strange green color.

Just like a mushroom, I instinctively felt that the more colorful it was, the more dangerous it was.

However, it is a slime, a lump of liquid whose emotions and state are completely unknown. Larissa said it was asleep, but I’m not sure what would lead her to that conclusion.

However, even until Arna got close to it, the slime remained still as if it were not a living thing.

Arna opened the bottle with a slightly nervous expression and lightly scraped the slime’s body.

It was impossible to cut the slime’s body with just a dagger.

Therefore, add a little bit of magic to the dagger to have cutting power against slime, which is a lump of magic, but don’t go too far and cause the body to explode. It is a fairly elaborate work.

I held my breath and watched.

Soon a lump of slime was filled in the bottle, and Arna slowly returned to us.

And when I showed him the lump of slime I had collected, I was finally able to breathe.

“Phew, that’s it. I was nervous about what would happen if it exploded.”

“Oh, the condition is perfect?”

Larissa and I admired the pieces of slime in the bottle.

The slime pieces were mushy in the bottle. It feels like it’s alive.

While I was looking at the mushy thing, I suddenly looked up and saw the slime behind Arna.

It was moving exactly like the piece in the bottle.

“Noona! Behind you!”

“Huh?”

Arna turned her head and was quickly eaten by the slime that got closer.

“Sister!”

The slime’s attack method is to swallow the opponent with its body and melt it inside the body. Arna could easily escape, but… .

For some reason, I’m just struggling and can’t get out.

I drew my sword.

And almost reflexively, he swung the sword with magical power.

“Wow!”

As it was swung, a trace larger than the sword was left behind, and the slime’s body exploded, and Arna inside came out again.

“Heo Eok… , go… Thank you Jihoo.”

Arna came out with her entire body wet with sticky slime.

I could see that my clothes were about to melt slightly. The clothes made of thick leather had become so thin that the skin inside was barely visible.

I swallowed my saliva, grabbed her, and made her sit down.

uh?

“Ji, Jihoo. wait for a sec… !”

Arna’s urgent voice was heard.

When I touched it, the shoulder part of Arna’s clothes was torn. The white, hard flesh was exposed, and Arna bit her lip to cover the torn area.

And then I saw Larisa. Larissa looked confused for a moment, then took off the robe she was wearing and held it out.

“Thank you.”

“Uh, yeah… Thank you.”

Larissa smiled awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders, and I put the robe on Arna.

Then he held my shoulder again and said what I wanted to say.

“Sit down for a moment. I’ll finish it.”

I saw the slime again.

Although the slime’s body was split apart to save Arna, unlike ordinary slimes that explode when hit by magic, the body slowly began to come together again.

“If it were a normal slime, it would disappear completely like this… . Jihoo, you used magic, right?”

“That’s right.”

Larissa looked like she couldn’t believe that I had attacked the slime just a moment ago.

Because I’ve never seen myself using magical powers.

“Then, this time, let’s attack together like in the old days. I’ll put my magic in your weapon.”

“Good.”

I used to borrow Larissa’s power when fighting opponents that I couldn’t defeat with simple physical attacks.

A coordinated attack that attacks with Larissa’s magic power in the sword.

It will be a much higher quality attack than the previous attack that simply used magical power.

Larissa placed her hand on my sword and briefly chanted a spell. A flame-like red light appeared under her feet, and she could gradually feel the heat coming from the sword.

“Well, what is it? How strong are you doing?”

“Wow! That sword is really good! Are you taking all this magic?”

When Larissa finished the spell and opened her eyes, fire immediately broke out from the sword that was heating up. I couldn’t stand for long because the heat felt like my hands were going to get cooked.

“Ugh, here we go!”

With the flaming sword, I struck the top of the slime that had gathered together again.

― Hwareuk

And immediately, the slime’s entire body caught fire.

It is said that unlike ordinary fire that spreads through oil, fire created by magic responds to magical energy.

The fire will not go out until those lumps of magical power are painfully burned away.

I backed away from the slime that had turned into a huge fireball.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

The appearance was quite threatening. A giant slime with its entire body on fire.

“Yes, it will disappear soon.”

Larissa then created a defensive wall between the slime and us.

“But you never know. Jihoo, shouldn’t you take care of your elf sister?”

Well, that’s right.

I approached Arna, who was sitting down in tears.

“Sister. are you okay? Are there any injuries?”

I think this is my first time asking this question. This is something Arna always asks me.

“Yes… But it’s so… I feel so bad. eww… . Maybe because this is on it, the magic doesn’t work.”

Yes, it seems. There was sticky stuff all over my body.

Moreover, the slime’s mucus felt like it was suppressing the body’s magical power. Even though I just touched what was on Arna’s body, I felt like my body was becoming heavy.

I understand why I couldn’t get out of the slime’s body.

I created a healing spell in my hand and grabbed Arna’s shoulder. As the healing magic slowly spread, Arna’s expression brightened slightly.

“Haha, I still feel good because Jihoo is worried about me.”

“Really? I also understand how you feel.”

“Huh?”

In Arna’s eyes, did my appearance, soaked from the rain, look this salty and cute?

I smiled and wiped the things off Arna’s face.

“If I had sent my sister alone, I would have been in big trouble.”

“… … I know. It’s a good thing you came together.”

I wiped her face and traced Arna’s body again, using healing magic from her shoulders to her arms.

“The slime is all burned and gone.”

Arna was startled by Larissa’s words and got up from my grasp.

“Thank goodness. Larissa is pretty strong too.”

“Hehe, even if you look like this, you are a wizard who helped the hero who defeated the Demon King.”

Arna tilted her head again at the story of the Demon King, but when she saw the slime that was quickly burned, she let out a small sigh.

“It’s not as easy as the one in the forest… .”

“Don’t worry too much. It wasn’t because I was weak, I just let my guard down.”

Arna nodded at my consolation and smiled slightly.

For some reason, even though she was naturally the same older sister as usual, it feels like she’s consciously trying to awkwardly distance herself from me.

It seems like he keeps avoiding his hands… .

Is it because of Larissa? I can’t say that, but before that, I hugged and fed him and did everything as if I was bragging.

“Let’s go back.”

“Are you going to go to the forest right away?”

“That should be it.”

Larissa smiled and took Arna and my arm.

“Could you stop by the village for a moment and share some of that slime sample? I also have a question.”

“Then sister.”

Arna nodded at my words.

“Yes, Larissa helped me a lot too. I should grant you that much favor.”

“Wow, thank you.”

It was something Larissa might be interested in.

This is the first time since I came here that I have seen a slime that can block elf-level magical power by swallowing it.

“But does it make sense for there to be slimes like this?”

“Yes, slimes are just blobs with no intelligence. The power it has is quite large. Moreover, the stronger the ability, the more sensitive the body becomes, making it difficult to collect.”

I had never even heard of such a great piece of slime. But what we got this time seems quite useful.

It’s a piece of slime that can block even an elf’s magic power… … Is it really okay to have something like this?

So we finished extermination of the slime and went back to the nearby village first.

Larissa headed to the magic shop to replicate and sample some of the slime pieces.

A magic store is a place where various auxiliary items are supplied and sold or where wizards do things that are too cumbersome or bothersome for them to do themselves.

It was a place where the results depended a lot on skill, with each region having its own reputation, but there was only one magic store in Ende Village.

And that place was run by an orc named Cheshire, whom we encountered on the way to the marsh.

“Uh, uh… Welcome.”

Cheshire looked quite embarrassed, as if he had not expected that he would come to visit so soon after that.

“I’m trying to duplicate a piece of slime and make it a specimen. Please do it.”

“Yes? Oh, of course. The fee is… .”

“I almost died because of you, so just do it.”

“Ha… … . Let’s do that. what… This is what I’m going to do. Then.”

Cheshire, unlike the orc’s unique rough appearance, appears to be kind and harmful at heart. I can’t believe you really accepted such an outrageous request.

“This is it. I heard that there was a strange slime in the wetlands, but it seemed quite dangerous, so I couldn’t even think of collecting it. As expected, you did it easily.”

At those words, Arna slightly turned her head with a shy expression.

The situation was a little different from what he said, saying he did it easily as an elf.

It was easy to duplicate a piece of slime.

However, making samples was a time-consuming task, so Arna and I took the slime pieces and went to an inn with bathing facilities.

“I want to wash up quickly. Ugh.”

Even Arna, who always smelled fresh, started to smell really bad.

I’ve already been wandering around for about three days, and since I’ve been in and out of slime, the smell is bound to be strong enough to reveal my presence even if I roll around in a flower field.

“Oh, indeed. Jihoo. They say men and women have to go in here separately.”

“Oh, really?”

It must be because it’s outside.

“You know that Noona is a woman and Jihoo is a man, right?”

“Yes.”

“So you can wash by yourself?”

I nodded, and Arna smiled and stroked my head.

So, I parted ways with Arna at the crossroads between the men’s and women’s baths.