episode_0045

I shivered as the cold water droplets touched the back of my neck.

It was water dripping from the cave ceiling.

I had already been hit by the water droplets several times, but each time they were so cold that I flinched.

Since falling into the depths of the demon realm, I had been wandering through the seemingly endless cave.

I didn’t know where I was heading, or where I was even walking.

I had to keep moving forward endlessly because if I stayed still, I would just wither away and die.

I didn’t even have the expectation of finding an escape route.

The narration had already confirmed that there was no way out right now.

I wasn’t looking for an escape route at the moment.

I was trying to find a way to survive here.

“I’m glad you’re here too.”

I said to Shari, who was clinging to my head and following me.

She couldn’t speak, so there was no response, but I could sense Shari’s feelings through her consciousness.

Having someone to communicate with in this situation was a great comfort.

Grrr…

I heard the sound of my stomach growling, demanding food.

Thoughts of the food I had eaten in Kubeul came to mind, making me feel miserable.

There was nothing to eat in this damn cave.

The glowing mushrooms and moss growing on the walls and floor looked like they shouldn’t be eaten.

My stomach probably wouldn’t agree with them, and eating anything that grew in the wild was risky.

If there were bats or similar animals, at least they would have a body toughened by magic that I could try to catch and eat with my bare hands.

No, even if I caught something like that, I probably wouldn’t be able to eat it because it would be too disgusting.

Judging by these thoughts, I must be really hungry.

I was also very uneasy about not having the sword that I always carried around my waist.

In the depths of the demon realm, monsters could suddenly appear.

But all I had to protect myself were my clenched fists.

“Yunoa was wandering hungry in the depths of the demon realm.

But he didn’t know.

That he had entered the territory where the demons and monsters of this place lived.”

The narration seemed to be trying to scare me, but I actually felt relieved.

Being in a place with demons and monsters was much better than wandering around in a place with nothing.

If monsters were going to appear, I hoped they would be edible monsters.

Come to think of it, there was a dish made with slime as an ingredient that was sold in Kubeul.

Slime… could I eat it?

“Huh?”

At that moment, I saw a large treasure chest in front of the cave wall.

It was unmistakably a treasure chest, as anyone could tell by its appearance.

With nothing else around, the treasure chest was just sitting there.

Curious, I approached and examined it.

Was there something inside?

Carefully reaching out to open the chest.

“Wow!”

The treasure chest opened on its own, revealing a long tongue that stretched out.

And that waiting tongue licked my face.

I was instantly covered in saliva and fell back.

“Ugh…”

I quickly wiped the sticky and slippery saliva off my face with my hand.

A living treasure chest, a mimic.

I had heard of them before, but this was the first time I had actually seen one.

The mimic had its mouth wide open, with sharp teeth and a tongue sticking out, making a clicking sound.

Fortunately, it didn’t have legs, so it couldn’t move.

Just looking at it made me feel nauseous.

Although I didn’t have a sword, maybe I should give it a punch.

If I focused my magical power on my fist, it might have some destructive power, right?

I didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, but it seemed like a good idea to practice fighting this guy with my bare hands.

I focused my mind and gathered magic in my right hand.

And as I ran forward to strike the Mimic…

“Don’t do it!”

I stopped in my tracks as a sudden shout came from behind.

Turning to the source of the voice, I saw a peculiar-looking girl.

She was a pretty human girl, but her skin color was a bit different.

A moonlight-colored bluish-green skin.

Moreover, a faint light was emanating from her skin.

The most striking thing was on top of her head.

A mushroom.

A small mushroom was growing on her head.

It was as if colorful little mushrooms were deliberately planted to be visible on her forehead.

Resembling a human, but definitely not human, the girl approached me and said, “Arong is my pet. Please don’t hit him.”

“Arong?”

When I asked, the girl pointed her finger at the Mimic.

The Mimic still had its mouth wide open, showing its grotesque long tongue.

“Arong~ Let’s eat!”

The girl approached the Mimic, took out a small piece of meat from a leather pouch, and skillfully threw it into the Mimic’s mouth.

As soon as the meat entered its mouth, the Mimic closed its mouth and chewed, then stuck out its tongue in satisfaction.

“Hey… who are you?”

I asked the girl who was petting the Mimic.

Honestly, I was a bit shocked even just looking at her.

Raising a monster as a pet like a domestic animal.

“I’m Kiki. Huh? Oh no! Your mushroom is gone…”

Introducing herself as Kiki, the mushroom girl pointed at my head with a surprised expression.

Why? What? What happened to my head?

I was also surprised and started feeling my head with my hands.

“There’s no mushroom!”

“Huh?”

“It’s a big problem! You’re infected with a deadly disease!”

Kiki grabbed my wrist tightly.

“Let’s go to the village! If you don’t get treatment quickly…”

“Huh? What? I mean…”

“Quickly!”

Kiki desperately grabbed my wrist and pulled me along.

Is it such a big deal to not have a mushroom on my head?

But then I remembered the piece of meat the girl threw to the Mimic earlier.

Even if she had thrown it to me instead of the Mimic, I would have eaten it deliciously.

I was really hungry right now.

This mushroom girl is probably a demon.

Rather than wandering alone in the underground, wouldn’t it be better to go to a nearby demon village if there is one?

If I follow Kiki for now, I should be able to reach the village where she lives.

Above all, I knew through the ghost Shari that not all demons were bad guys.

And Kiki, who was trying so hard to drag me along, didn’t seem like a bad kid.

“Whoa-! Wait! I’ll go! I’ll go!”

As Kiki started running, I almost stumbled forward due to her unexpectedly strong force.

Demons are demons. They have a much stronger power compared to human girls.

I ran hard after Kiki, hoping to at least get a meal at the place where she lives.

* * *

The village we arrived at with Kiki was a fascinating place.

In the center of the village, a small stream flowed, and houses were built on flat stones of varying heights on either side.

The unique thing was the shape of the houses.

Instead of houses built using wood or stone, the houses themselves were giant mushrooms.

It was a village that looked like it could come straight out of a fairy tale, with windows and doors attached to the huge mushrooms as if they were built that way.

Furthermore, like Kiki who brought me here, the people in the village all had mushrooms growing on their foreheads.

Kiki’s mushroom on her head was very small, but other people were growing bigger mushrooms on their heads.

Are all these demons growing mushrooms on their heads?

Judging by Kiki’s reaction, it seemed like she thought it would be a big problem if there were no mushrooms on her head.

“Oh no! Oh no! The mushroom on this person’s head has died!”

As soon as Kiki arrived in the village, she ran around shouting.

The villagers’ attention immediately focused on me.

“Uh… haha……”

I awkwardly chuckled in response to their stares.

Shortly after, a young man approached me with a sharp look in his eyes, holding a long spear.

And he pushed the tip of the spear towards me and asked, “Who are you? How did you get here?”

I didn’t want to provoke him, but it was a bit difficult to deal with someone threatening me with a spear.

Kiki, who was guiding me, asked the young man with a puzzled expression, “Venos oppa, this person is in big trouble! The mushroom on his head has died! That’s why Kiki brought him here.”

“Kiki, this guy is not from the Karia tribe. Humans don’t naturally have mushrooms on their heads.”

“Is this guy a bad person?”

“….Probably.”

The young man called Venos pushed the spear threateningly towards me and said, “Well… I just got lost and followed that kid here.”

“Human beings don’t come all the way here just because they got lost.”

It was impossible to argue.

For a normal human, falling into the ridiculously deep hole in the Horn Canyon and coming all the way here riding the water stream was an unbelievable thing.

“Well… I have no intention of doing anything bad.”

“Who would believe that? You humans are the ones who can’t kill our demons and are always dissatisfied.”

Again, it was impossible to argue.

Even my activity in Kubele, demons were perceived as beings that should be killed as soon as they appeared.

Let’s think about it the other way around.

If a demon suddenly appeared in Kubele and said, “I got lost,” what would happen?

Probably, as soon as they showed up, adventurers from the guild would rush out and try to kill each other.

People with blue skin and mushrooms on their heads gathered around me one by one.

They all held weapons and approached me as if surrounding me.

Looking at Kiki, who brought me here, a young man hid Kiki behind the people as if to protect her from ‘evil humans’.

This is… a big problem.

No matter how you look at it, this was not a situation that could be resolved with words.

But I didn’t have any weapons, and I didn’t want to harm these people either.

“It’s no use talking.”

Venos seemed to be putting strength into his hand to stab me with the spear.

But then.

“….!”

Suddenly, Shari sprang out of my head and stood in front of me with her arms outstretched as if to protect me.

Judging by her reaction, Shari seemed to be showing her full appearance to these mushroom demons.

Shake, shake.

Shake, shake.

Shari desperately shook her head from side to side, looking at the mushroom demons surrounding me.

And then, the tense atmosphere that had been present just moments ago seemed to loosen up a bit.

“A pureblooded demon like the Demon King… Who is this person…?”

Venos, with a surprised expression, lowered the spear that was pointed at me.

There was a murmuring sound around me.

I’m not sure what’s going on, but for now, it seems like we’ve averted the crisis.

Shari… I’m truly grateful to you.