episode_0047

According to the circumstances, the person named Elysia was a siren.

How are you going to catch the flying siren?

I’m worried that I might get hit by an arrow before I do anything.

Arrows are slow enough to be caught with the eye, and can be seen and dodged from a certain distance.

Thanks to this, you need to build a fire net to catch the flying siren.

“I know that humans like Elysia, but don’t associate it like that. Elysia is the bailiff.”

“If your life is in danger, isn’t it natural to retreat? There is something strange about these looters.”

“In what way?”

Alvin caught his breath.

“The traces are too clean to be considered a thief who came to steal property. From what I’ve seen, they are not an ordinary band of thieves. These guys are experts.”

Jules let out a sigh.

“Humans are fascinated by white-winged sirens.”

white wings?

Isn’t that an angel? Even in a world without angels, there are people who like angels. Slowly, the number of people increases.

Several Ramrats were loading paper into a wagon.

There were several soldiers nearby, keeping watch.

······It’s insignificant.

If things were moved that way, it would definitely be worth looting.

All you have to do is kill them all and drive the horses. Do you really want to loot those cute things in the first place?

A tall crypt was built around the stable. This seems to be the entrance to the root village. It is normal for it to collapse if it is built that big without a pedestal or pillar, but it is not collapsing.

As I followed Jules into the crypt, a sweet smell wafted from inside.

······Is the floor soft?

When I turned around, there were footprints left. It looks like you stepped on a sponge rather than dirt. The floor began to swell little by little, erasing my footprints.

“···The floor is soft?”

“It’s because this place is inside a mushroom.”

“Yes…?”

“The mushrooms and plants that grow on the ground are either parasitic species of these mushrooms, or are the heads of these mushrooms.”

···Mushroom head?

What… Ah! The roots of mushrooms gather together at one root like enoki mushrooms! The mushrooms growing on the ground were so small—of course they weren’t small, but they were so small that I didn’t expect there to be something this big underneath.

“It’s okay to tear down the walls here. It’s sweet, chewy, and easy to digest.”

Ervin’s eyes narrowed at what Juul said with a hearty laugh.

“Please don’t teach things like that. If you really eat it, won’t the appearance of the village get worse?”

“Can you really eat it?”

Alvin closed his mouth.

He must have been annoyed. Of course, I have no intention of eating raw mushrooms or anything like that. Because I already tried it. There’s probably a separate part somewhere that can be eaten.

“There are five root villages around here. Among them, this village is the biggest.”

Elvin glanced at me.

“Are you teaching that slave?”

“Yes.”

“Juyul, if you are a squire, even if you are not a human being───.”

“It’s not a seed. Slave.”

“······Is that so?”

The conversation stopped.

After that, I walked quietly.

There were various forks in the road, but I couldn’t go there.

A rustic lamp embedded in a mushroom burned on the wall. Occasionally, a Ramrat passing by would stare at me or be startled.

All of them were cute, but occasionally you could see a ramrat that looked like a toad or a toad. How far would we have gone after being distracted by such people? Suddenly the cave widened.

“Wow…”

What was immediately visible was a cavity the size of a soccer field.

There is a lot of water flowing underground from where it comes from. That must be drinking water. The cavity was underground, and there was a staircase leading down like a screwdriver.

Since I was at the highest point, I could clearly see below.

The wall of the stairs going down had large and small paths carved into it, and in some places there were doors and signs. Through the hole in the ceiling, some light flowed in and brightened the interior.

Just like a modern building, glass was made and attached to the ceiling.

Tree roots were coming straight down through the ceiling. There were a lot of mushrooms of the same species that I had seen along the way, even on the roots of the trees. But rather than being dead, the tree looked healthy.

Because there was a flower garden spread out here.

From primitive fern-like plants to pleasant-smelling flowers. The leaves that were unable to photosynthesize have turned into colorful leaves, but the leaves are vividly alive.

Plants with purple or blue leaves were also rarely seen. When I looked at a place I hadn’t seen before, I saw that there was even a tree growing inside the mushroom. The trees inside the mushrooms had dark autumn leaves.

Most of the colors are yellow, red, and orange, and the trees located in areas that receive sunlight through the glass on the ceiling retain their green color. Even though it is a mushroom, it has so many colors that it vaguely feels like a cave.

Literally, it was a flower garden.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

Juul pretended to be popular.

It’s because I fell behind. I hurried to catch up, but was soon captivated by this beautiful sight again. ···How is this possible?

“This is inside the mushroom?”

“There are three more cavities like this. And the road is terribly difficult. There are people who wandered here for days.”

It meant to follow properly.

“No, what kind of mushroom… How does the root grow to this size?”

“It is the power of the great Mother Goddess.”

I’m not looking for God, but something that can be scientifically explained─── I need to get used to this, but I can’t. Jules stole a glance at my face.

“You try to understand everything.”

“Of course.”

“Have you ever heard that there are mushrooms or plants that are parasitic on mushrooms?”

I’ve seen the opposite, but I’ve never seen a plant parasitic on a mushroom.

“No.”

“This mushroom has lived for so long that the surrounding mushrooms and plants have parasitized, taken root, and adapted to it. It is the only place in Pangea. I received the blessings of the nameless Mother Goddess.”

I understand what you mean.

It means not to understand the power of God.

“Of course. There’s no comparison between Ogre’s nest, right?”

“What are you talking about? There are some bad points here too.”

Jules was completely embarrassed and shook his head as if it made no sense. It was cute.

“What’s bad about it?”

“Because the mushrooms are restored by the power of the nameless Mother Earth, the wall must be replaced at certain intervals.”

It’s almost the size of a soccer field, and even at first glance, it’s as tall as a five-story apartment building. You said there are more cavities like this there. Is this going to recover? How did they dig this up in the first place? Shouldn’t we at least bring an excavator?

“How do you eat cut mushrooms?”

“That’s right. Sap will flow below, and if the rainy season comes or something big happens on the ground, we just leave the entrance to recover naturally. Thanks to this, the entrance changes every year. Who knew there was a place like this under the ground?”

They say that all the lakes down there are mushroom water.

As the name honey mushroom suggests, it had a sweet smell that made me want to try it.

“How do cooked mushrooms taste?”

“It’s delicious. It’s so bad that even Shir can’t use it.”

“I would like you to take a look later and follow me now.”

Elvin hurried his steps.

What on earth does it taste like if it’s delicious to a hosot who loves meat and raw food? As I walked along Elvin, I ended up walking where the crowds of Ramrat were concentrated.

It’s a market.

It was the same as the market I saw in my neighborhood when I was young. Since there was no refrigerator, the grocery vendors offered their products to customers like fish sellers at a fish market.

However, most of the Ramrats paid no attention to the vegetables and were mostly looking for meat. Perhaps because of the deer meat, several ramrats are sniffing and looking at the dried fish I carried.

Even though it has a strong scent, it seems to be begging to be sold. Does this place only handle groceries?

I was wondering if they might sell the paper or wick, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s probably handled on a different floor. It was a little disappointing.

“Here.”

“Yes.”

It seems that the market was a route one passed through.

The elf entered another path at the corner of the market.

At that moment, the road narrowed and so many ramrats and elves disappeared in an instant.

To the point of anxiety.

I had no idea that popularity would decrease so much just because the road changed. It’s still noisy in the back──.

” Rat rate?”

“Bas?”

uh?

A black-furred Ramrat carrying something on its back was looking up at Juul. Overall, it resembles a wolf, but is much smaller.

It was similar to mine.

From what we’ve seen so far, considering that ramrats exceeding 1.5m are very rare, that ramrat was very sturdy. At that size, assuming it is a person, it would be over 2m tall.

Ramrat, called Bas, bared his teeth.

puck!

Soon, with a twinkle in his eye, he ripped off Jool’s armor. Jules remained silent as if he wasn’t in pain.

“Hey! you! You didn’t take me when I asked you to take me?!”

“You are useless. I don’t know how to do anything.”

“What? What─?!”

They drive nails into people’s hearts with a sledgehammer.

My heart is so torn that it is sinking.

“Such a piggy bitch! Then what does that little thing know how to do?!”

Vas suddenly kicked Jules in the shin.

Juul walked while dodging Bas’s attack.

Vas tripped on Jules leg and fell down.

“Ugh?!”

Deep!

With the sound of the wind blowing, Bas’ body was buried in the mushrooms. Bath jumped up, but the marks of his fall remain clearly on the floor. It’s so funny. Bas frowned like an animal and glared at Jules’ back.

“I’m also an executioner now.”

“Okay. Do your best.”

Jules passed by without even looking back.

Vas dared to attack Juul and then glared at me.

“······What is good about such an idiotic person?”

My mouth is rough. I’m also good at swearing like that.

But looking at the face that looked like it was about to cry, I wasn’t particularly angry. When Vas looked at me, he stared at Jules’ back in vain, and then followed us from a distance.

Now you can no longer even hear the bustle of the market.

Only the soft sound of footsteps on snow echoed quietly in the surroundings.

“Can you stop harassing Bas? We even hunted down trolls who were causing a ruckus.”

Jules shrugged.

“What’s so big about trolls?”

“It’s not just about Seolrang. Like Juyul, Bas also passed the executive exam. Besides, isn’t Bath a Ramrat? Physical differences must be taken into account! This is Executive Ramrat, who came out after 20 years. Do you know how long you have been practicing since Seolrang refused to take you as a squire? After that, I hunted seven kobolds by myself and killed a water mantis by myself. Bath…”

You can tell just by looking at Jules’ back.

I’m hearing everything. Elvin continued talking for a long time. Most of them were asking us to understand Bath. It seems that Vas was close to Jules in the past.

“So, I hope you respect Bas from next time. You’re all there.”

Finding the good in people is also a talent.

I was so amazed by the barrage of compliments that continued for several minutes that I didn’t realize I was almost there.

Although he only looked young on the outside, he was a great person. How can a ramrat’s body fight a kobold? I have encountered them firsthand.

Savages who tear their prey alive and eat them.

If there were a bunch of kobolds, even Hosot wouldn’t have the talent to deal with them.

“The representatives and tribal chiefs of each root village are gathered together, so it would be good to hear detailed stories from them.”

“Uh. Uh.”

As Ervin turned around to leave, he looked at Jules’ face and shook his head and sighed. I think Jules knew he was letting his words slip by one ear. When Jules was scolded by his parents, he had the look on his face of a child who put his head down on the floor and examined the pattern of the flooring.

“You go with me.”

“Yes──Eh?!”

ah.

When Elvin held out his hand to me, Jules tugged on my hand. Elvin, who made a futile attempt to catch me, looks up at Jules.

He looked like he was going to die of frustration.

“I will take you with me.”

“Twelve Ramrats were killed by humans! You’re taking humans there?! Not only slaves, but even Mr. Juyul might be viewed in a negative light!”

“I don’t care how you look at me. I’m here to do my job, I don’t plan on giving you anything other than that.”

Jules takes my hand.

“But you don’t need this slave for this job, do you?! I can interpret, and everyone at the venue speaks Elvish!”

“He didn’t loot it. It’s not good to judge people based solely on their race.”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to go in──.”

“You shut up.”

You say I can’t go in?

Juul’s unique push can’t be helped, but adding My Way to it makes no sense. Elvin tried to say something more, but eventually swallowed his words. I opened the door that was getting closer.

“···I don’t know what happens?”