episode_0096

If silence has depth, how far has it sunk by now?

They say that communication between people is possible in dense silence, but aren’t we experiencing that right now?

There was no conversation.

But now that I was separated from the hug, I felt like I could feel many emotions in his eyes.

The worry, the fear that I might leave.

The joy I felt the moment I said I wouldn’t leave.

The embarrassment and smile that I held his hand was subtly conveyed.

How long was the silence like that? Kylon carefully said my name.

“Veronica… ”

“Well, isn’t it morning? What about the kids?”

“… That’s right, but can I just hug you like this?”

“You hugged me just now, right?”

“That’s not what it means… ”

Then what does it mean to embrace… ah.

He said he wanted to rape me right now.

Kylon sighed, wondering if he really had to say something like that at a moment like this, but I also thought that it was because I touched his emotions.

Because you always said that I made you look bad.

In fact, there were several reasons why I did not allow him to be present. Part of me just felt repulsed by the idea of being hugged by a man’s body, and furthermore, part of me was afraid that if I lost my body’s abilities, I would have no use for it anywhere.

Whatever it was, having sex while suddenly being held by a man in a changed body was something I didn’t want to do, and I didn’t want to let go of my ability at this moment, so I shook my head.

“… You know, but if my abilities disappear, everyone will have a hard time.”

“It’s okay, I worked harder. Just like you said, I will do my best.”

“… Is it morning? Kids can come?”

Kylon narrowed his eyes at my words and then groaned.

“At night, will you allow it?”

“… I’m not sure, I’ll think about it.”

I was speechless as Kylon continued to say that even if I didn’t have the skills, I could do it.

In the end, unable to endure another stubborn refusal, I just muttered and said that.

“Think positively.”

“… Umm, okay.”

“Then, let’s go now.”

Kailon said that, removed the body he had placed on top of me, and stood up.

After that, he adjusted his appearance and held my hand to help me up.

As I held his hand and lifted myself up, I could feel him looking at me with those glowing, loving eyes.

I looked at him subtly, wondering why he was looking at me like that, and he sighed, cleared his throat, and walked out the door.

I thought it was a truly eventful morning. In an atmosphere where I almost got raped, I internally sighed in relief, thinking that the reason I managed to get over it was because he didn’t really mean to do that to me.

I think he’s probably not someone who will seriously attack me in the future.

He’ll wait until I can fully compose myself. I pondered how to push him away from now on, but I slumped my shoulders, thinking that this was a problem I would have to face at some point.

“I like it.”

The moment I left the door, Kailon whispered that to me and moved forward.

I was startled and my body trembled, but I still thought that was because Kylon was that kind of person, so I just brushed it off and took a step forward.

*

Already in the fourth village, the moment to meet the third Ganghwa Stone has arrived.

And this trip began with the information that the current location was not something that the village head had inherited as an heirloom, but was in the body of a monster.

The heroines who followed Kylon seemed to be more passionate somehow.

I didn’t know what Kylon had said to them, or if they just saw how I could be used and decided to vent, but I thought it was time to rejoice in the fact that the overall power of this party had increased.

I went to find the third reinforcement stone.

The landscape of the fourth village was not made up entirely of trees like the first village, nor was it made entirely of stones like the second village, nor was it a combination of the two like the third village.

Perhaps because of the concept of bricks, I could see that the surrounding area was decorated with bricks of different shapes, starting from the footpath.

When leaving such a village, it was natural that weeds would always grow in abundance in places untouched by humans, and trees and grass would block the road.

Therefore, on the party’s way out, Agnes and Flora took the lead in clearing away obstacles in front of them.

With the rapier, vines and long grass were cut down, and for things such as tree trunks that were difficult to cut with the rapier, new paths were made with Flora’s cutting magic.

This monster was neither a beast nor an insect like before.

Just as the plants were so lush, the owners of this forest were also plants.

If plants have degenerated to the point where they have an ego and can harbor hostility toward others, shouldn’t they even be called animals? I put aside this serious concern and moved forward.

As we entered the forest, the grass grew taller.

The weeds that had been up to my ankles were about to reach my knees, and the vines and branches that were only covering my head were coming down one after another, almost as if they were trying to block my upper body.

According to Kailon, the owner of this forest is a flower.

Although it is a vine plant, it is a monster that blooms flowers. Among them was said to be a deadly monster filled with poisonous spores, but Flora took the lead, holding a staff, saying that she would step forward to see if she knew how to decipher it.

Even though I could have taken the initiative, should I say it was a morning argument with Kailon? Anyway, after the conversation, I passively returned to the role of heroine and just followed along with my mouth shut, watching what the others were saying.

They informed me in advance of the obstacles blocking the path and removed them, so I didn’t have to worry about any inconvenience other than just following along.

Actually, I wondered if I could be this comfortable, but since no one else was telling me what to do, I just closed my eyes and followed along for once.

As I moved forward, it seemed like I had started in the morning, but the sunlight was fading as it was already getting late in the evening.

It seemed like the stronger monsters were slowly starting to protect their own safety, so for us trying to find them, it seemed like we were going to have a lot of fights that would take more than a day.

Anxiety passed through my entire body.

Instead of going into a frenzy and blindly rushing at a human, they hide in a safe place to protect their own safety, inflate their strength, and expand their territory.

It was no longer the realm of monsters and monsters.

It seemed to evoke anxiety for no reason because it seemed to hint at the appearance of another intelligent being.

If I could just go back, I wouldn’t have cared whether such danger lurked in this world or not, but the fact that I had to face it head on made me groan.

Because I’ve always been a coward.

Since I’ve always been a fool who just runs away, I don’t want to be a fool just now, so I walk along with Kylon’s back.

After receiving this help, I had no idea how he left this party and said he was going to kill the demon lord on his own.

Maybe all I could think about was killing myself, burning myself, and ultimately killing my enemy.

Still, since I was trying to choose the lesser evil rather than the worst, it might not have been such a bad choice.

After thinking about this and that, as evening approached, I was able to see Kailon looking for a flat place in the vine-covered forest to find a campsite and setting up a tent.

We kicked up the grass, made a place to make a bonfire, and took out some dead trees to make a place to sit.

There was no better place to warm up around the bonfire, cook, and light up the surroundings.

“… ‘Lapsia’. A monster that eats other stems of gigantic flowers and acts as a parasite on them as if they were its own body. Kylon, can you win this? Since it’s already a forest, it’s not like you’ve entered the monster’s stomach, right?”

After listing the names of the monsters and what they looked like, Agnes became anxious and narrowed her eyes.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand that feeling.

If it were a beast, this would be at a disadvantage since this is its home ground. You could say that, but since it is a plant, this place can be seen as no different from the monster’s stomach, so there is no way I wouldn’t be anxious.

Kailon nodded at Agnes’ words and tried to reassure her.

“It’s okay. Now, eat this.”

Then, as Kailon handed the soup and bread to the others, I could see them eating it deliciously.

After all, it has inventory capabilities, so it’s nice not to have to carry a heavy bag. While thinking this, I quietly looked at the soup I also received.

After putting it in my mouth,

As expected, the taste was not really felt.