episode_0107

107. Body adjustment

When Zion developed an eccentricity and showed signs of being completely useless in exploration due to her aversion to cats, her colleagues immediately shunned her.

And he had to turn away from the people sent by the empire to find out his whereabouts.

After gathering information about the currency used in the labyrinth city in advance, he set up a base in the black market by using the numerous precious metals he brought with him when he left the dukedom and most of the money he had saved while exploring over a period of just under a year.

Zion attempted to remodel the building itself to prevent anyone with magical knowledge or power from finding it.

Sion chose a small building because it would be difficult to use magic in a large building due to the rejection reaction from the magic circle and spells.

Of course, there were a lot of people who tried to approach and tease Zion, who had the body of a child and the appearance of a sneezing child.

The recipes and catalysts had to be carved and drawn directly on the building, which took even more time, which was a bit depressing.

However, when I paid a large sum of money to an elf named Juri, who I had a conflict with before and had become acquainted with, she protected me and also erased the information that I was a member of the Gresha family.

Getting help from an elven pimp who managed the women coming in and out of the brothels in the back alleys… Sion let out a self-deprecating smile, but sadly she was the only one who could help him.

Eventually, she decorated her shop like a potion shop, and, since it didn’t require much maintenance like a small child’s body, she lived off the remaining money and started looking for a way to stop her sneezing.

Zion, who had been suffering from a water-type quirk for a year and was barely able to go about his daily life by burning herbs that would stop his cough, was absent-minded at the time, when he belatedly read the last letter Mari had sent him and went to the union to find Mion’s whereabouts.

“Lukewarm…Lukewarm…”

My heart sank when I saw Mi-on smiling brightly and greeting people at the reception desk.

Zion, who still saw his sister’s shining figure, unconsciously left her sight and hid himself.

At that time, the child who was caught in the forest was subjected to many harsh experiments by his own hands at the order of the head of the household until he died.

When the little creature that had been smiling at him while being cut with a scalpel and having his blood drawn, and when it finally collapsed in the experiment after calling out to him with a longing smile, he felt extremely nauseous.

Zion, who was like that, didn’t have the courage to face Mion and proudly tell her that she was her older sister.

‘Let’s hide.’

The magic circles the receptionists had engraved on their tongues at the union were supposed to be confidentiality agreements, but to Sion, they seemed to contain something a little different.

So, even when I was living as an explorer, I felt a little uneasy whenever I saw the receptionists, but seeing that the magic circle was engraved on the lukewarm tongue made me feel somewhat relieved.

The exact function of the magic circle is not yet known, but the tongue tattoo was not dangerous enough to forcibly restrain the body or have a significant mental impact.

Unlike herself, who had confidently told her husband that she would go to the labyrinth city, Mion ran away.

Perhaps, because of that strange magic circle, it will be difficult for the family to track down Mion. Especially since Mion hasn’t awakened her magic powers in the first place.

After making such a cowardly excuse to himself, Zion ran away and returned to his shop.

And the research continued.

The store’s income was not great because the explorer level was low or only female explorers were accepted.

Fortunately, an elf named Juri knew about Zion’s situation and took pity on him, so she periodically bought him potions, allowing him to survive a little.

Still, I was able to make a living by gaining a few regular customers, and for three years I spent my days locked in the store, thinking about how I would one day do that.

Every night, Zion dreams that he is eventually discovered by the head of the household, taken to a laboratory, and subjected to horrific experiments before dying.

Or, he dreams that Mi-on is surprised by his changed appearance and then criticizes him with a cold expression as if someone told him the truth.

As he had these two dreams alternately every day, Zion’s mind became worn out, he became more and more shy, and his personality became sharp.

A repetitive life of pathologically locking the shop door every day, curling up in the deepest and darkest place in the shop to sleep, and forcing oneself to sleep with a sleep spell.

Then, I recently met Cain and experienced strange things, and I had a lot of complicated changes in my heart.

After meeting Cain and discovering a clue to cure his symptoms, Zion reads the letters from Mari and Mion again for the first time in a long time and cries.

When he was transformed into a water creature by some twist of fate, Mion saved him and he muttered as he was transformed into a child water creature that looked surprisingly similar to the one he had captured.

“Sniff…! This…first of all…I should at least bring up the subject once..”

Sion decided that it was a bit much to ask for sperm every day, so he decided to ask to have the semen collected first, and went to bed.

Perhaps because his body was still hot from rolling around with Cain a little while ago, Zion fell into a clean sleep without even sneezing.

****

“Hmmhmm~”

The evening ride back to the lodging in a good mood after tasting Zion’s treasure and becoming a little closer to it.

While I was leaving the black market at night, I met some scary older sisters and brothers, but I quickly got out.

The guys who come to the black market are usually of a higher level, so it’s still tough to walk around confidently.

“Oh Cain!!”

“Huh? Hey, Hawk uncle!!”

“Khuh!! Where are you wandering around at this time of night?”

Mr. Hawk, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, greets me with a lively laugh.

“I have some business to do at the black market.”

“What, are you hanging around the black market these days?”

Hawk’s eyes twitched and he looked up at me with a strange expression.

“I’m trying to get some potions.”

“Well, since you’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”

However, Hawk nodded vaguely, as if he had remembered something.

“Ah! Cain, I’m about to pay you back some of the money I borrowed. Are you going to accept it?”

“Huh? Since the union notarized it, you can pay it back in installments through Ms. Mi-on.”

“That too, but this kind of thing needs to be paid off quickly~”

Jjang-

He pulls out the pouch that was tied separately on his waist and hands it to me.

“Here’s 50 silver.”

“What?”

No, it’s been about two months since I paid the price for the fight with Claude. You’ve already collected 50 silver?

“Mister.”

“Why did you hurry up and take it? My arm hurts!”

“Take it easy. It’s really messy right now…”

“I’m fine!”

“Stop talking nonsense. Ms. Mi-on is worried too, so why are you being so pushy?”

“Ahem…!”

Even when I asked Ms. Mi-on, she didn’t tell me, and she’s even tight-lipped herself.

“Don’t be like that, mister. Pay me back slowly. Don’t push yourself too hard to pay us back. Instead, do me a favor.”

“Hmm? What do you want?”

“That’s right….”

I’m not upset that I can’t hear the old man’s story right away.

I don’t feel bad because everyone has their own circumstances or secrets… I just felt bad seeing the old man overdoing it, so I suggested another way instead.

He told me about the fact that he recruited Lauren and explored with her, and about her swordsmanship skills.

“Huhhh….”

“What do you think? Do you know why?”

“Hmm… It seems a bit complicated?”

“Really?”

“Sometimes, there are people like that among the explorers. People who have rapid status growth or have heightened physical abilities due to protection, and thus have problems with delicate movements or actions.”

“There are such cases?”

“I said occasionally, right… That elf named Loren didn’t have a proper teacher, so he only swung his sword and trained his body on his own, so the sense of alienation grew even bigger, and that’s why he became so ridiculous.”

“Um…”

When I hear it, it makes sense. Lauren, who only trained his body on his own without learning spirit magic in order to become a swordsman on his own, couldn’t possibly have a proper swordsmanship teacher.

“So, what you’re asking is for me to take a look at that little brat?”

“Ah… Well, if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to do it…”

I was about to answer quickly because I felt a little embarrassed by the slightly sharp tone of the old man’s speech.

“Well, I was planning to take a break for a while, so this is a good thing. I’ll let you off until this month.”

“Really?”

“Okay, but I’ll pay you back the remaining 50 silver slowly, just like you said.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“It’s not like I can fix that little brat’s problems unconditionally.”

“I know, even if it doesn’t work out, give me some tips or things that the vanguard should do. Uncle Frank helps me out sometimes too.”

“Oh Frank?”

Mr. Hawk’s eyes lit up when he heard that Mr. Frank, the owner of the inn, would also help Lauren.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. It’ll be fun hahaha!!!”

“Huh?”

“Then let’s go!!! See you tomorrow!!!”

“Uh…uh…”

I looked at Mr. Hawk, who was quickly disappearing while laughing heartily and wagging his short legs.

“Um….”

I guess you have a connection with Uncle Frank too?

And on that day, I was able to sleep well only after being dragged to her room under Sia’s warm gaze waiting in front of the door and spending more time with her than usual.

*

*

*

The next morning, Mr. Hawk came to the lodging.

“Oh, Claude is alive!”

“Hawk uncle!!”

thud!!!

Hawk and Claude bump fists as they have never met before.

“Lauren, this is Uncle Hawk. He was our mentor when we first started out as explorers and taught us a lot of things.”

“…Lauren.”

“Oh my, that’s the elf.”

“That?”

“Ah, Cain asked me to check on your condition.”

“Ah…”

Lauren’s expression brightens with excitement as she sees another seasoned explorer following Uncle Frank.

“Cain!!”

“Yeah, but since he came to help, treat him politely.”

“Okay!!”

Lauren, who was wearing only her armor to go order a new shield, loosened up and bowed to Hawk before immediately making a fist.