19 – Nol
[Pii… Can’t we find another way? This feels like crossing a line and it’s uncomfortable….]
“It’s just going to your original body and sucking some sap. It’s not weird at all, so don’t think like that.”
[If you compare that to humans, it’s totally―]
“―Uh? Let’s not make that kind of comparison. That’s really crossing the line.”
I covered Pii’s mouth and shook my head firmly.
“`
Pii, who had been struggling for a moment, finally gave up and nodded his head slightly.
It felt weird to be like this with my shirt off.
As I started to do the laundry again to put on some clothes, I heard Sizu’s voice from somewhere.
“Earlier, the World Tree was blocking the sunlight. Was there something going on?”
“Uh, wait!”
I grabbed the clothes I was washing and hastily covered myself.
Fortunately, I was wearing pants, but to put it another way, I was only wearing pants.
I didn’t mind showing my bare skin to the tree spirit Pii and the dryad, but I didn’t want to show it to Sizu.
That’s because, that ice-cold lady seemed to genuinely hate my body.
“What are you doing? Are you afraid I’ll peek?”
As expected, Sizu found me and frowned as she spoke.
Oh, it’s too late. She saw everything.
I sighed and lowered the clothes I was covering and started to do the laundry again.
As I was washing the clothes in a pitiful state, Sizu came closer and sneered.
“Ha! I have no interest in your body…”
“……”
“Interest… no…”
“Hmm?”
But Sizu’s reaction was strange.
She didn’t snap at me as usual, and she even stuttered like a flustered person.
“`
I lifted my head up, wondering why he was acting like that.
“What… muscles…”
Shizu was staring at me with a piercing gaze, mumbling something.
His pale cheeks were flushed red, and his breath was a bit ragged, as if he was excited.
He said he had no interest in my body, but his reaction was anything but.
I was startled and covered my body with clothes again.
“Ah.”
Shizu let out a short sigh as I hid my body.
Then he coughed and looked away, as if he realized his strange behavior.
At that moment, Dreiya, who was lying on the rock, spoke in a languid tone.
“Ahh~ Shizu must have been stimulated by that. Unlike the slender body he always saw, it was a muscular body.”
“Dr, Dreiya-sama. That’s not…”
“I’m not saying anything~ But you should have come a little faster, right? Then you could have seen the lower part too.”
“I, interest… none…”
“Hee~ I’ll take your word for it.”
All my doubts disappeared at Shizu’s embarrassed reaction.
He must have been amazed by the muscles that were honed by the hard logging work and diligent weight training.
Come to think of it, most elves had slender and agile bodies.
The only exception was the overly indulgent search captain, Kartolf.
‘Then my body must look interesting too.’
Didn’t I work out hard in my previous life?
I had some confidence in my body, since I spent all day climbing mountains and went to the gym in the evening.
I thought he would curse and call me disgusting, but it turned out to be a plus factor.
Feeling confident, I deliberately flexed my arm muscles and started to wring out my clothes.
Then I spoke to Seize in a firm tone, as if to inform him.
“Seize. I’m going to find Pi’s main body and leave. This is not something I can compromise on like before, so keep that in mind.”
[Are you really going to drink it?]
Pi shivered and curled up his legs, but I ignored him and maintained a resolute expression.
Seize, who heard my plan, accepted it and looked at the distant mountain.
“I, I want to hear the reason.”
“I’m going to get the sap of the spirit tree. I have to go if I want to become a proper druid.”
“…A proper druid?”
Seize looked at Dreia and wondered if that was true.
He seemed to be sure that our plan came from Dreia’s advice.
The world tree that overlooks the great forest, Dreia, yawned and answered.
“That’s not wrong~ You feel it too, right, Seize? We have to purify that filthy mana somehow.”
“Of course, I agree with that… But will that monstrous mana be purified by the sap of the spirit tree?”
“If it doesn’t, we have to keep pouring it in~ Pi will have a hard time, huh?”
[Eek!]
Seize frowned and pondered deeply after hearing Dreia’s answer.
And after a while, he nodded his head as if he had accepted it and spoke to me.
“Alright. I can’t help it if the reason is valid. Then I’ll leave in two days.”
I expected him to let me go since it was the World Tree’s opinion, but Shiz’s reaction looked like he wanted to come along.
I asked him as I wrung out the water from the clothes I had finished washing.
“Are you going with me?”
Shiz answered me with an expression that said ‘Isn’t that obvious?’
“Why? Did you think I’d tell you to go by yourselves?”
“You’re the hunting leader. Aren’t you busy?”
“That’s not your problem to worry about.”
Shiz stared at me piercingly and spoke firmly.
“Didn’t I tell you before? You can never get out of my hand. Not until you become a druid.”
His courtesy and loyalty filled obsession swept over my body hotly.
I felt like I had been wrongly marked by a strange woman.
I could only nod my head pitifully as I covered my chest with the damp clothes.
“I got it. Stop looking at me.”
* * *
From Noble mtl dot com
Two days later.
The three of us, who had recharged and repaired at Eldenore, set out on our journey to find Pii’s main body.
Since the elves of the Great Forest had no concept of roads, we were greeted by a dense forest as soon as we left Eldenore.
Shiz led the way with light steps, and I followed behind the woman who was holding an electric saw.
That’s how the quiet companionship without any conversation continued for a long time.
‘What should I do with her?’
I quietly sank into my thoughts, looking at the fluttering golden hair.
As I observed Shiz for a while, I realized that she seemed obsessed with making me stronger.
According to Ratra, she had the intention of ‘raising me and eating me up’?
I guessed that she would challenge me to a duel and devour me as soon as I was recognized as a formal druid.
She probably wanted the title of ‘the warrior who defeated the druid of legend’.
It was a strange fixation that I understood but did not accept.
‘Can I beat her?’
I thought so and glanced at Shiz’s back.
Between the swaying blond hair, I saw six red camellia flower tattoos.
The petals of the camellia flower were usually five to seven.
She said she had engraved one petal for each monster she killed, so Shiz had hunted at least 30 monsters.
Could I survive a fight with a high elf who had hunted more than 30 monsters?
Wouldn’t I be eaten up by Shiz the moment I was recognized as a druid?
As I was worrying and drooling, Pii, who was sitting on my shoulder, asked Shiz.
[By the way, Shiz has golden hair. Is it true that she received the blessing of the god of illusion, Tetasar?]
It was a different topic from what I was thinking, but I was also curious about it.
The other elves all had green hair, but Shiz and the leader were the only ones who had blond hair.
I sped up and walked side by side with Shiz.
Seize glanced at me and Pii, then nodded his head and answered.
“It’s inherited, but it’s not wrong. I can use the miracle illusion magic of Tetazar.”
[Natural magic and illusion magic together. That’s amazing to receive blessings from two gods.]
“That’s the same for this guy, isn’t it? If he’s a druid, he should be loved by the goddess of nature and the god of wildness.”
Love? Well. Love seemed far away from me.
As I grimaced and grumbled quietly, Pii changed the topic and asked another question.
[Then, what is illusion magic?]
“Hmm. It’s magic that can interfere directly with other beings. Usually, it’s used to control their bodies or read their minds.”
[Heck! Can you read Gaul’s mind too?]
“His mind?”
Oh no.
If Seize reads my mind, everything will be over.
I have to clear my mind before he finds out that I was a woodcutter.
As luck would have it, I saw an acorn on the floor, so I started to fill my mind with the word acorn.
Acorn acorn acorn acorn.
“No. The illusion magic I use is a bit different. I’m not really curious about his thoughts.”
Aish. Acorn, what. Get rid of it.
“I mainly use illusion magic to steal their senses. Like blinding them or making them deaf.”
As he finished speaking, Seize reached out his hand slowly toward me.
It looked like he was going to use my head to demonstrate his illusion magic.
I didn’t want to just take it, so I shook my head like a skilled boxer and dodged her touch.
Shez, who was trying to grab my head, snarled with a scowl.
“Stop messing around and stay still….”
That’s when it happened.
“Woof! Woof!”
Somewhere, a dog barked.
Shez and I stopped moving and looked around.
Between the trees in the dense forest, we saw countless movements.
Furry creatures with goat and animal heads.
They were clearly monsters, judging by the intense disgust that rose in me.
“I guess we can show them a demonstration.”
Shez summoned a dark spear with natural magic and entered a combat stance.
I hid Pii in my chest armor and lifted up my chainsaw.
“What are those things? They’re not goblins.”
Shez answered me briefly as he took a spear-throwing posture.
“Trolls.”