45. Guardian of the Tower (1)
It was a time when she was distributing lunchboxes to the elves.
Yumina, too, was seen coming down stealthily.
He glanced towards Muahmuah, then discreetly took Han’s lunchbox and started nibbling in a corner.
He couldn’t help but be a bit timid, unlike Zion.
“You really enjoyed it!!”
“…?”
A sudden, hearty shout.
He turned his head, momentarily doubting his eyes.
“What’s going on?”
Muahmuah.
The lunchbox he had handed over was now empty in an instant.
The elves, who had just lifted their spoons to take a bite, were in disbelief.
“Did he really eat it all in such a short time?”
It was a perplexing sight to witness, but hard to disbelieve, especially with the evidence right in front of them.
“So, is one not enough?”
So, he handed over another one.
A lunchbox appeared with a payment of 100 points.
He quietly extended it.
“Thank you so much! My Lord!”
Muahmuah took it with a grateful gesture as if he had been waiting eagerly.
But even that was devoured in no time.
Han witnessed a large lunchbox disappearing whole before his eyes.
It vanished in a moment without much chewing, leaving him wondering if it was not enough.
It seemed insufficient, so after a brief hesitation, he offered another lunchbox.
This time, it seemed like it was devoured as if he would strip it bare.
In the blink of an eye, 300 points flew away right before my eyes.
It was so bewildering that the mind of the person watching seemed to go blank.
“What on earth is this guy? Could his mouth be a black hole or something?”
But still, the noisy sound that continued to echo throughout the house showed no sign of stopping.
Rather than regaining his appetite, it seemed like he was sneakily eyeing the meals of the other elves.
The gaze that felt so intense seemed to prompt Ilyna to offer half of her lunchbox that she hadn’t even touched yet.
“If you’re still hungry… you can have some of mine.”
“……”
The cheeks of Green Dragon Muahmuah blushed slightly.
“W-Well… Sorry. It’s because I’ve been starving for too long.”
Gurgle!!
The sound of his stomach growling loudly and restlessly.
Like a thunderous roar.
Startled by the noise, Yumina, who had been quietly munching on the side, grabbed her lunchbox and ran away.
“U-Um.”
Muahmuah seemed at a loss for words, quietly closing his mouth.
Even as an onlooker, it was truly baffling.
“No way, how can he still be hungry after eating that much?”
It was simply impossible by any logical standard.
With his small frame, he had already consumed a volume that surpassed what he could handle a long time ago.
In other words, he had emptied a capacity close to 300, even if he couldn’t handle it with his stomach of 100.
Of course, as a result, Muahmuah’s symbol above his head had changed from ‘critical’ to ’emergency,’ indicating a slight improvement, but…
The fact that he was still hungry meant that the situation hadn’t changed much.
There was still a long way to go before he would feel full.
At that moment, the system’s voice continued in his ear.
[The appetite of dragons ranks high, encompassing a considerable variety of species on Earth.]
“I see, it seems so.”
[Moreover, the figure before you, Muahmuah, in the form of a human girl, is in a polymorph state, a kind of illusion magic. In reality, it remains in the form of a dragon.]
An illusion magic?
He had some knowledge about that.
A fake magic, like a phantom without substance.
Therefore, it was only natural that Han was even more puzzled.
According to the system, what was before him was actually the true form of that huge dragon.
“Shrinking to that size but actually just an illusion, is that even possible? The bed upstairs looks intact though?”
[The illusion magic of dragons is a fantasy contained within. Their magic, unlike humans’, can bring about realistic changes and create new essences within illusions. It is a high-level magic that can even defy physical laws.]
Uh, I see.
Could that really be true?
[Therefore, the actual size of the dragon hidden in the illusion still reaches dozens of meters, and the massive size it occupies is equally impressive. To maintain such a physique, it naturally requires a substantial amount of food to support it.]
“……”
He was speechless.
So.
Is the reality now that a huge dragon is sitting right in front of me?
Am I just sharing small lunchboxes the size of a human palm with that dragon?
It was natural not to have any complaints from the start.
My impression after realizing that unbelievable reality was simple.
“Even facing a very critical situation, it seems I barely managed to survive, almost thanks to the dragon.”
***
“W-well, you see…”
Mooamoo hesitated, cautiously observing the situation.
She opened her mouth with a tiny voice, like ants crawling.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to think this way, but because I kept causing trouble unintentionally…”
There was a reason why this little girl was being so apologetic.
After all, she had devoured nearly seven lunchboxes all by herself.
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It was as if she had spent a whopping 700 points just to fill the stomach of a young dragon.
Thanks to that, her condition had improved to the extent of being considered ‘fairly good,’ but she had to endure quite a bit of bleeding.
However, the problem persisted without any sign of resolution.
Mooamoo still seemed unsatisfied, as she was pondering her taste.
Eating that much and still not feeling satisfied meant she was far from content.
But now, even if she wanted to help, she couldn’t.
Her remaining points had suddenly hit rock bottom.
“It’s hopeless, this.”
Hane let out a short sigh.
“Eating so much every time is like pouring water into a leaking vessel.”
In a straightforward manner, she was eating too much.
She knew that criticizing someone for eating was the narrowest mindset, but that was the reality.
As a result, instead of accumulating points, they were being spent rapidly.
It was understandable that Mooamoo felt sorry.
Food in this world was indeed a precious commodity.
It was a world with a completely different perspective on food from the modern world overflowing with various cuisines.
Wasn’t even the creature in front of them slowly dying of starvation?
Food was hard to come by, and its value and standards were of utmost importance.
At that moment, the system’s advice came to mind.
[“The binge-eating behavior of the current character ‘Mooamoo’ is likely temporary. Due to prolonged starvation, the rebound effect is significant. If she continues to eat steadily, the amount consumed will probably decrease from now.”]
It might have been some form of comfort, but Hane’s expression remained dark.
“…So, the amount will decrease from now on, but it doesn’t change the fact that you eat more than others, right?”
[…….]
There was no response.
That, at least, seemed to be a fact.
Of course, that didn’t mean it only had downsides.
After all, dragons were undoubtedly exceptional beings.
‘Having new residents in the square would be even better. Of course, if that includes a dragon-like Mwamwa, it would be even more so.’
***
In the dim dawn.
Before long, nothing could be seen outside except for the light of street lamps.
Irina, Zion, Yumina.
All were breathing evenly, drifting off to sleep.
In their arms, young wolf pups nestled.
None of them were wary of the unfamiliar outsider, Mwamwa.
Rather, in the case of two young siblings, they were sleeping soundly with mouths agape.
The girl Mwamwa was their god, receiving the elves’ favor.
Just that fact alone was enough to completely dissolve the elves’ guard.
“…….”
The only one awake was Mwamwa.
A girl sitting on the bed.
Her tail swayed gently back and forth.
Where Mwamwa’s gaze fell, there was a hand-shaped statue depicting Han.
The previous day, the girl had witnessed the elves praying towards that statue.
Perhaps that was the way the elves received their god.
Blink.
Mwamwa, who had been silent for a while.
Yet her gaze kept flickering towards the stairs where the elves were.
After hesitating as if scrutinizing the surroundings for a while, the girl approached the statue and gently held hands with it.
Then, in a voice so small that only Han could hear, she murmured softly.
“O God. I am truly grateful….”
Crackle!
At that moment.
Light began to emanate from Mwamwa’s body.
It was a warm golden glow bright enough to illuminate the darkness.
***
The next morning.
It was around the time Han had just woken up.
A small, timid voice could be heard.
“O God. I am truly grateful….”
‘…Who?’
Before consciousness fully recovered from the daze, a message from the system popped up.
[Congratulations!]
[Character Mwamwa has become your ‘guardian’ and has finally reached level 5!]
[Your maximum point limit is now 5000pt!]
[Congratulations! With the birth of the Tower Guardian, the ‘Tower Function’ is activated!]
“Uh, what? Level up? Mwamwa?”
Out of the blue, she sprang up from her spot, forgetting the momentary drowsiness caused by the consecutive alarm sounds.
What could have happened during the last night that led to this?
Hurrying to the fridge, Hane saw Muahmuah, who was sound asleep.
She seemed to be sleeping deeply.
Wrapped up snugly in a handmade rabbit fur blanket, she slept without stirring like a caterpillar.
Watching her in that state, Hane let out a chuckle.
“You sleep so well. You look comfortable; that’s fortunate.”
The system then explained to Hane.
[Last night, the character Muahmuah offered a prayer for you.]
[The initial act of prayer by the young dragon bestowed a faint sense of faith within her.]
“Something like that happened last night?”
[Yes.]
It was a good thing.
Not everyone harbors a devout and faithful heart towards a god from the start.
It all begins very small.
Just like gathering specks of dust day by day, it eventually transforms into a strong belief in a god.
Faith is not as grand as others might think.
It’s simply a light gesture, a favor towards someone, a hopeful heart. It’s just a formation of these things.
If Muahmuah reciprocated Hane’s kindness with similar kindness, you could consider that as the birth of faith.
Irina was the same.
Their relationship didn’t start as faith but as a very small degree of trust.
It gradually grew to what it is now.
As Hane watched Muahmuah sleeping, a sudden urge arose.
Hane gently poked her cheek.
“Ouch….”
In response, Muahmuah moaned softly and buried her head further under the covers.
She seemed to be sleeping deeply, not even stirring.
Unintentionally, a chuckle escaped Hane.
She was relieved to be of help.
Such an innocent creature almost starved to death in that snowy field.
It’s truly a tough world.
At that moment, a message from the system popped up.
[Would you like to check the Guardian Setting Function?]