66. Daily Life
“This is where I, Muahmuah, will make my stand!”
With a determined expression, Muahmuah held handfuls of potatoes and acorns close to his chest.
He was already waiting on the rooftop of a nearby ruin.
He glared at the bison and shouted.
“As I owe a great debt to the gods and elves of this place, I will give it my all! Hah!”
Thud!
With that, Muahmuah vigorously began to throw the acorns he held in both hands.
Thud!
In an instant, massive roots surged from the ground, covering the entire square.
“Oh, oh my?”
Something of tremendous magnitude unfolded before their eyes.
Tree roots growing huge enough to blot out the sky.
And then, they swept down upon the herd of ice cows.
Their advance slowed down.
Countless tree roots sprouting beneath the cow herd, like determined ivy, began to entwine their legs.
However, are monsters just monsters?
These monstrous ice cows pushed back with brute force, charging through.
As if knowing that alone would not suffice,
Muamua, now understanding the insufficiency, hurled the acorns prepared in advance towards them like grenades.
“Take this! Take it! You wicked creatures!”
The acorns, hurled like grenades near the creatures, swiftly grew into round, twisted wooden pillars, ensnaring the ice cows.
Like restraints.
Han blinked in bewilderment.
“I-Is this also magic?”
Initially launching the attack with a relatively composed demeanor, Muamua.
“Uh… Uh….”
Slowly, their expression hardened, and soon, the movements of the acorn thrower began to decelerate.
Their face started turning red.
“Ugh-!”
It seemed as though they were exerting all their might, clenching their teeth.
The green, transparent horn above Muamua’s head also began to fade to a pale color.
Seemingly reaching their limit.
“Ugh….”
Suddenly, Muamua, with a sound of dwindling strength, slumped down.
They closed their eyes.
“I-I’m sorry. I’m just too hungry now, so my strength… “
“……”
Han remained silent.
Instead, quietly paid 500 points and purchased a potato pouch.
They fed a potato to Muamua.
And then.
“Munch. Munch! Mm! It’s delicious. Oh, God! I wish I had another one! Mm!”
The frightening speed of swallowing.
Along with it, mana surged up to the transparent horn again, visibly filling.
[Muamua’s mana is showing signs of recovery!]
Han needed to act quickly as well.
Even a slight delay in feeding potatoes into Muamua’s mouth would slow down the growth of the massive roots that were sprouting to block the herd.
“Ugh…!”
With a mouth constantly churning, Muamua, who swiftly devoured the potatoes, urged on.
“God! Hurry!”
“No, what, what are you eating so much?!”
The limit was reached in a flash.
Simply stuffing was not enough, so Han poured the contents of the pot directly into Muamuah’s wide-open mouth.
As Muamuah opened his mouth wide, it expanded, transforming into a dragon’s body.
Potatoes poured into the dragon’s mouth.
Gulp.
Finally, in an instant, he emptied a whole pot.
Muamuah, his throat rumbling, swallowed them all.
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“Mm. Delicious!”
Above the transparent horn, a powerful mana began to emanate instantly.
The lad holding handfuls of potatoes had a gleam in his eyes.
[aaargh!!]
Giant plant roots grew, blocking the charging herd of cattle.
Ultimately, the relentless advance of the white bison, unaware of the world’s terror, came to a halt.
***
“Haah. Haah.”
Zion let go of the sword he was holding.
The Dire Wolves that had been supporting him weakly slumped to the ground.
Everyone was exhausted from subduing the raging cattle.
“Ugh….”
Muamuah also lay weak in the rubble.
His large pupils, meeting the white sky, were half closed.
“I’m out of energy….”
He couldn’t even rise from his spot.
Perhaps because he had squeezed out every last bit of strength.
He looked utterly drained, unable to muster any vigor.
He soon yawned, showing signs of drowsiness.
“I should go back and get some rest.”
Seeing him like that, Han chuckled softly.
“You did well, Muamuah.”
Thanks to the dragon’s efforts until the very end, they successfully defended against the threat.
He gently stroked the lad’s head.
“hehehe. Feels good. God. I wish you’d pet me a little more….”
The lad’s feeble murmur soon faded.
Quietly, he breathed evenly and drifted off to sleep.
Could it be that he fell asleep in the midst of this cold ruin?
“Still, better close that mouth in this cold.”
He closed the lad’s mouth with a little force and then promptly found Zion.
With a gesture, he directed Zion to where Muamuah was, and Zion climbed up to the rooftop to carefully take care of Muamuah.
“I’ll carry you, Muahmuah-nim.”
“Mm…”
It was Zion who carried the limp Muahmuah in place.
They were a mess, having rolled through the snowy field.
He had quite a hard time too.
Yes.
Today was a very dangerous day.
***
“…Mm.”
“Are you up?”
It was when Yumina regained consciousness.
Irina was looking down at her.
“You’re up.”
“…Irina unni?”
Yumina’s dazed eyes momentarily met Irina’s.
“Oh…!”
As if suddenly coming to her senses, Yumina sprang up and asked, “The fight? How did it go?”
Yumina had lost consciousness before confirming the end of the battle.
She had been concentrating on supporting mana until the last moment, focusing fully on the surrounding beasts.
Irina smiled wryly.
“You did well, Yumina.”
“Ah.”
The meaning behind those words was clear.
“The situation ended well. No one was hurt.”
[Rumble!]
In reality, young wolf cubs were by the bedside, looking at Yumina with innocent eyes.
They licked Yumina’s cheek.
Her tail wagged from side to side in response to their joy.
“hahahaha, tickles.”
As Zion picked up the fallen Muahmuah.
Irina, having lost consciousness due to mana depletion, carried Yumina back to the square.
Of course, she also took care of the few remaining white bison.
As the tense day gradually faded into late afternoon.
Peace began to return to the once tense group.
However, the aftermath of the fierce battle still lingered.
“Careful. One step at a time. That’s it.”
“Thank you, oppa.”
Zion supported Yumina.
Yumina had exhausted herself to the point where walking was difficult.
It was a price paid, exhausting mana to its limits.
“Well, I must have pushed them too hard. It was inevitable.”
Pouring all his focus into enhancing as many as four beasts at once.
If he didn’t receive support like this for the time being, it would be difficult to even step out in front of the house.
Even to an outsider, it seemed that way.
“Even though normally I would only enhance one or two at a time, I definitely pushed them too hard this time.”
[Clatter….]
The dire wolves expressed their concerns with a whimper.
“It’s okay, guys.”
But just as Yumina smiled.
She casually patted the heads of the pups as if nothing was wrong.
Swoosh.
That was the moment.
Han discreetly handed something over.
It was a warm lunchbox emitting steam.
“Here. This should help a bit with your energy recovery, right?”
Yumina replied with a gentle smile, “Thank you. Sir.”
***
Muamuamu showed no signs of waking up.
He lay still all day as if dead.
The only sign that he was still alive was the rhythmic breathing he maintained.
Muamuamu, fast asleep with his mouth wide open.
When his cheek was lightly tapped, his lizard tail swayed from side to side.
Perhaps his senses were still intact.
Han let out a faint chuckle.
“He must have gone through a lot, using all his strength, both present and absent.”
He was truly a grateful creature.
Although he had spent most of his points on buying potatoes, there was no regret.
He knew well how much Muamuamu had exerted himself for everyone, even now, unable to wake from exhaustion.
It was then that Irina approached and reached out her hand.
“Heal.”
Bam.
A cluster of light emerged and seeped into the slumbering Muamuamu.
Some vitality returned to the green transparent horns that had sunk into a slightly dead white color.
It seemed to have some effect.
Watching Muamuamu’s face intently, Han thought, ‘It seems like some color is returning to his pale face.’
In any case, Muamuamu would soon recover his strength.
When mealtime arrived, getting up as if waiting signified his well-being.
Turning his gaze away from the boy.
He now manipulated his sight to scan the surroundings.
[Growl….]
[Alpha male dormouse.]
[Sleeping.]
The alpha male dormouse.
Just like this boy, he was deeply asleep.
As if to prove his strength, he was sleeping alone, his body as still as a stone.
The forest had regained its original tranquility.
However, it was slightly quieter than usual.
The dormice, busy wandering around to gather leaves, the wolf cubs, and the night-helper rabbit who had been flying around vigorously helping, were all taking a rest, fast asleep.
Yet, in reality.
Even amidst all this, Han had no chance to savor a proper victory.
[Squeak!]
The second baby, urging with his front paw by tapping on the milk bottle, was rushing him.
There was no time to rest.
If they were even slightly delayed, the hungry babies would let out a high-pitched whine.
But he was fine with it.
Especially after those perilous moments.
“Alright, alright.”
Han chuckled as he accepted all the whining.
They were quite a handful.
“I bet this boy was quite surprised too.”
The realization that they were back to their normal routine hit him.
Ironically, the previous intense situation felt like a lie.
It was to protect these everyday moments that Han took care of them.
“It feels more like a guardian than a god, but whatever.”
It was a precious sight only visible here.
If the forest was destroyed by a herd of white bison, it would have been a sight no longer seen.