71. Is There Something Here
However, in truth.
There was a bigger question mark for Sergeant Kim Ju-hee than this.
“Hmm….”
Inside the vehicle.
Sergeant Kim Ju-hee, who was waiting in place while escorting around Hani’s house, looked at the CCTV footage from a nearby main road.
The footage of Hani’s house entrance was very blurry.
It would have been better if the image quality was clearer, but due to human rights issues, this was the best they could get.
Of course, if this were to be made public, it would cause a huge commotion.
No matter how much of a government factor it was, this should not be revealed.
“….”
As she stared at the poor-quality footage, her eyes twitched as if scrutinizing it.
“Hani, this guy. Seems to have gotten quite close with Jin Hwa-rin, the top-tier hunter?”
Sergeant Kim Ju-hee replayed the video several times.
There was a woman tightly wrapped in clothes entering the house in the footage.
It was none other than the top-tier hunter, Jin Hwa-rin.
Just a few days ago, the sergeant already knew that she had visited Hani’s house, even suspending her dungeon conquest.
But… no matter how many times she watched it, she couldn’t understand the reason behind it.
“Seriously, no matter how much I think about the relationship between these two, I can’t figure it out. Of course, I know she helped Jin Hwa-rin a lot last time… but even so, does that alone give her a reason to suddenly come out and meet Hani at his house?”
Of course, there were enough reasons for their closeness to overflow.
They had first met in a gesture of goodwill.
“But still, it’s a bit strange that their short encounter has continued until now.”
It felt like something was missing.
There was a lack of information.
“…Wait. Could it be?”
At that moment, as if realizing something, her eyes widened.
“These guys. Are they dating?”
It was a completely distant idea from the correct answer.
***
Munching away.
With a potato the size of my fist held in her hand, Muamua was eating.
Muamua glanced at the elves.
Noticing that gaze, Irina, who was busy skinning a cowhide without pause, looked up.
“Hoo….”
Wiping away the trickling sweat, Irina asked curiously, “Why are you like that, Lady Muamua?”
“Um….”
With a gulp, the girl who swallowed the potato said, “It’s nothing.”
The elves continued their fur processing without pause.
Strong Zion tore the cow’s fur, while Irina and Yumina worked on it slowly.
Muamua simply watched them quietly.
Of course, her hands were busy all the while.
One after another, she took out potatoes from the basket, putting them in her mouth.
Her gaze was fixed on the elves.
What could she be thinking so deeply about?
Perhaps she wanted to help with the work.
Han, who was watching, thought so.
“Of course, she’d naturally want to help with the work. It must feel lonely to be the only one not helping.”
In fact, she hadn’t been left alone from the beginning.
Muamua had tried to help the elves in her own way at first.
Watching her, Han couldn’t help but smile wryly.
“But even without skills, she was too lacking.”
That’s right.
Muamua had no abilities.
No, to be more precise, one could say she was clumsy in moving her body.
It might sound odd.
Before Han actually saw it with his own eyes, he couldn’t fathom what that meant.
Let’s go back a couple of hours.
“Oh.”
Snap!
Muamua, in a clumsy motion, broke the blade she was holding while processing.
Although she didn’t exert much force, the blade plunged deep into the cowhide like a soft tofu, then broke with a snap.
With just the strength clenched in those small hands, it was absurd that the blade would break, but that was the reality.
Muamua was originally the possessor of innate monstrous strength.
It was a natural consequence.
Given that the massive body of a dragon was compressed into that small frame, its massiveness was bound to be unusual.
As a result, the sword broke, the cowhide tore apart.
It was a complete mess.
Whatever was held in the hands was destroyed in an instant.
“Sorry…”
Muamua hung his head deeply as if defeated.
The system’s explanation for this was as follows:
[Dragons are not adept at moving in human form. Transforming into a human through polymorph magic feels more like wearing ill-fitting clothes.]
“So, you don’t know how to control your strength?”
[That’s correct.]
“….”
Muamua is a dragon.
Not just any dragon, but a very large one, unlike these elves.
If suddenly shrunk and forced to live among them, adapting to a new body would naturally be challenging for Muamua.
Although his body had shrunk, the sensations and strength remained as powerful as those of a dragon, so it was only natural.
Even now, it was the same.
“Normally, when people eat potatoes, they take small bites, not shove a fistful into their mouths. Was that the reason for all this?”
Munch, munch.
Muamua was stuffing a potato into his mouth with a thoughtful expression.
Thinking about a person’s fist going into their mouth may seem strange, but originally, he was not a person but a dragon.
More of a monster than a human.
Therefore, even if the nature of his physique was slightly different from that of an ordinary human, it wouldn’t be surprising.
…Anyway.
For these reasons, he sat quietly all day.
Irina, as if understanding his feelings well, smiled faintly and spoke.
“hehehe, Muamua, it’s okay to rest.”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s really okay.”
“Hmm….”
Muamua did not leave his side for a moment.
Normally, he would have fallen asleep out of boredom by now, but today was different.
Without getting tired, he sat down in the grass and watched the elves’ grooming process intently.
Muamua’s expression as he gazed at the elves was somewhat complicated.
Was it because he couldn’t help them alone?
No, in fact, that wasn’t the case.
It was because a desire lingered in Muamua’s eyes as he stared at the beef all day.
He wasn’t looking at it because he wanted to help.
The elves’ thoughts were completely different.
Rather, it was more like.
“I’m just impatient because I want to eat quickly.”
Watching them like a hawk, I suddenly realized and murmured.
“…Come to think of it, here, only Muamua is the one who eats meat.”
It can’t be anything but strange.
In their world, the meat that they couldn’t eat was left untouched here because there was no one to bother it.
The only one craving meat was that fellow, aside from the wolf cubs.
“Come to think of it, didn’t that monster rabbit’s meat all get devoured by Muamua?”
Originally, the rabbit meat that the elves had covered in the snow for the wolf cubs.
Muamua, like a ghost, skillfully found and devoured the hidden meat.
Later, when the elves checked, it was already all eaten up.
Muamua quietly kept his lips sealed about that fact, but well.
I don’t know if the elves are aware that they have already noticed that fact.
The elves were busy preparing the meat.
Watching them, Muamua became impatient, dropping droplets of saliva, urging them.
“Hey! You’re burning with impatience to eat! When will the preparation be done?”
“hahahaha. Please wait a little longer, Lord Muamua.”
Muamua is a carnivorous animal.
A being constantly seeking large amounts of food.
If we were to compare it to Earth’s animals, it could be a lion, tiger, etc.
One of the fierce beasts.
Being so huge even surpassing a considerable monster in size, naturally, it was obvious that its appetite and hunger would be equally enormous.
However, even for the voracious Muamua, there was a reason why it hadn’t touched the white bison meat in the past few days.
It knew well.
The hide of that bison was extremely rare and precious.
If not for that, it probably would have gulped it down whole long ago.
Irina extended the freshly cut thigh meat towards Muamua, who was gazing at her expectantly.
“It’s still a long way to go, but you must be hungry, so would you like to have this for now?”
“Oh, thank you!”
Muamua, whose head momentarily grew larger, gulped down the giant piece of meat.
It was a sight reminiscent of American classic cartoons.
It seemed to be one of the spells that could revert parts of the body to their original forms, just like last time.
“Mmm. Delicious.”
Muamua, who had swallowed it in one gulp, let out a satisfied laugh.
As shocking as that absurd moment was even to the elves, they all widened their eyes.
It was the same for Han.
“…No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t understand that bizarre body structure.”
Was it called polymorph magic?
From Noble mtl dot com
I still can’t comprehend how that magic makes the body grow and shrink so arbitrarily.
“If the dragon like Sung-ryong class is fully grown, it’s said they can grow tens of meters in size.”
At that point, one might think disaster was imminent.
***
Recently, the young wolves had taken up the hobby of digging up the ground.
[Heh heh heh!]
Thud! Thud thud!
With their front paws, now thickened, the little rascals dug up the ground vigorously.
Their feet sank into the ground like soft tofu, flipping the earth over.
Their speed was so remarkable that one might think they were professional construction tools suitable for a job site.
From the start, these little ones were no ordinary puppies.
Of course, they were not ordinary wolves either.
Considered the fiercest beasts on Earth, even lions and tigers regarded them as extremely fierce monsters.
Naturally, even though they were still young, their uniqueness did not diminish.
Just a simple game?
Initially, that’s all I thought it was.
But it turned out to be something else.
Sniff sniff.
Sniffing around, they caught a scent, then shook their heads, moving to the side to flip the earth over again.
“It’s like they’re looking for something….”
Almost like they had a feeling of wanting something specific.
As they dug into the ground a bit, a sense of quickly moving to the next spot as if realizing this wasn’t it, permeated the air.
But it seemed that was not just a fleeting illusion.
[The young wolves are indeed searching for something.]
“They caught a scent, you say?”
[That’s correct.]
“Hmm….”
The system never spoke without reason.
Though there was hardly ever a kind explanation.
Thus, Han watched over the young wolves carefully.
If the system was avoiding answers by citing fairness, perhaps something extraordinary was about to happen.
However, Han’s expectations, along with the young wolves’ fervent efforts, soon came to a halt.
“No, Noah! You can’t do that!”
[Whine….]
Startled by the sight of the young wolves digging the ground at will, Yumina quickly intervened.