24 - Week 1

Deep in the forest of kobolds.

In a corner where the sun was shining through the leaning trees, Thor was wielding his sword against a giant larva.

Two monsters have already died, their heads bleeding green.

Keeping his distance from the remaining one, Thor quickly glances at the child lurking in the shadows of the trees.　

The glowing blue needles that extend from its body are already quite short.

Realizing that he did not have much time left, Thor made his move to decide the winner.

He increases his speed and moves around to flank the caterpillar.

He swings his sword down from the side, making sure that the direction of the blade and the direction of his force are correct.

At the moment you hit the head, tighten the inside of your hand and concentrate all your strength on the point where you will strike the caterpillar.

The tip of the sword accelerates instantaneously, and easily bites into the flesh.

The cut tears the skin of the insect's head and green blood sprays out.

The caterpillar shakes its body from side to side in frustration.

White hairs flutter flamboyantly in the air, trying to block Thor's approach.

But Thor steps forward without paying attention.

The poisonous hairs, which are supposed to cause a terrible itch, are bounced off by a small purple electric current that surfaces unexpectedly as they approach Thor's body.

The hairs burst into flames with a crackling sound.

Thor, who was even closer to the monster, managed to duck just in time to see it leap at him.

With his left hand on his sword, he twisted his body slightly and struck with a kesa-zan (slash).

The sword bounces through the exposed flesh, and the blade returns from below to strike again.

Thor's specialty is the up-and-down slash.

The tip of the sword, which is thrust out as if to stop the attack, pierces deeply into the wounded area.

The caterpillar, which has lost its ganglion, stretches itself out for a moment, then curls up and stops moving.

At the same time, the lightning barrier and reinforcement covering Thor's body disappear.

Thor nodded his head, just in time.

"Did you get him, Tor?"　

"Yeah, I'm done.

"Well, thanks to Moe's hard work!"

"Yeah, you're getting carried away."

"Thor, I made a fire. Come on, Moo, help me."

Moe is very busy at the moment.

The child who had been ordered to help Sola kicked the ground with his brand-new leather-covered feet on the sled.

The sled glides lightly on the ground and moves at once to the caterpillar's side.

The light weight of the sled allows it to stay afloat, just barely.

"Oh, don't touch those white hairs. It makes you itchy!"

"Really?　Oh, it itches!"

Why do children do the things they are told not to do?

"It's itchy, Tor-chan!"

"Here, let me see."

Thor puts Moe's hand back a minute ago as he returns to the sled.

The child clung happily to Thor's thigh without changing his expression.

"You listen to me, Thora," he said.

"Hey, Thor. Now replace Thora's part with your mother's and say it one more time..."

"Watch out for the burns. Don't point the end of the branch down. The fire will come up."

Like this?　To-chan."

"Oh, don't leave me. I'll do it too.

They begin to work on the poisonous hairs of the caterpillar, and Sora rushes to join them.

The three caterpillars were stripped naked in about twenty minutes.

The venom glands were cut out and drained of their blood, and when they were about to be placed on the sled, Moo raised his eyebrows and fell silent.

"Moo, do you like this sled?"

"............ yeah."

"But the caterpillar meat tasted good, didn't it?"

"Yes!"

"Well, let them ride on the way home. If they can't walk, Tor-chan will carry them.

"Okay!"

With a twinkle in his eye, Moe nodded vigorously.

It may seem like I'm spoiling him, but even Toll, an adult, seems to be enjoying this floating sledding game.

Even an adult Thor could see how much fun it was, especially for a small child, so a little bit of selfishness was understandable.

After that, the three of us slowly pulled the sled loaded with caterpillars toward the city.

Moo ran out of strength when we entered the forest road, but we arrived at the outer gate without any other problems.

The gatekeeper, with one hand in his pocket, spoke to me as was his routine.

"Hey, old man, I heard you picked up the kid.　I was off duty yesterday and missed it."　

"Hello, Mr. Carles. Thank you very much for your work.

"Hey, Sola, you look cute today. Shall we go out for dinner sometime?　I know a lot of good, inexpensive restaurants.

"That sounds great. Let's do it together sometime!"

"Torchan, are you there yet?"

The sound of talking woke him up, and he yawned cutely on Thor's back.

The gatekeeper, who had noticed this, came up to him and gave him a friendly peck on the forehead.

"Oh, hey, aren't we from the same town? Nice to meet you, little guy.

"What are you doing to Moe?　What the hell are you, man?

"It's not you, it's Master Carles. Moo."

"How do you know my name?　Torchan, he's a suspicious man!

Yes, you're right. I'll see you later.

"Hey, go correct yourself, old man!"

Waving one hand in the air, Thor breaks off the conversation and walks through the outer gate, pulling a heavy sled.

Thor went straight to the buying station.

Thora and Moe stand in line at the valuation counter.

They are not tangled up with any strange people, probably because they had talked directly to the two top executives.

Today's results were four forest slimes, forty-nine goblins, thirty-six magic stones, and three large caterpillars.

The income was two silver coins and eighteen copper coins.

The only expenditure was a single medium copper coin for the hire of a transport sledge.

In addition, I have eight white-spotted mushrooms, five magic stones, and half a caterpillar's flesh on hand.

It has been a week since I started partying with Sola.

The amount of silver coins on hand is about five, which is more than enough to catch up with the amount of money Thor has been saving up for a long time.

Thor and Sora have earned about 150 skill points in total, and Moo has earned nearly 70.

At his current pace, he should be able to bring his skills up to level 2 in less than two months.

This pace is unimaginable from his previous life.

As we walk through the plaza, Moe looks up at Thor, drooling at the smells coming from the food stalls.

"Tor, there's lots of food!"

"Those are for sale, you have to exchange them for money to eat them.

"Money. That's a bit harsh. ......"

Where did you learn that word?

"Yes, Moo-chan, ah!"

"MUGU. Hogu. Fugu!"

Moo, who had a grilled skewer shoved into his mouth, let out a squeak as he chewed on it.

Sora, smiling at him, offers another skewer to Thor.

"Here you go, Thor-chan."　

"When did you get this?　You look so at home here already."

"This is good, To-chan!"

There are many other delicious ones!

"Yeah, I'm going to the public bath after this, so don't go too far."

"What? I haven't prepared anything!"

"What do you need to do to get ready?　I'm just going to take a bath."

A girl needs all kinds of things!　Moo."

I had no choice but to go home, have dinner, and then invite Ulil to join me.

"Where's To-chan?"　

"Thor-chan is in the men's bath, Moo-chan."

"Well, Moe, you go that way!"

"No, no, no, girls are supposed to go this way."

Moo, who had been held by Sola, flailed about in her arms, but was dragged slowly toward the women's baths.

The bathing fee is thirty copper coins, and a piece of soap costs ten copper coins.

The large changing room was boarded up, and the walls were lined with shelves containing baskets.

The clothes were folded and placed in these baskets.

Once back at the house, the two men left their protective gear behind, so they were able to strip naked immediately.

The still young mu is not very uneven, but has a plump buttock area.

On the other hand, Sola's body is generally tighter and her breasts are of a moderate size.

"Come on, come on, you both need to wrap your towels properly."

As they were about to enter the bathhouse naked and proud, Yuril, who had a towel wrapped around his chest, gently stopped them.

The landlady, with her straight silver hair curled up in a bun, must have been nearly sixty years old, but her pure white skin showed little sign of fading.

"That's right. Yes, come in, Moo-chan. He's not here!

"Oh, my God!　He's mooing!"

Sola hurried after the young voice echoing from the bathroom.

This one was even more spacious.

The ceiling was lined with stone lamps that illuminated the room with soft light.

The walls and floor were covered with ceramic tiles with strange patterns painted here and there in bright colors.

Small windows for ventilation were lined up at high places, through which the steam was let out, so that the inside could be seen at a glance.

I wonder where he is. Oh, there he is!"

At the back of the bathroom was a large bathtub in which several guests were relaxing.

Moe, who was naked, was peering at them with interest.

"Hey, are you going to get into this?　Hot!　This is hot!　I can't lose!"

Just before Mu, with purple snakes running all over his body, is about to jump into the bathtub, he is held by Sola from behind in the nick of time.

Wait, wait! You need to wash yourself first, Moo-chan.

Sola catches the child and pulls him to the wall again.

There, a large horizontal water trough was filled to the brim with water, and each child was sitting on a small wooden chair washing his or her body with lathering soap.

"Look, Moo-chan. You look beautiful."

"Oh, that. Please take care of it!"

Moe stood on a stick as if he remembered the other day when he had been washed by three men.

Sola, smiling, took the soap lather with both hands and began to powerfully wash the child's body.

Moo, who was immediately covered with bubbles, let out a happy breath.

"Okay, now it's your turn, Moo-chan.　

"Leave it to me!"

Moo scooped up the soapy bubbles and rubbed Sora's body with his small hands.

But he can't wash her as well as he would like because of the slippery surface.

Their faces covered in bubbles, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Sento, that's fun!"

"Yes, it's fun!"

"Yes, yes, I'll pour it out."

Yuril pours off their bubbles with a wooden bucket of warm water.

Refreshed, they laughed out loud again.

Afterwards, the three of us took a bath together.

Sola gasps as she feels the hot water relaxing her entire body.

When she woke up a week ago, everything that had been her life was gone.

She felt as if there was a big hole somewhere in her life, but it had faded away after the exhausting days in the forest.

Besides, the people I cared about were still here.

There is nothing more to hope for now.

Tiredness melts away in the hot water.

At the same time, the emotions that I usually hide from myself sink even deeper into my heart.

Moo, his entire body dyed bright red, floats beside Sola, who looks up at the ceiling with a satisfied look.

After taking a bath.

After paying five copper coins, I was given five minutes to put a magic stone in the air blower.

The loose, dry air blows on their hair, and they drink the cold apple water together.

Only Yuril drinks apple wine.

When we go outside, Thor is waiting for us.

This brings an immense sense of security and happiness to Thora.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Thor.

"Oh, it's To-chan!"

"No, I just got out. I hope I didn't give you any trouble.　Moo."

"Yeah!　It was tough, but next time, Katsu!"

"Whew, I'm back to life, Thor. Now I can do my best tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?　No, I'm off tomorrow. Didn't I tell you that?"