279 - - a disturbing situation

Scattered with fragments, the three large faces crumble silently.

Inside, there are no organs at all, as there should be in a human being.

Only a reddish-brown mass, packed tightly and without gaps.

"Oh, it's surprisingly bouncy."

Kikiriri picked up a fragment and touched it with his fingertips.

The surface is similar to human skin.

However, the texture of the fragment is distinctly strange to the touch.

While it eerily imitates a human, it is clear that inside it is an inhuman creature.

And after the upper part had shattered like dust, only a bunch of tentacles freed from the ice remained.

The inside of the tentacle was in a bad shape, probably due to Yuril's magic.

However, although roots and tubes were intricately intertwined, there was nothing like the organs of a human or a beast.

Sola, who had rushed to the carcass with bright and cheerful eyes, looked at the carcass and muttered to herself with a slight tilting of her head.

"Hmmm. It looks familiar, doesn't it, Thor?

"Yeah, that's true."

The sight of the blackened tentacles writhing around reminded Thor of the way a certain monster had died.

Balconia and Raszel, who had fought together, seemed to do the same, exchanging glances with each other.

Perhaps intrigued by the meaningful atmosphere of Thor and the others, Rummella joined the conversation.

"What do you look like?"

"Mmm, you ask about that? Then I have no choice but to tell you. The deeds of those heroes!

"She looks just like the Witch of the Swamp."

Balconia was about to speak with great vigor, but was easily answered by Raszel, who unusually opened her mouth.

The flame wielder with a short mustache and a sad look on his face shrugged his shoulders deliberately as he repositioned his greatsword on his back.

"Oh, is that the one that became a festival? I wish I could have been there. Why didn't you invite me, old man?

You seemed busy.

But Ram, for his part, went out of his way to keep his schedule open so that he could be called upon at any time.

"You don't have to say anything, Cu."

For some reason, Kikiriri nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, it's not at all superfluous. Oh, there's something shiny!"

Kugase sulks at his friend's cold response, but he suddenly bends down and plunges his hand into the monster carcass without hesitation.

In the palm of the girl's hand, which she holds up proudly, is a yellowish-white mass that shines dully.

Kugase gazes at the object in her hand, and after a moment of shock, she hurriedly presses the stone lump against her forehead.

The brown-horned tribe can measure the hardness of objects with the horns on their foreheads.

The girl's eyes immediately widen and she says in an excited tone

"This is as hard as a gold coin!

"Oh, so it's gold?　Give me that."

"No, no!"

"You're as obstinate as ever, my dear."

"I can buy a whole field with this much money!"

Kikiriri let out a small breath and shook her head at the sight of the girl hugging the gold nugget tightly.

"I hear it's pretty hard work at the Grand too."

"It's more than difficult. The miasma has already hit here and there, and it looks like the edges are completely ruined.

Gran is the home of the Tea Horn tribe, southwest of the Central Land.

Remembering that Kugase had told him the same story before, Thor felt caught up in Kikiriri's words.

"If Gran's home, does that mean Hakuri's home too?"

"Yes, rumor has it that the forest is quite dead. It's a good thing, but it's a problem.

He has been hearing information from his court temples and the Thunderclap.

I glanced at Rummella, who was momentarily glancing at Moldamo, a member of the same tribe.

Something is going on here, too.

Thor, a little concerned, turns his head to see Ulille just coming out of the passage.

He saw that Moe was pushing hard on the ash-eared woman's buttocks with a serious look on his face.

"Are you all right?　Grandma You."

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Mumm."

"Don't push it!　We need to be safe. All right, let's get Moe in there!"

"Mmmm, that tickles."

The two are accompanied by Licori, who is softly plucking the strings.

Yuril's complexion, which should have been drained of a huge amount of magic power, was already as cool as usual.

The in praise of God has the effect of healing magic power, but even if we exclude that, the amount of magic power is still tremendous.

"It's really amazing, isn't it, Yuril-sama? ....... You don't seem to change at all even after releasing such a large amount of magical power.

"Yes, it's a monster in its own way. What is going on here?

Thor and Sora look at each other as Rummella and Kikiriri mutter words of deep amazement.

Having been exposed to so many inexhaustible resources, we had taken them for granted, but they seem to be extraordinary in the eyes of the general public.　

Yuril noticed Thor's gaze and lifted his lips to form his usual gentle smile.

"I was also surprised to see how good Moo has become after not seeing him for a while."

Rummella continued to speak, seemingly impressed by the child's efforts to help Yuril.

"Yes. Moo-chan seems to have become a little bit more of a lady these days. Maybe it's because I've been going to the temple of exploration.

"Sola-chan, did you call Moo?"

He said, "Moo-chan is very good friends with Mr. Euril."

"Moo, I love you, Grandma!"

"I love you too, Mumu.

"And Mr. Lam said, 'Moo, you've become a good boy.

"I see. Moo is a good boy.

Moe smiles shyly, but his purple eyes catch sight of Kugase's back as he crouches down and eagerly scavenges the demon carcass.

The child takes his hands off Yuril's hips and starts to run, gaining momentum.

He leaps onto the back of the defenseless Chakaku girl with all his might.

Kugase, who was about to fall forward, shouted a reproachful cry of dismay.

"Oh, my God," he said, "this is what you do as soon as people give you compliments. It's true that it's a little heavier now, but it's still not as heavy as it used to be.

"Cu's backside is so easy to glide on!"

"Look, if you're not busy, we can look for treasure together."

That's kind of funny.

"Nice one, Moe. Mm, this is ...... a vajra crystal. It's expensive too!"

Kugase shouted with a loud bouncy voice as Moe quickly found a small sparkle.

They were smaller than those of the jade ants, but they had the shape of crystals.

Kikiriri immediately approached and interrupted with a curious look on his face.

"Hey, do these have the same effect as Thor's?"

"I can't guarantee how well it will work because it's so small, but it will probably have a similar effect."

Kikiriri's purple eyes narrowed catlike at the answer, and the corners of her lips lifted in a smile.

"Good. Then let's go to the second one when we're done with them.

"So, why are you in charge?