CH 251

Chapter 251 : Poke-Poo!

「Water Ball!」(Mark)

I made a huge water ball above the burning Evil Fungus’ corpse using water magic and made it sprinkle the water to put out the fire.

The burning corpse made a sizzling sound as the water soaked it, and when the fire was extinguished, I could see the Evil Fungus had turned into charcoal. It seemed to be shrunk while it was burning. It’s only about one-third of its original size now.

After confirming that none of the surrounding trees are burning, I turned the oval-shaped wall I made into sand. It then scattered, being carried by the wind.

Because the Evil Fungus’ entire body has turned into charcoal, none of its body parts that I can sell to the guild as monster materials. However, there’s one thing I can take from its corpse.

Yup, the magic stone.

I grabbed a long and sturdy twig that was lying on the ground nearby, crouched down in front of the charred and soaked Evil Fungus’ corpse, and started thrusting the twig into the corpse.

『Onii-chan, somehow you remind me of a girl with a pink hat and big glasses…』(Nicola)

『Is that so? But I’m not playing with poop.』(Mark)

*/TL : The girl they mentioned was Arale Noriaki from the manga/anime Dr. Slump. She likes to poke poop with a stick.

After I heard Nicola’s voice in my head, I turned my face back and saw Nicola, Celine, Ester, and Norwell-san waving at me while walking here.

I waved back at them and returned my gaze to the burnt corpse and continued stirring the corpse with the stick.

Hmm… Why can’t I find it? Don’t tell me… Did it turn into charcoal as well?

Just when I was about to give up, the tip of my stick hit a hard object inside the corpse.

I moved the stick around, trying to get the magic stone out of the corpse, and as soon as it came out, I washed it with water magic, held it with my hand, and observed it.

The magic stone was black and it was about the size of an adult’s fist.

I wonder if it’s black because the Evil Fungus used dark magic.

「Hee~ It was a dark-attributed monster, I see. A dark-attributed magic stone this big is rare. You can sell it at a high price~」(Celine)

Celine explained about the magic stone as she approached me.

So, I’m right. It’s black because the Evil Fungs’ magic was dark-attributed.

「I see. But, why is it expensive? What are dark-attributed magic stones used for?」(Mark)

「It’s the opposite of light magic. You can use dark magic stones to spread darkness around your surroundings or help you make fermented food faster. But the main reason why they are expensive is that they are the main materials to make magic tools for slavery and for torturing criminals~」(Celine)

Sweat ran down my cheek when Celine explained about the dark magic stones with a smile on her face

I hurriedly put the magic stone into my Item Box.

Seeing my pale face, Celine patted my head and chuckled.

「Fufu. You’re a strong magician who has defeated three special monsters but you’re scared of stuff like that? You’re so cute~」(Celine)

「N, No, I’m not scared. I just think it’s… unusual…」(Mark)

Actually, it reminds me of a horror movie about a villain torturing people that I watched in my previous life. It makes me feel sick…

「By the way, as a person who uses fire magic, what do you think of my fire spell?」(Mark)

「I’m impressed, honestly. You said you were not good at fire magic, but you burned that giant monster in one shot.」(Celine)

「I think my fire magic ability has improved because I help you with your Crystal Branch.」(Mark)

「Ah, I see. You transfer a huge amount of fire-attributed mana into my body every time you help me with that.」(Celine)

「Yup. Thanks to that I can now produce stronger fire-attributed mana.」(Mark)

「Now that you mention it, I feel like the mana you transfer has gotten stronger lately. I feel like something warm warps my whole body. Mmm~ Honestly, it feels so good~ ーAa… Never mind.」(Celine)

Celine explained while hugging her own body and wriggling, but then she blushed and looked away for some reason.

「Yo, Cucumber Boy, I’m truly impressed! I’m sorry for doubting you. I’ve been an adventurer for many years, but I’ve never seen a child like you.」(Norwell)

Norwell-san approached me and tapped my shoulder.

Judging from the way he is walking, I don’t think he still has pain in his leg. I’m glad for him.

「Norwell-san, how’s the fungus’ dark magic? Is it gone?」(Mark)

「Yeah, I can no longer feel that it’s sucking my mana! It’s gone! Thanks to you I can see Matilda and live on. Thank you!」(Norwell)

Saying that, he took a step forward and grabbed my hand with both of his hands. He then shook my hand and gave me a gentle smile.

Seeing his smile makes me feel like my hard work has been rewarded.

After shaking hands with Norwell-san, I turned my gaze to Ester.

To be honest, I thought she would rush at me with joy and hug me as soon as the battle was over, but for some reason, she looked kinda sad, and her long ears were crooked down.

「Ester, what’s wrong?」(Mark)

「Mark, you are very strong, and yet… there was still a part of me who doubted you… Thinking about that made me feel sad… Unlike Celine who believed you would be able to defeat that monster, I feel like I’ve failed as your friend for not trusting you completely…」(Ester)

While looking down, Ester answered my question.

「Ara~ Ester, you don’t have to worry about that. I trust Mark because I’ve seen him defeat powerful monsters many times, but you, you have only known him for a couple of months and haven’t seen his full potential, right? So it couldn’t be helped.」(Celine)

「You think so…?」(Ester)

「I was happy that Celine trusted me, but Ester, honestly, I was happy too that you were worried about me. Worrying about your friend is a natural thing.」(Mark)

「I… I see… Thank you, Mark. You make me feel better.」(Ester)

Ester raised her face and showed me her usual bright smile.

「Well, to be honest, the fact that Celine trusted me too much had given me a lot of pressure, so I’m glad you were not like her.」(Mark)

「Ara~ I’m sorry for that, but Mark, you managed to kill the monster as I expected. I never thought you would come up with the idea of trapping it, though.」(Celine)

While saying that, Celine looked at the trail on the ground where I made the wall.

「If I didn’t do this, the fire would spread.」(Mark)

「True. Actually, I thought that you would use wind magic to chop the fungus’ body apart into a few parts.」(Celine)

「I was thinking about that too, but at the point when my Stone Bullets didn’t work, I thought I could only defeat it with fire magic.」(Mark)

「I see. Anyway, that was a good plan. You think fast while in a battle, and that’s a good thing. However, it seems that you still need more practice~」(Celine)

「I… I’ll do my best…」(Mark)

Celine smiled at me and stroked my head.

Seeing the two of us so close, Ester pouted.

「Ughh! Celine, you really make me jealous! I want to know more about Mark too and become even closer to him too!」(Ester)

「Ara, ara~ Ester, you’re going with us to Fatia in the future, right? Don’t worry, you still have a lot of time to deepen your relationship with Mark. Right, Mark~?」(Celine)

「Y, yeah, of course. Anyway, now that there’s nothing left to do here, shall we go home? I’m tired…」(Mark)

Today, I killed several Green Foxes, healed Norwell-san’s leg, and defeated the Evil Fungus. I used a huge amount of mana, especially when I built the wall to trap the Evil Fungus and burned it with fire magic.

Now, I feel as tired as when I used Celine’s Resonance Stone to call my parents for the first time.

「Mark, if you’re tired, I can carry you to your home!」(Ester)

Saying that, Ester turned her back on me and crouched down.

「Uhh… I don’t know… I think it would be very embarrassing. Don’t worry, I’m not that tired. I can still walk to the village.」(Mark)

「Eeehhh… Even so, can you let me do something for you? I was the one who asked your help to hunt Green Foxes for Rumilu. I’d feel bad if I don’t do anything for you. Please~」(Ester)

Ester glanced at me with cute upward gazes.

Well, she hasn’t done much today, so I understand her feelings of wanting to do something useful.

It’s embarrassing for a boy like me to be piggybacked by a girl, but I can’t bring myself to refuse her kind intentions…

「A, Alright… Honestly, I don’t want to walk anymore, so… Ester, can you please take me back home?」(Mark)

「Un! Leave it to me! Come on, get on!」(Ester)

Ester smiled at me and stretched her arms down, prompting me to get on her back. She looked so happy.

I slowly put my chest on her back and wrapped my hands around her neck.

She is sweating a lot but she still smells good.

Noticing me sniffing the back of her neck, Ester blushed and looked away.

「M, Mark, can you not… sniff me too much…? It’s embarrassing…」(Ester)

「Awawa! I, I’m sorry!」(Mark)

「N, No, it’s okay…」(Ester)

『Gunununu…!! I’m jealous! I’m sooo jealous!! But since you’re the MVP today, I will forgive you! Be grateful!』(Nicola)

『A, Alright…』(Mark)

「Ester, I’m ready. Shall we go now?」(Mark)

「O, Okay!」(Ester)

I urged Ester to start moving before Nicola’s jealous meter went even higher..

While carrying me on her back, Ester started walking ahead of everyone else.

I never thought being carried by a girl would be very comfortable.

While feeling Ester’s warm body and smelling her good flower-like smell, I fell asleep before I knew it.

Luckily, we didn’t encounter any monsters on the way back.