CH 109

Chapter 109 – Demon Species

For some reason, I felt like my strength and stamina limit had dropped as if I had been poisoned, but I must have been mistaken because I recovered after a good breakfast. I have a suspicion that no matter how exhausted I am, I can recover if I eat well, but it must be my imagination. I’ll just pretend that’s the case. I feel like I mustn’t let anyone know.

“Are you feeling better already-nodesu?”

“With energy and perseverance.”

“It’s amazing what you can do after all that sucking.”

“Peerless?”

“You’re a little out of the ordinary, aren’t you, Kosuke?”

I’ll admit that I’m out of the norm, but what did that sucking thing mean? No, no need to tell me, I’m scared. I think there are many things that I’ve been trying to pretend I didn’t notice since I woke up this morning or try not to remember.

Slime girls and Melty are dangerous combinations. Remember that, Kosuke.

“Well then, should we go now…? In the meantime, I’ll collect the workbench and other things. I might use it.”

“It can’t be helped-nodesu.”

“It’s a little lonely.”

“How about the communication device? Is that okay?”

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll bring the normal size one, and we’ll communicate at night.”

No matter how fast we move, we won’t be able to get out of range of the normal Golem communicator by the end of the day. Probably. I’ve set up a discreet external antenna to increase the sensitivity of transmission and reception.

“Okay, are we good?”

“We look ready.”

Melty and I checked our equipment and nodded to each other. I’m wearing leather armor, a sword on my hip, a backpack and shield on my back, and a short spear in my hand, the usual mercenary style.

Melty’s attire consisted of slightly more revealing clothing, a backpack, and a hooded robe covering her body. She also carried a rather well-made dagger. Except for the revealing clothes, she looks like a normal woman in traveling clothes.

“I think the clothes could be a little more substantial.”

“It’s more unnatural for a subhuman sex slave to be tightly clothed.”

“Is that how it is?”

Melty nodded at my question. Hmm, if that’s what the locals say, then I guess it is. But is it safe? I hope she doesn’t get tangled up with any strange people… but as long as she’s wearing her robe, she’ll be fine.

“Well then… shall we go now?”

“Yes, I will accompany you. Master.”

Melty smiles and leans in closer. Mmm, Master… sounds so good. Is this what it feels like to be called master? It’s kind of creepy. I feel like I’m playing a bad game here.

“Lime, Beth, and Poizo, thank you so much for all your help. I’ll never forget this. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, see you soon?”

“It’s been a pleasure living with you, Kosuke.

“See you soon. Take care of yourself, okay-nodesu?”

I gave each of the slime girls a hug and said goodbye. Lime is fluffy and puffy, Beth is smooth with just the right amount of elasticity, and Poizo is… let’s just say squishy. Yeah. Poizo’s body is a little loose, you know.

“I’ve been with you for a short time. I will repay you in time.”

“Yes, you have to pay for it.”

“I’ll be merciless in my attempts to collect.”

“Of course, you will pay us back-nodesu.”

The three of them said it as if it was obvious. There was no hug.

“Isn’t the reaction too different between Kosuke-san and me?”

“Is it your imagination?”

“It’s just your imagination.”

“Your imagination-nodesu.”

What a temperature difference. Even the kind-hearted Lime is reacting differently. Is it possible that Melty and the slime girls don’t get along…? No, it doesn’t sound like that. I think they have a rather unreserved relationship.

Anyway, I was primarily responsible for Melty being taken care of by Lime and the others this time. It would be unreasonable to make Melty pay for it.

“Since Melty came here for me, let me be the one to pay for it.”

“Oh sure, with pleasure?”

“If that’s what Kosuke says, I don’t see why not.”

“I’m looking forward to it-nodesu.”

The slime girls smiled broadly at my offer. Melty is happy, too ― she has a subtle expression on her face. I see; it’s like they’ve forced themselves on me, and I can’t be too happy about it.

“If you care about Melty, you can do something for me to make up for it.”

“…I see. That’s a good idea.”

“Oh, yeah. Please go easy on me.”

And Melty smiled sincerely. What? I feel like I made a mistake. I want to go back to five seconds ago. Have we implemented save and load yet?

Is there such a thing in survival games? I’m sure there is!

“Let’s go then. Sylphy is waiting for us with her long ears.”

“Yeah. See you later!”

This time, I said goodbye to the slime girls and left the sewers.

But if I make the elves wait for me, they’ll lengthen their ears instead of their necks… Otherworldly phrases are interesting.

☆★☆

After exiting the sewers, we immediately started running towards the highway. Shaking off the goblins and other monsters that were chasing us, we quickly ran through the forest.

However, we couldn’t just drag them all the way to the street. In fact, a monster train accident is a crime in this world.

“Before we leave the forest, let’s just take care of the ones that chased us here.”

Melty said quietly, stopping close to the exit of the forest. She had run a long distance, but she was not breathing unevenly or sweating. She may look like a beautiful woman, but she can probably beat the slime girls one-on-one.

“All right.”

I also stop and take out my Goatsfoot Crossbow.

A spear? I’ll use it when they get close to me, only if they get close. It’s not like I have any close combat skills. There is no need to dare to engage in close combat at all.

“Melty, I’ll take care of this――”

“No, I’ll take care of this.”

Melty took a step forward as if to protect me with a clattering sound. At the same time, three goblins jumped out from the bushes in the back.

“GYAGYAGYAGYA!”

“GUGGEGEGEE!”

“KYEEEEE!”

The goblins observed Melty standing in front of them and gave her an ugly grin. They thought that because she was a woman, she looked weak. Or was it a smile with a different meaning?

Come to think of it; I wonder what the ecology of goblins in this world is like. Are they the kind of creatures that take the women and children of other races to their nests and do things that are forbidden? I’ll ask someone about that next time. Other than women.

“Just the three of them?”

“I can do that――”

Instantly, three flowers of blood bloomed.

I don’t know what kind of magic was at work, but the three goblins were turned into a puff of blood by some unidentifiable attack. Melty didn’t move an inch from the spot. She just stuck her palm out in the direction of the three goblins at some point.

Eh, what the hell is that? Is it a rigid wave? Is it a palm wave?

Perhaps she noticed my gaze, but Melty turned around and smiled at me.

“Let’s go. Let’s go home as soon as possible.”

“Yes.”

I nodded obediently.

It’s a deadly blow, silent and invisible. And it’s a ranged attack. There’s no way I can resist such a blow from Melty-san, who releases it without hesitation. Isn’t Melty alone enough for the Holy Kingdom’s army?

“Hey, Melty.”

“Yes?”

As we walked through the forest towards the highway, I called out to Melty, who was walking beside me, holding the front of her robe tightly in place, and looked up at me.

“How strong is Melty, actually? Compared to Sylphy, Sir Leonard or Ms. Zamir?”

“Ah yes… If I were to use my full strength against Sylphy, we would be evenly matched, or perhaps I would be slightly better? I think that Sir Leonard and Ms. Zamir are better than me when it comes to simple combat using only weapons and physical strength, but when it comes to magic power, I don’t think that two people can defeat me. In addition, if fighting using only magic or magic power, I think Isla will win due to the difference in skills and the range of what she can do.”

“…Isn’t Melty really strong?”

“Strong, yes. I’m a demon, after all.”

I tilted my head at Melty, who said it so matter-of-factly.

“If you’re so strong, why did you get a job as an internal affairs officer? Or rather, what is a demon species?”

“Yes… the reasons are complicated in many ways. Do you know what a changeling is, Kosuke-san?”

“Changeling? Like an elf is born from human parents?”

My knowledge of changelings is about changelings in the fantasy world. It seems that there is a tradition in the real world as well, but I don’t know much about that.

In the case of the example I gave, I got the impression that it was an inherited condition caused by half-elf or elf blood in the blood of one or both parents.

“Yes, that’s right. My parents were very ordinary sheep beastmen. Their physical ability and magic power are on par with people. And by that, I mean standard among sheep beastman.”

“I see.”

“But I wasn’t normal. When I ran, I could beat cats and wolves and lift a load that a bear or elephant could barely lift with one hand. When it came to magic, I was as good as the One-Eyed race or the Tenma tribe. The fact that I am a demon species was immediately known to the people around me, and of course to the Merinard Kingdom.”

“That would be conspicuous.”

If there is such an outstanding person, it will be very conspicuous. If the existence of the demon species is widely known, it is not surprising that the country has a system for detecting its existence.

“I was taken in by the kingdom, educated, and secretly assigned to guard the royal family. Since I look like a normal sheep beastman, it’s hard for them to be wary of me.”

“I see.”

From what I’ve heard, an ordinary sheep beastman cannot use a rigid palm. It would be scary if they could.

So it’s perfect for personal protection. She can be disguised as a domestic servant or a maidservant and can be placed near important people to protect them without intimidating or causing distrust.

“I was going to go on a rampage during the war. But the king told me not to. The king told me to go into hiding for now and manage to get to Sylphy and stay by her side. However, it’s too difficult to traverse the Great Omit Wilderness by myself. Years passed while I was hiding for a chance, a rebellion broke out, and I joined Danan and the others and managed to traverse the Great Omit Wilderness, reunited with Sylphy, and came to this day.”

“Is it difficult to traverse?”

It’s possible if you have enough supplies. Water and shelter can be made with magic.

“It’s difficult. Although it is possible to eliminate Gizma, the amount of food and water that one person can carry is limited, and one person cannot even rest. If I can’t rest, my magic power will run out sooner or later. And if Gizma attacked me while I was sleeping, I would die. It’s impossible to go through that wilderness alone for ten days.”

“Well… you’re right.”

I can carry around an inexhaustible supply of supplies and can even build a safe shelter wherever I want, which is why it seems so easy to me. Surely, it’s an impossible task to go alone without the ability.

“Yeah? If that’s the case, then what is Melty――”

There was a sound of a thud, and Melty was moving in front of me. Her face was smiling, but she looked very intimidating.

“‘Kosuke-san, don’t you think that asking a woman her age is an indecent act?

“In general, I don’t think so, but I don’t think so for Melty. You can be beautiful and beautiful at any age. There are some long-lived species like elves, so there’s no need to worry about them. What I’m wondering is whether the lifespan of a demon species is longer than that of a normal sheep beastman. As I recall, beastmen don’t have much of a lifespan compared to humans, right?”

I put forward my theory, not letting the intimidation get the better of me. The intimidation scared me, and I think she had a point, but I couldn’t suppress my intellectual curiosity.

Melty stared at me for a while, then closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

“I’m a little older than Sylphy. I’m much younger than Sir Leonard. Also, the demon species has a longer lifespan. They live about five times as long as normal species.”

“I see, that’s great. Is it more of a mutation than an inheritance?

It seems strange that a mutation would increase the lifespan. In fact, there is no such thing as inheritance or mutation.

In reality, it may not be a phenomenon of segregation or mutation but something else.

While I was listening to Melty’s story, we came to a highway. The traffic was sparse, and some people looked at us quizzically as we came out of the forest, but I guess they didn’t want to get involved.

“Now that we’re on the highway. What should we do?”

“How long will it take us to get to our destination if we just keep walking down the highway?”

“…It would take about a month, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s going to be tough… I think we’d better get off the highway and dash home.”

“I’ve got a map of the Merinard Kingdom in my head, so I can guide you. I’m also confident in my sense of direction.”

Melty looks up at me from right next to me. She’s confident in her sense of direction, hey… I thought sheep were extremely directionless. Is it because she’s a demon species that she’s different…? But, she was actually able to get to Merinesburg, so she had a track record.

“Then I’ll ask you to guide me. Please guide me by the best route. Even if we don’t make it to the city, we can rest safely in the shelter.”

“Okay, please follow me.”

After saying that, Melty crossed the highway and started walking towards the forest on the other side of the highway from the forest we just came out of.

Okay, wait for me, Sylphy. I’ll keep moving forward no matter what stands in my way!