Volume 4 - CH 14

Chapter 14 – Underground Lakes and Wind Slime

Morning, huh? I enjoyed my daily routine every morning, got ready, had breakfast, and immediately entered the cave… I wonder why they want to go into a cave with a giant centipede attacking them with an excited face.

We proceeded through the cave with the same formation as yesterday. We are going against the wind, which drains our strength, and the giant bats are attacking us, riding on the wind.

The members of Girasole are killing them instantly, so it’s not a problem, but the increased momentum is freaking me out more often. It seems that even if my level goes up, I can’t get rid of my weakness.

We continued to defy the wind and summoned a boat to go over a passage blocked by water.

“Phew, let’s take a break here and have lunch.”

We came to a slightly wider place, so we blocked the passage with the hut boat and had lunch.

Rimu, who had been in my bag, also came out and went all the way to the windy place, rolling around in the strong wind. He seems to be having fun.

“It’s really nice to have you here, Wataru-san. Being able to have a hot meal in the cave and a safe rest is terrific.”

“I myself am also helped by the ship summoning. Although it doesn’t have any offensive power, it’s a good ability.”

“Fufu, it’s an enviable ability. But there are some S-rank people who have unique skills as well. Most of them specialize in combat. Being able to apply it to life in such a defensive role is very rare among the unique skills, isn’t it?”　

“Is that so? But Alessia-san, I thought that everyone with unique skills hides them from the public, but are there people who make them public?”

“Yes, those who don’t know how to use their unique skills hide them because they don’t know what they can be used for. And those who know how to use them, their unique skills are so powerful that they stand out, and even if they try to hide them, they will still be exposed.”

“Oh, I see. Certainly, unique skills related to combat will stand out, won’t they?”

“Yes, that’s why people with powerful but inapplicable unique skills are often surrounded by the state, while those of S-ranks have mastered their abilities and are capable of rejecting the state’s offers to recruit them.”

” Heh, I didn’t know there were people like that.”

“Fufu, Wataru-san, if you prepare your unique skills, you should be able to compete with the country. Do your best.”

“Ahahahaha, even if I end up doing okay in terms of ability, I won’t have the heart to do it. If the country takes notice of me, I’ll be holed up in the ship and won’t come out.”

“The ship is so comfortable; I don’t think you’ll really come out.”

“Well, it’s fun to go places, so I’ll be careful not to get caught.”

“That would be nice. Well, shall we get going?”

After taking a break, we proceeded through the cave against the strong wind. It seems to be a gradual descent, and the further we go, the more places there are filled with water.

We were attacked by monsters many times, and we walked on and on with many breaks in between, but there was no end in sight.

“Fuh, this cave is much bigger than I expected, and it’s already nighttime.”

“Right, Alessia, we have to decide whether to turn around or go on.”

“Dorothea, do you want to go on or go back?”

“Well, we’re at the end of the unreachable cave, so I’d like to check it out, but since Wataru-san is coming with us this time… we might as well turn around.”

“But we can’t proceed to the back of the cave without Wataru-san… Shall we ask Wataru-san’s opinion? Wataru-san, do you think it’s better to proceed or turn back?”

Personally, I’d like to get out of the cave as quickly as possible, but I guess if I were to read the air… I should answer that we should proceed. ‘The women want to go on, but Wataru-san seems to be having a hard time, so what should we do?’ That’s the mood we’re in.

“Well, we’ve come this far, and we have plenty of food and time to spare. Shouldn’t we go on with our exploration a little further?”

I’m weak… and can’t say what I don’t want to. I can’t go against the mood of the moment.

“Right, then, let’s find a comfortable place to camp, get a good rest, and continue our exploration.”

“”””””””Yes.”””””””

We went on for a while and found a slightly larger place to set up camp. We finish dinner, decide on the order of the watch, and go to sleep.

…Morning, huh? Since we are in a cave, I finish my morning routine lightly and leave the hut boat. We’ll continue onward through the dark cave today… or I’ll have to at least try to keep my spirits up so as not to make the air feel bad.

“Then let’s get going.”

We continue through the dark cave, taking some breaks, and just when we can’t stand the dark cave any longer, we see a light at the end of the road.

“Alessia, I see a light ahead of us. I’ll go ahead and scout the area.”

“Okay, Marina, be careful.”

“Yes.”

I see a faint light at the end of the dark cave. I hope this will somehow yield results. Then we can leave the cave with a good feeling.

“I’m nervous. What do you think is out there?”

“Fufu, well, no one has been here yet, so there might be something unusual in there.”

Dorothea-san… I thought you came here to look for slime, but I wonder if you forgot about it.”

As we were discussing and imagining what lay ahead, Marina-san returned.

“Welcome back, Marina, are you injured?”

“No, I’m fine. There was a big underground lake just up ahead. There was a hole on the other side of the lake, and it looked like strong winds and sunlight were coming in through it.”

“Were there any monsters in there?”

“As far as I can tell from my scouting, I don’t think there are any monsters other than the ones we’ve seen so far, but I don’t know what’s in the underground lake.”

“I see. Thank you, Marina.”

“Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be any immediate danger that we can see, so let’s proceed with caution.”

We proceed cautiously to the underground lake, being even more vigilant about our surroundings.

“The Luto can be summoned at this depth. But the Hideaway seems unsafe. Shall I summon the Luto?”

“Yes, I think so. We don’t know what’s under there. Please do.”

I summon the Luto, and we all get on board.

“Phew, now we can all relax. Now, what do we do? Should we go straight to the light?”

“I’m interested in that place, but I don’t know what’s there. I think I’d like to take a shower first.”

“Right, I agree with Ilma. Let’s take a shower first.”

“Eh, they were so curious about the place, and now they want to take a shower here? Even though I wanted to go home, I was curious to see what was under that light… I just can’t understand the woman’s mind.

With everyone’s warm and fuzzy appearance in my mind, I took a shower myself. After drinking some cold fruit juice and relaxing for a bit, we headed to the place where the light was coming from.

“There doesn’t seem to be any big monsters in the underground lake… I wonder if those little things are fish?”

“Yeah, a lake with a river running through it would have monsters, but there’s no… running through it either.”

“Yes, the water is clean, but is it drinkable?”

We reached the other side of the lake and got off the boat. Carefully heading down to the light, we found a beautiful scene of blooming vegetation.

“It’s beautiful…”

“Yes.”

In a vast space, on the side of a dark underground lake, bathed in the light pouring down from a huge hole, plants in full bloom. All of us were gaping at this spectacle.

“Hmm? I saw something shining over there.”

“Eh? Where is it?”

As we cautiously approached the glowing spot, we found a green object buried in the ground. After digging it up and looking at it, we found… what’s this? A huge scale nearly two meters long came out.

“T-this is a dragon, and this magic power must be dragon scales.”

“Wow, are these dragon scales? They are huge.”

“No, it is not just a dragon; it is a Ryu. The magic power remaining in the scales is mixed with sacred power.”

Ilma-san always smiles bewitchingly, but now her usual bewitching atmosphere is blown away by excitement. What does this mean? I look around and see that the women are frozen with expressions of surprise. It seems I’ve somehow missed something.

After Ilma-san calmed down, I asked her to explain. There are dragons and Ryu in this world, and even dragons have very few records of being defeated, so they have a very high value.

And Ryu is completely different from dragons, with only one individual confirmed for each of the following attributes: light Ryu, dark Ryu, earth Ryu, fire Ryu, wind Ryu, and water Ryu, and they are said to have intelligence and are revered as messengers of the gods. There are also said to be thunder Ryu, ice Ryu, etc., although they have not yet been confirmed.

I am getting confused with Ryu and the dragon, but I think things are getting serious. I want to go home and pretend this never happened.

“Huh? Isn’t it bad? If we stay here, we’ll run into a Ryu that’s that big?”

“Don’t worry, Wataru-san; I don’t think it has been back here for many years now. There are no traces left on the ground, and it might not have been back for hundreds or thousands of years.”

“So you can tell the magic even though the scales are that old… amazing. …So what are we going to do with it now?”

“Well, we can’t afford to miss the chance to get our hands on the Ryu materials. We’ll do a thorough search of the entire underground lake.”

“””””””Yes.”””””””

They completely forgot about the slime… Everyone scattered and began to search the surrounding area. I’ll search too. After searching for a while, wading through the vegetation, something waved in the corner of my eye.

Hmm? It’s slime, isn’t it…? And it’s glowing light green… like a slime that can use magic like Rimu. I looked around and… saw no one.

I approach it gently with a piece of fruit. It doesn’t run away, so I give it some fruit. It seems fine, so I gently pet it. Rimu also comes out of my bag, and he and the light-green slime bump into each other.

“Rimu, is this child scared of us?”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

“I see; that’s good.”

I talk to the light-green slime while petting it.

“Hey, there’s an Onee-san who wants to make a contract with you. Will you come with me?”

The light-green slime looks as if it is talking to Rimu, who is twitching for a while.

“…I’ll go…”

“Thanks, I’ll introduce you tonight. Can you wait in this bag until then?”

“…Yeah…”

With that, the light green slime went into my bag.

“Rimu, thank you, you told it something, didn’t you?”

“Fun and tasty.”

“I see. Did you say that it can have fun and tasty food? Then I’ll have to treat it to a lot of food. Of course, I’ll treat Rimu to lots of food, too.”

“I like Wataru.”

Then it went into my bag. They are playing with each other in the bag, bumping their bodies against each other. So cute. At any rate, I continued my search. I searched until sunset and came back to the ship.

“It’s amazing that we found so many, and we haven’t even explored all of them yet. Let’s keep on searching tomorrow. Is that okay, Wataru-san?”

“Yes, of course, Alessia-san. I was wondering, Claretta-san, you seem to be collecting a lot of plants. Are they good ones?”

“Yes, it is. This place is amazing, with precious medicinal herbs and even variants of those herbs.”

“I see. I will let you know if I find any rare plants too.”

“Yes, please.”

“And Marina,-san, I think this one is a slime with a wind attribute. What do you think?”

I gently pick it up from my bag and hand it to Marina-san. Slowly, Marina-san also hugs the light green slime and converses with it.

“I’m Marina; nice to meet you.”

“Yes, aren’t you familiar with it?”

“Fruits? Do you like them?”

“Would you like to come with me?”

Marina talked with a kind face; she was beautiful. By fruit, I assume she means the fruit I gave her. Will you come with me? At the same time as the words, a magic circle floats in front of the light green slime.

We all watched with bated breath, and the slime, which had twitching, accepted the magic circle. It was like this at the time of Rimu; I was so happy then. And Marina-san’s wonderful smile, it’s a rare sight.

“Congratulations, Marina.”

“Congratulations, Marina-san.”

Everyone congratulates Marina-san.

“Thank you, everyone. This child is a Wind Slime, a slime with a wind attribute. Her name is… Fuu-chan. Since she is a wind attribute slime, I’m going to call her Fuu-chan. Nice to meet you, Fuu-chan.”

Yeah, it’s a simpler and cuter name than I expected and somewhat unexpected.

“Thank you, Wataru-san. Thank you for finding Fuu-chan and bringing her here.”

“I’m glad I was able to repay you in some small way for bringing Rimu to me. Rimu and I are looking forward to playing with Fuu-chan.”

“Yes.”

After the conversation was over, we decided to have dinner. It’s so cute to see Rimu and Fuu-chan eating dinner side by side.

When Rimu finished eating, he went to the ladies’ place to get some food to share with them, and Fuu-chan followed behind him. Everyone is smiling as they share their meals with Rimu and Fuu-chan.

It’s cute, but next time I’ll serve a little more food. Afterward, everyone had dessert and enjoyed playing Jenga and reversi.

“Wataru-san, Fuu-chan said she was so happy to have so many delicious foods; thank you.”

“No, no, Rimu is also happy to have a friend. Thank you.”

Dorothea-san and Marina-san are playing happily with Rimu and Fuu-chan. But Dorothea-san was also wishing for her own slime as soon as possible. It’s a rare sight, though it’s cute.

After all that had happened, I decided to go to bed early. Tomorrow we will start exploring again in the morning. Good night.