Chapter Twenty-Six: Showing Off

Chapter Twenty-Six: Showing Off

Irisa was strangely excited to see what I could do as a chimera. Ichiha couldn’t hide her curiosity, either, and I had their applause when I transfigured little spider setules on my fingers to climb up their wall and onto the ceiling. Then by shooting out some web from my wrists, I slowly descended until my feet touched the ground. That got the most reaction other than changing my hand into a boar’s head with its undercoat, and Ichiha remarked on how soft it felt.

The spider leg on my forehead received applause—Irisa even remarked that if I grew a second one and made it slightly smaller and blacker, I could be an oni like her—but the araneae’s head coming from my wrist was unsettling. The topic of different senses when transfigured came up, and I explained it as ‘seeing’ from my wrist, but I could focus and align the sight from the spider’s head and my eyes to get the best of both worlds at the cost of a headache. With the boar’s nose, I could take full advantage of their incredible sense of smell.

After displaying my chimeric side, I tried to pull my 9mm from [Storage], but it wasn’t there.

Yeah, it was probably knocked out of my hands. With Reina’s gun, I showed off [Chimeric Armatization] and said it was better than [Mystic Gunner]. I channeled fire and water magic through it so they could see the different forms, then did the same for [Piercing Thrust] and [String Shot].

And since it had been a while, I figured I could look at my Status Menu.

Lyudmila Springfield

High Elf

Lv. 5

SP: 15

Title: [Goblin Slayer (I)]

Sub-Title: [Araneae Slayer (I)]

Skill Menu [+]

Mastery Menu [+]

Lv. 5? There were a lot of monsters, and they were alphas. I had 9 SP before, so Sekh must’ve gotten 12 SP when she leveled up. It’s still slow, though. We need to pick up the pace...

[Piercing Thrust], [Web Bomb], and [String Shot] were at Lv. 10, while [Fireball] was Lv.4. All were mastered.

I spoke to Irisa about [Hermes Trismegistus], and she found it absolutely incredible, even more so after I told her of [Map]'s satellite mode. To prove it to her, I returned to my room, turned it on, and watched a live feed of her holding up four fingers. I called that out, then she touched her mom’s arm and asked what she was doing. I obviously answered right, and this continued for a few more minutes until the headaches came. Before I returned to the kitchen, I changed clothes. What I had on before was destroyed in the dungeon, but I'd received three outfits when I first moved in.

I can keep the gloves off, though. At least while I'm here... The shirt and shorts were comfortable, but I love this long skirt.

Irisa skipped to her room and came out with something that made my jaw drop. “Mila, we went hunting for those hides to make this for Sekh. I’m not done with it, but I’m close,” she said, standing beside a complete set of brown boiled leather armor.

Boiled Leather Armor (0/1)

It weighed about 12lbs. My storage was full of cores, so I didn’t have the space. I’d have to wait for it to naturally expand, but it wasn’t like I was going to store the armor.

“Thank you,” said Sekh. It seemed she was struggling a bit to appreciate the gift. She experienced the same strain as I did when Ichiha hugged and talked to me, but it was nice to see her stiff expression melt into a lovely smile.

It's growth for both of us... That’s good, right?

“You said you had something like a workshop, right, right? Can I see it? It sounds cool. And I still need to make a mace and shield for you, Sekh. I promise it’ll be done soon.”

“Well, it’s kinda like that, but it’s called [Artificer’s Arsenal]. If I make a knife or something, I can register it. If it breaks or dulls, I can summon another copy. The only restriction is that once something is registered, it cannot be used to cause any harm. But it isn’t just knives. If I made a furnace or anvil, it could be registered and stored as well. Even coal, oddly enough, can be infinite if I somehow make it by hand. See?” I took out the first stone knife I had made and crushed it against Yaekira’s dagger. It vanished from my hand, but I summoned two more copies and handed one to Irisa.

“That’s so cool!!!!” Irisa exclaimed. She asked me questions about how experienced I was in crafting, but I only just had the stone spider mace I had made for Sekh. Now that I had [Weapon Creation], I was sure whatever I made would be hardly better—but better, nonetheless.

“Mom? Can we borrow some backpacks? And a mace for Sekh until Mila’s made one for her?”

“Of course.” Ichiha’s kindness was off the charts. I tried to throw in another article of clothing, but she refused. “Sweetie, that is worth more than a thousand people make in a lifetime. More so because Lord Amos specifically created it for a Soul Warrior.”

We all went downstairs. Sekh found a suitable mace and thanked Ichiha a second time, then she slipped it through a loop on her belt.

I was the only one without protection because my wooden chainmail broke, but Irisa was going to change that. After we took the backpacks and canteens the motherly figure so graciously offered us, Sekh, Tilde, Irisa, and I were out the door.

We were just walking towards the northern entrance when Irisa said something that caught me off guard.

“You know, after mom and I cleaned you up, I saw the reason why Sekh moans so much when you two have sex. That thing between your legs is huge, even when it’s flaccid. Like, I almost thought it was going to attack me. It’s hard to believe it gets even bigger when you’re hard.”

“Eh?!” I exclaimed.

“You were stark naked when she brought you to us. Mom stitched the wounds, and I rubbed you clean with a dozen wet towels and rags.” After inquiring some more, it appeared Sekh’s [Fleshcrafting] on my crotch vanished when I nearly died. Tilde said it had to do with my body automatically morphing back into its base form and canceling any alterations, including Sekh’s handiwork to my penis, out of necessity and safety.

So yeah... Irisa saw the gray tower between my legs...

I uttered a soft apology in a quiet voice. Irisa soon slapped me on the back with a hearty laugh.

“It’s no big deal. I’ve seen one before.”

“You’re not a virgin?” I asked.

“I’m not. Mom’s probably told you about my lack of a filter when I speak, so I haven’t had a potential mate in a while. And then there’s that situation with dad. I dunno. It’s kinda hard to explain, but I couldn’t focus on finding a husband because my mom and I gotta take care of each other and the store.”

“I see...”

“Mila? We’re friends, right? And friends take baths together. Is that something you might want to do?”

“A bath together?”

The tub is big enough, but...

“I...don’t know about that.” If Irisa was disappointed, she didn’t show it. Maybe I’d want to do it in the future, but right now was much too soon.

But I was open to the idea... I really was.

“Don’t look so sorry, Mila. It’s fine. Really. I won’t pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do. Life’s been hard on you, and I don’t want to add to that,” Irisa said. She gave me a smile and started talking about all the things she needed to teach me as it pertained to crafting. She had experience making clothes, armor, weapons, brewing potions, and building things like tables and chairs, and she was ecstatic that she had a student to pass her knowledge down to. She lacked experience in enchanting, so I would have to find someone else to teach me about that.

Ignoring the stuff about second chances and having an opportunity to do it all over again the right way, I felt genuine joy flow through my heart. If this was what it felt like to truly look forward to something that would only enrich my life, then why did my ‘parents’ try so hard to take that away from me? To them, I wasn’t worth the added effort when they already had a prodigy to nurture.

If they had tried to give a little bit of effort...

Shit, I can’t keep thinking about them. They were parents in name only, not action and motivation. The possibility of me meeting them here is nearly nil, but should that day come, I will end their lives without a moment of hesitation.

They gave up on me, so I’ll give up on them.

It’s only fair, right?