Chapter 44: This Could Work
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 44: This Could Work
"Oh, for the love of..."
The leather belt snapped, and my loosened pants tumbled to the floor with a rustle.
Clatter—
The metal buckle hit the stone floor of the appraisal office. I spun around instinctively, but...
Wait, spinning around doesn't solve a damn thing.
Why was it that the front was a no-go, but the backside was supposedly fine?
"Delbaheim. Hurry up and give me that blanket."
"Wh-what?! What do you plan on doing with my blanket?! Absolutely not!"
"Then am I supposed to just stay like this?"
"I—I must cover my eyes! Take it yourself!"
With incredible reaction speed, Delbaheim used her palms to cover both her own eyes and Ravi’s. Fortunately, it seemed she’d managed to block their view just before the pants hit the floor completely...
This is driving me crazy.
"Wait, you want me to take it myself?"
"I—I have no choice! What on earth are you trying to force into this maiden's sight?!"
"Delbaheim, you're an elf..."
"If you cover that part with my blanket...! It'll touch!! Eek!!"
Ravi raised both her fists, squeaking in protest. I hurriedly pulled up my pants—which were now split wide open at the rear—tucked my tail back in, and held the fabric together with my hands.
The back was freezing; the wind was practically whistling through. To think even my underwear had been torn in two... Why does this keep happening to me?
"I'm losing my mind. Ravi, is there any string in this office? My belt snapped, and I need to do something about it."
"String..? U-uhhh..."
"Miss Ravi, please. Go inside. I will go out and find him some new trousers."
"It’s not even seven in the morning yet. Where are you going to find clothes?"
"I just need to go to the clan building! Wait here calmly! And... do not lay a finger on the owner!"
"Hah, wow. Fine, I get it."
Keeping both her and Ravi’s eyes covered with her hands, Delbaheim stepped down from the cot and led Ravi behind the curtain. Did she really think I was crazy enough to lay a finger on her?
"Miss Ravi. Stay here quietly."
"O-okay! Please come back soon...?"
"Yes. I shall return swiftly."
With that, Ravi took refuge behind the curtain. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the appraisal office, clutching my sagging pants.
"Delbaheim. I'm counting on you."
"Y-yes... Understood! Just wait a moment."
Delbaheim pulled her hood low over her face and dashed out of the office. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve prepared a backup plan. I hadn't given it a single thought. I mean, how do beastkin usually wear pants? Is there a specific kind for them?
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen many beastkin with reptilian tails. Most had the soft, thin tails typical of mammals. Even the thick ones usually looked like fur.
"Y-Yoo Eon..? Are you still there?"
"Yes. I'm here. Is something wrong?"
"Um... are you still... leaving it out?"
"No. I'm not. I've got it covered. But don't come out, just in case."
"I-I wasn't trying to come out! I just meant... you can use the blanket to cover yourself if you need to..."
"Really? Then I'll do that."
"Y-yes!"
It was awkward to keep holding them up by hand anyway. This was much more comfortable. I pulled the pants up as best I could, sat on the cot, and wrapped myself in the blanket. It wasn't long before Delbaheim returned.
"Huff... I-I have returned..."
"Welcome back. That was incredibly fast."
Had he already been to the clan building? It felt like barely five minutes had passed. As expected of a high-grade explorer. He was even fast at delivering pants.
Since I was covered by the blanket, I took the pants without issue. Delbaheim, still pointlessly covering her eyes, ducked behind the curtain.
"Delbaheim. There are two pairs here?"
"One is a pair used by beastkin. There should be a strap near the lower back to secure it above the tail, so please check. If you don't need it right now, you can take it back to the inn."
"I see. Thanks."
He’d gone the extra mile without me even asking. One pair was just a regular set of black trousers.
"Hmm..."
"Is there a problem?"
This was a bit tricky. The pants made for beastkin were designed to be secured by looping a strap around the tail, which meant they worked best if the tail was always there. Since my tail appeared and disappeared, I wasn't sure how to handle it.
For now, I put on the regular pants. Honestly, was this an appraisal office or a dressing room? I don't know why these things keep happening to me. It’s just unfair.
"I'm dressed. You can come out now."
"R-really?"
"Yes. Really."
At my word, Ravi and Delbaheim slowly emerged from behind the curtain. For now, this was fine. Now that I knew I could manifest the tail, I had to figure out what exactly I could do with it.
"A lot of time has passed. It's already morning. Delbaheim, Ravi... thanks for the hard work."
"Gosh, is it that late already? Well, at least today's experiment was a success!"
"Constant achievement is a virtuous thing."
"Yeah. I suppose so. It would be even better if I didn't make mistakes like this, though."
That was enough for today. I’d woken Ravi up in the middle of the night to work, so she needed some sleep, and I had no idea how much time had actually passed. I had plenty to do once I got back to the inn.
Since I’d thrown away all my weapons, I was currently empty-handed. Until the payment for the lizardman corpses came in tomorrow morning, I planned to rest while testing my various abilities.
"Ravi. I'll wash the blanket and return it to you."
"What?! N-no! It's fine! I can do it myself!"
"It's no trouble."
"It's really okay! I want to get to sleep soon anyway! Good job today! Come back again! Definitely! And don't be too late next time!"
"Understood."
"Delbaheim-nim, get home safely! I'm a fan!"
"Is that so? Thank you."
With that, we disbanded. I rolled up the new pair and my torn pants, tucked them under my arm, and headed back to the inn. The biggest problem was that I was still wearing the underwear with the split down the middle.
I needed to get to the inn, change quickly, and show my face. I wasn't sure exactly how long I’d been gone. I must have slept for at least a day in the treatment center after being rescued from the labyrinth.
"I've slept enough, so I'm not tired. I'll take it easy and experiment with my abilities."
* * *
"Huh."
The inn door was open. It was 7:00 AM, so it was a reasonable time to be open, but wasn't this usually when they kept it closed? I looked inside to see if something had happened, only to find Sera slumped over the desk, dozing off. The blanket that had been draped over her back had slipped off, and she looked cold.
I wondered why she was out here sleeping in her pajamas, and then I saw it.
The incubator must have arrived.
In front of the sleeping Sera sat a luxurious-looking incubator. It was a magic tool that used a mana crystal as an energy source to provide a warm light for the egg. Was it really okay for me to just accept this?
Well, the Mayerbridge Union certainly wasn't short on cash. And Delbaheim had seemed more than happy to give it to me.
She's sound asleep. I should leave her be.
Sera was snoring softly, using her thin arm as a pillow. It was the first time I’d seen her with her hair down instead of her usual ponytail; the long hair suited her well.
"Cute."
After pulling the blanket back over her, I went up to the second floor, grabbed a change of clothes, and washed up in the bath. Had the person from the clan who delivered the incubator mentioned I was coming? As if they knew I’d be back, the magic tool that heated the water was already on, allowing me to enjoy a warm soak.
"Ah, that hits the spot."
I put on the pants Delbaheim had provided and went out to the backyard. I moved around to check my condition and then summoned the tail.
Shink—
"Hmm."
It was about 80cm long. Slightly longer than the sword I’d been using before it broke. To be honest, this length felt a bit awkward for combat.
When I stood straight, the tip of the tail didn't touch the ground. It didn't hang perfectly straight down, either. It would be perfect if it were twice this length. Was there a way to extend it?
Maybe I could buy another lizardman tail and consume it? I could probably figure it out if I aligned the vertebrae correctly. For now, there were no issues with movement. I’d been worried, but the nerves seemed to be connected perfectly.
As I felt around, it seemed my original skin and the lizardman hide were fused together well enough. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any risk of the skin splitting and muscle popping out.
"Hoo...!"
Whoosh—
Ravi had mentioned using it for swinging attacks, but the length made that difficult. I practiced by sticking a thin wooden post into the dirt in the backyard to use as a dummy.
I really felt like it would be great if the tail were just twice as long. Still, the strength behind it wasn't bad. Unlike a mammal's tail, this was an organ packed with thick muscle, so it packed a surprising amount of power.
"Wait, muscle. If that's the case... can't I change it?"
Now that I thought about it, it made sense. Even though I’d created it through a skill, it was now a part of my body that I could move.
And didn't I have a skill that allowed me to alter the muscles that made up my body?
"No way."
I focused my mind on the dark red scaled tail. It was a somewhat abstract image, but I could feel the muscles packed inside. If I could do this...
Change them... to the leg muscles of an Orc Chieftain.
I’d realized something while using the orcs' muscles. Their leg muscles were quite impressive. Part of it was the sheer thickness, but they were essentially massive gluttons weighing at least 200kg as adults.
To support such a massive frame, their leg muscles had to be incredibly strong. Furthermore, those creatures could run at incredible speeds despite that weight. A human, even at 2.5 meters tall, would lose all mobility the moment they exceeded 200kg.
"Oh."
It worked. The muscles that had filled the interior of the lizardman tail transformed into the powerful leg muscles of an Orc Chieftain.
I swung the altered tail and slammed it into the wooden post.
CRACK-CRUNCH—
"Incredible...!"
The wooden post shattered in half and fell to the ground. I could definitely use this. Maybe I should go grab one more lizardman tail.