Chapter 15
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 15: Your Name is Peep
"Ughhh... My eyes hurt."
Elena, who had boasted about her good eyesight and insisted she would absolutely get the bonus, rubbed her eyes. No amazing harvest came out. There was nothing particularly caught by her holy power either.
"Ugh, my bonus..."
Our Saintess, damp from the fact that she couldn't earn money.
And hanging on her shoulder.
The cute fluff ball, the Spirit of Spring.
The guy fluttered its small wings on Elena's shoulder and shouted with a small voice.
To others, it looked like a gesture cheering Elena on, but.
You half-baked saintess, do you think you can find it with human eyesight! Send out your holy power! To think you use holy power so inefficiently! Tsk, tsk.
Strangely, I could hear the guy's will. It wasn't cheering, but nagging close to scolding.
"Thanks. Peep."
You rascal! Peep, you say! Do not call this seat by such a trivial derogatory name!
It seems Elena can't hear it, though.
Ultimately, the shout of the Spirit of Spring, which couldn't communicate, was nothing more than peeping.
Watching the farce of the two people(?), I examined the ingredient list of the red swamp.
[Analyzing material] [Presenting detailed ingredient list.] [Substance Information: Original Fluid of the Red Swamp - Unreacted Mana Mucus] [Contamination Rank: A] [Main Components: Highly Concentrated Reactive Mana 80%, Unstable Form-Maintaining Mucus 20%] [Contamination Characteristics]
Perhaps thanks to staring at it for a long time while moving? The analysis of the material became quite detailed.
An item for blocking mana, possessing a sensitive reaction. Once its form mutated, it possessed the property of fixing in that state and ruining the object.
'It's not poison. Being surrounded by this doesn't mean you die.'
If you must point it out, you don't die just because you don't wear a protective suit. If you only consider this swamp, a protective suit wasn't necessary. However, the toxic substances filling the air were terrible enough to make you collapse without a protective suit.
'It's an environment where the raid has no choice but to be tricky.'
It's an environment where you have no choice but to wear a protective suit, but if you stay for a long time, it's a swamp area that blocks the function of the protective suit. It couldn't help but be a tricky dungeon.
'It even has a magic block and assimilation function, so clumsily using magic won't even work.'
But if you inject mana excessively, this highly reactive tar could explode.
It causes an explosion reacting to strong mana.
So magic laundry is impossible.
"It's an annoying material..."
I know why the members were reluctant to let civilians enter. To them, it was a matter with their lives on the line.
It's already hard enough to survive in a tricky-to-handle swamp, but to escort civilians. It must have been an absurd thing.
"Even so, to think it's a laundry boss; is the Chairwoman really senile or something?"
One of the members complained and said. Perhaps he was excited, his voice grew loud and entered my and Elena's ears.
"There's no way, she's still a dragon." "No, if it's not that, to think she'd attach humans like that with absolutely no combat power to us. It's already hard exploring and harvesting materials." "Stop it."
Even with the dissuasion of other members, the excited members' voices didn't easily subside.
"Do you know how nasty Lizardmen are. While fighting those bastards and even protecting those people, it won't just be one or two members dying!" "Then you can just get fired."
At Kang Jaewon's firm words, the members' mouths froze.
"He is the boss of a business partner who will handle us periodically moving forward. Saying such things in the presence of such a person is an act that damages the honor of our Ignis Industry."
Kang Jaewon's voice was firm.
"If you mention that subject one more time, I will evacuate you individually right then and there, so stop it."
The dissatisfaction subsided only after he suppressed them with the authority of a team leader.
Tsk. It's not that I don't understand, but.
'This is a little unpleasant.'
Elena checked my reaction.
"Boss...?" "Don't mind it. If a problem happens, I'll take care of it." "..."
There is no need to purposely fight right now. There is absolutely nothing good about members fighting among themselves inside a dungeon.
There is one thing I realized from my long porter life.
'Do not fight with your colleagues until you go outside the dungeon.'
I didn't come here to fight them anyway.
The reason I came is.
[Material Understanding: Liquefied Mana Tar - Significantly increases from 8.7% -> 65.3%.]
To resolve this Liquefied Mana Tar. The very slight dissonance that occurs in that process will naturally be resolved if I show my skill.
'Physical force is also hard.'
If the reactivity is strong, it could react to strong physical force too. Then I have to kill this reactivity entirely...
What bleach was there that could kill reactivity? While analyzing like that, we arrived at the investigation team's point.
"We will harvest bloodstones here. Everyone move!"
Along with Team Leader Kang Jaewon's command, the investigation squad members moved in perfect order to collect materials.
"I'm sorry, Boss."
Elena's drooping shoulders. Unlike her confident shout, there were no results. Even though she used holy power, it seemed there was nothing particularly visible.
It seemed she shrank back even more because of the members' voices heard from the surroundings.
I don't care, but. My employee losing energy bothers me a little.
"It's fine. Let's eat meat for dinner with the money saved from the bonus." "...Ugh, it's a waste, but it can't be helped. I'm buying." "What are you talking about. It's money coming out of my wallet." "It was money that could have been my bonus, you know." "Shall we make do with cup ramen today?" "I am sorry."
Elena bowing her head. She's fast to admit it. It was a relief she seemed to have recovered a little energy.
"Please wait here for a moment. We will return immediately after finishing work."
Team Leader Kang Jaewon said. The only investigation squad member who spoke with a polite tone.
"I don't see any monsters, is it originally like this." "It's quiet today. Although this kind of thing almost never happened." "Is there originally combat?" "We usually have local skirmishes about once or twice. Sometimes large battles to the point of risking our lives happen too. There has almost never been a time as quiet as today."
Different from usual, huh.
"If it's this quiet, there shouldn't be much later on either. It's good that work ends comfortably too."
Was it thanks to Kang Jaewon's threat? The investigation squad members turned their backs to us and focused on work. There wasn't even any particular presence of monsters felt.
It was when I was thinking nothing special would happen.
The pink fluff ball that had settled and fluttered on Elena's shoulder fluttered down and settled on top of the swamp. At the sight of the Spirit of Spring going on top of the swamp that hardens black upon touch, Elena was surprised and stopped the guy.
"Peep, you can't go there."
Do not ignore this seat! Such contaminants will not even touch a hair on this seat's body!
The guy fluttered its wings, half-ignoring Elena's touch.
"Hey hey, don't do that. If you do, it'll harden immediately..."
Originally, the mucus should have hardened and stuck to the guy's fluttering wings.
However.
"Huh?"
No matter how much the Spirit of Spring fluttered its wings, the red mucus did not stick to the guy's wings, to its fluff.
The mucus of the swamp that should react to anything, falls off without reacting.
Wait a minute.
"Elena, will you look at me for a moment?" "Yes? Why suddenly..."
I approached her closely.
"You..."
As I approached, Elena shrank back slightly.
"B-Boss? You're too close..." "I'll just look for a moment." "Ugh!"
I slowly examined her body. From top to bottom.
She was wearing the goggles and mask, and wearing the equipment I personally gave her.
They were all clothes possessing effects above a protective suit. Equipment with considerably high resistance to external contamination.
I know because I washed them all personally.
However.
'The contamination level is lower than I thought.'
Even the clothes I'm wearing right now are in a state where tar is smeared here and there and slowly getting contaminated. But Elena's clothes were in a state where the contamination level was almost close to zero.
A state practically no different from new.
It was equipment matched under the same conditions for both me and Elena.
But to show such a difference.
The Spirit of Spring now swimming leisurely on top of the swamp.
It was only because of the guy.
"I-I'm telling you, you're too close!"
At that time, Elena squeezed her eyes shut and spewed powerful holy power at me.
"Keugh!"
The holy power bursting out from her body strongly smacked my abdomen.
An attack that automatically bent my waist.
"Cough! Cough!" "B-Boss!" "Are you, going to hit me, cough! and then do this...?" "But you came too close, Boss... If you approach a saintess like that, you get dragged away by the Heresy Inquisitor, you know." "You were excommunicated, weren't you." "I'm still a saintess, though..."
She didn't know what to do, as if sorry.
She urgently poured holy power onto my stomach that she hit and healed the wound.
This is truly giving a disease and giving medicine.
Having regained my energy, I said to the pink Spirit of Spring.
"Peep."
No matter if you are my benefactor, do not call me by such a derogatory name! This seat has a proper name called Julius!
... To have a name like Julius while looking like a fluff ball. It's too grand of a name.
"Right, Peep. Will you come here for a moment?"
Benefactor! This seat's name is!
"Peep?"
As I stared at the guy and spoke, the guy who was about to show off its greatness by spreading its wings wide, folded its wings.
Since the opponent is my benefactor, this seat will generously forgive you.
The guy hopped onto my hand.
"Wow, how did you tame Peep? It seems Peep likes you a lot, Boss." "Because I washed it cleanly."
With Julius, no, Peep, raised on my hand, I looked at the subtle pink energy flowing from the guy's body.
The blessing of a spirit.
Thanks to me washing Peep cleanly before, it was blooming from its fluff.
"Somehow it seems a mysterious energy is hovering around your fluff?"
It is thanks to the benefactor's grace! The mysterious energy circulating this seat's body is purifying the contaminants!
The pink fluff ball looking at me with sparkling small pupils. I smiled at the shout of this small bird.
Then is it possible to purify even the already hardened tar?
I brought my clothes, where already hardened tar was smeared here and there, to the guy.
Although it didn't completely melt away.
Vwoooom-.
It began to react quite a bit. As I held Peep, the tar smeared on my clothes shuddered and its hardness began to weaken.
Look at this?
With this much, I should be able to sufficiently wash the rest with my equipment, right?
It was then.
Thud-.
"Huh?"
At the same time the ground vibrated intensely, the entire swamp shook.
"Damn it."
Team Leader Kang Jaewon's face crumpled.
"T-Team Leader, this is..."
The members' faces turned pale.
"It's Lizardmen."
And Kang Jaewon said to me.
"Quickly, go outside the swamp!"
Along with his warning.
Swoosh!
A spear stuck near Kang Jaewon.
In the direction the spear flew from, dozens of Lizardmen with red scales were glaring at us. Eyes wary of intruders invading their territory.
From numbers to formation. It wasn't at a level we could deal with.
Those Lizardmen...
Where have I seen them?
"Everyone, into combat formation! Exit the swamp as quickly as possible and reorganize!"
At Kang Jaewon's command, the hunters moved in perfect order.
They moved carefully in case the swamp's mucus would quickly turn into tar, yet got out of the place as swiftly as possible.
"Damn it! This is why it's bullshit when outsiders come! How are we supposed to go while even protecting outsiders!" "And they're useless humans too!"
Some members shouting even while running away.
What flared up at those words.
"Shut up!"
Was Elena.
"Who are you bullshitting calling useless right now! Who do you think you are!"
And she brought her two hands together.
Hwaaaat!
A holy energy spreading centered around her body. A strong light wrapped the surroundings and.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The holy shield she created blocked the Lizardmen's spears.
"Uhh?" "Think about moving to a safe place in the time you have to say useless things! You... humans worse than demons!"
She spat out the worst curse she could do.
She held back a lot.
"..."
The investigation squad members dumbfounded by the holy shield protecting their bodies. A holy shield protecting not just one person but all the investigation squad members was a power impossible to use unless one was a Saintess-class nun.
Them all being astonished by that sight was only for a moment.
"Let's quickly go to the back."
I looked at the flying spears.
The momentum of the sharp obsidian pounding the holy shield was unusual.
'They're strong. To the point of making a Saintess's shield crack...'
The Lizardmen with sparkling red scales plunged their bodies into the swamp with a splash. Unlike the investigation squad members who moved carefully in case a lot of tar smeared on them, there was no hesitation in the Lizardmen's movements.
A feeling that they don't care even if mucus smears on their bodies.
Once again, the Lizardmen's spears flew rapidly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The shield deflecting the pouring spears. Thanks to that, most of the members safely pulled their bodies out of the swamp.
However, that was also for a moment.
Crack!
The holy shield that was guarding firmly was broken by an obsidian spear harboring lightning.
"Gasp!"
Even if Elena was excommunicated, she was once a Saintess. To think it's a spear that breaks a Saintess-class shield. No matter how strong obsidian spears are against magic, this is...
"Wait a minute, that spear..."
It's somewhat familiar.
A sharp spear sparkling with obsidian stuck in the ground. An ultramarine mana resided at the tip of that spear.
To the extent of piercing a Saintess's spear. Where did I see that spear?
"Ah..."
No wonder it was familiar.
I inhaled deeply.
"Fus Ro Dah!"
And a shouted cry.
Everyone's gaze concentrated on me.
The investigation squad members and Elena looking at me like a crazy person. And the Lizardmen with surprised eyes.
Having finished the shout, I took out the iron attached to my thigh.
A portable iron I packed so I could iron anytime.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
"It's a business trip laundry."
And the eyes of the Lizardmen recognizing me.
As expected.
They were Lizardmen I had familiarized myself with during my porter days. Red Scale Lizardmen.
"It's been a while."
The atmosphere of the battlefield, which had been as sharp as a tautly pulled string, loosened in an instant.