Chapter 191
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: The Persistent Lizard Spirit
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Spirits are something incomprehensible.
I knew there was a battle breaking out somewhere when I entered the forest.
I wondered who it could be when that pitch-black pillar came crashing down from the sky.
But I wasn't so bored that I'd stick my nose into some unrelated mess.
First things first, I needed to find something for Chloe.
"Hm?"
-Squeak!
"What the heck. Why are you here?"
Big, round black eyes that were cutely shiny.
A sleek body that felt damp to the touch.
It was the lizard-shaped spirit etched firmly in my memory.
"Your owner's name was... Alice, right?"
The name of a rare beauty stuck in my head no matter how much time passed, easy to recall if I looked for it.
-Squeak!
The spirit scurried over, tongue flicking, and climbed up my body.
It didn't feel like it meant any harm, and I was curious about the texture anyway, so I just watched as it naturally claimed the top of my head.
Where it touched me, there was a moist, soft sensation, but no water transferred to my body.
And the most fascinating part was...
I knew spirits rarely ever left their spirit user's body.
For a contracted spirit to track me all the way here meant their bond was no ordinary thing.
'Interesting. Are they really that close?'
A faint emotion trickled in—something like a plea for help.
If this was how spirit users and spirits communicated, it was a pretty valuable experience.
The one fighting over there was probably that girl, the spirit's owner.
If she was the one who dropped that black stone pillar, she was no slouch.
A flicker of curiosity stirred in me.
"I'm a pretty valuable guy. You sure you can handle riding on me?"
It seemed to understand, freaking out on top of my head, twisting this way and that, which drew a chuckle out of me.
I turned my steps toward the nearby battlefield.
····
Rustle—
The scene that greeted me as I emerged was pure chaos, like five minutes of hell.
That guy over there had to be the one from last time.
'Ah! That orc?'
Yeah, there was a creep like that too.
Someone I'd completely forgotten about until now.
Not sure if it was the environment here, but were orcs picking up weird stuff to eat periodically or something?
I didn't know the exact reason.
Even in the game, monsters like this respawned after a set time.
And then my eyes shifted to the girl flinching in surprise.
Her healthy-looking skin and dark blonde hair were striking.
'Ho...'.
A unique shape possessed only by mixed-blood dragonkin, not purebloods.
Yet somehow it felt off, unnatural.
Even I'd seen a lot out there, but this was a first for me.
Seeing something new was always helpful.
'Nice find.'
Finally, there was the church nun clutching her profusely bleeding shoulder and sobbing.
Her young face, not yet free of childishness, was a mess of tears, despair, and negative emotions.
Our eyes met, and she looked at me in shock, so I took a closer look and realized.
"Huh?"
It was a nun I knew by face.
-Graaaah!!!
My brow furrowed at the mutant orc's roar as it thrashed to escape the choking killing intent gripping its body.
Thwack!
I grabbed a hand axe from my inventory and hurled it. The orc's head split open like dry firewood with a crack!, blood splattering everywhere.
The headless bulk staggered like it was dancing on the blood-soaked red earth before collapsing.
Thud!
A fantastical scene, like an illusion or a dream.
A heavy silence crept over the battlefield.
And amid it all, only one person moved about casually, as if nothing had happened.
I poured a potion over the nun crawling on the ground, without even glancing at the orc.
"Sister, didn't I tell you? Adventuring's rear guard isn't safe. You can't let your guard down."
"Hic... Brother..."
We'd crossed paths when I was laid up at the church on the Saintess's orders.
While skipping the church slop and waiting for my girls to visit.
I'd chatted with her a few times and scored some bread or snacks.
"Does this cover the bread I ate back then?"
I handed her an extra potion and holy water to give her time to heal properly.
She couldn't refuse my hand in the face of death's terror.
She just tearfully thanked me, snot bubbling, as she busied herself with healing spells on herself.
Not fully healed from the major wound, but she'd survive.
'Man...'.
Normally, I never would've helped.
Adventurers weren't that type, and until recently, that's what I was.
But I'd be lying if certain faces didn't flash through my mind the moment I saw that young nun.
Even so, if it came down to it right now...
I confirmed that part of me could draw my sword without hesitation and swing.
The resolve to act decisively when needed stayed firm at my heart's core, held there by my women.
"If something like this happens again, don't count on luck like today."
"Eek...!"
She'd bragged confidently about never getting hurt in the rear while adventuring on the side.
'This is what happens when you get complacent.'
Seeing her face twisted in fear, I figured she wouldn't adventure anymore after this.
For that young nun, the choice was now.
Once you'd stood on the brink of death...
Your heart would question if you should keep walking this path.
Those who chose to continue adventuring had a high chance of sticking with it until death.
Though most turned back in terror like her.
But honestly, that wasn't important right now.
"Why are you still here?"
-Squeak.
Even after I'd handled the situation at its request, the spirit still occupied my head.
I turned to its owner.
"Alice... right?"
"Y-Yes!"
The girl, crouched low and tense, straightened up with strain still on her face.
"Take this guy back."
I didn't call it a spirit or point to my head.
But Alice's sharp pupils fixed on my head with awkward distress.
As she crept toward me cautiously, I bent my knees right there, lowering my body to make it easy for the spirit to transfer.
"Sorry! Our Tero is..."
"It's fine. I wanted to feel it once anyway."
"Phew—."
She let out a relieved breath at my words and approached close with slightly eased steps.
"That was cool. I saw your magic too."
I whispered softly, and her eyes went wide!
"...Th-Thank you!"
I'd clearly said there were no seniors or juniors among adventurers, but she was full of deference.
Her horns slowly receded into place, and her dragonkin arms reverted to human shape.
Not even real dragonkin, yet she could shift at will.
Any guy would be tempted by that cool factor.
"See ya."
I bid farewell to the spirit and gave a slight nod.
-Squeak!!
As its owner reached out from its perch on my head, it scurried down my back instead.
"Tero! What are you doing?!"
Genuine panic on her face at the spirit's antics.
As Alice circled to grab it from my back, the lizard darted quickly back up to my head.
-Sss.
"This isn't playtime! I'm really gonna get mad!"
With our height difference, her upturned eyes looked pitifully pleading.
'Should I catch it?'
The spirit climbed me on its own whim.
But I'd heard somewhere you shouldn't touch someone else's spirit casually. Tricky situation.
The game didn't cover details like this, so I wasn't sure.
The puffy-faced nun and the guy subtly avoiding my gaze couldn't grasp the situation.
To those who couldn't see the spirit, Alice was just putting on a weird solo show, yelling at thin air.
As the lizard spirit and its user tussled longer...
Alice heard the nun's groan—swallowing pain after downing the potion—and went to her party member.
"Ro..! No... anyway, the sister needs proper treatment, so head back and wait at the church."
The man startled at her words.
"Alice! We should all go together!"
"I'll be right there, so go first."
"But how can I leave you alone with a guy... it's dangerous..."
She whispered as softly as possible, but I heard every word.
As I debated killing or sparing the guy, Alice grabbed his collar and growled.
"Hey... you should be bowing in thanks for your life, and you're making jokes now?"
Alice's menacing tone made even the nun beside us stiffen.
"..."
"If he meant to, we'd all be dead already. What I'm saying is, take moral responsibility for the mess you caused. If you have time, report the monster count to the Adventurer's Guild too."
Shaking a guy bigger than her screamed natural-born adventurer.
He had something to feel guilty about, apparently.
No more protests; he just looked miserable and headed to the still-whining nun in pain.
'She's got fire.'
Unlike Eclair, who never blew up, her anger flowed out cold and calm.
But Alice's emotions were expressed loud and clear—refreshing to witness.
After sending them off, Alice dashed back to me.
"Sorry! I'll get Tero right away!"
"Want me to crouch? No, wait—is it okay if I grab it?"
"Ah, well... really sorry, but—"
Spirits weren't supposed to touch hands of outsiders they took a liking to—even without malice.
It could mess up communication with their spirit user.
She'd heard of cases like this but never dealt with one herself.
Not sure about the real impact on bonds or contracts.
But it was an unspoken rule among spirit users.
She'd never tried it either.
'What a hassle.'
Being a spirit user sounded so inconvenient and outdated.
No wonder elves looked down on them after centuries.
If it truly harmed the spirit, that was one issue.
If it was just propaganda for their exclusivity, that was another problem.
The game had nothing on this, so hard to tell.
"Tero... keep this up, and no more playing in the flower beds?"
-Shaaa!!
I could feel the spirit's desperate refusal—even to me, that was a no-go.
The girl and spirit's battle of wills began.