Chapter 24

In the depths of the Demon Child Forest.

In a corner where the slanted sunlight filtered through, Thor was swinging his sword at a giant larva.

Already, two monsters lay dead, green blood oozing from their heads.

While keeping his distance from the remaining one, Thor quickly glanced at the child hiding behind the trees.

The blue, glowing needle extending from the child's body had shortened considerably.

Judging that time was running out, Thor moved to end the fight.

He increased his speed and circled around the giant caterpillar's side.

He swung his sword precisely from the side, ensuring the blade's direction and the force applied remained steady.

At the moment of impact with the head, he clenched his hand and focused all his strength on the striking point.

The tip of the sword accelerated momentarily and easily pierced the flesh.

The blow split the skin of the caterpillar's head, and green blood splattered.

The giant caterpillar, apparently in great pain, thrashed its body from side to side.

White hairs flew wildly, trying to prevent Thor's approach.

However, Thor stepped forward without hesitation.

The poisonous hairs, which should have caused intense itching, were repelled by a small purple current that suddenly floated up as they neared Thor's body.

They crackled and burned away.

Thor closed in on the monster and narrowly dodged its lunge.

He added the momentum of his slightly twisted body to his left-hand-supported sword and struck with a diagonal slash.

The sword hit the exposed flesh, and the blade, returning from below, struck again.

This was Thor's specialty, a combination of upward and downward slashes.

To finish it off, he thrust the sword deeply into the wound.

The giant caterpillar, having lost its nerve center, stretched out for a moment before curling up and becoming still.

At the same time, the lightning barrier and enhancement that covered Thor's body disappeared.

Thor nodded, relieved that he had made it just in time.

"Thor, did you take care of it?"

"Yeah, it's over. It's a lot easier with the <Electric Spine>. Thanks, Moe."

"Really? It's all thanks to Moe's hard work!"

"Yeah, you get excited too easily."

"Thor, I've made the fire. Look, Moe, help out too."

"Moe is very busy right now."

The child, ordered to help by Sora, kicked the ground with the feet encased in brand new leather boots while still on the sled.

The sled glided smoothly over the ground, moving swiftly to the side of the caterpillar.

Due to Moe's light weight, the sled could move while barely floating.

"Ah, don't touch those white hairs. They'll make you very itchy."

"Really? Ah, it's itchy!"

Why do children do the things they are told not to do?

"Thor, it's itchy!"

"Here, let me see."

Thor sent Moe's hand back a minute in time while Moe was still on the sled.

The child, without changing his expression much, clung happily to Thor's thigh.

"Make sure to listen to what Sora says too."

"Hey, Thor. Could you say that again, but replace 'Sora' with 'Mom'?"

"Be careful of burns. Look, don't point the branch upward. The fire will rise."

"Like this? Thor?"

"Ah, don't leave me out. I want to do it too."

The two, who had started to process the giant caterpillar's poisonous hairs, were soon joined by Sora.

The three giant caterpillars were stripped bare in about twenty minutes.

When they tried to cut out the poison glands and bleed them before loading them onto the sled, Moe frowned and fell silent.

"Moe, do you like this sled?"

"......Yeah."

"But the caterpillar's meat was delicious, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Then, let them ride on the sled on the way back. If you can't walk, Thor will carry you."

"Got it!"

Moe nodded enthusiastically, his eyes shining.

It might seem like he was being spoiled, but even the floating sled game looked fun to the adult Thor.

For a small child, it was even more enjoyable, so it was understandable that he would be a bit spoiled.

After that, the three slowly pulled the sled loaded with caterpillars toward the town.

When they reached the forest road, Moe ran out of energy, but they arrived at the outer gate without any other trouble.

A guard, with one hand in his pocket, greeted them as usual.

"Hey, old man, you picked up a kid? I missed it yesterday because it was my day off."

"Hello, Karlus-san. Thank you for your hard work."

"Hey, Sora, you're cute as always. How about we go out for a meal sometime? I know some cheap and delicious places."

"Sure, let's all go together next time!"

"Thor, are you here too?"

The talking woke Moe, who yawned cutely while still on Thor's back.

The guard, noticing this, approached and poked Moe's forehead familiarly.

"Oh, what's this? We're from the same hometown, aren't we? Nice to meet you, kid."

"What are you doing to Moe! Who are you?"

"It's not me, it's Sir Karlus, Moe."

"Why do you know Moe's name! Thor, this guy is suspicious!"

"You're right. See you later."

"Hey, correct me before you go, old man!"

Thor waved his hand to end the conversation and pulled the heavy sled through the outer gate.

He headed straight for the buying station.

Sora and Moe lined up at the appraisal window.

Thanks to their direct negotiation with the top two, they finished the settlement without any trouble from strange people.

Today's harvest was four forest slimes, forty-nine goblins, and thirty-six magic stones, and the defeat of three giant caterpillars.

The income was two silver coins and eighteen copper coins.

The only expense was one medium copper coin for renting the sled.

In addition, they had eight spotted mushrooms, five magic stones, and half a giant caterpillar's meat.

It had been a week since Sora and the party started.

Their current holdings were about five silver coins, easily surpassing the amount Thor had saved previously.

Thor and Sora had earned about 150 skill points in total, and Moe had earned nearly 70.

At this rate, they could level up a skill to level 2 in less than two months.

It was an unimaginably fast pace compared to their previous lives.

As they walked through the large square, Moe looked up at Thor, drooling at the smell coming from the food stalls.

"Thor, there's a lot of food!"

"That's for sale. You can't eat it without exchanging money."

"Money, huh. It's a tough world..."

"Where did you learn that phrase?"

"Here, Moe, aah."

"Mmm. Hmm. Hmmm!"

Moe, with a skewer stuffed in his mouth, mumbled while chewing.

Sora, smiling, offered another skewer to Thor.

"Here, Thor, how about this?"

"When did you buy them? You're really getting used to this place."

"Thor, this is delicious!"

"There are a lot of other delicious things too."

"Ah, we'll stop by the bathhouse after this."

"Wait, I haven't prepared anything!"

"Do you need to prepare something? It's just a bath."

"Girls need a lot of things! Ugh."

Since there was no choice, they decided to go home first, have dinner, and invite Yuril before heading to the bathhouse.

"Where are you going, Thor?"

"Thor is going to the men's bath, Moe."

"Then, I'll go there too!"

"No, no, girls go to the women's side."

Moe, carried by Sora, struggled but was dragged into the women's bath.

The entrance fee was thirty copper coins, and a piece of soap was ten copper coins.

The spacious changing room was made of wooden planks, with shelves lined up along one wall for baskets.

The clothes were to be folded and placed in these baskets.

The two, who had returned home once, had left their armor behind, so they could quickly undress.

Moe, still a child, had little in the way of curves, but his buttocks were plump.

On the other hand, Sora was generally well-toned, with a nicely sized bust.

"Hey, both of you, wrap the towels properly."

Yuril, the landlady with straight silver hair, who was in her sixties but had almost no signs of aging on her white skin, gently stopped the two from entering the bath naked, with towels wrapped around their chests.

"Right. Here, Moe, take this. No, don't!"

"Wow! It's fluffy!"

Sora chased after the young voice echoing from the bath.

The bath was even more spacious.

The ceiling was lined with magic stone lamps, casting a soft light on the room.

The walls and floor were covered with ceramic tiles, and strange patterns in bright colors were painted everywhere.

Small windows for ventilation were lined up high on the walls, allowing steam to escape, making the interior clearly visible.

"Where are they? Ah, there they are!"

At the back of the bath was a large tub, where a few guests were relaxing.

Moe, stark naked, was peering curiously at them.

"Hey, are we getting in this? Hot! It's hot! I won't lose!"

Just as Moe, with purple snakes running over his body, was about to jump into the tub, Sora caught him from behind at the last moment.

"Wait, wait. First, we need to wash our bodies, Moe."

Sora, who had caught the child, dragged him to the wall.

There, a long, large bucket was filled with water, and each person, sitting on a small wooden stool, was washing their bodies with lathered soap.

"Here, Moe. Clean, clean."

"Okay, I'll do my best!"

Remembering the time when the three of them had washed him, Moe stood still.

Sora, smiling, took the soap lather in both hands and began to wash the child's body vigorously.

Moe, quickly covered in bubbles, let out a happy sigh.

"Next, it's Moe's turn."

"Leave it to me!"

Moe, imitating what he had seen, scooped up the soap lather and began to rub S