Chapter 82

At night, you know, when you buy something thinking it’s really cool, and then when it arrives, you wonder why on earth you bought such a thing, right? That’s how I feel.

I’m disappointed that I can’t see myself objectively because there’s no mirror. I’ve been denying the idea of becoming a pervert, but how does it feel for me to end up like this? Wearing this puppet-like outfit, I look like a 7-year-old (on the small side). Are you telling me to do a short comedy? I hope there’s no such word as "shota" in this world.

But the performance is amazing! I can draw the bow with great strength, and I can deflect light attacks. I can even do a groin kick. It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s warm and very resistant to dirt.

Usually, it’s hidden under the cloak, so it’s fine.

“Huh... huh... huhuhu”

By the way, Kokushin is scary.

Today, I went to the Adventurers' Guild to test the usability of my sword and took on a hunting request. The western side of Volare is a steep mountain, and I’m at its base.

The target is the "Piyokonka." It has a cute name, but it’s not cute at all. To put it simply, it’s a type of anglerfish. It’s a big worm with a lure on its head. It usually buries itself in the ground and opens its large mouth when something bites the lure.

Anyway, putting that aside, what Kokushin is dealing with now is a big rat monster. After defeating the Piyokonka, these rats came pouring out of its hole. Kokushin is laughing and cutting them down one by one.

“Huhuhu. Good, good! I can cut, I can cut!”

He swings the sword with minimal movement. His movements are so fluid that he sometimes disappears from my sight. How fast is he moving? I mean, just changing the weapon made such a big difference! The enchantments are amazing.

The mint-colored lines faintly glow. They create afterimages, which look beautiful. If we did this in the dark, it would look really cool.

As for me, I’m using the bow with the special equipment. Despite its appearance, it has a high accuracy rate. It’s strange how my hands stop at the right moment when I want to shoot. It doesn’t waver.

Here are the appraisal results for the bow:

“Animal Bow Sling - Frog / Rabbit

A bow sling made for the children of a certain noble family. Despite its cute appearance, it has high performance. Frog is Tora-chan. Rabbit is Meri-chan.

Enchantments: Durability, Defense, Accuracy Increase, Pollution Resistance”

Surprisingly, they have names. I called them out quietly, but nothing happened, so I’ll pretend I didn’t see them. If I get sick, I might end up talking with Tora-chan and Meri-chan.

When I was aiming at the stragglers, Kokushin’s movements suddenly stopped. The squeaking sounds that had been echoing around also disappeared. The area was littered with dead bodies.

“Finally, they’re all gone. Is Kokushin hurt?”

Kokushin turned around. Please don’t smile with blood on your face. Your character has changed. I hope you’re not going to call it a demon sword. Oh, a demon blade?

“Nah, I’m fine. How about Reito?”

“I’m fine too. But you pretty much took care of everything. The usability... well, I guess I don’t need to ask.”

“Yeah. It feels like I’ve been using it for a long time. The flow of magic is good, and the strikes come out smoothly. It’s easy to adjust and very light.”

“Wow, you’re really praising it.”

That’s good, that’s good.

Until now, I’ve been taking good care of it, but I never felt any attachment. Now, I’m looking at the blood-stained sword with affection. The image is scary.

“What about Reito’s?”

Kokushin asks in return. He seems to be back to his usual self.

“The accuracy is noticeable. The decorations don’t get in the way. There’s no problem except for the appearance.”

When I squeezed it, the rabbit made a “kyu” sound.

“Right. I think the appearance is fine too.”

If Kokushin, who spends a lot of time with me, thinks it’s fine, then it’s fine. I like it too.

“Anyway, what do we do with this mess?”

“Where are the parts we need to collect?”

“Hmm, for the rats, it’s the magic stone. The rest is to be discarded. For the Piyokonka, it’s the lure part. The magic stone and some of the internal organs.”

I answer while looking at my notes. As the number of monsters we can defeat increases, it’s getting harder to remember. But I can just throw them into the magic bag.

“Internal organs?”

“They said you’ll understand when you see it. It has an organ that generates the lure.”

The lure can regrow even if it’s cut off. By the way, the lure is the size of a basketball and looks like a chick.

“Let’s take the rats back and process them there. There are too many. The Piyokonka is big, so let’s process it here.”

“Got it.”

Honestly, I don’t want to touch it. It looks like a big earthworm. At least it’s not slimy. After storing the rats, I cut open the Piyokonka’s belly to find the organs. There was a magic stone. It’s a beautiful amber color, which is a bit hard to accept.

“Hmm, is this it?”

After cutting off the lure, Kokushin was poking around the mouth and pulled out something that looked like a pouch.

“The liquid inside seems to be useful for something. Tie it up so it doesn’t spill.”

“Got it.”

Kokushin quickly tied the mouth of the pouch. But, the organs that look like chicks, how is that? The only yellow organ, so it’s easy to identify. But, how does the lure get made from this liquid?

“...There are all sorts of things inside.”

You can see various things inside the digestive organs. This thing basically swallows things whole. For larger prey, it can even swallow a carriage.

“...Reito, is there anyone inside?”

“Yeah, it does look like that.”

I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. We’re not panicking because the bodies are already skeletonized. They seem to be wearing armor, so they might be adventurers. For now.

*Shuppa*.

I stored the Piyokonka. The fact that it can be stored means it’s dead. I don’t need to confirm, but just in case. I searched the area, but there were no other items. The Piyokonka moves around a lot, so they might have been eaten elsewhere.

“I’d like to hunt a bit more, but let’s go back today.”

“Yeah.”

I want to get them out quickly, and I don’t like the idea of leaving the bodies.

Just as we were about to hurry back, we heard the sound of something running. It was fast, and it approached quickly. I glanced at Kokushin, and he had his hand on the hilt, so he must have noticed too.

*Clack clack*.

The sound of pebbles rolling.

“No way!”

I couldn’t help but exclaim. It jumped onto a rock and appeared, a monster that shouldn’t exist around here.