Chapter 31

Summary of the previous chapter:

Thought it was a human, but it turned out to be a monster.

13

The next day, we started tracking the Ghouls' footprints.

Although the Ghouls' path was somewhat winding, they seemed to have come straight from the northwest.

Thanks to Fire Fang's excellent sense of smell, even after the transformation, and the numerous traces left by the Ghouls' movements, which involved spilling blood and other substances, we were able to track the footprints smoothly for several days.

As this progressed, we needed to consider what would happen after making contact with humans.

One night, while we were gathered around the campfire for dinner, I brought up the topic with my followers.

"I'm thinking of going to meet the humans with just me, Lily, and Kato. I want the rest of you to stay behind."

As expected, those who were left behind started to argue.

"What! Lord, what do you mean by that!"

"It's dangerous, Master. Please let us accompany you."

"Well, there's nothing I can do. Unlike Lily, you can't hide the fact that you're monsters."

I understood the feelings of Rose and Gerbera, who were pleading. I didn't want to separate from them either.

However, my consistent policy was to keep my abilities hidden when contacting humans. Since I didn't know how people from another world would react to monsters, I didn't want to reveal my powers lightly. Also, I wanted to keep my cards close to my chest when dealing with other transferals like me.

This naturally limited who I could bring along.

Asarina couldn't leave my left hand, so there was no choice there. The only other one I could bring was Lily.

My followers, who were my subordinates, knew this well. However, whether they could accept it was a different matter.

"I'm going with you! How can I sit idly in the forest when you might be in danger!"

Excited, Gerbera clicked her spider legs.

I looked down at her spider lower half.

"Even if you say that, you can't hide it. Do you have any ideas?"

"Cut off my lower half and go! If only the upper half goes, I'm no different from a human!"

"…No way. What kind of horror movie is this?"

It didn't solve the problem fundamentally.

Moreover, even a white arachne like Gerbera couldn't survive without her lower half.

"But…"

Realizing she was asking for the impossible, Gerbera groaned.

She was emotional now. She probably understood it in her head, but with her blood boiling, she couldn't make a calm judgment.

It seemed I would have to spend time persuading her.

Just as I thought this, Ayame, who was usually on top of Gerbera's white head, suddenly snorted.

"Kuu!"

Ayame, who had been hanging limply on Gerbera's head, suddenly jumped off.

As everyone's gaze turned to her, she lunged straight at Lily. Or rather, she pounced. Lily caught her small body in an instant.

Ayame flailed her short limbs, trying to escape from Lily's arms, then stuck her head into Lily's jersey and burrowed into her clothes.

"Hey, Ayame?"

If she kept this up, she might slip through the clothes and fall to the ground. Lily seemed to have the same thought and held the bottom of her jersey.

After flailing around in the bag-like clothes for a while, Ayame poked her head out of Lily's jersey.

Her big eyes met Gerbera's. Gerbera's red eyes widened.

"You can't possibly mean to go in her place."

Confused, Gerbera asked, and Ayame responded by snorting.

Her eyes sparkled, as if to say, "Leave it to me." It seemed she was serious.

"…Even a palm-sized Ayame, hiding in clothes, is a bit of a stretch."

I couldn't help but interject in their conversation.

Indeed, the part of Lily's jersey where Ayame had burrowed was bulging unnaturally. Lily's chest was certainly ample, but it was hard to hide the volume.

I made this judgment, but unexpectedly, support came from an unexpected source.

"No, it might work, Master."

Lily said this and reached under her jersey.

She supported Ayame's bottom with one hand and lifted the bottom of her jersey with the other.

Her smooth abdomen and cute navel were exposed, and the bottom of her underwear was almost visible—then everything turned into a transparent, semi-liquid substance.

"Like this…"

Lily, who had turned her chest and abdomen back into slime, skillfully created a hollow and pushed Ayame's small body into it.

I clapped in my mind. This way, Ayame's volume could be hidden. It was a transportation method only a mimic slime like Lily could do. It might be a bit cramped, but since Ayame had suggested it, she would have to endure it.

Ayame turned her big eyes to Gerbera again.

Tilting her head, as if to say, "How about it?" Gerbera smiled, looking troubled.

It seemed she had regained her composure thanks to Ayame's actions.

Gerbera stood up and walked to Ayame, crouched down, and stroked Ayame's head, who was sitting in the hollow of Lily's abdomen.

Ayame pressed her nose against Gerbera's fingertips, showing affection.

Suddenly, a drop of water fell on Ayame's nose.

Surprised, Ayame sneezed. I looked up at the sky.

"…Rain?"

Through the gaps in the trees, gray clouds were visible.

This was bad.

***

We had been relying on Lily's sense of smell to trace the Ghouls' path.

Of course, the smell would be washed away by the rain, losing the trail. While it had rained a few times during our journey through the forest, it hadn't rained for a while, so we had let our guard down. Even if we had considered it, there was nothing we could have done about it.

Now, it was a shame to give up the only clue we had.

We decided to push as far as we could that day.

We encountered a few monsters, but we easily defeated them and pressed on.

Perhaps because we had come so far, we often encountered monsters we had never heard of in the colony. In exchange, we rarely saw Fire Fangs or Magical Puppets, which we used to encounter frequently.

The rain started to fall heavily by noon. This made it difficult to track the Ghouls by smell.

But by then, it wasn't a big problem.

We had discovered something interesting.

Animal trails in the forest and footprints on them.

They were human traces.

We followed the half-buried path, being more cautious than ever.

Within a day, we came across a place where the same armor and remains of a soldier who had turned into a Ghoul were scattered.

Trampled bushes, broken trees, and clear signs of battle were left behind. However, we couldn't find the soldier's body. Had it been completely devoured, or had the survivors recovered it? If the latter, perhaps the armor was left behind because it was too cumbersome to carry.

In any case, this path was undoubtedly used by humans.

This path led to the world where humans lived.

We started to follow this solid clue. However, we didn't blindly follow the path.

We generally moved through the forest, parallel to the path, to ensure we could spot anyone first. If we found humans, we planned to observe them for a while and avoid contact if necessary.

By the time we had been doing this for over a week since repelling the Ghouls.

***

The scene before my eyes was dim, even considering we were in the forest.

It was still early in the morning. I hadn't even eaten breakfast.

I had woken up at this hour to train in physical enhancement using magic.

"…"

I focused on the presence of magic within myself.

When I did, I could feel the magic moving sluggishly through my body.

Compared to Gerbera's flowing magic, mine was clumsy and awkward. While Gerbera's magic flowed like a torrent, mine moved like sluggish mud.

Still, the effects of channeling magic into my body were clear. For example, my grip strength now rivaled that of a well-built man over two meters tall.

Within the realm of human capabilities, my strength and endurance had increased. However, strength alone was meaningless; I needed to learn how to use it.

"Ha!"

I stepped forward and swung the sword in my hand.

This was quite difficult. The physical enhancement would dissipate if I didn't constantly focus on it, and if I focused too much, my movements would become sluggish. In the first few days, I fell multiple times while running, which I wanted to forget quickly.

With physical enhancement, my speed with the sword had improved, slicing through the air. Unfortunately, I had no skill with the blade, so I could only use it as a bludgeon. It was dangerous to wield it carelessly.

However, the target of my sword was a white girl with spider legs, Gerbera. To her, my sword was probably no more threatening than a toothpick. She easily dodged, and the tip of the sword cut through the air.

I barely blocked the spider leg that came at me in retaliation with my left arm shield. The ground crunched under my shoes, and my left arm went numb.

"Whoa!?"

While I was distracted, I was tripped and fell backward. I had become quite good at taking a fall.

Holding my breath, I rolled on the ground, and the spider leg that had been aimed at me missed. It was close, and it could have been the end.

Just as I was relieved, I felt a blow to my chest. I had let my guard down.

Gerbera's legs moved independently, and one of them, with a slight delay, struck my chest plate hard. My lungs were crushed, and I gasped for air. Pain and shortness of breath hit me simultaneously, and my consciousness wavered. I almost fell backward.

If I fell here, it would be difficult to recover.

"Still…!"

I stumbled but held my ground. Experience told me I would be hit by a follow-up attack if I didn't.

I quickly instructed my "left hand."

The vine extending from the back of my left hand—Asarina—whipped through the air.

Gerbera, who was about to launch a follow-up attack, easily avoided it by crouching. She even took the opportunity to sweep my legs with one of her legs, which were spread out in a star shape.

Asarina's attack gave me a moment's reprieve. By a stroke of luck, I managed to jump back and avoid the attack.

I forced myself to focus, gripping the sword handle, which was slippery with sweat, and moved forward.

"Ha!"

I focused and swung the sword.

Suddenly, the sensation of the sword handle disappeared from my palm.

"…What?"

The sword I had swung was easily grabbed and taken from me.

My mind was blank with shock.

"Final point, Lord."

I felt a light impact on my back.

It seemed I had been gently pushed by one of Gerbera's extended legs. I had experienced this many times, so I could tell even without seeing it.

My body lost balance from this alone. The momentum from the attack was enough to send me flying.

The ground rushed toward me, and I crashed.

"Whoa!?"

A ridiculous cry echoed and faded in the still