Chapter 65

(Note) I also posted this the day before.

11

On the second floor of the wooden house.

After parting ways with the soldiers who accompanied us, we were staying in a post town near Seratta.

Thanks to the knight's recommendation, a merchant lent us a vacant property as temporary lodging.

"Lord, this is interesting."

Thanks to this, I can also converse with my followers under the same roof.

I turned to Garbella, who was talking to me with a cheerful look on her face while drying my wet hair with a towel.

After receiving guidance from Shiran and washing off the sweat, I was feeling a pleasant mix of fatigue and satisfaction.

Since starting to learn from Shiran, I've not only become accustomed to the act of combat but have also started to feel a sense of mastery in sword techniques as a skill.

The presence of Kaneki, who has shown remarkable growth, has been a great encouragement, and recently, I've been feeling not only a sense of fulfillment but also pure enjoyment in training.

"What's up, Garbella?"

"I got this from Lord Rose."

In Garbella's hand was a dull black rod about twenty centimeters long.

"Hey!"

With a lackluster shout, Garbella swung the rod, and a pipe of different width shot out from its tip.

Once extended, the pipe was fixed in place by friction.

"Ah, I remember. You were making something like that."

It was a telescopic special baton.

One of the items Kato-san suggested for production.

She herself didn't know much about it, so the knowledge was provided by Kaneki when it came to making it.

Rose is currently in the process of trial and error, actively incorporating new knowledge and concepts into practice.

With future applications in mind, she isn't thinking about whether they are usable right now.

Most of the items created have become toys for Garbella and Kai.

To me, items related to magic feel exciting, and for them, small gimmicks seem novel.

"Here, look! I also got this!"

Garbella took out a palm-sized wooden doll.

It was about ten centimeters tall and stylized, but it was probably Lily. The arms were missing and depicted on the side.

"Cute."

"Indeed. But that's not all. This, it opens here."

The belly part split into two.

The inside, separated into upper and lower halves, was hollow, and inside was a smaller Lily...

"Matryoshka?"

What is Rose teaching Kaneki? I began to wonder.

Well, as long as Garbella is having fun, it's fine.

Garbella further split the small Lily and took out a fox doll from inside.

It was probably Ayame.

"So cute, so cute."

"..."

Judging by her appearance, Garbella is probably my age or a bit older.

Seeing her enjoy herself at the same level as Kai makes me wonder...

"Be careful not to break it."

...but only a little.

Seeing Garbella's childlike eyes sparkle with her blood-red eyes makes me feel happy.

It's a different kind of warmth from when I see Kai playing around.

Of course, I find it endearing, but it's more than that.

I feel like I could look at her smile forever.

If anything, it might be similar to how I feel when I'm with Lily.

With a natural smile, I let my gaze wander around the room.

In the room, besides Garbella who spoke to me, there were Lily and Shiran.

Rose, Kato-san, and Kai were in the next room.

I knew they had bought dyes in this post town through the knight's connections yesterday.

They said they were making clothes, but they didn't give me the details.

From the other side of the not-so-thick wall, I could faintly hear the cheerful voices of the girls, making the peaceful time feel real.

If we reach Aker, the leader's homeland, will such a scene become a daily occurrence?

It was a happy future to imagine, sending a shiver down my spine.

***

The knights accompanying us, including Shiran, number three.

The other knights are either guarding the other transferees or waiting outside the town with the soldiers.

After securing this house for us, the leader left for Seratta with a few knights.

Kaneki also accompanied them. It was the day before yesterday.

Unlike the towns we've visited so far, the imperial metropolis of Seratta, with a population of over ten thousand, has the capacity to temporarily accommodate the hundreds of imperial soldiers who fled from Cheria Fort.

The leader is probably visiting Count Lawrence, who resides in Seratta, to make arrangements.

I suddenly looked out the window.

There, I could see the landscape of Seratta, where the leader was visiting.

The Lawrence County is bordered by the Forest Sea to the south and the Gloomy Forest to the northeast, but to the west, it borders the granary region of the Long County, and to the east, it borders one of the three eastern domain countries, Viskum.

Located on the road connecting Long County and Viskum, and close to the northern MacLaurin March, Seratta is one of the logistics hubs in the southern empire.

Therefore, it is called a trading city.

However, the city's appearance is far more imposing than one might expect from such a name.

A defensive wall with watchtowers surrounds the city. It's what you might call a castle town.

The wall surrounding the city is double-layered, with a small circle inside a larger one.

It's evident that the wall was expanded as the city grew.

This kind of landscape is common in the cities of this world.

In this world with magic, earth attribute magic can be used in construction.

Additionally, the necessity to respond to the significant threat of monsters has advanced the civil engineering and architectural technology of this world.

I thought the defensive wall of the pioneer village was quite impressive, but compared to this, it seems meager.

However, there is something even more imposing than the heavy walls.

It is the massive 'fortress' towering in the center of the city.

Its name is Seratta Fort.

The city has the same name, but it's more accurate to say the city was named after the fort.

Like Cheria Fort, where I stayed until recently, and Ebenus Fort, which welcomed the exploration team in the eastern land, it was once a key stronghold at the forefront of the Forest Sea.

The large cities in this world, with a few exceptions, are castle towns built around such forts that have completed their original missions.

Considering the need to prepare for monster attacks, it's only natural that cities would develop in this way.

Now, this fort houses Count Lawrence, the lord of this region, his forces, and part of the Imperial Southern Army.

The leader came here because the long-distance communication means at Cheria Fort were lost, and this was the nearest city with such facilities.

The reason it was Seratta was that it has a similar fort to Cheria Fort.

After completing various tasks, including the reception of soldiers, it will take the leader at least three days to return.

If possible, we will depart for Aker immediately after that.

For now, we need to rest and recover.

"Ah, not again. I failed again."

Lily's voice rang out when Garbella, who had been called by Kato-san, moved to the next room, and I was talking with Shiran about today's training and the future guidance of the followers.

Lily, who was sitting on the bed, fell backward with her hands raised.

To be precise, she raised both arms.

Lily currently has no hands from the wrists down.

It's not because of an injury.

She was trying to partially mimic another creature while maintaining her human-like form, and the mimicry of that part failed.

Lily has been working hard recently to achieve partial mimicry, which she told me about before.

However, it doesn't seem to be going well.

The parts where her hands should be, now shapeless, bulged with slime tissue, forming her hands again.

But Lily remained lying down, her face turned to the ceiling with a troubled expression.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

I moved to the next bed and poked the frown between Lily's eyebrows with my finger.

"Hey, Master?"

"Maybe you should take a break."

"Hehe. If you're taking a break, shall I prepare some tea?"

Shiran, who had been watching our conversation, smiled and got up.

"Ah, if so, I'll help too."

Lily sat up, but Shiran shook her head.

"You're still not familiar with the kitchen, so please take it easy, Lady Lily."

With a kind smile, Shiran left the room, her footsteps descending the stairs.

Once we were alone, Lily leaned against me.

"Ugh, ugh... Maybe I just can't do it."

Lily often leans on me, but today, she was more like leaning on me.

She was slumped over.

"Lily."

I pulled Lily's soft body closer. She didn't resist.

Her limp body slid down and lay down.

Lily adjusted her position and rested her head on my thigh.

"Mmm."

The way she rubbed her cheek against my thigh, like a cat, was endearing.

I played with her bangs and spoke to her.

"...Hey, Lily."

"What is it?"

"Are you feeling down?"

Lily rolled over and looked up at me.

"A little."

A weak smile appeared on her lips.

"I think I'm starting to understand. Probably, this is the limit of my Mimic Slime's ability."

We talked about partial mimicry before leaving Cheria Fort and arriving at the first pioneer village. It's been twenty days already.

Yet, Lily's partial mimicry shows no signs of success.

She hasn't made any progress.

Lily sighed softly.

"To fully utilize the monster's abilities within me, it's something I need to do."

"I understand what you're saying, Lily, but..."

If she could partially mimic a monster's abilities, it would be like picking the best parts.

For example, Garbella, the strongest white spider in the deep Forest Sea, is almost impossible for a regular monster to defeat in combat.

Strength, durability, speed, and recovery power—Garbella has all the top-tier combat abilities. It's difficult to match her in any one area, and even if you could, you'd be overwhelmed in others.

But if Lily could master partial mimicry?

She might even be able to rival Garbella.

...If she could do that, that is.

"Things you can't do, you can't do. Getting upset about it won't change anything."

I touched Lily's cheek.

"Humans can jump by pushing off the ground, but they can't fly. They can swim by moving their arms, but they can't dive thousands of meters into the deep sea. Lily is a monster, but even monsters have limits."

"But humans can fly and dive into the deep sea."

Lily's childish remark made me chuckle.

It's rare to see Lily, who usually acts like an older sister to the followers, showing her vulnerable side.

It was nice to be able to comfort her.

"That's because they use airplanes and submarines."

"...Yeah, that's true, but..."

I stroked her forehead, and Lily closed her eyes.

Time passed in silence.

Eventually, Lily spoke softly.

"But, Master."

"What is it?"

"Even if they rely on other things, they can still fly and dive into the deep sea, right?"

...Why?

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

Perhaps it was because her calm expression, with her eyes closed, reminded me of a serene saint about to be martyred.

"If you were human..."

"Lily?"

In front of me, Lily slowly opened her eyes and blinked.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Master?"

Lily, sitting on my knee, looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

It was the usual Lily.

Losing my words, I scratched my cheek.

"...No, nothing."

"Strange Master."

Lily chuckled and sat up.

"Thanks for letting me lean on you. I feel a bit better."

"That's good. I'm glad."

It seems she's back to her usual self.

I'm happy to have been able to help her when she was feeling down.

"If you can't do it, you can think of other ways. Besides, it's not decided that you can't do it yet. Try a bit more."

Lily made a small fist and smiled, then suddenly looked around.

"Huh? Did someone come?"

There was a noise downstairs.

Shortly after, hurried footsteps came up the stairs.

Before we could react, the door opened without a knock.

I stopped reaching for my sword.

It was my messy-haired friend, Kaneki, who had burst in.

"So, Kaneki. You're back."

Kaneki, who had been running, was breathing heavily.

I called out to him.

"Why the rush? The leader isn't with you..."

"Something bad happened."

The words he said first made my relaxed mood tighten.

"What happened, Kaneki?"

Shiran and the other two knights, who were downstairs, followed Kaneki into the room.

Kaneki looked back at them and said in a low voice.

"The leader has been restrained."

◆The next update is scheduled for around January 10th.