Three Servants And Visitors From The Underworld
"Monkey! (Thud!)"
"Frog! (Bam!)"
"Slug! (Drool)"
Right now, there are three monsters in front of me.
"......"
"""......"""
I collected their cards while diving into the dungeon to get giant rhinoceros beetle meat today.
"Hmm... but they're all remarkably slimy..."
Not to mention the frog and slug being slimy, even the monkey's fur feels sticky like tar. Well, that made it difficult for acid attacks to work on it.
When these three stand together, it's surreal. Why does our refrigerator dungeon have only these kinds of monsters?
"Well, whatever. I needed slime-hunting personnel anyway. Alright, everyone, get to work. Defeat slimes and gather drops."
With that instruction, the three monsters, making slow squishy footsteps, moved from the anteroom to the first basement floor. Since the card-ified monsters are connected by a sort of link, simple communication is possible, so I can give orders like this.
After observing for a while, it seems all three are efficiently carrying out the assigned tasks.
All three monsters' cards are reddish-brown. They're probably common in rarity, but they can easily handle slimes. I prohibited the poop-throwing monkey from throwing poop, so it's using scratching attacks. The martial arts frog is splatting slimes with its palm with a paddle. The giant slug is crushing slimes with its weight.
Indeed, the difference in physique matters. When I had the skateboard imp fight slimes on the fifth basement level, despite the level difference, they easily got defeated.
"Now, should I take care of the plants next..."
Returning from the first basement floor to the dungeon anteroom, I watered the lined-up planters with a watering can.
These are planted with seeds dropped by vampire carrots and evil apple monsters. Since nothing has sprouted yet, the soil is getting wet. But it's exciting to see what will sprout. And it's safer to grow them in the dungeon.
If you grow seeds dropped by monsters outside and something happens, it'll be troublesome.
Yes, it's been three days since the second plant dungeon expedition. And I had obtained five potions.
The day after returning from the plant dungeon expedition, when I went to drop off the loot at Sanada Pharmaceuticals again, Tadokorosan gave them to me. As he handed over the paper bag, I thought he might have given me a nutritious drink as a token of appreciation, but it turned out to be a healing potion.
[If you like, you can have this, Egutsu-san.]
[Ah, is this a nutritious drink? Thank you very much.]
[No, it's a healing potion developed in our company. Although it got rejected for the pigments inspection, its efficacy is not inferior.]
[Wow!!]
So, the healing potion I received was like a nutritious drink in a brown bottle.
Even so, it's only distributed to the Self-Defense Forces, and it's not available in the market. Apparently, our work has contributed significantly, and we received it as a special thanks. In that case, we can expect quite a bit of compensation as well. Hehehe...
With that in mind, I'm thinking of dividing it among the four of us when we meet next time. One for Serai-san, one for Nina-san, one for Ruu, one for Shark, and one for me. We will get five potions.
"But, only one potion per day..."
That's what was written in the cautionary notes for the healing potion. Even with the explanation I received from Tadokoro-san, it's not just that consuming more won't have any effect. It might actually harm the body.
"[Because the healing potion significantly enhances the body's regenerative ability, it's easily misunderstood, but it doesn't mean wounds heal as if time had been rewound. On the contrary, excessive intake may lead to tissue breakdown due to the inability of cell division to keep up.]"
That's what it said. Yeah, now that he mentions it, it makes sense.
There doesn't seem to be any 'magical solution to everything' with healing potions. So, using a healing potion won't make wounds disappear as if by magic, and normal scars will still remain. Well, it doesn't work out as smoothly as in fantasy manga.
Still, it's really appreciated that clean wounds heal quickly.
When I cut off my left leg, I cauterized the wound with a Fire Wand while crying. The pain at that time was so intense that I felt like I was losing consciousness several times. Still, I bit my teeth and endured it, thinking, 'If I lose consciousness now, I'll bleed to death!'
Ah, that really hurt.
As I reminisce about that, I notice a red slime poking its head out of the infusion port and tapping its knee as if nodding.
"Ah, I get it. You're grateful to me for saving you, huh."
The red slime seemed to want to say, 'Now you're where you are'. After expressing gratitude, it seemed satisfied and slipped back into the prosthetic leg.
Well, I'm grateful that I can still live energetically today, no matter what.
.....
[Knock, knock...]
As I nap, I notice the front door being knocked on.
Taking a nap on a weekday afternoon is a luxury that only freeloaders or the wealthy can afford. And, well, I'm kind of in between.
"Yes...?"
The only ones who would visit me, a friendless person, are Ruu and her friends. The rest are usually religious solicitors, insurance salespeople, or TV license collectors.
If they were one of those, I'd make them regret interrupting my elegant nap. So, when I open the door, I see, for some reason, an oni girl and a Japanese wolf girl standing there.
"What!?"
You two are beings that appeared in my dream? Why in the world?
Zzzzz.
.....
"Um, excuse me, passing through. It's a delivery."
And with that, the delivery person opened the door and passed by me, pressing the room's doorbell next to mine. Meanwhile, without budging an inch, the two of them were passed by the delivery person.
It's as if the delivery person can't see anything.
"......"
What's with this mystery? Horror in broad daylight? Puzzled, the oni girl speaks up.
"May we come in, Master?"
Master? What's with 'Master'? Apparently, 'Master' refers to me. And have I become a dangerous person who can't distinguish between dreams and reality?
"Um, who might you be...?"
"Um, excuse me, passing through. It's a delivery."
The delivery person, who had just finished delivering the package, answered cheerfully and left. No, not like that.
"Japanese Wolf!"
And this time, the energetic kemonomimi girl spoke up. Ah, you said that in my dream, didn't you?
"Onibaba... desu"
Next, the oni girl, with small horns on both sides of her forehead, said reluctantly.
Yeah, she was wearing something like a flesh-colored robe? No longer a giant onibaba, but a petite oni girl. But still, your forehead is so clean.
These two seem invisible to others, so if this continues, I'll end up looking like a crazy person talking to myself. I decided to let them into my room.
.....
"Well, please. There's no alcohol, but enjoy plenty of smoked meat. Oh, and if you'd like, there's crab too."
So, what did I do? I invited the yokai girls into my room and treated them hospitably.
Since they came to my place, they must have some business. But first, let's treat them well. After all, I'm an otaku strong in the fantasy department, so even if I'm dealing with yokai-like beings, I have an idea on how to handle them.
So, it's mealtime.
Even the goddess Izanami-no-Mikoto, who gave birth to Japanese gods, couldn't return from the land of Yomi once she died.
That's because she ate the impure food of Yomi. Yes, this is a mysterious system where eating the food of that world forcibly binds you there.
But this mysterious system is not only found in Japanese mythology but also appears in Greek mythology in the 'Descent of Persephone into the Underworld.' So, its effects are likely well-known. By the way, Persephone was only given a little of the food of the underworld by the underworld king Hades, but she had to spend four months of the year in the underworld.
That's why it's mealtime here.
If these guys are the yokai I think they are, they should be bound by such systems and rules. Like the snow woman's 'Never reveal your true identity' or the crane's return of kindness 'Never peek.' If that's the case, I won't have to worry about being taken somewhere, and I can literally fight on my home turf. But aren't I risking danger by harboring those whose intentions are unclear? Well, in terms of not understanding things, I'm in the same boat.
I've turned into an Amazoness macho, a new half, and now I even have one foot as a slime. And I'm even commanding a monkey that throws poop, a martial arts frog, and a giant slug. I've already reached that point, or rather, I'm already like that, so even if one or two yokai girls are added, it's no big deal.
And while thinking about that, I see the Japanese wolf girl nibbling happily on the smoked meat and the oni girl eating crab, touching her cheeks and shrugging her shoulders. Hahaha, was it that delicious?
Now then, these two. What exactly did they come here for?
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