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TL: ALT
Chapter 137 – Day 29 of the Strategy Life
After waking up, I made a sandwich with walrus meat, put a bag of salt on my back, and set off. I figured it would be okay to skip the lunch box.
Chel and I ran west at full speed through the forest of the demonic land.
On the way, we passed the ruins of Midgard, where the “migrating” monsters were making a commotion. It must have been their breeding season or the time when they were raising their young.
By midday, we had reached the vicinity of the Crocodile Ranch, but something about the surroundings felt off. A sticky yellow substance resembling paint coated the trees. The bendgrass was bloated. Had they eaten too much?
There were no cries from the imps, and the treants remained motionless and camouflaged as trees.
There were clearly fewer Rock Crocodiles at the ranch than two days ago. Moreover, the swamp was yellow and murky. The shore was littered with the corpses of big moths that had been crushed against the rocks. It seemed that the big moths had reproduced and covered the area with their scales.
The scales had stained the neighboring swamp yellow, and the Big Moth corpses were sinking. Paralyzed fish floated on the surface, giving off a terrible smell. The group of Haze Turtles remained motionless as well. Golden bats had crashed to the ground and were rolling around, barely breathing.
Only the Maeshitsukawazu were running, but they seemed affected by the scales and had fallen many times.
“They’ve been breeding like crazy. We won’t be able to use the swamp for a while.”
“First the Arachnes, now the Big Moths. I’m worried about everyone.”
When we return to the cave, Sylvia is cooking a dish made from monster entrails. The nearby forest is yellow, too.
“I’m back.”
“W-Welcome back.”
“Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine. There was so much paralyzing potion that we ran out of containers. Hel is making more right now. Jennifer went to collect some scales.”
“Weren’t there fewer rock crocodiles?”
“Y-Yeah. We got hit pretty hard. I used too much blood, and now I’m feeling a bit anemic.”
Sylvia’s arms were wrapped in medicinal herbs. It seemed like she had been fighting while we were away.
When we went to the kiln in the back, Hel was making pots out of palm sap. It didn’t seem like she was firing the kiln, though. She had dark circles under her eyes; perhaps she hadn’t slept.
“Oh, you’re back.”
“We’re back.”
“Welcome back. Jennifer is out gathering scales with a makeshift pot.”
“I heard from Sylvia. It sounds like it was tough.”
“Lipa is bedridden with injuries, so Jennifer seems to feel responsible. I think it was Lipa’s mistake, though.”
“Are Lipa’s injuries serious?”
“His arm isn’t torn off, so I think he’ll be okay. We used a healing potion. He may have lost too much blood.”
“I see.”
“I’ll go check on him.”
Chel, who can use healing magic, went to check on Lipa.
“Is Big Moth still out?”
“No. Most of the swarm flew north last night, so I don’t think any are left in the area. They were easy to hunt because they gathered around the magic stone lanterns. But there were too many of them, so we had to sink them into the swamp. I’m sorry. Now, we can’t use the swamp again.”
“It’s okay.”
“Give some magic power to Ka-Ryu. She should be hiding in the cave…”
Her hands were already trembling. Palm sap spread across the ground. She had been fighting without magic. Her muscles must have been exhausted.
“Got it.”
“Then…”
“That’s enough. Hel, you can go to sleep now.”
“Really? Then I’ll just lean on your shoulder for a bit…”
Hel said that and collapsed onto my shoulder.
“Phew! Now that Makyo is back, we’ll be fine. No, I can’t relax. I’ve lost all my strength.”
I was unable to move, so I carried Hel to the cave.
“What about dinner?”
Sylvia, who was cooking over the fire, looked at Hel in surprise.
“Later…”
I laid Hel down on her bed in the cave.
“Makyo…”
“What is it?”
“Jennifer has realized something more certain than money, and she’s confused. Keep an eye on her.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“After living for 200 years, you might start seeing things that aren’t there.”
“I don’t really understand, but Jennifer is mentally unstable. Got it. I’ll infuse Ka-Ryu with magic and go look for her.”
“Hehehehe…”
She was laughing as she slept. I hadn’t seen her like this before. I guess the attack by the big moth swarm must have been terrible.
Ka-Ryu was sleeping on my bed. She must have thought some of my magic was still left there.
When I poured my magic into her, she returned to human form from the lump of dirt she had turned into.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would turn out like this.”
“No, I suggested it. It’s a waste of magic, so you don’t need to put any in me. I should be able to hold out for a few years in this state.”
“I see…”
“That means the golems in the underground desert must have a source of magic.
“The monsters seem to have left. If there’s anything to clean up, I’ll do it. I can at least carry the monsters’ bodies.”
“No, it’s okay. Rest by Sylvia’s side. Chel will burn the corpses.”
When I left the cave, Chel was just coming out.
“How is Lipa?”
“His arm is properly connected, and nothing is missing. He regrets not knowing when to stop.”
“I see. If he’s aware of that, then it should be fine. Hel was exhausted and collapsed. It seems she pushed herself too hard, even though she had no magic left.”
Crossing mountain ranges and working until she collapses—Hel sometimes does reckless things.
“Yeah. She seems smart, but she’s a little loose in the head, so it can’t be helped. Is Jennifer the next one?”
“Collecting scales? Can I eat lunch?”
“Yeah, prepare some for Jennifer and me, too. She can’t have gone too far. I’ll go get her.”
I went to the swamp to look for Jennifer.
There weren’t many monsters around, so I quickly found her walking along the shore. She was wearing a mask, dirty yellow clothes, and collecting scales.
“Hey, Jennifer, let’s eat!”
I waved and called out to her. She came running at full speed. Why is she so energetic?
“Makyo-san! You should have told me if you were back!”
“I just got back. It sounds like there was a big Big Moth outbreak.”
“Yeah, there were Big Moths everywhere in the sky. Lipa was injured, but we used healing medicine to save him…”
“Oh, Chel took care of him, so he’ll be fine.”
“I see. That’s good. Gosh, I was desperate. I thought I was going to die several times.”
“So, it was the usual demonic land?”
“Hahaha, yes!”
Jennifer laughed. Her clothes were torn, and she had medicinal herbs plastered all over her body. She might have been high. Rather than seeming confused, she seemed happy that they had managed to handle it on their own.
I suppose this is how one becomes a resident of the demonic land.
We returned home together.
Jennifer wiped her body and ate the stew Sylvia had made.
I took the jar made from palm tree sap and carried it to the warehouse at the back of the cave. The sword and hammer that Sylvia had made seemed to have been used up.
When we came out of the cave, Jennifer was asleep, holding a plate. There was some stew left on the plate.
“You’re pretty skilled, sleeping while eating.”
“I fell asleep when I sat down.”
“You must be tired. You should sleep.”
I sat down next to Jennifer and took my lunch.
“Are you okay, Sylvia?”
“Y-Yes. I just need more blood. I can still move, though, if I control my blood flow. I’m sleepy, though.”
“Vampires are so cool.”
Chel praised her, but Sylvia shook her head.
“A-Anything is possible in the demonic land. I want to try everything.”
Indeed, Sylvia has taken on many challenges: She’s made weapons, runs a crocodile ranch, and controlled monsters—things she would have never done before.
“Th-Th-That aside, Hel was acting all cute with Makyo.”
“What!? What do you mean!?”
Sylvia told Chel in detail how I had carried Hel into the cave. It must have been quite an exciting event for the two of them because they were talking about it enthusiastically while finishing their stew.
“They’re such happy people. Really…”
In the afternoon, Chel and I cleaned up after the big moth outbreak. Chel used water magic on the yellowed monsters to wash away the dirt. We put off cleaning the trees for later. Instead, we gathered the broken branches.
Some rock crocodiles were either unconscious or covered in scales, so we returned them to the crocodile ranch. Many must have escaped.
Big moth wings and torn bodies were scattered everywhere, so we piled them up in the ruins between the swamps. Finally, Chel decided to burn them all at once.
We collected all the magic stones from the corpses and placed them in large leather bags.
“If we make a staff with these, we can use it for training in the demonic land.”
“That’s a lot.”
I’m already feeling discouraged.
As the scales gradually faded away, the cries of imps and birds began to echo.
“Are they still reproducing?”
“It’s the demonic land, after all.”
“Who knows what will happen next…”
The sun began to set.
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Cute lol
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