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Chapter 61 – Cloche’s Crisis and Punishment
“You must not leave the shrine.”
Despite Aire’s stern warning beforehand, the moment Wataru heard Cloche’s voice, the warning vanished from his consciousness for an instant.
Even though they hadn’t been together in person, they had grown close, like family, not mere strangers, by spending their days together so intensely.
Some kind of crisis had befallen Cloche.
For Wataru, that was reason enough to lose himself for a moment.
“Help me, please! O-Onee-sama! Master!”
The Storing Grass had begun to proliferate abnormally, multiplying at a terrifying rate and stretching taller and taller as it coiled around Cloche’s body.
It looked less like she was being tangled by a plant and more like she was being wrapped by an octopus.
Cloche wasn’t passively accepting it. She must have been struggling, trying to tear the vines off with her limbs.
However, the torn fibers instantly withered and died, hardening into powerful strands that hindered her movement. New tendrils extended and began to entangle her again.
As a result, she found herself restrained with her hands raised above her head.
The entwined vines accentuated her voluptuous form, squeezing her large breasts and pulling her clothes up to expose her beautifully shaped navel.
The Storing Grass, feeding on magical power, had found an ideal match in the ancient ruins, which caused a magical disaster and resulted in explosive growth.
Moreover, its form had changed significantly; its stems were thick and long, and extended tendrils.
“My magic power is being sucked… my strength…!”
“What!? The Storing Grass shouldn’t have such a strong effect!”
Cloche grimaced in pain, and Mariel cried out anxiously.
Cloche had also used the magic-based physical enhancement technique that Aire excelled at.
The vines of the Storing Grass that she had touched were absorbing her magic and robbing her of her powerful abilities.
This wasn’t the Storing Grass’s original ability. It was a new power born from absorbing high-concentration magic and rapidly regenerating and mutating.
Aire, acting with Cloche, managed to stay safe by wielding her beloved sword, the Great Ice Tiger. However, she struggled against an opponent that regenerated instantly, no matter how many times she cut it. She was unable to get close to Cloche.
The fact that they couldn’t touch each other directly only worsened the situation.
“Master, you mustn’t come in!”
Aire’s warning barely registered. The instant Wataru stepped one foot beyond the shrine’s boundary line—
“Guh…!”
“Master!”
Wataru’s pores exploded open across his entire body.
An overwhelming nausea struck him as if his insides were being twisted inside out.
He froze in place and stumbled backward.
His head spun, and a roaring rang in his ears.
The sickening sensation threatened to make him vomit.
Supporting his swaying head with one hand, Wataru desperately searched for a solution.
He could barely move himself, and Mariel was in the same predicament.
That left only one option: to rely on Aire’s power.
“Guhh!! Aire, use the Great Ice Tiger to freeze this entire area!”
“Huh!? Got it! Cloche, it’ll be cold, but bear with it! Great Ice Tiger! Freeze everything! Lull them into an eternal slumber with your embrace!”
“Hyaaaaaah!? I-I’ll freeze to death!”
“Shut up and endure it!”
The moment Aire placed her hand on her beloved sword and activated its imbued power with the keyword, the sound of whistling wind echoed around them. Everything began to freeze solid with a crackling sound.
Though Cloche’s body was covered in a thick layer of frost, she hadn’t turned into a complete ice statue.
“Alright, alright! It looks like freezing from the roots down means it won’t regenerate immediately!”
“We should probably destroy it while we’re at it. If we leave it carelessly and the ice melts, we might end up in the same situation.”
“Aire, after we rescue Cloche, destroy the Storing Grass.”
“Roger that!”
Knowing the solution, Aire acted swiftly.
She smashed the frozen, rigid Storing Grass, freed Cloche, and moved her to the shrine.
Releasing her physical abilities, she shattered the Tamekomi Grass into dust with sheer force.
Startled by the massive magic exposure, Wataru had barely left the shrine’s barrier range, so his condition quickly stabilized.
The shards sparkled like diamond dust, possessing a fantastical beauty.
“…It must have contained a lot of magical power, but it doesn’t seem usable as material, does it?”
“I think it’s best to give up on it.”
Ah, what a waste.
However, he couldn’t predict what problems might arise from bringing it back to Earth and mixing it into the soil.
If it multiplied and attacked Toru somehow, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Even if that didn’t happen, he wouldn’t be able to shake the feeling that it might affect other crops.
Cloche, tossed back into the shrine, was frozen solid. She shivered violently, her face as pale as a ghost, and her teeth chattering. Still, she seemed unharmed, with no major injuries.
Her abundant natural magic power, innate aptitude for magic, and status as a Black Wolf Clan member—a race resilient to cold—had likely saved her life.
Another major factor was that Aire’s magic hadn’t targeted Cloche in the first place.
“T-t-t-thank you for saving me…”
“Cloche! I told you to be careful!”
“Ah, Master… I’m so sorry.”
“Honestly, I’m just so relieved you’re safe!”
Cloche hung her tail and ears low, feeling dejected, though she didn’t quite understand why she was scolded.
“How much do you think I worried?” Wataru said.
He hugged her without thinking. She was literally ice-cold, but he had no regrets.
Rejoicing in Cloche’s safety mattered far more than the cold.
“…I-I’m so sorry.”
Cloche mumbled, her face flushing red as she apologized.
〇〇〇
To be safe, he had Cloche drink an antidote.
Since her entire body was frozen solid, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she had developed frostbite or chilblains.
“Maybe it’s because the magic around here is too dense, but the potion ended up being more powerful than I expected.”
“Well, the frozen parts thawed right back out, so she should be fine. You handled it well, Aire. Thanks.”
“Nishishi! I’ll get plenty of rewards tonight, right?”
“Absolutely. I’ll splurge on dinner tonight, too. Fish or meat?”
“Great! I’m in the mood for meat today!”
“Then it’s steak.”
“Whoo! Master, you’re awesome!”
Seeing Aire so delighted made splurging feel less bad.
Although potion production still faced many challenges, the undeniable progress contributed to Wataru’s sense of ease.
“So, why was Cloche in such a state?”
“Well, Cloche…”
“Aire, I’m getting Cloche’s report directly from her now. Mistakes happen, but I need her to explain exactly what went wrong in her own words.”
“Hmm. Understood.”
“I-I…”
According to Cloche’s timid response, unlike Aire, who had tried sowing seeds in an area with low magic concentration, Cloche had actually sown hers in a place with a high concentration of magic.
Given the nature of the seeds, which absorb magic, she had apparently thought simplistically that the higher the concentration, the better.
However, while this area was considered low-magic, its concentration was still abnormally high compared to other places.
The Storing Grass that Cloche sowed withered and died almost immediately.
But it quickly sprouted new shoots. After repeatedly experiencing birth and death at a terrifying pace, individuals that had adapted to the environment abnormally appeared and caused a massive proliferation.
“I’m truly, truly sorry.”
“Well, if it wasn’t intentional, I’ll forgive you.”
“D-d-d-does that mean I’ll be punished?”
Watching Cloche’s face turn bright red as she nervously gauged his expression, Wataru grew suspicious and fell silent for a moment.
Was this reaction… okay?
“Yeah, I’ll discipline you thoroughly, so brace yourself.”
“H-hawawawa…”
Cloche clutched her tail to her chest and remained bright red, shifting her gaze restlessly.
This cuteness made him want to tease her.
He’d have to work hard on both the rewards and the punishment.
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