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Chapter 213 – Day 44 of Management Life
Everyone had begun moving early in the morning.
We retrieved the relief supplies from the inner room and inspected them. We discarded any spoiled items and kept what seemed usable. We checked the magic circle inscribed on the floor of the room for damage or dirt. Almost nothing needed repair—just wiping away the dirt.
Carrying the preserved food that Katan had made, Chel and I headed out into the downpour toward the northern mines.
The giant magical beast was moving southward through the ruins of Midgard.
We had to board it as soon as it appeared and discuss its future with Lute, the Keeper of Time.
Negotiating with the ancient people of Midgard, including Lute, would take years.
“Back then, just boarding was a desperate struggle, huh?”
During the last giant magical beast attack, we managed to board by casting a time-stopping cloak over the magic cube.
Now, since we can both fly, we just need to go straight there. All we need to bring is food and water.
“Three months. Thinking about it, throwing away this time to go to the future doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Wasn’t every single day wasted?”
“No, there were wasted days, too. But those days were important. Otherwise, Chel would still be a devil.”
If I hadn’t spent time observing slimes, Chel might still be in her pitch-black devil form, flapping her wings.
“What if I’d stayed a devil for life?”
“Nothing special. Just something like, ‘Oh, really?’ What’s it like having a mechanical arm?”
“Even if Makyo’s skills change, you’re still the same at heart, huh?”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t live like a noble. There’s always stuff I have to deal with.”
“If you’re always on the move, maybe you just don’t have time to change.”
“Maybe we’ve changed a lot without realizing it. Jennifer and Lipa are a pretty close couple now.”
“Huh!? Those two are dating!?”
“No? If they’re together all the time, they’d grow fond of each other.”
I thought they’d be a good match, but apparently not.
“I figured they wouldn’t because they’re different races.”
“Chel’s surprisingly racist, huh?”
“No, it’s not that. I just think Jennifer might be holding back her feelings strategically because she seems like the type of person who would do that.”
“Oh, I see.”
Girls have it rough, having to lie even to themselves.
“And what about you, Makyo? All you do is stare at Sylvia’s chest!”
“Well, if it’s bouncing, you’re gonna look, right?”
“You look. So, what about it? As fellow citizens of the Estinia Kingdom?”
“Yeah, I’m not into reverse discrimination, but I don’t fall for people based on their country or race.”
“Then who are you going to marry?”
“I’ve actually thought about that quite a bit. Should I marry a harpy to ease the discrimination against Cliff Garuda regarding beast magic disease? Or should I marry Katan to help the persecuted dwarves escape the elf kingdom?”
“That’s surprising! You mean marry for political reasons!?”
Chel’s accent vanished. I guess I said something that shocked her.
“Aristocratic marriages are all about strategy, right? The demonic land is surrounded by different countries on all sides, so I figure I should at least consider it.”
After visiting the Sealing Clan’s island, I decided it would be best to retire while I was still healthy. Marriage must also be important for governing the demonic land.
Personally, though, I think it’s better to establish non-blood ties while our numbers are still small. Ideally, I want to create a system in which my children don’t have to become lords of the demonic land.
I explained all this to Chel as we ran.
“Is this what happens when eccentricity reaches its peak?”
“It’s your fault. There are those of noble birth who were exiled. I don’t want to burden the children with hardship either.”
“So that’s your thinking.”
Chel laughed, her mouth wide open.
“It’s okay, you know. No matter whose child it is, if they’re Makyo’s, we won’t exile them. We guarantee it.”
After running and helping to evacuate the goats and rebury the mandrakes that had emerged from the soil and were screaming strangely, we finally reached the magic stone mine.
We made a bed at the entrance to the dragon’s nest, where it slept through the cold, and built a fire outside. There were large conifers, too. If we cut the grass beneath the damp branches and leaves, we could build a bonfire anywhere.
Chel was infusing the firewood with magic to make it burn hotter. The moisture in the wood evaporated, sending up white smoke.
“You’ve gotten pretty good at this, haven’t you?”
“Speaking of which, you were drying the ship’s wood. What happened to that?”
“Sylvia’s using it. We’ll buy the ship from the Meiju Kingdom by selling magic stones.”
“Oh, so that’s possible, too. Negotiations aren’t my strong suit. Can we really convince the Midgard folks with this?”
With only Chel around, I slipped up and showed a moment of weakness. Seeing the volume of relief supplies and the size of the ships arriving on the East Coast made the days of trading with just a backpack seem so small.
“I put letters in the relief supplies, too, so word should spread within Midgard.”
“I hope so…”
The white smoke had completely vanished, and the firewood in the bonfire was burning vigorously.
“You’re being unusually subdued.”
“Well, the population suddenly grew, and things got way bigger. What do you think? Once we start exporting magic stones, maybe I won’t have to work anymore.”
“Nope. Speaking of the Meiju Kingdom, a lot of the Demon Lords from past generations are still working even after they’ve been buried.”
“What the hell!?” Seriously? I totally got ripped off on that purchase.”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, two humanoid figures flew in, snapping conifer branches as they came. Following them were gargoyles, rock-transforming lizard monsters that should have been in the rocky area, and a subspecies of wild bear.
“We’re screwed…”
Hel, who had been trying to wake up, was now trying to stand up. Her body was swollen to about twice its size—not just her face.
“H-help me…”
Sylvia’s arms had turned bright red and appeared to be festering.
The monsters seemed injured as well and showed no signs of attacking. For now, it seemed like they had just fled to the shelter.
“What’s wrong? Did you pick a fight with the Nushi?”
“”…Yeah.””
“Are you stupid? I told you the giant magical beast is coming tomorrow. What the hell are you doing?”
“I-I was just working on my awakening a little… Hehe.”
“He-hehehe.”
Despite being badly injured, they are laughing.
“Chel, cool down Hel’s body. Monsters, stay put. I’ll knock you flying.”
The monsters seem to understand my intent. Though they were breathing heavily, they stopped moving.
“What the hell did you do to end up like this?”
I examined Sylvia’s arm while questioning her. Her bones were twisted and fractured. I snapped them back into place before healing them with recovery magic.
“Aaah! Ugh!”
Sylvia’s agonized cries echoed.
Skin regeneration seemed to take time, so I wrapped her in bandages soaked in healing potion.
“Well, I figured we couldn’t use skin magic in this rocky terrain. You see, I can manipulate blood, and Hel can move bones with spirit mediumship.”
Sylvia’s smiling face was covered in blood, so I splashed water on her.
“What the hell is ‘skin magic’?”
“Well, um, it’s like if skin could move when cut by a sword, then it wouldn’t actually cut…”
“That’s a slime, isn’t it?”
“Right! I tried to turn the skin’s surface into slime, but it just rotted.”
“Because you tried to replicate its dissolving properties, too. You really need to think things through. What about you, Hel?”
Poor Sylvia seemed utterly exhausted. After wrapping her bandages, she collapsed onto her back.
“I overinflated the muscles beneath my skin. I exerted too much force and apparently destroyed the habitat of the Nushi of the underground lake.”
Hel was having Chel treat her swollen face.
“The Nushi of the underground lake… a giant serpent?”
“Yes, it seems the flow of the Earth’s veins changed and it was moving its lair to the surface.”
“Then what about these monsters?”
“They’re victims caught up in the fight between us and the giant serpent Nushi.”
“Sorry about yelling earlier. I’ll heal you right away, so just rest.”
Chel and I healed all of the monsters’ injuries.
“Don’t stay too long. Staying here means you’ll become dragon food.”
We warned them just in case, but since the giant serpent Nushi was still in the area, the monsters had to find new homes.
Perhaps because we had a campfire, or maybe because they knew we weren’t violent, the monsters wouldn’t leave my and Chel’s side even after their injuries healed.
We laid Hel and Sylvia down in the bed we’d made for them in the dragon’s nest, while we camped outside in the rain. Branches and leaves blocked the rain, and the monsters shielded us from the wind.
We had brought plenty of preserved food and shared it with the monsters.
“We should just leave enough for the Keeper of Time.”
“Bread? Do you want some?”
“Yeah, please.”
Chel baked us bread made simply by kneading flour, water, and eggs together.
For dinner, we spread some of the jam she’d made earlier from dried berries on it.
“Do you think the giant magical beast will actually come tomorrow?”
“Are you looking forward to it?”
“Nah, I still feel like I’m forgetting something.”
“It’ll be fine. Nothing will ever make the demonic land disappear.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
As the sun set, the surroundings plunged into complete darkness. The only light came from the campfire.
The wind howled in the distance. For a moment, a shiver, different from the cold, ran through my entire body.
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