Kujonin Chapter 40

Kujonin
Author: Hanabokuro
—

A left all of the snow fox dismantling to Ayl.
I lent her my coverall, so I won't let her make any complaints.
I don't know how or what Ayl uses it for, but she comes back with the coverall all torn up every day.
Even though it has badges like slash resistance, shock resistance, magic resistance, and even poison resistance, it's like that.

"Why don't you try to avoid the attacks a little?"
"This is that guy's fault. It's fine, because I can feel myself getting stronger day by day."
I don't know what exactly is fine, but it's like Ayl's principles are like a pro-wrestler, taking the monsters' attacks head on.
Since she's been staying in the dungeon's desert, her body's muscular feeling isn't half-a.s.sed.
She eats more than the average person too, but Marcus-san said even if she eats that much he won't run out of food and continued to grill meat.
And then, when her stomach's full, so goes to sleep.
Exactly what are you? A grappler who can challenge even a mountain monkey or something? Without minding my gaze at all, Ayl lets out a magnificent snore.
There's one more person who let out that kind of snore.
It's Velsa.
Just when I thought she was engrossed in reading Marcus-san's books greedily, suddenly she began dissecting masmascarl and conversing with Marcus-san restlessly. And when I think she's doing that, suddenly she's closed her eyes, not saying anything.
And when I think she's sleeping, her eyes pop open like lightning and her pen runs along the parchment. To be honest, it's kind of scary.
Anyway, she's been thinking about it constantly. "I'm even thinking in my dreams, so," she can't tell reality from her dreams, and she asks things like, "Did that experiment succeed?" about an experiment she hasn't even done.
She seems to be researching the attributes and colors of magic stones right now.
Like when a monster evolves, do the magic stone's color and attributes change?
I was thinking I should stop her if she began to fiddle with the masmascarl's brains.
But Marcus-san said, "They'll increase soon anyway~", so it seems like it's fine to use as many masmascarl for test subjects as you want. Forget it, it's not my problem anymore.

As for me, I'm fox-hunting everyday in the glacier zone called the [Refrigerator].
I catch and finish off 20, 30 of them a day.
From time to time I'll encounter a thin white grezzlie, but when I hit them once they'll leave obediently.
I'm really nervous when I woke up a hibernating parent and child white grezzlie.
I dig up the places where the Search Skill shows monsters gathered, so I confused the den the white grezzlies were hibernating in for an igloo buried in the blizzard.
For the time being, I presented them with the meat of the superfluous snow foxes, and when they ate it happily, I was glad.
From then on, I gave snow fox meat to all the white grezzlies I met.
The feeding was a success, and there were even ones that got attached.
During that time, I found out why the snow foxes were increasing.
The white grezzlies, who prey on the snow foxes, suck at hunting.
Without even sneaking up on their prey, they rush at the snow foxes to attack them and quickly get tired and give up.
When it seemed like one was going to give up, I kicked its b.u.t.t and got him to go, and he was finally able to catch one.
When one succeeded, the other white grezzlies began to imitate it, and even if they got tired, they kept at it without giving up.
With this, the situation in the [Refrigerator] might get a little better.

With this and that, 20 days pa.s.sed.
I had caught 600 snow foxes, Ayl had become the fighting companion to "a stupidly huge scorpion and an earthworm you wouldn't believe the size to, and a double-headed king cobra and stuff", and Velsa had written up two theses (The Changes of Magic Stones with Evolution, The Portion of the Brain that is most Effective in Providing Psychosis Magic for Monsters).
In the end, Velsa was messing with brains.

"Ah, you've saved me~"
"Nah, to put us up for such a long time is unthinkable; we've caused you quite a bit of trouble."
"Oh no, it's been so long since I've spent time with people, so I've also had fun. A, this is the reward for the snow foxes."
"Nah, it's okay! You let us stay, so let me do this much in return."
"Oh no, this is work, isn't it?"
"Nah… is that so~ then"

"The 'nah's lost."
"Yup."
Ayl muttered about Marcus-san and my conversation, and Velsa agreed.

Marcus-san handed over a bag filled with large amounts of silver and gold coins.
"No, um, aren't you giving us too much?"
"I can't use the money even if it remained here. It's better for someone who can use it to have it."
"Even so, this is too much."
"A, that's right. Naoki, I didn't use the research funds, so I'm returning them, ne."
So saying, Velsa handed over a pouch with gold coins inside in repayment.

"It's a sudden windfall, na."
"I'm the type that destroys himself with money, though…"
"E? What do you …?
"See, actually, I..

Before I came to this world, I had randomly bought a year-end lottery ticket and won.
I was initially happy about it, but suddenly relatives I never knew and close friends I don't remember increased.
I handed a bunch of it over to my close siblings and good friends, but as for the crowd I couldn't care less about coming for it, I hated it so much that I threw all of in the stock market. What became of it afterwards, I don't know. The country hadn't been destroyed when I came over to this world, so there should be some left, but with how things are now, I really don't care.
So that's why.
I've come to think that I'm fine as long as I have enough money to live on.
When I randomly get a lot of money, I'm terrified that weird people will come calling, so I'll spend it at an establishment with high-cla.s.s onee-sans, or impulsively spend it on useless stuff on the jungle1.

– is the past I wish I had…"

"E? It was a lie?"
"E? What's a lottery?"
"E? Anyway, what is a lottery?"
" " "E? That was all a lie?" " "
"It's a lie. Actually, I have a 'sickness' where I will go for the soap bubblies and the slippery sumo2 and spend all my money, so I've come to think that I should just get what money I can and spend it wisely."
"What's with that"
" " " Weirdo!!" " "
"Am not!"

"Then,"
" " "Thank you for your hospitality!!" " "
"Come again sometime~!"
Marcus-san continued to wave his hand at us as we left the dungeon.

"A! That's right! The boat was broken, ne."
"A, that's right. Gotta fix it."
"Just down some trees around here, and Naoki will fix it real fast and it will be done soon, right?"
"That, isn't the role I have a bit too major?"
While we were saying things like that, we came out of the jungle and headed to our broken boat at the sandy beach.

And, when we reached the beach,
" " " Was the boat always like that?" " "
All three of us asked.
A huge dragon body had sprouted from the ship.
A, no, more like, a dragon had thrust its head into the boat would be the correct way to say it?
The glitsening of the blue scales as the sun hit them was blinding.
For now, I, who has learned the dragon language, drew near and called out to it.

"Excuse me! … What are you doing!?"

The dragon is trying to take the ship off its head with its front fins, so I'll also help.
The face that came out with a pop was smooth and pretty.
It's eyes were big, and the fins on its cheeks were thin and clear.

"Gyaa—su!"

The dragon cried out.

", I thought I was going to die! You've helped me, thank you! … Nn? You, you're carrying a dragon's magic stone?! Un, with this scent, there is no way I'm wrong!"

And that was how we met Water Dragon-chan.

amazon euphemisms(?) for soaplands and that type of 'service'

Sorry for the cliff hanger, but wtf was that 180 in the story?
Hehehe, time to fix the boat, ladidadida… water dragon.>