Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 167

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 167 – A Faithful Dog is Excellent

Chris uttered a worried word, but she continued with a confident stride.

After that, they entered the area where the miasma leaked, as explained, but it didn’t seem to be a particularly dangerous area, as Chris had said.

That was because they could vaguely feel that they were being watched from a distance, but they didn’t do anything more than that.

Maybe it was the gaze of a monster, but it seemed to be watching them as if it wanted to avoid them.

Maybe it felt the difference in their strength.

“Come to think of it, there was something similar in Ist. Like the one with Viscount Sage.”

An incident where Ain was accused of something and ended up in a monster duel.

In the end, the twins got a feast, but the catalyst was the Wyvern being frightened by Ain.

…Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem like an accusation, but it was indeed excessive.

“Oh, that’s right. The Wyvern was frightened, so it seems that even the monsters around here would run away.”

Chris smiled wryly when she heard Ain’s words.

With the danger gone, the atmosphere between the two of them became more peaceful.

“But even though the miasma is leaking out, it doesn’t look that different, does it?”

During the monster training, the ground had turned a poisonous color, but the area they were walking through now showed no sign of that.

All they could see was a ground that seemed to be a slightly darker shade of dark brown.

There was no misty air floating around, and if Ain hadn’t been told there was miasma, he might not have noticed.

Chris opened her mouth in amusement as she looked around at Ain.

“That’s how diluted it is. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a negative effect on the human body, so of course it’s important to be careful.”

“Huh. How much of a negative effect is that?”

“There are individual differences… but yes…”

Chris seemed to think about Ain’s words carefully.

Then, she seemed to have come up with an answer right away, and she looked cheerful.

“Even if it’s a Royal Guard Knight, if you absorb it for a few tens of minutes, it could be fatal.”

“Huh? You can withstand it for a long time.”

Ain was disappointed.

He had thought that absorbing it for a few minutes would be the limit, but he was surprised to hear that it could be for tens of minutes.

“That’s enough to kill you. For example, you could lose the use of your limbs, lose your eyesight… or even go into a coma and not be able to wake up on your own. So there’s no doubt that even a few minutes is dangerous.”

“Ah, that’s true. I’d forgotten about that.”

“But I don’t think it would work on you, Ain-sama.”

Hearing this, Ain smiled as well, just like Chris.

This ability would have been a great advantage if Ain had been an adventurer.

If Olivia had not been a member of the royal family of Ishtalika and had left Heim to become an adventurer in Birdland, their lives would have been different. When he thought about it, he wondered if such a future was possible.

Of course, he’s happier in the world where he has his family and friends like Chris, Dill, Warren, and Lloyd.

“Ah, we’re almost out of the poisonous gas area!”

Chris’ happy voice reached Ain’s ears while he was deep in thought.

“That’s great news. It means I can finally take off this coat. ――But how did you know we were almost there?”

“In my case, my senses are more developed than most people’s, so I judge mainly by smell and sight. The color of the ground changes too, you know.”

Ain also strained his eyes to look at the ground.

Yes, he couldn’t tell the difference. He felt a sense of defeat when he realized that they all looked the same color.

The smell seemed to be different as well, but he thought he’s just imagining it.

He could smell the smell of rotting wood and the smell of damp soil. He could also smell the sweet smell of flowers from time to time, but he couldn’t tell where the smell of the miasma was mixed in.

In fact, he only had this feeling since he entered the forest.

“I don’t understand it at all. Everything looks the same as before.”

“Fufu. It’s also part of the elf’s nature, so don’t worry too much. Besides, even among elves, I have a good sense of smell.”

“Would you like to try and see how good it is?”

She looked at Ain with such an expression.

The somewhat challenging look in her eyes made Ain feel like accepting the challenge.

“You seem pretty confident.”

When he answered like that, Chris took off her leather coat.

Maybe they had entered a safe area where they were not affected by the miasma.

The feeling of being watched suddenly disappeared, and the forest’s atmosphere quickly returned to its original quiet state.

“Yes. I’m actually quite confident. For example, I’ll never miss Ain-sama, you know?”

Even when he returned from the Demon Lord’s castle, she could tell whether it was Ain by his scent.

If that’s the case, then Krone also seemed to have a good sense of smell, but Chris was unusually confident right now.

“…Is it safe here now?”

“Yes. We’ve entered an area where only beasts pass through, but no monsters appear. We’re almost at the elf village now.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Then let’s do it.”

Ain asked Chris to stop and then said, with a mischievous smile on his face,

“I’m going to hide my coat somewhere nearby. So if you can find it within three minutes, you win. And the winner can ask the loser to do something for them next time…”

“…How far can you ask?”

“Hmm… within the bounds of common sense, like asking them to go shopping with you, or something you can both do…”

It was only a vague agreement, but since they both felt reassured that they wouldn’t ask each other to do anything unreasonable, Ain decided to go ahead with it.

Chris nodded in satisfaction, a confident expression on her face.

“Well then, I’ll think about what I want to ask you.”

“…Well then, I’ll leave you to it, so Chris, can you hide your head in your coat?”

Seeing her confident and determined words, Ain felt an unpleasant emotion well up inside him.

“Yes. Please don’t go too far, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t go too far because it’s dangerous. Besides, it would be a shame to expand the area.”

…The reason he was being mean was because of the hiding place for the coat Ain was wearing.

There was a place where the ground was covered with damp leaves, like humus.

He decided to hide it under the ground, facing the ground, which was nothing special.

He made sure to make a noise when he left and then found a suitable place.

He approaches the ground between the trees, which looks quite ordinary and clears away the fallen leaves.

He lays the coat flat on the ground and then covers it with leaves again.

“Okay. It looks natural.”

After returning to his original position, Ain detoured and returned to Chris’ side.

She had covered her eyes with the coat, just as Ain had said.

“Chris, I’m back.”

Hearing Ain’s voice, Chris peeked out from under the coat.

Chris, who had emerged from the pitch black coat, had beautiful blonde hair, which was striking in contrast to the black coat.

“Sniff… sniff…”

Chris moved her nose as she closed her eyes, as if slightly dazzled.

“――Ah, this is it, isn’t it?”

Chris nodded several times and then smiled triumphantly.

On the other hand, Ain could only think, “What is she saying?”

“What? You mean you understand?”

“Yes, I understand! If you want, I can get close to it with my eyes covered.”

“…Can you do that?”

When she heard Ain’s voice sounding curious, Chris took out a large handkerchief and covered her eyes with it.

“Then I’ll go. Is it okay if you follow me?”

“…It’s okay.”

He ended up using strange words, but he followed Chris as she started to walk.

He thought she would probably follow the same path Ain had taken or walk nearby, but his expectations were easily betrayed.

“――You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The path ahead was a straight line between the trees… that was where the leaves had fallen and where Ain had hidden his coat.

Even though she was blindfolded, Chris was clearly heading for that spot.

“…Huh? Did you bury it, Ain-sama?”

“I don’t know… I don’t really understand.”

It might have been a childish resistance.

It felt like Ain’s defeat had already been decided…

Despite the disadvantage of having her eyes covered, Ain was simply amazed at how Chris was getting closer to the answer.

The sound of her footsteps on the leaves and branches echoes, ending just before the spot where Ain’s coat was hidden.

“Is it here?”

“Hah… I give up.”

Ain gave up because of the sharpness of Chris’ animal sense of smell.

Chris then removed the blindfold, and her happiness was obvious.

“I did it! I won, right?!”

“I know. I lost… I didn’t think it would be this good.”

“But I think it’s unfair to hide it like this… isn’t it terrible?”

Her happy expression changed completely, and she asked Ain as if she were interrogating him.

“N-no! You said I should hide it properly, right?”

“I know I said that, but… I think it’s unfair to bury it like this.”

Saying this, Chris reached into Ain’s coat and brushed away the leaves and dirt.

When she was satisfied that it was clean, she held it in her arms as if it were precious.

Her mouth was tightly closed, and she furrowed her brow slightly as she stared at Ain as if to say, “I’m not happy.”

“Mmh…”

“――I understand. I’ll do my best to listen to your wishes as much as I can, so please forgive me…”

She must have been satisfied with that answer.

Chris’ expression changed immediately, and she looked at Ain happily this time.

“…Are you sure? If you say later that you don’t know what I’m talking about, I might even cry.”

“I won’t say anything. Please don’t cry, okay?”

Was he just agreeing too easily?

However, he had plans to give her some kind of reward.

Even if it was a mission, she was the only one who accompanied Ain and led him to the village, so he thought giving her a reward wouldn’t be out of place.

Then there wouldn’t be a problem, Ain thought.

“Well then, I’ll think about what I want to ask you!”

It was easy to see that she was excited, and Chris began to walk forward with such a gait.

Ain also felt a bit refreshed, and he started walking forward with renewed energy.

＊＊＊

The journey to the elf village went smoothly.

This was because Ain was not tired and did not ask for a rest, so they were able to continue at Chris’ pace.

It could be said that the experience he had gained on his way to the former Demon Lord’s territory had come in handy this time.

――Finally, they reached a point where they could see the Elven village.

“Can you see it? That’s my hometown.”

It had been a little over an hour since he and Chris had started their treasure hunt.

They arrived at the Elven village a little earlier than expected.

“…It’s amazing.”

It was not a city or a town, but there were still many houses lined up.

All the houses were made of logs and processed wood, and it was a scene that really shows how they live in harmony with nature.

The houses, made by hollowing out huge trees, combined with the lush greenery of the land, made him feel like he was in a different world from where he used to live.

Also, by the side of a small lake filled with clear water, an elf woman could be seen drawing water.

Ain was able to see this scene of everyday life because the village had no wooden walls.

“It’s like a whole other world.”

“I’m glad you think so. Well, when you come from the capital, it can feel like they’ve been left behind in time.”

“No, no. I think it’s wonderful that they preserve the culture like this. I don’t think they’ve been left behind at all.”

Chris smiled softly at Ain’s words.

Maybe she was relaxed, but her expression seemed even more girlish than usual.

“You are very kind, Ain-sama. ――Oh, it looks like the villagers have also noticed us.”

Looking in the direction Chris was pointing, Ain saw several male and female elves approaching them.

They were probably warriors from this village, for they wore light armor and carried bows and spears.

They walked with tense expressions on their faces.

“…Is everything okay?”

“I think they’re just nervous. If they thought we were their enemies, there would definitely be more warriors coming towards us.”

“――Yeah, I hope so.”

The elves’ belief in the World Tree.

As a result, the Dryads are also supposed to be welcome, but who knows what will happen?

Ain waited for them to come, keeping his guard up.

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