LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 92
As the gigantic mushroom monster, the source of the aura, collapsed, visible changes appeared immediately.
Even after the monster absorbed the aura, the faint spirit that had covered the forest quickly concealed itself.
Along with that, the mushroom golems, which had exhibited abnormal aggression towards the subjugation team, began to scatter into the forest one by one.
But the changes didn’t stop there.
Even those who couldn’t handle magic could feel the transformation.
With the cause of the contamination that had drained the intellect of the forest to its limits now gone, the forest began to rapidly recover, and I could clearly see the land getting rejuvenated before my eyes.
However, just because the forest’s monster had disappeared, it didn’t mean all problems were completely resolved.
The oversaturation of magic still persisted, and even if the issue was solved, the spores of the Akusare Mushroom, which had already spread throughout the forest, were only spewing out mushroom golems.
When the oversaturation of magic was resolved, the golems born from it would vanish, but the fact that they originated from mushrooms posed a problem.
Thanks to that, Fungusbee, which had hardly seen any monsters or even fierce beasts and almost faced starvation, found itself on the brink of having a dungeon right next door and losing its primary industry altogether.
Of course, adventurers targeting the cores of the golems would definitely come.
However, no matter how expensive the golems’ cores were, it would seem pathetic compared to the exquisite ingredients desperately sought after from across the continent of Europa.
Yet, upon returning to the lodge in town, Catherine, the adventurer, wasn’t focused on any of that. A more pressing issue remained.
Shaking her head, Catherine crossed her arms and glared at Karem, who was sneakily trying to bend his arms while kneeling.
“Keep your arms straight, little one. Why couldn’t you keep the basket steady?”
“No, I was really keeping it straight, you know!”
Karem looked very aggrieved.
When frying bread in the temple that served as a shelter, moving around, or even praying momentarily in the temple, he carefully checked on the seasoned fried chicken he was carrying.
Yet, at some point, the basket had become strangely light.
Upon checking, he found that only an empty plate remained in the basket.
No, there wasn’t even a drop of sauce on the plate that had been in the basket.
It was as if the basket had only ever contained an empty plate.
“So you want me to believe that? Doesn’t it sound a bit off, even coming from you?”
“Y-yeah! I only got to eat one bite! It was all gone in a flash.”
“Hey, Escarna, are you really saying this while eating fried chicken and calling it seasoned fried chicken?”
“I-I really only had one bite back then!”
Narque, seated at the table, was also pouting, with droopy ears flapping as she protested.
Every time she moved her hands, the pile of fried chicken before her seemed only to grow, while the chicken bones remained spotless.
Catherine seemed to prefer seasoned fried chicken and was focusing more on blaming Karem for the disappearance of the chicken, even while Narque was eating alone.
Thus, after failing to prevent the sudden disappearance of the chicken, Karem could finally lower his arms and sit down at the table when he no longer felt pain in his shoulders.
“Well, I suppose the punishment is sufficient.”
“No, it wasn’t me or anyone else who ate it. It just vanished all of a sudden.”
“So what, chicken used magic or something? It certainly did taste a bit magical.”
Catherine, having inhaled deeply from the forest, soon nodded at the slightly reduced quantity of fried chicken before her. The meaning was apparent.
“Hmm, it’s a taste that seeps into the body.”
Karem, who had fed Catherine a chicken wing with only bones left neatly picked clean, brushed his hands off onto the plate while gazing at the slightly flattened wooden box beside the plate of chicken.
The wooden box clearly wasn’t made from luxurious materials.
In fact, it was more like a common wooden box that could be bought on the street for a few pennies.
What stood out more than that was the item attached to the wooden box.
Incomprehensible small writing densely covered it like a talisman.
Just looking at it gave Karem a solemn feeling, making him all the more attentive.
During the punishment for the disappearance of the seasoned fried chicken (which he didn’t even commit), Karem had heard everything that happened in the forest, as well as how the item inside the box was something that the monster had left behind after wreaking havoc.
“So what exactly is this thing left behind by the Akusare Mushroom monster?”
“The scales of the Death Dragon Naglfar.”
“Scales?”
Are we saying all this chaos was caused by just a single scale?
Speaking of which, Naglfar, that name brings to mind myths from my previous life.
But then again, dragon scales?
The pillars of spirit that seemed to pierce the sky, the spam of mushroom golems that attacked the village—
“Ah, the monsters were just the starting point; the issues would have happened even without the mushroom golems.”
“Ah, and it’s been decades since the Akusare mushroom oil has been poured onto the forest.”
So, does that mean they just got lucky?
No, wait—on second thought, was it really bad luck in this case?
“But why. Are you curious about the contents of the box?”
“Well, considering you’ve plastered so many sacred-looking seals on it, it’d be more bizarre if I wasn’t curious. But, can I open it?”
“Doesn’t matter. But first, let’s fill our stomachs.”
“Ah.”
Catherine was indeed right.
The subjugation team returned to Fungusbee three days after heading into the forest.
Despite saying it was a large-scale subjugation, the time taken was very short, but the timing of their return was quite vague.
They returned to the village just as it was long past lunch and seemed about ready for dinner instead.
Catherine and Narque immediately demanded chicken from Karem upon their return.
Since the basket was covered with a gourmet lid, it hadn’t spoiled, let alone gone cold.
However, the seasoned fried chicken had long since vanished.
Karem had no choice but to fry more fried chicken.
“Ha, really now. Do you even realize how hard it was for me because of you, little one?”
“Huh? Because of me?”
“Yeah. Because you cook so well, my taste buds can’t be satisfied with ordinary travel food anymore. All your fault.”
“How is that my fault?”
“Shut up! If we go out again, I’ll be bringing you along, so just know that.”
While they bantered, the sun in the sky began to set slightly lower.
The plate that had once been piled high with chicken now only contained breadcrumbs and bones.
Catherine and Narque, having finished cleaning up, wore satisfied smiles like well-fed cats basking in the warm sunlight.
Just then, Catherine poked Narque and adjusted her chair.
“Okay. Now let’s take a closer look. We didn’t have the time to inspect thoroughly when we returned while tidying up the scene in the forest.”
At that, Narque adjusted her grip on her staff and put on a serious expression for the second time in front of Karem.
The first was when she had burned with resentment over the chicken legs.
But really, was just watching something supposed to require this much seriousness?
Karem tilted his head, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
As soon as Catherine opened the lid of the wooden box—
Karem felt the temperature in the kitchen drop a few degrees.
As the box opened, a faint black aura burst forth like dry ice spilling onto the table.
When Catherine completely removed the lid—
“…What is this?”
“As I said, the scales of the Death Dragon Naglfar, or so Narque said.”
“Yeah, I—no, I heard that too. But that’s not the point.”
A gray, decaying hand lay inside the box, scattering the aura.
Wait, is this even decaying? I began to doubt my senses.
If it were really rotting, a terrible smell would have taken over the kitchen the moment it was opened, but only the savory scent of chicken faintly lingered in the air.
And the hand inside the box—
Its fingers were long and curved like those of a beast, as if it hadn’t been cut in months. It was merely a dry hand that had been left in a desolate place too long.
“Ha, as the legend of the academic faction goes, I—the first necromancer in Europa, Naglfar—was so fascinated by necromancy that I transformed my own body into a magical catalyst.”
“The first necromancer, wait a second, catalyst?”
It was well-known that dragon hearts—the source of dragons’ powerful magic, and their scales, shells, horns, bones, innards, and even a drop of blood—were all excellent materials for magic, weapons, alchemy, and anything else.
This was consistent with the subculture cliches I had encountered in my previous life.
But how could a dragon that was at least dozens of meters long—
“Are you saying you transformed your entire self into a magical catalyst?”
“Yeah. I thought it was just one of those common legends, but oddly enough, some of them turned out to be true.”
“With just this decaying hand—no, with just one scale, the entire village has been turned upside down.”
“If the legend is true, it’s surprising that the damage has been contained this much, really.”
Narque, with a mild frown, tapped the box with her finger.
“By the way, according to the legend, thousands of hands covered the transformed body of Naglfar like scales.”
“Hands of people transformed like scales. Hm? Wait a minute.”
“W-well, this is just my supposition.”
Narque trailed off for a moment before continuing.
“Perhaps the necromancer—the one who had that Akusare mushroom monster on its head—was trying to accomplish something with this scale?”
“Here—just half a day’s distance from the capital of the Duchy?”
“Necromancers can become unexpectedly obsessed with one thing—”
“Leaving other minor details unnoticed.”
No, with Coldon so close, isn’t that a minor detail?
Despite Karem’s feelings, Catherine seemed to agree with that sentiment, crossing her arms and adding to Narque’s point.
“Anyway, back to the main point. Thinking back, the mushroom monster did have some structural similarities to the dragon recorded.”
“It seems that it was attempting to devise something with the scales, but unexpected variables caused a rebound.”
“Trying to concoct something using the scales in a forest saturated with magic—”
“Then that became the breaking point, and poof, mushroom golems everywhere.”
Karem brought his hands together to illustrate an explosion or an expansion, and since both Catherine and Narque had reached the same conclusion, they nodded in agreement.
“Well, either way, it ultimately fell into my hands, so I suppose it doesn’t matter. Ha!”
“Is that really a good thing?”
“Of course! Despite this messy situation, it can still be called a treasure of an academic faction! I mean, just look at Narque, she can’t take her eyes off it!”
Indeed, as Catherine said, Narque glanced at the contents of the box with feigned nonchalance, but soon jolted in surprise.
“N-no! No! I-I absolutely didn’t desire it! A person should live within their means, and I can’t possess anything that belongs to Sir Atanitas—”
“Hmph, if you show enough value, I might lend it to you.”
“I-I swear! I will swear fealty…!!!”
“Well, I expect you to conduct yourself well. By the way, little one.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Make sure to fry a few more chickens.”
Of course. Karem had already expected this, getting up from his seat immediately.
It was only natural that the relatively big eater, Catherine, and Narque, who consumed more than he expected, would find this amount insufficient.
It didn’t take long.
Given that he had pre-fried a few earlier, all that was needed was to fry them again.
As Karem concentrated on the chicken while enduring the heat of the boiling oil and the cooking range, he soon filled a large bowl with chicken and turned his head, immediately sensing something was off.
The current season was presumably between spring and summer.
Yet, it was strangely colder than before, as if winter had abruptly set in.
And Catherine and Narque remained as still as if they were paused in a video, their hair completely motionless.
Wondering who was playing a prank, Karem realized it wasn’t a joke when he looked through the window at the kitchen and saw a leaf fluttering in the air, frozen in place.
And there, in the previously empty spot, sat a shadowy figure dressed in a black robe adorned with crow feathers that hadn’t been there moments before.
Crack-crunch—crunch-crunch—crunch.
The figure eagerly picked up the bones of the chicken that Narque had left behind and Karem had picked clean, munching away.