Kays Translations

Chapter 188: Homeland

Inside the carriage, Lua-san and I chatted the whole way, mostly about her time in the Lusanso Knight Order.

I’d thought my corporate slave days had been rough, but compared to what she went through as a knight, mine sounded easy.

Unlike me, Lua-san was highly capable—so it really hit me how painful it must have been for her to put in so much effort and still not be recognized.
It was also a heavily male-dominated environment. If Lua had been a man, she probably would’ve gone down in history as the captain of the Lusanso Knights.

“I’m honestly shocked. You’ve had such a harsh past… I didn’t realize you’d been through that much before coming to the Kingdom of Greylan.”
“Well, now it doesn’t matter much. Adventuring with Brittany and Joel is a blast, and I enjoy farming with you all. Even if I’d climbed the ranks in Lusanso, I don’t think I’d have ever found real happiness. I used to feel guilty for running away, but now I think escaping was the best decision I ever made.”
“I’m glad you feel that way. At the end of the day, what matters most in life is enjoying it. You only get one life, so might as well have fun to the fullest.”
“Yeah… I plan to enjoy it to the fullest.”

Lua-san smiled, a bright and refreshing smile.

As we talked, I noticed the scenery outside had gradually turned into dense, unspoiled wilderness.

I was driving just as directed, so I didn’t think we were off track—but where exactly was this destination?
The weeds were getting thicker, and I was starting to think the carriage couldn’t go much farther when Moji and Mash suddenly signaled for me to stop.

“So… this is the place?”
“Looks like we’re going into the forest. From here, I guess we’ll have to follow their lead.”

We got off the carriage, and I told Ash to wait here.

Technically, we didn’t have to go with them, but Mash looked like he really wanted us to follow—so we did.

“Stay close to me, Sato. Monsters could show up anytime.”
“Got it. I’ll be counting on you, Lua-san.”

After entrusting my safety to her, we followed Mash and Moji into the forest.

Just as Lua had warned, there were indeed monsters lurking about.

I thought maybe they wouldn’t attack after seeing Mash and Moji, but just like in a dungeon, they showed no hesitation in charging us.

Moji handled long-range threats with magic, while Mash took care of anything that got close.
Lua-san stayed at my side the whole time, guarding me perfectly.
Thanks to her, I never once felt in danger.

“We’ve come pretty far in. Moji and Mash seem familiar with this forest… do you think this place means something to them?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t even know how you tamed them in the first place.”
“Well, honestly, I don’t really understand that myself…”

When I spend NP to summon them, they just… appear as my familiars.

At first, I assumed God was creating new monsters on the spot, but based on how Moji and Mash were acting now, it seemed more likely that they had already existed somewhere in this world, and were simply being sent to me.

I’d actually suspected as much from Helena before.
She never talked much about it, but there were hints that she, too, had a place she once called home.

“In any case, Moji and Mash have gotten really strong. They’re taking down most of these forest monsters in a single hit.”

They hadn’t evolved lately, but they’d clearly been growing.

While I was admiring them, the two suddenly began circling around Lua-san, as if trying to tell me something.

“Ah, I get it now—Lua-san’s skill must be boosting their power! Does your skill affect monsters too?”
“I’m not really aware of it myself, but judging from their reaction, I suppose so.”

Lua’s mysterious skill was truly something else.
Just existing near her gave allies a strength boost—that was practically a heroic ability.

She hadn’t even known about it before this, so there was no real way to study it further, but still… incredible.

Thinking about Lua’s strange gift, we continued walking for another hour or so before Mash suddenly stopped.

“This looks like just an ordinary patch of forest… is this really the place?”
“He’s… doing some kind of strange dance. So yeah, I think this must be it.”

As Lua said, Mash had started performing a bizarre little dance—almost hypnotic in rhythm.

While we were staring at him, confused, a shape peeked out from behind a tree.

It was a mushroom monster—one that looked exactly like Mash.

And then, one after another, more mushroom monsters appeared from hiding.

It seemed this forest… was Mash’s homeland.

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