Chapter 54: Luggage carrier ⑫

That was close. Whew.

Now I understand why she didn’t come into the room immediately.

She must’ve been drying off and wrapping herself in a towel.

Without that pause, I definitely would’ve been caught.

But, when I think about it, this is my house… Then again, I did see her naked.

That stunning woman’s naked body… A single droplet trailing from her chest to her waist… No, no, stop.

A thief?

Is there anything in this house worth stealing—oh, wait. There is.

Three things, to be precise.

The legendary water flask: the crescent moon Vessel, highly versatile.

A knife imbued with an elixir, making it the ultimate anti-undead weapon.

And finally, a legendary, nameless egg-shaped vessel with infinite elixir generation.

Two legendary artifacts in one place?

None of these items belong in a house like this.

Especially the last one… Wars could break out over it.

If theft were the motive, she would’ve searched my room earlier.

Or killed me outright.

But instead, she only confirmed I was there and left.

So, theft isn’t the reason.

And really, who would casually take a bath in a house they’re breaking into?

So then… Who is she?

“……”

The truth is, I already know the answer.

There’s really only one possibility left.

It’s Mineha.

The height and body proportions are completely different, but it’s still her.

“…Could it really be Mineha…?”

Even so, there are questions.

The biggest one is her size. That wasn’t the size of a Fairial.

But there’s a resemblance.

If Mineha’s Fairial body were to grow to the size of a normal human, that’s exactly how she’d look.

Could that even happen…? She’s only ten years old, right?

That was undoubtedly a woman. Not a girl.

Her chest was full and bouncy, her waist slender, and her hips round like a peach.

That model-like figure, that appearance—at ten years old…?

And taller than me, no less.

“No, that’s just… She’s still growing.”

Yes, that’s it. I’m still growing, too.

But even so, isn’t Mineha’s figure too perfect?

And more importantly, how did she grow to a normal size?

It has to be a relic.

I don’t know of any that do this, but it’s certainly possible.

If that’s the case, then it’s either a Transformation or Growth relic.

It might even be a relic that all Fairials naturally possess.

But I can’t just ask her about it.

If I do, it’ll reveal that I saw her naked.

“Yeah, there’s no way I can bring that up…”

Then, I started to realize why she’s so reliant on relics.

Fairials, with their fairy-like builds…

I hadn’t given it much thought before, but their size must make ordinary living incredibly inconvenient.

If there’s a relic that lets her take on a human-sized form, of course she’d cherish it.

“……”

I need to reflect on my actions.

It seems that the incident in the forest affected me more than I realized.

I lost.

I was defeated.

Without a relic, I wouldn’t have survived.

I hate relics.

I’m grateful for them.

I feel indebted to them.

But relics aren’t a part of my true strength.

They’re just tools. Technology.

There’s nothing about them that I can take pride in.

“…”

Mineha had every right to be angry.

For her, relics are a means to survive.

It’s only natural for her to value them.

It makes sense that she’d develop a relic-centric worldview.

But that doesn’t give her the right to look down on people like Axe and the others.

Axis and his team have struggles we can’t even begin to understand.

Their pain is something Mineha and I will never fully grasp.

“…Sigh.”

It feels like I’m playing right into the witch’s hands.

No matter what the outcome, when this is over, I’ll confront her.

No matter how things turn out, as long as the job is done, that’s all that matters.

It might seem cold, but there are things in this world that can’t be helped.

They’re as numerous as the stars in the sky.

I know this from the memories of my previous life.

That’s why I don’t need fame or glory or ambition.

As long as I can live each day in peace, that’s enough.

That’s all I need.

“…Things never go as planned, do they?”

That’s life.

Tomorrow will probably bring even more conflicts than today.

How things will turn out, no one can say.

No one could possibly know.

The next morning.

I climbed the tower to wake Mineha, who was sound asleep, wrapped in her towel.

“Mm… What is it?”

“It’s time. Breakfast is ready.”

“…Mmm… Got it.”

“I made the portions as large as I could, but matching that amount wasn’t possible.”

“…It’s fine. I wasn’t expecting that much anyway… Haaah… What is it?”

She gave me a suspicious look as I stared at her.

Shoot, I got carried away. But… there’s no doubt about it. It’s definitely her.

Does the phrase “hides her figure well” even apply here?

Without her armor, it’s obvious. She’s… well, big. Her chest is huge.

“Ah, no, I was just surprised you could sleep so well here.”

“Is that so…? Yawn… It wasn’t bad, actually. This spot.”

Is it because of her size?

At least for me, I’d never choose to sleep there.

There’s just enough space for an adult to lie down, but it’s still pretty cramped.

Mineha washed her face, ate the entire breakfast I had prepared, and we got ready to head out.

At the east gate, we met up with Axe and Rel.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“Mm, morning.”

“…Good morning.”

“Ah, morning.”

“Good morning.”

“Where’s Hoss?”

“He’s running a bit late.”

“Speak of the devil—there he is.”

Hoss came running over, carrying a large backpack.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s the usual.”

“That’s a lot of stuff.”

“Good morning.”

“Morning. I overslept while packing.”

“Who cares? Let’s just go already.”

Mineha cut in, sounding either exasperated or annoyed.

“Ah, yeah.”

“Right.”

“My bad.”

“…”

“Alright, let’s move out.”

And so, our dungeon exploration began, filling me with nothing but unease.

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