(377) Interlude - Centaur’s owner
Chapter (377) Interlude - Centaur’s owner
There were a man and woman who were in Mallegory but were unaware of the town’s current state.
It was Jofre and Elize.
In fact, they didn’t even know that they were actually inside Mallegory at the moment. They went down a hidden staircase that they discovered by chance when they were at Suzuki’s warehouse with the excuse that they were investigating the hidden underground path and have been wandering continuously for a couple of days.
Normally the amount of food they had would not allow them to investigate for so long.
However, they had the donkey named Centaur. That gluttonous donkey had an eye, or rather a good nose, for the sparse amounts of edible mushrooms found in the underground path and Jofre and Elize benefited from it.
Of course, it wasn’t as though their search was fruitless.
“It’s here, Fish Lizard!”
“It’s a fateful encounter! We have the unusually good fortune to encounter one here!”
It seemed that the drinking fountain in the underground passage was connected to some pond or lake so eggs could flow in with the water and result in the appearance of aquatic monsters.
The Fish Lizard was born, raised, and propagated in the underground passage.
Due to that, that was the first time it met humans.
But perhaps it was the basic instinct of monsters, the Fish Lizard rushed in a straight line to attack Jofre and Elize the moment it met them.
A Fish Lizard was a monster that intermediate adventurers fought.
“Paralyzing Whip!”
Elize’s whip tangled around the legs of the Fish Lizard - at the same time, the Fish Lizard stopped moving. The effect of paralysis activated.
“Good job Elize! Um, I heard about it in Mallegory but I’m supposed to say ‘I love that tingling sensation’!”
“Eh!? Jofre got paralyzed as well!? Do you have the anti-paralysis potion!?”
“I am always tingling. My heart is tingling from love toward Elize.”
“Jofre … I feel the tingle from Jofre’s words too.”
A baka couple will always be a baka couple.
In fact, they were alone so they couldn’t stop.
Ichinojo wasn’t there to retort them with a Slash.
However, perhaps because it read the atmosphere or the paralysis effect wore off, the Fish Lizard moved.
“Jofre!”
“Rotational Slash!”
Jofre rotated and sent a large slash flying, striking a fatal injury on the Fish Lizard’s head.
The two of them have been through dangers in their own way so they have grown to become Swordsman and Monster-User -
“That can be called a Triple Axel … no, perhaps a Triple Spin?”
“How is it different?”
“Acceleration would be called Axel but rotation should be called spin, right?”
“But you were both accelerating and rotating?”
“Then it shall be Triple Axel Spin!”
- But the growth didn’t include their brains.
The two of them just listened to the Japanese phrases and didn’t understand the essence of the phrases at all.
Triple Spin and Triple Axel were both terms from figure skating and not only were they unsuitable for that situation, but Jofre had also only spun one circle.
Nevertheless, because of these encounters, Jofre and Elize were able to survive not on mushrooms alone but also a valuable source of protein, Fish Lizard meat.
They cut up half of it and grilled it on a bonfire.
“If it is Fish Lizard meat, we don’t have to worry that Centaur would eat it - eh?”
“That’s right. After all, donkeys are herbivors - eh?”
“”Eh?””
The two of them tilted their heads at the same time.
Centaur was eating the Fish Lizard that had just been grilled.
“Ah, I remember now. It was the same when we first met Centaur.”
“Our Fish Lizard meat was eaten by Centaur.”
Then, Jofre and Elize noticed something.
It came as a surprise to them.
“Perhaps Centaur is not an ordinary donkey!?”
“Perhaps Centaur is not an ordinary donkey!?”
It was a very delayed revelation for regular people.
And after realizing that fact -
“Centaur, the next portion to be grilled will be ours.”
“We will grill Centaur’s portion after that.”
The two of them didn’t change the way they treated Centaur.
Under those circumstances, the two of them didn’t have to worry about food as they proceeded further down the underground passage.
And when they were beginning to tire of exploring - they found it.
A door that was clearly different from the other passages.
“Is this a treasure room? Elize, what do you wish for?”
“Um, I want fluffy bread!”
“I want fresh vegetables. I’m sick of living on only mushrooms and fish meat.”
“Centaur would definitely be fine with either choice.”
The two of them were craving for food rather than treasure.
But the door didn’t seem to open.
What did they have to do?
As they were thinking, Jofre and Elize discovered a familiar dent.
“Jofre!”
“Ahh, the indentation like before.”
Jofre fitted the comma-shaped jewel that they once found in the watchtower into the hollow.
The door made a heavy grinding noise and opened.
“Treasure! Vegetables!”
“Treasure! Bread!”
Jofre and Elize exclaimed happily as they passed the door but there was only an old woman in nun clothes behind cold iron bars.
She was seated on a chair eating bread and vegetable scraps but she stood up when she saw Jofre and Elize enter.
“Are are~, you came for me, my beloved Slow-chan.”
She said and patted Centaur.
“You two brought this child here.”
“Yeah. I am Jofre! And this is Centaur, Obaa-chan.”
“I am Elize. Do you know Centaur?”
“Are are~, so it’s called Centaur now. Thank you for the polite introduction.”
The old woman gave a kindly smile and gave her name and job.
“I am Miremia. Once a deacon of this cathedral and the owner of this child. I am supposed to be dead in the church and have been locked up here all this time.”
Jofre and Elize looked at each other in response to the old woman, Miremia’s unexpected confession.