Round 392

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Meanwhile, an update on Chiyon.

Things were going well enough for Verna to be happily wandering around the Gluttony Dungeon.

Or rather, it wasn’t that things were going well—it was that things were extremely busy.

Ever since Kyu-seong’s visit, the residents who had confirmed the Demon King’s existence were spending their days meaningfully by learning how to farm from the slimes.

And since new settlers kept arriving, they were continuously reinforcing the vacant buildings.

Instead of waiting for trouble, they were taking the approach of being prepared in advance.

And leading all this was Choro, enduring with superhuman stamina and mental strength.

“Haaah.”

But no matter how much of a hero Choro was, he couldn’t completely overcome fatigue.

In the end, he decided to take a vacation.

With the approval of the ten-member advance team, he was forcibly sent to the Gluttony Dungeon.

“This feels kinda awkward.”

He had always visited the dungeon with others, so coming alone felt strange.

Moreover, this time he had come for personal reasons, not official business, which made it feel even more unfamiliar.

Unaware that Verna often visited the dungeon freely, Choro cautiously looked around.

Boom! Boom!!

“W-What was that sound?”

Chiyon’s portal was connected to the Nyang Village.

So it was common to hear the blacksmiths hammering away.

But this was more like an explosion—like cannon fire.

Did something happen in Nyang Village?

Worried, Choro quickly made his way toward the sound.

Though small in size, he had more courage than anyone else.

BOOM!!

The closer he got, the louder the sound grew.

Choro entered the smithy with a serious expression, but contrary to his expectations, everyone looked calm.

“That is…”

All the catfolk were focused on one spot.

Choro followed their gaze and saw what they were staring at, as if hypnotized.

And there stood the source of the thunderous noise.

BOOOM!!

Ras was slamming a massive hammer down.

With each strike, sparks flew in all directions, creating a rain of fire.

Next to him, Bell was using tongs to carefully shift the object Ras was hammering at just the right moments.

“What on earth are they making…?”

No—what’s with that insane strength?

Each strike of the hammer released a shockwave.

Though Choro didn’t know it, it was actually a sonic boom.

A shockwave that surpasses the speed of sound.

But what was even more astonishing was that the object Bell was holding was barely deforming under Ras’s tremendous strength.

As Choro kept watching the hammering, he began to feel nauseous.

Soon, the catfolk too began stumbling out of the forge, looking pale.

“What are you making?”

– Nyaaang!

Unable to understand the Cat Smith’s language, Choro tried asking, but couldn’t get a satisfying answer and moved on.

In truth, Choro had always been curious about where the Demon King lived.

He had visited Nyang and Slime Village before, but never the other areas.

Wobble.

“Huh?”

At that moment, a slime greeted him cheerfully.

It was Poispois.

Upon spotting Choro, Poispois tilted its head as if asking what was going on.

“Oh, I just came for a little solo trip. I’ve been overworked, so I got a vacation.”

Wobble-wobble!

Fortunately, Choro could communicate with slimes.

In a way, his communication skills surpassed even Kyu-seong’s.

Wobble wobble.

“Huh? Really? You’ll guide me?”

Wobble!

Delighted by Poispois’s offer, Choro climbed onto a cart with him, and they set off for the Fairy Village.

It was Choro’s first time visiting the Fairy Village.

There, he saw humans even smaller than himself.

Fairies, to be precise.

-(‘’))*

-( •w•))))

“Hello! So this is your village!”

In fact, Choro had seen fairies before.

He had spotted a few who visited Nyang Village from time to time.

He was also fairly familiar with Frey.

So Choro quickly began mingling with the fairies upon arriving at their village.

-(U),♡

-()>_<))

The fairies held a festival in honor of Choro’s visit.

They brought out the honey they had secretly stockpiled without Kyu-seong’s knowledge and held a grand honey festival.

“Wow! It’s so sweet and delicious!”

Choro was amazed by the taste of the honey.

Chiyon didn’t have honey—or rather, it lacked creatures that could store it.

So this was his first time tasting honey that had been collected and refined.

It was a whole new world for Choro.

Wobble wobble.

Poispois also gorged himself on honey and wobbled in satisfaction.

His purple body shimmered gold from all the honey.

Honey cake, honey water, honey wine, honey rice cakes, and so on…

After feasting on all kinds of honey-based treats, Choro, full and content, suddenly asked:

“But where is Her Majesty the Queen?”

-(20≦)/

In response, the fairies gestured for him to follow.

Having eaten to the point of bursting, Choro and Poispois followed them without question.

Eventually, they arrived at…

“Steam? No, is it vapor?!”

The area was thick with steam.

It was hot and humid.

Choro looked around and saw natural hot springs bubbling up from the earth.

When he stepped closer and touched the water…

“Hot!!”

Wobble!

Seeing this, Poispois burst out laughing.

Then he began to explain something with great energy.

Wobble wobble wobble!

“Oh, I see! The water coming straight out is hot, but the pooled water isn’t as hot. But why are we here?”

Wobble!

“A bath?”

Chiyon didn’t have a bathing culture, so Choro tilted his head in confusion.

They only splashed water over themselves.

As he continued following the fairies, he began to hear cheerful chatter through the steam.

– So right when I started singing! Everything began to sparkle like shoora-laa!

– Ooh! I want to see it too! Next time, I’m coming for sure! I want to see Ninya too!

– I’m telling you, you really have to see it! My singing is incredible!

Hearing a familiar voice, Choro looked puzzled.

This voice…

“Goddess?”

– Oh?! Choro!

Choro found Verna, leisurely enjoying the hot springs, and stared blankly at the sight.

– Welcome! Oh my, did you come alone?

“Huh? Ah, yes. I’m on vacation.”

– That’s wonderful! Come on, come in!

“Go in? Into that hot water? Why?”

Verna, as if she had expected this reaction, nodded knowingly.

– It might feel hot at first, but once you soak in it, your body will feel so warm and relaxed!

Choro looked doubtful, but seeing the fairies happily slip into the hot springs with blissful expressions, he started to get curious.

“Should I go in?”

Verna and Frey are here, so what could go wrong?

Soon, Choro cautiously dipped his foot into the hot spring.

– Oh, come this way. That area’s deep.

– That’s right! The Grand Lord made this section with a shallower depth just for us.

Following their advice, Choro moved over and tried entering again.

“Hot.”

At first, it was just hot.

But seeing the two of them looking like they were itching to tease him, Choro grit his teeth and submerged himself.

– How is it? Feels good, right?

“Hmm.”

When he entered the hot water, his body felt itchy.

However, after a short while, the itchiness faded and his body adjusted.

‘Huh?’

Drowsy. Relaxed.

Just like Verna said, he began feeling better and better.

Eventually, fully adjusted to the temperature, Choro leaned his head back and lay down.

“Haah.”

– Nice, right? It’s great, right?

“It really is. This is amazing.”

It felt like all the fatigue that had built up was melting away.

Watching him, Verna and Frey quietly stepped back, leaving him to rest without disturbing him.

– Hoho. I’m glad you like it.

– This is the hot spring of recovery! It suits Choro perfectly.

Their voices sounded like lullabies.

Beside him, Poispois, who had come along, was silently enjoying the bath—now with a small towel placed on his head.

A satisfying fullness and the warmth of the spring.

The gentle chatter flowing like white noise, the still and swaying water.

“Ah, this is happiness.”

And so, Choro completely surrendered both body and mind to the hot spring.

***

A few days passed after that.

Since most of the work was proceeding under Bell’s leadership, I didn’t have much to do, so I was engrossed in culinary research with Ashu and Jae-seong.

Of course, I didn’t forget to learn magic daily in the elf city.

Poof!

“Waaa! Ara, you’re amazing!”

“Heh! Heh! Heh!”

Ara created a bit of water in her hand.

Emily clapped in amazement.

“It’s truly surprising. To think magic can be learned even without special abilities.”

Nathan and Sarah were also impressed, and it seemed Ara’s magic had ignited their curiosity.

“I can only make water for now, but it looks like I’ll be able to learn all elements later.”

“Oooooh. I’d love to see that in person.”

“Originally, magic users have a specific element they’re attuned to, but apparently Ara is a rare all-rounder, which is amazing.”

“Among all, she seems especially compatible with water magic.”

I decided I’d take Nathan and Sarah to the elf village myself someday.

They were so curious—this much I could do for them.

“I want to learn magic too!”

“Alright, I’ll talk to the elves about it.”

Emily looked completely smitten with magic.

A swordmaster wanting to learn magic—does that make her a magic swordsman?

“Maybe we should contact Katrina and discuss magic with her too.”

“Oh, right. Katrina! I should message her.”

By the way, when is Kyler coming back?

I kept going outside to check for messages every day, and thankfully, he left me three messages a day.

The last one said everything would be wrapped up soon—hopefully he comes back quickly.

“Watch this, Grand Lord-Lord!”

“Oh my, our Ara. So impressive.”

Ara was showing off for Mom again.

Seeing that, I really thought learning magic was the right decision.

Though I still couldn’t release mana myself…

“Kyu-seong, when do you think the kids will finish the job?”

“Ah, well. Looks like there’s still quite a bit left.”

“The electrical wiring is almost done. All that’s left is to build a structure to store electricity for that Son Ogon guy, and we’ll need Bell’s help for that.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as it’s done.”

Before I knew it, the wiring work was complete.

We could now use electricity starting today—thanks to Son Ogon, the spirit of lightning.

However, the issue now was that Son Ogon also had to act as a battery.

Meaning, if Son Ogon wasn’t around, we couldn’t use electricity.

But once we built the storage facility Dad mentioned, we’d be able to store large amounts of electricity.

Then we wouldn’t need Son Ogon present at all times.

“Hmm, I’ll head out for a bit. I need to check for any messages and get in touch with Katrina too.”

Ara, who had been showing off earlier, quickly followed.

When we stepped outside together, we saw Jae-seong preparing the restaurant.

“Working hard?”

“Nah, it’s nothing. I’m actually enjoying it! Hehe.”

Between running the restaurant and researching foods that help suppress mana, Jae-seong was busy these days.

He had already reached two Michelin stars.

Apparently, he became known nationally for being the fastest to earn 2 stars.

‘Three stars is basically in the bag.’

To be honest, I wonder if any restaurant in the world can match ours in taste.

Thinking that, I checked my messages and found one from Kyler.

– I think I’ll be back by this evening.

“Ooh.”

He’s finally coming back!

Next to me, Ara stood on tiptoe, trying to see the message too.

“What’s it say!”

“He says he might come back tonight!”

“That’s great! I must show him my magic right away!”

Ah, so that’s why she wants him back so badly.

Amused by cute Ara’s thoughts, I pulled up Katrina’s contact info after a long time.

As soon as I sent her a message, a reply came right back.

– I think I’ll be coming with Kyler.

“Oh! So she’s coming with Kyler. Maybe they’re planning to teleport over.”

“Katrina! You must see my magic!”

Ara, completely hooked on magic, shouted again while squirting a water gun.

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