I open my eyes to the sun’s glare and crawl out of the shrine. It’s already morning. I went to sleep at the back of the shrine where light wouldn’t reach, but it seems I rolled towards the entrance.
“GuoooOOOO…”
Raising my head to the sky, I let out a yawn. It wakes my partner up, who opens her eyes.
As usual, the egg sacs are stuck to her forehead. To be honest, I’d prefer it if they were to remain unhatched. Hey partner, you know spiders are nothing like ball rabbits? They won’t fulfil your nostalgia.
“Guua…”
Even though she should’ve gotten plenty of sleep, she’s still drowsy.
“Gaah! Gaah! Gaah!”
Without hesitation, she stretches out towards the tribute. She ate a ton last night, but it’s still not enough for her. There should have been enough food to cover a fair few meals if rationed, but she destroyed half of it last night. The remaining half will disappear with this breakfast. She does her work properly, so I can’t complain, but I wish she would pull her weight a bit more.
I would be grateful if the Lithovars were to bring some more tributes, but I don’t see them around, and don’t feel their presence. I wonder if it’s because my behaviour yesterday scared them and they figured out I’m not their dragon-god. There’s the possibility that they have a set day on which they come, so there’s still a chance! I hope…
While I’m thinking, my partner has stuffed her face into a basket, scrounging around for remaining food. The poultry and pork have become nothing but bones. Is she finished eating, then? The food she eats fills my stomach, so to humour her, it’s better to let her do the eating, but… My mouth feels rather empty.
“Hyufuuh!”
Next to my partner snorting in satisfaction, I gnaw on a boar bone she spat out. This is fine though… Yeah…
After enjoying it halfheartedly, I spit out the bone fragments. My partner looks at me pityingly.
“If you’d said something, I’d have given you some…”
Ah, her voice is in my head. I feel like we’re becoming more and more able to understand each other.
Next to the wreckage of my partner’s feasting, I spot a large pot. It doesn’t look like she’s tried it yet.
I try sniffing it, but it doesn’t smell of food. If it smelled of meat, there’s no way she would’ve left it alone after all. I lightly poke it with my forefoot and hear a sloshing sound.
Is it a drink? I try removing the lid with my mouth to see a colorless, clear liquid. But, this odour I’m smelling… Is it alcohol? It’s sake, actually.
If I remember correctly, Yamata no Orochi was killed after getting drunk on sake. It was a snake, but it feels ominous all the same.
As I’m looking down into the pot, my partner softly edges closer before clasping the pot between her lips and raising it to the sky. Its contents flows down her throat in one gulp.
She twists her head, smashing the pot against the ground, shattering it. Then she sticks out her tongue, licking up the sake from around her mouth.
“Gaaah!”
She cries out joyfully, letting saliva fly.
Oi, this girl! Right after she said she’d share as well!
Or rather, don’t go destroying the pot. What a waste! Be more careful next time. If a Lithovar were to see, they might mistake it as anger.
That’s right, restoring the jar using [Soul AppendmentFake Life] would… not work, I’d expect. Yeah, that would be the case. It’s much more likely that the fragments will just start moaning.
“Gaaaah”
My partner gleefully starts licking the fragments of the jar. She seems to have taken a liking to sake.
You’re also me, so don’t do such crude things, please. Didn’t some of the shards enter her mouth just there? Hey, spit them out already. Won’t they break your stomach?
Come to think of it, I swallowed that holy sword a while back. There’s no way this is worse than that, so it’s fine. Whatever happened to that sword anyway? Is it still there, or has I digested it? It’ll be sticky and unusable either way though.
Seeing as the tribute’s all gone, from today onward I’ll have to be self-sufficient. I need to go hunting for prey. I’ll let the wight earn experience points by providing covering fire… For that matter, where is the wight?
It’s no longer in the shrine. Searching around with [Presence Detection], I feel a faint reaction from the opposite side of the shrine. This presence has to be the wight.
I circle around the shrine, following the wight’s presence. As I’d sensed, the wight was there. It’s elbow deep in earth, digging through the soil. It pulls out a clump of dirt… No, that’s too structured to be just dirt. It’s a dirt-covered cloth.
The wight brushes the cloth with its hand, revealing a black color with ivy embroidery. It’s Lithovar clothing. I wonder if it’s what the wight wore when it was alive.
After clearing away most of the dirt, it rings out with its lower jawbone in satisfaction. It bends down to put on the clothes, but suddenly jumps with a start, turning to look at me. Our eyes meet. The wight looks away and hides its face in embarrassment.
Feeling like I’d seen something I shouldn’t have, I quickly avert my eyes. It’s essentially been naked all this time. After so long without clothes, isn’t it a bit late to worry about being seen changing? No, its feelings aren’t ones I can understand.
After the sound of getting dressed has stopped, I look up to see the wight fully clothed. It’s dirty and torn, but the top and bottom combine to make it a black dress. It looks just like what the Lithovar girl I saved from the manticore was wearing. The men who came to deliver the tribute were wearing trousers, so it seems the wight is a girl after all. Although there is the possibility that she’s just wearing clothes she found.
Letting out a rattling sound, the wight turns around on the spot while looking up at me. I get the impression that it wants me to say something. Seeing me stay silent, she tilts her head.
Perhaps she’s asking for my impression of her clothes. N-no, to put it bluntly she’s just bone, so… There’s no feelings of cuteness there, yeah. Ah, there’s that. It might be a good idea to wash away the dirt in the river. Beyond that… No comment…
I open my eyes to the sun’s glare and crawl out of the shrine. It’s already morning. I went to sleep at the back of the shrine where light wouldn’t reach, but it seems I rolled towards the entrance.
“GuoooOOOO…”
Raising my head to the sky, I let out a yawn. It wakes my partner up, who opens her eyes.
As usual, the egg sacs are stuck to her forehead. To be honest, I’d prefer it if they were to remain unhatched. Hey partner, you know spiders are nothing like ball rabbits? They won’t fulfil your nostalgia.
“Guua…”
Even though she should’ve gotten plenty of sleep, she’s still drowsy.
“Gaah! Gaah! Gaah!”
Without hesitation, she stretches out towards the tribute. She ate a ton last night, but it’s still not enough for her. There should have been enough food to cover a fair few meals if rationed, but she destroyed half of it last night. The remaining half will disappear with this breakfast. She does her work properly, so I can’t complain, but I wish she would pull her weight a bit more.
I would be grateful if the Lithovars were to bring some more tributes, but I don’t see them around, and don’t feel their presence. I wonder if it’s because my behaviour yesterday scared them and they figured out I’m not their dragon-god. There’s the possibility that they have a set day on which they come, so there’s still a chance! I hope…
While I’m thinking, my partner has stuffed her face into a basket, scrounging around for remaining food. The poultry and pork have become nothing but bones. Is she finished eating, then? The food she eats fills my stomach, so to humour her, it’s better to let her do the eating, but… My mouth feels rather empty.
“Hyufuuh!”
Next to my partner snorting in satisfaction, I gnaw on a boar bone she spat out. This is fine though… Yeah…
After enjoying it halfheartedly, I spit out the bone fragments. My partner looks at me pityingly.
“If you’d said something, I’d have given you some…”
Ah, her voice is in my head. I feel like we’re becoming more and more able to understand each other.
Next to the wreckage of my partner’s feasting, I spot a large pot. It doesn’t look like she’s tried it yet.
I try sniffing it, but it doesn’t smell of food. If it smelled of meat, there’s no way she would’ve left it alone after all. I lightly poke it with my forefoot and hear a sloshing sound.
Is it a drink? I try removing the lid with my mouth to see a colorless, clear liquid. But, this odour I’m smelling… Is it alcohol? It’s sake, actually.
If I remember correctly, Yamata no Orochi was killed after getting drunk on sake. It was a snake, but it feels ominous all the same.
As I’m looking down into the pot, my partner softly edges closer before clasping the pot between her lips and raising it to the sky. Its contents flows down her throat in one gulp.
She twists her head, smashing the pot against the ground, shattering it. Then she sticks out her tongue, licking up the sake from around her mouth.
“Gaaah!”
She cries out joyfully, letting saliva fly.
Oi, this girl! Right after she said she’d share as well!
Or rather, don’t go destroying the pot. What a waste! Be more careful next time. If a Lithovar were to see, they might mistake it as anger.
That’s right, restoring the jar using [Soul AppendmentFake Life] would… not work, I’d expect. Yeah, that would be the case. It’s much more likely that the fragments will just start moaning.
“Gaaaah”
My partner gleefully starts licking the fragments of the jar. She seems to have taken a liking to sake.
You’re also me, so don’t do such crude things, please. Didn’t some of the shards enter her mouth just there? Hey, spit them out already. Won’t they break your stomach?
Come to think of it, I swallowed that holy sword a while back. There’s no way this is worse than that, so it’s fine. Whatever happened to that sword anyway? Is it still there, or has I digested it? It’ll be sticky and unusable either way though.
Seeing as the tribute’s all gone, from today onward I’ll have to be self-sufficient. I need to go hunting for prey. I’ll let the wight earn experience points by providing covering fire… For that matter, where is the wight?
It’s no longer in the shrine. Searching around with [Presence Detection], I feel a faint reaction from the opposite side of the shrine. This presence has to be the wight.
I circle around the shrine, following the wight’s presence. As I’d sensed, the wight was there. It’s elbow deep in earth, digging through the soil. It pulls out a clump of dirt… No, that’s too structured to be just dirt. It’s a dirt-covered cloth.
The wight brushes the cloth with its hand, revealing a black color with ivy embroidery. It’s Lithovar clothing. I wonder if it’s what the wight wore when it was alive.
After clearing away most of the dirt, it rings out with its lower jawbone in satisfaction. It bends down to put on the clothes, but suddenly jumps with a start, turning to look at me. Our eyes meet. The wight looks away and hides its face in embarrassment.
Feeling like I’d seen something I shouldn’t have, I quickly avert my eyes. It’s essentially been naked all this time. After so long without clothes, isn’t it a bit late to worry about being seen changing? No, its feelings aren’t ones I can understand.
After the sound of getting dressed has stopped, I look up to see the wight fully clothed. It’s dirty and torn, but the top and bottom combine to make it a black dress. It looks just like what the Lithovar girl I saved from the manticore was wearing. The men who came to deliver the tribute were wearing trousers, so it seems the wight is a girl after all. Although there is the possibility that she’s just wearing clothes she found.
Letting out a rattling sound, the wight turns around on the spot while looking up at me. I get the impression that it wants me to say something. Seeing me stay silent, she tilts her head.
Perhaps she’s asking for my impression of her clothes. N-no, to put it bluntly she’s just bone, so… There’s no feelings of cuteness there, yeah. Ah, there’s that. It might be a good idea to wash away the dirt in the river. Beyond that… No comment…
