kscans

Chapter 73 - Gathering Materials, Dinner, and Me Blushing a Little

After hearing Darius's heavy resolve.

While the squad members were debating whether to roast or steam the massive amount of materials and the crab-like creature, Mireille touched the shell and appraised it. Apparently, if used for a shield or the like, it could reflect mana.

"So, the meat inside... does that mean we have to eat it as sashimi?"

As I muttered this, Darius made a light suggestion.

"Since we have the chance, why don't you try searing a part of it with that dagger?"

Just the first joint of its leg was about the height of a person. Darius's sword sliced it off with a clean cut.

"Isn't that sword seriously amazing?" Leonhard had been surprised during the earlier subjugation, but its sharpness was extraordinary.

"Don't be ridiculous. Do you have any idea what kind of hell Ariel put me through to master it this well?"

Darius spoke with a laugh.

"At first, the attack power was multiplied by a hundred, and the moment I swung, the recoil nearly killed me instantly. I thought I was brought back to life with a High Potion, but then the next time I was nearly frozen solid with the ice attribute, or I was engulfed in flames. It took me ten years to finally get used to handling it like this."

A shiver ran down my spine.

In front of me, the leg of the armored monster that Darius had cut had what looked like densely packed meat inside. Mireille was also surprised by the unexpected use of the dagger. Apparently, the fire power could be adjusted by the strength of one's grip on the hilt of the sword.

She seared it directly over the shell.

So it really was an all-purpose dagger. What in the world had I been entrusted with?

Oh, I was entrusted with Mireille herself too. Well, that part I'm happy about.

I couldn't help but blush by myself.

"It's fine even with the fire. In fact, its strength increases. If we process it into a shield, it should be possible to defend against mana. It seems we can also process it by grinding it into powder," Mireille said, carefully appraising the seared shell.

"Well then, it's decided. We'll have grilled crab with something fire-attributed."

Lunch was wolf meat barbecue, but dinner was a luxurious grilled crab. The single, girlfriend-less soldiers began to mutter, "Maybe we should just stay here."

It was decided that the shells and today's materials would be washed at the waterside near the base. Everyone had to pitch in, or we'd never get through it, especially with the large amount of wolf pelts back at the tower.

Otherwise, we sorted the magic cores by monster, and dried the slimes and fish to make preserved food.

Mireille and I decided to return to the tower once to check the recipes in the remaining wooden boxes and to take care of the wolf pelts and eyeballs.

When we arrived in front of the tower using the ring, the silver pelts of the Moonshadow Wolves were glittering against the setting sun, and the orange light gave off a soft, warm fragrance.

When the eyeballs dried, they became small, golden scales, about the size of what they call contact lenses in the country of science. I gently placed them on a tray.

Honestly, it's creepy. The sharp glint in their eyes makes them look as if they're still alive.

"This light is what makes them useful for night vision, apparently." As expected of the Moonshadow Wolf. Even as eyeballs, their presence and practicality were alive and well.

By the time we finished cleaning up, the sun had completely set. We hurried into the tower.

---

The moment we entered the tower, a sense of relief washed over us, the assurance that no monsters would come.

That must have been why. In the next moment, we could no longer bear the distance between us.

We hadn't even finished climbing the tower's stairs. And yet, with Mireille's back against the wall, our lips touched, testingly at first, no, devouring each other as they met deeply.

"Ngh..." A sweet sigh escaped her lips. Once, it had taken courage just for our fingertips to touch, but now, we couldn't stop each other.

Changing angles, deep, shallow. From lips to cheek, to earlobe, to the nape of her neck, we touched with our fingertips, with our lips, as if to confirm each other's existence.

I was getting excited, and I was being careful not to accidentally leave a mark. But even that reason was in peril. Reason and desire wrestled with each other, steadily raising the heat.

"Just... a little longer." Who was it that pleaded so? We no longer knew.

All that was certain was that the feeling of wanting each other now surpassed everything else.

After a short while, we slowly parted our lips. I had somehow managed to stop with reason, but...

I really am shy.

Leonhard gave a wry smile. But, once everything is resolved, I won't end things shyly. I'll properly, boldly ask her out from the beginning, and I'll keep courting her until she agrees to be my fiancée!

Leonhard made this resolution, but he didn't understand that this was precisely the kind of behavior everyone found endearingly shy.