Moly Herb 5
Suddenly, we arrived at a wide-open space.
Caves often have spaces like this.
“Nn… Boy…”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Nn… Taking a break… so…”
Saying that, Liv-san looked around and sat down on a rock that looked easy to sit on.
This is also common in caves.
She takes something out from her waist. That’s dried meat.
“…”
“Nn… Boy… you eat too…”
Did she notice me watching?
Liv-san bit off a piece and handed me the part she was holding.
“Ah, no, I’m…”
“Nn… Don’t want… it?”
“I’m fine.”
“Nn…”
Liv-san ate the dried meat she had offered and moistened her throat with her waterskin.
I drank some water too. I wasn’t hungry.
When Liv-san finished the dried meat, she rinsed her mouth with her waterskin.
Dried meat is often intentionally made salty.
There are various preserved foods, but none of them prioritize taste.
As long as it’s minimally edible, it’s fine.
“What’s wrong?”
For some reason, Liv-san was looking down sadly.
“Nn… Liv… still hungry…”
“Eh? Then, would you like to eat my dried meat?”
“Nn… Is it okay…?”
“Please, go ahead.”
I handed her a parchment-wrapped bundle from my pouch.
Liv-san took it and opened the wrapping.
“Nn… The color is pretty…”
“I-Is that so?”
Liv-san gripped the dried meat and bit into it.
How wild.
“Nnn… D… Delicious…!”
Her red eyes sparkled.
My heart skipped a beat at the expression she showed for the first time.
“I-I’m glad.”
My dried meat is properly salted.
Liv-san chewed thoroughly, drank water, and chewed some more.
“Nnn… V… Very delicious…s…”
With a gulp, she finished it in no time.
Even though it was a decent-sized chunk of meat.
“…You have a healthy appetite.”
“Nn… Kentan…”
“Um, I’m glad you like the taste.”
“Nn… Boy. Thank you… Where did you buy it…?”
“I bought the meat, but I made the dried meat myself.”
“Nn… Boy did…”
“Yes.”
My knowledge from my past life isn’t that amazing.
But that doesn’t mean none of it is useful.
Knowledge about smoking meat, a hobby I was into for a while.
It’s not complete, just fragmented, but it’s been reasonably helpful.
Of course. I failed many times.
I even thought about giving up.
There are quite a few foods in this world that are delicious as cuisine.
But there are also many tastes that are unattainable here.
Dried meat is one of them.
I wanted to get even a little closer to the taste I remembered from my past life.
And so, I managed to make some decent dried meat.
“…”
“? Is something wrong?”
She’s staring intently at me.
Then, she gave a small shiver.
“…Nn. Going to pick flowers…”
“Ah, y-yes!”
Liv-san stood up, leaving the light orb behind, and went into the darkness.
After waiting a short while, she returned.
“Nn… Break over…”
“Y-Yes.”
“Nn… Let’s go.”
How much time had passed since then?
At least 30 Goblins had been defeated.
By Liv-san, though. I haven’t done anything.
As expected of Liv-san. She’s strong. It’s not just her equipment.
She has the skill and physique to wield it.
She must have undergone that kind of training. And she’s still continuing it now.
I suddenly thought.
Liv-san’s true nature might be more of a soldier than a Seeker.
She might have actually been a soldier.
Thinking about such things, we arrived.
The lowest level of the Cave.
Since it’s a natural cave, there’s no door.
But somehow, from the air and atmosphere, I felt this was the lowest level.
“It’s spacious.”
“…Nn.”
It was a large, dome-shaped space.
Barrels and wooden boxes were scattered around, and in the back, there was a Goblin.
It was a Goblin with a larger build than usual.
Its pitch-black eyes were eerie.
“…Hobgoblin…”
“That’s…”
The boss of this nest?
I use my Relic [Danger Detection].
The Hobgoblin is bright red. Dangerous, but not black.
It holds a thick Saber with large chips in its blade.
Thicker and larger than a butcher knife. It’s bloodstained and flecked with rust.
“Nn… Boy. Stay back…”
“Y-Yes. Understood.”
I obediently comply here.
As I retreated, Liv-san brandished her black Blade.
At the same time, as the Hobgoblin raised its Saber, an unnatural wind blew.
“An elemental… Relic…”
A wind-element Relic?
Wind violently wraps around the Hobgoblin’s Saber.
Liv-san made the first move.
She quickly closed the distance and swung her Blade from an angle.
The Hobgoblin easily blocked it and released a gust of wind.
Liv-san dodged and retreated.
“…Sky Form… Subaru… Maia Blade…”
Her Blade glowed red, and Liv-san dashed forward.
The Hobgoblin swung its Saber around, launching countless blades of wind.
Liv-san skillfully cut through the wind blades with her Blade and closed in on the Hobgoblin.
And she slashed the Hobgoblin with her Blade.
No, that’s wrong. It was blocked by the wind pressure from the Saber.
That Saber. Something’s strange about it.
“Nn… Don’t tell me, an OOPArts…”
Liv-san leaped backward.
OOPArts.
By responding to a compatible Relic, it increases the Relic’s power.
That Saber was an OOPArts compatible with the Hobgoblin’s wind Relic…?
A chill ran down my spine. My [Danger Detection] had turned black.
“Nn… Boy.”
“Y-Yes.”
“…Run… Of course… I’ll defeat it… but… I don’t know what might happen… It’s dangerous… so… Liv… will create an opening…”
“Liv-san…”
I could feel the tension rising in Liv-san’s expression.
Come to think of it, I heard something from the Witch.
Monsters that wield Relics are exceptionally more dangerous than ordinary monsters.
And if that monster wields an OOPArts, its strength shifts to another dimension.
This is because monsters are creatures more biologically suited to Relics and OOPArts than humanoid races.
Even for a high-level Seeker… a monster wielding an OOPArts cannot be underestimated.
The Hobgoblin let out a low growl and created a vortex of wind centered on its Saber.
It was crude and wild, but it was a small tornado.
Suddenly, Liv-san picked up a stone and threw it.
The stone was caught in the Saber’s mini-tornado, shredded, and turned to dust.
What power.
So this is a monster possessing an OOPArts.
This guy is a formidable enemy.