Reunion Junkyard ③・Skull-Cracking Brain-Sucking Asura Hunt.
Juicy=Tasan. A noble.
Even I’ve heard of her. Marquis Tasan. A high noble of this country.
I don’t know anything else. I have heard that he’s close with the Margrave.
So, she’s the Marquise’s Daughter?
Why is the daughter of such a high noble in a place like this?
Her appearance is like that of a top idol—lovely, gentle, quiet, the type you’d want to protect.
Inside, she’s a pure-blooded werewolf grappler. The gap is just too much.
When I look at her with my Relic [Danger Detection], she appears white and reddish-black.
Safe and dangerous and death. No. Safe but dangerous and death.
This is the first time this has happened. Is something wrong with my Relic after all?
“Um, um, Lord Wof. I… I have something I want to ask!”
“You don’t need to add the ‘-sama’. What is it?”
“Well then, um, Lord Wof. What is this hole? What is it! It looks like I can almost get in!”
What’s with the “Well then”? Also, looking at the hole, Juicy-san’s eyes are sparkling like stars.
Her ears are twitching and her tail is wagging furiously. So easy to read.
Almost? No, not at all. Only a sliver of purple light is leaking from a tiny gap.
Ah, dogs really like digging this kind of thing, don’t they? How nostalgic. The dog back home from my past life memories.
It used to dig and hide balls, toys, and dirt all the time.
So, is that what this is? Well, she’s not a dog, though.
Thinking it was a strange way to put it, I asked anyway.
“…Do you want to dig?”
“Yes! When I see things like this, I just want to dig! Lord Wof. May I dig? I may dig, right? Well then, I shall dig!”
What’s with the “Well then”?
Juicy-san suddenly got down on all fours. Eh?
“Wai-”
“Um, um, well then, here I go! My ultimate technique, Skull-Cracking Brain-Sucking Asura Hunt!!!”
Skull-Cracking what now? She started digging the hole with both hands. Is she a dog? No, she’s a wolf.
She’s completely disregarding her current appearance. Too faithful to her desires. Just like a dog. No, a wolf, right?
Moreover, her hand movements are synchronized with her wolf ears and tail.
Besides, although it’s called a junkyard, it’s a mountain of scrap metal.
Of course, there’s leather, hides, wood, stone, and various other things, but it’s definitely not soft.
Plus, numerous broken weapons are mixed in. It’s a dangerous mountain.
It wouldn’t be right to stand behind Juicy-san for various reasons, so I’m standing a little off to the side.
Still, her digging speed is extraordinary.
Digging with bare hands. Normally impossible, but, hmm? Th-This is—!?
She’s not digging. She’s picking. Yes, she’s picking up junk with her hands and throwing it.
At tremendous speed—Torn leather armor. Broken scrap iron blades. Shield fragments.
Rotten wooden shields. Torn necklaces. Rust-covered iron blades. Just plain rocks.
Torn Scrolls. Severed cords. Remnants of ripped metal armor. Something like a spear. Bowstrings. Just arrowheads. Just fletching. A burnt cigarette case. Whoa, a Knife! Ah, the blade is ruined. Tch.
A doll with a broken face. Why is something like this here? A bronze mirror. Shards of a broken mirror.
Severed chains. A whip with its tip cut off. A cut collar. A collar?
Used candles. Broken stones. Broken mirrors. A bloodstained clown doll… Scary.
An unfamiliar red iron rod. Dirty cloth. A scrap iron axe with a chipped blade.
A worn copper axe with a cracked blade. A stone axe with a cracked blade. A stone axe?
Ah, a Knife! This one is… Yes! It’s a proper Knife!
“All riiiight!”
Knife get!! Shaaaaaa!!
“Woof? Is something wrong, Lord Wof?”
Juicy-san stops her hands and looks at me curiously.
Startled, I feel embarrassed.
“Ah, no, it’s nothing, please continue.”
“Woof! Well then, just a little more!”
I was just so happy to get the knife that I accidentally blurted it out.
But still, this is the first time I’ve gotten a proper knife in this Junkyard.
It has a large, curved black single edge and a round sword guard. It somewhat resembles the tsuba of a Japanese sword.
The hilt is made of white stone. Unusual. It’s smooth. Is this sheath made of hardwood?
Yeah. It’s a good knife. I’ll take good care of it. Cherish it.
I’ll try not to break it right away.
Anyway, Juicy-san looks like she’s having fun.
It reminds me of the dog back home from my past life memories.
It used to dig up the fields like this and get scolded by Grandpa.
But how is she doing it?
She’s picking up junk at incredible speed and throwing it behind her.
She’s carefully sorting the junk… things that are safe to touch.
Or rather, she’s grabbing them at angles that are safe to touch. And her hands never stop moving.
Where is she making the judgment? Could it be a Relic that does that?
Juicy-san’s movements stop, and a hole large enough to enter is made.
Wagging her tail furiously, she runs up to me.
“Um, it’s done. We can enter now!”
“Thank you very much.”
“Not at all, I had fun too, woof!?”
Ah, crap. I ended up petting her head like she was a dog.
“Um, um, woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
She seems happy and is making noises. She really is like a dog. Crap, this is bad.
I quickly pull my hand away. Even if she’s a werewolf, treating a girl like a dog is bad, right?
“Wafu? Um, Lord Wof. Thank you for petting me!”
She shows me a beaming smile. Her innocent, sparkling chestnut eyes are looking at me.
That part of her also really resembles the dog back home from my past life memories.
Oops, mustn’t do that. I looked at the hole again.
The hole certainly looks like we can descend into it. But it’s dark.
“Right.”
I take a small sphere out of my pouch. Instantly, Juicy-san’s eyes change.
Her tail wags pat-pat, and her gaze locks onto the target.
“Ah, this isn’t…”
“Woof! Lord Wof. Isn’t that a ball? It’s a ball? It’s a ball!”
Just as I thought, she was eyeing it. Dogs are like that.
“It’s not. This thing, I think around here…”
With a click, the sphere floats softly and glows.
“Um, it lit up! Is this a Legacy? It’s beautiful!”
She almost pounced just now. That was close.
“Well, something like that.”
This is the mysterious Orb of Light I got from Liv-san. She gave it to me easily before, saying she had plenty.
I remember accepting it while feeling bewildered, wondering if that’s how things were.
It’s useful at times like this. Of course. It’s not a Legacy.
“Alright. Looks like we can go down.”
Checking the ground with the light, I descended into the hole.
Juicy-san follows me down. Eh?
“Are you coming too?”
“Um, um, um, I… I’m interested in what’s beyond this hole!”
“So am I, but it might be dangerous, you know.”
“Um, um, um, woof! That goes for you too, Lord Wof!”
Why did she make that noise mid-sentence?
“It’s fine for me. I have business further in, but you don’t, right Juicy-san?”
“I don’t. But I want to go into the hole! I’m going in!”
No, you’re already in. I look at Juicy-san.
Her tail is wagging like crazy, and her wolf ears are perked up.
Above all, her eyes are sparkling and gleaming intensely.
Persuading her is impossible. Even if I tried, she’d likely force her way along.
“Alright. Please listen carefully to what I say.”
“Woof! Understood! Lord Wof! I’ll listen to what you say!”
“Also, you don’t need to add ‘-sama’. Please just call me Wof.”
“Understood! Well then, Lord Wof it is!”
What’s with the “Well then”? What exactly did she understand when she said “Understood”?
I expected this, but she’s not dropping the ‘-sama’. Dogs are like that.
Can’t be helped. I’m nothing but anxious, but I’ll just have to manage somehow.
“Please follow closely behind me.”
“Woof! I’ll follow closely!”
Will this be okay? Dogs tend to run ahead.
Maybe a collar and leash… No, she’s not a dog! She’s a wolf, but not a dog.
No, she really is like a dog.
I illuminate the area with the Orb of Light. It’s junk all around. Was it piled up this much?
I thought it would be right below this hole, but the source of the purple light seems to be deeper down below the hole.
Watching my step, but strangely, there was nothing dangerous among the junk underfoot.
It was as if it wasn’t formed naturally, but was made passable from the start.
As we proceeded, it gradually widened, and the ceiling had become higher before I knew it.
It seems about as high as a school gymnasium ceiling. Still, the purple light is quite far ahead.
I don’t know what awaits us.
I should stay alert. That aside, I’ll talk with Juicy-san.
“By the way, Juicy-san, how old are you?”
“Um, um, I’m 13 years old.”
“What a coincidence. Same age as me.”
“Woof! We’re the same age? I’m surprised. Woof! I’m happy!”
Proceeding in silence might be the correct choice, but I’m with such a cute girl.
The option of not having a conversation isn’t one I’d choose, at least.
“I’m happy too. But why is the daughter of Marquis Tasan in a Junkyard?”
“Um, um, um, I knew about the Junkyard from before. Scavenging here is like a treasure hunt. It’s a proving ground for Seekers! And then, wan! My eldest sister, the acting head of our family, happened to have business in Hydrangea. So I asked her to bring me along. That’s why I’m so, so happy I could come here!”
“A treasure hunt. It certainly does have that element.”
And when you find treasure that sells for an unexpectedly high price, there’s an indescribable joy. It makes you want to go back to the Junkyard and find something even better. There was definitely that kind of spirit and enjoyment to it.
“Treasure hunting. I love it! Actually, I really love digging things up, and I’m good at it!”
I can believe that. She certainly was just now.
“Could it be you aspire to be a Seeker?”
Scavenging in the Junkyard isn’t really a proving ground. Well, it’s not entirely unrelated to Seekers, but I guess that’s one way to look at it.
“Um, um, um, me. Wan! Yes! I aspire to be a Seeker!”
“I see, I see.”
Why does she bark like that? Is it excitement or something?
But were Wolf-kin always this dog-like?
Lyles-san, the chef at the Cidre Tavern.
Luuki-san, the waitress at the Cidre Tavern.
Hainena-san, who works at the butcher shop.
Yuuro-san, the Dungeon gatekeeper.
They’re Wolf-kin, but they’re more… human.
Some of the Beastkin I know have traits like that, but not to this extent.
Yeah. This must just be how Juicy-san is.
She’s very expressive, isn’t she.
I see. So Juicy-san is the same age as me and wants to be a Seeker… Wait, something about that feels familiar.
I feel like I had a similar conversation somewhere recently.
That was… I think… As I thought about it, I looked up and saw a large, one-eyed skull on the ceiling.
Wh-what is that? A Monster? Or maybe a Legacy?
It’s huge, though. About the size of a giant’s… Ah, it’s a Cyclops.
The skull of a Cyclops that shoots beams from its eye. No doubt about it. Why is it in the trash?
“Um, Lord Wof, wan! Do you aspire to be a Seeker too? Are you going to become one?”
“Yes, well, for now, that’s the plan.”
Why did she bark mid-sentence? It’s not like there’s anything else to it. Right now, I just plan to be a Seeker.
Part of it is that it pays well. But even though it was tough, Dungeon Exploration was fun.
“Um, um, um, wan! We’re the same! Wan wan! I’m so happy!”
Watching her really reminds me of the dog my family had in my past life.
It used to plead with its eyes just like she is now, like ‘Praise me, praise me!’ or ‘Look, look!’
“Ahem. Anyway.”
How far does this passage of junk go on? Feels like we’ve walked quite a bit.
Hm? Did something just move up ahead…?
“Um, wan! Grrrrrrr! There’s something here! Grrrrrrrrrr!!”
Juicy-san growled. Her wolf ears twitched.
I also used my Relic, [Danger Detection].
A single red dot. It’s approaching us. An enemy. An enemy!?
I drew the Knife I’d acquired earlier.
Juicy-san lowered her stance, looking like she was about to pounce at any moment.
My family’s dog used to get wary just like this after growling.
“…………”
We waited tensely, and then it appeared.
Illuminated by the sphere of light was… a black, humanoid Monster.
It had a long neck and no face. It had a Tail.
“What is that…”
It somehow resembles a Lizardman.
A faceless Lizardman? That body. It’s like a mannequin.
What could it be? Something similar from my past life memories… A figure’s… material? No, not material, a blank body. That’s it. A Blank Body!
Could it be a Blank Body for a Dungeon Monster!?
“Grrrrrrrrr! Wan wan! Lord Wof! It’s strange for a Monster!”
“That’s a Blank Body for a Dungeon Monster.”
“Um, um, a Blank Body for a Dungeon Monster— wan! Here it comes!”
The Blank Body for a Dungeon Monster… Blank Body A suddenly charged.
It wasn’t holding any weapons, so I thought it would attack bare-handed.
But Blank Body A squirmed its left arm, transforming it into a blade.
It swung down while running, and I stepped forward to block it with my Knife.
Instantly, the Knife’s blade melted.
“Huh?”
As I stood there stunned, Blank Body A raised its blade to strike again— Juicy-san charged.
She leaped onto Blank Body A like a dog, punching, kicking, punching, punching, punching. And punching some more.
Then, as she leaped back, she slammed a powerful kick into its right leg, shattering it.
“Wan! Um, um, Lord Wof! Are you alright?”
“…Mostly.”
I dropped the Knife with the melted blade. I felt like crying.