Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Vol. 2 Chapter 4 Part 1

The next morning, after s.h.i.+n had spent the night at Tsuki no Hokora.

Its too bright.

It was the first thing that he thought when he woke up.

The sunlight had reached the top of the bed because he didnt close the curtains. Now, it was directly s.h.i.+ning on s.h.i.+ns face.

What time is it now?

Because he had gone to bed without setting the alarm, he didnt know the time. When the menu screen was displayed, it was slightly pa.s.s 6:30.

Schnee is not here

Schnee, that had been clinging to his right hand, was nowhere to be seen. It was likely that she was already awake. A faint smell of breakfast confirmed s.h.i.+ns prediction.

As he had those thoughts, there was a feeling of some discomfort on his left arm. He turned toward that way while thinking no way, as silvery hair spread on the bed, entered his field of vision. If it was that alone, he would have thought it was Schnee, but the physique was too different for some reason.

The figure that was stark naked and sleeping peacefully, was a little girl of around 10 years old.

Her ident.i.ty

Is this Yuzuha?

a.n.a.lyzeshowed the name of the little girl. Besides when Yuzuha mentioned about its head clearing up after the fight yesterday, perhaps there was some sort of seal that was removed as well. If that was the case, then the unusual level up, suddenly being able to speak, and having this figure too. All of it was explained.

Anyways, when an Element tail became a full-fledged level 1000, highest cla.s.s monster in the game; human transformation and talking too, were possible by default. It just felt unnatural to see instead of the foxs usual appearance.

Leaving behind the fox ears and tail for no special reason, it was an irresistible appearance for a person who likes these sort of things.

In any event, this is a very dangerous setting.

It was a common pattern, someone would come to wake another person up with bad timing and then, receive an outrageous shock due to the misunderstanding.

There was no presence of a person on the other side of the door, but he couldnt be careless now.

Hey Yuzuha, wake up. Its morning.

He held Yuzuhas shoulders and began to wake it up. While paying attention toward the outside the room, he shook it a little harder.

UnyuWhat~?

I will say it again, its morning.

Im still sleepy

It seemed like its appearance still similar with the personality, too. The Element Tail in s.h.i.+ns memory had an antique way of talking, but now, it talked like a little child.

Come on, wake up, quickly.

Nh? Oh.. s.h.i.+n~ Good morning~

Yeah, good morning. Please put on clothes for the time being as you get up.

Though Yuzuha was only a little half-asleep, when it realized it was s.h.i.+n that woke it up, it had an awkwardly forced smile on its face. Depending on the person who saw the smile, they would roll over in agony. Of course, there was no such characteristic in s.h.i.+n as he ignored it and urged Yuzuha to put on clothes.

s.h.i.+n is warm~

Why are you clinging. A girl must not do such a vulgar thing, its bad.

Eh~

s.h.i.+n warned Yuzuha while separating himself.

After all, everything would end if someone saw him embraced by a naked little girl.

While it looked like fondling a younger sister, he had to keep some distance.

Is a girl no good?

Not good!

Then I will transform this way!

Yuzuha, who asked that, emphasized girl for some reason. For s.h.i.+n who was against it with, Not good, Yuzuha took an unexpected action.

All of a sudden, Yuzuhas body emitted a faint light, and the slightly bulging chest disappeared, followed by that, the hair became very short. And then, in that nether region, there was a thing that a little girl shouldnt have.

s.h.i.+ns thoughts stopped at that moment, the phenomenon that happened before his eyes was too shocking.

OiWhy, did you become this?

If a girl is not good, then I should become a boy!!

It was not a line that a nude pretty boy, while puffing out his chest with pride, should say. In front of s.h.i.+n was not the coveted loli of pretty girls, it was the desired shota of pretty boys. There was no fixed distinction of s.e.x to an Element Tail. This was the moment that made him realize it clearly.

Even if it is a girl or a boy, its not good to embrace while naked.

s.h.i.+n doesnt like boys?

Why is it, that I feel like the way you said boy has a different meaning to it.

He felt the sense of incongruity from the remark. Yuzuha wasnt supposed to know the meaning it held in order for it to say it.

Yuzuha? I have one question for you; when you said a boy, you mean a man, right?

Kuu? Doesnt it mean a cute boy? But, I wonder if this boy is a cool looking guy.

Although it seemed alright for now, he felt a shudder.

s.h.i.+n?

WellIt is not wrong, I guess.

And then, s.h.i.+n properly glossed over the question.

Or more precisely, where did you hear that?

People who came to the s.h.i.+nto shrine said it. In addition, the BL they said was interesting.

Who the !! What a fool to have a conversation like that in front of the boss Element Tail!!

While sending a curse to whomever and wherever the unknown players were, s.h.i.+n instructed Yuzuha to return to the little girl mode. It was not so bad when it was a loli, but a suspicious shota was too hard mentally.

Come on, put this on for the time being.

Its puffy. What is it~?

It is from the material that I made before. If I remember correctly, didnt you wear clothes that had such a feeling before?

s.h.i.+n handed Yuzuha a scarlet hakama* with a kimono* unders.h.i.+rt and a white robe. In short, it was the shrine maiden clothes. Certainly, they were not ordinary clothes since they came from s.h.i.+ns Item Box. (T/N: A type of traditional j.a.panese clothing)

Even though the clothes would be suitable in the s.h.i.+nto shrine, they were also the clothes that Element Tail wore during the game in human mode.

Oh~

Please say if you think you want to change the color. If im not mistaken, it was navy blue?

This is fine~!!

Yuzuha delightedly said, while putting on the shrine maiden clothes. Because the size adjustability was included, there was no problem even if the figure was small.

However, was the memory vague? A few minutes after the clothes began to change, they had lost shape everywhere.

s.h.i.+n

Yuzuha called to s.h.i.+n in a frail voice.

Say it from the beginning if you dont know how.

s.h.i.+n spoke while he repaired Yuzuhas disarrayed clothes. Speaking of how he knew how to put on the shrine maiden clothes, it was because of the schematic attached to the note column. Such a thing was a part of the items clothes description.

As Yuzuha put on the j.a.panese sock that s.h.i.+n took out as an addition, it spun around and around on top of the bed in high spirits.

Kuu~

Dont move around too much. The outfit will get out of shape.

Then, I will have s.h.i.+n dress me again~

Stop it.

What made it so happy? It was twirling around and around, matching with the tail that extended from the hakama. Somehow the shrine maiden clothes expanded from the spine muscle as a result.

Was it the close feeling of wearing a dougi*? s.h.i.+n wondered. He had a hunch that the spine expanded only because it wore it like that. (T/N: martial arts uniform)

Hey, dont go turning around. It should be breakfast soon.

Breakfast!

I guess Yuzuha feels hungry too.

Yes!

Then, lets go. Hmm? Someone is coming. This response, is it Tiera?Ha!?

s.h.i.+n perceived that it was Tiera approaching. It was different if it was Schnee, but he hadnt explained about Yuzuha to Tiera in detail yet.

s.h.i.+n, are you awake? The breakfast will be ready soon.

Tiera knocked on the door as she told him about breakfast.

Oh, yes. I will be ready right away

Still, the door was not impudently opened like the way they did in mangas and light novels. But, was Yuzuha not able to wait? Yuzuha, who didnt notice Tieras voice, pushed open the door with all of its might.

Breakfast!!

There!? Yuzuha stop!!

Eh?

At the same time as Tieras surprised voice, a thick sound resounded as the door collided with Tiera.

Ouch~

Um, ano, au

s.h.i.+n, who appeared from the side of the door, saw Tiera holding her reddening nose and the figure of Yuzuha was also seen. It seemed like Tiera took a pratfall as she was sitting in a child-like sitting state.

Are you alright

Uu~ This child is?

Its Yuzuha. Actually, it has a transformation ability. Hey, apologize to Tiera.

I am so-sorry

I see. Haha, its alright, Yuzuha-chan. Since I didnt get hit with too much power. But, be careful when you open the door next time, okay? And um, good morning.

Okay~ Um, good morning.

Tiera, who was seen laughing, made Yuzuha, who was panicked, feel relieved. As for Yuzuha now, one would think that it was only a child that was excited too much, because its thoughts and actions were appropriate for its age.

s.h.i.+n thought about it while seeing the situation that got the two people talking. If he looked at Yuzuhas situation, this might be the maximum growth limit in the present conditions. Yuzuha hasnt leveled up since that time, and he knew that its mind state hadnt completely returned to its original state either.

Why was Yuzuhas power sealed? Though he didnt understand much of the information obtained from Yuzuha itself, he would have to verify it. It was obvious to s.h.i.+n that there was something else unknown that occurred.

By the way, now that you two have reconciled, shouldnt we go eat breakfast?

Yes, because I only can serve it after. Master is already there waiting.

Breakfast~, breakfast~

Huh, was it a young fox originally? Yuzuha-chan, do you like fried tofu?

I love it!

Then, shall I make inarisus.h.i.+* for lunch? (T/N: sus.h.i.+ wrapped in fried tofu )

Really!?

Yuzuha rejoiced when it heard inarisus.h.i.+. This appearance that wasnt even seen in intimate sisters.

Good morning. Ara, is Yuzuha also able to change into a human form?

When the three people arrived at the living room, Schnee who set the table greeted them. Since she knew that Yuzuha was an Element Tail, she didnt seem to be surprised much. And s.h.i.+n decided not to touch on what happened last night.

G-Good morning.

Yes, good morning. Then, shall I lay out the meal for each person?

Was it because of the sudden encounter with Tiera? Yuzuha showed a little restraint while greeting Schnee.

Seeing Schnee, who returned the greeting while smiling kindly, Yuzuha separated from s.h.i.+ns trousers, which Yuzuha had kept holding while watching from there.

As for the table, even if four people sat, there was plenty of s.p.a.ce left. While Schnee prepared breakfast for Yuzuhas portion, s.h.i.+n brought a spare chair.

Then, lets eat.

Itadakimasu!

They clasped their hands and began to eat. The menu was rice, fried tofu miso soup with seaweed and tofu, and dried and opened mackerel fish.

s.h.i.+n thought about whether or not j.a.panese foods suited elves, but there was no feeling out of place because of the figure that was holding wooden chopsticks and breaking the fish into smaller pieces.

Yuzuha was using a spoon because it couldnt use chopsticks properly.

Yummy!

As expected from Master.

This is great.

Only voices of praise came out. Even though it was not luxurious, even in the real world he never ate such a delicious meal.

That is because of the flavor boost from the skill. I cant be proud of it very much.

Isnt it a great thing?

The taste goes up at least two stages due to the skill.

Is that so, but it could not originally be delicious if there was no practice. After all, I still think its amazing.

That is so, didnt Master practice so much?

Tiera talked about how the humble Schnee put great effort in cooking.

As for the cooking skill, it certainly could compensate the dish in various ways, but it was not possible to improve bad foods. Because a bad thing would always be a bad thing.

Even if one compensated with the skill, there was no change if the cooking ability was good.

Thanks for the meal!

Yes, Im glad that youre satisfied.

Vol. 2 Chapter 4 Part 2

After breakfast, Schnee and Tiera were in charge of cleaning up and s.h.i.+n headed toward the blacksmiths workshop in the inner part of Tsuki no Hokora. Yuzuha, who was probably curious about it, came along with s.h.i.+n.

What is in there?

Its my warehouse and workshop, and the warehouse is a little special. It has considerable more capacity than it looks.

The storehouse of Tsuki no Hokora was not as big as a guild house, but quite a lot of items were stored inside. Since it was s.h.i.+ns personal warehouse, its contents were inclined to be weapons and armor.

They were making a little detour in response to Yuzuhas comment, I want to see it. The appearance of the warehouse was a normal door with a hanging lock. However, it was so tough that even s.h.i.+ns strongest attack in the game era couldnt break it. It was said that nothing could break it physically.

Just pour a little magic power, and done.

When s.h.i.+n poured magic power into the lock, a light click sound was made, and the lock came off. This type of lock was opened by using magic power recognition. The door wouldnt open no matter how much someone fiddled with the fake keyhole.

He pushed open the door and they entered inside. There, it was overflowing with lines of armor and weapons side by side.

There were swords, katanas, spears, bows, daggers, large hammers, halberds, flails and all kinds of weapons displayed. In a different location, there were full body armors for warriors, gauntlets that were thought to be custom-made, and s.h.i.+elds alongside it all. Naturally, everything was valuable, starting from Unique grade to Legend grade, Mythology grade and finally, Ancient grade.

A person would feel an enormous amount of pressure the moment they entered the room, even if the person was not sensitive to magic power. Although the quant.i.ty and the quality of each item was different, the overwhelming magic power given off was similar to the feeling of abnormal tepid water according to a dweller of this world.

If even one of them was put up for sale, many countries would have piles of their weapons lose their value when compared to its prestige. A warehouse that had a large quant.i.ty of these kinds of things for sale already felt like a warehouse clearance sale.

Amazing! But, somehow I feel hot~

It is because this place is filled with magic power. You better not enter if you are not strong-minded.

Yuzuha is okay for this much!

The Element Tail was indeed one of the strongest species even if it was young.

Rather than being overwhelmed by the magic power pressure emitted from the arms, Yuzuha was looking curiously around the warehouse. Even though its tail fur was fully bristled up, there are some things that are better left unsaid.

Its fine if you only look at it, but dont touch without permission, okay? There are some cursed arms here.

Is it dangerous?

Ah, I just dont want you to get hurt. There is a seal function attached to the containers, but there are several of them that you might able to break.

Muu, Yuzuha dont do things like that.

While apologizing to Yuzuha, who puffed its cheeks, they headed off to the blacksmiths workshop. Even here, it was in a perfect state without change, waiting for its master to return.

Theres no problem at all. It seems like I can use it right away.

To do what?

Im making swords and armor here. But before doing it today, I have to ask you something, Yuzuha.

Want to ask me something?

There is a lot I want to ask. Well, lets return to the living room for now. After that, we will talk. As for forging a sword, thats for later.

Then lets go quickly. I want to see s.h.i.+n forge a sword!

They returned to the living room and Yuzuha had sparkling eyes with antic.i.p.ation. Even though s.h.i.+n didnt know what Yuzuha was looking forward to so much, he lightly checked the tools and followed after Yuzuha. As for Schnee and Tiera, who were taking care of the cleaning after the breakfast, it should be done soon.

When he returned to the living room, the three of them already surrounded the table. He sat down on his seat while smiling wryly at Yuzuha, who urged him on with quickly! quickly!.

What did s.h.i.+n want to ask?

First of all, why were you in such a weakened state in that s.h.i.+nto shrine. And, did a large amount of people disappear around 500 years ago? If you know something about it, then please tell me.

When s.h.i.+ns question was heard, Yuzuha closed its eyes and folded its arms like it was thinking about something. After several seconds like that, Yuzuha began to talk.

Well, err When Yuzuha was there, I was having the most painful experience from the inside. It was very painful, so much that I collapsed.(T/N: Yuzuha sometimes refer itself as Yuzuha when talking.)

Is that so? Did you understand the drawing on that floor?

No~, I didnt know it.

s.h.i.+n thought it was some sort of relief feature that delayed the condition, but Yuzuha didnt seem to remember it.

I understand. How about the people who had disappeared?

I dont know. People didnt come very much.

Now that I think about it, there was some kind of erected barrier that made people stay away from there.

s.h.i.+n remembered that a barrier, around the s.h.i.+nto shrine, affecting ones mind had been erected. A person might not come near it because of that.

Eventually, what was Yuzuha doing in such place?

Uhm, I was basking under the sun, when suddenly the ground went bam, the wind blew byu byu and the mountain went clang. Yuzuha was surprised and jumped. After that, I tried my best so that the ground would not be wrecked apart.

In other words, the natural disaster occurred, and you tried to suppress it?

It is likely so, I have no doubt if it is Yuzuha.

Eh, is that true?

When Schnee chimed in with an agreeable response, Tiera was amazed and had wide eyes.

Though s.h.i.+n didnt know what kind of technique Yuzuha used, the Element Tail was a monster that corresponded to all attributes. The possibilities of interfering with the natural disaster by some special method was high.

A lot of power was used while I kept at it, then I took a rest in the s.h.i.+nto shrine. Because my power could not be held in my body then, I thought I was gonna die soon when s.h.i.+n came.

It was just at the last minute when I came, huh?

When the unpleasant wind blew, I was scared.

When he heard about unpleasant wind, s.h.i.+n was reminded of the miasma. Perhaps both of the Curse and the Poison at that time, were caused by the miasma. A number of monsters and levels were increased in an area with a lot of miasma during the game. Moreover, to a player, it was a troublesome way to be given an abnormality state responding to status at a regular intervals. Apart from the monsters, they had to drink potions regularly because of the abnormality state, although it didnt affect high-ranked players too much.

It was thanks to Millie that Yuzuha was saved. I wouldnt have gone there if not for Millies advice.

I will give thanks when I meet Mi-chan again.

Thats right, lets take some souvenirs.

Because of the forecast ability, s.h.i.+n couldnt say it clearly. Whether Yuzuha understood it or not, it matched with s.h.i.+ns way of talking.

Hey, who is Millie?