Chapter 25
Lake Worm.
Its name means exactly what it sounds like: an earthworm that lives by a lake. It lives underwater, hiding in its territory, and when it spots prey, it ambushes and devours it in an instant.
-What's that?!
-I-it looks over twenty meters long!
Simply by virtue of its size, it was a tyrant with no equal in the [Lakeside] area.
Even the lizard spawn that could yank human limbs right out of their sockets with the strength of their arms wouldn't go anywhere near its territory.
That was why several players had leaped into the deeper water to shake off the lizards chasing them, but I hadn't seen anyone come back alive.
In the water, it was an existence whose movements no human could ever hope to match.
Kwoooaaaar!
And now, such a creature was charging at me. I rested my sword on my shoulder and took three steps backward.
Whoosh-!
At that moment, my vision was dyed pitch-black as the worm's enormous, muscular body shot past right in front of me.
'Looks like I can handle it since we're on land.'
Kyaooo!
But its flexibility was no worse than in the water. It twisted its body in an instant and came at me again. Once again, I took three steps backward and easily dodged it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Maybe because I had dodged it repeatedly, the creature got clever and slammed its body into the floor.
Ruuuumble!
The ground shook violently, forcing me to keep my stance low to avoid the misfortune of falling flat on my face.
If I showed an opening even for an instant, I would be sucked straight into that hideous maw, where thousands of teeth swirled.
"Eek! M-Mr. Minjun!"
"Black Dick! When I give the signal, roll to the side! I'm going to throw a big fireball!"
While I ran around dodging, the two who had recovered from their panic shouted that they would support me. I waved them off.
"There's no need."
"What? You look one wrong move away from dying, so what do you mean, there's no need?! Don't act tough—dodge when I give you the signal! If you die, I really won't let you off!"
I doubted they'd leave me alone even if I survived.
"Don't worry. That thing can't attack me anymore."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
I rose and looked ahead.
A vast banquet hall.
The monster, over twenty meters long, had rampaged back and forth until the tables and chairs were smashed to pieces. The once-quietly beautiful space had become a complete wreck.
Goooooo.
Having failed to catch its prey, the creature was enraged. Yet it no longer attacked me, even as I stood squarely in front of it.
"Huh? It stopped attacking? Why?"
"It's simple. That thing has a territory. It really hates going outside it."
"Huh?"
That's why it was treated as a raid boss in the [Lakeside] area.
To kill it, we had to enter an area where the water was over four meters deep. The problem was that, in those conditions, a person was nothing more than helpless prey bobbing in the water.
"And the second reason is the most important: that thing can't stay out of the water for long."
Hisss-
It hadn't even been two minutes, but all the moisture had already dried from its skin, and it was radiating intense heat in every direction.
That's why it lived in the water.
I lowered my sword and dragged its tip across the floor, drawing a line.
Scrape. Scrape.
Accompanied by an irritating sound, the line began at the left side of the banquet hall and stopped only after reaching the far right.
"So remember this. As long as you don't cross this line, it won't attack you. Don't forget either, Ms. Hana."
"Y-yes. I understand."
Shlllk. In the end, perhaps unable to endure any longer outside the water, the Lake Worm moved into the channel and disappeared into the deep darkness beyond the wall.
As if it had never happened, silence immediately descended over the enormous stone chamber.
"Still, we'll need water to wash before bed, so please wait a moment."
After sheathing my sword, I remembered that one of the rooms I'd noticed earlier had been a storage room, so I went there, picked up four water containers, and brought them out.
Then I took one of them and approached the channel.
"Hey, you said it was dangerous to go inside the line!"
"It's fine. That thing is sensitive to the smell of blood, so a little splashing like this won't make it budge."
Splash, splash.
When I deliberately splashed the water around, Shin Seoyeon and the Saintess, who had been approaching to stop me, were startled and hurriedly backed away.
Behind them, Isera had even dispelled her stealth and was gesturing anxiously for me to hurry back, her face asking, What are you doing?
"Still, just in case, don't come inside the line, you three."
"Even if you told me to go in, I absolutely wouldn't!"
Well, would you look at that—Seoyeon is actually listening for once.
They were so tense that the women failed to notice even when I accidentally referred to "the three of you."
Their tension didn't completely disappear until I had safely filled the second water container and returned.
Phew. Shin Seoyeon extinguished the fireball she had made in her hand and spoke.
"But how do you know something like that?"
Oh, crap.
I was so happy to see the creature again after ten years that I got carried away and started running my mouth.
"I saw it at the shelter's general store. They happened to have a monster encyclopedia."
"Was something that important really there? Hmm. Then again, I was too distracted by the staff you gave me back then."
Shin Seoyeon nodded as if she found that convincing.
And once again, the Saintess's eyes shone brightly.
"You're so well-prepared! Mr. Minjun, you're really amazing! I think it's wonderful that I decided to travel with you! Maybe I'm the luckiest person in the entire world!"
"Sis, what's so amazing about this loser? I wouldn't take him even if he were handed over to me. Maybe if he begged me to take him."
"Eh, but… I still think he's amazing."
Shin Seoyeon furrowed her brow at the Saintess's guileless reaction. She crossed her arms, snorted, and glared at me for no apparent reason, as if something about it displeased her.
In the meantime, I carried all the water I'd fetched to a safe place. I set one container in front of each of them, then picked up two and headed toward the storage room.
"Black Dick, where are you going?"
"It would be uncomfortable for you to wash with me around."
"So what? It's not like we've showered naked together only once or twice."
As if showering were all we'd done. We'd fucked like crazy, too.
I remembered Shin Seoyeon struggling while I held her by the hips and cursed at me not to cum inside her.
-Don't! I told you not to cum inside me! If you really cum inside, I won't let you off!"
Yet whenever I did cum inside her, she'd immediately clench her pussy tight and make a plaintive face….
'Seoyeon is really cute when we're fucking, if nothing else.'
The best part was the expression she made as she helplessly wiggled her fingers and toes every time my dick slid in and out.
Well, that was only when she was thoroughly enjoying the sex.
"Why are you glaring at me like that? Do you have something to say?"
Shin Seoyeon put her hands on her hips and adopted a domineering attitude. I shook my head and said it was nothing.
"Anyway, just wash here with us. I've seen the shape of your dick so many times by now that it's starting to look familiar…."
Shin Seoyeon, who had been speaking so nonchalantly, suddenly froze. When she turned her gaze aside, the Saintess was blinking.
"Eh. You two shower naked together…? Ah, because you're childhood friends…."
"Damn, now that I think about it, Sis still doesn't know about our relationship."
Shin Seoyeon scratched her head as if she didn't like the situation. Judging by the way her eyes darted around for a moment, she seemed to be weighing whether to reveal the truth.
'Shin Seoyeon has queen-bee tendencies, so she doesn't allow couples within the group unless she's one of them.'
She wanted only to be served, and wanted both men and women to become her personal honey pots.
So under normal circumstances, she would have interfered with the Saintess and me fooling around, but if the Saintess got hurt and left the party for no reason, she'd lose out too.
In the end, after much deliberation, Shin Seoyeon decided to bury the truth. She changed the subject.
"Hey, isn't this a little much?! Why do you get to use two water containers by yourself?"
"Because I feel like it."
"Huh? Are you kidding me!"
Shin Seoyeon was about to argue the point, but then she suddenly flinched and threw a hand over the back of her head to protect it.
'Wow, a beating really does work wonders. It actually shut Shin Seoyeon's mouth.'
Watching Shin Seoyeon warily scan her surroundings, I chuckled softly, picked up the water containers, and went inside the storage room.
Then I set down one container for the cute little reaper who had followed me in and said,
"Isera, this one's yours. You wash too."
Honestly, I hadn't planned on looking after her, but she had guided us here today. Without her, it never would have occurred to me that a place like this existed.
"Here. This is shampoo, and this is body wash. Do you want a towel too?"
"……."
Isera stared silently up at me from beside the water container.
The girl with a hime cut and adorably chubby cheeks, her baby fat not yet fully gone, said nothing.
Thinking she wanted me to move so she could wash, I placed a towel in her tiny hands as well and turned around.
"Throw the shampoo and body wash over to me when you're finished with them. I'll wash near the entrance so no one else can come in."
But as I was about to leave, Isera firmly grabbed my clothes.
"?"
"I have a question. Why are you looking after me?"
Because you're going to become an S-rank assassin and someone humanity can't do without.
But I wasn't stupid enough to tell her that truthfully, so I made up a suitable excuse.
"I don't know. Does a person need a reason to look after another person?"
"What does that mean? I don't understand difficult words."
"It just means I want to look after you."
"Huh?"
It was an excuse, but I meant it sincerely.
As I said before, I definitely intended to take Isera with me.
If the Saintess was recruit number one, Isera was important enough to be number two or three.
That was how important she was.
After all, she was someone who would affect my life in the future. It would be strange if I didn't want to look after her.
"Anything else you want to ask?"
This time, instead of answering, the little girl merely stared blankly up at me.
'But now that she's dropped [Stealth], she really does smell strongly of piss.'
Apparently, she still hadn't washed off the urine she'd let out when I'd grabbed her by the neck.
Still, being able to wash properly at all in a trial area was a tremendous luxury.
'No wonder water-element mages are so popular.'
I placed my own water container in front of Isera as well.
"I'll draw more for myself, so use both of these. Clean every inch of your body, and don't be stingy with the shampoo and body wash—use plenty."
"……."
"You should answer."
When she just stared blankly up at me, I assumed she'd understood well enough and turned around.
In my first run, Isera had been just as quiet as she was now, if not quieter; she certainly hadn't been talkative.
'That aside, it would be best not to kill the Lake Worm. The raid boss notification didn't appear, and even if I killed it, all I'd do was dirty the water for no reason.'
Rustle, rustle.
After Kang Minjun left the storage room, Isera hurried to the entrance and secretly watched his back before murmuring softly.
"Yes, I've decided."