CHAPTER 10
The Miserable Life of a Mole
After taking out two more beastkin with Burst Air, Seiya places a glowstone in the middle of a narrow underground space with a radius of around 1.5 meters, then sits on the ground. It looks like he’s taking a short break.
“Our objective is three hundred beastkin, which means we have two hundred ninety-six to go. Rista, you’re going to be keeping count.”
“O-okay. Got it.”
I don’t know exactly how many beastkin are occupying the city of Galvano, but three hundred is a number that none other than Seiya came up with. He must be confident that we’ll be able to reclaim the town if we beat that many.
“The goal is fifty a day. Taking into account our food and water supply, I want to finish within a week. Anyway, ready to start back up?”
Following my nod, Seiya places a hand on the earthen wall and concentrates. After checking if there are any enemies in the area, he stands and grabs my ankles. Lifted high into the air, my head pokes out onto the surface, and I search for beastkin. Whenever we discover one, we create some distance, and Seiya snipes them with his blowpipe. Just like that, we kill one beastkin after another without putting ourselves in danger.
I was pissed about being used as a periscope at first, but after really thinking about it, I realize this is the first time Seiya and I are working together as a team. I feel like I’m helping him as his teammate, and I experience that sense of fulfillment every time I discover another beastkin. Eventually, night falls. Seiya places his blowpipe on the ground in the narrow cavern.
“All right, I still have some MP left, but these are beastkin I’m up against. Some of them might even be nocturnal, and Burst Air is less accurate at night, so let’s not take any risks and call it a day.”
Our first day of hunting comes to an end thanks to Seiya’s cautious nature. Even then, we were able to surpass our goal and defeat fifty-one beastkin, which is amazing. After eating some of the rations in the cavern he made with Cave Along, Seiya says:
“Get some rest. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
I-it’s finally happening! We’re gonna spend the night snuggling together in this narrow space!
As my heart begins to race, Seiya gets up and places a hand on the earthen wall.
“Our bodies won’t be able to get sufficient rest in such a tight space. I’m going to make the cavern a little bigger.”
The cramped cave silently expands until it’s around a radius of three meters. After placing a few glowstones in the ceiling, Seiya draws a line on the illuminated floor with his sheath.
“This is my side of the room, and that’s yours. Don’t even think about setting foot in here without my permission.”
“Wh-what the hell?! Rude! You make it sound like I’m gonna force myself on you!”
“It’s possible. You randomly throw yourself on me sometimes, after all.”
Tch! He saw right through me!
“Listen, if you even attempt to cross this line, I’m undoing Cave Along and leaving you behind.”
“But I’ll be buried alive if you do that! …F-fine!”
…This was the start of my miserable life as a mole, far different from the sweet life I imagined.
Day two of my life as a mole.
Seiya violently shakes my body under the dim glowstones, making it impossible to tell if it’s even morning yet.
“How long do you plan on sleeping? Come on.”
Just like yesterday, I act as a periscope and search for enemies while Seiya relocates us with Cave Along and snipes them.
“Enemy spotted at three o’ clock!”
I promptly give Seiya the signal after bringing my head back underground. We’ve repeated this routine so often, it has become second nature. Before long, our kill count approaches a hundred by the time noon rolls around.
I actually take pride in my role as the periscope now. Life underground is unsanitary and miserable, but I feel fulfilled. Seiya’s opinion of me has probably gone up as well due to how seriously I’m taking this. He even leaves me in charge of item management when underground.
But that night after hunting…the Hero tells me something devastating.
“My earth magic leveled up, so I don’t need a periscope anymore.”
“What?!”
“Watch this. Clear Ceiling!”
Seiya holds his hand toward the ceiling, and it suddenly becomes transparent like glass.
“This new spell works like a magic mirror. They can’t see us, but our view of the surface is pretty clear, right? In addition, I learned a move called Ground Penetration. With this, I can use Burst Air without worrying about the earthen ceiling getting in the way. In other words, I can find and snipe the enemy while underground.”
“O-oh… W-wonderful…”
Some roles become obsolete and fade away with the changing of the times. In Seiya’s world, these would probably be jobs like milkman and elevator operator. My job disappeared with the improvement of Seiya’s earth magic.
Day three of my life as a mole.
We’re able to annihilate the beastkin thanks to Seiya’s new spells Clear Ceiling and Ground Penetration. This is a safer and more time-efficient method compared to using me as a periscope, so our hunt quickly progresses.
Meanwhile, I spend the entire day zoning out. Without a job or a purpose, I just feel empty. Seiya won’t even talk to me unless it’s necessary, and he ignores me if I try to start a conversation unless it’s something important. The filthy, dim underground life catches up with me, and before I realize it, I’m completely stressed out and in desperate need of a bath.
That night, Seiya suddenly crosses the line and enters my territory. After looking at the item pouch, he frowns at me.
“Rista, what’s going on? We should have more food rations than this.”
“Oh… Sorry. I ate some.”
Yep. I secretly ate some of the food rations, partly due to stress.
“But why? You’re a goddess. You won’t die without food, so why are you eating more than I am?”
“Just because I won’t die doesn’t mean I don’t get hungry!”
I stick my tongue out and giggle, but Seiya doesn’t even crack a smile.
“D-don’t worry! We still have plenty of food! We should be okay for another four days at the very least!”
“Don’t give me excuses. I said a week, but that was only an estimate. The tides of battle are always changing. We might end up underground far longer than planned, and I’m not comfortable with how few rations we have left.”
Seiya then mutters:
“It looks like we’ll just have to find a new source of food.”
He approaches the earthen wall and strains his eyes until he swiftly shoves his hand into the dirt.
“Hiss!”
Dangling in Seiya’s hand is a massive worm baring its fangs. It’s around ten centimeters long. He shoves it in my face.
“Check if it’s edible.”
“Th-there’s no way that’s edible!”
“Just use Appraise and check.”
Grumbling, I use Appraise.
Death worm: It’s a worm that lives in the dirt in Ixphoria. They’re harmless unless you taunt them. Also, if you’re curious whether or not you can eat them…they’re edible. Just barely.
E-ew! This is edible?! There is no way I’m eating that!
I shrug in a disappointed manner.
“Sorry. It’s completely inedible, unfortunately.”
Thereupon, Seiya casts a frigid gaze at me.
“Don’t lie to me. The appraisal results say it’s edible.”
“What?! How did you know?! W-wait…! Don’t tell me you can use Appraise, too?!”
“There’s nothing you can do that I can’t.”
“You tricked me, you jerk! You’re terrible! I can’t believe you!”
“You’re terrible. What you did was inexcusable. Now eat it.”
Eyes stained with bloodlust, Seiya approaches me with the death worm in hand.
“N-no! I’m a goddess! I’d rather die than eat that!”
But Seiya forces the live death worm down my throat!
“Mmmmmm?!”
He opens and closes my jaw with both hands, forcing me to chew the worm! A bitterness nearly impossible to describe spreads throughout my mouth!
“Blaaargh…!! Bleeehhh…!!”
As the tears well in my eyes, the Hero coldly says to me:
“You’re eating death worms from now on.”
…Even when I close my eyes to sleep, all I can see are countless death worms squirming around.
“Urgggh! One death worm, two death worms, three death worms…”
The harsh environment slowly chips away at my sanity.