Jujutsushi 153

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Chapter 153: Doki Doki New Life

With my new magic staff in hand, I exited the factory eager.

“I, I seriously need to have a go with this.”

“Sure, you can shoot at the next monster then.”

Mei-chan looked at me gently, like a mother at her child who’d become hyperactive after receiving a toy he’d been begging for for a long time.

Right, so I think it’s safe to conclude that exploring this factory led to a very good haul, but we still had a lot more ground to cover. It was too early to return to the Fairy Square today so with my new toy, we continued our survey of the ruined town.

“Um, Kotarou-kun. Are those monsters too?”

Currently, we kept ourselves hidden from what appeared to be a herd of some new breed of monster.

The place they were gathered at resembled a park. This park was overgrown with trees and bushes and there was a small pond.

These creatures that looked like sheep were munching on the grass in that park, so clearly they were herbivorous.

Their white, fluffy bodies reminded me of those accursed cloud creatures, but actually, this fluffiness was due to genuine body hair. And though white and fluffy gave the image of sheep, these round-bodied animals had long-ish necks extending out, making them more like alpacas really.

“No, those are normal animals. Called Jaja apparently.”

These Jajas were part of the info Yamajun had gotten on his notebook updates.

The text updates on our notebooks were personalized and quite literally all over the place. And from what I’ve seen, Yamajun’s was the most comprehensive.

With that in mind, Yamajun had not only prepared an Ancient Tongue practice set, but also a separate notebook with all the info on monsters and such that he knew of. These notebooks weren’t just important memories of him, they were very useful in the dungeon.

“Are they edible?”

“Yep, they’re herbivores and work pretty well as food. It’s actually recommended that we hunt some if we run across them.”

Mei-chan had stars in her eyes and looked like she was itching to rush them with her halberd.

“But Jajas are a lot like antelope, they’re sensitive to their surroundings and run pretty fast. Let’s let Rem snipe them from here.”

Coincidentally, we were downwind from the Jajas, and they hadn’t noticed us. I believed that it would be prudent to hunt using a bow in this case. Well, I guess Mei-chan could technically throw a spear to the same effect. I could totally see her getting a two in one kill.

“Alright, go for it, Rem.”

“GUGAGA… GAGA?”

Rem retrieved the bow hung on her back and was about to draw, when all of a sudden, all the Jajas that’d been obliviously munching away raised up their heads.

Did they notice?

The Jajas went, ‘Maaa, moaaahh,’ and ran off.

“Ah man~ they got away.”

“Wonder how they noticed?”

Ignoring Mei-chan, who looked incredibly sorry at the missed opportunity for more meat, I tried thinking of the cause. If they’d heard us, they’d have already fled by the time we caught sight of them. Plus, the wind direction hadn’t changed either, so it’s hard to imagine they sensed us by scent.

That leaves stuff like mana flow, or bloodlust… but before I could think more, the answer revealed itself.

“BRFFF, BRRFFFF!!”

Turning a corner, arrived a large horned monster. With its single distinctive horn and brown coat, it was unmistakably that one monster I’d encountered in the jungle zone.

I now knew it was called a Roylopse from Yamajun’s comprehensive notes.

The first time I met this thing, a fricking Salamander swooped in and ate it before it had the chance to even blink, but I don’t think I’ll have the same kind of luck here.

This Roylopse walked with a composed gait as if nothing in the area could cause it any harm. It arrived at the spot the Jajas were herding at and began chewing away at the grass. That grass sure is popular.

So those Jajas had obviously run away because of this monster.

“Hmm, don’t think one arrow will be enough for that one.”

“Ah, I’ll handle it,”

Mei-chan, with her ever-present love for meat, volunteered. Rather than thinking it dangerous, she probably thought it a better turnout since this bigger monster equaled more meat.

The Roylopse was, as one might guess, a brute strength type. But Mei-chan, who treated even Goliaths as small fry, shouldn’t even break a sweat against it.

“… Sure. Roylopse meat isn’t bad either, so let’s change dinner to that. It’s a monster too, so it’ll likely fight back instead of running away.”

“Leave it to me, Kotarou-kun. Here, I, gooo!”

Mei-chan charged at the grazing beast.

“BRR, BRGOOHH!!”

The Roylopse, seeing the human coming towards it, seemed to become enraged. It could be because its meal was interrupted, but when I met one of its kind, it had very similar behavior, so maybe it just treats humans as enemies. Maybe it’s this exact kind of behavior that designates them as monsters.

“Let’s do this.”

Mei-chan put strength into her arms as she held her halberd in a fighting stance. She was planning to end this in one deadly strike.

Mei-chan and the Roylopse stared at each other for a moment.

Then, the mindless power-brawler of a monster charged head first. It was like a truck coming at you at full speed. Even my current Rem wouldn’t be able to take that head on.

However, Mei-chan was, a Berserker.

“Hmp―― Haa!!”

She swung down her halberd with a fierce war-cry, making a direct and critical hit on the Roylopse’s fast approaching skull.

A loud, dull, breaking sound later, the Roylopse was on the ground, defeated, yet still sliding from the remaining momentum. It didn’t move, nor would it any longer.

It died from Mei-chan’s one attack, its brain destroyed together with the cranium surrounding it.

“Woah… Mei-chan’s fucking badass…”

This incomprehensible might that could topple monsters many times her size without even using a Battle Art. The Mei-chan I was currently witnessing had to be stronger than what my mind could imagine.

She was like those guys, Souma-kun and Tendou-kun, limitless. And that made her all the more reliable. In this dungeon, she was my greatest hope.

We couldn’t just take the Roylopse along as we explored, so after draining the blood at the nearby pond, we cut it up into sizable chunks and carried it back to the Fairy Square.

“Let’s keep most of this on ice.”

“Sure, we’ll have lots of time to enjoy it!”

Yup, her inner hardcore chef was really stoked at the massive amount of meat we’d amassed. Truly, with my Witch’s Cauldron and its plethora of cooking implements, we had a lot more to gain in a lot less time.

So without further ado, I went on to prepare the Curse. Considering the quantity of meat we had, I opted to make a fridge type Cauldron with the size of a bathtub.

“Um, Kotarou-kun, is there any way I can use this pot?”

“Eh? Hm, I wonder…”

It was always me who’d been using the Witch’s Cauldron to heat or cool or auto mix food. I am the caster after all. Other’s basically couldn’t control it. Actually, it’d be seriously problematic if they could, thinking of the company I kept for the past while. My ability to use this Cauldron was an important role for me only, as well as a boost to my value as a party member.

But since I was now only with Mei-chan, I’d be lying if I said that leaving the cooking to her was anything but convenient. Honestly, I’d become a bottleneck if she had to assist in my amateur cooking.

“Let’s try it out.”

“Awesome!”

And so we tried it out… It, half worked, I guess.

“Hmm, so you can use it with mana, but you’ll need me to change the type.”

Once I casted a Cauldron and set up its effect, Mei-chan was able to use it. It was actually very similar to how that treasure box opened. She just had to let some of her mana flow in and it worked.

But it turned out impossible for her to change the Cauldron’s effect. For example, if it was a fridge type, Mei-chan was able to turn it on and off, but not change it to a stove type.

Which meant I just had to make a few different ones for her. It’d take some work, but for Mei-chan, I was glad to put in the effort.

“Thanks Kotarou-kun. I can make lots of stuff now, just you wait!”

“Great, then I’ll leave chef duty to you.”

And so, Mei-chan gleefully went on to do her thing, so I took that time to go and make the bath and beds.

I really was making a lot of Witch’s Cauldrons today. This one will be for a bath, and since Mei-chan will be using it, I should probably make it bigger than usual.

As I displaced all the mud and dirt with Rem, my mind drifted,

It was a big hassle bringing back the whole Roylopse. Basically, Mei-chan did it. We walked straight back to the Square this time, but it would’ve been really annoying if monsters attacked while she was carrying all that load. Seriously, how awful would it be to die because we got greedy and tried to carry too much food.

“We need a porter.”

As of now, I was able to make 5 instances of Rem. In the jungle zone, I’d made Rem, Raptor, #2, #3 and #4, so 5 in total. If my MP stores, as it were, had grown by now, I might be able to make a sixth.

Of course, there was the fact that if I wanted to have a stronger Rem, I’d need more mana to expend on a lower number of Rems. This wouldn’t change even if I used high quality parts every time and made Rems after recovering mana every time.

Like, I could make 5 Rems, each with all of my mana. But would all those Rems be able to perform with the same level of technique and precision as a single one? No, I didn’t think so.

Other than the mana needed to create a Mud Doll, there was also mana needed to use, or rather, have control over them. With just the one Rem right now, I didn’t really feel it, but this supply of mana would increase in proportion to the number of Rems I had. The power of my Vile Mud Doll Skill would determine how much obedience I would have over all those Rems with that extra drain of mana on me. Though, there could also be a hidden parameter or talent that designates my level of control.

It was sad that I couldn’t make an army with good parts alone, but I wanted to challenge myself, improve. I felt like I should be able to make 2, no, 3 decent Rems.

And I could make one of those specialized in carrying our stuff. A porter.

Folks with battle oriented Jobs didn’t really need to carry much apart from their weapons. Sure they needed their cores, but Fairy Squares provided shelter and sustenance well enough. They could practically travel empty handed.

But a Shaman needed his materials. I also had meat and other food stored up, so I needed a way to easily carry everything. Spare weapons, all my concoctions, I had things I couldn’t do without.

It’s not like I was being greedy, I, as a Shaman simply needed these things to display my worth.

“Meh, I guess I’ll use a Gove or High Zombie.”

With idle thoughts, I made preparations for the hot bath, I made our beds, then also restocked on my meds and studied up on Yamajun’s notes on the Ancient Tongue. After a while of making myself busy, the smell of delicious food had drifted in.

“Kotarou-kun~, dinner’s ready~”

And look at that, Mei-chan the Cooking Club Extraordinaire already made a ton of piping hot food. I hadn’t tried Roylopse before, but I was nonetheless expecting this to be good.

“I think a simple steak is best for this sort of meat.”

From one of the Witch’s Cauldrons, one I made shallow to resemble a frying pan, the sizzling of meat could be heard. On it, I saw a thick juicy slab of roasting meat.

The Cauldron next to it was in the shape of a bowl and had pieces of meat, cooked somewhat rare, garnished all over it. I didn’t know what part of the Roylopse this meat was from but the juicy red meat glistening in its own oils was a sight to behold.

“There’s soup too.”

The next Cauldron had simmering mushroom and vegetable soup. I never even imagined splitting the dishes like this. Sorry I only chucked everything in there all the time.

“I really wanted to make rice, but please bear it for now with the mashed bananatato.”

Oh my Lord, is that carbs I see? I mean, sure, it’s easy to boil and mash these isekai potato substitutes, but the idea honestly never crossed my mind.

“Sorry the whole menu looks all thrown together. This is the best I could manage with the ingredients we have on hand.”

“Hey, what are you talking about, this is amazing, Mei-chan! You’re the only one who could even come up with something like this!”

This had to be the first time ever that people ate an actual meal in this god forsaken dungeon. Personally, I thought it was history in the making.

Now, it’d be rude to waste any more time explaining. I need only say this,

“Itadakimasu!”

“K-Kotarou-kun, is this really…”

Mei-chan had her turn turning me wide eyed with her amazing dinner, so now it was time I returned the favor.

“Sure is.”

“It really is! A bath! OMG, how!?”

“Well, I just heated up water in a big enough Witch’s Cauldron.”

“I can’t believe this, Kotarou-kun, you’re a genius!”

No, well, anyone could figure this one out. But no harm in taking the complement.

“Go ahead, you can use it first.”

“I can!”

“Indeed you can.”

It was great to see that innocent joy of hers. I don’t think any Japanese would refuse the chance to take a hot bath. That goes especially for the ladies. Even that bitch Reina lost completely to the allure that is a good bath.

“Alright, I’ll be outside then.”

“No, don’t!”

As I turned around and was about to leave, Mei-chan quickly held me in place by the shoulder. Eh? Wait, what’s going on here?

“It’s dangerous outside the Square!”

“No, um, look, if I don’t do that, there’s a chance I might see, right?”

“Who cares about that! Besides there’s no telling when it might get dangeous for you out there in the open. I’m serious, you cannot go.”

Wow, that’s Mei-chan for you. She easily crushed down a modern Japanese girl’s sense of values on nudity and prioritized safety, actually considering the perilous dungeon environment we were in.

I honestly thought the same, that I was taking on a significant risk in avoiding any path that would lead to me seeing her naked.

The instigator for this behavior on my part would be the Worst Harem Party. Even if that masturbation incident never happened, if I, by some deep misfortune, ended up seeing those girls during their bathing, accident or not, I’d end up in deep shit anyway. Akin to a witch trial, guilty on sight.

If this happened with Randou-san and the gals, they’d probably understand if it was an accident… Though they’d never look at me the same.

In Reina’s case, if she so much as thought I peeked on her, I was instantly mortal enemies with all her guardian spirits and all the other guys in the party (except Yamajun.)

The act of peeking on a girl in the bath. Not the intentional and criminal kind, but the accidental and all-of-a-sudden kind. It’s one of those highly prevalent cliches in the anime, manga and light novels I liked so much. The lucky pervert scene. I can’t deny wanting that sort of stuff to happen to me.

And yet, in reality, such events put me ever so close to death’s door. They could very well be the hardest difficulty insta-kill trap.

Knowing this danger, I put priority on avoiding seeing girls naked over my desire to play out some perverted fantasies. There was that time Randou-san had playfully said, ‘Don’t peek now,’ but even that was a dire warning for me.

It was for my own safety and well being that I put the utmost care to cause absolutely zero misunderstandings in regards to girls’ private activities, whether it be bathing, wiping down their bodies or even changing clothes. I was being considerate with my life on the line.

I’ve thought countless times how pointless it was, how incredibly unfair. But I wouldn’t risk my life for it. Plus, it was simply impossible for me to understand girls who acted on emotion more than anything.

And yet there she was, Mei-chan, she actually put some thought into this danger I’ve always put myself through.

“Thank you, Mei-chan, you don’t know how much I appreciate that.”

So much that I could cry right now. This act of acting logically when pitting feelings against actual physical danger, I never felt how important this was until now.

“Sure, then… want to get in, together?”

“Eh”

Eh. E-eeh… I couldn’t think, as if I was shot in the head.

No, no wait, calm down, this was Mei-chan testing me.

Or a joke, who knows. No, I could only hope it was a joke.

It’s that, Mei-chan didn’t actually see me as the opposite sex. I sort of felt like she was treating me like a grade school kid. I claim that she could even consider saying that line only because she thinks of me as a weak little thing, someone to protect and safeguard, no danger to her whatsoever. So calm the fuck down, my overactive libido. Do not expect anything!

“Ha, hahaha.”

I chuckled dryly, trying to show that yes, I know she’s joking.

“Oh, I know, I’ll take your clothes off for you.”

What did she mean, ‘Oh, I know,’ I didn’t get it at all, and her hands were already on my gakuran, taking off the buttons, eh, wait, what, you weren’t joking, really? Mei-chan, really, really?

“… Mei-chan, give me 5 minutes.”

“Huh? Ok.”

I gathered up my marbles and took some distance from her. I looked right, then left, confirming what I needed to confirm.

Ok, this should work.

“ Blackhair Biiiinnnndddd!”

I went all out. First I made blackhair ropes hang on both sides of the bath. The Fairy Square always had lines of its distinct walnut trees on both sides so I was able to affix the ropes on their branches, both at a height of 3 meters up. I then used Spiderweave Wind to knit together a sheet of cloth that bisected the bath. Since I did this very fast, in addition to the fact that I wasn’t that good at knitting to begin with, the sheet of cloth was of amateur quality. But what mattered was that the other side was not visible.

And so, in the span of those 5 minutes I’d made a shoddy but effective curtain to divide the bath. This curtain was made of blackhair and was therefore black, in other words, the non see-through-ness was even more prevalent.

“Haah, haah… done, I’ll be using that side. Let’s enjoy a good bath then.”

I thus went to the other side of the bathing hole, leaving those last words, of sorts. With this barrier in place, things like a hot bath in the fairy square could now be enjoyed in privacy.

“Geez, you don’t need to worry that much.”

“I, no, I mean, I wouldn't calm down without something like this.”

“Fufufu, thanks for being so considerate, Kotarou-kun.”

I think you were being a lot more considerate though.

Mei-chan might have a pure and well-intentioned trust towards me, but I on the other hand, had trust in her, yes, but I also found her extremely hot. And in there lay the problem. If she happened to find out that I’d been always looking at her with deplorably lewd eyes, who knows what might happen to that trust.

All said and done, I couldn’t make an exception to my no perversions rule, even for Mei-chan.

And if, this here’s a big if and I might as well write it off as hubris, Mei-chan actually liked me, as in like liked me, well, then I’d have no issue at all having a dip together, I’d go all the way even, thank you very much… but then again, she might not see me that way. So long as I wasn’t guaranteed that our feelings were 100% mutual, I’d rather not step in risky territory.

Beta? Nope, not at all. This was simply another way I avoided dying.

If we were back in school, back in our ordinary lives in Japan, I’d take the risk. I’d brace myself and confess to her. But here in the dungeon, her rejecting me was akin to being handed a ticket to the afterlife.

Mei-chan was on my side because she trusted me, and this relationship between her and I was built upon that trust. I didn’t want to mess up what we had.

Alright, let’s swear it. Once we’re out of this dungeon, I’m going to confess to Mei-chan.

If I don’t swear this here and now, my feelings would stay as messy as ever…

“Wooow, this is a hammock right? Awesome!”

Alright, the bath was done and over with, despite the perturbations in my heart. And now we’d get some sleep. Mei-chan was really happy with the Spiderweave hammock thing I had going.

“Fufufu, want to sleep together?”

Yup, Mei-chan’s trying to kill me, I’m certain of it… It looked like partying with her was going to be a test of my mental fortitude.

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Yeah, very late. Anyway. After the next backwards chapter, I'm gonna start doing them in order. If you want reasoning, it's because there's 4 hero chapters before the next backwards chapter. Also, I've posted main spoilers for the in between arcs in the discord, so readers of the current chapters might as well check it out. The next one is almost done (Tomorrow?).

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