Dungeon + Harem + Master: Chapter 8 - "Stasis Witch"

Chapter 8 - Stasis Witch

He spent the night lying upside down in the open. What a cruel treatment.

Kurano immediately protested to Marika.

"I told you I went too far yesterday."

"Yeah. My dick's been hard since the morning because of you, Marika. What are you going to do about it?"

"That's just a natural process. It has nothing to do with me."

"Hey, I'm opening up and exposing myself to you. I wish you'd be a little embarrassed."

"Unfortunately, I'm not a kid who'd make a fuss about something like that."

"Hmm. I'm not a kid. I'm twenty now. How old are you, Marika?"

"One thousand and ten... nineteen."

"Hey!? You just jumped out of units that I couldn't ignore. But it came out? What, what's a thousand? Millennium? Marika's not even on the level of Aramire!!」

"Shut up, kid. Don't ask me how old I am. I've been asleep for a thousand years, so I don't really need to count. I'm nineteen."

"Oh come on. This guy just started calling me a kid. He's really old. You know, Prince Mari, I'll tell you something good. When people lie, their noses grow."

"That's right. In that case, maybe Kland should lie a little."

"You mean you want to say that people's faces are flat? Is that so? If you're a girl who doesn't mind saying things that will hurt others, I can't keep up my sweet feelings forever."

"Yeah, it can't be helped. I'm a high elf and I'm cute. I don't understand the worries humans have about their appearance."

"Oh! Listen ma'am. This lady has finally started to praise herself. Can you believe it? You know, Marika. If I were a mom with connections in the neighborhood, you'd have been ostracized by the housing complex by now."

"I don't really understand your analogy. I'm sorry. I don't understand. Would you like me to give you some candy?"

" "Let me feed you by mouth."

"What? No. I'll catch a disease."

"Hey! Stop that serious look, it'll make me sick. It'll make me sick."

"All jokes aside, let's get dinner ready. If you're okay with it, I'll share some with you."

"Oh. That would be a great thing. By the way, where should I sleep from tonight? Can I sleep in the same bed as Marika?"

"If you don't mess around anymore, I'll put a spear through your mouth and anus, tie you to the tip of a cedar tree, and watch over you until you stop moving."

"Then I'll be under the bed."

"You're a pervert. Hey, why are you here? By the way, who are you again? "

"Hey, a light joke is starting to delete my existence"

"Your jokes are vulgar and hard to get along with"

"You were just going along with it earlier, weren't you? You were laughing"

"Um, seriously, can you stop that sort of thing?"

"Wow, that polite tone is really harsh. Haha"

"What are you laughing at? It's disgusting"

"You, are you saying that?"

"Well, it's a waste of time to tease Kland any more. Let's hurry up and get ready."

"Hey, the pot is blowing."

"You should tell me that kind of thing already"

"Hey"

"What is it?"

"...But actually, Marika, you haven't left the house at all today, have you?"

The witch bowed her head in front of the boiling pot. The sound of the ingredients boiling loudly could be heard. Tonight's dinner is apparently chicken hotpot simmered in tomato soup.

Kurano had been waiting in the living room since morning for Marika to wake up. It was past three in the afternoon when she appeared, rubbing her bleary eyes. Having woken up, she had Kurano make black tea for her, adding plenty of milk and sugar, which she slowly drank, sipping it. It took an hour to finish the cup of tea, and another hour to get changed. By the time Marika was ready and finally awake, the sun was setting in the west.

"Why are you so asleep? Did you spend the last night preparing until the crack of dawn?"

"No way. I went to sleep right after I kicked you out."

"And then you wake up at 3 o'clock for snack time? Are you kidding me? Do you think you can become a respectable company slave like that? Even if you're a woman, you're not allowed to be a full-time housewife these days."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm complaining about your lifestyle."

"Don't speak too loudly. It will echo."

"While you're sleeping, this land is being threatened by the evil gods every second."

"I've been fine for a thousand years. So, I think he'll be fine for another hundred years or so."

"What a continental guy. Even I've given up on that attitude."

"That's early. And it's thin, you'll be disliked by women."

"Hey, you're being mean! That's definitely a sexual harassment metaphor, isn't it!?"

"You're reading too much into everything. It seems like the food you eat every day is bad."

"I'm eating healthy foods. Let's put that aside for now. It's getting late, so I'll give up. I'm sure I'll be able to wake up properly tomorrow."

Marika snorted, and continued cooking without answering. The two of them sat around the table in silence, facing each other over the food they had just served. It was Marika who turned away first.

"It feels strange. It's been a while since I've had a meal like this with someone."

"You've changed the subject. By the way, can I stay here tonight? I'd like to sleep under a roof sometimes."

"There's a barn outside, so you can use that as your sleeping quarters."

"What? You're joking."

"I'm not joking. In the first place, why would you think I'd let a man I just met stay at your house? Do you think I look like such an easy woman?"

"Well, I thought maybe things would go with the flow. Oh, I'm lying. I'm just grateful that you'd let me stay."

However, contrary to her words, I thought she was a very kind woman. Despite her nasty words, she not only treated the brewer she just met to dinner, but also let him stay at her barn. Even though we'd formed a cooperative relationship, I hadn't done anything to earn her trust. I was more defenseless than necessary. Marika's attitude was clearly not friendly towards people. She was extremely unsure of her distance from the brewer. Not only was there some dubious talk about evil gods, but the way the man treated her was strangely inappropriate for a woman her age. She scooped up some of the tomato soup and brought it to her mouth. The mellow flavor spread throughout her mouth. When she suddenly moved her eyes, it was clear to see that he was glancing at her.

"It's delicious. You're a good cook."

"Really?"

Despite her curt response, Marika had a smile on her face.

That night, she obediently went to sleep in the designated barn. Calculating from the time the sun set, she fell asleep around eight in the afternoon. No matter how you look at it, there's no way she could have overslept and ended up sleeping past noon if she'd fallen asleep that early. The blanket she was wrapped in had the sweet smell unique to a young woman, making her feel uneasy.

The next morning, Kurano woke up in the dusty barn. He stretched, sticking his head out from under the blanket Marika had borrowed. He listened carefully, and heard the sound of a dull, roaring wind from the other side of the door. When he went outside, the sky was beautifully overcast. The sun he had been hoping for never made a peek. The dark clouds were rapidly drifting eastward without a break. Judging from how hungry he was, it was probably just dawn. He smelled the scent of rain as the strong wind blew. The surrounding trees are rustling with eerie movements. Even if you're not a lazy person like Marika, you probably won't feel like going out. I barely moved my body yesterday, so I have plenty of energy. I want to move my body, but I feel like it's dangerous to move around aimlessly. If, as Marika said, the creatures in the forest are active because of the evil god's evil spirit, then careful preparation and caution are necessary.

"Anyway, it's breakfast time."

I feel a little guilty about asking for it as if it were a given, but there's no point in showing off at this point. In the first place, Kurando doesn't have any money to pay as a payment. I stand in front of the hut and turn the doorknob. I wasn't expecting to see Marika, but as expected, she was not there. When we parted ways last night, she repeatedly made it clear not to come into the bedroom.

"But it's your fault for not waking up."

Kurano didn't hesitate to cross the living room and push into the back room.

The highlight was the piles of books that filled the room all the way up to the ceiling on both sides. Stacks of leather-bound volumes filled the shelves on all four sides. It was so dense that it would make a claustrophobic person go mad at any moment. The dizzy Kurando turned his gaze towards the owner of the room.

There, he saw Marika sleeping defenselessly on the bed.

He calmed down and looked around.

Looking more closely, it seemed to be a young woman's room, with cute little items placed here and there.

"You can't read it, can you?"

Kurano picked up a book from the bookshelf and looked at it, but it was just a series of squiggly Arabic-like words, and of course he couldn't understand what it meant. He could understand the words, but he couldn't read the books. Due to the contract made at the time of summoning, magic was at work in Kurano's brain, allowing the words of humans in this world to be directly transmitted to him. He put the book back on the shelf and approached Marika. There was a unique smell in the air, as if incense had been burned. Her trademark pointed hat was gently placed on the writing desk next to the bed. The tip of the hat was slightly bent under its own weight and folded over. Looking at it, it somehow felt funny.

"Oh, it's quite a thick material."

Kurano played with the witch-like pointed hat with both hands and returned it to its original position.

He gently looked at her sleeping face.

Marika had her face buried in her wavy silver hair and buried her face in the pillow.

"Good morning, Miss Marika. It's morning."

"Hmm. Mmmmm."

Kurano whispered in her ear, and Marika's characteristic long ears twitched.

"Now that I think of it, they said something about high elves. Are they a higher species of elf? To be honest, I've never seen an elf, so I don't know the difference."

A sudden thought occurred to Kurano, and he stretched out his fingers to touch her long ears.

"Ah, hmmm."

He pinched her softly with his fingers and pulled her, and Marika turned over in her sleep, letting out a seductive cry.

The blanket that was covering her swung back and forth, exposing her upper body.

"Whoooah."

Marika's indecent breasts were thrust right in front of his eyes, as if to show for all they were worth.

She was a naturist. They probably only did this when they were sleeping.

Her white, firm breasts jiggled and swayed.

The fact that she didn't collapse when lying on her back was proof of her shape.

She didn't have any excess flesh, and her waist was tight.

She had a cute belly button. The thin silvery hairs growing on her body sparkled and shone brightly.

Kurano swallowed, reached out, and grabbed the breasts in front of him.

Marika groaned softly and frowned in distress.

He finally felt guilty, so he covered himself up with the blanket and ran away like a rabbit.

I wonder how much time had passed since then. Around noon, Marika appeared in the living room. Her face looked much clearer than it had been yesterday, but she was tilting her head as if she didn't understand something.

"Good morning, Kland."

"Oh, good morning. W-what's wrong? You've got such a difficult look on your face."

"Yeah. Maybe it's just me, but the position of your hat seems to have changed slightly. Hey, maybe..."

"You're just imagining it, but more importantly, what are you going to do today?!"

"What's with that sudden, loud voice? Don't get angry, I put in a lot of effort today."

"I see, you put in an effort! That's great!!"

"So why are you so loud? "That's a loud voice..."

"Right, how are you preparing!? Can we leave right away?"

"Wait a minute, I haven't even had breakfast yet. Don't be in a hurry. As usual, you're early... you're early."

"Hey, aren't you the one being vulgar in the morning?"

"Excuse me. I adjusted my behavior to your level."

"Really? After all that, you overslept again. Look, it's cloudy outside, but the fresh forest air is here."

The storehouse owner opened the door. Outside, the cloudy sky had finally begun to cry, and raindrops were falling softly.

"Today, we'll postpone."

"Oh, it's just rain. Humans are completely waterproof."

"Unfortunately, a noble high elf like me can't get wet."

The two of them chatted all day, just the two of them.

"The next day, Lady Marika was in a very good mood, and miraculously managed to leave the hut before noon."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm just talking to myself."

The next day, Kurano and Marika finally left the hut and set off on an adventure to defeat the evil god.

The rain that had been falling yesterday had stopped. The sun that had disappeared had finally come out. As originally planned, if Marika, a high elf, could seal the existence of the "evil god" at the bottom of the dungeon deep in the forest, the mission would be over. Kurano's nose drooped as he remembered the sad face of the village girl Gerta, who had been promised a reward.

"Then, I'll leave it to you to guide me. Since she's called the witch of the forest, I'm sure you won't get lost if you leave it to her."

"Eh...?"

Marika looked back with a puzzled look on her face. Her beautiful appearance looked awfully childish.

"Huh? No no no. Let's stop joking like that. Hey, you're joking, right?"

"How can I know the path through the forest? Besides, I've never been so far from this hut that I can't be seen since I was born."

Marika put her hands on her hips and turned her chest away. Kurano's nose wrinkled.

"What?! You're kidding me, right? How have you survived this long? You must have a lot of free time, nothing to do."

"Not really. When your mother was alive, she was always engrossed in studying magic, and there was a mountain of things to remember and learn."

"I see, so your mother died. Sorry to hear all that."

"No. It's fine. You'll be of use to me from now on."

"So that's where I come in."

"Thank you."

"Ah, okay."

Even though Marika herself didn't know it, there was a detailed map showing the path to the dungeon where the evil spirit was sealed.

Kurano took the map and started walking.

Marika followed behind him. She still had her pointed hat on, a navy blue cloak, and a staff about 30 cm long in her hand.

A pale blue gem was set into the tip. The mysterious hexagonal jewel sparkled in the sunlight.

Pushing aside the hydrated shrubs, he stepped into the forest. The deep green scent of the trees seemed to permeate every corner of his body.

As Kurano narrowed his eyes at the pure breath of the forest, Marika suddenly started to fall behind.

From his point of view, he probably hadn't even walked for 30 minutes. For an adult, this was not a distance that would cause them to give up no matter what they did. Kurano was carrying a backpack filled with food and water for the two of them. It weighed about 30 kilograms. Marika, on the other hand, was completely empty-handed. All she had was a small pouch. There was nothing that would tire her out. Kurano was confused.

"What's wrong?"

He ran over to her and looked at her face, and her face was pale. Marika steadied her rough breathing and leaned her back against the trunk of a tree to steady her breathing. Her beautiful silver hair was disheveled and wavy. Sweat from her forehead trickled down her cheeks. Her throat moved back and forth with each gasp, giving off a lascivious impression, and she swallowed her saliva unconsciously. Was she feeling unwell? Kurato extended his hand in concern, but Marika brushed it away with a sulky look.

"You're fast."

"What? But that was pretty girl-speed."

"I'm weak. Don't compare me to a beast like Kland."

Marika raised her wand and began to chant a spell.

"Wind Levitation Spell Aero Levitation"

As Marika finished chanting, a small wind blew around her feet. Shocked, he looked at the soles of her black boots, which were floating about fifty centimeters above the ground. Kurato walked softly, and Marika's body moved alongside him. Kurato's eyes naturally turned to scold him for cheating.

"You're cheating."

"I should have done this from the beginning. Ha ha. I shouldn't have thought that exercising every once in a while would be good."

Marika's long elven ears were twitching. Apparently, when emotions are heightened, the movement of her ears is directly connected to them. I think it's like a dog's tail, but I'm not sure.

"If you don't use your muscles, your butt will sag."

"You're too busy. I exercise before bed, so it's fine. Okay, you don't need to worry about me. Just get going."

"Okay okay."

There was silence for a while as they walked. There was no sign of any living thing nearby. As expected, being a woman, Marika seemed to want to talk.

"Hey, why are you quiet? I'm bored, tell me something fun."

"That's so sudden. I don't know what you mean. By the way, I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

"As long as it's not obscene."

"Oh come on, that means we have zero common topics to talk about."

"Let me boil your brain for a second."

A pale electric current crackled and sparked from Marika's wand.

"I was just kidding. Now that I think of it, this forest is probably swarming with scary monsters. Is your hut safe? Why does it always seem like the village is being attacked?"

"There's a powerful barrier around my hut. Unless the evil god himself comes out, it's impossible for a small fry to break through it."

"Then why did I get in?"

"You're stupid. I just lured them in. I also set up a trap on the door of my hut. It automatically activates attack magic on any creature that comes near me with malicious intent. Ah, you survived. Most people would die from that blow."

"That's pretty cruel."

"I have to protect my own life too. But while I'm saying that, it looks like customer number one has arrived. Be careful."

Marika's crimson eyes burn with heat. Kurano's nose twitches and his body stiffens. He squints and carefully observes the green grass. The strange sound of flapping wings approaches, weaving through the trees.

"Military locust grasshoppers. Try your best not to let them bite your head."

Military locust grasshoppers.

A carnivorous monster with an unusual size of about 30 cm in length.

As the name "military" suggests, they always move in groups of tens to hundreds.

They mainly supplement small animals that live in the mountains and fields.

Unlike normal locusts, they do not number more than 10,000 because it is said that they instinctively maintain their population for fear that if they multiply too much, they will end up cannibalizing each other.

Since they do not chew on plants, it is very difficult to find their traces.

In some areas of Romres, there are tribes that actively catch them, boil them, and eat them regularly.

"Lightning Blast!"

After Marika finished a short chant, she fired a bolt of lightning from the tip of her staff.

A group of about ten army locusts, their wings whirring as they attacked, were burned to the ground.

The smell of scorched flesh hit her nose sideways. She quickly moved her gaze and saw that what looked like a bush was actually a swarm of locusts. There must have been several hundred by eye.

"Where are they!?"

When she noticed, three locusts had bitten her right leg.

"You!"

Kurano tried to raise his leg to knock them away, but their teeth were firmly entrenched and tore through the flesh, entangling themselves in the muscle fibers. She had the illusion of being bitten by a dog. Its bite muscles were incredible for an insect.

He quickly reached out, grabbed it, and crushed it. It wasn't that hard.

When his fingertips sank into the insect's guts, it let out a plaintive cry. The slimy body fluids even soaked his wrists. It was so disgusting that he felt a strong urge to vomit. He twisted the last one with the heel of his shoe and crushed it. The nasty smell hit his nose.

Several dozens of locusts jumped on him one after another. Kurano caught a few and crushed them, but they bit his cheeks and ears, making him scream. Marika sighed in disgust.

"Krando, buy yourself some time. I'll finish this off in one go."

"I got it, High Elf!"

Marika's body flew up high, almost to the top of the trees. From that position, they wouldn't be able to pounce so easily. He could guess that the reason they weren't too far away was to ensure they didn't miss their target.

Kurano pulled out the long sword from his waist and swatted away the locusts that were leaping at him one after the other. The sword he'd picked up at random was blunt. Perhaps because he hadn't taken good care of it, it quickly became dull. The green demons had become like a giant wall and began attacking in unison. Hungry locusts were crawling up his left arm, both legs, and around his stomach, swarming. He continued to swing his sword desperately, but it was like he was swinging an iron bar. The body fluids of the crushed insects and the blood spurting from the torn flesh made his whole body a sludgy mess of blue and red. The green wall leaned over him and bit into his entire body. Kurano's knees were bent by the weight of the locusts, and he threw his sword away and started clawing at the ones biting into his face. He was having difficulty breathing. He felt a real sense of fear.

"Damn! Is it still not done yet?!!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Lightning Storm!!"

Marika's wind-element intermediate magic was activated. The electric shock, which was aimed only at the army locusts, raged like a hurricane, stirring up the forest. The pale lightning struck the ground in a violent spiral, wiping out the swarm of locusts. The insects that had sunk their teeth into Kurano's entire body were instantly carbonized, and collapsed without retaining their original shape. The swarm of locusts, which had turned into lumps of ash, scattered around the area, soiling the trees and bushes.

"Kurando!!"

"Ah. Too late. Damn it."

Kurano fell to his knees in pain and groaned. Marika, who had released her levitation and ran over to him, took him by the shoulders and looked into him with a worried look.

"That's a serious injury...! Wait, I'll treat you now."

"No, he'll probably be fine."

Kurano's whole body was stained blue-black from the bites and the locust's body fluids, but a considerable amount of blood was oozing out from the part where his clothes had been bitten off. Marika's face turned red with anger, seeing that he was making a joke at this late stage.

"What are you talking about? What...?"

Kurano's face, which had been distorted in pain, gradually relaxed. A pale light was shining brighter from his chest. Marika blinked her big red eyes and relaxed his chest with a hasty movement.

"Hey, stop it, you elf. Elf, Erof."

"What, what is this crest? You can't be..."

After cleaning his body and clothes in a nearby stream, Kurano told Marika his story. When he was summoned as a hero by the princess of this country, he obtained the special ability of the crest of immortality, Immortality Red, as proof of the contract. He killed the warden of Romless First Prison, and even more so, his life is being targeted by people related to the royal palace. And now, he is traveling to a city called Silver Villago, located far south of the capital. His favorite type of woman is a cute, obedient girl with big breasts who will carry out any order even if she feels embarrassed.

"You didn't need that last bit of information."

"Marika, by the way, if it was just looks, you'd be in the strike zone too. Why don't you make a contract with me and form an obscene master-servant relationship?"

"Unfortunately, I'm a face-to-face person. Someone like you isn't my thing."

"Okay, okay, sorry I'm not good looking. So from now on, don't worry if I get hurt. Let's continue our strategy smoothly."

"Ha. Sorry for worrying you. If it's okay with you, then it's fine. Also, I'll give you one word of warning: that crest isn't complete."

"What?"

"So, it seems like the link between you and the summoner isn't connecting properly. It's a situation where it could snap at any moment. . Kland, I sympathize with your situation, but it would be better for you not to be overconfident in your abilities and to develop your own. After all, what is easily gained can easily be lost. Don't spare any effort to survive."

"Oh, okay."

"You see, you must have thought that this is a pain."

"N-no, that's not true."

"Oh, come on. I don't care. I just want to use you as a wall until I can seal the evil god."

"That's so..."

"So, be a bit more careful. If you think it's really bad, you can run away right away. I won't hold any grudges. I'll do the same."

With that, Marika floated in the air again and turned her back. Her back somehow looked extremely small to Kurando.

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