On The Honeymoon (4)

“Uwaaaaah!”

Rurin made a face like she’d tasted poison. Honestly? Same. That aftertaste was scream-worthy.

Don’t tell me this is the only food in this place… The dread creeps in. If it is, we’re stuck eating these rubber-flavored mushrooms.

Looking at Rurin’s utterly devastated expression, I pointed to another barrel.

“It’s fine. There’s still hope.”

“Oh? Oooh!”

Let’s see.

Hoping for something entirely different inside, I popped the lid off and flipped the barrel without hesitation.

Thudududump.

A bunch of mushrooms tumbled out. Thankfully, they looked totally different from the last batch.

The last ones looked like button mushrooms. These? More like reishi mushrooms.

Completely different appearance.

So I picked one up, hopeful that the taste would be different too. Oddly enough, although it looked like reishi, the color was way off.

It was white with thin red stripes running through it.

Looks poisonous as hell, honestly.

Or maybe…poisonous means tasty?

“Rurin, let me try this one first—hold up. Huh?”

I looked over while examining the mushroom—but I was too late.

Rurin had already stuffed her mouth full.

Damn, you were that hungry? Her hunger was clearly unfazed by failure.

Rurin’s commitment to food knows no bounds.

“KYAAAAAGH!”

But the result was…horrific.

Just like before, but worse.

No, this time she was even more dramatic—jumping around like she was being exorcised. Earlier, she’d just spat it out.

How bad was it?

I looked back at the mushroom in my hand. I had to taste it for myself. I tore off a small piece and popped it in.

Hmm?

The moment I bit down—no, the moment it touched my tongue—a wave of intense sourness hit me.

Looks like a mushroom, tastes like an unripe fruit?

Like biting into an unripe lemon—so sour I couldn’t even keep a straight face.

At least ten times more sour than a lemon. Annoyingly sour.

“This is so damn annoying!”

“Yeah. Same.”

And I only had a nibble. Rurin ate the whole thing…

It was technically edible, sure—but this wasn’t exactly a solution to our food problem.

There were no more barrels.

Just some metal club-like weapons that probably belonged to the monsters…and a weird white cotton-looking thing I couldn’t identify.

Couldn’t figure out what it was, so I left it alone. We had searched everything. So we returned to the fork in the path. With the other route blocked off, only one option remained.

Back at the crossroads again.

The right side was the monster’s lair—so maybe the left was the correct answer after all?

Yeah, no other options are left. We just casually started down the left path.

Rurin still couldn’t speak properly—her mouth must’ve been stinging. She trudged along, completely drained.

Still, she kept her word and walked in front of me, shoulders slumped like a defeated warrior.

The left path didn’t lead to a big open room—just a long, straight corridor.

The only sounds were our footsteps echoing through it.

After a few minutes of walking…

We saw a bright light ahead. Something was different.

Rurin, walking ahead, stopped. I stopped too.

“Looks like something’s up ahead. Be careful, Rurin.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Stay right behind me!”

“Wait. Just in case—take my hand first.”

“Got it!”

Rurin grabbed my hand, and we headed toward the light together.

What we found at the end—was more monsters.

It was a much wider area than before. Like the center of a construction site.

What was more surprising? Dozens of short monsters were staring at us.

Not one or two—dozens. Like a whole colony.

“What are these things?”

Rurin was clearly annoyed by the number. I frowned too.

And it wasn’t just the small ones. Those big brutes from before were here too.

Thankfully, the big ones were fewer. Maybe ten of them?

That same massive roar echoed in my ears.

And Rurin’s mood instantly soured. Judging by her face, she understood the roar—and it wasn’t friendly.

These guys were clearly hostile.

But the small ones? They weren’t roaring or charging. Just watching.

The big ones were the attackers.

They came charging in with metal clubs. Every time they stomped past, the small ones flinched and trembled.

If the big ones were predators, the small ones were herbivores—timid prey.

“You. I’m killing them!”

Rurin said it angrily—and judging by the enemy’s face, they were thinking the same.

I nodded. She immediately fired her breath.

BOOOOOM—!

The monster charging at us exploded on impact.

The second one hesitated—too late. It got hit too.

Rurin had mastered her breath. She used just enough to blow them up without wasting energy.

The white fluffy creatures—waist-high, huge eyes, kind of cute honestly—just kept watching.

They didn’t look aggressive at all.

From the looks of it, the big ones were supervising the little ones.

The small ones were digging at the ground like they were working.

They were holding mushrooms.

Mushrooms.

Yep. The same disgusting mushrooms from before.

“There’s too many of them. It’s annoying.”

“Right? But hang in there, my love!”

“Hehe~ As your wife, I’ll step up. Gotta protect my man.”

Rurin nodded and blasted more of them. The rest blew up. Then she brushed her hands together dramatically, flipping her hair with a smug look.

Dust, dust.

She looked like she’d just finished a masterpiece. Total diva energy.

Did you…get dust on your royal hands?

I wanted to say it, but had bigger problems. So I grabbed her in a sudden back hug.

Not a romantic one.

It was damage control. I needed to stop her next move.

She was about to attack the small ones too.

To her, a monster is a monster—no nuance.

“Wait, wait—Rurin, stop. That’s enough.”

“Wh-what? You’re hugging me mid-battle? I mean… It’s ’s fine, I guess!”

“Look closely. They’re different. Harmless. Like the Lurun back in our lair.”

“Really?”

Rurin rarely observes anything unless it’s food…or me.

“You’re right, these guys do look weak.”

“Yeah, and more than that—they don’t seem aggressive. Maybe we can talk to them?”

“Ugh?”

The mention of “talking” clearly annoyed Rurin—it meant she’d have to translate.

Once all the big monsters were gone, the little ones all dropped to the ground—every single one.

And they weren’t just lying down—they were trembling. Their fluffy white fur visibly shaking in fear.

It seemed like those big monsters had been using them like slaves.

They’d probably been forced to harvest mushrooms—the primary food source here.

“Hoh? They recognize my greatness.”

Rurin grinned, thoroughly pleased.

“I mean…kind of. Sure.”

They were clearly terrified of her breath. Anyway, I walked over to the cowering monsters, hoping we could talk.

If they could speak, they’d probably know a lot about this place.

But Rurin stepped in front of me suddenly and blocked the way.

“You! You’re weak in here, so you need to be careful.”

“Hey, I can handle one or two monsters, alright?”

Even without magic, I’ve fought in the Monster War. I can take a few in hand-to-hand combat.

“One or two?”

“Yeah.”

“The old you could take on hundreds of millions of monsters.”

“Okay…fair.”

“So be careful! I will never forgive it if you get hurt. That’s the thing I hate the most in the world.”

She shook her head seriously, then started laughing.

Then she opened her arms in front of me.

…She wants a hug now?

Still refuses to be the one to initiate the hug, huh?

So I hugged her. Pretending I had no choice.

Then she wrapped her arms around my back and said:

“You can walk now. I’m your shield. Heehee.”

“Huh?”

“Even without mana, I can block most attacks.”

Well…her skin is still dragon-tough even in human form, so yeah, probably.

“Th-that’s…sweet, but I don’t think these monsters are that threatening…”

“No way!”

She shouted firmly, full of conviction.

So I gave in and walked forward—still hugging her—toward the little monsters.

They flinched and trembled more as we got closer—me and my walking, talking shield.

Just from that reaction, you could tell they weren’t a fighting species.

“Okay, Rurin. That’s enough—go talk to them, please.”

“With those low-grade monsters?”

“Yeah.”

“Aww. I don’t wanna let go. I’m tired and hungry…”

“Hahahahaha! Stop that! That tickles!”

“Go on, my dear wife.”

I tickled her waist, and she finally squirmed away—then redirected her frustration at the poor monsters and glared.

“You little punks!”

“Kuu, Kuuu, Ku-Kun-Kuuun!”

“Huh?”

Rurin barked something at them, then looked at me with a confused face.

“What did they say?”

I asked, and she started translating.

“They said thank you for saving them. But like… When did we help them?”

She had a point. Technically, we didn’t.

All we did was blow up the ones who attacked us. If the little ones saw that as help, then yeah—they really were being treated like slaves.

Come to think of it, that place earlier might’ve been a resting zone for those monster overseers.

And that fluffy white corpse we saw earlier? It was one of these little guys.

Damn…

They didn’t just work them—they killed them when they felt like it. Those big bastards weren’t just violent—they were tyrants.