Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 48

Chapter 48 "Earth Dragon"

My club hits the goblin right in the middle of its face and blows the top off its big nose.

I look behind me and see Heidi, in quick movements, chopping off the goblin's head with her kukri.

　The wagon we're escorting... no problem.

　The next morning, I went to accept a quest as soon as possible, but the good ones had been taken, so I went for a relatively well-paid escort mission... a relatively high-risk one, according to the receptionist, but it's a letdown.

　Only goblins or some dog-like guy called Lupus or something like that.

　We're not far from Willead, but it's just me and Heidi on escort because the road is too narrow to take more people.

With my part taken care of, I watch Heidi fight.

She takes a half step to avoid the goblin's downward swinging machete and uses her left foot to snag it.

She finishes off the fallen goblin by breaking its neck with her heel, then pulls back just in time to deter the Lupus bite turned on by the goblin, and then stabs it in the throat with her knife and gouges it out.

Finally, she finishes off the goblin who tries to flee by throwing a small throwing knife at the nape of the neck.

　It's really a brilliant move. While she is moving, there is no change at all in her facial expression.

　Heidi's movements in this state are not only lean but also relentless.

　Hmmm... If it were always like this, I wouldn't have to deal with it either.

I guess it's just not in her nature. Well, it doesn't matter now.

　Well, after finishing today's request, I'll get ready to leave this town.

I've seen most of Willead and I want to move on to the next place.

As soon as I get back, I'll check out ...... for escort quests, which frankly are a pain in the ass.

I'd like to get some transportation, but horses are expensive.

Well, I'm not short on money, so it's not that I can't buy one if I force myself to, but it's a pain in the ass in terms of expense.

I look at the horse pulling the wagon of the merchant who I am escorting.

　The horse looks like a donkey. He is slow on his feet, but he seems to be very strong and walks down the road pulling the carriage.

I used to have a longing to ride a motorcycle around Japan.

　I can imagine myself riding astride a horse and moving about at my leisure...wouldn't that be nice?

　That's pretty much what I want when I think about it. As for riding...well, I'll figure it out.

　As I was calculating the balance in my head, Heidi approached me.

　"I'm done here, too."

　"Yeah."

　"You're all done. That's great."

　"Yeah."

　It doesn't matter if it's a horse or not. I want something a little cooler.

　"I think it's time to go to the village."

　"Yeah."

　"Um... are you listening to me?"

　"Yeah."

　I don't know...

　Heidi was saying something beside me, but I couldn't hear her.

　The road was steep, but the distance was not that great, so we were able to get back to Willead before the end of the day.

　Back in town, there was quite a bit of commotion everywhere. Of course, the son of the lord had been killed.

　Even the country knights and holy knights are asking around.

　That's a lot of stuff.

　While I was thinking about this, Heidi was approached by a holy knight.

　"Excuse me. Do you have a few minutes of your time? I'd like to ask you a few questions..."

The armor is cheap. An apprentice knight, huh?

The apprentice knight took out a notebook and continued talking.

　"Last night, a fire was set in the house of the lord's son, Mr. Tripplett. Some individuals were seen away from the scene, do you know anything about it?"

　"I'm...um...I'm sorry. I know there was a fire, but I wasn't in the vicinity..."

　"I see. By the way, where were you at the time?"

　"I was at an inn. The place was..."

　As I watched Heidi's response, I looked around lightly and saw something oddly conspicuous in my field of vision: a pair of women.

　It was a pair of women. One of them is an apprentice knight, and the other is looking at her companion in a daze.

She looks kind of stupid. It seems as if she is not thinking about anything.

　The other was different. The armor she wore was apparently of a higher grade than the white armor, and although it was thin, it was dripping with magical power.

The sword on her waist also looks badass. I feel something similar but different from magic power... or rather, something shining thinly.

Her face and figure are amazing. Her face is beautiful, but...it has the same cold look as Fatima's.

Her body is...well... you know. Even with her armor on, you can tell that her tits and buttocks stick out and her waist is tight...well, she has most of the elements that a man would like.

　Oops. I look away. I don't want to get in trouble if my eyes accidentally meet hers.

I don't want to get involved with that Cathedral Knight Cristela.

　By the way, I heard that Alex was trying to seduce her whenever he had the chance.

　Dylan was not interested in women who were stronger than he was, so he seemed to genuinely respect her.

　I think she's beautiful, but many of those women are twisted up because of their unbalanced lives.

　I can't do it. I hope you'll be happy in a place I don't know.

　The apprentice who was talking noticed the cathedral knight, thanked Heidi and ran toward the cathedral knight.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."

　"Ah."

　Heidi returns and we resume moving.

　The destination is the guild. Let's see if we can find a reward and a quest that we can take on board.

"Nothing..."

"Nope."

　After receiving the reward, I checked the quest... but it wasn't there.

　I could wait until it's issued... but that's too much trouble.

　Let's walk.

　"Let's go on foot. It will take some time, but we've made a lot of money from the quests we've done so far. Let's take it easy."

　"All right. Next stop, we'll go south to Delord, right?"

　"Yes, that's right. I would like to see the labyrinth dungeon and the arena coliseum in Delord."

　It is a famous landmark of Delord. I would love to see them.

　"Are they famous?"

　"Yes, it's a place you can't miss. We'll leave tomorrow. If there is anything you want to buy, you can buy it now."

　I leave Heidi, who is going shopping in front of the guild, and turn my feet to the south side of town.

　I buy some food and eat it as I walk.

　I go further south and exit the town. I wander through the meadow and enter a nearby forest.

I thought it was a forest, but it's pretty dense.

　I walk further into the woods, and I feel a presence, so I turn my feet in that direction.

　After a short distance, I found myself in an open area. There I saw several goblins and a scrofa.

The scrofa's belly was open, and its contents were being used as a meal for the goblins.

　...Goblins or 5...6...well, is that enough?

I beat them to death with my club when they noticed me and attacked me.

　I'm no longer a match for an ordinary goblin.

The goblins in Shudras were just too strong, is this average?

　After killing the rest of the goblins easily, the goblins and the scrofa carcass were left on the spot.

　Now, it was time for some fun crafting.

First, when I touch the Scrofa that has become flattened, i extends my "roots" and takes over the body.

　The scrofa carcass slowly rises. I maintain contact with it and continue manipulating the carcass.

　The corpse gnaws and devours the goblin carcass.

　When all the goblins have been consumed, a large amount of "roots" are sent into the corpse to transform it.

　This is an application of the whole-body transformation performed at the Enkau bar.

Since the goblins were fed on the carcass, there should be enough materials.　

What should I do? I want something fast.

　The only fast one I can think of is the ...... thing.

　The base is a ground dragon. The body size is about two times bigger than the ones I've come across.

　Under the skin is Death Worm armor, and so on.

I thought about having the tail split, but it's not a good idea to make it look like that since it's been ordered by the guild.

　The color will be black so that it will not be noticeable, and a spare brain will be placed in the torso.

　Finally, I planted a chunk of "root" in each brain to complete the process.

　Still, it's a good idea on my part.

If I want a ride, why don't I just make one?

Now, let's wake up Ashy-kun, the finished product.

　"Wake up."

　He responds to my voice and quietly gets up.

　Hmmm. I don't care what it looks like, but it's more like a lizard than a dragon.

　It feels nice and cool against my skin. I'll buy a saddle and other things needed for riding later.

　"I'm going to pick you up tomorrow. Until then, you can do whatever you want."

　The dragon squealed and strode off.

　Now that I'm done with my business, I'm going to do some shopping and head back to the inn.

　I'll just check on the others before I go.

As I made contact with them while walking, I was told that those who were heading to the Oratorium seemed to be able to get out from Medream without any problems, and that they had not run into any pursuers.

Those who left behind in the city can be found at ....... Looks like they are in trouble.

　It seems that several armed holy knights are roaming around near the house.

It's only a matter of time before they raid the house...oh, it looks like they've raided it.

　I told them to do as instructed and cut communication. Immediately after that, I hear an explosion in a corner of the city.

"...?"

　A tingle of pain and a sense of loss comes over me.

　I see, this is what happens when one of my men dies. Explosions are heard in several more places in the city.

　When cornered, I instructed them to blow themselves up by saying something anti-Gnostic, as per the scenario... Well, I'm planning to have some of them captured and play the role of the ringleaders.

It is scary how easy they were found.

　I'd be grateful if they would just get rid of the captured people and be done with it....

　I wonder what will happen.

...But still....

　"I'm hungry."

　I used too much root. Let's eat something.

　The next morning.

　Heidi and I were walking outside of town.

"Well, what is it? I've been wondering since yesterday, what do you use that saddle for?"

　"Well, just follow me."

　I'm sure you're curious about that.

　Heidi followed me, tilting her head.