Chapter 111. Manager of the Apple Farm
［Doodoomba! Gauntleeeeeeet!!!］
［Doombaaa!!!］
［It was so scaryyy! I was trapped in such a dark place!!!］
［Doomba, Doodoombaba! I was trapped in a very bright place!］
The Hedgehog Summoner and the Abyssal Undead Spirit.
Both of them clung to my legs at the same time.
The Hedgehog climbed up my leg to my shoulder.
Then, it started rubbing its face all over my cheek.
［Thank you for not forgetting me and remembering me! As expected, there’s only Gauntlet! I love yoooou, Doodoomba!!!］
It seemed.
They were aware that others had forgotten their existence.
【Mysticism】─Sorry for not remembering you, Dochi. 😭
【Yumi】─I’m so sorry. ㅠㅠ
【Rizenova】─It couldn’t be helped.
【Bubble Bubble】─At least it’s a relief that you’re safe.
【Pururu】─The more I think about it, the scarier that ability is. To erase one’s existence from others’ memories like that.
I petted the Hedgehog’s head with my fingers and asked.
“Dochi, did you have any consciousness when you turned into a teddy bear?”
［Originally, I didn’t! I was trapped in a weird space the whole time! But when I heard Gauntlet’s voice and the glorious word, Doodoomba, the outside world started becoming hazy!］
To put it simply.
It seemed that when I spoke while it was in the teddy bear state, a bit of its consciousness awakened.
［Anyway, thank you for saving me! Doodoomba!!!］
With a look full of emotion.
The Hedgehog repeatedly expressed its gratitude, clinging to me tightly.
It was small, so it wasn’t really a burden.
Afterward, I shifted my gaze.
The body of the Dollmaker, cut in half.
Beyond that, in the torn space, numerous lumps were pouring out endlessly.
【Pururu】─What is that now? Gross.
【Mysticism】─🤢
【Bubble Bubble】─Looks like the ones who turned into teddy bears. I think they’re returning to their original forms.
【Rizenova】─Seems like they’re all dead.
Once all the lumps were expelled.
As if there was nothing more to spew out, the torn space closed up.
“···I guess if too much time passes after they turn into teddy bears, their original bodies die.”
A gruesome mountain of body parts.
As I slowly approached it, a terrible stench assaulted my nose.
“Puppet Master, can you come here now? It’d be a waste to just throw away these corpses.”
I didn’t know what kind of monsters these bodies belonged to due to the severe damage, but it seemed like a mix of quite a few different monsters.
Among them, there were probably some with abilities that could be useful to us.
So there was no harm in collecting them.
─［I’ll head over right away.］
Iris’s voice, which belonged to the Necro Puppet Master, flowed out.
While waiting for the Puppet Master.
I slowly walked around the mountain of corpses, inspecting them closely.
“There are a few relatively intact bodies here.”
Poison Apple, Iris, Jellyfish, Dog Spider, Melody Fox, and more.
There were quite a few familiar monsters.
And humans······.
No, these must be monsters that just look similar to humans.
Perhaps they were once some of the old explorers.
【Pururu】─I can’t watch anymore. I feel like I’m going to puke.
【Mysticism】─🤮 I already did!
【Pururu】─Filthy girl.
【Yumi】─If we hadn’t rescued Hedgehog earlier, it might have ended up like that too···.
【Rizenova】─It could’ve been a real disaster.
【Bubble Bubble】─I wonder if the spirits died too.
As I was observing the corpses.
［Grrr···.］
Suddenly, a groan came from within the pile of bodies.
What was that?
Was there a living monster?
With so many bodies tangled together, I couldn’t sense any signs of life.
I focused my attention and slightly narrowed my eyes.
Then, I detected a B-rank monster deep inside the mountain of corpses.
“Kino, can you clear the bodies for me? I think there’s a surviving monster inside.”
［Yes, Father. Leave it to me.］
As I requested, Kinogine Arachne began spewing threads to clear away the corpses.
***
［I sincerely thank you. You are my savior.］
A monster placed a sword on the ground, knelt down respectfully, and bowed deeply to me.
It was the monster that Arachne had just pulled out from the pile of corpses.
【Mysticism】─😮 He talks just like Rize!
【Rizenova】─It’s different, I tell you.
【Pururu】─What’s with this guy.
Its name was Lionheart.
A beast-type monster with the appearance of a lion, its actual danger level was S-rank, but its nerfed rank was B.
One distinctive feature.
It had one wing made of fire and another made of water.
［How can I ever repay such a great favor······.］
“You don’t need to repay me. I just pulled you out because I thought there might be something inside the pile of bodies.”
I didn’t intend to save it.
I was simply curious about what kind of monster was in there, so I decided to rescue it.
I added this explanation.
Even so, Lionheart insisted on repaying me, asking me to name anything I wanted, no matter what it was.
［If I cannot repay my benefactor in any way, I will not be at peace until the end of my days. Please, allow me to repay this favor.］
“No, seriously, there’s nothing I need···.”
［Please reconsider if there truly isn’t anything you need. I beg of you.］
【Pururu】─He said no. Just go away.
【Mysticism】─Let’s tame him and teach him a lesson! 😠
Was there something worth asking for?
As I pondered, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
There was no way it would know, but.
I figured I might as well ask just in case.
“Hm··· then do you happen to know how to become the ruler of the Labyrinth?”
［I do not know. But if that is the information my benefactor seeks as repayment, I will risk my life to find out! Please, trust me!］
Lionheart jumped up.
Then, promising to bring me valuable information soon, it rushed off somewhere.
【Bubble Bubble】─Do you think it’ll really find a way to become the ruler?
“Of course not.”
When Lionheart left.
Just in time, the Puppet Master arrived and started collecting all the corpses that had fallen from the Stone Maker’s space.
While waiting for that, I carved a mark onto Poison Apple’s body, which had given us useful information.
An X mark.
A sign not to ever eat it.
［Purururuu. Now I’m safe.］
I decided not to bother taming it.
It wasn’t worth spending time taming it.
Even though it pretended otherwise, it was filled with hostility like the other Poison Apples.
Just as I turned to leave.
‘···Wait a second.’
I suddenly recalled one of the Necro Puppet Master’s abilities that I had forgotten.
Mind Control.
An ability to manipulate the emotions of the target.
‘Didn’t it say that this ability only works on those weaker than itself···?’
Back when the Puppet Master was still the Psycho Clown.
In other words, when it was S-rank, Mind Control wasn’t very useful.
It was good for controlling its own emotions.
But it couldn’t use the ability on other monsters besides itself.
However, things were different now that it had reached SS-rank.
S-rank monsters were clearly weaker than the Puppet Master, so it was now possible to use Mind Control to eliminate hostility.
‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’
Well, at least I realized it now.
I turned my gaze and called the Necro Puppet Master.
Then, after explaining the method I just thought of, I asked it to eliminate the hostility of the Poison Apple I had marked.
“You can still use Mind Control, right?”
［Of course. I haven’t used it since I evolved, but I am aware that I can still use it.］
After answering that.
The Puppet Master immediately activated Mind Control on the marked Poison Apple.
［Pururururuu? What are you trying to do to me! Are you breaking your promise···.］
The Poison Apple, which had been raging, suddenly closed its mouth and went silent.
［Purururuuu~］
Then it started grinning stupidly.
Its expression was so vacant that it looked like a screw had come loose in its head.
“Puppet Master. You only eliminated its hostility, right?”
［I got rid of the hostility, and since it was being noisy, I also changed its personality to be more positive.］
“Well done.”
By the way,
This change in personality wasn’t permanent.
Mind Control wasn’t everlasting.
After taming the Poison Apple like that, I appointed it as the manager of this apple farm.
It seemed to like it even more.
［Purururuuu! I’ve gained power! All Poison Apples, if you don’t want to become the next meal, bow your heads to me!］
【Mysticism】─🤔 So it’s going to be the one selecting apples and giving them to the exploration team from now on?
【Yumi】─Looks like it. In a way, it’s trash for betraying its own kind.
【Pururu】─But now that it’s been tamed, can’t we just ask for a summoning apple instead?
【Rizenova】─There are some who prefer Poison Apples over summoning apples. Last time, Mummy Skeleton seemed to particularly enjoy eating living Poison Apples.
【Bubble Bubble】─That guy likes to eat everything alive anyway.
Afterward,
Holding the exhausted Hedgehog tightly in my arms, I returned to the hideout with the monsters.
And the work on Lionheart’s entry in the guidebook had already been completed by Centaurides.
—
■Lionheart
─Actual Danger Level: S-rank.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.