518

 [Chapter 142]

[Hatching]

After seeing off her friends who left to tackle the dungeon,

Ariel immediately sprawled out and fell asleep. She decided to think about what to do next after resting.

"Mmm..."

How much time had passed?

She woke up to the sound of commotion outside.

Hosimiya Kaede, whom she had been hugging like a pillow while sleeping, was gone. She must have gotten up first.

"Ugh... What's going on outside?"

I'm sleepy.

But I don't want to sleep alone.

It's lonely being by myself.

Ariel poked her head out of the tent and could see why it was noisy outside.

Apparently a new party had arrived.

It was none of her business.

Ariel looked around searching for people she was close to.

"Where did everyone go?"

She couldn't see any familiar faces.

Ariel puffed out her cheeks.

After looking around for a while, she decided to go search herself.

"Noh Eunha!! I'm bored!"

With a flutter,

Ariel flung open Eunha and Dojun's tent without permission.

"Huh? He's not here either?"

Noh Eunha wasn't there.

Smelling the musty odor typical of men, Ariel held her nose and pouted.

"Where did he go? Did he go to the hot spring?"

After a while, her nose adjusted to the smell.

She took off her shoes and went inside, still with a sulky expression.

She decided to wait inside.

If she waited, Eunha would come.

"When Noh Eunha comes, I'll ask him to play with me!"

While rolling around in Eunha's tent,

She soon began curiously observing the luggage scattered here and there.

Then she clicked her tongue.

Thinking that Eunha lives so messily.

"I guess I have no choice. I'll tidy up for him. Noh Eunha! Be grateful! There's no one else like me, you know?"

Not knowing if it belonged to Noh Eunha or Yu Dojun,

Ariel neatly folded the clothes lying on the floor.

Noh Eunha still hadn't come by then.

Ariel flopped down in the tent.

"I'm bored..."

When on earth is Noh Eunha coming?

Ariel pondered while doing bicycle kicks in the air.

I'm dying of boredom.

This won't do.

She abruptly sat up.

"Since I'm bored, I should go take a dip in the hot spring and come back. Then Eunha should be here."

I should go to the hot spring.

She changed her mind and was about to leave the tent.

Just then,

"─Huh?"

When she took one last look around the tent,

Ariel saw Noh Eunha's bag move for a moment.

Her eyes widened.

Soon the bag moved again─

"─It moved."

The bag moved.

Ariel approached the bag excitedly.

She crawled over on her knees and slowly opened the half-open bag.

She saw a towel.

The towel twitched.

She removed the towel and,

"...It's an egg?"

She discovered an egg inside the bag.

Ariel took out the egg without Eunha's permission.

"Wow... It's huge?"

An egg as big as her head.

Ariel examined the egg from all angles.

Just then, the egg moved.

Ariel let out a small gasp.

Her eyes sparkled.

Then she put on a stern expression.

"Well, well... Noh Eunha, I'm hurt? How could you not tell me you had such a big egg?"

It looks like a delicious egg.

Surely Noh Eunha must have hidden it to eat it all by himself.

Having reached that conclusion, she quickly stood up.

I'm hurt.

Since I'm so hurt right now─

"─I'll make hot spring eggs!"

I'll eat it all myself.

Of course, since she's so generous, she'll leave a little for Eunha to eat.

Even though the egg moved slightly, Ariel 

didn't pay much attention and ran straight to the hot spring.

☆

After resting for several days straight, my body actually feels stiff.

So to stretch out a bit, Eunha went monster hunting alone.

"Hm? Looks like someone new arrived?"

While entering the hot spring area,

Eunha noticed there were more students and realized a new party had arrived.

They won't get good grades.

And they won't be able to rest properly either...

There were some familiar faces.

Eunha returned their greetings while feeling sorry for those who had to go tackle the dungeon right away without proper rest.

"I was thinking of taking a dip in the hot spring, but it'll probably be crowded now..."

Eunha clicked his tongue.

Mok Minho's party was leaving after lunch.

He thought he'd finally be able to use the hot spring leisurely, but

It seemed he'd have to postpone it.

I want to wash off all this dust...

Can't be helped.

I guess I'll just go in and take a nap.

There's no other choice.

Eunha sighed.

He decided to go into the tent and take a short nap, then go to the hot spring before dinner.

By then, even the party that arrived late should have left on a forced march to tackle the dungeon.

As he was about to pass by the newly set up tents─

"─Oh!?"

"What, why are you here?" "Why are you still here?"

Eunha ran into Jo Ara in front of a tent.

She had been sitting in a folding chair with her head down, groaning, but now looked up at him with wide eyes.

Ara was in On Taeyang's party... Looks like On Taeyang's party just arrived.

They're later than I expected. Did something happen on the way down?

Steam was rising from her ivory hair.

It seemed she had just gotten out of the hot spring not long ago.

Then Eunha realized her foot was bandaged.

"What happened to your foot? Did you get hurt?" "Oh, this? I think I twisted it on the way... It hurts a bit."

"How did you get hurt? Be more careful."

"How is this something I can control? A monster suddenly jumped out and I fell because I was startled."

"Geez, nice job. Does it hurt a lot?"

"Hmm... A little? It doesn't hurt too much, but it's hard to walk so we were delayed because of me."

Jo Ara explained how she sprained her foot.

Eunha noticed there were no party members around her.

They must have all gone into the hot spring.

Still, someone should be with her.

He could understand how the party members felt.

After traveling for 4 days to reach the hot spring area, they must have been exhausted to the point of collapse.

They probably hadn't been able to wash properly, so it made sense they'd jump right into the hot spring.

But even so─

─The party members are one thing, but the leader shouldn't do that.

No matter how difficult it was,

Shouldn't the party leader take care of an injured party member?

He didn't express it outwardly, but Eunha was internally displeased.

Especially since he knew who the party leader was.

"Let me see."

"Oh my! What are you doing?"

"Why are you calling for your mom?" "Ugh! That's not what I meant, why are you touching my foot!"

"I need to see how badly you're hurt. Just stay still for a bit." "..."

"It's quite swollen. Doesn't your party have a supporter?" "I'm both the caster and supporter."

"So you've been like this by yourself? The others couldn't even wrap a bandage?" "How could I ask the others... We're already delayed because of me..."

"What's there to be sorry about? Isn't a party about helping each other? And even if the others might think that way, the leader shouldn't. Where's your leader?"

"Taeyang is in the hot spring..."

"He didn't say anything?"

"He asked if I was okay... But Taeyang is also not good at this kind of thing..." "Sigh... Give me the bandage."

"What? Why do you want the bandage?" "I'll do it for you, so hand it over."

"...Here."

Eunha couldn't help but sigh.

He reached out his hand to Jo Ara.

Unable to resist Eunha's insistence, she handed over the bandage.

"...You're good at this?"

"Any Academy student should obviously know how to do this much." "Hmph, look at you getting all smug when I compliment you."

"Stay still." "...Okay. Um... thank you."

Her foot is so white.

He rubbed medicine from the first aid kit onto the injured area.

Each time, she let out a groan and twitched her toes.

Regardless, he wrapped the bandage around the injured area.

"You should have come a little earlier. Then Eunwoo would have been here to use healing magic on you."

"It's fine. It's just a minor sprain."

"Really? Is it really just a minor sprain?" "W-why? What's wrong?" "If it's really just a minor sprain, I was going to tickle you to check if it's true."

"Y-y-you... Don't do that. That's not something people should do!?" "Your foot is in my hands."

"Ah! What are you doing?! Kyaaa, ah, ah... Stop it!"

"This is what you get for getting hurt. You need to be punished by me for getting injured." "Why do I need to be punished!?"

"You got hurt without my permission, so you need to be punished. I told you before, right? People in my party aren't allowed to get hurt as they please."

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I was wrong! So please, kyaaa...! Why are you putting your hand between my toes!? S-stop it! It's dirty! It smells!"

"Oh, really? Didn't you wash?" "I did wash!" "I thought I smelled something."

"I said I washed! Hey! Do you want to die!?"

Eunha kept teasing Ara while fiddling with her foot.

Eventually Ara's face turned bright red.

She exploded and kicked him repeatedly with her uninjured foot.

Only then did Eunha stop teasing.

"You... You're... really not human."

"I said I'm sorry.""Shut up! Do you know I've really never met anyone like you in my entire life!?"

"Well, judging by how you're kicking me, it seems you're better than I thought. You should be fine after resting a bit. Don't overdo it." "Look at him changing the subject?"

"When is your party leaving?"

"I don't even want to talk to you... We decided to leave right away this evening."

"Really?"

Jo Ara wiggled her toes.

She seemed bothered by Eunha suddenly touching her.

Eunha inwardly clicked his tongue, pretending not to notice her reaction.

She said it's not a major injury, but...

Still, she shouldn't overdo it.

Maybe because he had touched her foot once,

Jo Ara didn't complain much even when he touched her foot again.

Eunha told her to try moving her bandaged foot and narrowed his eyebrows.

It's a mild sprain.

Even so, it seemed difficult to go tackle the dungeon without resting.

"This is why you shouldn't have gotten hurt."

"You think I wanted to get hurt?"

"The others don't cause trouble, so you're the one causing trouble?"

"...Are you worried about me?"

"Of course I'm worried when you're hurt."

"No, just... I'm touched that you're worried about me... Thank you for worrying."

"Why are you suddenly like this? Of course I'm worried about a future asset getting hurt." "I almost fell for it for a moment. It's my fault for believing you... Why does Hayang date someone like you?" "Because I'm awesome."

"Yes, next caller please."

"What are you saying? Did you eat something weird?" "That's what I wanted to say."

She had looked dejected just moments ago, but now she regained her vitality as if nothing had happened.

Eunha smirked at her trying not to lose to his words.

"Keep soaking in the hot spring while you're here."

"Why?" "The hot spring here in the dungeon seems to have a slight effect, though mild. Go soak at least your foot."

"...Thanks for the advice."

Eunha removed his hands from her foot.

She carefully put on her shoe, drawing her leg in.

Well, I should head back too.

He stood up after kneeling on one knee.

There wasn't much point in staying here longer.

It would only be troublesome if he ran into On Taeyang.

"I'll be going now. Don't get hurt. If your party members don't pay attention to you, just nag them to take care of you." "Eunha, the party members are all nice, unlike what you think. I just told them they didn't need to help because I felt sorry."

"Still, don't do it alone. Make sure to get help no matter what. Got it?" "Yes, teacher! Thank you for the advice!"

"What do you mean teacher..."

"Oh, right."

"What?"

As he was about to leave,

Jo Ara suddenly clapped as if she remembered something.

Eunha turned back.

"When I went into the hot spring earlier, Riel was bathing with some weird egg?"

"Huh? What egg? I guess she's trying to make hot spring eggs. That's perfect timing. We have some eggs left, so I'll bring them over." 

"Oh really? If you're giving them, I'll eat them deliciously. But the egg seemed really big?"

"Huh?" "The egg was about the size of my face? I thought it was an ostrich egg."

"...Huh?"

Eunha tilted his head.

He was at a loss for words.

He fell into thought, regardless of Jo Ara's confusion.

He quickly reached a conclusion.

That Ariel...

He didn't know exactly what happened, but

Ariel had taken the monster egg.

Eunha let out a hollow laugh.

He quickly turned around.

"Hey! Where are you going!?"

"To find Ariel."

"What? You're going to the women's bath now?"

"Yeah." "What if there are people there! Hey! I'm coming with you!"

Eunha started walking.

Jo Ara hurriedly hopped after him on one leg.

☆

The bath water is hot.

Ariel hummed happily as she soaked in the hot spring.

"...Everyone's gone."

When she first entered the hot spring, there were many students, but

Now Ariel was the only one left in the hot spring.

After confirming no one else was around, she smirked.

Gift <Beast >

As she activated her internal mana,

The mana reacted with the water and transformed her legs into a mermaid tail.

As soon as her two legs became a mermaid tail, Ariel plunged into the hot spring.

"Yahoo!"

Ariel swam freely.

After completely submerging herself in the water and coming back up, she had a refreshed expression.

"Oh right. Can I eat it now?"

Then she remembered the egg she had been soaking in the hot spring.

She swam back to where she had been originally.

She took out the egg that was in the water.

"But when am I supposed to eat this?"

The color of the egg had darkened compared to before.

Ariel tilted her head and carefully examined the egg.

Just then,

"─Who told you to take other people's things."

She suddenly sensed a presence and

Ariel turned her head towards the direction of the voice.

Noh Eunha was standing there with a blank face. Jo Ara was next to him too.

"Oh, I found Noh Eunha! Ara is here too? Hi!"

"What are you doing with my egg." "What do you mean! I'm trying to make hot spring eggs!" "...What?"

"I was just about to eat it, want to eat together?" "I really don't understand what you're thinking... First, put on your clothes and come out." "Now? I was planning to stay longer... Aha! Eunha, why don't you join me? It's really spacious in here!"

"Sigh..."

Whether Jo Ara saw the tail or not,

Ariel didn't care and splashed the water surface with her mermaid tail.

Eunha kept sighing as he looked at her upper body exposed above the water.

"Forget it, just give me the egg first." "Huh? Are you going to eat it alone?" "Why would I eat that? Hurry up and hand it over."

"Then come into the water yourself and I'll give it to you!"

"I'm not drinking with you anymore after this." "Ah...! I'm sorry! I was wrong! Here's the egg! I'll give it to you!" "You need a smack."

"Ow! Noh Eunha! How could you?" "How could you do this?"

He won't drink with her anymore.

Startled by those words, she was about to run away with the egg but then rushed to him.

No, she swam.

She hurriedly handed over the egg she had been hugging.

Then she got hit on the head.

And at that moment,

"...Huh?"

With a crack,

The egg that passed to Eunha's hands started to develop cracks.

With a plop,

A piece of the eggshell fell to the ground.

"""...."""

The egg then emitted a bright light.

The three people stared at the egg glowing red as if entranced.

Crack

The cracks widened even more.

As more pieces of eggshell fell away,

"─Pipipi papapa pupupu?"

"""...."""

Finally,

The egg hatched.