NOVEL WEB Chapter 195
Chapter 195. Retrieval
The fox girl was truly unconscious. If she had been pretending to sleep, I would’ve definitely killed her, so it was fortunate.
The tree roots of the Ancient Treant were still wriggling, trying to engulf the fox girl. Her limbs were already infested, and the roots had broken through the skin on her head and other parts.
“What do you think would happen if we tore these roots off to save her?”
Watching the roots crawling over the fox girl, making her veins bulge, I couldn’t help but grimace. It was quite a creepy sight.
“Like in anime or movies, if we tear off the roots to save the heroine, it should be fine, right?”
Shizuku said as she looked at the fox girl. It was clear she wasn’t thinking much about her words. She probably didn’t think it was necessary to save her in the first place.
“That only happens in stories. In reality, it’s harsher. Even if it’s just peripheral nerves, if they’ve been invaded this much, it won’t end well.”
It’s a common trope in movies. The heroine is about to be sacrificed. If she’s not saved in time, she’ll be sacrificed. The boss stands in the hero’s way, and they fight. While they battle, the heroine is gradually engulfed by darkness or something similar. But just before the time limit, the hero defeats the boss and saves the heroine. Happy ending, right?
But realistically, I think there would be significant aftereffects. It’s not just a matter of saving her in time. The fox girl lying here is proof of that. She looks like she might end up paralyzed.
“Isn’t it okay not to save her?”
Shizuku tilts her head, but I can’t agree.
“No. She’ll definitely be useful. I think we’ll get a lot of gratitude if we save her.”
The fox girl is cunning. If we save her, she’ll be useful. After all, she made it to this room hidden by Nymph.
“I admire you for thinking about profit. Hehe.”
Shizuku laughs at my line, saying that trying to save someone for profit doesn’t make me a hero, as she starts breaking the element converters and terminals set up around us. She’s boldly destroying evidence.
It’s fine since those machines seem completely useless. While Shizuku continues to smash the devices to pieces, I fold my arms and think. The fox girl’s condition looks dire.
[Mass Flame Lance]
For now, I thrust a flaming spear into the Ancient Treant. When it strikes the center of the roots, they begin to burn fiercely, and smoke starts to fill the room.
Though the room is the size of a gymnasium, there’s still plenty of space. The roots wriggle in agony and withdraw from the fox girl’s body. Blood flows from the holes in her skin, and she starts convulsing dangerously, indicating brain damage. There’s no other way…
“No choice. I’ll have to create a Nymph quickly.”
Sighing, I decide to create a nymph. It’s clearly time for healing magic.
[Nymph 009: Nymph Core]
Displayed on the Equivalent Exchange Store, I lightly press it. A spherical magic circle forms in midair, and white particles gather within it.
[Nymph anomaly detected. Human personality residue confirmed. Delete? Yes/No]
A new command appears in front of the forming nymph. Human personality residue? That rough one. Residue, huh… Considering the future, we don’t need any lingering personalities…
[No]
Feeling a bit sorry, and thinking that the residue might provide irregular information gathering, I choose No. Honestly, the sympathy was just a little. I don’t hate myself for that. It suits me, right?
As I watch, the particles rapidly form into a humanoid shape, transforming into Sei. Her default attire seems to be a white and blue nun’s outfit. Kneeling with her arms crossed and eyes closed, she fully appears before me.
To others, she might look like a devout nun worshiping a god, radiating a divine aura.
“What should I call you?”
“Call me President. Sei, you’re the new employee.”
Though she looks almost identical to Sei, her hair is pink. This nymph with unusual hair color asks in a quiet voice, and I respond with a wave of my hand.
“Understood. I have no words to express my gratitude for reviving me and lifting my curse. Nymph 009 pledges her body and soul to serve you, President Amano Sakimori.”
Sei deeply bows, her voice filled with fervor. She’s different from the previous nymphs. Are the initial models more devout?
“Thank you for the polite greeting. And the other personality?”
Feeling a bit of cold sweat at her intense loyalty, I nod and ask about the rough personality. Sei slowly shakes her head.
“Usually, my personality as a Nymph is dominant. The other personality emerges when my emotions fluctuate significantly. There shouldn’t be any issues now.”
“I see… well, okay.”
Her unexpected response makes me think, but I decide not to worry. It would be troublesome if that personality was always dominant.
For now, I check Sei’s status. It looks like this.
Hijiri Sei
Mana 2000
Health 400
Strength 1400
Dexterity 400
Magic 800
Unique Skills: Mimicry, Minor Charm, Mana Field, Spatial Awareness, Mana Consumption Reduction for Spatial Magic, Mid-Efficiency Magic Conversion, Mid-Efficiency Combat Technique Conversion
Skills: Hammer Technique 6, Healing Magic 6, Spatial Magic 6, Wood Magic 6
It’s a clean setup. She can fight and heal, which is quite a skill set. I wonder if Sei has any drawbacks. Her stats are pretty bad, though.
Shizuku peeks at Sei’s status from beside me and turns around.
“The initial models are meticulously made. The drawback of mimicry is that the body gradually gets damaged from constant shape changes. A minor charm makes the target slightly repulsed if the skill is broken. Additionally, if they have healing magic, they can’t use the four elemental magics and are more prone to status abnormalities.”
Shizuku, as usual, explains.
“Spatial awareness greatly increases the success rate of spatial magic. The drawback is unknown. Mana consumption reduction for spatial magic halves the mana cost for spatial magic only. It doubles the cost for other magic and halves attack power. The initial nymph models had several times the cost compared to the later models, even though the later ones were more efficient. It’s important, so I’ll repeat: the later Nymph models are more efficient.”
Snorting with determination, Shizuku explains with a hint of loneliness. She insists on proving her superior performance. Well, that kind of attitude is cute, but I can’t help but chuckle at her earnestness.
Good thing I didn’t learn healing magic. Status abnormalities aren’t just about poison or disease. They can make your mind weak, right? Easier to get angry, like flying into a rage at a cat girl’s joke. Well, putting that aside.
“You’ve repeated yourself three times, Shizuku-san. If you specialize in strength, muscle tears can happen, but healing magic can fix it. Mimicry isn’t an issue with healing magic. Are the early models really better?”
“No, their unique skills are weak. You can see from Yukihana-chan’s single point and my combat talent that later fairy mechs have much sharper unique skills.”
Indeed, having just mimicry and minor charm as unique skills feels lacking. But healing magic is a plus.
“I understand through knowledge sharing. I’m Shizuku, the useless later-model fairy mech. Nice to meet you.”
“Ready to sound the gong?”
“Bring it on, I’ll beat you up.”
Shizuku hums with a challenging attitude, making Sei glare at her with a vein throbbing on his forehead. She’s quite sharp-tongued and too quick-tempered. Her emotional swings are intense. Guess we’ll have to accept it since we have a healer now.
“Sei, stop picking fights you can’t win. Now, I need you to heal this fox girl, but do you know her true identity first?”
“Yes. Her name is Oda Yoko. I’ve heard she’s a skilled swordswoman from the inner town with the [Sword Saint] skill.”
Sei regains his composure and informs us when I ask on a whim. …Sword Saint? This girl?
“When she contacted us, I investigated her background. Since she has the [Sword Saint] skill, I didn’t think she was a spy, but I was surprised she infiltrated this room. I assumed a Sword Saint couldn’t sneak in.”
Initially, Yoko, the Sword Saint, claimed she managed to meet Sei secretly with her subordinates’ help. Sei believed it since she had the Sword Saint skill, but…
“It’s strange. The [Sword Saint] skill prevents acquiring any other combat, infiltration, magic, support, or production skills. But she used witchcraft?”
Shizuku frowns at Sei’s words and objects. Hearing this, I get an idea. Ah, typical fox trickery.
“What’s the downside of fox transformation?”
“She can learn witchcraft, so she can’t acquire similar magic skills.”
“Beastman skills are treated favorably compared to others. Their stats are high. This cunning fox girl probably pretended to have the Sword Saint skill. Using witchcraft to master sword skills makes it less obvious. If she’s rumored to be a Sword Saint, no one would suspect a spy.”
Sei claps his hands, understanding my explanation. Shizuku nods, impressed by the clever usage. If Yoko weren’t lying here and I hadn’t heard Sei’s words, I might have believed she was a Sword Saint too. Scary. What a dangerous girl.
“But it’s good to know. Knowing this solves the problem. Sei, heal Yoko.”
She’s convulsing badly, and it’d be a problem if she died.
“Understood.”
Sei raises his hand and activates healing magic.
[High Heal]
Pure white particles fall from Sei’s hand, healing Yoko’s body. Her torn skin heals rapidly, returning to smooth, youthful skin.
Seeing healing magic up close, I get why people revere saints. It’s mystical.
“President, she’s healed.”
“Thank you. Let’s have a little chat with this fox girl.”
I let Sei step back and walk over to the sleeping Yoko.
“Looks like the Demon King inspecting his sacrifice. Quite cool, President.”
“Doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
I glare slightly at Shizuku, who giggles, then turn to Yoko. She doesn’t seem about to wake up.
Since she’s no Taigong Wang or Kongming, I don’t plan to wait for her to wake. So, I use a gentle magic spell.
[Create Sherbet]
Thinking sherbet would be perfect to wake her, I drop it on Yoko’s face. The half-melted, best-tasting kind.
“It’s cold! Gah!”
Yoko jumps up, delighted. She seems to like the sherbet. Good, good.
I grab the fox girl’s tail as she rolls on the floor, overwhelmed by the cold.
“Hey, Yoko Oda. Never thought I’d meet a Sword Saint here. Want to have some tea?”
“Who… are you?”
Brushing the sherbet off her face, Yoko glares at me. I keep my sly smile.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Amano Sakimori. Just a small-time CEO of Amanogahara Corporation. Nice to meet you, infiltrating Sword Saint. Can I call you Yoko-san?”
The more I repeat ‘Sword Saint,’ the sharper her glare gets. But understanding the situation, Yoko clenches her teeth and offers her hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
As I shake hands with her, I wonder if this talk will go well, hiding my slight worry with a grin.