The Fighting Dog of a Ruined Organization

But there were two problems.

“We need a branch from a hundred-year-old dryad, and the skull of a goblin shaman.”

One was that I couldn’t fight and win against monsters,

“A hundred-year-old dryad? Goblin shaman? What are those?”

The other was that I had no information about monsters at all.

I’ve never heard of a monster called a dryad. I’ve heard of goblins, but it’s the first time I’ve seen one with the modifier ‘shaman’.

“A dryad refers to a fairy living in a tree. So rather than killing the fairy, we need a branch from a tree that the fairy has inhabited for over a hundred years.”

“What’s that branch used for when you bring it?”

“Fairies themselves are essentially mana. When such a fairy enters a tree, the tree gradually becomes accustomed to mana. There’s nothing better as a medium for using magic than a tree that’s become accustomed to mana.”

“How did you figure that out?”

“Of course, I formed a hypothesis and bought various items to prove it. Then I found out that dryad branches work quite well.”

“Why specifically a hundred-year-old dryad?”

“I don’t know how to process branches from dryads older than that yet. And if it’s less aged, it can’t be used as a medium.”

I see. If the research is incomplete, that’s understandable.

“But don’t you have any you’ve made before? There’s no need to make something you already know how to make again.”

“Well… Although I spoke confidently, to be honest, I can’t guarantee if I can make it this time.”

What’s this now? Acting like you could make anything if I just bring the materials.

“I was captured right before completing the wand-making apparatus. There were just two methods left, but one failed and the prepared materials were destroyed.”

“So you’re saying if we get the materials and experiment this time, there’s a high chance of completing the apparatus?”

“That’s right! If this fails too, the research goes back to square one, so honestly, I hope it succeeds.”

This is worrying.

She calls herself a mana researcher, but in reality, this kid has no achievements other than graduating university at a young age, right?

It’s deeply concerning that the only hope in the current situation is such an unreliable person.

“Well, okay. It’s worrying, but let’s trust and try it for now. But what’s a goblin shaman? Why do we ominously need the skull of such a creature?”

“Originally, goblins have extremely low intelligence. They’re idiots that move in groups and act on instinct.”

“I know that much. They’re like our Hyungnim Agasshi, right?”

“Wh-what?! Why is Eris a goblin? Eris doesn’t look like a goblin! Eris is so cute and lovely! Apologize to Eris right now, right now!”

“See, she’s talking nonsense thinking I’m insulting her appearance.”

“Huh? Wasn’t it an insult to my appearance?”

“Were you so focused on eating soup rice that you only heard the word goblin?”

“Why are you referring to yourself in the third person in the meantime…?”

“Ah, there’s a reason for that.”

Only Shizu and I know the story of Casey changing into Eris. Yu Jin-ri doesn’t know, and unless Eris tells her directly, we can’t tell her.

But Eris belatedly realized what she had said and her face turned red.

“Um, um, so I’m Eris, right? I called myself by my name? Did I call myself cute and lovely?”

“Yes, Hyeonwoo was truly astonished. Hyeonwoo didn’t know Hyungnim Agasshi was that stupid.”

“Ugh, at this rate, my status as a boss…”

There wasn’t any such thing to begin with.

“This won’t do! From now on, Hyeonwoo, you’re forbidden from teasing me!”

“That’s too much. I do it because I like Hyungnim Agasshi.”

“You like me? Th-then I guess it can’t be helped…”

Are you really this stupid?

Eris nodded seriously.

“Keep teasing me from now on! I’ll specially allow it!”

Is this really a 20-year-old man? I don’t want to believe it.

I was at a loss for words at Eris’s unbelievable intelligence that I doubt every time I see it, when Shizu tried to tell me something.

“Hyeon-woo-nim.”

“Yes?”

But after glancing at Yu Jin-ri, she shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I have something I’d like to talk about with just the two of us later, could you spare some time?”

What does she want to talk about? I don’t know, but after finishing the conversation with Yu Jin-ri, I should go out with Shizu for a moment.

“Anytime. We can talk after the conversation with Yu Jin-ri is over, right?”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

How nice it would be if everyone was as polite as Shizu.

“Then, returning to our conversation, what’s the issue with goblins being stupid?”

“Oh? That? Originally goblins are stupid, but goblin shamans are occasionally born as smart mutants.”

“Like Shizu among us.”

“Why is Shizu-ssi the example? I’m the smart one, aren’t I?”

“The fact that you don’t understand the reason already shows you’re not smart.”

“Hyeon-woo-ssi, your personality is really too much.”

“Did you contribute anything to my personality? If not, please continue with your explanation.”

“You’re the one who interrupted the explanation, Hyeon-woo-ssi.”

Yu Jin-ri opened her eyes slightly as if offended by something. Ah, I got used to teasing Eris without realizing it and ended up doing it to Yu Jin-ri too.

She doesn’t seem as simple as Eris, so it might be difficult to make up with her.

“Ah, sorry. It’s just fun to banter with you like this too.”

“Y-yes…? Does that mean you find me entertaining?”

Huh? Why does she look pleased?

I didn’t particularly mean that you’re entertaining, but if you took it as a compliment, feel free to do so.

“You could see it that way.”

“Oh, ohh… I’ve always been cursed as a gloomy girl who’s boring and unpleasant, so this is quite refreshing…”

What kind of life have you lived? It’s pitiful.

“Okay! If Hyeon-woo-ssi finds bantering with me fun, I’ll let you tease me as much as you want!”

“The way you phrased that sounds a bit strange…”

She’s pitiful in a different way from Eris. How much must kids have avoided playing with her for her to be happy about something like this?

Well, I guess they probably didn’t play with her. Usually, kids like to play mindlessly when they’re young, but Yu Jin-ri must have been saying weird things while researching this and that.

But surely she wouldn’t have talked nonsense about sexual curiosity and such in front of kids.

…Would she?

“Anyway! To explain again, the goblin shaman’s skull has a space that condenses mana. So we need the branch that transmits mana, and the skull that holds and condenses mana.”

“Do you know how to transfer mana to the wand?”

“I know theoretically. Even though it’s said that everything related to magic disappeared, the basic theories of mana didn’t vanish. Toshin probably left it because knowing just the theory is useless.”

“Yu Jin-ri is right.”

Eris nodded and agreed.

“Originally, magicians in Fantasia never used wands. They could use magic without things like wands.”

“That’s right! So the wand is just an auxiliary means used to practice mana. Now, since no one knows the specific and practical methods of using mana, practicing with that wand is the best option.”

“So there haven’t been any researchers who created this auxiliary means until now?”

“That’s right. When Fantasia was huge, they directly interfered when someone tried to make it, and after its downfall, no one was interested in making it.”

It’s essentially a self-inflicted wound.

I guess Fantasia didn’t expect to fall so miserably themselves.

“The conclusion is that since the boss is suffering from mana addiction, if we make a wand and practice, some level of combat should be possible. If my experiment succeeds, that is!”

“R-really?! Then can I use magic like Mom and Dad?”

“Ah, with the wand we’re making now, creating mana into a sphere and shooting it would be the best we can do.”

“So I can use things like Meteor too? Wow, amazing!”

“You’re not listening at all…”

Eris was already daydreaming with sparkling eyes. I don’t misunderstand that reaction. She must have always felt pathetic for not inheriting magic.

How could she not be happy when the moment to resolve that long-cherished wish is coming? I think it’s comparable to the moment I rip out Chun-sik’s tongue.

“But how much do the dryad branch and goblin shaman skull cost?”

It seems impossible to obtain them by fighting, so it might be more realistic to beat up debtors and buy them with money.

“Ah, well… For such items, the price is usually whatever the seller asks. Not many people look for them, and the sellers don’t particularly need to sell them urgently.”

That’s not wrong. Those items don’t rot if left alone, and the top 3 organizations can easily obtain them, so they wouldn’t bother buying them.

At most, some weirdos among ordinary people who collect strange objects might spend a fortune to buy them. Of course, since selling these isn’t the main business for the sellers, they have no reason to offer them at a bargain price.

But in other words, that means there’s room for negotiation. They don’t need to sell, but they also have no reason not to sell.

“Then I guess we need to find someone who’s selling first. After that, we gather money and buy. Killing monsters is out of the question.”

“The problem is actually the goblin shaman more than the dryad. Smart-born goblins themselves are extremely rare specimens. There might not be any for sale.”

“I know how rare Shizu is too.”

“I also know how rare a person I am.”

Now she’s just brazenly distorting things. Is this the rhetoric of a genius? I almost felt a surge in my chest.

“Alright, now that we have a grasp on what to do, let’s get started. Before that, I have something to talk about with Shizu alone, so I’ll go out for a bit. Hyungnim Agasshi, eat slowly. Yu Jin-ri, try to get closer to Hyungnim Agasshi.”

“Mm!”

“Of course. She’s the boss I’ll be serving from now on, and also a patient I need to treat.”

There’s plenty of time to talk with Shizu. It’ll take a long time for Eris to finish eating since she ordered three bowls, saying she’d die eating.

But how does she eat all that? It’s just amazing that it all fits in that tiny body.

“Then let’s go, Hyeon-woo-nim.”

Feeling mystified by Eris’s body, I went outside with Shizu. After eating soup rice, I felt like smoking, so I put one in my mouth.

“Does Shizu-ssi smoke too?”

“I don’t. Please smoke without minding me.”

I lit the cigarette and took a puff while asking.

“Will you tell me now what you wanted to talk about earlier?”

The exhaled smoke enveloped the surroundings hazily, and Shizu, as always, started talking in a weak voice.

“It’s about why Eris-nim’s intelligence has dropped like that.”

There was a reason for that?

“Eris-nim wasn’t originally such a stupid and simple person. Despite her young age, she was an incredibly thoughtful person who was careful about every action.”

And the following story was quite shocking.