Level Eater

Chapter 81: Changing hands, Changing tastes

The smell of cooking meat wafted through the air once more, causing the hungry trio to gaze at the meat as if they were about to drool. In fact, Salva was already drooling.

Worried about how long he had gone without eating while observing his eager reaction, Tatsuro handed Salva the first piece of cooked meat.

"No, I'll have it last. Give it to Jema first." (Salva)

"You don't have to act all cool after drooling so much, big brother." (Jema)

"Yeah, it's the opposite. It's pretty uncool, actually." (Catherine)

"Ugh." (Salva)

Salva desperately tried to maintain a big brother-like demeanour, but due to his lack of convincing power, he was at a disadvantage.

"That's right. Go ahead and eat first. The others' portions will be ready soon." (Tatsuro)

"I-I'm sorry." (Salva)

Tatsuro finished cooking the remaining two portions of meat, placed them on plates, and then approached Salva, who seemed to be making a fuss about something.

"Is something wrong?" (Tatsuro)

"Well big brother started raving about how delicious it is as soon as he took a bite" (Jema)

"Oh, I see. Well, it seems like the seasoning this time was a success, so even without that, it should taste better than usual on an empty stomach." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah." (Ai)

This time, the seasoning was simple, with just a bit of spice and the right amount of salt, but the unique flavour of the spice added a nice touch. Ai was still enjoying the meat with relish.

While watching her eat, Tatsuro also handed some meat to Jema and Catherine. The aroma captivated their senses when they held it in their hands, and their gazes were fixed on the meat. After giving a word of thanks to me, they took a bite.

"It's delicious." (Jema)

"Mmm" (Catherine)

Catherine unconsciously let out a sound of delight at the deliciousness of the meat. Jema, on the other hand, seemed particularly fond of it as she leaned back for a moment before eagerly devouring the meat.

After a short while, Salva and the others quickly finished eating, and Jema asked Tatsuro a question.

"Um, I've never had such delicious meat before! What kind of meat is this?" (Jema)

"Huh? What kind of meat? It's dragon meat. Didn't you earn the title |Dragon Eater| or something like that?" (Tatsuro)

"""Dragon!?"""

Their eyes widened so much that it seemed like their eyeballs might fall out. Tatsuro stepped back as he felt their gaze bearing down on him.

Finally realizing how they must have looked at him, they all took a deep breath to calm themselves down.

"Dragon meat Is it really okay to casually feed us such a high-quality delicacy? No wonder it's so delicious." (Salva)

"Yeah, if it were us, we could have had something cheaper." (Catherine)

"Don't worry about it. There's still plenty left." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, besides, we don't have any decent food supplies other than this." (Ai)

With Tatsuro and Ai's words, they realized that they were dealing with individuals who were far removed from them. A large quantity of dragon meat meant a high likelihood of defeating a dragon. Furthermore, Tatsuro had mentioned the title |Dragon Eater|. They were now confident that Tatsuro held this title.

{Did they suddenly start looking at us with sparkling eyes?} (Tatsuro)

{Yeah, they did. I wonder what's going on.} (Ai)

Tatsuro and Ai were confused as they conversed using telepathy; how the three people viewed them had clearly changed.

For adventurers, being a Dragon Slayer was a prestigious status and a dream title for anyone aspiring to become an adventurer. Salva and the others were deeply moved by the fact that such an individual was right before them.

However, the two who didn't know about this continued with their chores, unaware until the end. They felt uncomfortable under the envious gaze and began tidying up.

After efficiently finishing the cleanup, they congratulated Jeanne for her hard work and playfully embraced her, or rather, playfully piled on top of her.

While they were doing this, they suddenly felt someone's gaze, so they turned around. They made eye contact with Jema, who had a jealous expression. She quickly averted her gaze and pretended it was nothing. However, when Ai gestured to her, she timidly approached and let Jeanne touch her.

"She's quite large. And she seems to get along well with you two." (Jema)

"She's our pride and joy." (Ai)

"Hehe, I see. Maybe I should aim to become a tamer too." (Jema)

As Ai and Jema enjoyed their friendly conversation, they played with Jeanne for a while, and then all got back into the carriage.

"We're ready to go! Everyone, take your seats!" (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, we're all seated, big bro!" (Salva)

"Oh right Then, Jeanne!" (Tatsuro)

"Neigh!" (Jeanne)

After feeding Jeanne dragon meat, Salva had started calling Tatsuro "big bro." Although Tatsuro was still not used to this term, he didn't mind since it wasn't an insult. Without any corrections, he had Jeanne start moving.

Perhaps because Jeanne still was not used to the current load, there was a noticeable shake, but it gradually gained speed.

As the afternoon passed and it became evening in terms of time, they eventually parked the vehicle in a location off the main road after an unexpectedly uneventful journey.

When the carriage stopped, everyone disembarked, and, as usual, they cooked five portions of dragon meat. Salva and the others reluctantly accepted it for their dinner.

When Tatsuro suggested lending them a tent for sleeping, Salva and the rest declined, preferring to sleep on the ground, as the weather was nice. Tatsuro thought it would be pushy to insist on giving them a tent, so he agreed. They also considered that even if thieves or monsters were to come, Cardina would be on guard all night, so they should be safe unless something unusual happened.

Once they had prepared for sleep, they wanted to bathe, but Tatsuro wished to keep his water magic ability a secret. Therefore, this time, he settled for quietly wiping himself with a damp cloth inside the vehicle's private compartment.

"In the end, I'd like to make it a more comfortable living space. A kitchen, a toilet, and a bath would be great." (Tatsuro)

"It would be just like a camping car. But it sounds like it would be a lot of work for Jeanne." (Ai)

"If I can raise my dark magic level even further, acquire more advanced transformations, raise my level as a mana-based life form, and obtain sturdier and lighter materials than iron, it shouldn't be impossible." (Tatsuro)

"Meeting those conditions sounds like a challenge in itself." (Ai)

Tatsuro was speaking idealistically, and it was partly in jest. His main goal was to return to Japan, not to aim for a comfortable life. Nevertheless, the two of them continued to chat about how convenient it would be if they could achieve such a setup until they fell asleep.

After about five hours of sleep, Tatsuro woke up to the sound of Jeanne tapping the carriage with her beak.

(What is going on?) Tatsuro thought

Tatsuro quickly synchronized with Cardina's magic to assess the situation and woke Ai up with life magic.

(Five people are walking along the road, heading in our direction. They might not be thieves, but just in case, arm yourselves and stay awake.) he thought

"What's wrong, Tatsuro?" (Ai)

"There are five people walking towards us along the road. I just want to be cautious." (Tatsuro)

"Understood." (Ai)

Using telepathy and mental transmission, Tatsuro shared information with Ai in detail. Then, they both exited their carriage and used dark magic to hide the conspicuous vehicle's body so that it would not be easily seen.

The mysterious group of five people was walking towards them briskly, occasionally stopping and starting, displaying strange behaviour along the way.

"I wonder what's going on." (Ai)

"I don't know. They don't seem like regular adventurers or merchants" (Tatsuro)

As they were discussing this, the group had come quite close. They then stopped again, wandered around, and eventually retraced their steps.

"They're going back the way they came." (Tatsuro)

"I wonder what they were trying to do?" (Ai)

"I'm not sure, but they might be scouts for the thieves." (Tatsuro)

"So, does that mean they found us?" (Ai)

"I'm not sure about us, but they might have found the three outside. Well, if we were on the road, we would probably be spotted eventually, so I'm thankful they took action like this. It means we can be prepared if anything happens." (Tatsuro)

They wanted to avoid direct confrontation as much as possible, but this road was the most comfortable route to Lyadas. They didn't want to rush through rough, uncharted territory, so they preferred to break through it, even if it required some force. Knowing in advance that something might be waiting for them made it easier to be cautious.

"Well, it looks like they've gone quite far away now. Let's investigate a bit." (Tatsuro)

"What are you going to investigate?" (Ai)

"They stopped in various places and walked around unnaturally. They might have set traps." (Tatsuro)

"But if they do that, won't it endanger everyone passing through here? If they set traps, it could become clear that it was their doing, and the existence of thieves might be exposed before we can do anything." (Ai)

"Well, we don't know for sure if there are traps yet. And even if there are, it might mean they can't afford to stay and wait over there" (Tatsuro)

As they talked, Tatsuro dispelled the dark magic and, along with Cardina, used detection magic to meticulously check for any traps or dangerous objects in the area.

Within a radius of 100 meters alone, they discovered eighteen traps.

Once they identified the locations, Tatsuro descended from the carriage. The three who had been sleeping nearby seemed to have sensed something and were already awake. They made eye contact, then gestured for them to stay where they were before walking over to the area with traps.

"It's here." (Tatsuro)

"They really did set traps. What kind of traps are they?" (Ai)

"They seem to be spring-loaded traps. And there's a faint magical presence in one of them, but it seems to be purely mechanical." (Tatsuro)

Saying this, Tatsuro handed Ai a chunk of earth, adjusted to weigh around 40 kilograms using earth magic.

"What should I do with this?" (Ai)

"Throw it lightly to the spot I indicate." (Tatsuro)

"Sure thing." (Ai)

Tatsuro used light magic to create a ring of light to mark the range of the traps. Once that was done, Ai tossed the chunk of earth toward the marked area.

The chunk of earth fell right into the centre of the ring of light, making a dull sound upon impact. Then, thirty-centimetre-long spikes shot up from the ground, piercing through the chunk of earth. The spikes were covered in a clear, viscous liquid.

Tatsuro suspected it might be poison and immediately used dispelling magic to examine the viscous liquid. It turned out to be a powerful adhesive, not poison. Moreover, it had already solidified on the spikes, firmly attaching itself to the chunk of earth.

"It seems that when a certain weight is applied, the spikes shoot up. Once they pierce something, the adhesive makes it stick firmly in place, making it hard to remove." (Tatsuro)

"That's pretty intense." (Ai)

"Even if you can heal the wounds with [Life Magic], it's likely to leave a trauma." (Tatsuro)

Saying that Tatsuro approached one of the traps that had a faint magical reaction out of the eighteen.

Next, he took out an iron ingot and used a combination of earth and dark magic to create a large wall. Then, he used water magic at the trap's location to create a thick layer of water, resembling a water tank, and covered it.

After that, he created another chunk of earth and handed it to Ai, then used mental transmission to indicate the location within the water. Ai threw the chunk of earth over the iron wall, making it fall into the water below like a gentle slope.

The chunk landed with a splash in the thick layer of water.

Once he confirmed this, Tatsuro used magic to create a flow of water inside the water tank and pushed the chunk of earth out of the water using earth magic.

A conical object emerged from the ground one second later and opened up like an unfolding diagram. Suddenly, wind was generated within the water, and sharp fragments scattered.

Ultimately, the fragments didn't reach where Tatsuro and Ai were; they only flew out a few pieces from the thick layer of water before dissipating.

"It seems that after a certain weight is applied, this conical object pops out, activating wind magic powered by a magical liquid inside it, which scatters these pieces we placed inside." (Tatsuro)

"The power itself doesn't seem to be that significant, but it would hurt if it hit an unprotected area." (Ai)

"Yeah, if it hit your eyes, it could potentially cause blindness." (Tatsuro)

After finishing the investigation, including practical experiments to better understand the traps, Tatsuro used earth magic to remove all traces of the traps from the ground. Then, he disarmed them and stored the traps in his [Item Box] for future trap research.