Chapter 148 – Elflandia
It was sudden.
Suddenly, a weight was placed on my shoulders. She wanted something, and suddenly Karen was asleep with her face resting on Netoru’s shoulder.
As she watched Karen fall asleep soundly like a child, Ceres, who was nearby, smiled wryly at her.
“······Karen must have been very tired.”
“I know.”
“What were you two talking about while I was away? The child came in crying.”
“···Just. I promised Karen that I would save Natsuo.”
“Ah···.”
Netoru’s answer made Ceres exclaim. Did the two of them make such a promise outside?
Since Netoru had just explained Natsuo’s condition, Ceres was also aware of the existence of parasites.
…However, the other members of the unit do not know this fact yet.
Because the situation was not fully resolved, it could only cause confusion. Perhaps, when the situation is stable, the other members of the unit will be informed of Natsuo’s condition.
“Natsuo was being manipulated by a bug… I didn’t even think about it. When the hell was that?”
“…Probably when the Death Worm attacked Prasion. That would have been the only time the bugs were able to contact Natsuo.”
“I guess it hasn’t been long.”
Despite being nearby, he never noticed that Natsuo was being parasitized by a bug. And the same goes for Karen and Netoru. If he had known, he couldn’t have left Natsuo alone.
“But Natsuo was completely unaware that she was being manipulated by a bug? It would have been nice if she had asked for help from those around her…”
“Well···. Could it be that I was induced into an accident by a bug?”
“Accident inducement?”
“A parasite would first try to control the thoughts of its host.”
It was not only a bug, but also a common occurrence in nature. Making the host move to the waterside naturally, or artificially causing the host to do something that was not previously done. The moment it starts parasitizing the host’s body, it controls the host’s behavior as it wishes.
Listening to Raon’s story, it seems that many elves suffered the same way. In fact, it is said that the reason why the ‘Rangers’ were captured alive by the bugs as a group was because of the sudden betrayal of a colleague.
One by one, parasites induce accidents, and in the end, their bodies are completely taken away so that they cannot even think properly. That must be why Raon and her husband became soulless pupils like dolls.
“But can we really get Natsuo back? In the first place, she doesn’t even know how to deal with that parasite…”
“You can’t just let go of it. We should try everything we can on this side. There’s an elf that’s being manipulated by a bug right here.”
Having said that, the four Toru hugged Karen, who was sleeping on her shoulder, and began to carefully lay her on the bed in the hospital room that remained next to her.
Then she looked at the elf who was quietly sleeping not far away.
Netoru, who had been comforting Karen outside, was now back in the hospital room with Raon and her husband.
It was because Raon had something to try.
#
Says Leon. It was said that the parasite resided in his magical nervous system. Then, wouldn’t she be able to confirm the existence of the parasite by accessing her magical nervous system?
“…So you want to check that elf’s magical nervous system yourself?”
“Okay. If you do well, you might find a parasite.”
Netoru stood next to the sleeping Raon. Currently, she is the same as she was when she first came to the unit. She is asleep, wearing a suit that exposes her naked body.
Pointy ears unique to elves and beautiful rust-colored hair that seemed to have been carved with the natural color. If you look closely, you can see that she is definitely a different race from ‘human’.
Should I say that the flavor is completely different? Netoru, who was fascinated by that, quietly observed Raon’s face.
In fact, today was the first time Netoru had ever seen an elf in person. I’ve met her a few times before, but at that time, everyone was wearing a genital bottle.
“Aren’t you just staring at my face too much? No matter how much you say you’re asleep…”
Maybe she was uncomfortable with the four Toru who kept staring at her face. Ceres, who was next to her, grumbled with her eyes wide open. Netoru smiled at Ceres’ words and said,
“… Ceres. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he’s a married woman.”
“Are you a married woman?”
“Okay. The male elf next to you is your husband.”
“···Husband.”
At Netoru’s words, Ceres’ eyes turned to Kargon, who was on the bed next to Raon. She then nodded her head slightly and pulled the corners of her mouth.
“Huh… Is it so? If it’s a married woman…”
It’s okay to be at ease.
“What?”
“Ah, no… It’s nothing.”
When Netoru looked up at what he just said, Ceres blushed and avoided his gaze. Even so, she glanced at him and smiled awkwardly.
I don’t know what.
“Rather than that, Ceres. I guess I need some help.”
“Which one?”
“I think I need to take off my suit first. It is difficult to access the magical nervous system while wearing this.”
“So···. Did you call me?”
“What···. Yes. I can’t take it off myself, can I?”
“That is true. Anyway, then you’re looking back for a moment. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”
When Netoru turned around as Ceres said, he heard the sound of Raon taking off his suit.
“Isn’t it enough that only the imprint of the magical nervous system is revealed?”
“Huh.”
“Hmm. All right.”
Rustling rustling… The sound of something pulling up the hem of a blanket was heard, and Ceres spoke.
“That’s Okay. You can turn your back now.”
“·······”
When I turned around, I saw Raon, whose upper body had been stripped of his suit and covered with a blanket, revealing only the magical nervous system in his lower abdomen. The lower part of his hips came off, but the suit was still there.
“Is this enough? Should I take off more?”
“No, this is enough.”
It would be enough if only the mana nervous system was exposed anyway. Netoru stretched out his hand toward Raon’s exposed magical nervous system.
Then, along with the warmth, I could clearly feel the smooth skin texture on my fingertips.
No matter how much she says that Raon has a husband, she looks like a young woman in her late 20s. It’s because her elves don’t age particularly well.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she lives a lot longer than humans, but due to the nature of her race, aging doesn’t show much.
Then, how old is Raon’s real age? She was probably in her late thirties, roughly.
With that thought in mind, it was time to put a hand on Raon’s magical nervous system and to focus her consciousness. Beside her, Ceres murmured.
“…It’s strange other than the magical imprint, so I can’t touch it? Because I’ll be watching over you.”
“… Ceres. How do you see me I don’t think I’ve ever gone out so far as to make fun of a sleeping person.”
“Sure, I believe. Just in case you don’t know…”
Ceres, too, may have noticed that his attitude was strange just now, but he turned his head slightly and averted his gaze. Netoru smiled bitterly at Ceres’ reaction.
I don’t know why, but there was not a little feeling that Ceres’ behavior changed one by one after he slept with Kerene that day. Could there be something between the two?
…Anyway, Netoru closed his eyes and began to focus his consciousness on Raon’s mana nervous system through the hand he placed on Raon’s lower abdomen.
Magical power spreads slowly as if exploring an unknown territory that cannot be seen. Soon after, Netoru succeeded in accessing the magic nerve inside Raon’s body.
Of course, the magic nervous system of the elves was quite heterogeneous. Is it because of the different races? The structure is too different from the existing designs Netoru knew.
But that was good It is a new magical nervous system. It was a precious knowledge that raised the knowledge that I knew to the next level. Moreover, it is not an ordinary pilot, it is the ranger’s magical nervous system.
That’s why Netoru tried to put all of Raon’s magic nerve system in his head.
It will definitely be of great help when developing Karen’s or Ceres’ magical nervous system. In the case of Karen in particular, it may be possible to perform ranger-specific covert maneuvers.
Well, that was during that time.
─────!
“······This.”
The four Toru, who were following Raon’s magical nervous system, narrowed his brows.
An unknown chill ran across my spine, and I was like-. I felt like the cries of insects were tickling my ears.
If this was your first time, you’d wonder if it was just an hallucination. But Netoru had already experienced this. That was when he was clearly checking Natsuo’s body in the hospital room before and trying to help him recover.
“·······”
Realizing that, Netoru’s face hardened.
After all, there was already a bug in Natsuo’s body from then on. There was definitely an opportunity, but Netoru might not have realized it and missed it.
While feeling strong resentment at that fact, Netoru carefully checked Raon’s magical nervous system in search of signs of the bug he had just felt.
But it was impossible to find the bug he was hiding, as if it had just been a coincidence.
Netoru, who wondered what the reason was, immediately gave an answer.
Bugs continue to hide themselves, avoiding Netoru’s magical energy that traces Raon’s magical nervous system.
It seems that it is necessary to approach Raon’s magical nervous system more closely. You shouldn’t try to access it from the outside like this.
“… I guess this won’t work. I need to make a magic pass with Raon.”
“Magic pass?”
“Huh.”
Netoru cautiously bent over Raon and moved his head. The direction was Raon’s lips.
And Ceres, who was watching from the side, tugged at the hem of Netoru’s clothes with a surprised face.
“Yes? Now, wait a minute… Are you saying you’re going to kiss that elf right now…?”
“I guess I should.”
When Netoru nodded, Ceres, unable to hide her trembling eyes, strongly tugged on the hem of Netoru’s clothes and said,
“Ka, Kargon… Did you say Mr. Just in case you don’t know, let’s check that person out too!”
