Overgeared Chapter 1119:
“W-Why is Captain holding a hand plow?”
“Piaro is a farmer . ”
“Y-You’re retired . . . ”
Amelda had experienced firsthand over the past decades about how terrible and precarious the life of a fugitive was . Broken limbs were a common occurrence, and she had crossed the road of death many times . Piaro was the main traitor, so his life must’ve been more terrible than theirs . . .
‘He would’ve been seriously injured . He can’t hold a sword again . . . ’
Tears welled up in Amelda’s eyes . She resented Mercedes’s good-will lies in which she had said Piaro was well . Mercedes should have been honest, no matter how harsh the truth was . Then she would’ve been mentally prepared .
Flinch .
Amelda temporarily lost her mind in the midst of this absurd situation . She was shedding tears like chicken **** when the rafflesia on Piaro’s shoulder moved . It started to struggle frantically .
-Puraaaaaaaah!
“Ugh!”
The rafflesia glowed as it screamed, and Grid’s face paled . The scream tore at his ears, and the horrible stench caused all sorts of status abnormalities .
“He woke up surrounded by ugly people, so it is natural for it to be frightened . ” Noll clicked his tongue like he understood the rafflesia’s reaction .
By then, Noll had already fled far away . The vampires were a race with well-developed olfactory senses, and he simply couldn’t stand the stench of the rafflesia . Grid and Mercedes were at the forefront of the group . A black-haired man with fierce eyes and a white-haired woman with calm eyes pulled out their swords at the same time, looking strangely well-matched .
“Devote yourself to recovery . Teruchan, you retreat as far as Noll . ”
“Grruk . A warrior doesn’t run away . . . Kweek . ”
“Teruchan has fainted!”
“My Liege, leave him to me and concentrate on the enemy in front of you . ”
“I will trust you, Asmophel . ”
Grid stared at the rafflesia and left his confused colleagues behind .
‘This is our chance . ’
Piaro had said it . He had dug at the ground while the rafflesia was sleeping . Noll had spoken about how flustered it would be to see the handsome Grid after waking up . That’s right . The rafflesia was relatively unprotected . Now was the time to decide the winner and loser .
Mercedes nodded when she read Grid’s gaze . They recalled their fighting sense and were about to jump forward at the same time .
“Huhu, you are surprised . ” Piaro smiled graciously and stroked the head (?) of the rafflesia . Then something amazing happened .
-Purah . . . ? The rafflesia stopped screaming . The mouth full of sharp teeth dropped open, and it cocked its head (?) in a puzzled manner as it was stroked by Piaro .
“Cute guy . Don’t worry . No one will hurt you . Huh?” Piaro’s expression stiffened . He found that the thickness of the rafflesia’s stem wasn’t uniform and that one part was swollen . “Oh, did you eat something wrong?”
-Pura? The rafflesia was baffled by the warm touch it felt for the first time and shook its head . This fellow couldn’t understand the human language at all . Still, the rafflesia could feel it for some reason . This human being was worried about it . . . No, he was trying to kill it .
-Kieeeek! The vigilant rafflesia screamed . It was because Piaro suddenly squeezed its neck (?) .
“Just put up with it a little bit . Kuoong!” Piaro whispered to the frantically struggling rafflesia while holding its stem, putting strength into his arms and back as he squeezed to the point of turning red . Piaro folded his waist backward and put the rafflesia upside down on the ground . It was an impeccable German suplex .
“ . . . ?”
“ . . . ?”
Piaro had treated the rafflesia kindly, so Grid and Mercedes stopped their attack in a baffled manner . Doing a German suplex after assuring it that no one would hurt it . . . ?
‘Is this a new monster-hunting strategy?’
Of course, this method worked because it was a plant-type monster . Piaro was a legendary farmer and could interact with plants, so he might’ve used this ability .
‘Is it efficient?’
Grid should also try it . The moment that he thought this . . .
Cough, cough!
Waves started to occur in the stem of the upside-down rafflesia . A foreign substance in the stem moved little by little and reached the petals of the rafflesia .
“Good . You’ve endured it well,” Piaro praised the rafflesia and once again embraced the stem, pulling it out of the ground . Then the stem tightened and something amazing happened .
-Purururururur! The rafflesia screamed and started to vomit . A foreign matter emerged from the stem and along with a rancid essence . The identity of the foreign matter was just as Grid expected .
“Beniyaru!”
Beniyaru of the 12 Te had been eaten by the rafflesia . She was covered by a sticky white liquid as she woke up .
“Huh . . . ”
Piaro took off his clothes and covered the naked Beniyaru . He then placed the staggering rafflesia, who had lost its nutrients, onto his shoulder and supported Beniyaru at the same time .
“Are you okay?”
“You . . . ”
The smell of warm soil, a strong voice that was like the roots of a giant tree, and eyes as gentle as the sun in the sky . . .
Beniyaru naturally knew this person’s identity .
“Piaro . . . ”
A ‘real man’ who was unlike the weak and despicable elf men . . . A person who showed things through action, not words—he had saved her once again . Beniyaru was embraced by Piaro’s wide chest and started to cry . She wasn’t ashamed that a member of the 12 Te had been saved by a human . Rather, she just wanted to lean on someone at least once .
“ . . . ” Piaro silently patted Beniyaru’s back . A woman who had repeatedly suffered pain over the years—she had been pretending to be strong, but today she was exceptionally pitiful to Piaro .
Meanwhile, Grid was facing a notification window .
[The quest ‘Search’ has been cleared . ]
[Affinity with the world tree has risen slightly as a reward for clearing the quest . There is a feeling that it won’t be long before you receive a new blessing from the world tree . ]
[You have reached the maximum affinity with Beniyaru as a reward for clearing the quest . Beniyaru will listen to anything all your requests . The only exception is a proposal . ]
‘Is this good?’
Who was the one proposing? Maybe she was overly conscious because of her looks . She was slightly less pretty than Mercedes . Grid inwardly grumbled due to his pride before bursting out laughing .
‘Why would I go after Piaro’s girl in the first place?’
Grid saw the way Piaro was holding Beniyaru tightly in his arms .
‘Now it is really . . . It is good now . ’
There was a warm smile on Grid’s face as infinite emotions and happiness filled his heart . Piaro, who had been bound by vengeance in the past, wanted to start loving again . Grid would support Piaro as his king, friend, and disciple .
‘Khan . ’
Grid looked up at the blue sky . It was to hide his flowing tears .
‘Are you watching?’
They were living with the warmth of the heart Khan had left behind .
***
In the elf village, the always barefoot elves hugged Beniyaru, who had returned safely . In particular, a female elf with a round face was crying with a runny nose . It was Deruyaru . Unlike the other members of the 12 Te, she didn’t care about her dignity .
“The reason the rafflesia only appears in the world the moment it catches its prey is because it is dangerous to be exposed to the air for a long time . They are forced to live deep in the ground . Their hunting opportunities are few, so they spend as much time digesting the prey as possible . It is safe to say they are always in hibernation apart from when capturing prey . ”
Deruyaru explained why Beniyaru was able to survive despite being eaten by the rafflesia .
“It hasn’t gone extinct for a long time due to its caution and habit of hibernation . ”
“Huh, poor child . ”
-Pura . . .
Grid was convinced by the new facts while Piaro looked relaxed . He stroked the rafflesia on his shoulder .
. . . No, was it going to die? Grid noticed that the leaves of the rafflesia were noticeably withered . A monster dropped experience and items after death . This was good for Grid but what about Piaro? The moment that Grid thought this . . .
“My Liege,” Piaro spoke with a serious expression, “I have a request . ”
“A request?” Grid snorted like a bull . This was a request from Piaro, who was always sacrificing himself . Grid was happy and excited because he took it as proof that Piaro had completely opened his heart . “Just say it . I’ll listen to all your requests . ”
Gulp . Beniyaru didn’t know why, but she swallowed her saliva . It seemed she was expecting something .
Piaro hesitated for a long time before saying, “I want to take this child to the Overgeared Kingdom and raise him . ”
“ . . . ” Beniyaru’s expression cooled down .
Grid was flustered . “A man-eating plant?”
“He is a very intelligent child . He won’t hurt people if I educate him well . ”
“Why do you want to raise it?”
“That . . . Hum hum, he is a tough child who lives in the ground . This child obviously has the ability to adapt to the soil he is rooted in, and the change will surely be positive . The fact that the World Tree’s Forest is called the largest and most fertile land in the world is evidence of this . ”
“Isn’t the land here fertile due to the world tree?”
“ . . . Additionally, if I educate this child, it can act against intruders . It will be the protector of the farmers . ”
“Yes . ”
“ . . . Huh?”
“Raise it . ”
“C-Can Captain really raise a monster?”
“Won’t you educate it thoroughly? I believe in you . ”
“My Liege . . . !”
Piaro’s real intentions had already been revealed . So cute . That’s what he wanted to raise it . This was sufficient for Grid . To be honest, Grid couldn’t understand this person’s taste, but he wanted to listen to Piaro’s wishes . He wished for Piaro to be happy from now on . Just then . . .
-It might seem ugly from a human point of view, but the rafflesia is a good child, unlike his appearance . In the first place, he guards the forest against evil-minded intruders, the world tree voice echoed . Her (?) warm voice restored the spirit and stamina of Grid’s group that had gone through many incidents . -He has been lonely for a long time, but it is good that he has now met a kind master .
“Ah . ”
This was why the world tree wanted to find the rafflesia rather than killing it . Grid was feeling enlightened when the world tree spoke .
-Thank you . The Hero King saves my children every time . I have many expectations for you .
“ . . . ”
The words that would’ve been a compliment in the past just added a burden on Grid’s shoulders . The Goddess of Light had built the land above the roots of the world tree . How happy would he have been to be praised by the mother-like being involved in the creation of the world? However, today’s Grid was calm .
“My dear colleagues almost died . ” Grid had something he wanted to say . “I know that you cherish the elves with a mother’s heart . I am naturally grateful to be able to help Mother and the elves . Despite this, I refuse to be sacrificed by the elves’ actions . ”
“ . . . ” All the elves shouting about the disrespect to their mother fell silent .
They noticed what Grid was trying to say .
“The elves occupied all the forests in the continent, and the human forces started to fight back, sweeping us up in it . Of course, I know why the elves occupied the forests . You wanted to defend the nature that has been exploited by humans for human years and to call out the rights of the elves . You wanted to create a place for conversation with the humans . But what was the result?”
Violence called for more violence . The elves’ lack of sociality was something that should never be overlooked .
Remiyaru, one of the 12 Te, stepped forward . “Our hero and benefactor, what is it that you want to say?”
The question came from pure curiosity rather than antipathy . Grid’s answer was simple . “In the future, the elves should report to me before they do anything . ”
“What . . . ” The elves were agitated . This was no different from a subjugation . It was similar to the attitude of the Saharan Empire in the distant past .
“Are you going to set the policy of the elves?”
“No, I just want to give you some advice . There are many smart people around me . They will be able to give you a better direction . ”
“ . . . ”
The elves had experienced working with Grid once and knew it instantly . The current Grid wasn’t speaking falsehoods . There were no pretensions . He was doing this for the elves . Furthermore, he was just giving them a suggestion .
Deruyaru nodded in response . “I think it is good!”
Beniyaru agreed . “We can’t act like this anymore . ”
The other elves had similar reactions .
“We don’t know humans . ”
“Wouldn’t it be better to establish formal diplomatic relations?”
“I wish to reside in the Overgeared Kingdom for a mutual exchange . ”
“Beniyaru yourself?”
“Yes, that is what I wish for . ”
“ . . . ”
Grid had a hunch that he would gain new colleagues .