My Parasite Skill System - Chapter 136
Ignoring the lost fingers: that funny table sure makes up for at least half of the charm of this place.
Having much more in length than in width, that special-looking desk also looked appealing to me.
Or rather, maybe it’s what’s up on the table that looks very fun and appealing to me.
What is even resting on it?
Little figurines?
Scrutinizing them closer … the figurines are supposed to be soldiers?
Would they be soldiers, though? I mean, if they’re soldiers, then how come there’s so little of them.
There aren’t that many. And soldiers are very many. So it doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t add up.
And what are they even doing the soldiers? Do they fight? Should I fight with them? Can I become a cool wooden figurine too, in order to just do that?
They’re all lying being displayed on the table. In almost all its length. They aren’t directly touching the table, though. I can see they’re resting on some sort of paper.
Some sort of drawing … or … oh, okay, that’s a map.
A very wide map. Probably.
The soldiers are of many sorts. Or rather, it’s the figurines who are. Many sorts of wooden shapes. Some aren’t even soldiers. Are these ones tiny wooden horses? Well, they are of many kinds.
And there are many tiny flags too.
Well, what did I tell you, ‘sober yet punching’ at the same time. That is full of wonders.
Hm … and my guesses are, you either got all this, Mrs. Royalty because it’s all very fun playing with these toys of yours along with your friends (maybe), or it’s a way to organize the battlefield, strategizing every move and everything.
That makes that wide board one very fun board either way, huh.
Of course it strikes me with those funny, interesting vibes, hm.
But anyway. That’s not what’s we’ve come all our way up to here for, I imagine.
What are we doing?
I and the princess were stopped. I, still standing by the entrance and only two steps in, and her, standing by that rustic longboard upon which were all sorts of strategies and whatnot.
Still observing our silence, I walked a few more steps in.
As I was barefoot, I had no luxury of overhearing any ‘tip, tap, tip, tap’ sounds coming from my walk.
Yet, it still emitted some sounds. The squalid feet rubbed across the wooden tiles sang a bit of a melody too.
Which I believe made her alert. She could overhear my footsteps behind herself.
Giving a start of her head, she also then proceeded on walking some more steps onward.
Hm. Observing that, I hesitantly stopped my feet again, then.
Is she afraid, or is she not, in the end?
She wouldn’t stop hers now, though.
And still pressing her thin, pale fingers across the wooden board, walking, she was going alongside it.
The strategic board proved to be very long, and she’d go to the other end of it, from the looks of it.
And … ah?
“Cheer up, myself,” she whispered.
Do you think I can’t hear you? Or are you that absent-minded, right now? Is that the effect I have on you, ma’am?
“I’ve already said I’d take care of ‘that’ … I’d do ‘that,’ eventually. Although I could only dream of it, up till now…”
Does she really think I can’t hear?
Or are my sharp senses teamed together with [Mana Perception] this efficient?
Her weak back and think shoulders were exposed, turned on me. With her fingers pressing down the wooden surface, she still walked on, whispering all the way.
“‘That’… my older brothers have done ‘that.’ They even proposed me if I wanted to recruit one … but hey, when I said ‘yes,’ they refused me … amusingly guffawing at me … the scoundrels!… ‘That’ could become the very powerful soldier I need in order to make Father proud … and to avoid all of this sore fate he’s prepared for me and ‘my princess-like future’. Yes, I could go with ‘that’ even when they refused it to me. I’d planned on getting myself by looking into that direction … but I could only dream of it up until now. … Now, the occasion is, as per miracle, on a silver platter, simply granted to me…? This is just what I need!… of course I will seize it!…”
Huh.
Okay.
Whatever you mumble to yourself, goofy person.
Has she made a habit out of this to that point, huh? To the point of even doing that? I guess when it’s other people, they can only see some mumbling and brooding person, going about thinking and thinking and thinking to herself.
That’s not what I see, though. I can hear. Not that I care, anyhow.
She was finally arriving at the end of the board of strategy. Rather than simply stroking her fingers upon the wood, they now repeatedly jabbed themselves into it.
She must be done with these whispers, hm.
Oh, no? She begins mumbling again. Well, let her enjoy her speech. I have all the time in the world. I can wait, I can wait.
“Should I really … do … though? Isn’t it a bit too … early…?”
–Giving a kick of her heel in the ground, tap! “don’t you chicken out now that you’ve come this far, Elina!… I got this!… I will prove myself worthy…! And so whether you believe me or not, my family…!”
–”Ahem!” and in an abrupt movement, she turned towards myself at once, “So I believe you must be understanding why you were brought here, correct?”
Her voice was slightly trembling, but I took no real notice of it.
I just thought we finally arrived here. Finally down to paying me attention, hm? She was standing by one end of this longboard, and I by the opposite end.
The spot where she’d let her white cape. I’d had time to walk up to it during the time she was being elsewhere.
It rendered the layout of things pretty symmetrical and neat.
To each end of that board, resting two refined chairs.
Behind each chair rested me, and her. Each on one side.
(Well, since I’m so tiny, I wasn’t really ‘behind’ it, but that’s just a detail, when I’ll grow up, I’ll be okay).
And we both faced each other.
Clearing her throat again, “Ahem. The reason why you–”
“Yes, ma’am,” I went on nodding my head. “I … understand … that I’m not a monster, and that I’m only here to trade my orc’s head for coins of silver, yes … or whatever you got in reserve for me actually, really, just wanna complete my quest and be done with it, ma’am … yes.”
That’s what I’d been here for. Just thought I’d let her know.
And in my momentum of motivation and decisiveness, exposing what had to be done, with a swing of my arm, I threw the sack of head on the board.
The white linen sack dived up through the air … before it evidently started to dive back down in it.
But, crap!
I didn’t think of the consequences of my act.
Thud!