Chapter 23: The Elf’s Wait

While Marlow was experimenting with her abilities in the Solution Cave, Lumina quickly noticed that something was wrong — Mushroom Miss was much more well-behaved today than usual.

The elf, who was leaning against a tree trunk with nothing to do, gazed into the distance, lost in thought.

‘It hasn’t been this quiet in a long time.’

She often spent her time alone at the academy. It was not because she was eccentric or liked solitude, but simply because she had very few friends.

‘Well, I don’t have even one friend…’ the elf thought miserably.

She was like a mushroom growing in a dark and damp corner, waiting for someone to dig her out and discover her value with an, ‘Oh, it’s a rare mushroom that can be sold for a high price on the market. What luck.’

That was exactly why she had no friends.

Not only did she not take the initiative to make friends, but she was also afraid of strangers, and she would even shamefully run away when others reached out with kindness.

As such, it was not surprising that she had ended up as a lonely weirdo.

Lumina was well aware of her problems and had tried to change. She originally thought the practical assessment arranged by the academy would be a good opportunity, but who could have known that such an accident would occur in the end?

However, while she had not found a friend, she had gained a mushroom.

Mushroom Miss had appeared directly inside her body. In a sense, their relationship had been at a negative distance from the very beginning.

‘I have you within me… there probably isn’t anyone closer in the entire world,’ the elf thought strangely. Perhaps because it was unavoidable, she had no choice but to face Marlow directly.

Thanks to this, it was the first time she realized she could speak properly when facing a stranger.

She had spoken a long string of words smoothly in one breath without a single stumble.

In her original imagination, this should have been very difficult.

Once she could accept the presence of the mushroom, she discovered that Mushroom Miss was a noisy mushroom.

The other party sought her out to talk at all times, filled with curiosity about everything like an innocent child. Consequently, her ears were often filled with the questioning voice of Mushroom Miss.

It was a voice that sounded very cheerful, with a slight lilt at the end of her sentences, as if someone had placed a hand on her shoulder and casually asked what she was eating today.

It felt quite nice.

However, Marlow was not just curious; she would also express her own views on issues. At those times, she was like a wise scholar, her speech filled with philosophy and wisdom.

The mushroom’s viewpoints made a lot of sense.

When this thought emerged in her mind, she was startled by her own idea. After reflecting for a moment, she threw those thoughts to the back of her mind, treating them as the devil’s allure.

Now, the world was quiet, but she seemed a bit unaccustomed to it.

Habit really was a terrifying thing.

Thinking about it carefully, she was not just a pure listener.

Not only was Marlow talking, but Lumina would also occasionally communicate and converse with her because the mushroom asked to learn the Human Common Language.

Yes, just like friends.

Like those pairs of friends in the academy who talked and laughed together.

Could they be considered friends?

Probably not. Friends should be equal, and the forceful Mushroom Miss was always bullying the weak her.

She could tell the mushroom enjoyed it, and nothing was worse than that. But sometimes, the other party would show an unexpected attitude.

Marlow would apologize to her. Although her apology was incredibly awkward, like a proud swan refusing to bow its head, she did indeed lower her posture.

Recalling the way they interacted, excluding certain extreme incidents, most of the time they treated each other as equals. It was natural and made one feel very comfortable.

A slight smile hung on the elf’s face; perhaps she herself had not realized she was smiling.

Lumina changed to a more comfortable position, shifting from leaning on her back to lying on her side. Platinum-white points of light gathered on the staff she held loosely, and the prepared magic shot diagonally toward the sky.

With the mushroom assisting in replenishing her mana recovery, she did not have to live as frugally as she had in the past. Therefore, she could luxuriously cast magic for practice to accumulate experience.

It was not just Marlow who was practicing skills; she was too. Everyone was very diligent, and everyone wanted to improve their strength.

Marlow was not actually wrong. It was just that the number of spores had suddenly become too many, making it incredibly difficult for her to breathe smoothly.

As long as the amount of spores was reduced, she could endure it. Therefore, there was no need for Marlow to give up on practicing her skills.

‘I’ll just say that later.’

She simply felt that not allowing Marlow to practice her skills was too unfair; it was definitely not because she felt unaccustomed to the sudden lack of noisy sounds.

‘It must be that.’

After defining her behavior in her heart, Lumina called out softly, “Marlow, Mushroom Miss?”

The familiar voice did not ring out in her mind. It was silent all around, empty as if everything from the past few days was just a false memory she had imagined.

“Marlow?”

The elf continued to call out.

Only this time, a trace of almost imperceptible panic was added to her soft voice.

Habit really was terrifying.

Because they were so familiar, she had taken their time together for granted, to the point where she had never thought about what would happen if Mushroom Miss was gone.

The elf felt her heart was in a very complicated state. Obviously, it would be a good thing for her if the mushroom was gone — she would not have to worry about the mysterious consciousness in her body, she would not have to fear malicious threats, and she would not have to worry about Marlow being discovered by outsiders.

Yet, she was a bit reluctant to let go.

Perhaps Marlow was the only person she had who was like a friend.

Maybe Mushroom Miss did not agree, and it was just her own wishful thinking, but she had to admit that she might be unable to leave the mushroom now.

“Marlow, are you still there?”

Mushroom Miss was just a consciousness. When her voice could not be heard, she seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind.

No, there were traces. This was not a false nightmare; she still had evidence to prove reality:

The Milky White Mycelium distributed under her skin even more densely than her blood vessels, and the tiny mushroom on her head that looked like a hairpin.

Lumina reached her hand toward the top of her head.

“If you don’t come out, I’m going to touch it.”

‘I should be able to touch this, right? There won’t be any problems, will there?’

Although she was desperate to find Marlow, the elf still had some psychological trauma regarding the mushroom on her head.

“Please, come back quickly. It was my fault. It’s my problem that I couldn’t get used to the spores. Everything is my fault. If you’re angry, I’ll apologize properly. Being alone is really…”

“Huh?”

Just as she switched back from her other screen, Marlow heard the elf’s incredibly spineless muttering.

To be honest, she had only seen words like that in abstract internet memes. She had never thought that someone would reveal their feelings so sincerely, causing a bit of sympathy to rise in her heart.

“Marlow?”

“Ahem, I’m here.”

“Where did you go? No matter how I called, you didn’t answer.”

The elf’s tone was filled with a little bit of complaint but also a hint of relief. However, she quickly panicked again and hurriedly checked with Marlow.

“You didn’t hear what I just said, did you?”

“Of course I was resting and sleeping. Did you say something just now? I might not have heard clearly since I just woke up. What’s the matter?”

Even if the elf was trustworthy, Marlow would not expose the matter of her other body. After all, it was a matter of life and death, and her trump card could not afford any carelessness.

However, the elf was easy to fool, so there was no need to worry about her randomly made-up excuse being seen through.

“Ah, is that so?” Lumina’s eyes flickered a bit. “It’s nothing.”

‘Do mushrooms need to sleep?’ She felt that Mushroom Miss was fooling her again.

But she could not press for more details, just as Marlow would not ask about the embarrassing things she had just said.

Friends needed a graceful exit and tolerance.

“Could it be that you felt scared alone while I was resting? It’s fine. If you’re really scared, just say it. I won’t laugh at you.”

“You heard it, you definitely heard it! Who — who was scared? I was just worried because you hadn’t spoken for a while.”

Lumina flusteredly defended herself.

“So you were worrying about me? That’s quite surprising,” the mushroom’s voice said, full of teasing.

“N-No! I just thought it was a bit unfair not to let you practice your skills. After all, you’re a narrow-minded person. Yes, that’s it.”

Uh, she was narrow-minded?

So the elf was just afraid that she might seek revenge, which was why she was being so humble…

‘Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. She’s just a child. Children say silly things…’ Damn it, she was obviously such a generous person.

“Didn’t you say before that you were tired of eating mushrooms? Perfect. Break time is over, it’s time to work hard. Let’s go back and get the Steward Map.”

She commanded the elf.

“No, how could I ever get tired of mushrooms?”

Lumina muttered in a low voice, glaring fiercely at the Purple Mushrooms around her, as if imagining them as a certain character and swallowing them whole.

“Being able to go back and get the Steward Map is good news, but do we really have the strength to return to the Cavern Area?”