Creak—
The sound entered the room. Norris’s eyes snapped open.
He executed a perfect carp-leap off the bed, rolled away from his original spot, and instantly assumed a combat stance.
At the same time he reached mentally for his Jida, but got no response.
Back against the guest-room wall, Norris warily scanned the empty space.
Only after a moment did he realize this wasn’t the far-north mushroom garden; this was the Puchi House in surface-level Mushroom Capital.
Karen and the Jida weren’t here. The earlier noise had just been another guest walking past in the hallway.
He awkwardly dropped his stance, relieved no one had seen his embarrassment.
Morning light already filtered through the curtains. Though he had been startled awake, this was still the best sleep he’d had in ages.
Stepping onto the balcony, warm sunlight, so different from the far-north’s pale rays, seemed to melt away days of exhaustion.
To be honest, Norris had considered just giving up resistance.
The Boss only enjoyed prey that kept struggling. Right now, if he just refused leave a few more days, he’d probably break.
Yet the Boss always granted leave at exactly that moment.
The Boss enjoyed the process, not the result. This was the experience Norris had painfully learned.
So as long as he acted like a dead fish and accepted everything, the Boss’s attention would quickly shift elsewhere.
After all, even if he surrendered, he wouldn’t lose a chunk of flesh.
But if he really did that, something inside him would vanish.
Still, Norris didn’t resent the Boss for it. He knew he could afford such worries only because he had no other worries left.
No hunger, no debt, no threat to his life.
Back in his miner days, if he could have cleared his debts with so little, he would have fought others for the chance.
He slapped his cheeks to drive away the jumbled thoughts.
This was vacation. No point thinking about troublesome things.
Downstairs, he greeted Dylan and the waitress who flashed past, then left the Puchi House.
Though his main goal was to sleep well topside, he couldn’t spend several days of leave just in bed.
In his money pouch jingled ten gold coins exchanged with contribution points; to him, an extravagant sum he couldn’t spend in days even if he tried.
Norris first headed to the Rotten Willow Tavern.
Mute Wind Town had upgraded to Mushroom Capital. By regulation, the Rotten Willow had changed from wood to stone brick.
But the atmosphere hadn’t shifted much; at most, mushroom farmers had become another major customer base.
Here, Norris ordered the honey-glazed snake meat he had missed last time.
The first bite, however, filled his face with disappointment.
It wasn’t bad, but to someone who now ate high-grade delicious mushrooms daily, this “luxury” dish he had once craved for months was now merely passable.
Norris sighed, understanding it was inevitable. This was just normal food. How could it compare to “delicious”?
He had simply romanticized the memory; his expectations had far outstripped reality.
Though he no longer loved it, Norris ate every bite cleanly, as if checking an item off a life list.
Stomach full, he suddenly didn’t know what to do.
.
Looking at the clinking gold coins in his pouch, he realized he had no idea how to enjoy a vacation.
Thinking it over, the entertainment spots adventurers frequented didn’t suit him at all.
Food: nothing beat the mushroom garden’s meals.
Drinking: not his habit.
Brothels: he was still desperately fighting to preserve his chastity!
Gambling… he hated gambling most!
His entire miserable past was thanks to his gambling-addict father.
Listing it out, Norris suddenly discovered he had no idea how to relax.
He wandered the streets aimlessly, watching Puchi masters with their Puchis. Suddenly Mushroom Capital felt like nothing more than a bigger mushroom garden; the difference was the people here hadn’t realized it yet.
“Hey handsome, want to grab a drink together?”
“Handsome?”
Norris snapped out of it, looking at the female adventurer before him. It took him a moment to confirm she was talking to him.
After politely declining, he was still dazed.
No one had ever invited him like that before.
Passing a shop, he saw his blurred reflection in the glass and finally realized his current guise was rather attractive.
But the thought passed quickly.
This was just mimicry. The real him was a sharp-clawed, scale-covered, tailless lizardman.
He had slowly accepted that.
It wasn’t bad. Hard scales blocked werewolf claws. Sharp talons let him protect himself even without a Jida.
After wandering, Mushroom Capital had plenty of new sights, but Norris had no interest.
Just as he decided to return to the Puchi House, a familiar figure caught his eye.
“Lord Aidin!”
“Norris?! What are you doing here?”
The two were old acquaintances. Their first meeting: Norris mining, Aidin investigating Big Black Mushroom.
The status gap had been huge. A single gold coin casually given by Aidin had helped Norris immensely.
After both joined the mushroom garden and became colleagues, they had interacted a few times and got along well.
Learning Aidin was on a mission from the Boss, Norris decisively asked to join.
Aidin thought for a moment and agreed.
The mission wasn’t complex. A mushroom farm outside the city had recently been occupied by suspicious people.
Lin Jun had noticed them kidnapping many lately but couldn’t figure out their goal.
The farm’s basement was warded, blocking Lin Jun’s view inside.
He suspected dark mages performing abyssal rituals, but strangely none of the active members outside had [Abyssal Magic] on their panels. So he sent Aidin to investigate.
Aidin had planned to use illusions, stealth spells, and homemade concealment items to infiltrate. With Norris assisting, he had him provide external support in case of trouble.
No need to put Norris in danger; safety first.
But just as they prepared to move, another group reached the farm first.
Hiding in the woods, Norris narrowed his eyes at the distant backs of Vera and her party, frowning deeply.
(End of Chapter)
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