Fugitive Poison User ~I Am Somehow Recovering in a World Full of Miasma~ - Chapter 46

Poison-Wielding Fugitive   Chapter 46
‘Perhaps because the lass is their creator, the food monsters are offering all the quintessence to her. And thus, thou gainest not.’

Aww… I don’t get anything because Arleaf cooked them up?
Well… it was a shot in the dark and I had nothing to lose anyway, so I can’t complain too much.

“I’m gonna go down to the sewers to check out what the situation is like.”
“Alright… for some reason, I feel like we have done something horrible. Perhaps Elbatoxin felt the same way too.”
“Hey, who knows?”

I don’t think you should compare yourself to that monster.
But still, a lot of people live in this town and we were just trying to help them with their problem. We didn’t do anything wrong… right?
In any case, Arleaf leveled up to level 63 in about two days.
It seems like she’s ready to change into an advanced job too, seeing the skill she got.

“Umm… one more thing. My Death-Beckoning Cooking has been upgraded to Terrifying Cooking that Laughs in the Face of Death…”
“Oh, uhh, I see. Sorry. I’ll tell Veno off for you.”
‘What does thou mean by that?! Thou thinkest capable of such a thing?! I am untouchable by the likes of you!’

I think he gets where Arleaf is coming from though.
And to think I was able to stomach her cooking too. That’s the part that really freaks me out.

I think it’s been about three days since we’ve released Arleaf’s cooking upon the sewers.
I’m in the middle of checking up on Wayne’s condition.

“Mu?”

Wayne feels his petrifying body through layers of bandage.

“I must say, though my skin feels soft now… for whatever reason, it quickly hardens back up.”

He doesn’t seem too positive, but at least now he’s able to move his body around better.
It seems to me like it’s working.

“Just a bit more to go.”

Veno’s diagnosis and prescription of my Mollifying Poison seems like it’ll cure Wayne.

“I wonder…”

Wayne seems as pessimistic about his situation as ever. I don’t think he thinks he’s getting better.

“Well, then, we’re going to head out now.”
“… hmph. What was it that y’all were up to? Killing the monsters in the sewer? Did it work?”
“Yes, all thanks to Arleaf’s cooking.”
“I see… no surprise there then.”

Please, do be surprised. For Arleaf’s sake, if anything…

“We’ll be cleaning up today, so we shall be home late.”
“Ah. I’ll be here.”

I headed down to the sewer after informing everybody first.
But before that, I checked on Arleaf to see if she had finished gaining experience.
And, almost a given, it was dead silent in the sewers but with a… stench of death lingering in the air.
… how horrifying.

Though it’s an idiom, it literally was dead silent. I could hear nothing but the sound of flowing water.
And even two days ago when I checked on the situation down here, the lack of noise from rats and critters was eerie.
What remained was only the limitless corpses strewn about.
All had remnants of foam at their mouths—a clear sign of very unnatural deaths.

I borrowed Veno’s powers to store up their remains.
As he has resistance to Arleaf’s cooking, what was left were the carcasses of the food monsters who all had completed their given task.
Naturally, the Poison Cooking were still as death as well.
It would be terrifying otherwise.

‘Hmph… a staggering amount of toxins coursed through the monsters’ veins until their death. Even I am hesitant to consume them. So, I shall dissect them instead.’

Well, of course. We need their body parts as proof of completion for the guildhall.
We could use their tails or something.
But… just what are you planning to do after dissecting them?

‘These large pieces of pelt shall prove to be practical. The problem is rigor mortis, which makes blood-draining impossible… but their corpses are as pliable as when they would be alive, making it possible to beautifully flay them. The lass’ cooking sure is formidable.’

I didn’t know skinning would be that easy. That’s kinda gross.

‘Hmm? There is still quintessence flowing through them, almost as if they are zombies?’

Whoa, hey. That’s a very ominous word I’m hearing.
Zombies? That can’t be good.

‘I know not of how the lass’ cooking would be after death. It would likely be wise for us to quickly store them up. We shall go hunt for every last one.’

Okay, okay.
Occasionally, we found food monsters that were still kicking. But after two days, moving around was nigh impossible for them.
I really didn’t have the appetite, so I dealt with them with the sole of my shoes.

Ah, of course, I had already been given permission by Arleaf.
In fact, she seemed quite happy telling me to do so.
Oh, and by the way, Veno, I was wondering… wouldn’t this cause an unthinkable problem for the villages downstream?

‘Even with the lass’ prowess in cooking, the toxins are practically all destroyed by the time the water flows to the villages. If there were anything, it would be evident simply by looking at the fish swimming in the river.’

Oh, that’s right. We did go down to the streams on the second day.
I thought we were looking for escaped food monsters, but you were actually detecting for toxins, eh?

‘They are food after all. The only reason they would escape is if there were no prey for them. Their priority would likely be on the monsters inside the sewers.’

We actually committed genocide. I really hope the ecosystem will be okay after this.
Anyway… the White Lily Crocogator we encountered along the way was dead too.
It was gently floating with its belly-side up, but I didn’t even bat an eye at it.
It’s quite the biggun. Crocodilian leather has got to sell for lots, right?

‘Hmm… it has been more than two days since its passing. It is in better condition than I expected. Though a little sodden right now, it should turn out well after drying.’

It doesn’t sit well with me getting something that good without earning it. But the money we would have even after shopping for new equipment? Now that ain’t bad at all.