CH 44/1

Litty Fights a Giant Mole

It was still dark in the cave, so it was hard to tell if the sun had risen or not. Litty was vigilant while taking a nap, so it was not considered a complete rest, but it was enough for her.

After stretching out her back, Litty looked at the girl sleeping peacefully next to her. Her hood was pulled down to reveal the full extent of her head.

She had short orange hair and a childish face. And from her height, Litty decided that she was younger in age.

“Please wake up. Catalana-san should be waiting for us.”

“Mmmm…”

The girl woke up softly, uttering strange noises. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked over to see Litty and bowed her head lightly.

After cleaning up, they started walking through the cave again. There was no guarantee that they would make it to the surface, and Litty didn’t want to take any more time than she had to.

“I heard something. It sounds like something is shaking faintly…”

Here, Litty remembered the monstrous mole from yesterday. Looking at the cave illuminated by the light magic, she could see that some parts of the cave were newly dug out, while other parts had traces of time.

Litty assumed that the former had been dug by the monstrous mole.

“There may be other mole monsters just like yesterday. Let’s continue this way.”

Avoiding the newly dug ones, Litty continued in the direction of a different area. Litty chose the simplest path, the one that might lead upward.

Litty was mindful of the sound while fighting off the occasional steel bat.

“It’s getting closer and closer. Do you know what this mole monster is? I didn’t have time to check the information on the monsters around here before because I came to Catalana-san’s place right after I arrived at the Royal Capital.”

“Rank 2 in the bottom the underground caverns… the Tyrant Digger…”

(T/L: Above line is intentionally written broken just like in raws.)

The girl’s words revealed that there was even a named monster here. Litty could tell from her previous encounter that even a normal mole monster in this area was around Rank 3.

Normally, she would have enjoyed the adventure, but when she thought about Catalina, Litty felt a sense of urgency. The more time she spent, the higher the risk of Catalina rejecting her.

“Let’s hurry.”

Litty moved quickly, trying to escape the rumbling vibrations. Litty could sense it, though unproven, that she was heading towards the surface. Little by little, they were moving upward. But then, Litty heard a grinding noise from the wall.

“It’s here!”

With the girl in her arms, Litty left the spot where they stood. Then, the source of the sound appeared, bursting through the wall of earth. The size of its head alone was as high as Litty’s chest.

It had a noticeable scar over one eye, as it might have been wounded in some fight with the adventurers or other monsters. The wounded eye showed how resilient the monster was to survive an attack to its eye.

“Oh, it’s big! Is this the Named Mole?”

Even a normal mole was able to repel Litty’s Hundred Thrust, so when it came to Named Mole, the hooded girl’s cooperation was indispensable.

However, the hooded girl did not make any attempt to summon that Demon. On the contrary, she panicked and was looking around as if she wanted to run away but didn’t know where to go.

Then, the Tyrant Digger extended its claws, preparing to attack.

“Teyaaah!”

Combined with the instantaneous force generated by her Wing Shoes, Litty delivered a precise blow to the monster’s arm. It was all thanks to the confused girl who served as a decoy, although she probably didn’t intend to.

Kicking against the walls of the cave, Litty took advantage of her mobility without letting her guards down. After all, although her attacks were accurate, they weren’t fatal.

“Please summon that Demon.”

“Eh, umm, ummm.”

The girl’s mind had completely failed to catch up with what was going on. The giant mole was slightly hunched, and Litty foresaw a rush attack.

Once again, Litty securely held the girl in her arms and tried to flee, but the monster’s rush caught up and knocked off Litty’s body. The girl in her arms was safe, but Litty was writhing in extreme pain.

“Please calm down… I will protect you, please summon…”

“I’m sorry, I normally move alone… I get nervous when I’m around other people and my body…”

Litty was relieved to hear her true feelings finally. Some people would get nervous when there were strangers around them.

Litty escaped, finding a wider area with the girl, who was being carried in a princess style.

“Wawah, wawah, wawah!”

“Let’s settle down for a moment!”

Litty continued running, but she didn’t expect to escape against the Master of the Underground. She was trying to buy just a little bit of time.

She sprinted through the winding passages, and then made another turn. Even the Master of the Underground could not immediately catch up to Litty, who had the advantage because of her Wing Shoes. But it was only a matter of time before it could catch up with Litty.