Takeout Testing+

There were no more rooms in the overly small facility.

There might've been hidden rooms, so I decided to let the mice stay hidden in the facility. We returned control of Hamelin 1 to Narikin and his group and ended our investigation and communication.

Now, let's investigate the magical tool that was in that facility. Just like when I analyzed the magical tool from the orchard.

"Alright, Kehma, please use your [Super Transformation] again!"

"Sure thing. But that thing was pretty dang huge… can I do it?"

"You'll know if you try. However, if you just did it now and got crushed, that would be a problem. I wonder if the Arena Area will be spacious enough? I'll send Nerune there."

Rokuko teleported me to the Arena Area. It was probably fine since no one ever makes it here, but I'll set up a lookout in the leading passage just in case.

I was a bit curious about the divine item that was in the room in the center of that facility, so let's start by investigating that for now. [Super Transformation]… looks like I was able to transform, but did it succeed?

"I'm back~… Wow~, that's huuuuge~"

"Huh? Was it this shape? … Oh, I see. There was a lot more of it hidden underground."

Huh. So the underground facility had an even lower level… Creating such a huge magical tool is impressive, right? Anyway, I decided to leave the analysis to Nerune… All I have to do is surrender my body to be disassembled!

"I feel like I might get addicted to the immorality of disassembling Master~…"

Could you stop it with the weird fetishes?

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

… One day passed since Nerune's investigation began.

"It's beyond my comprehension~. It's so big that I don't know where to start~, and it's extremely complex~… If I really have to~, it would take years to analyze~"

She ended up throwing in the towel.

She was effectively out of ideas. I certainly didn't have the time to let Nerune disassemble my body for years, nor could Nerune ignore her actual job either. It seemed better to give up on the analysis.

"By the way, the place that seemed to be the power reactor was empty."

The place where the divine item should have been set was empty. Most likely, the divine item and the magical tool were classified separately. Disappointing… maybe I should have the still-hidden mice check it out somehow?

"Kehma, what should we report to my sister?"

"… We should tell her about that strange Dungeon Core and the facility we found, keeping in mind that it's just a possibility."

"Oh~? In that case~, wouldn't it be faster if Master became the real thing with [Super Transformation] and showed her~? Haku-sama knows about [Super Transformation], right~?"

… I see, that's a great idea. Haku-san might know something.

"Eh, Kehma, you'll transform into that disgusting black Dungeon Core? Are you okay? Won't you get contaminated?"

"… I'll entrust the [Divine Alarm Clock] to you just in case, Rokuko."

"That makes me feel relieved."

"Please file a complaint with Father if the decontamination fails."

I'm sure he'd provide aftercare since the alarm clock was his masterpiece.

"Speaking of which~, I have a question for Master since it's a good opportunity~… I've been wondering about something else~"

"Hm? What is it, Nerune?"

"If we feed Soto-sama a part of Master's transformed body, can it be duplicated with [Minor Replication]~?"

… Huh? Nerune came up with quite a bizarre idea, wanting to feed my transformed body to Soto.

"You see~, Master can use [Super Transformation], right~? You can become a big magical tool, right~? If we take off a part without killing you and have Soto-sama eat it~… you know~? Will the magical tool be duplicated~, or will it be a part of Master~…? Isn't it exciting~?"

"… I wonder. It might cause a strange reaction between the hero skill and the pseudo-hero skill."

It'd be kinda-sorta horrifying if a part of my body was duplicated.

"Also~, if Soto-sama duplicates potions and skill scrolls with [Minor Replication], can they be used~?"

"… Right, it'd be incredibly convenient if scrolls could be duplicated and used. Everyone would be able learn skills from a single scroll. It's worth looking into, Kehma."

"There's a limit to how much of a cheat it can be. But yeah, go ahead and investigate that with Soto."

"Yay~, thank you~, Master~!"

So, we decided to proceed with the investigation of Soto's ability.

… However, Soto demanded a reward for cooperation. We settled on Nerune's socks.

"… You really take after your father!"

"There's no doubt she's Master's daughter~"

It felt like I was being slandered, but saying anything would be pointless. There wasn't any actual harm, so I let it go.

"I handed over the socks I was wearing as an advance payment~… She buried her face in them and kept sniffing them~… Haha, I was a little embarrassed~"

"Oh, so you do have a sense of shame, Nerune? I thought you'd say something like you'd give as many socks as needed if it's for magic."

"Well~, if I needed to~, I'd gouge out my flesh or offer my blood for the sake of magic~. But when Soto-sama sniffed my socks and said things like [I smell wind magic], [This is practically healing magic], and [Next time, you should wet them with water magic and let them dry], I felt praised~… and my heart raced~. Is this love~?"

Saying that, Nerune blushed and put her hand on her cheek.

What a situation. Wataru, at this rate, Soto's going to steal Nerune away. Is that even a compliment?

In the end, Soto's scrolls and potions could be used normally and their effects didn't disappear even after the one-hour limit of [Minor Replication] passed. It was only a guess, but I got the skill might have originally been something like [allows unlimited use of potions and other consumables with a cooldown after consumption].

… Well, it looks like Soto's snacks are going to be skill scrolls for a while.