There are a total of 125 trained jellyfish.
It was a number that could be comfortably accommodated in the hideout.
But, I didn’t bring them to the hideout.
They kept calling me “Dad” and clinging to me, which was burdensome.
So, like the pack of dog spiders exploring passage 2, I let the jellyfish stay in their original habitat and assigned them to explore passage 3.
And now, returning to my dwelling.
“Take responsibility for me!”
I was being tormented by some crazy sheepkin.
“No, what do you mean by taking responsibility?”
“You violated me, so take responsibility!”
“I swear I did nothing while you were sleeping!”
“What a liar! You’re an irresponsible man!”
“…This crazy girl doesn’t get it.”
“Hoeyeng.”
The sheepkin who seemed to have serious mental issues was named Merino Ula.
She was a drifter who had fallen into a labyrinth from another world.
Fortunately, when I kept insisting I hadn’t touched a hair on her, the shadow of doubt on Merino Ula’s face slowly faded.
Merino, with a fool-like cry of “Hoeyeng,” asked.
“Did you really do nothing to me?”
“I don’t do strange things to defenseless people.”
“…Did I misunderstand?”
“Yes, I’ve said it several times.”
Merino stared at me intently.
She awkwardly stroked her own horns with both hands, then suddenly dropped to her knees and buried her head in the ground.
“I’m sorry! I suspected you even though you saved me, I’m really sorry!”
At least she was a woman who could admit her mistakes.
I sighed and accepted her apology, then helped her up, who was continuously banging her head on the floor.
“But Merino.”
“Ewe?”
“There are many others here besides me.”
“So?”
“While the others didn’t suspect, why was I the only one suspected of being a rapist? This makes me feel uneasy, so let’s hear your reasoning.”
At the same time, I felt annoyed.
Was I giving off a criminal vibe?
Even if I had a rugged physique, I wouldn’t say my face looked particularly threatening.
I mean, I’ve even been told I look gentle when my face is just viewed alone during my time in the military.
As I squinted at Merino, she started playing with her horns again and replied.
“If I had to be violated, I would have wanted it to be you. The others don’t suit my tastes at all; I can’t even imagine being with them.”
“……”
Guess she really is crazy.
It was a ridiculous answer, but at least I was relieved that she didn’t suspect me because I looked like a criminal.
“By the way, where is this place?”
“You sure ask quickly.”
Anyways, since the misunderstanding was cleared up, it seemed like a normal conversation could happen now.
*
Merino Ula.
A human with sheep characteristics, a sheepkin.
Her hometown world is called Ovisland, and she said she suddenly found herself here while diligently grazing.
In other words, she had no idea she was caught up in a dark portal.
“Merino, there was no one around when you were grazing, right?”
I casually dropped my formal tone.
Merino answered without any concern about that part.
“Right. I was grazing all alone.”
Looks like no one came with her.
After that, I explained various things to Merino.
The dark portal.
The world called the ancient labyrinth.
Explorers and drifters.
And so on.
I made sure to tell her everything important so she could understand and accept the situation.
Merino nodded along, never raising a single question.
“…I see.”
“Did you understand?”
“…I understood.”
I felt that way too.
But I wasn’t going to repeat the explanation.
I was too lazy to explain again.
“But what are you sketching?”
Merino‘s gaze shifted to the notebook I was holding.
Right now, I was drawing her because my hands were getting bored.
“Your figure.”
“Hoeyeng! Is that a confession?”
“It’s just a hobby, so stop making strange misunderstandings.”
“Not a confession? What a disappointment…”
I kept moving the pen.
Then a question popped into my mind, and I glanced at Merino.
“By the way, I forgot to ask, have you experienced any changes in your body since meeting me?”
“Changes? What kind of changes?”
“Like getting weaker or anything.”
“Getting weaker? Hmm…”
Merino started feeling around her body.
She stroked her horns, tapped her face, and grabbed her chest.
“Seems like nothing has changed! I still have plenty of energy, and I don’t feel weaker at all!”
“Sure about that?”
“Definitely!”
I paused my pen for a moment.
Then I raised my head to meet her gaze.
“If you stare at me like that, I might get embarrassed. I might end up pregnant.”
Merino’s current danger level was F-Class.
I considered that to be a nerfed danger level.
I had confirmed through Rize that a drifter’s power could weaken.
But suddenly, a question arose.
Could the shift from E-Class to F-Class also be a two-stage nerf?
If it’s lower than the average person, it should be difficult to function normally, so would it really be necessary to weaken them that much?
Such questions came to mind.
Of course, there is something below F-Class.
For instance, the summon of the Poison Apple.
In my view, I couldn’t really assign a level to that.
There’s no such thing as G-Class, and below F-Class is just below F-Class.
Anyways.
It seems like my questions were somewhat resolved.
“…It seems that an explorer‘s ability can only weaken to F-Class. If they were to weaken below that, it would essentially make them like a living corpse.”
In other words.
Whether it’s D-Class, E-Class, or F-Class.
If weakened by an explorer, they all reduce to F-Class, which was the conclusion.
And as for Merino Ula in front of me, her danger level was purely F-Class.
And since she stated that her powers haven’t changed, I could take her word for it.
“That summon wasn’t nerfed. It’s just that the summoner, Poison Apple, didn’t have the skills to correctly summon a proper summon.”
“Not all sheepkin are strong.”
While I was chatting with the assistants, Merino suddenly stuck her head into my view.
“What are you talking about?”
Just for reference, I had already explained about the assistants.
“Nothing for you to know.”
“Hooyeeng…”
I resumed my pen.
And slightly modified the information about Merino that I had previously noted down.
■ Merino Ula
─ Danger Level: Pure F-Class (Seems likely to lose to Pururu)
─ Special Notes: Drifter
“Merino.”
“Ewe?”
“Do you possibly have any abilities… No, you wouldn’t have any abilities, right?”
“Ewe? I have abilities! Don’t underestimate me!”
“You do? What abilities do you have?”
“I have the ability to eat anything!”
I shot Merino a cold glare.
“…”
“D-Don’t be disappointed! That’s not all! I can cook anything so that others can eat it! Even things that people usually can’t eat, or are poisonous, or things like fire and smoke! Everything, I swear!”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m serious!!!”
Perhaps feeling frustrated for being ignored, Merino looked around, picked up a stone from the ground.
“Watch carefully! I’m going to cook this right now!”
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