The Eternal Journey With My Elf Wife: The Legendary Hero and His Beloved Wife Journey Across the World They Saved 100 Years Ago 15

Chapter 15: The Giant Slug

I looked at Fina, who was trembling violently beside me.

—That’s right, my wife is terrified of earthworms.

Apparently, when she was a child, she lifted a rock and saw a thousand earthworms, and she hasn’t been able to stand them since. The sight of them wriggling and squirming, covered in slime, is apparently a minor trauma for her.

Incidentally, one of my hobbies is fishing, but I have to be extremely careful when digging for worms. If I were to show them to her, she would faint. Her affection for me would drop by at least five points. To get it back, I’d have to feed her at least three fancy pancakes.

If even small fishing bait worms are a no-go, then a giant version of one was like a symbol of terror and awe.

She began to tremble uncontrollably and clung to my arm.

(…Oh, but this is kind of cute.)

It’s rare for my wife, who is generally strong in both combat and spirit, to rely on me like this.

Men are happy when women rely on them, so I wanted to say “Nice one, Mr. Giant Earthworm,” but I couldn’t just stand there enjoying the perk, because the Giant Earthworm of Yankers was a troublesome one.

I had thought it was suspicious from the moment I saw its purple color, unlike a normal Giant Earthworm, and then it spat out something like acid from its mouth.

I quickly swept Fina up in a princess carry and leaped backward, but a large crater had formed where we had just been standing.

“That’s some powerful acid. I wonder if it’s producing it from the large amount of sulfur here.”

Asking the Giant Earthworm wouldn’t get me an answer, so I prepared for battle, but the problem was that Fina’s legs had given out.

She was looking at me anxiously.

I could have hardened my heart and put her on the floor before starting the fight, but I didn’t do that.

She had waited 100 years for my revival. When I thought of the loneliness I had made her endure during that time, I couldn’t just push her away here.

So I whispered to her.

“Alright, how about you start counting the stains on the dungeon ceiling. I’ll be done by the time you count to thirty.”

“You said something similar the first time we made love.”

“And that was the best night ever, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“Today isn’t as romantic, but unlike that time, I’ll finish much faster. Come on, trust me.”

With that, she closed her eyes and hugged me tightly. Then, as I had told her, she looked up at the ceiling.

“…Um, do the stalactites made of sulfur count as stains?”

To my wife’s question, I replied,
“As you like,” and leaped.

Fighting in a princess carry, the only things I could use freely were my legs.

I would have to fight with these two sturdy legs, but I didn’t think of it as a handicap.

I’m a master of swordsmanship, but I’m also a master of unarmed combat.

If I tried hard enough, I could shatter a rock with my bare hands.

If I can do it with my hands, there’s no reason I can’t do it with my feet.

After all, the common theory is that a kick has three times the power of a punch.

I landed one of my prized kicks on the Giant Earthworm.

My kick sank into its fleshy body with a squish. The impact was tremendous, but most of an earthworm’s body is water, so the shock didn’t travel as well as I had hoped.

“I was hoping to finish it in one blow, but I guess a special individual isn’t that easy.”

I wanted to use my sword and magic, but that wasn’t an option, so I would only use magic.

Not that I would use magic to enhance my leg strength.

That would be uncreative.

As the leader of the Seven Heroes who once saved the world, I wanted to dispatch the Giant Earthworm with flair and style.

I dodged the Giant Earthworm’s attacks while chanting a spell.

It tried to crush me with its massive body. Or swallow me whole.

Its attacks were surprisingly agile, and I thought,
“If it weren’t me, I’d be eaten.”
But since it was me, I dodged them with ease.

By the time I evaded its fourth charge, I had finished chanting my spell.