Chapter 21: Chapter 21
A lot has happened since we left the fort. We have been attacked by starving villagers three times on our journey. We handle them the usual way. Disarming them, giving them food in exchange for information and then leaving. However, we were also attacked by professional bandits too. These guys had some nice equipment. Their two leaders are wearing heavy-looking plate armour, armed to the teeth, and riding strong-looking warhorses. We ended up acquiring their horses and gear after our fight.
The rest of our journey was more straightforward. While running dry, the river provided plenty of water for the trip. We could even catch the occasional fish in the shallow stream. Unfourtantly the shallow water didn't mean we were safe from the monsters that call the river home. When we set up camp that night monsters fish monsters like Flying Eaters and Kelpies attacked us. The danger didn't stop there as Pochi was bitten on her bottom by a sizeable piranha-like fish. A magic potion fixed her right up, but Pochi wouldn't go near the water again after that.
Satou, meanwhile, kept monitoring the demon. According to him, it keeps splitting itself up into more and more doublegangers and spreading throughout the Muno Marquisate. We still don't know what the demon is up to, but Satou thinks one of its bodies might be trying to take control of the City Core.
The goblin villages around the territory have also begun to rapidly expand. We are unsure if it is related to the demon, but Satou said he would keep an eye on them just to be safe. Still, the goblins are only level one, so if they become a problem, it shouldn't be that hard to deal with them. But it doesn't look like we will need to do anything about those goblins. According to Satou, powerful monsters living near the goblins are killing them as fast as they can breed.
Right now, our group is currently stopped for lunch. We are set up in a small camp near an intersection, connecting the main road to one that leads deeper into the forest. Liza and Nana were preparing the kitchen area, Mia and Arisa were setting up the quilt and kotatsu, and Lulu was washing the vegetables in the water Satou collected. While Pearl and I were on lookout duty, Tama and Pochi looked after the horses. As for Satou, he is preparing the meat for our meal.
Satou was the one who suggested our meal for lunch. He said we should have a hot pot since it's getting colder. We passed through a village earlier that was doing surprisingly well and traded some of our food for some cabbages they had grown. We added mushrooms we picked on the side of the road, some vegetables we had on us, and monster meat.
After Pochi and Tama finished tending to the horses, they started helping Satou with the meat while Mia started to assist Lulu. Arisa just stayed by the kotatsu charging up the heaters and keeping them warm well, giving her opinion on how best to season the hot-pot.
It is just as peaceful as our other meals. Everyone talks and works together while Pearl and eye make sure nothing approaches. Our job is redundant thanks to Satou's search skill, but it never hurts to have an extra set of eyes in a world filled with deadly monsters. We check on signs of movement and occasionally fight some weak monsters that approach.
"It's strange how empty this forest is," Pearl comments.
"Yeah," I nod. "It is."
Ever since I came to this world, I have never seen a forest this quiet. Most of the ones before this have been filled with monsters. Considering how bad things are here, I was expecting it to be even worse than usual, but instead, there is only silence. But I have a feeling there is something out there. I can't shake the feeling that some powerful thing is nearby. It's probably nothing, but the feeling keeps eating away at me.
"I think we should search the forest," I suggest.
"Is something wrong?"
"It's probably nothing," I reply to Pearl's question. "I just have a feeling something is out there."
"I see," Pearl nods.
We tell the others, and Pochi and Tama join us in our search. Satou points us in the right direction looking confused. I would later learn that somehow something just appeared on his map without warning. We walked for a few minutes pushing branches aside and nearly tripping over more roots than we would like to admit. We must've been downwind of the camp because the scent of the simmering hot pot tickled my nostrils. As a result, a chorus of grumbles like an animal's growl came from the two beastfolk girls' tummies.
"Hungry?"
"Stomach Man isn't very patient, sir."
"Well, the food should be ready by the time we get back," I tell them.
But we finally found it. We find her.
"Something's here?"
"It's shiny, sir!"
We stumble across a shiny golden dome in the middle of the forest. It must be some kind of magical barrier because I can feel the mana the thing admits. In the centre of the barrier is a young lady lying unconscious with an object on her wrist that admits a light blue glow. The girl was wearing a thick cloak and high leather boots. I could only catch glimpses under the cloak, but the dress she is wearing looks too expensive to be worn by a commoner. A few strands of dark blonde hair slip out from the hood, and she has a pretty face.
"Don't touch it,"
Pearl only narrowly stops Pochi and Tama, who approach the barrier with sticks. I look at the barrier more closely. It looks like it is made up of hundreds of overlapping scales. My danger sense skill doesn't activate when I reach a hand out to touch it. It collapsed right away in the area where my hand made contact with the barrier. Was it just for show? It seemed like a waste of magic.
"It's hard,"
"It's solid, sir!"
I don't know if it was my actions, but Pochi and Tama poke at the barrier with the sheaths of their swords. The barrier response is entirely different from what I had as it holds firm. Was it something to do with me, then? I have no skills that could have been used to break the barrier with just a light touch. Pearl quickly stops them as I take apart the barrier making a gap wide enough to retrieve the girl. I can figure out what allowed me to break it later.
"Who are you?"
I nearly drop the girl as a distinctly masculine voice suddenly comes out of nowhere. We all look around but can't see anyone. But the voice sounded like it came from the girl. Is she really a drag queen? Looking down, though, I find my answer. I feel that something is watching me, but the girl is still out cold. Moving her cloak to the side, I see something unexpected.
How can they be so big? I have never seen anyone like this before.
"You must not be an ordinary lady to break my barrier so easy," The same voice from before reaches my ears. "I will ask you once again. Who are you?"
They must be fake. Does that kind of surgery exist in this world, or do they use magic? I have never seen someone with a chest as large as hers. The phrase "Big breasts" is an understatement. I would be surprised if she could stand up straight with them.
"Answer me!"
I nearly drop her again as that strange manly voice screams at me. I got a little distracted… but I now see where the voice is coming from. There is a silver pendant tucked between her breasts. It has a blue gem that glows in the centre. I can sense a tremendous amount of magic coming from the pendant.
"I'm sorry," I reply after a few seconds of staring. "I haven't seen anything like you before. It took me a minute to find where your voice was coming from."
"Very well. My name is Raka, and you need not speak formally to me. O mighty one, I must beseech you to protect my mistress,"
"Should you really entrust this to some random person in the forest?"
"I possess a feature called 'Perceive Malice.' I do not detect any malicious intent from you. I must now sleep for a time to store up magic power. Please take care of Lady Karina,"
"All right, leave it to me," I nod as the pendant's light slowly flickers out.
"All right, let's go back,"
"'kay!"
"The hot pot is waiting, sir!"
We all head, following the smell of food to guide our way. Pochi and Tama keep nearly tripping over as they stare at the girl I rescued. Pearl and eye do our best to stop them from getting distracted, but it is a losing battle. The girl was surprisingly heavy, considering she was only slightly taller than me. It's no problem with my high-strength stat, so I had no problem carrying her princess style back to our camp.
"Welcome back,"
Satou is the first to greet us as we stumble out of the bushes, but everyone else soon stops what they are doing when they see me carrying someone. Lunch must be ready since they were setting plates down on the kotatsu's before they came running over to us.
"So you found a lost person… it's another woman," Arisa mutters, taking a closer look at the girl in my arms.
"Mrrr,"
Mia doesn't look happy as she and Arisa stare at the girl's impressive chest. I do my best to ignore their looks of disapproval as I carry the girl over to where Nana and Liza have spread out some furs on the ground.
"Boy, what a rack. Think they're fake?"
"They are the genuine article, I report,"
"Hey, Nana. Even if you're both girls, that's still rude,"
I have to stop Nana and Arisa from poking the girl's chest. At least Lulu is being helpful as she removes the girl's hood and picks leaves and twigs out of her hair before wiping the dirt from her face.
"Curly?"
"It's all wavy, sir,"
This time, Tama and Pochi were prodding at the blond strands that hung down the girl's face.
"So not only does she have huge boobs, but she's a blonde, too? That's too many distinctive character traits by far! If she's one of those cute hot–cold types on top of all that, my seat as the rightful first wife might be in danger!"
"Mrrr, danger,"
Mia nodded seriously in agreement with Arisa's remark. Satou looks like he will have his hands full as Arisa grabs hold of his arm.
"I doubt she's going to wake up for a while, so we might as well eat for now,"
Satou suggested, and everyone's stomachs growled in unison. It's been a long day of travelling, and we haven't eaten since the sun rose. The delicious smell of the food also did nothing to stop our hungry bellies from rumbling.
We all sit close together, with Satou and Liza placing two pots of tasty smelling food for us to eat from. Satou ended up being the one to serve everyone's portions, but he did so with a smile. It looks like they added chicken meatballs to the meal while I was away. With Arisa's "thanks for the food!" as our usual signal, we began to eat.
"You can all help yourself to seconds from the pot, alright?"
"Hot!"
"The meatballs are fighting back, sir,"
Tama and Pochi stuffed their cheeks with meatballs, then widened their eyes and puffed rapidly as the piping-hot broth burned their mouths.
"It's quite delicious," Liza nodded in satisfaction as she chewed on a bone-in chunk of the double-headed bird.
"Every ingredient is equally delicious, master, I commend,"
"The cabbage really soaks up the flavour of the broth… It's delicious! Your cooking really is amazing, master," Each time they sampled another ingredient, Nana and Lulu piled on the praise.
"Gourd,"
Mia used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of the gourd, which resembled tofu and chewed on it blissfully. This was a recent favourite of hers. The gourd had a totally different flavour from the winter melon I'd eaten back in my world. The cabbage here tasted wilder than I was used to, so it was probably best not to assume that any vegetables were the same in this place.
"Yum,"
Noticing Mia's pleasure, the other kids, who'd been reluctant to try the strange-looking vegetable, started to taste it as well.
"No more than ten meatballs per person, you two!"
Arisa decreed to the beastfolk girls as our self-proclaimed hot-pot magistrate. Tama and Pochi, who'd both been reaching to take meatballs from the pot, stopped at once. They must have been going for their eleventh ones. Satou sneakily gave them some from his plate.
"Yay!"
"Thank you, sir!"
"Goodness, you're going to spoil them," Unfortunately, their loud cheer alerted Arisa to his actions.
"Something smells good…."
I didn't get to take more than a few bites before a sleepy-sounding voice reached my ears. Everyone apart from Pochi and Tama quickly put down their bowls. Those two girls made sure to stuff as much meat into their mouths as possible before following suit. Satou is the first person to react. Standing up, he approaches the girl.
"You're awake," Satou smiles, but the girl quickly backs away.
"A… a man!" The girl shrieks as she jumps to her feet.
I'm surprised by how readily she attacked him. Jumping to her feet, the girl's first move was to aim a roundhouse kick at Satou's head. Satou didn't even bother to move, and it soon became clear why.
"O…oh, I'm dizzy…."
The girl looked like she was about to faint again, but Satou caught her and gently led her toward the dinner table. The young woman flailed around in his hands, but it seemed like it was easy to keep her in check in her weakened state.
"…U-unhand me,"
The girl started blushing bright red and acting like a completely different person o the girl that was so quick to kick someone. She trembles in Satou's hands as he brings her closer.
"Please calm down. Raka asked me to protect you,"
"…Mr. Raka did?"
I stand up, seeing how things are going. I started to worry she might try to run away if I didn't say anything.
"That's right. I am Satou, a merchant,"
"M… my name is Karina. Karina Muno, the second daughter of Baron Muno,"
Apparently, either shy or nervous, Miss Karina stammered a bit through her self-introduction. Still, it seemed awfully risky to openly reveal that she was the baron's daughter, given the current situation in the territory. Maybe she had some purpose for doing so?
"So you're a noble, then, Lady Karina?"
Satou guided Miss Karina to a free spot on one of the kotatsu. He offered her a seat between Lulu and Nana, but when she started to sit, Miss Karina stopped noticing Pochi and Tama. I hope it doesn't turn out that she hates beastfolk. But judging by her reaction, I doubt that is the case.
"Animal-eared folk… Could it be that you are a hero, perchance?" Miss Karina whirled to look at Satou again, her voice rising like an excited child's.
"As I said before, I'm just a humble peddler,"
"Hero Kura is the hero, I correct,"
Before anyone else could say anything, Nana spoke up, causing Miss Karina to stare at me.
"Really?"
"Yeah," I nod. "My name is Kura Suou. I am a hero and knight in service of Earl Seiryuu,"
I stand up and bow. Miss Karina stares at me with sparkles in her eyes. Still, thankfully I was saved from further questioning as her stomach loudly growled.
"I don't know if this will suit the tastes of a noble such as yourself, but you ought to eat something first," Satou says, handing her a bowl.
"It smells lovely. I've never seen cuisine like this before,"
At Satou's suggestion, Miss Karina cut her meat into bite-size pieces and lifted a morsel to her mouth. Unsurprisingly, the baron's daughter's table manners were very refined. Her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she began chewing vigorously. She must have liked it. After gulping it down, she finally opened her mouth to speak.
"I… it's incredibly delicious!"
"I'm glad it suits your tastes. There's plenty more, so please help yourself,"
Miss Karina nodded with a slight pink blush to her cheeks, then happily returned to her meal. Watching her elegant etiquette, Arisa and Lulu immediately began eating more politely as well.
"Hooray,"
"So full, sir."
Having eaten their fill, Pochi and Tama flopped onto their backs and sighed contentedly. But Liza wasted no time in assigning their next task.
"Now then, we must begin cleaning up,"
"Roger,"
"Yes, sir,"
The pair bounced to their feet and carried the dishes with the other kids. Lulu brewed some tea, and Satou offered Miss Karina a cup.
"Please, have some tea,"
"Oh my, this is blue-green tea, isn't it?"
Miss Karina accepted the cup happily. Perhaps because we'd shared a meal, she'd relaxed toward me enough to have a normal conversation.
"Why, it's been two years since I last had blue-green tea." Two years? That seemed strange; it wasn't as if they couldn't import anything here. "How delightful… You must be rather wealthy between this and that truly delicious meal."
"Really?"
"But of course. That was a more luxurious meal than what they serve in the castle,"
"Are you sure? We didn't use any particularly valuable ingredients,"
Listening, I can't help but find it strange. The meals I had in Seiryuu while staying with the Earl were more high quality. Even some of the lesser nobles had food more luxurious than this. I'm pretty sure a family like Miss Karina's could afford to eat meals better than this despite the miss fortune of their land.
"Our territory is in the midst of a famine. If the baron was to indulge in luxury at a time like this, he could hardly face the common people. Thus, our meals at the castle have consisted mostly of bean soup and sweet potatoes,"
Her family must really be honourable. I'm surprised they are letting corrupt officials steal the peasant's food when they are restricting their own meals. Then the demon must really be the sole reason for this territories misery. It must be corrupting the top officials and plotting behind the scenes.
"Incidentally, what were you doing out in the forest?"
Miss Karina looked a little embarrassed as she opened her mouth to speak.
"I had hoped to speak to the giants that live deep within the forest to borrow their aid, but I'm afraid I lost my way. I thought it best to leap to the top of a tree, but…."
"What did you want to speak to the giants about?"
"I had hoped to request their help in defeating a hell demon," Miss Karina replied in a clear voice. "The demon has disguised himself as a magistrate and a fake hero, and my father and elder sister are completely fooled. And so, Mr Raka and I set out into the forest, hoping to meet a giant that could defeat the demon. But now that you're here, we can just head back," Miss Karina turns to me. "Would you please vanquish this demon for us, brave, noble hero?"
She seriously thought the giants would take on a demon just because some random stranger asked them to? Not only was she overly honest, but this young lady was also extremely sheltered.
"I'm sorry I can't do that right now," I tell her, causing Miss Karina to give me puppy dog eyes. "The demon has split itself into multiple bodies. If I kill it now, it will just transfer to another body and escape."
"But isn't there something you can do?"
"Not right now. I'm sorry,"
"But…."
"Lady Karina, you must be patient," Suddenly, Raka woke up. "If what she says is true, then defeating just one of these demons won't be enough."
"Mister Raka, you're awake,"
"I am sorry, Mighty One," Raka says, his pendant flashing blue whenever he speaks.
"Mighty one?" Arisa mutters, glancing at me.
"Indeed, she is mighty. I do not know what level she might be. Still, the hero is strong enough that my lady Karina could not defeat her even with my Strength Enhancement," Raka replied. "Sir Satou, if you are a travelling merchant, do you perhaps know where the village of giants might be?"
"I've never been, but I have a rough idea of how to get there,"
"I… in that case, is there any chance you might be able to guide me?"
Lady Karina clasped her hands together pleadingly in front of her incredible chest, which was terribly persuasive. Satou nods his head, seemingly in a trance, as her chest bounces slightly.
"Mighty One," Raka then turns back to me. "If we can convince the giants to fight the demon's body doubles, can you take care of the main body for us?"
"Yeah, I can do that," I nod
"As for your request, we happen to be heading to the village of giants anyway. Would you like to join us?" Satou offers.
"Are you sure it's quite all right?"
"Yeah, one more person is no big deal,"
No one raises any objections to having miss Karina travel with us. A select few seemed a bit threatened by Lady Karina's bust measurements. Still, at least they were willing to accept the traveller herself joining our party.
<0>
"Hya!"
Miss Karina leapt into the air with a scream and then tumbled along the ground until she crashed into a tree. It was the kind of pratfall that would be the envy of any young comic actor. Still, thanks to Raka's scalelike barrier, she was completely unharmed.
When the advance guard team began training after the meal, Miss Karina said she wanted to participate, too. However, she couldn't control herself very well under the influence of Raka's Strength Enhancement. Instead, she kept crashing and burning. Since she hadn't changed out of her dress to participate, the skirt kept flipping up to reveal what was underneath in an extremely unladylike fashion. However, since she was wearing long drawers, the standard undergarment in this world, there wasn't much to get excited about.
"Karina?"
"Are you all right, ma'am?"
Tama and Pochi hurried over to Miss Karina, where she lay tangled upside down in the roots of the tree and peered at her face with concern. The two weren't very good at remembering titles, so Miss Karina had given them permission to simply call her by her first name. After flashing everyone again, we decided to give Miss Karina some of Nana's clothes to train in. Still, she needed Lulu's help to change.
"What's this? You're not going to enjoy the show?"
"Nope,"
Noticing Satou turn his back on Miss Karina, Arisa asks him a surprising question. I wouldn't have thought she would have been happy to see Satou not pepping. Instead, she suggests it. Still, Satou didn't pep. It is only when Lulu says they are done that he turns around. It seems even Nana's clothes aren't large enough.
The shirt was about to burst open at the chest. There wasn't enough fabric to cover everything, so the bottom edge of the shirt was hiked up, exposing her navel. Embarrassed, Miss Karina vigorously yanked the hem lower, which only dragged her breasts down in an uncomfortable-looking manner.
"If you like boobs so much, get a load of this!"
Arisa is quick to act after noticing Satou's gaze. She latches onto him, pressing her flat chest into his arm. In the end, while Satou's view was blocked, Miss Karina changed into Nana's loose pyjama shirt. It was a little better, but not by much.
We get back to training shortly after the changing distraction. Liza helps Pochi and Tama with the basics while I spare with Pearl. We aren't doing anything too hard, just practising channelling magic through are swords. We have done this countless times, controlling the amount of magic passing through and using the mana to sharpen our blades. It's not hard, but one mistake could be deadly in a fight, so we continue to practice.
"Sa… Um, you aren't going to participate in the training?"
I notice Miss Karina walk over to Satou out of the corner of my eyes. She was sweaty and breathless after all her training, but she still seemed ready to keep going. She still seems to be having trouble talking to men, unable to call Satou by his name. She is shaking slightly, but at least she doesn't run away.
"Liza said the strongest member of the group is you after hero Kura, Sa… Um. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to have a bout with me?"
"Sure, I can do that,"
As long as Satou remembers to hold back, there shouldn't be any problems. It would be bad if Satou were to land a hit with all his strength behind the attack. I doubt even Raka's protection would be able to save Miss Karina. But as I watch the fight unfold, it seems I have more to fear from Miss Karina than Satou.
She starts with a move straight out of a fighting game. Leaping into the air, Miss Karina kicked off their fight with a high jump kick aimed directly at Satou's head. She was fast, and if she landed her blow, Satou would be lucky to get away with just being knocked out. Still, Satou must have seen it coming as he dodges with ease. Miss Karina must have anticipated missing because just as fast, she spins, aiming a roundhouse kick at Satou's side.
"Hmph! You may have dodged that one, but I'm just getting started!" Satou ducked under her leg, causing Miss Karina's kick to sail past harmlessly. "Goodness, your movements are simply too smooth!"
Miss Karina next tried to drop-kick Satou, but he simply stepped out of the way. A cloud of dirt is sent up into the air when Miss Karina lands, but she is back on her feet in less than a second. She's putting too much strength into her attacks. I don't know if it is because of her inability to control Raka's strength, but her attacks are too strong. She needs to hold back more and wait before going all out like that if she wants to win.
Miss Karina charges Satou trying to land an elbow strike, but Satou catches her arm. Satou was pushed back a step or two, but he stopped Miss Karina in her tracks. Satou then tossed her aside. It was rough, and Miss Karina bounced and rolled to a halt, but she appeared unarmed. Still, this time she didn't get back up right away.
"Are you all right, Lady Karina?"
"I… I'm perfectly fine!"
Satou offered Miss Karina a hand up, but she refused to take it and got to her feet by herself. She must really have a problem with me. Her voice was trembling, and she looked at Satou with suspicion as she dusted herself off. It took Miss Karina a moment to recover. Still, she returned to throwing herself at Satou without a hint of holding back. At some point, it became less like a training match and more like a drill.
"Lady Karina, you won't be able to beat an opponent who's good at dodging if you just keep using such bold techniques,"
"Master's right, ma'am! You have to break down their defence with smaller moves, then finish them with a big move, ma'am!" Pochi complemented Satou's advice.
"Small moves?"
Pochi and Tama show Miss Karina how to use faints and foot sweeps. Liza then steps up, showing Miss Karina how to trick her opponent into attacking when she wants them to. Miss Karina tries to copy them, but her movements are so clumsy her moves are easy to read. In the end, Satou leaves Miss Karina in Liza's hands. She has Pochi and Tama spare and points out to Miss Karina what they are doing well and their mistakes.
We continued to train for the next hour, only stopping when Pochi and Tama were too tired to stand. There is a small break before we start moving again. taking a moment to have a drink and while of our sweat in the shelter Satou created with Earth Magic. We used a kettle-styled magic tool to heat the water that caught Miss Karina's eyes.
"Is that a magic tool that boils hot water?"
"It is. They don't use these in the castle?"
"A maid told me that hot water is restricted to mornings only because of the high cost of firewood, so I suppose they mustn't have used such a thing,"
Things sound rough in the castle if firewood is even considered expensive. From what I have seen of the territory, plenty of trees are ready to be turned into lumber, so they shouldn't have a shortage of firewood. If things are that bad, someone must be embezzling the tax money. I was expecting Miss Karina's family to be greedy and cruel after entering their land, but the more questions I asked Miss Karina, the more I felt sorry for her. Her family seems kind and caring, but a demon is making their lives hell. I am definitely going to kill it when I meet this demon.
It was a quick wash, but Pochi and Tama made it harder than it needed to be. Liza and I held them down so Nana could wash their faces. Nana also made it more awkward as I had to transfer some of my magic to her. Her lewd sounds almost made Miss Karina faint as her face turned bright red. Mia also turned up and scolded us for making a scene.
We only travelled a few more hours after cleaning up and set up camp in another cleaning beside the river. Miss Karina was amazed by the heated wagon. "Goodness, the floorboards are so warm," Miss Karina gasped when she stepped into the wagon. I had gotten so used to Satou's modifications that I completely forgot how abnormal they were.
It was a little cramped in the wagon, but not enough to make sleep impossible. Satou slept outside with the night watch, using a free kotatsu's as a makeshift bed. I wasn't on the night watch tonight. Instead, I powered the heater in the floorboards after the temperature started dropping. Usually, we would take turns, but Satou wanted to try making magical swords and Arisa's used up all her magic messing around. As a result, I found myself lying next to Miss Karina at the far end of the carriage.
She didn't snore or move around that much during the night. But the following day, I woke up to her hugging my arm. Arisa teased me until Miss Karina was red in the face, and Nana offered to hug me in the night. Mia scolded me. as for Satou, I saw a jealous look on his face when he saw my hand disappearing between Miss Karina's breasts.
<0>
The following day after warming up with a bowl of hot soup, we set off on horseback. Satou secretly stored away our carriage when he was sure Miss Karina wasn't watching, so we didn't need to worry about anyone stealing it. A chilly morning mist surrounded us, making it hard to see, but we managed to find our way.
We all had to share a horse with Arisa pairing with Lulu, Nana with Pearl, Liza with Miss Karina, and Pochi with Tama. Finally, I rode with Mai in front of me, getting annoyed whenever a branch smacked her in the face. It's hard to see them in this mist. Satou is the only one to ride alone. Taking the lead, he uses his map skill to guide us through the mist. Tama and Pochi needed some help riding, so Liza kept close to them, but things were going smoothly so far.
"There are rather more obstacles and inclines than I expected," Arisa comments as Lulu steers their horse around a small boulder.
"Normal," Mia tells her with her usual short response.
"Master! Look, sir! It's prey, sir!"
Pochi and Tama are the only ones who can see well through all this mist. They keep pointing at animals and monsters before Satou kills them with an arrow. Most of the time, we stopped to collect the body. We only left them if they were inedible. Once again, after seeing where Pochi and Tama were pointing, Satou took down the prey with a single arrow.
"Hurry, sir!"
Pochi hopped off her horse to collect the prey. This time it is some kind of bird with sharp talons and a long pointed beak. The bird was covered in grey feathers and was twice the size of the largest birds back in my old world.
"A fine shot. It appears that it's not only your martial arts skills that are first-class, hmm?"
"Only because I had a good teacher,"
Satou reached over, patting Mia's head as Miss Karina complimented him. Mia seemed embarrassed by this as she looked down and started playing her reed pipe. It was still a nice tune she played. Mia smiled when I complimented her playing, glancing up at me with her checks still pink.
Our first day ended without any monsters attacking us. It was a calm and peaceful ride filled with pleasant conversation and Mia's enchanting music. We set up camp in a small clearing filled with wildflowers. There was a small pound near the edge of the clearing, but it was empty of fish or monsters.
Satou used some magical bags we found in the fortress so Miss Karina doesn't notice his storage skill. He's even using the less valuable ones in case Miss Karina's father or some other noble tries to demand he hands them over.
"Oh? I see you have a magic bag. There used to be several of those in our home, too,"
Miss Karina says as Satou takes out the kotatsu and quilts. She goes on to comment about how her father had sold their families magical bags to raise money to feed his people, but unfortunately, they aren't uncommon items, so he didn't raise much money. According to Miss Karina, most wealthy merchants and noble families owned magical bags.
"Oh, gracious! This desk is warm on the inside!" Instead, it was the kotatsu that caught her by surprise.
"Karina, c'mere," I thought she would have noticed yesterday, but I guess she was too tied or surprised after learning I was a hero. "This is the warm part, ma'am!"
Miss Karina stuck her head inside the kotatsu along with Tama and Pochi, gazing at the red light of the magic circuit inside.
"Mind your manners,"
Satou chided them. Even though he was staring at Miss Karina's waistline. The ever-mischievous Arisa chose that moment to pat Miss Karina's bottom, so the young noblewoman banged her head on the underside of the table and let out a shriek. Fortunately, Arisa apologized as soon as Miss Karina emerged red-faced and teary-eyed, so Satou wasn't subjected to false accusations of being a pervert.
"Karina?"
"Karina, you can help, too, ma'am!"
The sheltered Miss Karina was sitting in the kotatsu as the rest of us set up camp, but Tama and Pochi grabbed her arms and pulled her out. Unfortunately, she didn't seem happy with this development.
"Y-you would dare imply that I should do the work of servants?"
"Yes!"
"No work means no food, ma'am!"
The concept of going without food elicited a dramatic expression of shock from Miss Karina, and she hastily participated in setting up the campsite with helpful directions from Pochi and Tama. We'd had sandwiches that we'd prepared that morning for lunch. After we ate, Satou and Lulu prepared the bird from earlier as the main dish for tonight's dinner.
"Thanks for the food!" On Arisa's cue, everyone else chorused, "Thanks for the food!" and dinner began.
"'Thanks for the food?"
"You see, where I come from, we…."
Arisa started with a lengthy explanation in response to Miss Karina's question. Still, I was more interested in the steamed meat, so I paid her no mind. The flavour was light and not very fatty, on par with high-quality baked teriyaki chicken. The fat from the mountain bird and the flavour of the vegetables mingled beautifully with the subtle taste of the sauce.
After dinner, Miss Karina attempted to take on the task of washing dishes. However, after she'd broken her fifth plate, Liza demoted her to safer work, like wiping down the table with Arisa. Arisa, incidentally, had previously dropped and broken plates due to her weak grip, while Miss Karina had broken them by grasping them too strongly.
The next day's journey was also peaceful but by no means dull.
"Wow, what a view!"
"How wonderful,"
Next to Arisa, Lulu breathed a graceful sigh. On the second day of our journey, the path took us to a sheer cliff, where the stream we'd camped by yesterday turned into a waterfall, creating a rainbow. We could see some ruins by the waterfall, but they are too far away to visit right now. Maybe we could look around on our way back down.
As we advanced deeper into the forest, we found plenty of rare plants, particularly those that could be used for potions or magic tools. Among others, we found mana-infused element stones, including earth stones from the cliff and water stones that we found at the bottom of a clear spring. The water stones were used to make magic tools like the Well Bag that produced fresh water. We met a few monsters along the way, but they were only small-fry. Satou and I let the others deal with them to gain some experience.
"Karina! Look up!"
"Hmm?"
A level three monster called a Crawling Ivy came down from the trees and entangled Miss Karina. It did possess weak paralysis poison, but unless it jumped you while you were alone. Since Miss Karina had Raka's protection, it wouldn't be much of a threat.
"How impudent!"
Miss Karina used the power from Raka's Strength Enhancement to tear the crawling ivy to shreds and toss it to the ground. Liza delivered the finishing blow with her magic spear. More Crawling Ivies were lurking in the trees like snakes, but they quickly fled when one of their numbers was destroyed.
"Are you injured?"
"I… I'm quite all right…."
Satou approached on my horse, and Miss Karina hurriedly backed hers away. Aside from battle and meals, Miss Karina's aversion to men still hadn't changed. She reminded me of a particularly guarded cat.
<0>
"Bear?"
"It might be a boar man, sir,"
Just before noon on the fourth day, we spotted a brown animal on a cliff along our path with its back turned to us. Abruptly, the creature fell over sideways.
"Nap time?"
"I don't think so, sir! There was a monster behind it, sir!"
Sure enough, there was something that looked like a metal armadillo.
"All hands, dismount and assume combat positions. Arisa and Lulu, please take care of the horses,"
At Liza's shout, everyone got down from their horses and prepared for battle. This monster was the strongest we had faced so far, so I joined the vanguard, and Satou prepared to support us from the rear. The monster must have heard her because the monster rolled up like a pill bug and rolled down at us from the top of the cliff. Mia and Satou fired at it with their short bows, but the cheap arrows simply bounced off the armoured rat's hide. But somehow, this was enough to throw off the armoured rat's rotation, and it crashed into a big tree nearby and teetered over. Arisa must have something to do with this since she flashed a peace sign in Satou's direction.
"Now's our chance! I'm going in, Mr Raka,"
"Lady Karina, stop!"
"Please stay back, Lady Karina!"
Without warning, Miss Karina suddenly lurched forward. Raka and Liza both cried out to stop her. Still, with the speed granted by Raka's Strength Enhancement, Miss Karina was practically on top of the armoured rat already. In a flash, the creature unrolled itself and knocked Miss Karina away. She soared up into the air, crashing through a few bushes along the way. It was a clean hit that would typically be enough to cause serious injury. Still, thanks to Raka's powerful defence, Miss Karina didn't take a single point of damage.
I want to check on her, but I can't leave now. I block a swipe of the monster's claws stopping its arm and allowing Pearl to cut it clean off. Nana, meanwhile, blocks the other claw while Liza stabs at its body and Pochi and Tama stab the creature's legs. It doesn't take long before Miss Karina is back, but it also doesn't take long before she is knocked away again. This happened multiple times during our fight. By the time we defeated the monster, Miss Karina had to have been sent flying at least ten times. But I have to give her credit for her persistence. No matter how often she was knocked down, Miss Karina always got back up.
<0>
"Twirly?"
"So curly, sir!"
When we set up camp that night, Satou unveiled his new creation. It is a hair curler powered by magic that the younger girls instantly fell in love with. After he gave Pochi and Tama curls like Miss Karina's corkscrew locks like instantly started running around in joy. Mia, Liza and Nana also had their hair done before Arisa got her hands on the curling iron. Arisa tried to style her sister's hair, but Lulu ran, seeing the scary looking in Arisa's eyes.
<0>
Then came the fifth day. Soon after we set out, we arrived at a big obstacle.
"Now that's quite a gorge," Arisa commented.
"The river at the bottom of the ravine appears to be flowing at a very high speed, I report," added Nana.
"If one were to fall, the chances of survival certainly seem unlikely," said Liza.
Behind the three, the other kids also tried to peer at the bottom, but Satou and I stopped them since it seemed dangerous.
"Perhaps we should take a detour?"
"It's all right. There's a bridge up ahead,"
Unfortunately, what Satou claimed was a bridge didn't turn out to be a bridge.
"Th… this thing is the bridge?"
"That's right," Satou nodded at Arisa.
"So…you're saying you want us to cross this?"
Arisa paled, and I don't blame her. The so-called bridge turned out to be nothing more than a pair of large logs lying across the ravine. Crossing it would require some courage.
"No, no, no. Absolutely not. Let's just take a detour with a few days' extra travel. All right?"
Arisa's eyes filled with tears. Satou took the lead and moved toward the bridge to prove it was safe.
"See? It's fine,"
"Nooo…!"
Since Arisa's scream was bound to frighten the horse, Satou cut it off by covering her mouth. I feel sorry for Arisa. She looked so happy that she got to ride with Satou on his horse this morning, and now she is terrified as he forces her over a poorly made bridge. Arisa had apparently lost the will to complain and instead pressed her forehead limply into the horse's mane.
"Tama, please don't be so bold, sir…."
"Don't worry, be happy!"
Tama was the only one to follow Satou. Still, since Pochi was on the same horse and she, therefore, shared her fate, she protested desperately.
"Tama, take the reins,"
"Kay."
Satou left Tama in charge of the horses and returned across the bridge. It is probable for the best since it seems me and him are the only ones left on this side who aren't afraid of crossing.
"Master…."
"Master…."
Liza and Pearl are surprisingly fearful of heights. Liza had to close her eyes as Satou brought her across, and Pearl clung to me so tightly that I felt like I was going to be split in two.
"M-master, even if I close my eyes, it's still too scary…."
"You can sit sideways and hide your face in my chest, then, all right? Just focus on the sound of my heartbeat,"
"R…right…."
"This is very dangerous, Kura. People can't fly, you know? They don't have wings, after all. So elves can't fly, either, you know. It's true,"
Satou seemed to be enjoying the second trip. He gently held Lulu while Mia did everything in her power to get me to turn back. When we eventually reached the other side, Mia quickly jumped from the horse and fell to her knees. Nana, managed to ride across herself, leaving Miss Karina for Satou to escort across. When he brought her over, our crossing was complete.
After crossing, it didn't take us long until we reached the next obstacle in our journey.
"Wall?"
Tama turned her horse away to the side, reaching out and patting an invisible wall as if in pantomime. Arisa, who was riding with Lulu, extended her arms to mimic Tama's movements.
"Oh my, you're right,"
"It's strange, sir. I don't see anything, but something's there, sir,"
The other kids also explored the invisible barrier. Even Miss Karina joined in. Seeing them patting the wall and tilting their heads in puzzlement was adorable. I turned my horse to the side and reached out, too, but I didn't feel anything. Satou seemed to be just like me. He reached his hand forward but didn't make contact with the wall either.
When I moved my horse forward, I felt slight discomfort, but I could advance without resistance. Mia, who was still riding with me, seemed to feel it too. She looked up at me, but my eyes were locked on the giant tree ahead of us. Were we teleported? No. Looking over my shoulders, I can see everyone else still patting the barrier, looking confused, but I can't hear them. They look confused at our sudden disappearance, but Satou seems to calm them down before they all panic. I decided to head back and tell everyone what we saw.
"Don't go disappearing like that. You gave us all a fright,"
Arisa scolds me upon my return. After a few more people call me reckless, I get a chance to report what is on the other side of the barrier. Everyone seemed relieved that we finally could see the village of the giants, but it looked like it was still a day or two before we reached it.
For some reason, no one but Satou and I could cross the barrier. We all had to hold hands to get through. It might have something to do with our hero titles. That is the only thing I can think of to explain why Satou and I could cross the barrier. We were about to start moving when suddenly a green figure of a human appeared before us.
"Oh, it's you guys again,"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone