Chapter 31
The adventurers were discussing something without so much as a glance in our direction.
From what I'd overheard, they seemed to be talking about a monster that lived in this forest—the Thin Wolf.
I, who had once brawled just to catch a single goblin, had now grown to the late level eighties—strong enough to easily incinerate an orc.
And yet, many dangers still lurked in this world.
It wouldn't compare to the Boss Orc that had possessed the Demon Lord's Soul Stone, but the opponent we were about to face was still an enemy we needed to confront with ample caution.
"It's gotten a bit cooler since we came here."
Karen spread her arms wide, savoring the mountain breeze.
"It's daytime, but it's creepy like it's night."
It was different from the forest where the orcs had lived.
True to its name, the Black Forest, the soil was dark and dreary, and the trees were needlessly tall and slender.
Ominous howls echoed intermittently throughout the forest, sending a chill down my spine.
Srring!
Karen drew the short sword strapped to her back.
"Monsters will show up from here on out. Let's go carefully."
"Okay."
She was saying what I was supposed to say. She looked a bit dependable, didn't she?
We entered the Black Forest.
What we encountered in the forest were goblins with large builds and unpleasant appearances.
"They're hobgoblins."
Even while hunched over, they were about my height, and bizarrely emaciated—extremely grotesque.
The only thing they had in common with goblins was their ugly, reptilian faces.
The moment it spotted us, it charged straight in.
"Hah!"
Startled, I took a step back, but Karen bravely dashed forward, knocked the goblin away with a shoulder tackle, and slashed it with her short sword.
I immediately began casting my spell.
"Get out of the way!"
Karen noticed and rolled to the side.
"Fireball!"
The magic I unleashed incinerated the hobgoblin.
"Kieeeek!"
The goblin shrieked where it stood and died.
I had been worried about what would happen if it came at us while on fire, but...
"Oppa's magic is incredibly powerful."
"This is my only talent."
"With this much destructive power... I don't think it'll be too difficult. Let's keep going!"
Hobgoblins were certainly more threatening opponents than orcs.
They were aggressive and fast.
Though they didn't use tools, you could tell just by looking that they possessed considerable strength.
"Fireball!"
But that wasn't what kept me more on edge.
What if this magic hit an ally?
I found it hard to believe there was some built-in function, like in a game, where allies wouldn't take damage from my magic.
I had to always be careful.
I fired only after confirming Karen had dodged. I ended up focusing on far more delicate control than usual.
Even I was scared firing them, but Karen moved calmly despite having fireballs flying at her from behind.
And then, it happened suddenly.
"Fireball!"
"Huh! Ah...!?"
The hobgoblin stretched out its long arm and grabbed Karen!
NO! A chill ran down my spine. An image of Karen burning to a crisp flashed before my eyes.
"Ugh! You...!"
Karen grappled with the hobgoblin, made it take the Fireball instead, and quickly broke free.
"Hah. That was close."
"Are you okay?"
I ran to Karen and grabbed her shoulders.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Oppa? What's wrong? I'm not hurt."
"Thank goodness."
I had nearly burned a perfectly healthy, living person with my own two hands.
That wasn't something I wanted to experience.
I had thought it was merely natural concern for a comrade, but Karen looked at me as if she had been deeply moved.
"I'm a swordsman who fights in your stead, Oppa. I get hurt sometimes, and things get dangerous sometimes. ...Isn't that obvious?"
"That's one thing, but it was still dangerous, wasn't it?"
"Yeah..."
We needed to change our strategy a bit.
"Can you break the hobgoblin's balance? I'll cast my spell after I confirm you've fallen back."
"But then the magic might miss."
"If it misses, I'll just hit it again. That's better than there being any chance you'll get hit."
"...Y-yeah."
(My level has increased.)
(My level has increased.)
Working in tandem with Karen, I advanced while dispatching hobgoblins.
It wasn't overflowing with monsters like during the mass outbreak,
but perhaps because hobgoblins were recognized as more difficult opponents than orcs, the experience was much greater.
"Dekal Oppa. Do you see any traces of the Thin Wolf?"
"No. I'm looking with my Search skill, but nothing like that yet."
Instead, there were quite a few hobgoblin traces.
"It's getting dark soon. Let's prepare to camp."
"Okay. There are a lot of hobgoblin traces around here, so let's go that way."
"You know that too? Oppa is so reliable!"
I found a decent clearing with Karen.
"Set up the tent. I'll go set up some booby traps for defense and come back."
"Booby traps?"
"Simple ones. I'll attach bells to a string."
It'd be dangerous if we got attacked while sleeping. Good idea.
"Okay. Go and come back. If anything happens, shout right away."
"Don't worry. You saw my skills, right?"
True. Her saying to leave it to her wasn't empty bluster.
Not once had Karen been overpowered by a hobgoblin in close combat.
I had just thought of her as a chick with lewd breasts and thighs that got you going, but she was fairly well-trained.
How did such strength come from those slender arms?
While Karen was setting up the booby traps, I hammered in the supports and pitched the tent.
I swiftly took things out of my personal storage and set them up.
I laid out a foldable mattress and took out a magic lantern too.
And I took out dry firewood and lit it with Fire Enchant.
One reason I used Fire Enchant was because even the minimum firepower of a Fireball would turn the firewood into charcoal and still have power to spare,
but thanks to my hunting achievements with Esty, I had become able to imbue any object with flames, so I didn't necessarily have to rely on attack magic.
Ah.
Should I imbue Karen's sword with this? Would it be too hot for her to use?
While I waited by the campfire, Karen walked over.
"Hah. I'm sleepy since we walked so much today."
"Want to go in first?"
But she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the tent.
"...Oppa?"
The atmosphere seemed dangerous.
"Huh?"
"Where's my tent?"
"There's only one."
"Y-you idiot! A man and a woman can't sleep together!"
It was the fresh reaction I had expected.
"Ah... Wouldn't it be better to sleep together so we can respond to emergency situations?"
"That's not the issue! How can I sleep with Oppa!"
"I'm hurt."
"Th-that's why! You're a man. I'm a woman. Of course we should sleep separately. I thought you knew that."
"I like sleeping with Karen, though?"
"Ugh...!"
Karen clutched her head.
"I'll sleep outside... No. Hiiing. I might get bitten by bugs."
She seemed to be suffering from severe inner conflict.
"So what? We're going to be sleeping together for a few days anyway. Let's put aside trivial matters."
"It's not trivial! How do I know what you'll do to me while I'm asleep?"
"If I feel like doing something, I'll wake you up and ask. Fair and square."
"~~~!!"
Karen stamped her feet, then let out a deep sigh.
She seemed resigned.
"You stupid Oppa. I didn't know you were so devoid of common sense!"
"Think about it carefully. Nothing much will happen. You'll take care of it so I don't get backed up, won't you?"
"That's my duty, so of course... Haa, fine. Then before bed! You have to shoot the semen built up in your balls at me. If you don't, I absolutely won't be able to relax."
"Make me a white sheep. So I can sleep soundly."
"Do you want to do it with my chest again?"
"Of course, of course."
Karen stretched out and said,
"I'm hungry, so let's eat before going in."
"What should we eat? Dried meat?"
"Yeah. Dried meat."
I sat in front of the campfire and tore into dried meat with Karen.
...It was truly tasteless. But since I was hungry, I kept chewing. I already missed warm meat grilled on a frying pan.
Come to think of it, had I ever gone out into a forest to camp like this in my life?
And with a girl, in a forest where monsters appeared.
The more I chewed it over, the rarer the experience became.
Even in such a precarious situation where we didn't know when monsters might attack, being alone with a girl didn't make me anxious.
On the contrary, I was excited.
Because there was danger. Because there were monsters to defeat. That was what excited me.
And teasing Karen in the middle of such a forest was the most enjoyable thing in the world.
But crossing the line was something to think about.
If we were attacked by monsters during sex, that would be the end.
Let's gauge how actively the monsters move tonight.
"What are you thinking while looking at me?"
"I'm just thinking it's a relief nothing happened while we were coordinating our breathing."
"I felt it when you were worried about me earlier too. You're so thoughtful. Is it because I look like a little sister?"
"Yeah. You look like a little sister. I want to cherish you."
Shamelessly, lies I didn't even believe flowed smoothly out of me.
It was my acting skills that had unnecessarily improved while using hypnosis.
"I wondered if this is what it feels like to have an Oppa... though you looked a bit pathetic when you were flustered by my chest."
"Pathetic..."
Could there possibly be a man who wouldn't be flustered by those breasts?
They'd kneel before the overwhelming force of the real thing.
"You were making sounds like you were dying from pleasure. Giggle."
"You'd be moaning like you were dying from pleasure too if you got caressed."
"Eww. It's not like we're in some novel. I bet it'd just tickle."
"Want to test it?"
"That's... not related to helping Oppa release semen. It's just plain lewdness. No."
"That's a shame."
Karen stuck out her tongue.
"Trying to force your way into something lewd? You only bought one tent on purpose, didn't you?"
"..."
"Wh-why aren't you saying anything all of a sudden! It's scary!"
"Hehe..."
"Should I kick you out of the tent for real?"
"I'm joking."
She had the courage to fight hobgoblins head-on, yet she was scared of this.
Night deepened.
"I-I'll go in first... Ah. I'm sleepy. Sleepy."
Karen muttered awkwardly to herself and entered the tent.
I summoned a spirit and had it circle the surroundings.
I don't know if it'll be effective... but will you let me know if anything happens?
The flow of wind responded to my words, moving in circles.
Since I couldn't feel safe with just the booby traps, I had taken out some insurance of my own.
I entered the tent.