131-Episode 130




After controlling the rockworm with the spell of a tame monster, I immediately gave the rockworm instructions.

'Lead me to your lair, or any other place where there are many of your brethren.

The rockworm, having received our instructions, turned its massive body around and began to drag us down the tunnel.

Incidentally, this is a form of communication in which the rockworm doesn't understand the words I say, but rather my thoughts are directly transmitted to the rockworm.

'Well, now all that's left to do is to find a place where many rockworms are holed up, and this thing should be able to guide me there. The most efficient way to defeat them would be to round them up there.

I told my companions, and followed the giant rockworm's path.
My companions followed my lead.

'I see, that's how it works. But if you had such a spell, why didn't you use it yesterday?

Cyril asked me that question.
But his voice was distant.

I turn around and see that she is far behind me.
She was looking at me with a slightly tightened smile.

In other words... if you keep your cool, you don't want to get too close to Rockworm.

Well, at this distance, it would not interfere with the party's activities such as searching and fighting, so there was no problem.
Cyril may have taken this into consideration, and may be psychologically on the edge of being there.

I chuckled and started walking after Rockworm again.
Then, to Cyril, I raised my voice a little and replied only with words.

'That's because yesterday we were only supposed to take out a few stray rockworms. Without a den where a large number of rockworms can gather in one place, this method is meaningless.

'Ah, ......, I see. That's what you said. As of yesterday, I had no idea that there was such a master as Mother Rockworm.

'Yeah. I still haven't given up on the possibility that such a lair or master doesn't actually exist, though. However, the fact that Rockworm started guiding us like that in response to those instructions...''

''So... there might actually be a Rockworm lair nearby. And that's where we're headed.

Satsuki, who unlike Cyril was walking right next to me, interrupted me.
I give her a small nod.

'Yeah, there's a good chance of that. But even if we do successfully encounter the den, that's where the real work begins.

'Well, that's true. A single rockworm isn't a cheap opponent, but if it goes to the den, it'll be a wagon sale bargain, right?'

'Yes. In addition, there's a good chance there's a master whose strength is unknown. We need to be on our toes.'

''Nyaa, and on top of that, we're going to face those Guren guys? This time, the work is even heavier than usual.

Mee, who was also standing beside me, made such a light remark.
She's right, it's definitely a heavy job.

'It's not a D-rank quest by any stretch of the imagination. How much is it really? I'm not talking about breasts, you know. I'm not talking about breasts.

'...... Satsuki. Why are you looking at Mee's breasts there? She's not Irene, so she doesn't have a complex about it. How can you say anything about the size of her breasts in the presence of all those people?

When Satsuki looked at her, Mie looked back at Satsuki and pointed to the rear.
The next thing you know, you'll see Cyril walking slowly, shaking his priestly robe.

'No, that's because it's out of the norm. Mine are the ideal proportions. Cyril's is ...... erotic?'

'Wow, ...... Satsuki, do you know what you just said was outrageous in many ways?'

'Well, it's true. Hey Will, Will thinks so too... ouch!

I was poking Satsuki in the head with the tip of my cane.

'I'm telling you ...... to pull yourself together. Don't swing at me there in the first place. How am I supposed to answer that?'

'Well, let's see, for example... 'Satsuki is very beautiful and pretty. She's my best wife. But Cyril is s*xy. Very erotic.' ......?

Satsuki said this in a strange tone of voice, perhaps imitating me.
I poke Satsuki again.

'Who are you imitating?

'Ouch! Will's tsukkomi~'

Satsuki seemed happy for some reason.
I got a headache.

'...... I've never heard of you being a masochist. Anyway, I'll say it again. Pull yourself together, Satsuki. We're gonna need your help.'

When I said that...

Satsuki said 'okay' this time, and showed a different expression.
Then she took her eyes off me, looked forward, and said.

'Yeah, I got it, Will. I don't want to be a loser forever either. Besides, I feel like I can do it. I lost to the princess, and I lost to that a**h*le Glenn... but I think I can come out of my shell here.

'......'

It seems that what Satsuki is looking at is not the Rockworm.
What she was seeing seemed to be the backs of two genius warriors.

That's dangerous, because it means you can't see your feet. .......
However, Satsuki is not the type of person like me who sets a firm foothold and moves forward, but the type of person who leaps forward based on intuition and image.

Then...
Of the several tactical plans I had in mind, I'll pick up one.

'Satsuki. Do you want to try it then?

'Hmm, try what?

'The Warriors.

'Huh, Musou ......?

Satsuki tilted her head.
I thought it would be easier for her to understand if I expressed it sensitively, but perhaps I didn't explain it well enough.

'Oh. The correct term would be a single-point breakthrough tactic that concentrates support on Satsuki. I'm going to have you lay down support spells and go into the Rockworm swarm by yourself.''



When I tell her that, Satsuki looks puzzled for a moment.
But then she grinned at me.

'Great, that's super flammable. And I think we're onto something.'

'Well, let's hope so. By the way, that quest rank you were talking about earlier, from what I can tell, the actual difficulty of this quest is at least a B rank. And in some cases, it could be as high as A.

An A-rank quest.
These are quests that can only be accepted by a party of four or more B-rank adventurers of the level of Irene or Glenn.

Of course, this meant that a party of adventurers of that rank could complete the quest without any problems, but it did not mean that it was absolutely impossible for a party of that rank to complete it.

On the other hand, when Satsuki heard this, she said,

'Oh, I see. That's thrilling, isn't it?

He looked like a hungry beast that was about to bite her.

If you think you've seen this kind of face before, you'll know that Glenn often made this kind of face, and sometimes Irene also showed this side of her face.
Perhaps warriors are generally like this kind of creatures.

And what drives them is emotion and intuition.
It would not be useful to tell them not to be careless if they are not driven by reason, and in a sense, I think that they are usually not careless at all.

If that's the case, then I'll have to protect her feet.
It's my job to keep a watchful eye on her without fail, and turn the certainty of eighty into ninety-five, ninety-nine, or even a hundred.

'Oh, go ahead, be wild. If you stumble, I'll be there to protect you.'

When I said this, Satsuki blushed for a moment and then giggled again.

'Is that your first time working together?

'...... I don't think it's the first time.'

'Oh, so we're married now?

'No. Why would you say that?

'Hahahaha!

When I saw Satsuki laughing like that, I thought, well, maybe she's okay with this.