A Humble, Scary-Looking Mid-Rank Adventurer Is Offered Their Bodies by Every Member of a Rising All-Female Party, Begging: ‘You Can Do Whatever You Want With Me, Just Please Spare My Companions.’ - 16

Chapter 16: A Party with Good Teamwork

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Mud scattered as the girl ran. She chased after a deer-like magic beast running ahead of her, weaving through the narrow gaps between trees whose branches tangled together. Her movements were so refined they were unrecognizable compared to just a few days earlier. She accurately picked out firm footing, never tripping on mud or tree roots, and fully demonstrated speed sharp enough to keep pace with the beast.

More than that, she even had the composure to manipulate the magic beast exactly as she pleased.

“Nerva!”

“Leave it to me!”

She drove the deer toward a point they had decided on in advance. The instant it burst into an open clearing, a warrior who had been holding her breath in the bushes stood up. A sharp spear thrust out the moment she moved. Its tip pierced straight through the deer’s throat. The deer let out a shrill death cry and thrashed violently. Left alone, it would bleed endlessly and eventually collapse. However, the hunters had no desire to inflict unnecessary suffering.

“‘O needle of stone shards, pierce my enemy sharply.’”

From the rear, a cone-shaped stone cut through the air. It struck the deer’s skull with precision and smoothly penetrated it. With a hole torn through its head, the deer finally lost all strength and collapsed. Around the small beast, now lifeless and smeared in muddy sludge, four girls gathered.

“Littlehorn subjugation complete.”

“Alright! Looks like we’ll manage to eat dinner tonight.”

“At last, we can hunt beasts in the forest ourselves.”

Nerva rested her spear on her shoulder, her face bright with satisfaction. Seeing her wag her tail-like enthusiasm, Sierra broke into a smile as well. Patema, who had delivered the finishing blow, instead looked relieved.

“None of you are injured, right? Sierra, I’ll just remove your fatigue.”

“Thank you, Fana.”

Fana checked her companions for injuries and eased the fatigue of Sierra, who had been running through the forest. It was the third day since they began training in the Traga Forest. For the first time, the four members of the Aurora Blade had successfully slain a magic beast using only their own strength.

“Then let’s hurry back and bleed it.”

“Yeah. If it starts to stink, it won’t taste good.”

Nerva hoisted the prey onto her shoulders. Whether magic beast or animal, anything hunted would start to smell if it wasn’t cooled and bled quickly. Wild game already had strong quirks, and without proper processing, it wouldn’t be edible. Just as the four of them were about to head back, faces glowing with satisfaction, the bushes nearby rustled loudly. Nerva immediately threw down the deer and readied her spear. Sierra reached for her sword, and Patema began channeling magic.

Their tension returned in an instant. The bushes shook again, and from within emerged a massive shadow.

“A bear!?”

“W-what!?”

What appeared was a gigantic black-furred bear. Not just two meters. If it stood upright, it looked like it could reach nearly three meters. Stunned by its sheer size, the girls froze. Just as Nerva, the first to recover, was about to thrust her spear…

“Wait, wait! It’s me!”

“Uwah!?”

The bear spoke. No. Upon closer inspection, the bear’s eyes were lifeless. Its limbs hung limp in an unnatural posture. As the four stared in disbelief, the bear shifted. From beneath the shaggy body emerged another bear… No, it was Balg.

“Balg-san!? Weren’t you resting at the campsite…?”

Sierra cried out in surprise at the unexpected appearance.

The previous night, Balg had suffered a torn shoulder. Though Fana had treated him with holy magic and wrapped him in bandages, he was supposed to be resting as a precaution. In fact, the reason they had gone all-out on deer hunting was because Sierra had strongly insisted on getting something nourishing for the injured Balg.

Sierra furrowed her brows in displeasure and Balg looked away awkwardly.

“Well, uh. Maybe Fana’s holy magic worked better than expected. I don’t feel any pain now. I thought I’d do a little test run… Or loosen up my shoulder.”

“And you decided to kill a bear for that? What the hell…”

Nerva stared up at the mountain-like bear in disbelief. Looking closely, the bear’s body bore multiple large, deep wounds that looked as though they had been inflicted by a battle axe. Even so, defeating a ferocious wild beast that far surpassed him in sheer size, and doing so while still recovering, was no small feat.

“Are you really just stuck at mid-tier? Or is the guild bullying you and keeping you from promotion, or something…”

“No, no. This is normal for a first-rate adventurer.”

“Is that so…?”

Even Patema looked doubtful. Sierra once again grasped the thickness and height of the wall separating them from the level of “first-rate.” To think that only after casually defeating a walking embodiment of violence like this bear did one finally qualify as mid-tier…

“Hehe. I’m glad my holy magic were effective.”

“Y-yeah. Thanks.”

Amidst all this, only Fana smiled brightly, her chest bouncing cheerfully. Balg awkwardly shifted his neck, and sensing a faint unease, Sierra tilted her head in confusion.

“Anyway, enough about me. Looks like you all managed to achieve results too.”

As if changing the subject, Balg gestured with his eyes toward the Littlehorn lying at Nerva’s feet.

“After seeing that bear, I can’t really say anything.”

“No, no. Littlehorns are quick. They’re actually a tough opponent for me.”

Balg tried to comfort the sulking Nerva. And his words were sincere. As a burly man built for wielding a great axe, he wasn’t suited to agile movement. Enemies that avoided combat and relied on speed to flee, like deer, were actually troublesome for him.

“Teamwork is a powerful weapon. If you hone it, you should be able to defeat a Pain Serpent too.”

“Thank you. For that, we have to become even stronger!”

When it came to cooperation between companions, there was nothing Balg could teach them. Gruff, taciturn, and poor with people, he had always been a perpetual solo adventurer, and among his attributes, teamwork ranked abysmally low. Seeing Sierra clench her fists and encourage herself, Balg nodded. Aurora Blade’s greatest weapon wasn’t youth, talent, or individual strength. It was the firm bond tying the four together and the seamless coordination born from it.

Many adventuring parties fell apart despite talent due to fractured relationships. However, since all four of them were women, they were likely far removed from the greatest source of trouble: romantic entanglements. He hoped they would continue building achievements together and rise to the heights of first-rate adventurers.

“Alright, let’s head back to camp. Nerva.”

“W-what?”

“Bears take time to butcher. Help me out.”

“—Tch! F-fine. I’ll go along with it.”

Nerva nodded with a resolute expression in response to Balg’s invitation. However, another voice cut in.

“Balg-san, that’s not acceptable. You’re supposed to be resting, yet you went and hunted a bear. Your wound might have reopened.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

At Fana’s words, both Balg—and for some reason Nerva as well—voiced their surprise.

“No, the wound’s already closed—”

“No. As a priestess, I need to monitor your condition. Nerva and Sierra can handle the butchering.”

“W-well, but…”

Balg hesitated. Fana left him no room to argue and pressed herself against his thick arm, clinging to it. Her breasts, larger than his head, squished softly around it. The moment Sierra saw this, she felt a faint pain deep in her chest.

“Hey, Patema. Don’t you think Fana’s clothes look kind of strange?”

“Hmm? Ah, now that you mention it, she did take out her sewing tools yesterday.”

Looking at Fana again, Sierra felt a sense of discomfort. She knew that Fana’s priestly outfit was difficult to source ready-made due to her figure, and that she sewed it herself. However, while it had previously concealed her body as much as possible, it now looked markedly different.

Her plump legs were visible up to the base of her thighs through a deep slit. Her chest was exposed from above the breasts, her cleavage fully on display. It was an appearance that seemed to flaunt feminine curves and to be honest, it was somewhat ill-suited for a holy woman who preached frugality.

“Apparently, she wanted to focus on ease of movement and ventilation.”

Patema, who shared a tent with Fana, explained the reason behind the change in design. Certainly, the Traga Forest had many obstacles, making mobility important. The humidity was high, and thick priestly garments caused sweating. More than that, Sierra knew Fana often complained about sweat and itchiness beneath her breasts and between her cleavage… Though Sierra herself hadn’t quite grasped the issue due to her modestly sized breasts.

“I see… That makes sense.”

Sierra nodded in understanding. Fana must have been trying in her own way to contribute more to the party. The design that emphasized her chest likely existed to support it firmly from below, preventing painful movement even during intense activity. Surely that was the reason.

The girl nodded repeatedly, as if convincing herself.

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