Chapter 2: A Hardcore Masochist Isn’t Always Excited

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I was a life-enjoying, hardcore-M meat shield, but that didn’t mean that was all I ever did. For example, I normally handled solo quests just fine, and most of the time I finished fights quickly without indulging in that sort of fetish. I always wanted to feel good, sure, but I didn’t have a problem if I didn’t.

Before being a hardcore M, I was an adventurer, so prioritizing finishing requests was only natural, and resolving a client’s troubles as quickly as possible was a given.

Putting my kink first? I never did that. I had decided that I would only do those things when I had companions, when it didn’t look like we’d be wiped out, and only at moments when I could fully take the hits and still secure a victory. I wasn’t some indiscriminate hardcore M. I was a gold-rank masochist, controlled by reason.

In my party, Dawn, we decided to spend half of each week on personal time. Even when you were irreplaceable companions, there were times when you wanted to be alone.

Astrea the elf wanted to enjoy forest bathing. Carla wanted to train. Marianne wanted to visit the orphanage. I wanted to rest my body. Those wishes overlapped often, so we decided to boldly set aside days to do whatever we wanted, which led to the current schedule.

Back when we first met, we had zero coordination. We barely did more than gather once a week to tackle a slightly difficult quest. Compared to that, we’d really learned to cooperate. And so, today, I was here to clear out a backlog of personal quests.

Even if my fighting style relied on my companions, I was still gold rank. Gold rank was the second rank from the top, which meant the guild relied on me accordingly. You could also say I was treated like a handy errand-runner, but I was just a gold-rank adventurer with no backing.

Carla was a disciple of an eastern swordmaster, Marianne had the church behind her, and Astrea was a high elf. Our positions were completely different. I didn’t mind, though. I didn’t dislike doing quests, and the fact that someone became happy because of what I did and I got paid for it? There was no reason to complain.

“Hmm, around here?”

The place I’d arrived at was a forest about two hours by carriage from the royal capital. Known as the Immortal Forest, it was home to tree monsters called Treehorns. Individually they weren’t very strong, but the problem was their numbers. If you spotted one, there were at least twenty. They reproduced endlessly from fallen branches, making them extremely troublesome. If left alone, you could find an entire forest overrun with Treehorns before you realized it.

That said, nature wasn’t so simple. They kept multiplying because they had many natural enemies. Normally forest bears and other animals that gnawed on trees would eat them, preventing them from growing out of control but this time, things were different.

A King. Treehorns had kings. If a long-lived individual over a hundred years old failed to weaken, it could become a king that commanded nearby Treehorns. A massive tree that sat like the ruler of the forest. It was once called a King Tree in ancient times. Its combat ability was fairly troublesome, capable of freely manipulating fast-moving wooden projectiles. I’d never fought one myself.

This time, there was a chance a Treehorn King existed, which was why the request had been assigned to me, a gold-rank adventurer, but..

“…What is going on here…?”

I’d been walking for about an hour, yet I hadn’t found a single Treehorn. No, that wasn’t quite right. There were Treehorn corpses. Dead Treehorns couldn’t reproduce, turning into nothing more than fallen trees and they were scattered everywhere. Judging by the amount, it seemed certain there’d been a mass outbreak of Treehorns, but…

“Who did this…?”

I hadn’t heard of any other requests being issued. If this wasn’t the work of humans, things got troublesome. Either it was the result of the outbreak… Or the cause of it. There was a strong chance this had become a far more dangerous case.

Should I retreat for now, or scout? Scout. I’d scout and then pull back. If it took an hour to walk, it’d take about fifteen minutes to run. I could escape without pushing myself.

I readjusted my greatshield and tightened my grip on the mace in my right hand. And the moment I started walking… Something flew out from deep within the forest.

Deflect—no, it’s a person!? I need to stop it!

The instant I realized it was a human, I lowered my shield and let go of the mace. Before the thrown mace even hit the ground, I caught the flying person. The impact wasn’t much. Compared to the spear I’d taken the other day, it felt like being shoved by a child. I gently lowered the person to the ground and froze in shock.

“…A woman?”

Her arm was crushed, but there were no other major injuries. Golden hair, a face that still held traces of youth. She wore light armor and carried simple weapons. It was clear to see she wasn’t a novice. She was unconscious with a pained expression, like she’d taken a hit but somehow endured it.

—Thud.

Heavy footsteps shook the earth. Looking toward where she’d come from, I glimpsed a massive figure through the trees. A hulking body wrapped in fur. Its claws were sharp enough to pulverize trees and tear prey apart. Larger than most dragon species, it lumbered forward. Treehorns’ natural predator, and one of the forest’s apex beings….

“A special variant of Forest Bear, huh … Come on, don’t show up so casually like that.”

The pressure emanating from its nearly eight-meter-long body was overwhelming. A normal person would turn tail and flee or rather, wouldn’t even be able to.

But, well… I’m a gold rank, remember?

I had the strength to match the title. Someone who couldn’t beat a big bear wouldn’t last years as the meat wall in that party. I moved the girl behind me and picked up my mace. I’d come prepared for a massive Treehorn, so this was a bit tougher but adjusting plans was everyday business. Compared to recent party hunts where enemies were so strong I had no option but to take hits, this was manageable. The Forest Bear, thinking of me as an insignificant opponent, advanced slowly.

“Don’t… It’s… No use…”

“You’re awake? You got lucky, miss.”

“You can’t… Beat… That…”

She murmured weakly from where she lay. I understood her point. If you weren’t used to massive creatures, you wouldn’t even think of resisting. I was different. I could charge despite the difference in strength, but I was able to do that because of a certain fetish of mine. But I was well aware I wasn’t normal. 

So… Let me show her how a veteran handled things. I faced the careless Forest Bear in a relaxed stance.

—Right foot forward, left leg kicking off.

I closed the distance in an instant. It still hadn’t fully recognized me as a threat as I swung my mace down with everything I had.

—CRASH!!

I crushed the skull, split flesh, slammed its head into the ground and twisted my wrist for another blow. Blood and gore splattered onto my cheek. Leaving the twitching corpse behind, I turned back to the girl.

“…Eh…”

I smiled to reassure the stunned girl.

“One more thing. Are there any enemies deeper in?”

“Uh… I don’t think so.”

“I see. Any casualties?”

“Ah… Right. Everyone else…”

“Got it. I’ll check. If something that big claimed the territory, monsters shouldn’t come near for a while. Wait here. How many people are there?”

“Th-three. Three people! Please, help them…!”

If the bear hadn’t killed them, they were probably alive, but I’d need to find them first to know for sure.  After moving her to the shade, I headed deeper in. The trampled path was easy to follow. Soon I reached a small clearing littered with fallen Treehorns.

A relatively large Treehorn sat further back. No movement. It was already dead. No enemies in sight either. Searching carefully among the fallen trees, I found humans.

First, a woman. Her armor was shattered, exposing her inner wear, but please consider this as a special case. I definitely saw her inner wear by accident!

Second, a woman. No obvious wounds, but marks like she’d been constricted were littered on her body. Probably from a Treehorn attack.

Third, another woman. Her face was hidden by a helmet, her shattered armor fully exposed underneath. Lucky pervert situation, sure. But she was injured. This was no time for that. As an adventurer first and a man second, I gathered them without dwelling on it. When I returned with all three, the girl was standing, leaning against a tree.

“Ah…! How’s everyone!?”

“They’re alive. Not exactly in a state to show their appearance to other people, though.”

“Oh, thank goodness…!”

Despite being injured herself, she cried in relief over their survival. She was a good kid…. And a good team member. What were we like at that age?

If I remembered right… Carla attacked, Astrea’s magic got in the way, they argued while I got beaten to a pulp (with great joy), and Marianne desperately healed me. What a team. Absolutely flawless…. For a shield like me. They always killed the enemy, and Marianne had been a saint from the start.

Maybe because I was thinking that… I should’ve just picked her up and left. But I let my guard down.

“Ah… Th-thank you. I can’t express how grateful I am. May I have your name?”

“I’m Finn. A gold-rank adventurer.”

“W-what!? Gold rank…!!”

Her pure admiration felt good. Admiration from someone younger! And a hidden fetish of mine that would shatter those admiration to pieces!  If she knew, she’d never respect me again… And that thought made my heart race.

I am the worst…

“I’m Charlotte. Charlotte Bernstein.”

“…Bernstein?”

“Yes.”

Bernstein…. The most noble bloodline in the kingdom. A name only direct descendants could bear.

“…May I ask your father’s name?”

“Haha! You don’t need to use such formal words, my savior. I’d be happy if you treated me like a friend.”

Princess Charlotte said that with reddened ears. My blood ran cold.

The Immortal Forest. Abnormal Treewood outbreak near the capital. A Forest Bear special variant feeding on it. An all-female party, including the princess. I was a masochist, and most pain felt good to me. But still… I wasn’t that far gone to enjoy getting involved in royal conspiracies!!

“Uh, um—o-oh… I’m glad you’re safe.”

Was my face twitching? Yeah. Definitely. Princess Charlotte even gave me a wry smile.

Sorry, everyone…. I got dragged into noble intrigue…

Cold faces flashed through my mind.

『You truly do nothing but cause trouble.』

Ca-Carla…

『Don’t drag me into human squabbles. Power struggles are ugly in body and soul.』

A-Astrea!!

『As a member of the church, and as a saint, I cannot take sides in a nation’s affairs. This is farewell. Goodbye, pervert.』

Marianne!!

This feels insanely good!! Thinking this in front of a princess…. How disrespectful…! And so exciting!!!

“Anyway… Thank you. Without you, we’d have been wiped out. I swear I will repay you, in the name of Bernstein.”

“Got it. I’ll accept that, Prin—Charlotte.”

I wasn’t happy at all. Even a hardcore M had the right to choose his suffering. I wanted to say it out loud, but if my secret got out, it was over.

So I said nothing.

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T/N: He still has the leeway to hallucinate (TヮT)