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“Phew...” I sure hope that the conversation with the Miria-girl will stop her antics. It's not like I liked saying that stuff to her, but I hate postponing important stuff more.
Jii-san, Ara-san, and Rine are still out there, and I really don't like anyone here and have no gaming console to pass the time, so I could either search for the three out there, possibly missing them, or just look for the one person left that I can trust here: Kyou-san.
It doesn't take much to find her, just a [Pitch] to find her voice out of all the other noise here. She's also in the center of a rather stink-intensive center. Does she make herbal medicine? Seems like it, she's surrounded by eight cauldrons and looks like a witch while adding several herbs into the brews.
“Hey. Have you seen the rest?”
“No, and if you have nothing else, don't distract me.”
“Phew... anything I can help with?”
“Unless you picked up [Healer] while I was not looking, no.”
“Why are you even doing it alone in the first place?”
“Because this is the one thing I can do that nobody else can. Seriously, we should be on the road by now! Ah, just leave, Ken! Seeing you makes me angry right now!”
I could point out that I didn't make the final decision, but I guess Kyou-san is just irritated and to be honest, I can totally relate to that. She's helping even though this situation goes against her better judgment.
I guess I didn't consider her situation. She went through the same events as I, and while she may have suffered less damage, nothing went well for her since she started being with me. “Alright, I'll go. Keep doing your best.” I turn around, leaving her cursing me under her breath.
What to do now? I guess I could prepare for the attack, and in my case it'd be best to train. Even though the last battle was more or less in my favor, I was basically facing the weaklings of the barbarians.
Problem is, how to train. Monster hunting would make the most sense, get those XP, increase the level, and while I will need to figure out how to use these stat-increases—as [Attributes] only represent a potential—it would give me the most reliable way to increase my power.
But for that, I need to go out, search and kill monsters. I guess, I could go through some of the avoided woods and the like for that, which means I need to ask someone where monsters are gathering, but that would mean leaving the farmstead unprotected while the rest, with the exception of Kyou-san, are preparing our warning system.
Not a good idea at the moment.
Guess, I'll just look at my new [Skills] and try to find how I can use them. I'm especially keen on learning about [Inspirit]. This [Skill] allows me to put my spirit in a dead object, as long as it used to be a spirit host. As spirits are part of a living being, I can [Inspirit] a log, but not a rock.
Yet it only gives the object a mock-spirit, it doesn't make it alive again, so what use does it have? Easy, [Spirit Magic] only works with spirits, so the question is what spells I can use on such an object.
Ara-san's [Regrow] was able to repair my broken, inspirited spear. There have to be more applications, and even if I'd prefer to find out with Ara-san, I have some time now.
I walk to the fields with a branch I picked up from the heap of wood at the chopping place. First, [Inspirit]. Next: “[Entangle]!” The branch moves to catch a bird, which dodges with ease, then I cancel the spell, and the branch goes back to the original shape.
[Inspirit]. “[Entangle]!” Again, the bird dodges, but this time I cancel [Inspirit], and the branch ceases its movement, totally warped. Hm... [Inspirit]. “[Entangle]!” The bird has enough and flies away, and I cancel [Entangle], the branch stays in its former warped space.
So using [Entangle] on my spear has the risk of it becoming warped, if I somehow lose control over [Inspirit]. Well, [Inspirit]. I throw the branch, watching its spirit fade as it leaves my hand. Too bad, the idea of carrying a bunch of branches in my backpack and throwing some [Entangles] won't be a thing.
Oh well, I have some other ideas. Let's try [Inspirit]'s limits! “KEN-KUN, YOU TRAITOR!” Maybe later, as Ara-san yells at me from a distance, probably pissed that I’m doing some experiments with [Skills] on my own. Rine and Jii-san are next to her.
“I WOULDN'T NEED TO IF YOU WERE FASTER!” The reason I did it was because I was waiting for you! “COME!”
After some talk, I learned that the animal network is established, though probably unreliable, as birds and critters aren't really intelligent in the first place and don't need much of a memory to survive. Maybe that's why some alfar 'awakened' a bunch of squirrels, granting them a greater sense of self-consciousness.
In return, I reluctantly mentioned the farmers that joined this upcoming battle. “That's great!” Rine pumps her fists in excitement, while I'm more or less inclined to think that we just got a whole lot of more people that won't affect the outcome of the battle in a meaningful way.
Though if barbarians are tier 2—just like me—I guess if enough of them work together, they could probably take on one barbarian. “Jii-san, does it make sense to teach them some fighting?”
“In general, yes. For a barbarian attack... no way. Though maybe? I mean, barbarian's aren't used to any meaningful resistance from farmers, so... We could make these people here feel better?”
Rine shares her thought: “If they learn to work together, they will be able to halt the normal warriors at least, so we can take on their stronger ones!”
“Phew... in the end, we want to fight that Trenn-thing.”
“Trenvig,” Jii-san corrects.
“Whatever. We need to plan and we need to train. Rine, would you mind fetching Kyou-san? She may be still busy, but I’d like to have everyone for that.”
“Sure, I'll be right back.” She runs towards the farmstead, even using [Swishstride] which rustles Ara-san's ponytail.
“Now that she's away, be frank, Jii-san. How much of a chance do we have to resist the next attack? This would be a stronger party than before, right?”
“If we know of it quick enough, our chances are good, unless we get someone unexpectedly strong as an enemy. Usually, it should be one or two youngsters,” “Tier 1s,” adds Ara-san mid-sentence, “five to ten warriors” “Tier 2s.” “and maybe one or two veterans.” “Above tier 2.”
“...maybe ten tier 2s!? And they're that stupid tough!? In addition to people stronger than me? And you believe we have a good chance!?”
“...now that you say it, it may be harder than I thought. But between Rine-kun and me, we should be able to handle that. You also seem to be able to fend for yourself, so everything will go fine.”
“Phew...” I really wish I could be that optimistic. I also wished that the farmers had decided to flee to the next village or town, so that I could leave them there, but I want to repay that debt I have. Maybe it's Rine who rubbed off on me?
After asking some more questions about the barbarians and the Trenbrick—trying to gather enough information to make a good decision—Rine returns with Kyou-san, who looks a bit pissed, probably because she's rather stressed.
Sorry, but I guess you won't like where this is going. “Alright, we all are now stuck in defending this place, and I want to win. I have an idea how.”
“Tell us, tell us!” Rine presses while also nudging closer to me, probably wanting to hug my arm or so. I'll just let her.
“First, we let the farmers do their best to build up defenses. It may be useless, but they get the feeling to do something and this may appease their fears. It doesn't make sense to teach them to fight, they're not heroes, which means they would need time, time we don't have.
On the other hand, we are heroes-” “I'm not.” “Shut up, Jii-san.” “Auw.” “We can improve in little time. Which means we'll be doing some intensive training. Rine, can you use [Korona] at will?” That's her non-skill, which allows her to burn up and empowers her.
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“I haven't tried yet... I also wouldn't know how.”
“Figures.” Of course she can't, as that would be helpful. “I would love to make a training plan for each of you, but I know shit about that, so does anyone have an idea?”
I look at Rine, who is about to grab my arm: “Sure, we can spar, do basic training, I know what to do!”
“May I?” Jii-san lifts his hand. “I think I should train Kenta-kun.” Wait, what?
“But Dear is already sparring with me, so we can just continue to do that!”
“Lass, let me be frank. I think Kenta-kun will grow more under me.”
“You're wrong!”
“Am not!”
“Dear! You're training with me, right?”
“Lad, you want to learn how to fight barbarians, right? Then let a barbarian teach you!”
Sorry Rine, I'm with Jii-san here. Though the biggest argument would be the possibility of [Barbarian] being a class-up, which would help me a lot down the line. “Rine, I-” Oh shit, she's going to be angry!
While Rine is often reasonable, she's also often impulsive. Do I want to gamble on it? “I think I prefer Jii-san.” I hate being honest.
“Mou!”
“Come on, let's not fight over that,” Kyou-san adds in a calm voice.
“How about that, Rine-kun:” Jii-san makes an offer: “Let's fight over it.”
Five minutes later, Rine and Jii-san are facing each other, starting around 5 meters apart. “Ara, give the signal!” Rine demands, her eyes lit with resolve.
“Draw your weapon!” Rine draws her overpowered [Friedensbote], while Jii-san remains unarmed, saying he doesn't need one, which may have infuriated Rine even further. “Take your stance!” Rine flows into a battlestance, the sword above her head, showing her intent for a quick attack, while Jii-san just rolls his shoulders. “Fight!”
Without missing a beat, Rine uses [Swishstride], intending to bridge the gap between them immediately. Yet Jii-san flicks his fist: “[Sonic Burst]!”
The sound of exploding air almost deafens me, while Rine twists her body, which is then pushed away a small bit, I guess mitigating the damage as best as she can. I see the grass moving around her, that [Skill] is a wide AoE, which Rine always struggled with!
“[Sonic Burst]!” This time, Jii-san puts his back into it, a large portion of the grass is breaking away, creating a crevice of dirt, while Rine falls on her back, seemingly knocked out.
…
… … …
Shit, Rine was only able to stand two attacks!? Was it because of the pressure? Pure power traveling through her body, attacking her organs!? I mean... It's Rine!
“Argh... ah...” Jii-san also looks like shit. In a sense, he looks more hurt than Rine, who lost some HP, SP, but got the [Stunned]-status without much damage.
“Winner is Grekkun!” Ara-san decides.
Kyou-san sits next to Rine: “[Heal]!”
This is enough to make Rine lift herself up. “What happened?”
“Lass,” Jii-san says while trying to smile: “that's what you will face. Try to work on a counter. I'll work with Kenta-kun in the meantime.”
“...yes... I'm sorry, Dear.” You realize that I was OK with training under Jii-san in the first place? “Sorry, Kyou. Sorry, Ara. It seems that I'm not good enough to train you.”
“Don't misunderstand, lass. You're terrifying, and attacking from afar and covering a lot of space with my attack was the only way I could come up to make you not dismember me. Also, could I get a healing spell as well? My back and shoulder hurt!”
“...fine,” Kyou-san is obviously pissed. Yet she touches Jii-san on the shoulder from behind: “[Heal]! [Rejuvenate]!” She coughs as she begins to shine and pushes it into Jii-san back and forth, but this seems to work somewhat.
“Ah, much better. Thank you. Now back to the topic, Rine-kun: You're much stronger than you should be, but you're sorely lacking experience on how to fight at your level. Learn to deal with attacks like that, otherwise you will stay blindsided. I can't teach you, you and I fight very differently. Looking at Kenta-kun, my instincts also tell me that he's closer to me than you. All of you are still young and can grow so much more. Grow from this fight until I have no idea how to defeat you. Teach your style to the other girls, they will profit from it. Leave Kenta-kun to me.” He offers Rine his hand.
She takes it, a fierce and glad smile growing: “Yes! I will take these words to heart!”
Well, looks like I will do a lot of training with Jii-san, but leaving it at this won't be enough. “We also need to work on our [Skills] and [Spells]. Let's hope we banked enough AP so that we can learn a lot of new ones.”
I hope if I replace the word 'work out' with 'grind' in my head, I will be more motivated, though.
―○●○―
At the farmstead Red Horst, which is occupied by the Northwind Clan.
Chieftain Brumm becomes annoyed, as one of the scouting groups hasn’t returned. It was Ulw's group, someone who did clanswork enough to know to return in time. “Who was with him?” Brumm asks Harkon who chose the scouts for the mission.
“Skall, Woda, and Inolf. A bit arrogant, but no troubles so far.”
“Hm... how likely do you think that they're wasting time?”
“Very.”
“Of course... gather some people, it looks like it's gonna rain today. I don’t think they ran into enemies, but if we let the rain wash away their tracks, then it’ll get really annoying if I'm wrong.”
“Yes, chieftain. I'm gonna take Frett and Bjonn with me.”
“Sure, how about old Tjim as well? He's getting restless at his age.”
“Man, this sounds like we're raiding the next place.”
“After you find the scouts, sure. I mean, you did your work then.”
Brumm and Harkon laugh without a worry, as there is little that can stand against the barbarians, and even if the scouts have run into something unexpected, it is probably just delaying them.
―○●○―
It's evening, and Dear and I are sitting on his bed. We will begin the real training tomorrow, for today he was busy experimenting with Ara, while I was training for myself. I'm a bit sweaty, I hope he doesn't mind. But I asked him to be with me, and because of the rain, walking around outside would be uncomfortable.
With more people coming from the farms, the space inside has become limited, so I'm fine with it. Kyou and the rest also decided to leave us alone, so we can spend time as lovers.
I lean my body against him, and while he tenses up, he doesn't shove me away. With us sitting on the bed, it sets a certain mood, and I don't mind it.
Dear seems to be in thought, maybe trying to start a conversation, but right now I don't need to talk. I only need to be with him. Ah, maybe Dear doesn't know it? “Dear?”
“Yes?”
“Just be with me. That's enough.” I would also love if he would relax a bit, but he told me that he has little idea how lovers are supposed to act. Maybe he's just overthinking it? Father and mother always seem to be content to be with each other, and I think I share that sentiment.
I rest my head on his shoulder, or at least try to. It's a bit complicated, as we're about the same height. I turn to his face, and suddenly find myself kissing his cheek: “I love you.” That's the truth, even though he may not believe it. Then I just have to repeat it over and over again.
And one day, he will say to me: 'I love you too.'
I snuggle up a bit more, his tension grows. “Am I too close?”
He thinks about it, closing his eyes, looking inside of him: “Maybe.”
“But it feels so good.” As neither of us are wearing armor right now, I can feel him through the clothes. “Tell me, if I'm too needy, OK?”
“Yeah.”
Does that mean he doesn't mind it too much? “Kenta?” I use his name this time, and it runs down my throat like honey: “Can I have a kiss?” This is so daring, but also feels right.
Dear turns around, and I see him blushing, which is so cute, but the moment his dark eyes are laid on my bright ones, their piercing insensitivity makes me want to meld away. His hand slowly grabs my shoulder and then he presses his lips on mine.
A fire burns inside me, and my arms wrap around him, as my thoughts begin to fade away. As he tries to separate, I keep pushing, not only my lips, but also my tongue, licking his lips, his teeth, searching for his tongue, first slowly, then strongly. I don't even know in whose mouth they're entangling, but I do feel a tingle that waves from my toes to my hair, and my heart-beat drones out every sound.
If Dear pushes me down now, I wouldn't mind. I wanted to do all the things lovers do, and I had this in mind when saying that. I want us to be one.
I take his hand, and put some pressure on it, twisting its fingers until they snap, then with a quick thrust, the sound of a breaking wrist welcomes me.
...wait a minute, that last one sounds wrong!
“Aaaaargh....arghhhhhhhhh!” Dear lies on the bed, holding his broken and bloodied hand in pain, as he screams in anguish.
“Ah, Dear! Stay with me! [Heal]!” While the spell may alleviate the pain and closes the open wounds I caused, this is not enough to mend the bones. “Wait a minute, I’ll get Kyou!”
I open the door, seeing Mirianne with wide-open eyes. “I---I heard a scream!”
“Later! Kyou!” I open the door across, the room she shares with Ara and me. Nobody is there. “Mirianne, get Kyou! Dear is hurt!”
“But I could-”
“NOW!”
“YES!”
Luckily, she was around, even though I don't like her much.
Our whole party comes with Mirianne, and Kyou treats Dear broken fingers and wrist with another [Rejuvenate]. “*Sigh*, why did I even have to do that?”
“I'm soooooooo sorry, Dear!” I apologize once again. “I don't know what happened, suddenly my hand moved, and then...”
“Phew... don't worry too much. Was my fault, anyway.”
“No, it was my fault.”
“Rine, I know that your body does things to protect you, and this usually results in hurting others. Do you remember the night you almost killed Ara-san?”
“Ah, don't remind me.”
“Me neither, Ken-kun. Whenever I try to remember, my head hurts.” Ara's ears raise to follow up her sorrowful voice: “So Katarine-kun's body protects her chastity?”
Dear looks away, while Kyou furrows her forehead. “AHAHAHAHAHA!” Grekk laughs out loud, while Mirianne smiles, I guess she finds it funny as well.
“But it bothers me! I want to--- well, with Dear, you know... Tehe!” Saying it directly is a bit embarrassing.
“We all knew what you were up to, Katarine-san. You wanted to have sex.” Hearing Ara saying that, Mirianne blushes. I can understand, hearing it directly is really embarrassing, I feel my face flushing while my eyes move to the ground.
Yet there is a really sad truth there... “Why do I keep hurting people?”
“Most likely because of Gottfried's training,” Dear guesses while scratching his head. “You're a princess, after all.” So Instructor made me protect my chastity to that extent!?
“Mou!” I need to work on that! “Don't you worry, Dear! We'll get through that!” Then I flush again, as I said something very embarrassing myself, but this time I hold my head high!
I promise to myself: We'll try again tomorrow!