Chapter 15
The next day, the Hero’s party was heading to the village that had requested an orc hunt.
Yubel was still fast asleep, so Se-on had no choice but to carry her on his back.
Having grown accustomed to life in the modern world, she just couldn’t manage to get up in the morning without an alarm clock.
“Seriously… Yubel’s such a sleepyhead, huh, Se-on? Look, even poking her cheeks won’t wake her up!”
Poke, poke.
Riella poked Yubel’s cheek.
The dented cheek went boing! and bounced right back, all springy.
That soft, springy skin was the very embodiment of a lust demon capable of seducing anyone.
“You’re right. She doesn’t even realize I’m carrying her… I’m a little worried.”
The thought that this beautiful girl might get kidnapped anytime, anywhere made Se-on a little uneasy.
“Heehee! Boing, boing! Here I go—my ultimate Boing Dash, sixteen hits per second!!!”
Poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke-poke!!!
“Mmm… Nooo…”
Perhaps Riella’s cheek-poking had stirred her a little; Yubel pressed even closer to Se-on’s back.
Squeeze, squeeze. Rub, rub.
The pleasant feel of Yubel’s not-too-big, not-too-small breasts came through to Se-on’s back.
“Eek!?”
Could this be Yubel’s…
The sudden skinship from Yubel sent an uncontrollable wave of cold sweat down Se-on’s back.
“Mmh… Haa, haa…”
To top it off, Yubel’s moans began to reach his ears.
Anyone could see it: the writhing of a female trying to seduce a male.
Had Yubel finally accepted herself as a woman and gone into heat?
Half right.
She hadn’t accepted herself as a woman, but she was in heat.
However, it wasn’t Yubel’s intention. Se-on’s [Pheromone] skill had activated, making her body react automatically.
The closer Yubel was to Se-on, and the stronger the scent around her, the more powerful the effect became.
So Yubel, who had unconsciously pressed close to Se-on, had a perfectly good excuse for going into heat.
Though Se-on was having a hell of a time right now—in the worst way.
Squeeze, squeeze.
The waters of the East Sea…
Se-on silently sang the national anthem and tried to regain his composure.
It worked to some extent.
“Haha, this is fun! Huh? Se-on, are you okay? If she’s too heavy, should I carry her?”
Riella had assumed Se-on was struggling because Yubel was heavy, so she offered to carry her herself.
“…No. I want to carry her.”
Naturally, Se-on refused.
As he did, he adjusted Yubel’s smooth legs on his back once more.
“Really? Do you like Yubel, Se-on?”
“Huh?”
Riella had only asked because she was genuinely curious.
The person concerned was very flustered.
Like Yubel…
Even Se-on himself didn’t really understand his feelings.
Was this a feeling born of romantic affection?
Or was it simply a protective instinct, a desire to keep her safe?
Se-on was quite handsome, objectively speaking, but he’d dropped out of school as a child and entered college after passing the high school equivalency exam, so he’d never had a girlfriend. He knew nothing about feelings like these.
Even so, of course he had more friends than Yubel.
Thanks to his kind nature, he almost never lost touch with people.
But Yubel was just as good at keeping in touch.
If polls and advertising messages counted as contact, anyway.
Come to think of it, why had he dropped out?
Since coming to this world, Se-on had felt as though there were gaps in his memories.
At any rate, there was only one answer he could give.
“I’m not sure myself.”
“Hmm… I see! Still, you two look great together! I want to get as close as you are, too!”
“I-Is that so?”
We look great together…
What a mortifying thing to say.
Se-on tended to underestimate himself.
He’d spent so long surrounded by the extraordinary beauty of people from another world.
So hearing that he and Yubel looked good together made him feel better without him realizing it.
He never thought he’d hear such undeserved praise.
As Se-on thought about Yubel, he suddenly remembered that he’d resolved to learn more about her past.
Hmm, now that I think of it, I did want to learn more about Yubel.
Maybe Riella could help me?
Yubel usually doesn’t even want to talk to me much…
“Riella. There’s something I’d like to ask you. Could you do me a favor?”
“Hm? What is it, what is it? If it’s something I can do, I’ll do anything!”
“Then, if Yubel ever talks about herself, could you tell me about it, too? Ever since what happened in the carriage, it seems like she doesn’t want to talk to me…”
“That’s what you wanted to ask me? I can’t help it! The Hero’s party’s top archer will have to step in!”
“Yeah, thanks. I’m glad you’re here, Riella.”
“Hehe…”
It wasn’t polite to hear about someone from another person instead of from them directly, but there was no helping it.
Yubel’s past seemed anything but ordinary.
As the leader of the Hero’s party, Se-on thought it was his duty to get to know his companions.
A relationship built on hiding things from one another wouldn’t last.
Se-on really liked this party.
So much so that the weight of having to defeat the Demon King felt a little lighter.
“Mmm…? Where am I…? My meaaat…”
“Oh, you’re awake. You can sleep a little longer if you want.”
Yubel rubbed her eyes and looked around.
She looked like a newborn baby, and the corners of Se-on’s mouth lifted.
“W-What are you doing? Put me down! Now!”
“Huh? O-Okay.”
Flail, flail.
Yubel started thrashing around on his back, so he quickly set her down.
Her reaction was almost like a seizure, and Se-on tensed up.
Maybe she didn’t like being carried?
“Phew… I thought you were abandoning me.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“N-Nothing! Let’s hurry up! We’re going to hunt orcs, right?”
It had been a faint mutter, but Se-on had heard it clearly from so close by.
Yubel was sweating buckets for some reason.
Abandoning her?
How could she misunderstand him just because he was carrying her?
Se-on didn’t brush off Yubel’s words. He pondered them instead.
He’d promised he wouldn’t abandon her, but perhaps that still wasn’t enough to reassure Yubel.
“We’re heading to the village! They said we should check the request there before we go!”
“Thanks for letting me know, Riella. Then, shall we get going?”
Yubel hurried ahead at a brisk pace.
What was this uneasy feeling?
***
Yubel had a nightmare while riding on Se-on’s back.
‘Kahaha! Yubel, I don’t need you anymore! I’ve already got some women to fill up my skill points and a competent mage!’
‘N-No! I’m more capable than her! There’s no way I’d lose to that bitch!’
In the dream, Se-on kicked Yubel out of the Hero’s party while grabbing the women’s ample breasts in both hands.
That dream had left Yubel feeling a little unsettled.
“Haa… What was that? Could it have been a prophetic dream?”
One of the women beside the Hero had definitely been Riella.
Could something happen to Riella today?
“We’re here, you guys. Hmm, but the village looks a little…”
“Whoa…”
The Hero’s party stopped short when they reached the village.
It was far too quiet, as though no one lived there.
The village looked as if everyone had been dragged away all at once.
Every now and then, it seemed as though the scent of blood drifted through the air.
So they headed for the inn, the only place with its lights on.
Jingle, jingle.
“Oh? Hello! It’s rare to have anyone come by!”
As they entered, a woman who appeared to be the innkeeper welcomed the Hero’s party.
Yubel and Riella immediately sat down in empty seats to rest, while Se-on approached the woman who’d greeted him.
“Hello. We came after seeing the request posted by the Hero’s party. Is this the village that requested an orc hunt?”
“Oh, yes! Everyone here left because of those monsters, so I’m the only one left…”
From what the woman said, most of the villagers had fortunately managed to escape.
Se-on wanted to ask the woman, who seemed to be the innkeeper, for information about the orcs.
“By the way, why did the orcs show up?”
“I don’t know either. They just appeared out of nowhere…”
The woman mostly stuck to saying she didn’t know anything.
A little while later, Se-on approached the two resting nearby after hearing the woman’s story.
“Hmm, it looks like we should head out right away.”
“Huh? Why? I thought we’d finally get to rest…”
“Most of the villagers have left, but it seems the orcs are still wandering around in the nearby forest.”
When Yubel complained, Se-on slowly explained the reason.
“You just want to go because you feel like it…”
“Hm?”
Jingle——!
Yubel led the still-sleepy Riella out of the inn.
Se-on had the feeling Yubel had been getting more sensitive ever since he’d said he was going to use a skill.
Maybe her period was coming up. Come to think of it, wasn’t it about that time of the month…
After thinking for a little while, Se-on left the inn a bit later.
***
Yubel was in a bad mood.
A very, very bad mood!
The reason was that she’d woken up to find Se-on carrying her, had just had a crappy dream, and had been dealing with pain since yesterday because of her ‘time of the month.’
Ugh, why are my panties so damp, too?
Was there still blood on them?
It wasn’t blood. It was a slightly different kind of liquid.
The juices she’d poured out all over Se-on’s back earlier.
Fortunately, Se-on thought it was cold sweat.
Thanks to that, Yubel had just barely managed to save face.
Hmm…
How did women put up with this pain once a month?
Was there no spell to stop a period?
There was one.
But Yubel would never use it.
“Uuuh, Yubeel. I wanna go with Se-on. I don’t wanna run… I like Se-on…”
Riella, being dragged along beside Yubel, whined.
“No! Why are you always trying to stick to him lately? If this goes on… Ugh! Anyway, no!”
“Hiiing…”
This was driving her crazy.
Riella had clearly discovered the pleasures of a man’s cock.
She’d been so innocent when they first met, but now she’d fallen this far.
The capture progress was way too fast…
Yubel was breaking into a cold sweat over Se-on’s capture speed.
That horny look Riella had shown before had been completely unbelievable to Yubel.
Why?
Yubel didn’t know about the [Pheromone] skill.
She was the kind of gamer who saved up skill points to unlock only powerful skills, so she’d never paid any attention to a skill that cost a measly five points.
So she couldn’t imagine Riella’s behavior was caused by a skill.
If Yubel had been gifted with the ability to think up a skill she couldn’t even imagine, she might have guessed it was a skill. But if she’d had that kind of ability, she’d probably have become a writer in her previous life.
In other words, thinking beyond the limits of her imagination wasn’t easy for the blockheaded Yubel.
And so, Yubel was now setting off on what you might call a love elopement with Riella.
If things kept going like this, the Hero might use Riella again.
The dream I had today must’ve been a warning from heaven.
The sky grew a little hazy.
Dash, dash!
And so Yubel took Riella and ran without stopping.
To separate Riella from the Hero.
That was the way Yubel had chosen to save Riella.
-You guys!! Where are you?!
Damn it.
The voice of the horny Hero rang out behind them.
Yubel took Riella’s hand and started running even faster.
“Waaaah? Yubel!? You’re going too fast!”
Riella woke up from the sudden burst of speed.
Yubel wondered what to do next.
Once I get away with Riella, what do I do?
Should I just say she ran off to follow her dreams? I have to go back to the Hero in a little while!
Yubel had been scared by the dream she’d had that day and the village’s strange atmosphere, so she’d acted a little hastily.
Thud, thump!
Just then, Riella’s bow, which had been bouncing around wildly, fell to the ground.
“Yube-e-e-el!! My bow!”
“Great! Run faster for now!”
Yubel and Riella ran and ran through the dense forest, unable to see what lay ahead.
They kept going until they could no longer hear the Hero’s voice.
How long had they run like that?
Before they knew it, the sun had set, and darkness had swallowed the forest.
It seemed the Hero wasn’t chasing them anymore.
After walking for a long while with Riella’s hand tightly clasped in hers, Yubel felt like Hansel and Gretel in a fairy tale.
“Yubel… I’m scared!”
Riella’s trembling hand sent a shiver through Yubel, too.
“H-Hey, don’t shake! You’re scaring me, too! Besides, you said you can control the fire spirit. Try lighting it up.”
“Oh! You’re a genius, Yubel! Please come out, Spirit!”
Whoosh!
Flames began to rise around Riella.
“Oh, now I can see a little better. Hmm, where are we?”
They were surrounded by wooden huts.
There was also a familiar scent of chestnut blossoms drifting into their noses.
And every now and then, they heard a snorting sound.
No way.
This can’t be real, right?
“Squeal! There’s a female here. Squeal. I’m in the best mood today! Squeal!”
“This is great! Squeal. I’m inviting her home! Squeal. I have a thing for horned women. Squeal!”
“Yubel? It looks like we’re…”
…
We’re so fucked.
Yubel and Riella had entered an ‘Orc Village.’