Chapter 6: Deals That Never Work (4)

A small tent was set up, and preparations to light a fire were completed, marking the end of the camping preparations.

The crimson sunset was gradually disappearing, and it was obvious that the dark night would soon arrive if we waited a little longer.

While this world wasn’t as comfortable as the original one, it had enough convenient settings to mimic reality with magic.

This tent, for instance, was one such item, ensuring we wouldn’t have to worry about the heat even on a summer day.

The only thing worth worrying about was this damned party.

“It’s tasteless…”

“Please bear with it a little. We’ll definitely rest at an inn tomorrow.”

Seeing Laura whining about the food being bland, even though it was thanks to her that we ended up camping like this, made my anger bubble up.

It’s true that magic allows us to live somewhat comfortably, and the preservation period of food is longer than expected.

However, the issue lies in the fact that camping wasn’t part of our party’s plans.

Of course, unexpected situations can arise as we travel through various regions, so we made minimal preparations.

But expecting the food to taste good under such minimal efforts might be the real mistake.

Hardened bread and a few disgustingly unappetizing pieces of jerky – that was our dinner.

Although I told Laura to endure just a bit longer, I honestly couldn’t understand her confidence, considering she woke up late in the afternoon after fooling around all night.

I believe I have a fair and upright perspective, but watching this damned loli with a handle sends my thoughts spiraling into discriminatory notions against other races.

This situation reminds me of my days as a cadet.

“Cadet…? Oh, Natalia, you were a knight, weren’t you?”

“…Of course, I was a knight.”

Natalia, the oldest in our party, seemed accustomed to these situations.

She silently ate her food and began reminiscing about her days as a knight cadet.

More than that, what’s with the “of course I was a knight” statement? From the sidelines, she looks more like a b*tch desperate to get laid than a knight.

“A knight cadet, huh? That sounds so cool.”

“Fufu, does the hero think so too? One day, when all this is over, you should try becoming a knight yourself. It would suit you better than anyone else.”

“A knight of the Rajahan Kingdom… That doesn’t sound bad.”

“Well, before that, I’ll expose the hero’s filthy side with the paladins.

So, until then – just until we reach the Holy Kingdom – I’ll hold on to my chastity and claim victory.”

“…Wait, did everyone hear that?”

It was a brief chat, but since there was no hypnotic influence tonight, the heroines seemed relatively normal.

With no night-time noises to disrupt us, I began humming, feeling I could sleep soundly tonight.

Suddenly, the hero reached for his sword.

For a moment, but unmistakably, I felt it.

The flow of mana shifted slightly.

At the hero’s question, Natalia and Laura focused and seemed to detect the abnormality in the forest in their own ways.

Their expressions turned serious.

On my end, I couldn’t discern the difference.

Was this the gap between combat and support roles?

“It seems we won’t get much rest tonight.”

“The numbers are small, and since they haven’t attacked immediately, it’s likely a patrol. Something must have happened nearby.”

“…Humpty, Dumpty’s Silent Secret.”

With broadsword and rapier in hand, the hero and Natalia rose to their feet.

At the same time, Laura waved her staff adorned with a glowing blue crystal.

Sparkles spread across the surroundings, and silence descended over the forest, leaving not even a single insect sound.

“Leave the vanguard to me, hero!”

Natalia charged into the forest.

There, a group of armed goblins came into view.

Thanks to Laura’s magic, her footsteps made no sound, and she had already closed the distance.

“Grrk!”

Natalia reduced her profile to minimize the target area, blocking the first goblin’s attack with her left hand before driving her weapon forward.

The goblin let out a final cry as it collapsed, the sword having pierced its heart.

Her second attack used the cup hilt of her rapier as a butler-like guard.

She tilted her stance slightly, protecting her weapon hand.

Redirecting the goblin’s strength upward, the rapier moved with a crisp metallic sound, descending diagonally to target the nape of its neck.

Rapiers are inherently lighter than greatswords, sacrificing killing power due to their lower mass.

To decisively subdue an opponent, larger, more deliberate motions are required, making simple rapid attacks meaningless.

In this context, Natalia’s movements, transitioning seamlessly back to her original stance and extending her arm towards the next target, resembled a beautiful dance.

“Hero, now’s your chance!”

The hero seized the opening created by Natalia and charged into the disoriented goblin formation like a nightmare.

If this had been a well-trained group of soldiers, they might have quickly reformed and counterattacked.

But unfortunately for the goblins, their intelligence didn’t reach such heights.

The hero, a walking stat monster, easily cleaned up the situation.

There was nothing to worry about.

The roots that bound, the hazy mirages – Laura’s magic handled the main force arriving late to the scene, leaving them thoroughly neutralized.

One way or another, our hero’s party was unstoppable.

For the goblins, encountering us was undoubtedly the worst misfortune of their lives.

Not that I had any complaints about having nothing to do – in fact, I was thankful for it.

“This forest shouldn’t have monsters… So why would a group of goblins appear here?”

“Indeed, it is strange. As the hero said, this area shouldn’t be part of the goblins’ territory.”

“Doesn’t that imply the Demon King’s descent is approaching?”

The unexpected appearance of goblins made the hero and Natalia fall into thought.

But seriously, in a fantasy eroge setting, goblins show up everywhere. Is it really worth pondering?

What’s more important right now is…

“Well, if a goblin group is wandering around like this, maybe they’ve already attacked a caravan or another adventurer party? If we’re too late, that’s one thing, but we should still clean up the aftermath.”

I made it sound reasonable, but honestly, this is just an exciting opportunity to gather some loot.

“Alright, Laura, I’ll leave it to you.”

“…The signpost left by Gretel.”

With a reluctant look, Laura started chanting the incantation after I nudged her.

The spell would guide us to where the goblins had been recently.

Following the tiny glowing orb with fairy-like wings, we began walking through the dark forest path.

Laura, my legs are hurting…

“Please bear with it for a little longer. You can’t shirk your responsibilities just because it’s annoying, can you?”

This girl, who would comply without hesitation if the hero asked, always whined when it was my request.

Was it because she grew up in a pampered environment?

If there’s ever an event where we’re captured and turned into playthings by a monster group, I hope this horned loli gets picked first.

“Ah, over there!”

“What a terrible sight.”

How long had we walked? At the forest’s center, we found a half-destroyed carriage, its contents scattered haphazardly as if someone had rummaged through them.

The battle didn’t seem to have happened long ago.

Smoke still rose here and there, and the bodies of what appeared to be mercenaries who had been guarding the caravan were still warm.

Could they really have been defeated this badly by mere goblins? It drove home how exceptional the hero’s party’s stats truly were.

“Alright, everyone, please wait here. I’ll guide them to the gods.”

Now it was my turn. I closed the eyes of each corpse and carefully gathered the relatively intact belongings.

Since we couldn’t afford to bury each body, burning them was the only option.

Later, we’d use the gathered items to create a memorial at the church—or at least, that’s the excuse.

In truth, we only kept anything valuable.

Honestly… knowing this is a game world, I don’t feel particularly sympathetic about other people’s lives.

My personal stash of funds is much more important.

I wondered briefly if this was acceptable behavior for a saint, but since prayers alone activated blessings and recovery skills without issue, it didn’t seem like a big deal. Pretending to be kind in front of my party members was enough.

“Ugh… Sa… ve…”

“Whoa! I-I’m not doing anything bad, okay?!”

As they say, a guilty conscience needs no accuser.

A sudden voice startled me, and I stammered out a poor excuse, but my party members were already looking toward the damaged carriage.

“Is there a survivor?”

“Hmm, I’ll check it out.”

I had shown an embarrassing reaction.

Trying to change the mood, I cleared my throat and opened the carriage door. Inside, I found…

“…Sarah? Is something wrong?”

“Your expression doesn’t look good. Is it someone you know?”

“Sarah, you’ve got a dumb look on your face.”

“N-no, no. We must’ve heard wrong. There’s only dead people in here.”

In response to my companions’ questions, I quickly shut the carriage door. Surely not… no way. Damn it…

“Ple…ase… help…”

“They… are asking for help, though…?”

“Fufu, hero, what are you saying? I don’t hear anything. Let’s pray for the poor lambs to be saved. Amen.”

Inside the carriage was a merchant who, in this eroge, served as the protagonist’s source of funds and would also provide magical crystals in exchange for turning heroines into prostitutes.

In other words, if we save this merchant here… in the not-so-distant future, one of the heroines would end up selling her body for a few coins.

With the magical crystals obtained from the merchant, the hero would enhance his enchantment magic to strengthen his hypnotic powers further.

Damn it… this is seriously screwed up.

Under no circumstances, absolutely not… can I let the hero strike a deal with this merchant.