Aqua lovingly stroked the money I gave her and thanked me again.
"Thank you! Taejin, friends really are the best."
"But how did you spend 100,000 Eris?"
"Well... they got premium Shuwa-Shuwa at the restaurant, and I was just so curious about the taste... Hehe!"
Hearing that, Kazuma looked exasperated and snapped at Aqua.
"'Hehe' my ass! With our situation, what are we doing with premium Shuwa-Shuwa! We need to move out as soon as possible! Are we going to keep sharing one room with three people forever!?"
"Okay, okay."
In the original, Kazuma would sneakily take care of himself at night and Aqua would call him out on it. But with the three of us sharing a room, Kazuma seemed to be holding back, so that comment didn't come up.
Aqua went to the guild's tavern and paid off her tab.
"Aqua, teach me Heal first. I'm taking quests with Yunyun right now, and neither of us has a heal. If one of us gets seriously injured, it could be dangerous."
"Got it."
I learned [Sacred Highness Heal] from Aqua. It's the strongest healing magic among the Heal skills. I wanted to learn more, but I didn't have enough points, so I decided to be satisfied with just the Heal skill for now.
Right then, Yunyun came rushing into the guild, out of breath.
"Hey~ Yunyun!"
"Did I keep you waiting long? I'm sorry I overslept."
Yunyun must have been exhausted from catching cabbages so hard yesterday.
"No, I just got here too. Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day, but we didn't get any rest because of the cabbages. I overslept too. Haha~"
"Whew... That's a relief. I was worried you'd abandon me for making a teammate wait."
What does this kid think of me?
"Yunyun, I'm not the kind of person who abandons a teammate just because they overslept from being tired."
"Yeah... I really... I'm so lucky. To have met such a good teammate."
Yunyun suddenly teared up. She must have been really worried about being abandoned for oversleeping.
Seeing her get emotional over something so small made me realize how lonely she must have been, living by herself. Would this be what it's like to have a timid little sister?
"Yunyun, you must not have eaten yet, right? I need breakfast too, so go ahead and order whatever you want for both of us. I'll go settle the cabbage payment from yesterday."
"Yes! I'll order something delicious!"
Hearing that, Aqua suddenly spoke up.
"Taejin! Buy me food too! I left early and didn't get to eat."
"Uh, sure... go ahead and order."
Aqua, now broke after what happened earlier, shamelessly asked for food. It was ridiculous for a second, but I was too tired to argue and just let it go.
I went to Luna to settle the payment for the cabbages we caught yesterday.
"Taejin, you and Yunyun caught so many that the settlement took a while, but it comes to 4.2 million Eris total. Please confirm."
That's when I realized just how insanely lucky Kazuma is. Even though Yunyun and I probably caught more than ten times what Kazuma did, we only made a little over four times as much. When it comes to luck, no one can beat him. Except maybe the Goddess of Luck, Eris herself.
"Yes! Confirmed. Thank you."
"Oh, and... thank you for earlier. For helping me..."
Luna blushed as she thanked me for stopping Aqua's tantrum earlier.
Wait, is spring finally coming for me too?
Luna was an amazing potential partner. She had a glamorous figure, a calm personality, blonde hair, and a pretty face.
But I couldn't tell if this was flirting or not. I'd spent so long in the bunker with zero dating experience that this kind of situation was totally unfamiliar.
"Oh, no, it was nothing."
I got nervous and stuttered a little. Luna saw that and smiled.
"I've been working a lot of overtime lately. Today's tough, but I'd really like to treat you to a meal, Taejin."
This is a date request, right? Ah~ I should've watched more romance shows.
"If Luna is treating me to a meal, I'm looking forward to it. Whenever you're free, just let me know. I'll keep that evening open."
"Yes, look forward to it. I'll buy you something delicious."
I was happily chatting with Luna when I completely forgot about the food I'd ordered.
"Hey~ Taejin, the food's getting cold!"
Aqua shouted loudly, and I finally snapped out of it. I said goodbye to Luna.
"Wow, I was having so much fun talking with you, Luna, I forgot my teammates were waiting. I should get going."
"I had fun too. Enjoy your meal."
I walked over to the table where Kazuma and Yunyun were sitting and took my seat.
"Taejin, Taejin, you looked like you were in a good mood? Something happen?"
I guess it was all over my face, because Aqua started probing me with curious eyes. Kazuma and the others were all looking at me too.
"Ah... no, it's just... the cabbage income was good..."
"C'mon~! I don't think that's it?"
Aqua kept poking my side and asking, but I didn't answer. I was embarrassed, but more importantly, nothing was certain yet. I didn't want rumors starting and making things awkward for Luna.
"Oh right, Yunyun, here's our payment for the cabbages we caught yesterday."
"Yes..."
I handed Yunyun 2.1 million Eris, half of the 4.2 million, but instead of being happy, her expression darkened a lot.
"Yunyun, are you sick? You don't look good."
"No, I'm fine. I'm okay."
After we ate, Kazuma's group said they were tired from yesterday and went back to the inn to rest. Yunyun and I went out to take quests and hunt.
For the next three days, we did nothing but grind quests like crazy. The time for Verdia to come to town was getting close, so I needed to level up.
Yunyun also had to learn advanced magic, so we didn't have time to rest. That said, we didn't take every quest—for the sake of reputation, we left the easy low-level quests for rookie adventurers.
Thanks to three days of hard work, I was able to raise [(D) Kingdom Samurai Swordsmanship] and [(D) Flash Step] to C-rank, and I also acquired [(F) Physical Resistance] and [(F) Magic Resistance]. I hit level 10 too.
"Yunyun, if you level up from today's quest, you can learn advanced magic now, right?"
"Yes! I'm just one level away from advanced magic."
"Oh~ So I'll get to see Yunyun use flashy magic today?"
"Please look forward to it~"
Today we were going to hunt a Manticore and a Griffon. A Manticore looks similar to a lion, but it's completely different. It's much bigger than a regular lion, has huge bat wings, and a powerful venomous scorpion tail.
A Griffon is also huge—think of it as a four-legged, white-headed eagle. In the original story, Manticores and Griffons are fighting over territory, causing a lot of damage nearby.
We decided to take the Manticore first. Both monsters fly, but there are differences. The Manticore has higher attack power, while the Griffon is faster.
Their tendencies differ too: the Manticore is aggressive, but the Griffon does hit-and-run attacks. So the plan was to take down the Manticore, which is easier to fight on the ground, then once Yunyun levels up, use her powerful advanced magic to take down the Griffon.
We arrived at the Manticore's territory that Luna told us about. It was clear how much the Manticore and Griffon had fought—the area was wrecked. Most of the surrounding trees were smashed, and the ground was pockmarked with holes.
Grrrowl~~
A low-frequency lion's roar echoed through the forest from far away. It was nothing like the lion growls you hear in documentaries.
Looking toward the sound, it seemed to come from about halfway up the mountain right in front of us.
"It looks like there's a den on that mountain. The sound came from there. What do you think, Yunyun?"
"Yes, I think the sound came from there too."
We carefully started climbing the mountain. As we got higher, the stench of animal carcasses mixed with beast odor grew stronger.
"Yunyun, get ready. I think we're almost there."
Yunyun gripped her staff tightly, ready to cast magic at any moment.
I used the Thief skill to erase our presence and scent, then moved forward slowly. After a bit more walking, we saw a large cave with bones of animals and monsters piled around it.[Lurk]
I used the [Enemy Detection] skill and sensed a Manticore inside the cave. From its position, the cave didn't seem very deep.
"I'll hide above the cave entrance. When the Manticore comes out, I'll ambush it. Yunyun, once I get in position and give you the signal, fire a Fireball into the cave to lure it out. Even if the ambush fails, I'll keep it occupied, so don't worry—just support me with magic."
"Understood."
I reduced my body weight and climbed up the cliff right above the cave entrance, hanging there.
I signaled Yunyun, and she launched a Fireball into the cave.
KRAAANG!!
The Manticore roared loudly and charged out. I timed it perfectly, jumped from the cliff, and dropped onto the Manticore at maximum weight.
Battou!
I channeled mana and weight into Enma and unleashed Battou from above the Manticore.
I was hoping to kill it with the first surprise attack, but the Manticore wasn't easy. It sensed me and twisted its body at the last second, avoiding a fatal wound.
"Did the ambush half-succeed?"
Checking the Manticore's condition, half of its left wing was cut off, and there was a deep, long gash near its left ribs that was bleeding heavily.
Now that it was injured, it couldn't fly. We could just fight it on the ground.
Grrrr...
Even though it must have been in serious pain, it didn't drop its guard as it stared at me.
Wind Moon Slash!
The Manticore jumped sideways and dodged [Wind Moon Slash].
I immediately used [Flash Step] to close in, and as it saw me coming, it swung its front paw to counterattack. But Yunyun timed it perfectly and cast a paralysis spell.
"Paralyze!"
The Manticore twitched for a moment, and I didn't miss the opening. I slashed at its head.
KWAAK!!
A large wound opened on the right side of the Manticore's face, and it started backing away.
Once distance opened between us, Yunyun immediately followed up with magic.
"Lightning!"
"Blade of Wind!"
The Manticore struggled to dodge the spells, but it could only barely avoid fatal hits. Large and small wounds kept increasing.
I quickly dashed in from the Manticore's side, and Yunyun shouted a warning.
"Taejin!!"
A shadow suddenly fell over my head, and I instinctively used Flash Step to dodge backward.
The Manticore's scorpion tail slammed down with a thud right where I'd been standing.
Ding~!
[You have acquired (D) Danger Sense.]
You can sense danger.
It was great to get a skill, but I nearly died for real. High-difficulty quests really aren't easy.
I won't let my guard down again.
I sheathed Enma and began gathering mana to use.[Battou]
The Manticore was exhausted too, breathing roughly. Blood and saliva were dripping from its mouth.
I reduced my weight and closed in quickly. This time it attacked with its tail again.
Now that I knew the tail was coming, I dodged slightly, and the moment the tail hit the ground, I unleashed and cut the tail clean off.[Battou]
Slice!
Yunyun also timed her magic perfectly and attacked.
"Lightning!!"
Whether the Manticore was too focused on me or just too exhausted, I don't know, but it couldn't dodge Yunyun's magic this time.
KRAAAAAK~~~!!
Lightning struck the Manticore. It screamed, and finally collapsed with the smell of burning.
I approached slowly to check. It was dying, eyes closed, breathing raggedly.
"Yunyun, finish it. A monster this strong should be enough for you to level up."
"Yes."
In KonoSuba's world, the experience goes to whoever lands the last hit. Later on, Kazuma powers up this way and defeats the Demon King.
Yunyun launched a Fireball at the fallen Manticore, burning it as the finishing blow.
After the hunt ended, we checked inside the Manticore's den. Along with animal and monster carcasses, there were also the corpses of adventurers.
They were probably adventurers who challenged the Manticore and failed. I recovered their adventurer cards and checked if there was anything useful.