I was loitering inside the forest along with Charis.
We got separated from the other members of our mercenary troop.
ăAre you okay, Charis?ă
I looked at Charisâ left foot. The white cloth that was coiling around her thigh was dyed red by her blood. She had gotten the injury during our battle with the Red Hat Goblin and the four giant rhinoceros beetles.
Normally, Charis with her beast attributes had an extremely high recovery power. Wounds of this level were no big deal to her as they could heal in a matter of hours. However, this time, blood just kept flowing out of her wound.
It seems that the Red Hat Goblinâs blade was laced with some sort of poison, and most likely an extremely dangerous one at that since, even with her resistance to poison, it made her wound react like that.
ăYeah, Iâm okay. Your medicinal herb helped a lot, Remus.ă
Charis replied calmly.
Sure enough, she looked okay. But I absolutely couldnât let her over exert herself.
ăIâm glad that the medicinal herb that I brought along for safety measures was usefulâŠă
Since Iâm really useless in battle, I had learnt more about medicinal plants and other duties to help the mercenary group.
Charis had never needed medicinal plants until now since all her wounds would heal right away thanks to her healing power, thus the medicinal plants werenât that useful so far.
Currently though, Iâm really grateful to the Goddess of Medicinal Plants, Fanacea-sama, since the herbal knowledge she bestowed helped Charis heal her wound.
ăWeâre separated from everyone. I think we shouldâŠă
Charis said so while looking around.
We had gotten separated from our comrades when we were ambushed by a group of monsters.
I hoped that everyone was safe and sound. I mean, we really couldnât afford to go looking for everyone in our current state.
ăNo, Charis. We have to go back to the basecamp immediately.ă
The forest was filled with pink mist, which had limited our field of vision. Moreover, I felt that my mind was becoming duller due to the sweet aroma wafting from mist. On top of that, Charis was injuredâwe really were in no position to continue.
ăButâŠă
ăI think our leader will be alright. Heâs so powerful after all.ă
Yes, our leader should be alright.
The reason why our leader had gotten the âBrown Bearâ alias was simply because he was immensely powerful. He wonât lose that easily.
ăWell, I have to accompany you if you insist on keeping going. I mean, I canât just let you to go by yourself.ă
I made sure to tell her my intentions properly.
ăI understand, Remus. You might die if we keep on going any further⊠Okay, letâs go back to our camp.ă
I finally managed to convince Charis to step back.
There was a saying that the battle god Thors-sama, or his daughter Amazona-sama, didnât have the word retreat in their dictionary, but I think that this philosophy is so f*cking wrong.
The majority of warriors are always inclined to keep on moving forward, but being able to retreat was always an option and a wise choice if you were not in your best shape.
Charis and our leader were the flexible type who knew when to advance and when to retreat. Thatâs why they had survived this long.
We were now heading toward the exit of the forest.
ăREMUS STOP!!!ă
Suddenly, Charis stopped walking, her eyes shone like the eyes of a leopard.
Seeing her reaction, I knew that there were monsters nearby.
I readied my short sword again.
Things might get really difficult since there was only the two of us.
But, I didnât want to become a burden for Charis.
ăTHERE!!ă
Charis sprung from her position, cutting the figure hiding in the mist.
The sound of metal clashing against metals resounded in the surrounding area.
ăW-WAIT!!!ă
ăEh?ă
Charis was clearly bewildered by the voice that asked her to stop. The other partyâs voice was familiar.
I sprung in front of Charis.
When the other party got closer to us, his face was indeed familiar.
ăTORX?!!!ă
The one who appeared before us was Torx, a fellow member of the Brown Bear mercenary group. He stood right in front of us, blocking Charisâ axe with his sword.
ăY-YEAH!! IâM YOUR COMRADE, TORX-SAN YOU KNOW!!ă
Torx laughed as he said so.
His laugh, though, seemed different from his usual one.
ăSORRY TORX!! I ALMOST MISTOOK YOU FOR A GOBLIN!!ă
Charis pulled back her axe while apologizing to Torx.
ăHOW CRUEL OF YOU, CHARIS-CHAN!! IâM A HUMAN NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT! HOW CAN YOU MISTAKE ME FOR A GOBLIN!!ă
Torx spread his arms as if to let us see him. But, something felt amiss. Torx had never even once called Charis with the â-Chanâ suffix.
Appearance wise, he looked like Torx, but it was as if the inside was replaced with someone different.
ăYeah, it seems you really are Torx. My bad Torx, I almost mistook you for a goblin due this mist.ă
Suddenly, a shining figure descended from the sky.
ăShirone-sama?!!ă
The one who descended from the sky was Shirone-sama.
ăI came since I just happened to spot you two. Thank goodness youâre safe.ă
Shirone-sama was smiling kindly as she told us that.
ăThis forest is getting more and more dangerous. The general has already ordered us to withdraw, so you have to withdraw immediately.ă
Shirone-sama then pointed toward a direction of the forest. It seems she was pointing toward the direction of the basecamp.
ăThank you. After this, please tell our leaderâŠă
ăAh, that Brown Bear uncle is safe and sound, he might have already retreated by now⊠uhm?ă
Shirone-samaâs line of sight stopped at a certain point.
She was looking at Torx.
Torx averted his gaze after his eyes met Shirone-sama.
He was sweating profusely.
ăThat goblin-like face⊠Where did I see it before?ă
Shirone-sama was looking intently at Torx.
Torx kept turning his face away from Shirone-sama. Thatâs rude, you know?
And, what did she mean by Torx having a goblin-like face?
Far from looking like a goblin, Torx was in fact a good looking man.
ăUhm, Shirone-sama. We were in the front lines when we entered this forest. You shouldnât have time for this, right?ă
I asked, just in case.
ăI see⊠But well, everything is under control!! Now you have to go back immediately. There are no monsters around this part so youâll be back to the basecamp just by walking straight to this direction.ă
Shirone-sama flew into the sky again after she told us that.
ăSafe~ă
Torx heaved a sigh of relief.
What did he mean by âsafeâ?
ăIs something the matter, Torx? Your face is pale.ă
Charis asked with a worried look on her face.
ăHAHAHAHA! ITâS NOTHING! LETâS GO BACK IMMEDIATELY!!ă
Torx started walking toward the direction pointed by Shirone.
ăWho in the world is that?ă
Charis and I exchanged glances as we followed Torx.
===
âBlack Haired Sage; Chiyuki
""
ăWHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD GIVE RENA TO A BASTARD LIKE YOUUUUUUUââââ!!!ă
ăSEE HOW I SEND YOU PACKING BACK TO YOUR HOME!!!ă
ăBRING IT ON YOU F*CKING B*STARD!!ă
ăRENA WILL SURELY WAKE UP AS LONG AS WE GET RID OF YOU!!ă
ăDIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!ă
ăORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!ă
The battle between Reiji and the Evil Gods unfolded high in the sky right above the sweet castle.
The fight had turned into a melee; I couldnât provide any backup for Reiji with my long range magic.
ăChiyuki-san. Given the choice, I would not be willing to enter that fight.ă
Rino muttered with a troubled look on her face.
ăI feel the same way as you, Rino-san. Weâd get in trouble if we accidentally provoke them.ă
The Evil Gods didnât seem to be interested in us.
In the first place, the reason why they picked a fight with Reiji was simply because they couldnât accept the fact that he was Renaâs boyfriend.
I mean, they said it themselves⊠even though it wasnât true
Reiji of course accepted their challenge with Rena as the prize.
It seems he had no intention to step down.
ăChiyuki-sa~n. Rino-cha~n.ă
Shirone came toward our direction.
When I turned toward the direction from where her voice came, I saw Shirone and Nao flying toward us.
Shirone with wings growing from her back, and Nao looking like a half-beast.
They had gone to help the Freedom Fighters evacuate from the forest.
ăThank you for your hard work. How was the situation?ă
ăThe damage is huge. But, all surviving members have been evacuated.ă
ăCharis-chan and Remus-kun are safe too.ă
ăI see. Thank goodness.ă
Remus and co were safe and sound.
ăBy the way, what happened here, Chiyuki-san?ă
ăAs you can see, Shirone-san, Reiji-kun can handle this.ă
I looked at the direction of Reiji and the Evil Gods.
Those Evil Gods outnumbered Reiji, but the one who dominated the fight was him.
Reiji overwhelmed the Evil Gods all by himself. However, it wasnât because Reiji was far more powerful than them, it was mainly because the Evil Gods were not actually united. Rather, they actually tried to sabotage each other.
Well, maybe because for them, the other Evil Gods were no different from Reiji.
ăRENA-CHAN IS MINEEE!!!ă
ăDREAM ON FATASS!! RENA IS MINE!!ă
ăTHE HELL YOUâRE TALKING ABOUT?! THE ONLY ONE SUITED FOR THE HEAVENLY BEAUTY IS ME!!!ă
ăIN YOUR DREAMS!!ă
ăLETâS JUST KILL THIS POSER!!!ă
The Evil Godsâ voices resounded all the way to us.
ăThe Evil Gods are starting to have an internal conflict amongst themselves, Chiyuki-sanâŠă
Rino sported a baffled face that clearly said âWhat in the world are they doing?â.
Some of the Evil Gods started a fight amongst themselves, neglecting their main target, Reiji.
ăReally now⊠It seems Reiji-kun is saved by their internal quarrel.ă
But, upon a closer look, it had turned into an unsightly spectacle. A truly unsightly spectacle.
Both Shirone and Nao were looking at the fights with apathetic looks on their faces.
ăTHE ONE WHO WILL âĂâł WITH RENA IS ME!!ă
ăDREAM ON! THE ONE WHO WILL ăâĄĂ WITH THOSE HUGE TâČTS IS ME!!!!ă
ăWHAAAAAAAT!! THEN IâLL ââ Ăăâ WITH RENA-DONO!!!!!!!ă
ăYOU BEAST! THOSE TâTS ARE MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ă
ăTHE HELL YE TALKING ABOUT?!! RENA-CHANâS PERFECT TâTS ARE MINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!ă
Those vulgar words, ones that shouldnât be said by Gods, resounded in the area.
Their voices were uselessly loud.
I could still hear their voices even after covering my ears.
I somehow pitied Rena.
Yeah, I was truly perplexed right now.
ăHey, should I blow them away with my maximum explosion?ă
ăNOO!! I UNDERSTAND YOUR FEELINGS, BUT STOP CHIYUKI-SAN! REIJI-SENPAI IS THERE TOO!!ă
Nao stopped me in a hurry.
But that is exactly why I wanted to blow up Reiji as well, he was participating in such a vulgar verbal battle.