Earning Trust and Unmasking the Elf's Jealousy
So it was you all along? Quite a bit of time had passed since I started traveling with the hero's party. In that time, I'd built up their trust—enough that they even let me store their valuables in my Inventory. The only one who hadn't opened up to me was Altera.
"Kehkehkeh—! Now you've finally got the basics down."
Every morning during our travels, without fail, we'd done Hagen's endless runs, and I'd finally earned his approval. Sure, you could argue that draining our stamina when we might run into enemies anytime wasn't smart, but I was still non-combat personnel. When fights broke out, my job was to hightail it and hide.
"Alright, then—swordsmanship next?"
Even the delicate Cream joined battles, so hiding by myself felt embarrassing. I looked at Hagen with expectant eyes.
"Hahaha! Starting sword training tomorrow, so no need to give me that puppy-dog 'gotta poop' look."
Hagen laughed heartily and handed me a sword. It looked like beginner gear straight out of a game. Heavier than I'd imagined.
Clap—! Clap—! Clap—! Clap—!
"Congratulations."
Cream clapped, her massive breasts jiggling. "Oh? Does that make me your senior now? Call me 'Si~nior'!" Siegfried teased playfully.
Nibel gazed at me warmly too, but Altera, as always, didn't fit the cheerful mood.
What's her damn problem?
Does she hate humans? No, she was kind to Cream. Misandrist, then? But she chatted fine with Nibel. She only acted bitchy toward Siegfried, Hagen, and me.
Can't pin her down...
Since she wasn't a conquest target, I decided to let it slide for now.
The farther we got from the capital, the more monster encounters we had—proportional to the distance. Still just mindless beasts for now. Their forms and types were the same as what I'd seen on NutTube, universal across dimensions apparently.
I was still learning basic swings, so I didn't join fights, but I observed Siegfried from afar.
Is that the holy sword?
Ornate decorations, gleaming blade. Shwing—! The sound of slicing wind. Siegfried swung nimbly, carving through monsters like tofu.
I struggled to even cut dead ones...
Compared to my pathetic state, it was night and day. That lowly jealousy I'd felt toward Earth's top Awakeners started creeping up again.
Calm down. It'll all be mine soon enough.
No reason for jealousy. Once I conquered Cream, I'd soar like him. I steeled my resolve once more.
Even as monster encounters ramped up, Hagen's lessons never stopped.
"No, too much force."
Hagen said swords weren't just about brute strength. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Wasn't it just swinging hard? I'd heard somewhere that swordsmen's grip and arm strength were insane—didn't that come from brute force swings?
I didn't get Hagen's instructions, but as Siegfried's master, I followed them anyway.
"That's it! Control your power like that. Swinging with max force every time tires you out fast and risks breaking the blade."
I could relate to getting tired quick. After that, I trained hard, bonding with the party over months. Closest to Hagen, naturally, since he was my teacher. Farthest? Altera, that damn elf. Fuck... She ignored everything I said. You need communication to get close. I gave up on her entirely.
With Nibel, it was like friend-of-a-friend—awkward alone, fun in a group.
Siegfried and I bonded over our "master" connection. "Hey~ junior!" "Aigo~ senior~" We'd play senior-junior games, and he'd spar with me during training sometimes.
Cream, my main target, had leveled up from coworker vibes to friend territory. The drinking incident helped big time, plus we were both rear-guard most fights.
"Seriously, I tell him to be careful, but he ignores me!"
Listening to her vent about Siegfried boosted her affinity fast.
Lucky I'm the only one she can badmouth him to.
Hagen was his master, too old for gossip. Same for Nibel. Altera was out since Cream saw her as a romantic rival.
All delusion, though.
Altera didn't see Siegfried as dating material—just filth. But Cream viewed them as all lovey-dovey. Cream wasn't all there either, if you looked close.
"Rest here tonight, head out at dawn."
We lucked into a valley and set up camp.
"Ladies first. We'll stand watch."
"Thanks, we'll go wash up."
"..."
Altera and Cream left, and Hagen sidled up behind Siegfried slyly.
"Wanna peep?"
Siegfried's face turned beet red at Hagen's joke.
"Hahaha—! Virgin reactions are gold. When we hit town, brothel together? How long you gonna stay a virgin?"
Any real man would! Hagen teased, shaking his hips.
"Oh, Cream secret, of course!"
While Hagen laughed and ribbed Siegfried, Altera and Cream finished washing and returned.
"What're you guys chatting about so fun?"
Cream asked Hagen.
"N-nothing!"
Siegfried answered instead, looking suspiciously flustered.
"Ugh, probably some dirty talk again."
Cream sighed at Siegfried; Hagen pretended to cry about his image.
"Won't work! Go wash."
Siegfried bolted for the valley like a shot.
"I'll head out first."
As a modern guy, I wanted to wash everywhere thoroughly, but I had reason to exit early.
"What, not lounging?"
The guys showed no sign of moving, so I slipped out toward camp. On the path, I headed where Cream stood guard. She spotted me and approached.
"What... why're you out so... quick...?"
Cream panicked. Because I was shirtless.
"Kyaa—!"
She almost screamed but clamped her hands over her mouth.
"Hoo—! Why no shirt?!"
"Ah, drying off a bit."
Her hands shifted from mouth to eyes. But I felt her gaze peeking through her fingers.
Not Siegfried-level, but Hagen's training had sculpted my body to a decent form.
First time seeing a man's body, huh?
As childhood friends, she'd seen Siegfried's plenty, but probably as family or buddy, not male.
Her eyes darted over me, confirming my guess.
Heh, worth rushing out.
After a moment's appreciation, I put my shirt on.
"They'll be out soon—back to camp?"
"Uh, y-yeah..."
Cream trailed off regretfully.
Back at camp, Altera was there. "Ah, Cream!" She smiled at Cream, then saw me behind and switched to her usual venomous glare.
No way...
I read her emotion when her face changed: jealousy. Clearly, if only for a flash.
Did I misread? No, replaying it, jealousy was there.
Yeah, jealousy fits perfectly.
Not human-hate or man-hate. She just despised men approaching Cream. Explained chatting fine with Nibel but bitchy to the rest. Me and Siegfried as rivals; Hagen for his flirty teasing.
Whoa... mind blown.
How'd I miss it for months when it fit so neatly? Stunned by the revelation, the guys returned rowdily.
"Ah~ refreshing!"
"Don't forget—town, we're going."
Hagen wouldn't drop dragging Siegfried to a brothel, yapping about it.
"A-alright already..."
Worn down by Hagen's persistence, Siegfried mumbled agreement.
"Sweet! Long haul to next town—early sleep! Let's go!"
Hagen shoved Siegfried into his tent. As everyone headed to bed, the women entered theirs. I followed Siegfried.
Eyes closed, but that sight lingered too vividly for sleep.
Thought it'd just be Siegfried... now a new obstacle?
Difficulty spiked. Wait, rethink. Could use Altera if played right. But first...
"Hagen, you up?"
"Hm? Yeah."
Lucky—he wasn't asleep.
"What's the elf take on romance?"
To use Altera, I needed deeper intel on her.