The S-Class Gate
Day 1 of the S-Class gate raid.
The raid was going smoother than I had expected.
It might be a bit rich for me to say, given that I was just watching the battle from the back, but since it was an S-Class gate, the scale of the combat was massive, and there were plenty of powerful hunters present to handle it.
“Miho… don’t tell me, again…?”
“Hey, hey… shh.”
And thanks to the evolution she’d gained through the Awakening Stimulus, following her unique ability Heavenly Fox, Miho was suddenly much stronger, performing well beyond her originally assigned role.
Then came the first break time.
Usually, it’s a casual time where everyone finds a spot to either receive the meals provided by Baekryeong-ga, who organized the raid, or eat the food they brought themselves.
But even the Vampir, notorious for being rude to other demi-humans, was moving very cautiously right now.
The reason was the conversation happening in the center of the rest plaza between the SSS-Class hunter Carlson and Miho.
“Reserve Team 2 Leader. You’re stronger than I heard.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Guild Master. I think I’m just in good condition today!”
Carlson was expressionless, while Miho wore a fake smile that only lifted the corners of her mouth.
“At this rate, you might even be eyeing my spot as the next Guild Master after I retire.”
“Oh, come on, that’s… well, wouldn’t it just work itself out when the time comes?”
It wasn’t a secret that everyone setting up their tents and preparing to rest was eavesdropping on the two of them.
‘Are they checking each other out?’
Certainly, compared to Carlson, who fought primarily in close quarters, Miho, who waved her hands from a distance and influenced the entire battlefield, was more conspicuous even from where I was watching.
If it looked that way to me, a mere porter, I could easily imagine what the perspective of high-ranking hunters directly involved in the combat would be.
In reality, it might just be that Miho, who was more capable of area-of-effect attacks, only looked stronger to my eyes.
‘…Ugh, I don’t know.’
I wanted to see more of this different side of Miho, who acted like a spoiled, airheaded pet at home, but sensing that their conversation would last longer than expected, I decided to just go into my tent and rest.
Miho wasn’t a child; the reason she was acting so stiff was probably because she’d calculated, ‘Seeing it in person, this is more doable than I thought.’
If it were proven that Miho was stronger than Carlson among the Ho-jok, who valued martial prowess above all else, then from that day on, the Guild Master wouldn’t be Carlson—it would be Miho.
Wait, if that happens, do I become the de facto owner of Baekryeong-ga?
In that case, I should start by pushing to change the region’s name from Baekryeong-ga back to Incheon.
“Um, may I come in…?”
A voice reached my ears as I was lying down and rolling around on the fluffy, high-end tent floor. I turned my head to check, and it was Rania.
“What’s up?”
“I was bored being alone, so… shall we talk?”
She had such a pretty way of saying she came because she was curious about why the two strongest members of the raid team were playing a game of nerves with each other.
After all, I was the only person Rania knew among the raid team members besides Miho.
The fact that Rania, who was in the lower-middle tier even among A-Class hunters, could even be in a position like this was entirely due to Miho’s recommendation.
“By the way, is your arm okay from earlier?”
“Yes. The healer treated it, so I’m fine.”
My heart had skipped a beat when I saw her get slashed deeply in the arm while moving recklessly to block a monster that had infiltrated the flank during the battle.
‘If she ends up dying because of a mistake… that won’t do.’
I had originally intended to lay more groundwork, but this trash-tier elf was weaker than I thought.
“Do you have any cold-weather gear? It doesn’t look like you do.”
“Ah… well, it’s too expensive, so I’m just enduring it.”
Sure enough, the tips of her fingers and toes were turning red from the cold.
Since she fought on the front lines, cold-weather gear was a necessity, not an option, to fight against monsters that emitted freezing cold.
How pathetic….
“Wear this, at least.”
I purchased another Ondol Bracelet from the shop.
It had a simple, pretty white design.
As soon as I pushed it toward her, she couldn’t refuse and accepted it. The moment she put it on, Rania’s eyes widened, and she stuck her hand out of the tent.
“Even the items I’ve rented briefly didn’t have this kind of performance…”
Well, it was a 300-Coin item, after all.
Usually, the performance of an item increases with its size. However, despite being a simple bracelet that just wrapped around the wrist, the Ondol Bracelet affected the entire body.
“This… isn’t this expensive…?”
“Huh? No. I… ah, no, actually Miho bought it for you to use.”
I deliberately stuttered to make it sound convincing. My expression was also set to a slightly awkward smile.
I had briefly considered opening up about my ability to Rania and seducing her, but you never know.
If she had less desire for strength than I thought, and the day came when she told someone about Interspecies… from that day on, her range of activity would never be able to leave Miho’s side.
From a demi-human’s perspective, my ability could look extremely dangerous.
“Um, by any chance… does Miho-unnie getting stronger have anything to do with you, Doyen-ssi?”
By the way, Miho was younger than her, so when did she decide to be treated as the older sister? I decided to just let that slide since it wasn’t my business.
“What if it does?”
Since she asked so confidently, I asked back just as confidently.
“I want to get stronger, too.”
Her expression was more serious than I expected.
It was clear that for an A-Class elf swordsman to be wandering through gates like this, she had a definite goal.
“I get that, but why specifically a sword? I heard elves are good at spirit arts, or at least archery.”
“Actually…”
I listened intently to her story, which seemed like it would be long.
Back when she was a C-Class hunter, even weaker than she was now—if that was even possible—she had luckily participated in an A-Class gate raid. During the raid, an accident occurred, and she was separated from the main party.
She thought she was done for, but she said she became inspired after seeing a beautiful female swordsman save her.
“…So your dream is to become the world’s strongest female swordsman?”
“Yes!”
That’s quite an ambitious dream. Should I put a green hood on her head or something?
To become the world’s strongest swordsman, she’d have to beat the Oni, who are famous for their swordsmanship, but wouldn’t it be possible if she had Interspecies?
A doubt crossed my mind, but that wasn’t the important part.
“Well, I get it. But I don’t trust anyone unless they’re really ‘close’ to me.”
After that, I stared at Rania without saying a word.
One-time Skill: Word of Serenity
I added a little seasoning to help with her decision. Although it hadn’t been noticeable because of Miho and Carlson’s ego battle, Rania, who had been watching from the side, must have definitely felt it.
Watching Miho, who had been an S-Class hunter until recently, engage in a battle of pride with an SSS-Class hunter must have given her some certainty.
“……I understand.”
After a moment of hesitation, Rania, with a look of firm resolve, began to take off her thick clothes one by one.
Oh, shit.
Does this actually work?
Ho-jok confirming their friendship by touching each other’s breasts? A little bit of research would reveal that’s total nonsense. But because I had already gaslit her through Miho that I liked that sort of thing, it succeeded thanks to Word of Serenity.
She revealed her breasts with a shy face. And at this point, I let the effect of the Pill of Change wear off.
“A, human? You were a human?”
“Why? Don’t like it?”
“It’s not that…”
Rania looked at me as if she found it fascinating.
“By any chance… is that your ability?”
“It’s part of my ability.”
Hmm. Thankfully, she wasn’t a fucking human-racist. I’d heard there were so-called ‘Elf-Nazis’ among elves who particularly hated humans, but it seemed kind-hearted Rania wasn’t one of them.
Rather, this unique appearance seemed to give Rania even more certainty, as she crawled closer on her knees and said,
“Miho-unnie clearly said that Doyen-ssi acknowledges friendship by touching breasts… ah, ugh…”
Rania’s shoulders hunched as her face suddenly turned bright red. It seemed the effect of Word of Serenity had worn off quickly due to the special situation. I reached out before Rania could change her mind.
“…Hiyaat!”
Breasts a little smaller than Miho’s, but ones I couldn’t fully grasp with one hand. I enjoyed Rania’s reaction and moved my hand slowly.
“Th, th, this…”
“Why? You’re the one who came here and bared your chest first.”
Rania didn’t reject my touch after hearing my words. Because it was true that she was the one who had come here after baring her chest first.
“Ah, euut…”
When I touched her crimson nipples with my fingertips, her body flinched. She seemed more mentally stimulated by this dizzying situation than physically aroused.
“I’m back… eung?”
Rania, who had been having her breasts touched while feeling like, ‘Why on earth am I doing this?’, was startled by Miho’s appearance and tried to pull away, but—
“Hua… I’m tired… Oh! If you two start without me… hey!”
“Mi, Miho-unnie!!”
Miho, who had hugged Rania tightly from behind, grabbed her defenseless breasts.
“Hyaaat… st, stop…”
“Hey… the left one is mine, so don’t touch it.”
“Okay!”
Seeing the two men and women casually touching her breasts from the front and back, Rania, like a two-eyed person who had arrived in a village of one-eyed people, began to think, ‘Am I the weird one…?’