009. Camela Forest (5)
009. Camela Forest (5)
No way, our Gukbap just flipped me off...!?
My eyes went wide.
Was I offended?
Nope. The opposite.
A ticklish, not-bad-at-all feeling in my chest.
'I thought it'd take way longer...'
With her home life and the way she'd grown up,
Lee Yu-ri had always been forced to keep her guard up thick and solid.
Maybe because of that, she was extremely reluctant to reveal herself.
To the point of hiding what she ate even from party members she seemed pretty close with.
'But now, that Gukbap even cursed at me. And barely a day after we met!'
Lee Yu-ri cursing at me meant she'd crossed the line from "total stranger" to "casual friend."
Earlier I'd gotten annoyed when Go Yoon-seo called Gukbap her Gukbap and said something, but now I wondered if I'd done that for nothing.
Of course, we hadn't even started speaking casually with each other yet, so there was still a long way to go.
Still, a proud sense of accomplishment welled up.
As I beamed at Lee Yu-ri's raised middle finger,
she awkwardly folded it back down.
"......What, what is it. Are you seriously crazy?"
"That word. Crazy. I like the sound of it."
"......Crazy bastard."
"Haha, you didn't have to go that far."
Lee Yu-ri shot me a contemptuous look, then shook her head.
Anyway, now that the Blood Goblin was taken care of,
it was about time to get going.
This wasn't a game where killing the boss monster ends it.
I didn't know how the remaining goblins would react.
Getting tangled up any further with these swarming green-headed bastards was something I'd rather pass on.
"Grrk...."
"Ghh...."
"Grrrr...."
The bastards were staring at the decapitated corpse with faces that looked like they couldn't believe it.
I glanced around, then spoke to Lee Yu-ri.
"Team Leader, time to bolt. I'll grab the Blood Goblin's head."
Lee Yu-ri answered in a voice that was barely crawling out.
"......Right now, I used all my Mana. I think Mana Exhaustion hit me."
Ah.
Well, that can't be helped either.
Mana Exhaustion.
She'd already been physically drained and then fought a Blood Goblin on top of that, so it made sense.
For Lee Yu-ri's early-game specs, this thing would've been a serious threat.
"Then, guess there's no choice."
"Are you going to leave me behind...?"
There she goes again, sounding all hurt.
"If I was gonna do that, I wouldn't have come here."
"Even so, how are we supposed to get through all these goblins...."
Lee Yu-ri said that, worried she'd be a burden.
Jeez, she'd just watched me make short work of the Blood Goblin a moment ago.
I walked up to her, turned around, and bent my knees.
"Here, get on my back."
"......Uh, you want me to get on your back?"
"Yeah, carrying you in my arms is tough. It's uncomfortable but this is how we've gotta do it."
Lee Yu-ri's eyes darted around like she was flustered.
"Quick. Once the goblins start raising hell, it gets annoying."
"......Oh, okay!"
Hesitating, she placed her hands on my shoulders and leaned her body against me.
"And I need one arm free, so wrap one arm around my neck and hold on tight."
I grabbed Lee Yu-ri's hand on my shoulder and guided it around my neck.
Grip—
Huh, but our Gukbap's got some strength.
And she feels pretty heavy too.
Before setting off, I glanced back at her and said,
"Looks like you ate a hearty meal today."
"......Shut up."
I heard a voice gritting its teeth right in my ear.
I mean, I was just saying it was nice to see she'd been eating well, and this is what I get...?
* * *
"Lee Yu-na. Is it much further!?"
Go Yoon-seo said, gnawing on her fingernails.
"We don't know how much longer the Team Leader can hold out. We have to go fast. Even if that guy joins her, these numbers are abnormal."
Choi So-yeon was also pacing circles around Lee Yu-na as she spoke.
"J-just wait a moment! It's almost done!"
Right now, the task Lee Yu-na was doing—
it was applying adhesive to Nakey leather and attaching each piece one by one to their coats.
The leather was scarce and the pieces were small, so it was taking a considerable amount of time.
"Ha, shit. Are we sure this is really gonna work? That bastard Jin Yu-ha wasn't bullshitting us?"
Go Yoon-seo turned to Choi So-yeon as she said it.
"Still, I don't think that guy was lying. In reality, Nakey and goblins do have a symbiotic relationship. The information that goblins can't detect Nakey's stealth makes sense too."
"Then why doesn't everyone just make leather clothes out of Nakey and exterminate goblins! Why aren't they doing that!?"
"Nakey leather... turns a bigger profit when you make it into luxury bags...?"
Grrrr—
Go Yoon-seo scratched her head furiously out of frustration and anxiety.
"Jin Yu-ha, just what the hell is that guy. It was all an act. I knew it. He's been sketchy as hell from the first moment I saw him."
*
Thirty minutes earlier.
"I'm going to rescue Lee Yu-ri now. Are you planning to come too?"
Jin Yu-ha had just demonstrated the miracle of cutting down goblins—and a tree far behind them—with a single slash of his sword, right before their eyes, and then asked that.
"Of course I'm going. She's Gukbap."
"Obviously."
"She's my sister...."
Unsurprisingly, Go Yoon-seo, Choi So-yeon, and Lee Yu-na nodded.
But apparently unhappy with something, the guy frowned and tapped his own shoulder with the flat of his blade.
Then, as if sorting out his thoughts for a moment, he opened his mouth again.
"As I thought, you'd just be a hindrance. You're off the Lee Yu-ri rescue squad."
"Who the hell are you to tell us to get off—!"
Go Yoon-seo's face hardened and she bristled at the words.
"If I have to go while protecting you too, I'll be that much slower."
"Who ever asked you to protect us!?"
"Ha, seriously, what the hell does Lee Yu-ri even see in bitches like you...."
As if the gentle, polite, heaven-sent guy image he'd had the whole dungeon run was a total lie, Jin Yu-ha clicked his tongue.
"Honestly, I'm in a hurry too, so I hadn't planned on going this far, but I picked up a thing or two watching you fight all day, you know?"
Jin Yu-ha pointed his sword at Go Yoon-seo.
"First, you. Go Yoon-seo."
Go Yoon-seo tensed and grabbed her sword hilt, but Jin Yu-ha didn't mean to fight with swords.
"A nuisance of a Damage Dealer with no stamina and no skill, whose only talent is recklessly butting in and tripping up the Tank. Lee Yu-ri has been stuck running nothing but E-Rank Gates all this time because of you. She pulls all the aggro and practically delivers the goblins to you on a silver platter, so why the hell do you keep getting hurt? Have you no conscience?"
Before Go Yoon-seo could even retort, the tip of his blade immediately aimed at Choi So-yeon beside her.
"Your cool head and calm personality get a pass. But your healing skills are weak, and your aim is so poor you can't even use them properly in combat. A Healer who eats up time after every fight. At that point, wouldn't carrying a separate first-aid kit be more useful?"
Next was Lee Yu-na.
But this time, Jin Yu-ha didn't point his blade at her.
He just pressed his fingers hard against his brow like he was getting a headache.
"......And you, Lee Yu-na. With zero combat ability, why the hell are you volunteering for the rescue squad? What are you gonna do there? Pick up goblin teeth?"
It would've been better if he'd just drawn his sword and picked a fight.
"Lee Yu-ri is an outstanding Tank. Too good for any of you. And what do you think made her pull that stupid stunt here? It's exactly because of you."
The guy mercilessly beat the party members down with facts.
"Lee Yu-ri objectively compared your abilities to the enemy's level. Then she made a judgment. That it was 'hopeless.' If she'd had even the slightest chance of winning, do you think that girl would've made a choice like that? If you go to save her, you'll just end up tripping her up instead."
And then he continued.
"But I can save Lee Yu-ri. Without drawing the goblins' attention. I can link up with Lee Yu-ri as fast as possible."
The three of them had no choice but to hang their heads low.
Because everything the guy said was exactly right.
They knew it well enough.
That Lee Yu-ri had far too much talent to be running with them.
Hadn't they all taken the Velvet Academy exam together, but Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yeon failed, and only Lee Yu-ri got in?
"So, you're saying we should just sit here and watch...? Pinning our hopes on you, a total stranger who might not even save Gukbap...?"
Go Yoon-seo bit her lip and spoke in a trembling voice.
Jin Yu-ha stared at her for a moment, then let out a sigh and offered a solution.
"......The Nakey leather. You gathered quite a lot today, right?"
*
'He'd said he'd go ahead and deal with the goblins alongside Lee Yu-ri, so we shouldn't be too late.'
And the thing that pissed them off the most was him adding, 'Though I'm not expecting much.'
Some guy who'd just filled a vacancy in the party was acting like he owned the place.
"As I thought, that guy definitely has a rotten personality."
Go Yoon-seo said, huffing with anger.
"......But still, how can a guy be that strong."
"Who knows. I told you he was suspicious from the start. 'Lee Yu-ri has been Gukbap to me too—for a lot longer'? I've never once heard her talk about a guy! Isn't he a stalker?"
"Still, if that guy hadn't been here, things would've gone just like he said. Even if his words were rough, Jin Yu-ha was trying to protect us."
"......."
Choi So-yeon's cool-headed words shut Go Yoon-seo's mouth.
But still, he was a guy she couldn't stand.
"It's all finished!"
At that moment, Lee Yu-na completed the coats reinforced with Nakey leather,
and handed one each to Choi So-yeon and Go Yoon-seo.
And then threw on her own share as well.
Since the clothes were hastily thrown together and the leather was scarce, there were lots of gaps, and it wasn't much to look at, but every second was urgent right now.
Without even checking the clothes they'd been handed, they quickly threw them on.
And three bagworm caterpillars stood with eyes full of resolve.
"......Alright. From now on, we're going to save our Gukbap with our own hands. Since Gukbap isn't here at the moment, I'll give the orders as acting Team Leader."
Go Yoon-seo looked at Choi So-yeon and Lee Yu-na each in turn and nodded heavily.
"Yeah, let's go."
"Yes, let's go... save my sister, who's waiting for us."
That was when it happened.
"Ah, you're asking what happened to the others? Hmm... Ah, there they are."
Suddenly, a thoroughly obnoxious voice came from above.
Everyone snapped their heads up.
Lee Yu-ri, riding on Jin Yu-ha's back, and the party members' eyes met.
"......."
"......."
"......."
"......."
In the silence, Lee Yu-ri's and all the party members' faces flushed bright red.
Lee Yu-ri was mortified that she'd run off alone only to come back being piggybacked by a guy.
The party members felt the solemn resolve they'd just made in that ridiculous getup become painfully awkward.
"Wow. What's with the clothes? Is that in fashion these days? They look so weird. Just like bagworms."
In the middle of it all, Jin Yu-ha said this as if he were completely clueless.
Then, one small bagworm collapsed to her knees.
Plop—
"Wh-what the hell was all that I just did...."