The Witch's Request (1)
The Witch's Request (1)
#
We parted ways with Yuri in front of the Guild. Yuri had something else to do.
Yuri openly spouted nonsense at Reni about not cutting in line and whatnot, then tossed a word my way too.
"See you later, then. Don't do anything too dangerous. You don't have me with you, right?"
"..."
I was so incredulous I couldn't say a thing.
You were the one with your buffs wiped right now. Meaning, in this situation, you were the weakest link! To think I'd get that kind of worry from the weakest link!
When I just stood there blankly, Yuri gave a smug look like she'd accomplished something, then split off from us.
She wanted to go to the Training Center instead of the dungeon again today. That was why she had removed her buff.
Last time she had only observed, but now she intended to find some way to learn mana control separately. To use the magic item Ariel had offered her, she would eventually have to awaken her mana.
Judging by the way Yuri scampered away as if she might take flight, she was practically quivering with excitement at the thought of using that bow.
I felt a little uneasy.
Would I soon become the weakest member of the party? Once Yuri learned mana control, Reni learned offensive Holy Magic, and I added sex buffs on top of that, would I really be the weakest? Of course, greater offensive power was welcome for the party. But I had an ominous feeling that I'd end up living under their asses...
That couldn't happen. I needed to level up fast.
...
"Welcome. Off to a dungeon today?"
"Yes. Today, I thought we'd go and see the Witch."
The Guild reception desk was a practically mandatory stop before entering the dungeon. Lize greeted us cheerfully. Come to think of it, she was here every time I visited. Did she not get any days off?
"You two look like you're getting along well today, too."
Reni was watching her warily for some reason, but Lize didn't mind at all and beamed. Come to think of it, had the two of them ever exchanged a single word? Other than during the initial registration...
We exchanged brief greetings with Lize and then entered the dungeon.
The destination was the Witch's house.
The issue of those elf twins still remained, but it wasn't the kind of problem that would be solved by racking my brain over it.
So for now, I was tackling things one at a time, starting with whatever I could handle.
Of course, since we weren't a full party right now, I had no intention of doing anything particularly dangerous.
Above all, judging by both the three idiots from the Lamia Clan and Lize, the Witch seemed to be someone remarkable. There was no harm in establishing a connection with her.
So we passed through the Unicorn Forest to go hear the witch's story, but...
#
"On your way here, did you by any chance notice anything strange?"
This time, too, the witch asked while letting the shoulder strap of her dress slip and droop, her nipple on the verge of being exposed. J-just a little more and I'd probably see it. That pale skin gradually shifting to pink right at the borderline was almost, almost visible...
"Ah... um..."
-Pinch.
"W-well, I'm not sure. Ah, now that you mention it, something felt like it was missing..."
Hee hee.
The witch's laugh was like that of a teacher looking at a student who'd gotten the right answer. But soon worry filled her expression instead of the laughter.
"That's right. The unicorns... have disappeared, haven't they?"
That was exactly it. Unlike last time, we hadn't encountered any unicorns. When understanding dawned on my face, the witch continued her explanation.
"It's quite troublesome. I went to all the trouble of taming them, and now they've up and left like this..."
The witch's explanation went on.
The Witch explained that other monsters were fighting the unicorns over territory. She wanted us to drive them away or make them relocate. I tensed immediately.
"Is it a gorilla?"
If so, that'd be a problem. We had barely managed to catch that thing with the three of us using trickery. On top of that, the thing was incredibly ferocious. If we ran into a whole group, we'd have to flee like mad just to barely survive. But that wasn't what the witch was talking about.
"Gorilla...? No, it's nothing like that."
The Witch said it wasn't gorillas but bicorns that had invaded the territory.
"It's a simple task. After you lead the bicorns out of the forest, please scatter this inside the woods."
The witch held out a flask containing a red liquid to me.
"If you scatter this, the bicorns won't return for a while."
"I see. But..."
How exactly were we supposed to drive out the bicorns? We couldn't do anything about dozens of them. Even if Yuri were here with us, we'd clearly only manage to deal with one or two at most. Besides, if these things were as ferocious as the unicorns...
The witch spoke in a suggestive voice. Like a teacher dropping a hint to a student.
"Didn't you already make it all the way here without harming the unicorns?"
"...!"
I turned to look at Reni.
#
"Th-this is so unfair..."
"..."
When I silently pulled her arm, Reni looked tearful but followed along anyway. And behind us...
Dozens of bicorns followed behind Reni, like the Israelites following Moses out of Egypt!
Reni truly was a shepherdess leading the bicorns. No, since they were horses, should I call her a horse-herder?
Bicorn.
The two-horned beast that corresponds to the unicorn.
They were dungeon knockoffs that had distorted the originals in strange ways, but they still shared one defining trait.
-If unicorns pursued purity, bicorns pursued impurity-
Just as the unicorns had thrown a fit upon seeing Reni, it meant the bicorns would be meek and obedient toward her. Bicorn-certified non-virgin, was it.
If Yuri had been there, she'd probably have laughed herself senseless, despite being a non-virgin herself. As far as I was concerned, the two were much the same.
Of course, I found the current situation hilarious too.
I gritted my teeth and soothed Reni.
"There, there, it's fine. No one's watching, anyway."
Reni glared sharply at me. On the other hand, I was also a little curious. Even just walking quietly like this, the bicorns were as deferential as if greeting a king—what would happen if we engaged in even more non-virginal acts in front of these creatures?
"Ah..."
I wrapped an arm around Reni’s waist. She accepted it meekly despite her embarrassment.
This much physical affection had become routine. But the bicorns? They watched us with eyes full of envy. Yes. That was definitely envy!
A massive epiphany struck me.
Those bicorns symbolized human nature itself!
If unicorns represented humanity’s outward pursuit of virgins, bicorns represented the other side of human nature that sought bitches in the shadows! Unicorns and bicorns symbolized the two sides of humanity!!!!
"Hahh... hahh..."
Reni's rough breathing. When I turned my head, I realized that at some point my hand had gone past Reni's waist and was now on her chest...
-Grrrk.
A chilling sound of grinding teeth! Reni's eyes were simultaneously filled with pleasure and rage!
"Ah, no, this just sort of happened before I knew it..."
"Yoo-jin!"
-Reni Punch! Reni Punch!
"Oof, ah, I'm sorry, oof, that's enough, oof."
Though I was saying this, the damage of a Reni Punch converged toward zero, so it didn't particularly hurt. It was just that if I didn't at least pretend it hurt, I wouldn't be able to deal with the aftermath, so I was playing the fool like this.
"Ah."
-Snort.
"Whoa, hey, what the—. Hey, back off."
A bicorn thrust its head between us. Was this thing asking Reni with its eyes, ‘Shall I get rid of him?’ It was remarkably obedient and perceptive. They might be gathered here in a massive herd, but they were mystical beasts, after all.
And so, like that, we proceeded forward while carrying on with the bicorns in a pathetic little spectacle...