The Hunter's Bluff and First Time (1)

#

Yuri stared blankly for a second before her face stiffened slightly.

"Yoo-jin, jokes like that in a situation like this are a little... Can you not read the room?"

But the serious, polite tone she'd been forcing had already returned to normal: slightly shameless and a little flighty. Yeah, this suited you better. Why had you tried to create such a dramatic mood? Sex would solve the problem.

"Yoo-jin... phrasing it like that is... isn't it a bit..."

Reni was wearing a troubled expression too. Still, it wasn't the sad, bitter face she'd had a moment ago. That was a relief.

Yeah, if I'd made a fool of myself to lighten the mood, that was mission accomplished. That was all I needed to do! All I had to do was act like a sex-crazed idiot! Damn it!

...But then again, wasn't I technically a sex-crazed idiot? No, this was all a scheme by that damn Goddess...

"Ah, that stings!"

Yuri's expression grew stranger and stranger. Ugh. D-don't look at me like that. I knew I had said something stupid.

Haa... once more. This time for real.

"I'm not joking."

"Then why...? Ah... wait, is it... that?"

Yuri's face shifted to a slightly apologetic and sheepish look. That was the face she'd made when her aunt blew her cover and we were interrogating her. What was she about to say with that look? I was getting uneasy.

"That what?"

The sharp, almost acting expression from earlier had already disappeared. Instead, she was wearing an expression that was hard to describe.

"You know, um... the thing. The sort of thing that always comes up in times like this... y-you're not trying to stall for time and die in my place, are you?"

...Just what kind of nonsense was this girl spouting?

Fine, it was good that she wasn't trembling like a leaf anymore, but it seemed like she'd moved on to saying something brainless instead...

"A-a final memory... that's not what this is, is it? S-so, after we do it, I'm allowed to run away?!"

Run away... this girl... she had gotten shameless again...! Just because I lightened the mood a bit!

"No..."

"O-or, since we're all going to die anyway, you're saying let's do it once and die together?!"

Yuri yelped in alarm and wrapped her arms around her body. She even pulled one leg up. Her sense of balance was impressive...

"Y-yeah. I know. I've read lots of stories like that. As a final memory... so it's, it's that...?"

...Could this girl have the 「Delusion」 trait too, like Reni? No, that didn't seem right.

Wait. Something was coming to mind.

Now that I thought about it, this girl was the same idiot who'd spout nonsense about a sense of adventure and camp out in the wild by herself, without a shred of fear. The idiot who spent all her inn money on shopping. Who even burned through her food money to stuff her backpack until it was bursting.

Come to think of it, what was in that huge, heavy backpack again? Right. Clothes she'd shopped for and a whole lot of novels...

-Ding!

[Yuri Fogswaithe's Trait 「Genre Novel Maniac (B)」 has been identified.]

Are you serious!!!!!

Right! So that was why there were so many novels in that heap of luggage! Of course there'd be genre novel readers in another world too!!!!! But why did it have to be you!!!!!!

"..."

As I lost my words and stared vacantly into space, Yuri went right back to babbling nonsense on her own.

"Can't we just end it with a kiss? I won't ever forget your sacrifice..."

Th-this shameless brat was now even getting teary-eyed... Truly... crocodile tears!

"Yoo-jin. Time is..."

Reni helped me get my thoughts in order. I must have been pretty panicked too, blurting out sex, sex, sex before I'd explained anything.

Get a grip.

"Ahem. No. It's not that. This is important, so listen carefully."

"Huh? Uh..."

"I haven't told you until now, but I'm an Awakened Summoned Person. A hero, basically."

"Huh... huh? Really?"

Yuri looked at Reni instead of me, and Reni nodded. Right. It'd be hard to take the word of a bum like me after I suddenly started asking for sex.

"That's weird... A hero's allowed to just wander around alone—well, not exactly alone—but still wander around like this? From what I know..."

Yuri frowned and crossed her arms. Her suspicion was written all over her posture.

She'd mentioned the bloodline of heroes, so she did know quite a bit. But right now, there was no time to explain all of that.

"That story's for later. There are circumstances here."

"Then..."

"Anyway, that's not the point. I have a divine authority that lets me temporarily amplify the abilities of someone I have sex with."

"...Really?"

I looked at Reni. Say it for me. The nonsense I'd spouted to lighten the mood seemed to have cost me some credibility.

"...On the name of the Church. It's the truth."

Reni said it with a sigh. She was a little... too harsh... with all the time we'd spent together...

No... was I the pathetic one here...

"So."

Yuri spoke up again.

"How exactly does this ability amplification work?"

Her tone was still skeptical. Yeah, I understood. I really did! Traveling with Reni had made it feel completely normal, but hearing a third party question it drove the absurdity home again. Getting a buff from sex! Of course it sounded like nonsense.

But I had no choice but to push ahead.

"If you have sex with me, your abilities... Let me give you a simple example. A wizard's mana would increase fivefold, and a priest's Divine Power would increase fivefold. Those are just examples using their most distinctive abilities. Strength, agility, and endurance would naturally be amplified too."

It would've been simple if she understood the concept of stats, but there was no way she'd know something so neatly quantified, so I had to spell it out.

"...Fivefold?"

Yuri mulled it over. Soon her eyes filled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with shock. It looked like she understood now.

"Mana increasing fivefold... my god... then what about me...?"

"In your case... well... you'd probably shoot a bow better."

"Shoot a bow better?"

"You couldn't kill that goblin in the dungeon with a single shot, right? And last time you shot at that wild boar, you missed on the first try too. But... after receiving amplification, you could probably sever its spine on your first shot. You'd be able to shoot from further away, and more accurately."

"That's..."

She still looked like she didn't believe it.

"I'm not saying this just because I'm his companion. Priest Kate—the senior priest at Guardian's Fort—confirmed it too."

Only after Reni went so far as to invoke the authority of the Church did Yuri finally seem to buy it.

"...Fine. So let's say we do it. What happens after?"

Of course, I had thought about what came after as well. I'd need to mobilize every ability I had.

"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say..."

I quickly laid out the general plan.

...

"...So to deal with those bastards before they reach the village, I need your cooperation."

While I'd been talking, I zoomed in on the minimap. The things hadn't gotten very far yet. In fact, you could say they were dawdling.

Since the Half-Goblins had been noted to have low intelligence stats, the one holding the whip was probably having a hard time. Though that worked out well for me.

Still, it was difficult to say we had plenty of time. Twenty minutes... no, I'd have to finish this within fifteen.

"...Alright. I'll do it."

Yuri had finally steeled herself. Her attitude was a little bothersome though. Like she was doing it because I'd coerced her... Was that really how it was? Even so, there was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turning back now.

"...Okay. Reni. We'll go over there and come back. Watch the surroundings. Don't forget the necklace."

'I'm sorry.'

Did she somehow hear the words I'd muttered to myself? Reni silently rushed into my arms.

"Ah! You guys said you weren't in that kind of relationship!"

"Shut up. Heroes are all lechers by nature..."

-Thwack! Thwack!

"Ow! Sorry! I got it!"

#

I left Reni on the ridgeline. The goblins had already gone towards the village, but something else could still pop out of the dungeon for all we knew.

At least we had Kate's communication necklaces. More importantly, doing it where Reni could watch would have been cruel to everyone involved.

So we moved into the forest a little ways away, but there was still a concern left to address.

How exactly should I do it? Just normally, missionary position? But time was...

"W-we're really doing this."

Yuri suddenly spoke up.

"Yeah. We have to..."

She wasn't looking for my answer. When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I turned around, Yuri was muttering to herself repeatedly, as if trying to reassure herself.

"Even though I had a feeling it'd come to this... yeah, I knew it'd turn out like this somehow. I had a strong gut feeling from the moment I first saw you. I could tell by looking at your eyes. I just knew it felt like that. Should I not have looked back then? Should I have just gone home? No, it's not that I hate it... uuugh..."

This girl. She was saying something interesting. So you'd been thinking that from the very beginning?

Yuri was tearing at her hair and pacing back and forth in distress. An attitude that was scared but also secretly expectant. Then, suddenly, she glanced up at me.

"H-hey. Are we for real doing it? D-do we absolutely have to?"

"Yeah. Of course we do."

We'd come this far and created this atmosphere, so we couldn't back out now. It was dangerous too. The success of the operation depended on how well Yuri could shoot.

"Ugh... still... I'd wanted my f-first time to be somewhere with atmosphere, though... why does it have to be..."

"..."

So she'd been thinking about that. I felt a little sorry. Then, next time, I'd have to make sure we did it however she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted...

"Uuugh..."

As I stood there in silence, Yuri gulped and backed away. But she soon bumped into a tree. Even as she backpedaled, there was nowhere left to go.

"W-what do I do? O-oh, once you get a taste of my fan-tastic, t-tongue technique... you, you won't be a-able to es-escape from me, my charm, my c-charm. Huh? E-even now, you should stop..."

Her legs were shaking so badly she looked like she'd keel over if you gave her a nudge. Yet here she was still putting on a show of bravado. For some reason, she was trembling even harder than when she'd babbled about catching the goblin by herself earlier.

"Ee... eeek..."

As I walked steadily closer without a word, a deflated little noise even escaped her now. Yet Yuri was still puffing up her bravado and trying to threaten me.

"I-I'll send you to h-heaven if we kiss, y-you know? R-really, really. Once you taste my fan-fantastic, fantastic tongue technique..."

"You're saying the same thing you already said."

"N-no, I mean..."

She was way too nervous. Hmm... how could I loosen her up? I needed to lighten the mood a little, even if it meant spouting some nonsense myself...

I wracked my brain for a moment and then opened my mouth.

"Hey, think about it. I told you I could amplify someone's abilities when I have sex. Why sex, of all things?"

"...W-well, dunno. Why sex?"

"That's because..."

"Because?"

"It's because I'm amazing at sex. Like, no joke."

"What?!"

It wasn't that I was a Sex Warrior because I was good at sex; I was good at sex because I was a Sex Warrior—but did that kind of causal relationship really matter? What mattered wasn't the facts; what mattered was shifting the mood!

"This is a secret, but..."

"Wh-what now? What's a secret?"

Even in the middle of all this, the mention of a secret still sparked her curiosity.

"You absolutely can't tell anyone else. Got it?"

"Huh? Uh..."

"Reni... you saw that priest, right? That priest, get this... after doing it with me once, she wouldn't let me go all day..."

Sorry, Reni. It was bad manners to talk about that kind of thing to other people, but this girl's shaking too hard, so I couldn’t help it. You'll understand, right? Still, I didn't bring up the twenty hours thing, did I? I'll definitely make it up to you later! With something like seventy-two hours!

"R-really? For real?"

As if asking to be reassured, Yuri kept questioning me. Don't worry. It was the truth.

"Yeah. I mean it. Anyway, it doesn't hurt, and it feels good. You'd better get ready to be sent to heaven by my tongue technique."

At the end, I made it sound like a joke and gave a low chuckle.

"Urk..."

She was still trembling, but Yuri's demeanor had changed slightly. A faint light of anticipation had begun to cast a haze over her crimson eyes.