Chapter 53
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Translator: Xrecker
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Main Event (2)
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"Ishihan and Mr. Arsvald, please go and wash up."
"Alright."
As I came out of the tent, Kyeong-hu, in a different outfit, was sitting in front of the bonfire.
Kyeong-hu, who had also washed up right after the two of them, was wearing a more comfortable-looking outfit, though not a one-piece nightgown.
It was also a novel experience to see a different side of an NPC character with a changed appearance, not just my beloved characters.
The portable shower was for one person, so we had to use it one at a time.
"I'll go first.
"Alright."
Right behind Arsvald, I lightly washed my body with water, and then I wet the cloth that came with the shower set with water, rubbed soap on it, and made a lather.
I washed my body with the lathered cloth and then rinsed the foam off my body with water.
Finally, I washed my hair, finished my shower, and then took out a towel from my subspace to dry my body.
To go to sleep, I took out the pajamas that I had bought with the camping set and put them on.
Mine was a simple, single-colored pajama set.
However.
"A lightning pattern."
"Hmph, I even care about style in my pajamas. That's me."
Arsvald's pajamas had lightning patterns at regular intervals on the shirt and pants.
He really was a consistent guy.
If the community had known about this, they would have laughed, saying things like "Arsvald is a true otaku, lol."
'Before that, they would have been ecstatic to see Pamela and Yeon-hwa in their pajamas.'
Since they were both pretty, they would look good in anything, but even if I knew that in advance, seeing it with my own two eyes was a different kind of shock.
To be honest, if I had had a camera in my hand at that time, I would have reflexively pressed the shutter button with my screenshot instinct.
Did my wish reach the heavens?
"Ishihan! Mr. Arsvald! Come over here! We're taking a commemorative photo of our first camp~."
Yeon-hwa had suggested that we take a commemorative photo.
"Kyeong-hu, please!"
"Leave it to me, Young Lady Yeon-hwa! Your beautiful appearance! I will capture it without missing a single detail!"
"Uh, uhh... d-do you take pictures of this kind of thing?"
"Of course! This will all become a memory! You two, please come over here too!"
"Hmph, it's a good idea to leave a photo of my stylish pajamas!"
"Understood."
Kyeong-hu, holding a camera, pressed the shutter as we stood in a row in front of the tent and struck a pose.
Click!
The photo was taken, and the picture came out with a whirring sound.
"Here you go! Young Lady Yeon-hwa!"
"Here you go, Mr. Arsvald."
Yeon-hwa immediately handed the photo she had received from Kyeong-hu to Arsvald.
"Leave it to me!"
As soon as Arsvald received the photo, he immediately shook it with a flap, flap!
Not only I and Yeon-hwa, but also Pamela, looked on with a warm smile as Arsvald grinned and enjoyed himself while shaking the photo.
"It's out!"
A little while later, the photo we had taken appeared.
"Hmph! As expected, I'm cool!"
"Let me see too. Hmm! It's a very good picture."
"D-did my eyes look strange? The last time Ms. Yeon-hwa took my picture, my eyes were only half-open, so it was strange...."
"It's fine this time! Don't you think so too, Ishihan?"
"Yes, it's a very pretty picture."
"P-pretty... ah, you don't mean that, do you? Th-the picture! You mean the picture came out well, right? Ahaha, hahaha...."
"Oh ho ho ho ho! You're pretty too, Ms. Pamela! Of course, I'm the most beautiful, though!"
"Y-you don't have to say that just to be polite, Ms. Yeon-hwa~ he, hehehehe~."
The atmosphere was just right.
Then this must be my chance.
"Yeon-hwa, since we're taking pictures, how about we take individual pictures too?"
"Oh! That's a great idea!"
"Then I'll borrow the camera."
With Yeon-hwa's camera, we decided to take individual pictures of each of us in our pajamas.
"Who's going first?"
"Of course, it's me! Oh ho ho ho ho! Now, hurry up and take it, Ishihan!"
Click! I took a picture of Yeon-hwa, who was smiling in her usual pose.
"I'm next!"
Click!
I took a picture of Arsvald, who was laughing loudly with his arms crossed.
"Pamela, it's your turn next."
"Y-yes! B-but even if you take a picture of someone like me, it probably won't be a very good picture."
"What are you talking about? It'll come out great, so don't worry."
"I-is that so? Even if the model is bad, the picture will come out well, right?"
"I think the model is good too. You're very pretty, so be confident."
"Huh?! P-pretty?"
"I've already said it several times."
In Pamela's case, since her self-esteem was low, even if I complimented her, she would soon think, "Is it just a formality?" and forget about it.
However.
"Th-that's still, he, he, hehehehehe...."
When I actually complimented her, she was happy about it and would smile gloomily.
It was a very nice sight.
Click!
"You stand there too! I'll take a special picture of you with my camera!"
After everyone had been photographed, Arsvald, who had taken out his camera from his subspace ring with a triumphant air, aimed it at me.
You must have wanted to take a picture too, seeing me take pictures all this time.
I struck a suitable pose and was photographed by Arsvald.
Click!
***
The next day, we arrived at the area near Lake Lazenta, where the monsters were said to be rampaging.
"I'll be on my way now. Everyone, please take care."
"Thank you for the ride."
"I also enjoyed the soup yesterday."
After confirming that the carriage had left, we headed towards Lake Lazenta.
Lake Lazenta was a lake in the middle of a forest, so even if we got off near the lake, we couldn't see the lake from a distance because of the trees.
And not long after we had headed towards Lake Lazenta.
-Kiguk, guuk! Kueeeeee!
We met a monster that looked strange at a glance.
"That's... a goblin."
"But it looks... strange."
Its appearance was the same as the goblins we knew.
But its eyes were unusually bloodshot, and its behavior also seemed violent and unstable.
It was a corrupted goblin that had first appeared as a main story event in Lu-Fan and later appeared as a common mob.
"It certainly looks like a quest would come out. Yeon-hwa."
"Protective Talisman!"
Through the work we had repeated several times, Yeon-hwa understood just by being called by name and cast a protective talisman.
"First, we'll defeat the monster and find the cause. Pamela."
"Th-the distance is a little far. Let's get a little closer."
"Alright."
As we closed the distance further, Pamela immediately used her magic.
"Vines of Tenacity! Nail of Shattering!"
The goblin's body was entangled in vines and then pierced by the flying nails.
-Kyuaaaaak! Kiuk! Kueeeek!
"Uh, uh... i-it's still moving."
With Pamela's Nail of Shattering, a single goblin should have been able to be defeated in one blow.
But a corrupted goblin was a monster of a higher level than a Stone Orc.
Even in this world, it had become a monster that could not be killed with a single skill.
"It seems it's not just a rampage, but it's also gotten stronger."
"Hahahat! This won't be boring!"
"Young Lady Yeon-hwa, if you are in danger, I will protect you."
"Don't worry, Kyeong-hu. Fortis is strong."
"I'll blow it away in one shot! Lightning of Judgment!"
Kwa-rurururung!
Arsvald activated a skill that sent a large lightning bolt down at the goblin, which was still unable to escape from the Vines of Tenacity.
-Kyuaaaaak!
This time, with a final scream, the goblin collapsed.
"Hahaha! Even a slightly stronger goblin is nothing against me! It's boring no matter how many of these things come at me!"
Did it react to the voice of Arsvald, who was laughing loudly and reveling in his own skills?
-Kyuaak! Gyagyak!
-Kuhuuu...
-Kueeeek!
Monsters appeared from all over the forest that we had to pass through to get to Lake Lazenta.
"Wh-what's with this number! Where did they all come from all of a sudden!"
"M-maybe they reacted to your voice, Mr. Arsvald?"
"Ugh...! Hmph! It doesn't matter how many there are if they're up against me! ...Ishihan! You get ready to fight too!"
"I was already planning to."
***
'I never thought it would be to this extent.'
Shu Yeon-hwa's maid, Kyeong-hu, was impressed as she watched Fortis fight.
She had been planning to step in if it looked like they were in danger, but there was no opening for her to do so.
The battle of Fortis was so overwhelming that she didn't even have the thought of stepping in.
After securing their safety with Yeon-hwa's protective talisman, Pamela's Vines of Tenacity would be activated.
Not only did it restrain multiple enemies at once, but the way it slowed the opponent's speed with the curse of the magic was very useful in a chaotic battle like this.
Because a slower opponent meant more opportunities for this side to attack.
"Thunder Cage of Punishment!"
Crackle!
And Arsvald's magic, which wiped out the slowed enemies in a wide range, was intense and flashy even in Kyeong-hu's eyes.
'I thought he was a bit strange, but his skills are certainly real.'
Of course, Shu Yeon-hwa was not just standing there with a protective barrier. She was throwing talismans to keep the monsters from getting too close, or throwing landmine talismans to create traps.
"Pamela, please!"
"N-nail of Shattering!"
"Hiyaaaat! Take this!"
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!
And she was also showing a coordinated attack with Pamela, where she would finish off a monster whose defense had been lowered by Pamela's Nail of Shattering with a series of talismans.
While many monsters were already being defeated, not a single person in Fortis had been injured.
But in Kyeong-hu's eyes, the most overwhelming person in Fortis was Ishihan.
'What's with that man? Is something like that even possible?'
Ishihan had shown an unbelievable attack power that had pierced through Shu Yeon-hwa's protective barrier in a single blow.
But even with that attack power, the movements Ishihan was showing in this chaotic battle were by no means the movements of a student who had just entered the academy.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
The sight of Ishihan piercing through the foreheads of the monsters that approached him in order with precise and clean movements could be called the level of a master.
Normally, after an attack, one would retreat to grasp the situation or observe it for a moment.
Especially now, since their safety was secured by the protective talisman, they could afford to do so.
But Ishihan did not.
'That's the movement of someone who has grasped everything around them while moving.'
If Arsvald was defeating multiple monsters in one blow, then Ishihan was keeping up with that number by moving without rest and finishing off the monsters in a single blow.
'I still don't like that he drew Young Lady Yeon-hwa into his own group instead of the Flame Dragon Society, but....'
Kyeong-hu had no choice but to admit it.
That Ishihan was a man with the skills to do so.