Might Makes Right — Guard Warrior Eruka
[It's so hooot~]
The sun beat down so relentlessly that I could almost hear the imaginary sizzling of my own skin. It was unbearable. I urged Undine, who was flying through the air to scout the area, to hurry up.
"Get down here quickly... I'm dying of heat..."
As I squeezed out the words with what little strength I had left, Undine—who was also panting with her tongue out from the heat—waved her hands in refusal.
[No way! You're just going to hug me again like earlier. I told you, it's too hot!]
"Then find something quickly..."
[Just wait~ I'll be right back!]
"Sigh..."
Watching Undine's slender figure vanish into the distance, I slowed my pace and sought refuge under the shade of a tree. My clanking armor made me feel like I was roasting alive, but considering where I was, taking it off would be an open invitation for something to kill me. I had no choice but to keep it on.
"Fucking mercenary guild..."
I had gone to the Merchant Coalition, found the merchant guild master, and calmly explained what had happened at the goblin colony. After handing over the weapons, the master had beamed with joy and personally accompanied me to the mercenary guild to clear up any suspicion of desertion. I thought everything had wrapped up nicely, but the mercenary guild stopped me just as I was trying to leave.
"To be honest, we're letting this slide because the client defended you, but we have a request that absolutely no one else can handle right now besides you, Sir Casano... Even the branch manager is begging you to take it."
In other words: Yes, we resolved it amicably, but you still technically deserted, so please take this terrible quest as penance. The young receptionist had politely clasped her hands, her face full of apology as she danced around the subject.
Having no choice but to accept the forced request, I found the location to be absurd. The city I was currently staying in was Hormia, a place blessed by nature, bordered by a dense forest and a vast jungle. While the jungle and forest yielded many harvestable herbs and rare wild beasts, the most precious treasures of all were the demi-humans who lived deep within.
Of course, since the Empire had abolished slavery centuries ago, there were officially no slaves on this continent. Still, demi-humans were highly sought after because of the immense rewards associated with them. Countless tales existed of adventurers and nobles who had received grand rewards after helping elves or beastkin, so many mercenaries and adventurers eagerly anticipated such encounters.
But what did that have to do with my current quest? The herb the client wanted was the Dalburmi Flower, a plant cultivated exclusively by the Beastkin. It was a light-blue, crescent-shaped flower used by them as medicine and a culinary delicacy. Asking me to retrieve it was essentially telling me to go find the Beastkin.
I had searched all over Hormia for anyone who had recently spotted any Beastkin, but the only lead I got was from an old herbalist. According to him, it had been over a century since anyone had last seen a Beastkin in the Hormia Jungle. Only then did I realize I had been saddled with a nightmare of a quest, but I still had to complete it.
"Phew..."
Gulp, gulp.
I pulled a cool canteen out of my Expansion Pouch and quenched my thirst. The pouch, which had been my greatest haul, was an even greater treasure than I had initially thought. To think it even had preservation magic cast on it... The identity of the corpse I took it from hadn't been fully established yet, so I hadn't received any official reward, but I felt this pouch alone was more than enough compensation.
"Fuck, how long is this going to take..."
It had already been half a day since I entered the jungle. Breathing in the cool morning air at the crack of dawn, I had confidently marched in, thinking this would be a walk in the park. Clearly, I had underestimated the jungle. Once the sun rose and my stamina began to drain, exhaustion quickly set in. I had thought I'd grown stronger after contracting with Undine, but it seemed that was just an illusion.
[~~~~]
As I closed my eyes, feeling the teasing caress of a faint breeze, a delicate voice drifted from afar. That energetic, sweet tone... It was definitely Undine.
[Casanoooo~~~]
Sure enough, Undine came flying toward me, waving her arms. I opened my eyes and spread my arms to welcome her. Flying with pure excitement, she threw herself into my embrace like a baby monkey clinging to its mother.
"Did you find something?"
The chill radiating from her entire body brought an incredibly refreshing sensation, like stepping straight into an ice room after roasting in a hot sauna. But Undine, nestled in my arms, let out a short shriek—[Hot!]—and quickly pulled away.
[If you go straight that way~ there's a place with tons of vines and massive trees!]
"Really?"
Massive trees... The entrance of the jungle looked like a typical scene from a movie, but if there were trees even larger than those, draped in thick vines, it might be the deepest part of the jungle. After pondering for a moment, I called out to Undine.
"Well, it's too late to head back today. Let's camp out and investigate."
[I'll do whatever Casano wants to do~]
"I want to explore other places soon, so I was worried we'd get stuck here for too long."
[Casano...]
Undine looked deeply touched that I remembered her wish to see various places. Keeping her feelings in mind like this was crucial; it ensured she would remain devoted to me no matter what I did. I gestured to her and turned in the direction she had scouted.
"Ugh, it's way too humid."
As I followed slowly behind Undine, the heat and humidity only intensified the deeper we ventured into the jungle. With the rushing rivers and birds boasting brilliantly colored feathers like parrots, it felt like some Amazon expedition, but the murderous heat was simply unbearable.
[See? I told you I could cast a spell on you!]
"No, we need to save it."
Seeing me groan in the heat, Undine had offered from the start to use her spirit magic to cool the air around me, but I had refused. In a dangerous jungle where we had no idea what might jump out, wasting mana just to make myself comfortable seemed like a recipe for disaster if an emergency arose.
Besides, replenishing that mana ultimately requires my physical... effort.
[The vines are so long~]
"Some people swing on those to fly around."
[Really?!]
"Yeah. There's a guy named Tarzan who swings on vines and roams the jungle like it's his own home."
[I wanna try too~]
Undine grabbed a particularly long vine with both hands and began to swing her body back and forth like a pendulum. The long vine swayed slowly in rhythm with her movements.
"Jump now!"
I gave the signal just as the momentum swung her back and then propelled her forward. Hearing my shout, Undine let go and leaped with a loud, "Waaaah!" It was amusing how she let out that classic cry without me even teaching her Tarzan's trademark yell.
[Kyaaa! I caught it!]
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her clinging tightly to the next vine like a spider dangling from its web, unable to move forward. Sliding down the vine, Undine giggled and began to flutter around me.
[It's so cool~ Everything is brand new to me!]
"It's my first time seeing all this, too."
[But Casano, didn't you say you've been a mercenary for a long time? Is it really your first time?]
Chuckles.
"I was a combat mercenary. I've only been traveling around like this for less than a year."
[Really? Well, that's a relief~]
"What's a relief?"
With a bright smile, Undine hovered above my head and tilted her face down to look me in the eyes.
[Because even if I don't know something, it might be your first time seeing it too, right?]
"Oh, you."
I gently pinched her nose between my index and middle fingers and gave it a playful tug.
Pop.
[Aaaang! That hurts!]
We continued our walk, exchanging silly banter. Whenever the murderous heat threatened to overwhelm me, I would pull Undine close, using her cool body to endure the temperature. Pushing forward, the standard jungle scenery gradually gave way to the landscape Undine had described.
"Oh..."
Towering trees, as thick as dozens of men lined up, rose in a dense, magnificent canopy. It was a spectacle I had never witnessed even back on Earth. My jaw dropped slightly at the surreal, almost CGI-like scenery, but my awe was cut short as the rustling of nearby bushes made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Click.
I gripped the hilt of the longsword at my waist and slowly drew it. I gestured to Undine in the air. Turning invisible—a state only visible to her contractor—she drifted over to inspect whatever was hiding in the bushes.
[It looks like some kind of dog, but I don't know! Its teeth are huge!]
Huge teeth? A dog with massive teeth? Just as the vague description was starting to ring a bell, a beast burst from the bushes. True to Undine's words, a pair of massive fangs curved sharply downward from its upper jaw.
"A... saber-toothed tiger?"
It looked identical to the illustrations of saber-toothed tigers I had seen in books of extinct animals back on Earth. It had the long, downward-pointing fangs, sharp, slit-like eyes, and a sleek, agile body like a leopard. Instead of rushing in, I raised my sword diagonally to shield my body, dropping into a defensive stance.
Growl...
As we faced off, the beast growled, shifting its weight as it looked for the perfect moment to strike. The tense, twitching muscles on its face made it clear that it would pounce any second now.
Thud!
To bait it, I stomped my foot forward as if initiating a charge. I had no intention of actually rushing, but the sudden forward motion was enough to trigger the beast's instincts. The saber-toothed tiger immediately leaped, lunging straight at me.
I anchored my foot to steady my stance and raised the shield on my left arm to protect my upper body. Mid-air, the tiger snapped its jaws, aiming to drive its massive fangs deep into me.
Clang!
A metallic ring echoed as my diagonally swung longsword collided with the beast's fangs and bounced off. With a sharp crack, a fracture split down one of the tiger's fangs. Without losing a beat, I pulled back my right arm and slammed my shield-bearing left arm down hard onto the beast's head.
Off-balance from its landing, the tiger squeezed its eyes shut under the force of the shield bash. Even so, it scrambled with its paws to regain its footing. Seeing this, I drove my recovered right arm straight down, plunging the longsword directly into the beast's skull.
Squelch.
I felt the bone give way as the blade split its skull, and thick blood began to well up from the wound. I immediately yanked the sword out and wiped the blade clean. Undine, who had been watching from the sidelines, fluttered over to inspect the carcass.
[Whoa... It's huge. But you killed it so easily!]
"It's just a wild beast. Still, it startled me by jumping out so suddenly."
[We should keep those teeth, right? Let's take them!]
Using the hilt of my sword, I struck the cracked fang hard, snapping it off completely. Slipping the heavy, smooth fang into my pouch, I left the carcass behind, adjusted my gear, scanned the surroundings, and resumed my trek.
"Did you not see any beasts like this earlier?"
[I didn't see any from the sky... Should I go take another look?]
"Please. Let me know if you spot any unfamiliar beasts or people, alright?"
[Leave it to me~]
Undine shot up into the sky. I rolled the fang around in my hand, admiring its texture. It was surprisingly dense and sturdy; if I had the chance, it would be wise to harvest more of them.
Ah, maybe I should have snapped the other one off too. I felt a brief pang of regret, but since we had already left the carcass behind, I brushed it off. Perhaps because of the sudden burst of physical exertion, sweat was pouring down my body. I decided to take a break once Undine returned. Ignoring the sweltering heat as best as I could, I kept walking forward.
[There's nothing up ahead~~~]
Undine flew back, waving from a distance. I gestured for her to come down and slumped against the trunk of a massive tree. Pulling out my canteen, I took a deep swig and poured the remaining water over my head and face.
[Casano~ Are you really hot?]
"Yeah, I'm roasting..."
[Honestly... you're so stubborn. Here, come closer!]
Puffing out her cheeks, Undine approached me with open arms. Knowing she wanted me to embrace her, I leaned forward and pulled her into my arms, basking in her refreshing chill.
[Look at all this sweat on your face...]
Slurp, lick, lick.
Undine's cool, wet tongue began to lap at the sweat on my face, tracing paths across my skin. I closed my eyes and let her do as she pleased, the icy sensation bringing immense relief.
"Ah..."
[Lick... Does it feel good...?]
"Keep going..."
[Hehe, okay... Slurp, slurp...]
As Undine pampered me like an affectionate puppy, I wrapped my arms around her slender waist, pressing her soft, budding breasts against my chest. Clinging to me, she closed her eyes, licking my cheek with a mischievous smile before tracing her tongue along my lips.
I couldn't possibly refuse an invitation like that.
Smooch, slurp... smack.
Lightly at first, then deep and sticky. After a brief taste, I fully captured her lips.
[Chup, mmm... hngh...]
I slowly slid my tongue into her small mouth. Her parted lips welcomed the invasion, eagerly wrapping around and sucking on my tongue, while her own tiny tongue entwined with mine, swallowing down my saliva.
Her passionate response quickly had me fully erect, and the urge to take things further surged within me. I was just about to slide my hand down toward her crotch to take the next step when Undine's eyes suddenly snapped open, and she pulled her lips away.
[Ah... I hear something clashing!]
"Haa... Where?"
[I think it's under the giant tree I saw earlier... I can't hear it clearly, but there's a constant clashing sound!]
"Can you hear it from all the way here?"
[Just in case, I left a connected droplet of water there. Let's go!]
"Alright, let's do that."
I pushed myself up and brushed the dirt off my backside. The prominent bulge in my trousers made my posture a bit awkward at first, but with the stimulation gone, my erection quickly subsided.
"But why are you being so proactive today?"
I hadn't expected her to be so enthusiastic about scouting. I knew she liked playing in the jungle, but this level of initiative was a surprise.
[Because... the sooner we finish, the sooner I can... you know... do it with Casano...]
Amused by her adorable reasoning, I let out a soft chuckle and followed behind as she led the way.