Encounter with the Owlbear (2)

Kim Isabel had collapsed helplessly, unable to overcome the fatigue weighing down her body. And Seo Woojin was fleeing without so much as a backward glance, abandoning her where she fell.

The whole scene was unfolding exactly as it had in the original story, and I nearly let a smile slip past my lips.

No. Stop it. Don't get excited already.

However well things were going according to plan, I couldn't afford to let my guard down. After all, the fact remained that I had to slay the Owlbear bearing down on us—together with my women.

And though ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was all for the sake of engineering the situation, I'd still had to plunge Kim Isabel into terror, however briefly, so my conscience wasn't entirely clear on that front either.

"Hey, Seo Woojin! Hey!!"

Han Sora was shouting at the retreating back of the protagonist, but in his panic, he probably couldn't even hear her.

In the original, the story went like this: the isolated Kim Isabel and Han Sora desperately held out, and then the protagonist—having reflected on his cowardice—returned to rescue them from the crisis. Naturally, I had no intention of letting things drift along that convenient script for his benefit.

"Damn it, seriously! If this is how it's going to be…."

"Han Sora, run ahead with Cha Eunju. I'll bring Kim Isabel back."

"What?!"

"Eunju, get out of here first!"

"N-no, Seonho! Don't go!!"

I set down the Cha Eunju I'd been carrying in my arms, then turned and sprinted toward the fallen Kim Isabel.

It pained me to hear Cha Eunju calling after me from behind, but rescuing Kim Isabel from the Owlbear came first.

Groooooar!

"……!"

Startled by the monster charging straight at her, Kim Isabel scrambled to her feet—only to stumble and fall again.

At a glance it looked like her moment of crisis, but fortunately, it wasn't. That monster hadn't been created to kill her. It had been made to capture her.

…Though being captured would, in a certain sense, spell an even worse future for Kim Isabel, so the fact that I had to save her remained unchanged either way.

"Isabel, get up! Now!"

"……!"

With the Owlbear closing in from behind and me rushing toward her from the front, Kim Isabel froze up in fear of both of us at once.

Knowing her trauma, that much was inevitable—but right now, I had to move her half by force if I had to.

…Besides, there would never be a better opening than this one to slip a Suggestion into her while she was too confused to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resist.

"Isabel, get up!"

"…Nn! D-don't… come…."

Grip!

"Hngh…!!"

I'd only barely caught hold of one wrist, and already she was trembling, her voice on the verge of breaking into sobs.

Her terror-stricken heartbeat was so loud I felt like I could hear it myself. And here I'd thought I'd built up a decent store of goodwill with her—apparently the mere fact that I was a man terrified her that much.

Then again, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. If the fear stopped her from thinking clearly, it would make resisting my Suggestion that much harder too.

"Hnn… h-hah…! Hah, haa…?"

There were any number of Suggestions that could temporarily erase her androphobia, but the one I'd chosen was the Succubus's Heart—the kind that made a woman feel sudden affection toward a man.

For one thing, there were no other men around for her to latch onto, and for another, it was perfect for making her mistake this fear-pounding rush in her chest for her own affection.

Unlike Cha Eunju, whose conditioning let my Suggestions take root completely, this one consumed nearly half my mana to force through—but what mattered was that it stuck.

"There's no other way. Sorry, Isabel!"

Whoosh.

"Hah, w-wait, just… a second…."

"Sorry, but I don't have time to indulge you right now! I get that you're scared of men, but please, just bear with it for a little while!"

"…Y-yes."

So what was Kim Isabel feeling toward me right now, exactly?

Did the fear dissolve and leave affection filling the space it left behind? Or was she feeling terror and tenderness at the same time, tangled up in confusion?

…Or, fitting for a succubus's power, was she actually looking at me—a man—and feeling raw lust?

"Hold on tight!"

"…Yes."

Tight.

One thing was certain: Kim Isabel's androphobic reflexes had at least been temporarily suspended.

Once I confirmed her slender fingers wrapping around the back of my neck, I bolted, putting as much distance as possible between us and the Owlbear.

Groooooooar!!

CRASH!!

"Kyaaaaah!!"

Barely a few seconds later, the Owlbear's massive arm came smashing down on the spot where I'd been standing.

Seeing the crater it left—deep enough that the imprint of its paw was clearly visible—the fear I'd temporarily forgotten in the heat of the moment crept back up my spine.

Time to stop posturing and actually bring this thing down.

A body like mine, with physical stats barely above an ordinary civilian's, could never outlast an Owlbear in a prolonged fight. Above all, I had to finish every last bit of this battle before Seo Woojin came back.

First, I needed to organize our battle lines. I'd be borrowing the positions the original trio—Seo Woojin, Han Sora, and Kim Isabel—had used when they took down the Owlbear in the source material.

When the fleeing protagonist returned and the party was back to three, Seo Woojin took the front, holding the Owlbear alone with his temporarily boosted swordsmanship. While he held it down, Kim Isabel channeled the Sacred Chain capable of binding the monster's body, and Han Sora readied the Careful Shot from the rear to finish it off.

In other words, Cha Eunju and I would have to split Seo Woojin's original role between us. One way or another.

Fwoooosh!

Groooooar!!

"G-get away from Seonho, you monster!!"

How convenient—Cha Eunju had just drawn the Owlbear's attention toward herself.

Her magic couldn't deal the creature any direct damage, but it disrupted its movements well enough to buy us some time.

…Of course, one mistake and Cha Eunju would be in serious danger, so covering her flank was my job.

"Han Sora!"

"What?!"

"You said you're in the Archery Department, right? Have you ever hunted an Owlbear before?!"

"How would I have?! There's no way I can hit something moving that fast!"

"If we can pin its movement down somehow, can you kill it?!"

"…I-I mean, in theory! But how on earth…."

"So you said you can do it?!"

"How am I supposed to do that?! You're not even a vanguard, you're Support Department!"

With Han Sora's grudging confirmation secured, next up was Kim Isabel.

"Isabel!"

"Y-yes…!!"

"Can you use Sacred Chain?! Or Light Binding or Dull Radiance if that's what you've got!"

"I-I can use Sacred Chain! B-but it takes about a minute to channel…."

"Doesn't matter! Hit that thing with Sacred Chain and hold it down however you can! And Han Sora—you get ready, and the second it's bound, put an arrow right between its eyes!"

"Are you out of your mind?! You seriously want to kill that thing?!"

"We don't have any other choice! So please—just trust me this once!"

"Almighty God of Light, Aether, grant unto me the sacred power to stand against mine enemy…."

"…Ugh, fine! B-but if I miss, don't you dare blame me!"

Whether it was thanks to the Succubus's Heart or not, Kim Isabel was conversing with me—a man—without much difficulty as she prepared the Sacred Chain. And Han Sora, unwilling to abandon the two of us preparing for battle, was chanting her Careful Shot out of pure responsibility.

Meanwhile, Cha Eunju, who'd chanted herself dangerously close to the Owlbear in the meantime, got swept up in my arms as I pulled her back yet again, opening the distance once more.

Haah!

"Hyaaak?!"

"Keep firing spells at it, Cha Eunju! We have to make sure that thing's attention stays fixed on us no matter what!"

"In-in this state?!"

"You're the only one who can do it right now! Please, Cha Eunju!"

"O-okay! D-Dark Spear!"

Thwick!

Groooooar!!

Whoosh—!

Unwounded but endlessly pestered by the stinging attacks, the Owlbear was fuming, swinging its arms wildly at Cha Eunju and me without any semblance of aim.

In my heart of hearts, I wanted to vault over those enormous hands and dodge them with style—but for someone without a Physical Enhancement ability like me, that was a pipe dream. And I was carrying the added weight of one entire woman in my arms, besides.

Whoosh!!

"Hyaak!! D-Dark Spear!!"

Thanks to the Adrenaline Explosion, I was somehow still holding on—but an ordinary human body had its limits, obviously.

Fatigue that even the flood of adrenaline couldn't mask was piling up in my limbs. I was just about at my breaking point.

Come on, end this. Somehow.

If at all possible—before Seo Woojin arrives.

After going this far, if he came back and stole the highlight of the battle from me out of nowhere, I doubted I'd be able to sleep from sheer indignation.

"Hah—hah—hah!"

Seo Woojin forced out the breath clogging his throat as he ran blindly, minute after minute.

It was only after he'd collected himself from the panic of facing down that enormous monster that he finally realized—not a single person was running alongside him.

"Han Sora…?"

Not Han Sora, his childhood friend who'd been nagging at his side throughout the entire practical exam. Not Cha Eunju, the girl he'd met in the waiting room, or that man from the Support Department, either.

He'd assumed they'd all be fleeing the Owlbear like him, even if a step or two behind. But somehow, he was the only one left.

…Though the nameless girl from what looked like the Recovery Department had probably already been done in.

"……."

What he'd done moments ago came back to him, far too late—running past the girl who'd collapsed right beside him.

If only he'd kept his head, he could have saved her easily. But he'd been so paralyzed by the terror of facing that giant monster that he'd done nothing at all.

And Han Sora… Han Sora never would have abandoned that fallen girl. He knew her temperament better than anyone—he'd watched it since they were children.

"Damn it…."

What kind of hunter candidate was he, anyway?

He hadn't even been able to protect his most precious friend beside him. He hadn't been able to protect one fragile girl. What right did he have to call himself a hunter candidate?

What was the point of running away alone like this?

"If only… if only I were just a little stronger…."

Impatience gnawed at him, that desperate hunger to grow stronger fast.

He'd researched how to become a popular hunter in order to make use of his ability—Strength Growth from Female Affection. He'd mingled with people on the internet forums where hunters and academy students ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gathered.

For someone with his introverted personality, there had been no other choice. No matter what kind of ability he'd been born with, actually meeting people face to face frightened him a little.

So he'd built up favor with people online, bit by bit, and grown stronger—strong enough now to take down even a goblin or two.

But in the end, none of that changed the simple fact that when it truly mattered, he'd done nothing.

…Not five years ago, on that day. And not now, either.

…It might not be too late. Not yet.

Yes, he'd fled like a pathetic coward. And no, there was no guarantee he could beat that terrifying monster even if he went back.

…But no matter what, he didn't think he could ever forgive himself for running away this cravenly.

Grip.

"……."

Footsteps drumming—

Clutching the sword in his hand tight enough to whiten his knuckles, Seo Woojin turned back down the path he'd run alone.

And in his eyes, the first courage he had ever summoned in his life burned like wildfire.