Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: A Steamy Night with the Widow Nadia (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Sorry, Nellis, Scarlet. Because of me..."
Back at the inn, Nellis, Scarlet, and Aria had gathered in Aria's room, separated from Kalt.
Aria, whose complexion had improved since earlier, apologized to Nellis and Scarlet with a look of deep regret.
She was anxious that her sudden worsening condition might make Kalt reconsider joining Nellis's party.
"No, it's fine. Kalt joined our party, didn't he? More importantly, are you okay now? No more urges?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm really sorry..."
Scarlet spoke to Aria, who was bowing her head.
"Stop apologizing already. Just do better from now on. Quit bowing your head. You didn't do anything wrong."
It might have sounded curt, but Aria and Nellis knew Scarlet was saying it out of concern.
"Yeah. Thanks, Scarlet."
As Aria managed a smile, Nellis let out a sigh of relief and decided to change the subject.
"But seriously, we're lucky. Kalt joined our party. Kalt, who was in Mabel's party, no less! I felt it when we took down those kobolds—having one more person makes fighting so much easier!"
"He definitely has skills. Even kobolds aside, he dropped them effortlessly."
"There are plenty of strong people who aren't Heroes."
"Right~ I bet he's stronger than me."
"Hey, I told you not to decide that already."
"But~ he really looks strong. And he's handsome too."
"What does his face have to do with anything?"
"Come on, looks matter. Having a hot teammate is easy on the eyes~ In this life of nonstop monster-slaying drudgery, we need something to freshen things up!"
"Seriously, you... Haa."
Scarlet pressed a hand to her forehead at Nellis's carefree words.
"Hee hee, Nellis is always so upbeat. It's nice to watch."
Nellis waved her hands, denying Aria's words.
"No way, what do you mean I'm upbeat~ I just try to stay positive. Sigh, honestly, I'm a bit worried about the future. We glossed over it today, but... Kalt will find out eventually. About our problem."
"..."
Scarlet and Aria fell into heavy silence at Nellis's remark.
"Ah."
'Ah, I was trying to lighten the mood, but I just made it heavier...!'
Nellis regretted her slip-up.
But it wasn't something they could just ignore.
'W-what do I do... Ah!'
"Still! You never know—maybe Kalt can solve our problem? Like that thing he did. Right! Mental counseling! He said he counseled his teammates and fixed their issues! Kalt was in Mabel's party... and they say Mabel's party started out lazy like us!"
"...I still can't quite believe that. Mabel's party being lazy? And their problems... might've been way less serious than ours. Maybe he just sweet-talked some rookies out of their funk and they grew from there."
"Holding onto hope isn't bad! Aria! Scarlet! You too, me too! We can't stay like this forever, right?"
"Nellis is right. We can't keep going like this... forever."
"Obviously I hate it too. But what are we gonna do? Even if Kalt fixes it, we'll have to reveal our problem first. Why not go tell him now?"
"Uh..."
Nellis, who had been energetic moments ago, averted her gaze and fidgeted with her fingers at Scarlet's words.
"N-now might be too soon, don't you think? It'd be better after we've built more trust."
She wanted their problem solved, but worried Kalt might leave right away if they told him now.
"..."
Scarlet's piercing stare stabbed at Nellis's heart.
Shwaaack!
In one swift motion, the heads of several monsters flew through the air, revealing a woman with orange hair tied in side tails.
"Yup~! That's the end!"
She shook the blood from her sword in the air, stretched, and flashed a refreshing smile.
It was the Fastest Hero, Mabel.
"Good work, Mabel."
"Faster than usual."
"Of course! Without Kalt nagging us every morning! Ah! Felt great moving freely!"
From behind her approached a mage with green wavy long hair—the Storm Witch Ianna—and a nun with golden long hair—the Nun of Compassion Marti.
Two days since expelling Kalt.
Mabel's party was tackling a B-rank monster subjugation quest to gel as a trio until a new member joined: Iron Orcs.
Mabel spoke to her comrades with evident relief.
"No morning lectures without Kalt~ No one holding me back from charging ahead! And goodbye to that weird juice!"
"No more 'eat this, eat that' nagging either. Though, missing his breakfasts is a bit regrettable."
"Kalt was good at cooking, after all."
"Tch, cooking? We can eat after finishing quests quick. 'Don't skip this, don't skip that'—my ears were calloused. And look!"
Mabel pointed her sword at the monster corpses.
"I took them down this fast alone. With Kalt, he'd nag about pacing and it'd take longer."
"Actually, it was better with Kalt."
"What?"
"Finishing this quick means no chance for my magic."
"Ah~. No need for your magic on trash like this, Ianna? Save it for hordes or tougher foes—boom!"
"Fair enough. But let me handle a couple next time. Get rusty if I don't use it."
"Ugh, Ianna sounding like Kalt."
"Mabel, Ianna. Shouldn't we extract the magic stones first?"
"Oh, right. Sigh, annoying. Wish the replacement would hurry up."
Back when Kalt was around, he handled most magic stone extractions.
"Just bear with it till then, Mabel."
Without Kalt, Mabel's party extracted stones from the corpses.
"Phew. Done! Alright, let's head out again!"
"Mabel, hold on."
Ianna stopped Mabel as she prepared to move out after recovery.
"Why?"
"You feeling off today?"
"No? I'm fine."
"But sweat's dripping down your face."
"What, really?"
Surprised by Ianna, Mabel touched her cheek.
Beads of sweat glistened on her cheek—she noticed only now.
"It is? Why?"
It was odd.
She'd moved faster than with Kalt against the Iron Orcs.
But not enough to sweat like this.
She hadn't even sweated after decapitating them.
It was baffling.
If anything different from usual, she'd extracted more stones herself, squatting over bodies.
What was wrong? Midway through her thoughts.
Hee hee, Marti chuckled.
"Maybe 'cause you squatted extracting stones for once? Mabel's stamina is surprisingly low."
Teased by her comrade, Mabel puffed her cheeks.
"What? If that's it, why not help, Marti?"
"I'm not the extraction type to begin with. Kalt told me not to, remember?"
"'Cause you're clumsy and take forever."
"Not just that—I had a big issue too."
Mabel shouted at Marti, who looked away with excuses.
"That cleared up ages ago! And it's not for monsters anyway."
"Oh, did it? Can't remember."
"Enough, both of you. Let's go before sunset. Maximize kills and back to town. Can't help it without Kalt, but no chewing jerky for dinner."
"Yes, Ianna."
"Got it. I want tasty dinner too."
At Ianna's urging, Mabel's party moved to hunt more monsters.
Mabel didn't know yet.
Not just her face—cold sweat beaded on her back too.
The problem in Mabel she'd thought resolved when Kalt's hypnosis lifted was resurfacing.
Watching Nellis's party return from their quest and head to their rooms, Kalt smirked.
From the vibe, they seemed nervous Aria's odd reaction might make him back out.
If anything, seeing the issue firsthand made Kalt even less inclined to leave.
Their reactions were good, though.
'They know they need me.'
Unlike Mabel's party, who took his kindness for granted despite all he'd done—minus the hypnosis—and still found him annoying.
-What's with the nutrients crap! Quit nagging! And stop making that weird juice!
Mabel complaining about the special nutrient juice he'd made for peak condition (sweetened max since she whined about taste).
-Why keep stopping me! Just have Kalt catch up!
Mabel raging when he restrained her reckless charges ignoring rear support.
-Kalt? Why study this magic? Emergency prep? Can't you just handle tools yourself?
Ianna ignoring his advice to learn utility spells: lights, preservation, basic fire for crises—not just attacks.
-Kalt, last time you said extend healing to people, now you're stopping me? Even if we're heading out soon, that injured kid... 'Slap on spit and it'll heal'? How can you say something so heartless!
Marti trying to use divine power on a kid with scraped knees crying, right before a major demon-risk quest where she needed to conserve every bit.
"Ah."
The memories made Kalt's neck ache.
"Mr. Kalt? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Nadia."
Kalt quickly composed himself and smiled at Nadia.
'Yeah, better not dwell on those bitches. Good for my sanity.'
He had something more pressing now.
"Nadia, if you're free, how about drinks tonight?"
To pursue his desires.
"I'll make the snacks."
Seize a steamy night with the widow.