Chapter 13: The First Companion
Chapter 13: The First Companion
The next day, Guwon woke up at six o’clock, as always.
His body felt a little heavy, probably because he’d skipped his daily routine last night. Or was it just his imagination?
In the end, he had given the bed to Sara and slept on the floor, so maybe that was why.
The girl who had hesitated to borrow even two silver had accepted the bed without a single word of refusal.
Should I take this as a sign that we’ve gotten a little closer?
Getting up, he looked toward the bed and saw Sara sleeping defenselessly.
She had tried to hide it, but he could feel her on high alert until the moment he’d fallen asleep. It seemed exhaustion had finally won.
Her top had ridden up, revealing a slender, cinched waist and toned abs that were undeniably sexy.
Ugh… I want to touch them. She seems completely out of it, so maybe she wouldn’t notice if I just touched her a little?
For a moment, he heard the devil’s whisper, but Guwon shook his head vigorously, casting the thought aside.
No matter how I looked at it, it was high risk, low return. I couldn’t let a momentary impulse ruin everything.
What should I do now?
Normally, I’d eat breakfast as soon as I woke up and get ready to go to the Guild, but having a companion made things like this awkward. After telling her what I did yesterday and eating dinner together, it felt strange to go down for breakfast alone, but it was also not right to wake a sleeping girl.
In the end, deciding that just sitting around in the room was a waste of time, he washed up quickly and went out to sell the materials he hadn't sold yesterday. It was early, but the shop was probably open.
Adventurers, who frequented the dungeon where the concept of time became vague, naturally came and went at all hours of the day.
As a result, many of the general stores and taverns that catered to them were open 24/7.
The general store ‘Hans & Erina,’ which Guwon had been frequenting since his first day, was also open for business.
However, when he opened the door and went inside, the only thing he heard was the deep, low voice of the shop’s owner, Hans.
“Welcome.”
Guwon didn’t answer, instead looking around the shop. As expected, Erina was nowhere to be seen.
Erina was the name of the young lady Guwon had seen when he first came to this store.
Putting his own name and his daughter’s name on the sign… just how much of a doting father is he?
If Erina wasn’t here, I had no business in a dump like this.
I’ll just consider this a morning stroll.
Guwon immediately turned to leave.
“Hey, wait. Why are you leaving already?”
“I have no business with a grim-faced old man.”
“You really don’t change, do you? If you’re looking for Erina, she’s got something to do and won’t be at the shop all day.”
“Damn it! In that case, I’ll find another store!”
“Don’t say such disappointing things. Aren’t I giving you a good price?”
“I don’t choose a store based on money. I choose it based on the people.”
“Sounds plausible when you put it like that.”
Hans chuckled as if Guwon’s words were a joke.
I’m being dead serious here.
“Do you like our Erina that much?”
“No. To be honest, she’s just okay.”
It wasn’t so much that I liked her, but this was the only shop I could find with a young woman working here.
Of course, I’ll admit Erina has her own cute charm, but after spending time at the Guild, my standards have been raised by all the high-level adventurers. She falls a little short.
“That’s a harsh assessment of another man’s wife.”
“I’m just being honest.”
Guwon replied reflexively before it hit him.
What… did he say…?!
“Wife?!”
“You’ll burst my eardrums this early in the morning. What’s with the sudden outburst?”
“Didn’t you just say wife?!”
“And what of it?”
“You’re married?! You and Erina?!”
“Yes.”
“She’s not your daughter?!”
“How on earth could you look at us and think Erina is my daughter?”
“Because no matter how you look at it, you look more like a father and daughter than a married couple, you cradle-robbing bastard! What kind of dirt did you dig up to blackmail her! Tell me in detail, every last method you used!”
“You certainly don’t hesitate to say rude things. Erina and I are clearly in love with each other.”
“How can you say that about a girl so much younger than you? Aren’t you a criminal? Then explain in detail how a guy with a face like yours managed to seduce such a young girl. I’ll listen and judge.”
“I don’t know where you got this misunderstanding, but Erina and I are the same age.”
“…Pardon me, but how old are you?”
“Thirty-one this year.”
…What… did he say…?
Guwon’s legs gave out, and he slowly sank to the floor.
So this place I worked so hard to find, this oasis I finally reached to escape the middle-aged men and women, was actually run by a middle-aged man and woman all along?
Damn it! To be thirty-one with that face. Isn’t that basically fraud?
This is something I could win in court.
“Are you all right?”
“Shut up. My heart, as delicate as glass, has been shattered into a million pieces. I can’t trust anyone anymore.”
“If you have no business, would you mind not obstructing my business and leaving?”
This damn bear. He’s the one who stopped me.
“Hah… I have no choice. Here.”
It was too late to go to another store now. Sara might be awake already.
“Less than usual today. Hmm? What’s this fang?”
“It came from a female Wolfdog. The Guild said it was a first discovery.”
“Hoh… I’ll give you a handsome price for it. If you find any more, be sure to bring them to our shop.”
For reference, it seemed that in this world, people believed that tools made from monster materials brought good luck. From weapons and clothes to tableware, there wasn’t a single aspect of daily life that didn’t use monster parts.
The demand was high, which was why they kept buying materials even with adventurers like me constantly selling them. It seemed there was fierce competition for rare materials.
After selling the materials for a decent price, I returned to the inn.
Come to think of it, if I had sold the materials yesterday, I would have had enough money for two rooms. It’s a good thing Sara didn’t notice. No, wait, if she had noticed, I could have had a refreshing wank last night, so was it actually bad luck?
When I opened the door to the room, Sara was there, her top off.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Whoa! S-Sorry!”
Though I said that, I had no intention of leaving. My eyes darted around, quickly scanning Sara’s entire body.
My name is Guwon. A man who never misses a chance.
Her hourglass waist, which was evident even through her clothes, was on full display. And her breasts, squashed by her arms, were surprisingly full. Her entire body was like a work of art.
I thought you were flat as a board, but you’re quite something, Sara.
Her hair was damp and glistening, as if she had just washed up.
Damn it. If I had come just a little sooner, would she have been naked from the waist down, too?
“Aren’t you going to get out?!”
“Sorry. I didn’t see anything.”
Sara, finally coming to her senses, glared at me with fierce eyes and shouted.
That look in her eyes said she wouldn’t hesitate to commit murder if I didn’t get out immediately.
Pretending to be flustered, I covered my eyes with my hand and closed the door, even though I’d already seen everything.
Phew. That was a nice body.
Recruiting Sara was definitely the right answer.
So what if she has a bit of an attitude? She’s that beautiful.
“You can come in now.”
Hearing Sara’s voice from inside the room, indicating she had finished changing, I went back in. It seemed she wasn’t as angry as I’d expected.
“Sorry about that. How was I supposed to know you’d be undressed?”
“…I know. It’s my fault for not locking the door.”
Ooh! What incredible progress!
The girl who had freaked out when I just got close to her at first.
It was worth it to endure last night, poking my own thigh while we slept together.
I can feel my big picture coming together!
“Anyway, where did you go so early in the morning?”
“I went to sell materials. Materials. You should learn from me, waking up diligently in the morning to get things done. If you had woken up earlier, this wouldn’t have happened, right?”
Excited, Guwon added an unnecessary comment.
“Wait. If you had sold the materials last night, we wouldn’t have needed to stay in the same room, would we?”
Damn it. I messed up. To make her realize at the worst possible moment.
Now I have to bluff my way through this as best I can.
“R-Right? I guess I was so tired I didn’t think that far ahead.”
At Guwon’s lame excuse, the killing intent in Sara’s eyes grew darker.
Why is she so scary for a low-level character?
“It’s true. Really. Nothing happened last night, right? Didn’t you see me pass out the moment I lay down?”
In truth, I had only pretended to be asleep, secretly activating Sex Analyze with my eyes barely open, my imagination running wild as I pictured the future to come. But there was no way she could know that.
Her erogenous zones are, surprisingly… I’ll definitely have to try that later.
“……”
Sara, at a loss for words, just continued to glare at me.
She didn’t think of it either, but she still doesn’t believe me.
Then again, I probably wouldn’t believe me either.
Still, the effect of Guwon’s newly equipped ultimate move, ‘Didn’t you see I didn’t lay a single finger on you while we slept together last night?’, was immense. Sara had no choice but to admit that Guwon had no ulterior motives.
“Alright then, shall we go hunt some Wolfdogs today?”
Guwon said brightly.
I gained 3 levels yesterday, so I should be able to get at least 2 today, right?
If so, then after that… kuhuhu.
“Let’s. I’ll shatter every testicle I see.”
Sara said, her eyes glinting sharply.
Why is she being so scary again? It makes me feel guilty for no reason.
“Oh, right, let’s decide beforehand what to do if a female shows up.”
Just because we only encountered one yesterday doesn’t mean we won’t see another.
“For the females, can’t we just attack their vulva? The magic stone was in that area for them too, wasn’t it?”
She says such terrifying things so casually. Just what kind of upbringing did she have?
“It probably won’t work. It’s effective on males because we can knock the magic stone out of their body. Attacking a female will likely have no more effect than a normal critical hit.”
“I see. Then today, I’ll climb a tree before we start the attack. If I provide support fire from a safe place, even a female shouldn’t be that difficult, right?”
She had a point. Yesterday, I’d assumed only males would appear and rushed into attacking, which led to trouble. But if Sara’s safety was completely guaranteed, even a female Wolfdog wasn’t that tough of an opponent.
A Wolfdog’s jumping power wasn’t enough to reach the top of a tree, so she just needed to climb up before the battle started.
However, there was no guarantee that we would always be the ones to spot the Wolfdogs first, and if Sara had to climb up and down a tree for every fight, she would get tired quickly.
“Wouldn’t that be too much of a hassle? How about we try luring them to hunt?”
“Luring them?”
“Yeah. You stay up in the tree, and I’ll circle the area, luring one pack at a time to fight. Once we clear the area, we can move to a different spot and lure more. Wouldn’t that be less of a burden on you?”
“Of course, it would reduce my burden, but will you be okay?”
“Considering the difference in our stamina, that’s the better way. Let’s do that, then.”
With that decided, Guwon had Sara wait in a tree. The first Wolfdogs he encountered were two females.
I was hoping for only males, but I guess I can’t be picky.
As soon as Guwon lured them over, Sara immediately fired an arrow, perhaps confident that she wouldn’t be attacked.
The Wolfdog that drew her aggro immediately ran toward her tree and jumped.
Like that’s going to reach. Even for a beast, you should use your head a little.
Guwon found it so absurd that he just watched, letting his guard down. But then, the other Wolfdog that was following behind jumped on top of the first one and attempted a two-stage jump.
What the fuck are they doing?
Did they escape from a circus or something? What is this?
“Flyswatter Block!”
For the record, that’s not a skill.
I just felt like shouting it. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Guwon swatted the one attempting the two-stage jump out of the air, so the attack never reached Sara, but it was undoubtedly a threatening technique.
Thankfully, there were only two of them.
If we had encountered three or more and I was busy dealing with one, that technique could have been dangerous if we didn’t know about it.
But now that we knew, it was no longer a threat.
It was an attack that only worked as a surprise. If you were prepared for it, it was easy to stop.
“Don’t worry, just provide support fire! I’ll take them on one by one, so just keep one of them distracted!”
Sara’s attacks weren’t accurate enough to hit a fast-moving Wolfdog unless Guwon was drawing its attention, but it was more than enough to get its aggro.
Guwon first hit the Wolfdog that had served as a stepping stone with a Low Kick to its head, dazing it, then beat it one-sidedly.
My proficiency with Low Kick has gotten strangely high from only fighting short enemies.
I had learned a few other Martial Artist skills, but in the end, I used Low Kick the most.
Am I going to be in trouble later if I run into an enemy that’s immune to low attacks?
After finishing it off lightly, he looked at the one Sara had aggroed and saw that it already had a few arrows sticking out of its body.
Is it possible to hit a Wolfdog at her level?
I’ve never partied before, so I can’t be sure, but it seems Sara is superior in many ways for her level.
Are her stats high? In any case, at this level, she had the right to call herself talented.
In the end, the one hit by Sara’s arrows couldn’t even dodge Guwon’s attacks and fell pathetically after a few kicks.
Nice. At this rate, Sara’s archer level will max out today.