Chapter 156: Strategy(1)
Chapter 156: Strategy(1)
Arwen was thrilled. She was happy enough just to be leaving Scandinavia for the first time, but now she was in a castle teeming with more humans than she had ever seen.
The unfamiliar culture of humans was simply fascinating.
On top of that, Arwen had become a member of a hero party, something she had only read about in fairy tales.
She couldn't describe how much pressure she’d felt when Kerry first made the offer.
In fact, she still felt it. Can I really keep up with these people? Won't I just get in the way?
Such worries plagued her every night.
No! Don't lose heart, Arwen! You can do this! You are a proud High Elf and a princess of Scandinavia!
Then, at last, a mission worthy of a hero party was given.
It was nothing less than clearing a dungeon!
And it was a dungeon that might be incredibly powerful. Arwen’s heart pounded.
Kerry returned from his reconnaissance of the dungeon, and the preparations for the full-scale assault began.
Arwen focused all her attention, hanging on Kerry’s every word.
“It’s not one hundred percent certain, but I’ve estimated the dungeon’s scale and a strategy to clear it. Starting today, we’ll begin party coordination training and prepare our equipment based on that.”
Arwen steeled her resolve.
I will be a help to the hero party. Being a burden… would be a great discourtesy to Sir Kerry, who recommended me!
Arwen gave her all in training.
The first drill was to realign the party’s synergy.
Since they were challenging a legendary-grade dungeon, they needed to be thoroughly prepared.
Kerry spoke to the group.
“I’ve organized what I believe to be the dungeon boss’s attack patterns. We’ll conduct our training based on that. We’ll focus on coordinating our responses to its area-of-effect attacks, special attacks, and binding skills.”
The boss of this dungeon used many tricky special techniques. Even for the hero party, preparation was necessary.
The party members were amazed that he had managed to organize all this information so quickly. Arwen’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Kerry.
He looked so cool, leading the group while speaking so fluently about dungeon strategy.
Sir Kerry is so amazing.
The party first borrowed an open training ground in the castle to work on their coordination.
The formation was simple. Victoria and Natasha would be in the front.
Lina wasn’t there, but they had no doubt she would fit in seamlessly without needing any practice.
In the rear, Kerry, the Saintess, and Arwen would provide appropriate support to the front line.
The strongest healer, the Saintess; a spiritmancer with SSS-rank talent; and Kerry, who, while not yet able to function as a damage dealer, could create a shield strong enough to block Barikmeteo’s attacks.
Their rear support was just as brilliant as their front line.
Arwen was excited during the training. Having lived her life as a princess, it was her first time training, but it was fresh and fun.
So this is a hero party!
It was so enjoyable that it made her forget the pressure of knowing the continent’s fate rested on their shoulders.
There were no major issues during the drills. Everyone moved systematically under Kerry’s command.
The problem arose when they went out for a field test.
Kerry’s party went to subjugate the undead around the castle, intending to test their new coordination.
But Arwen made frequent mistakes.
“Lady Arwen! You should have moved from that position. If you’re there, Victoria, the tank, can’t reposition according to my orders.”
“I-I’m sorry!”
The moment she was in a real battle, Arwen’s mind went blank. Training and a real fight were completely different.
During training, she could move with the consideration of her party members, but she couldn’t expect the same in an actual battle.
Eventually, Arwen became so flustered that she even failed to summon her spirits several times in a row.
Of course, Arwen’s failures didn’t endanger the party. Kerry alone was more than enough to handle the undead around the castle.
But Arwen was crushed by her repeated mistakes, her spirits sinking completely.
The party members cheered her on. They were truly kind women.
“No one gets it right from the start, Lady Arwen.”
“That’s right! It’s okay! Don’t be discouraged.”
“We completely understand, since this is your first real battle.”
Of course, there was one person who had to say something different. It was the Saintess.
“Hmph. I was a natural from the start. It’s obvious this one’s a lost cause.”
Ego. Make the Saintess speak nicely.
“Hah! A-Actually, during my first battle, I was so scared I almost wet myself… hahaha. K-Keep it up, Princess…”
Kerry shook his head.
The fact that she kept repeating this behavior despite being punished every time meant the Saintess’s rebellious spirit was far from broken.
When will the Saintess’s re-education ever be finished?
The party comforted Arwen warmly, but her heart remained heavy.
I have to be a help to the hero party. What am I going to do if I just hold them back?
She especially couldn't face Kerry, who had recommended her for the party.
The eventful field training came to an end. Next, they had to acquire the necessary equipment for the dungeon.
Naturally, these were items Kerry had selected after gathering information on the dungeon with his Goddess’s Eye.
Among the equipment, there was one item that was a bit puzzling.
“Siege-grade magic bombs? Do we need something like this?”
“It’s a precaution. Many powerful people have challenged that dungeon before. But none have ever returned. So I felt we needed to try a different approach.”
“I see! As expected of you, Sir Kerry…”
“Could you get them for us, Princess Arwen?”
“Leave it to me!”
Driven by a single-minded desire to be helpful to the party, Arwen ran out of the castle.
The items Kerry had ordered were high-quality goods and weren’t available in the castle.
Arwen even summoned a spirit to help her quickly acquire the siege-grade magic bombs.
She had run so fast that when she returned, she was panting heavily.
“S-Sir Kerry… huff… huff… I brought… the siege-grade magic bombs…”
“…”
But Kerry, who she expected to thank her, had a strange expression on his face.
“Lady Arwen. These aren’t siege-grade, they’re just regular magic bombs. We have plenty of these here…”
“!”
The merchant must have taken advantage of Arwen’s ignorance of the world to pull a fast one on her.
In truth, the items looked so similar that even Kerry might have been fooled if he hadn’t checked with his Goddess’s Eye.
Arwen, on the verge of tears, said, “I’ll… I’ll go buy them again!”
“Go with one of the knights. And give that swindler a piece of your mind while you’re at it.”
In the end, Arwen had to return to the magic tool shop with a knight to deal with the fraud.
Although she managed to buy the correct siege-grade magic bombs and scold the shop owner, she only felt miserable.
You idiot! Idiot! You can’t even run a simple errand properly! Moron!
For Arwen, who had lived her entire life as a princess, relying on attendants for everything down to getting dressed, these things were unavoidable.
Arwen stood on a high observatory in the castle, gazing outside.
She had come so far now that even from this height, she could no longer see the forests of Scandinavia.
I wonder if Mother and the other elves are doing well.
Had she been foolish to insist on joining the hero party, not knowing her own limits?
Arwen’s shoulders slumped pitifully.
It was then.
A voice came from behind her.
“Princess Arwen.”
“!”
Startled from her wallowing, Arwen quickly lifted her head. But she immediately tried to act nonchalant.
“Sir Kerry. Wh-What brings you here?”
Kerry casually sat down next to Arwen. His proximity made her fidget.
It was the first time she had ever sat this close to him.
“I heard the princess was here, so I came to have a little chat.”
“!”
Arwen’s ears drooped again.
She had shown so many pathetic sides of herself today; she was sure she was about to get an earful.
But the words that came were completely different.
“Princess. You had a rough day, didn’t you? Here, drink this and cheer up.”
Kerry handed her a cup. Inside was warm milk, steam gently rising from it. It looked delicious.
Arwen carefully accepted the cup and said, “Are you… not going to scold me?”
“What? Me, scold the princess?”
“Yes…”
“Scolding aside, what did you do wrong that would warrant a scolding from me?”
“Well… today… I messed up in training… and I bought the wrong item for the errand… and I caused a lot of other trouble…”
Arwen’s pointed ears drooped all the way to the floor.
“I don’t want to scold you, Princess. In fact, I want to praise you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I think you’re amazing, Princess.”
“You… you don’t have to try to comfort me.”
“It’s not comfort. Isn’t this your first time out in the world, Princess? It must also be your first time living without anyone’s help.”
“…”
“And yet, you’re getting along so well with everyone and trying so hard, aren’t you? That’s not an easy thing to do.”
“Sir Kerry…”
As if his words were a small comfort, Arwen’s ears twitched slightly.
Seeing the elf princess with light green hair do that was quite cute.
“Sir Kerry, I’ll work hard!”
“Don’t feel too pressured to be helpful. It’s not that you won’t be a help, but even if you weren’t, we would never abandon you.”
Arwen was grateful for Kerry’s comfort.
She had felt that she absolutely had to be useful to the party. But Kerry was telling her it was okay even if she wasn’t.
It felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from her chest.
“…Thank you.”
Arwen rested her head on Kerry’s shoulder. It was a slightly impulsive act.
Startled by her own boldness, she worried what she would do if Kerry disliked it, but there was no way he would.
Instead, Kerry gently stroked her hair.
Being like this with Arwen reminds me of Titania. I wonder if she’s doing well?
The moment Kerry began stroking her hair, Arwen’s ears started flapping up and down violently.
Does having her head stroked feel that good?
He suddenly remembered what Victoria had said.
[Seeing Arwen’s behavior, I could tell… that Arwen likes you too…]
Could that be true?
Judging by her reactions so far, Victoria’s words seemed to be on the mark.
Arwen’s flapping ears danced before Kerry’s eyes.
Should I make a move?
Kerry reached out and took one of Arwen’s flapping ears in his hand.
“!”
In an instant, Arwen froze as if time had stopped.
“Princess, your flapping ears are very cute.”
“S-Sir Kerry!”
Arwen was flustered. For an elf, the ears were an extremely sensitive erogenous zone.
They were so sensitive that touching them could bring about a pleasure as intense as touching their genitals.
For that reason, even among elves, touching another’s ears was considered rude.
“I’m just curious. Is it okay if I touch it for a bit?”
Kerry skillfully caressed Arwen’s ear.
He was well aware that elves’ ears were sensitive erogenous zones.
In fact, he had learned about it in great detail from Titania.
He had even made Titania come once just by touching her ears.
If Arwen says she doesn’t like it, I’ll just pretend I didn’t know.
Lina’s party had spent a long time in Scandinavia, but no elf had ever gone around announcing that their ears were an erogenous zone like their genitals.
It wouldn’t be strange for Kerry to be unaware of it.
Kerry’s hand lightly brushed the tip of Arwen’s ear before he began to gently caress it.
“!”
Arwen kept her lips tightly sealed, but her reaction was unmistakable.
Her beet-red face and trembling lips told him everything he needed to know.
Internally, Arwen was in a state of panic.
Kerry was kneading her ear with his hand—a part of her body as sensitive as her genitals.
Worse, he was so skilled that every time he touched her ear, a dizzying sensation washed over her.
She had to tell him to stop, but she felt that the moment she opened her mouth, a moan would escape.
Kind Sir Kerry wouldn’t be touching it if he knew it was an erogenous zone. He must not know! Ugh!
She had to tell Kerry to stop right now.
But… but how do I say it? That an elf’s ears are no different from genitals, so he shouldn’t touch them? Do I have to tell Sir Kerry that he’s touching my genitals right now?
How flustered would kind Sir Kerry be if she said that?
How uncomfortable would he feel every time he saw her from now on? She was already failing to be helpful to the party; she couldn’t make things awkward for him too.
She hated that idea more than anything. In the end, Arwen decided to keep her mouth shut.
“Hmm. An elf’s ears are different from a human’s. It’s fascinating.”
Kerry seemed to be touching her ear out of pure curiosity. At least, that’s how it looked to Arwen.
Leaning against Kerry’s shoulder, Arwen trembled. Just then, Kerry took both of her ears in his hands.
“!”
It was hard enough to endure with just one, but now both of her ears were being caressed. He could feel her body heave as she let out a hot breath.
Little moans even began to slip out.
“Hh… nggh… hhh… hhh… haah…”
Kerry, of course, pretended not to hear.
He didn’t know why Arwen was enduring it like this, but the opportunity to touch an elf princess’s ears to his heart’s content wasn’t a common one.
Kerry continued to caress Arwen’s ears in the way Titania had liked.
Uuungh! His hands… on my ears… haah!
For the first time, Arwen felt sexual pleasure.
A tingling ache bloomed between her legs, and the strength drained from them completely. Without realizing it, Arwen leaned her body against Kerry’s shoulder and panted for breath.
“Haah… haah… haah…”
Haaah! Sir Kerry… Sir Kerry…!
Arwen could do nothing but keep her lips pressed tightly together. A gush of slickness soaked her panties.
Her face flushed red, Arwen breathed heavily.
She tried to hold it in, but her hot breaths kept brushing against Kerry’s body.
Why is she so sensitive? I guess blood doesn’t lie.
According to the Goddess’s Eye, Arwen was definitely a virgin. But to get this excited just from having her ears touched!
It was clear that Arwen had inherited Titania’s libido. More importantly, she couldn’t even tell him to stop when he was touching her ears like this.
So Victoria was right…
“Princess, I think I should get going now.”
“…”
Arwen looked up at Kerry with a flushed face. Her once-cute eyes were now clouded with lustful excitement.
Kerry could clearly see Arwen’s aroused state, but he feigned ignorance.
“You should head back too, Princess. It’s starting to get dark.”
Arwen shook her head.
She had not only soaked her panties with her juices, but she had also wet the spot where she was sitting.
There was no way she could stand up.
“Y-You go on ahead, Sir Kerry. I’ll just watch the view for a little longer before I go down.”
After Kerry left, Arwen was alone. She watched the fading red sunset, waiting for her arousal to subside.
But her excitement showed no signs of fading.
She needed a way to release this boiling arousal.