Lily (3)
Lily (3)
The question was cut off by Rus.
Lily was startled once again and tightly grabbed Stachys's waist.
Before she knew it, Rus had approached to the left of Stachys and Lily's horses.
Rus didn't even glance at Lily and only looked at Stachys.
"We're almost there?"
Stachys held his hand up to his eyes to block the sun and gazed into the distance.
This was a forested area. It wasn't very visible due to the dense trees, but perhaps it was because they were currently in a high-altitude area?
If the angle was just right, the village below could be glimpsed, and looking at the sky, a faint line of smoke rising from a lit fire could be seen.
"That's right. There it is. We've arrived."
"Yeah. So stop talking now. You've been at it all day."
Rus did not look happy. She looked sensitive.
It felt like her usual soft and roundabout speaking style had turned a bit direct.
Perhaps sensing this as well, Stachys took his eyes off the village and looked at Rus.
And when he actually looked at her, Rus turned her head away from him and looked elsewhere, acting sulky.
Vien also approached to their right and spoke to Stachys.
"...Happy?"
"..Huh? What is..?"
"Never mind."
Not just Rus, but even Vien seemed to be in a bad mood. Stachys was flustered by the sudden situation.
"Uhm.... Hey guys. Is something the matter?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing."
Why are you acting like this, then. The voice of Stachys saying that seemed to reach Lily's ears as well.
Stachys glanced at the two of them and let out a sigh.
"Uhm....... Ha. Let's talk about it later. We need to be careful from here on out. It's fine for now since we're still on the outskirts of the village, but we don't know how big this pack is or what kind of wolves they are."
"..."
"..."
The two of them did not answer. Uhm..., Stachys quietly groaned, and that sound reached Lily's ears.
.
.
However, after that, the gazes of Rus and Vien changed.
Turning their heads without rest, they scanned every corner, and at the slightest rustling sound, both women's gazes simultaneously turned toward it.
Even if they spoke a bit bluntly, they were faithfully fulfilling their roles.
Stachys also quietly looked around now.
Except for the horses snorting, the party began to maintain complete silence.
Along with the silence, tension also crept up slowly.
Scouting missions are always like this. Since they didn't know what kind of enemy awaited, tension was always high.
If it were a normal wolf pack, regardless of how large the scale, the party could subjugate them amongst themselves, but if it was a wolf pack with monster-like traits, the party could find themselves in danger depending on the scale.
Of course, as it was merely a scouting mission, the probability of falling into danger wasn't high, but because Stachys had emphasized safety several times as the party's creed, the party members were even more cautious.
The path heading toward the village was a descent.
As they went down this gentle slope, the trees became even more lush and dense.
It became even darker by blocking the sunlight.
The village that had been visible earlier could rather not be seen now.
Just when it felt inconvenient to ride horses, Stachys said.
"Alright. Let's tie the horses here. Riding them will only make us slower. Everyone dismount."
Stachys dismounted from his horse first.
The sight of him effortlessly swinging one leg over the horse's head and jumping down was impressive.
"Here."
Stachys reached out both hands to Lily.
All the party members flinched at that sight.
"Uh.... Huh?"
"You wouldn't be able to dismount from the horse on your own, Lily-ssi."
That was true. Being unaccustomed to horses, Lily was actually agonizing over how she should dismount.
Stachys, whose consideration was second nature to him, did not easily forget such facts.
Lily extended one hand with a reddening cheek. However, Stachys shook his head.
"You can't get down like that. Reach out both hands and come with the thought of wrapping them around my neck."
Pu-! Prrr--!
The horse on Rus's side suddenly acted up.
Stachys turned his head.
"Rus..! Calm the horse down! There's no harm in being careful here."
"..."
Rus did not answer.
"Why are you acting like this again..."
Stachys muttered, then turned his head back toward Lily. Both of his hands were still outstretched.
"Now, hurry up. There's no time if we want to finish everything before the day is over. Considering how dim it is even while the sun is still up, once evening hits, you won't be able to see a thing."
"...W-Well then. Excuse me.."
Lily turned her body and reached out both hands. Even so, there was still a distance between them.
Slowly, carefully, Lily leaned her body toward Stachys. Leaning further forward, Lily lost her balance and fell toward Stachys.
Phok
Stachys put his arms under Lily's armpits to support her, and Lily wrapped her arms around Stachys's neck.
Driven by the impulse she felt once again, Lily hugged Stachys tightly, exerting more force than necessary.
Stachys took one step backward in that position to pull Lily in, and Lily got off the horse.
"Oof."
However, even though Lily's feet touched the ground, Lily did not let go of Stachys.
Before she knew it, Lily was faintly smelling the nape of his neck.
It was the moment her scent fetish blossomed for the very first time. Very suddenly, purely because of Stachys.
"Um.. Lily-ssi?"
As she wouldn't let go of him, Stachys, who was taller, naturally assumed an awkward, hunchbacked posture.
And Lily was even standing on her tiptoes, refusing to part from him.
"U-Um, Lily-ssi? Please let go now."
He patted her back gently.
"Eek! Ah! Ah.. I'm sorry."
-Tuk
For a brief moment, it felt like a small pebble grazed past Lily's head.
When she turned around, Vien was mounted on her horse with her head turned away.
Lily thought it was just her imagination.
Anyway, Lily loosened her arms. She couldn't even understand her own behavior.
She was also realizing that her face was closer than she thought.
Just as her shyness illness was about to strike again, Stachys said.
"Ah, you're much more timid than I thought. You must have been really scared of falling off the horse. I thought you had no fear when you were blowing up monsters' heads, haha.."
He let out an awkward laugh with a slight joke.
Rather than shyness or apology, Lily felt gratitude at his appearance.
She liked how he was trying to ease the atmosphere with idle talk, lest she feel uncomfortable again.
"Chis-ya. Didn't you just tell me that there's no harm in being careful? If you're going to act all lovey-dovey, why don't you just go back?"
Rus, who had dismounted, approached and spoke. Her eyes were narrowed and her expression was fierce. Unlike earlier, she was making no effort to hide her discomfort.
"L-Lovey-dovey, my foot.. making Lily-ssi uncomfortable."
"Aren't you uncomfortable?"
"I, I'm uncomfortable too."
Stachys stood between Lily and Rus. And behind Rus's back, he patted Lily's arm with a reassuring, apologetic feel.
"I'm sorry. I gave you a warning yet I was the one who got too loose."
"I don't know. Figure it out yourself."
With that, Rus turned around. But she didn't move away. As if telling him to come quickly and soothe her.
Stachys instantly flew over in a flash, stood beside her, patted her back, and stroked it.
That gentle soothing appearance looked so familiar. Stachys's apologetic expression was a bonus.
"Rus, let your anger go. This was truly my fault. Who was I to lecture you when I should've kept it together myself? Not a very trustworthy leader, am I?"
Stachys now wrapped his arm around her back and stroked Rus's arm up and down.
Perhaps because of that effort, Rus's tone had softened a bit.
"I didn't go as far as saying that. Just please be careful from now on."
"Got it. If I have anything to say next time, I'll do better myself."
Seeing Rus's anger dissipate, Stachys laughed haha, and Rus playfully nudged Stachys with her elbow.
Then she smiled.
"Well then, shall we get going again?"
"..Hmph."
But that wasn't the end.
Stachys immediately felt a sense of unease. When he looked back, Vien was still mounted on her horse with her arms crossed.
"Aren't you going to help me?"
"Vien, you know how to mount and dismount just fine."
"Help me."
"Why insist on..."
"Are you discriminating against me?"
With a dumbfounded expression, Stachys froze, then completely changed his expression, smiled, and approached.
"There's no way I'd discriminate. Alright. You must be tired from the trip, right? Just say so."
Stachys went in front of Vien's horse this time and reached out both hands.
As soon as he reached out his hands, she blushed and threw herself into his arms without hesitation.
Stachys caught Vien, who had hurled herself forward as if she had been waiting for it.
"Whoa! Come a bit softer."
Vien didn't answer and hung dangling from him.
Her two arms wrapped around his neck, and her two legs wrapped around his waist.
And in that state, her eyes were fixed on Lily over his shoulder.
Realizing her gaze, Lily felt somewhat burdened and lowered her eyes.
It had been a short while since they dismounted and looked around the forest searching for traces.
The sun was setting, and as the leaves blocked even that remaining light, it quickly grew dark.
They had thought they came quickly, but once they arrived, they realized it was late.
Hwi-i-ik!
As the sound of a whistle cut through the forest, the scattered party members headed toward the sound.
Stachys was standing there.
"Phew. This won't do. Guys, let's head to the village. It's too dangerous anymore."
"What about the horses?"
"They'll be fine. Looking around the surroundings, it doesn't seem like this is their active territory. And if we drag the horses along in the dark like this and something goes wrong, the horses might take a bad fall. Let's leave the horses behind."
"Got it."
Rus and Stachys exchanged words. Following the words of their leader Stachys, the party decided to wrap up the search for now and head toward the village.
It was a decision no one was happy with. Depending on the species of wolf, it could be a pressing situation, so having to rest for a day felt purely inconvenient. After all, no one knew what the outcome of this choice would be.
However, Stachys made his decision. Because he was someone who always prioritized safety above all else, being attacked by wolves when it got even darker and they didn't even know the way was something he firmly wanted to avoid.
There is no such thing as a one-hundred-percent safe choice.
Perhaps wolves with monster-like traits might attack the village today.
Returning to the village might be the more dangerous choice.
However, Stachys decided to exclude that probability from his thoughts.
"Vien, which direction is the village?"
"That way."
Vien pointed in a direction. With every passing moment, they could physically feel it getting darker.
"We need to hurry a little. It's getting dark faster than I thought."
Forest aside, the sun was setting quickly too. It was what people commonly called a day where the sun sets too fast.
Stachys began to walk in the direction Vien pointed.
The path was rough. Rocks were unevenly scattered everywhere, and going straight was out of the question.
Trees blocked the way on all sides, so they had to go around here, go around there, go up and down—it was a path where just walking was exhausting.
"The path is.... Ha...! Phew..! Why is it like this.."
Vien quietly let out a complaint.
The path was strange, so they weren't making as much speed as expected.
Anxiety began to slowly take root in Stachys's heart.
Could the entire party be falling into danger because of his misjudgment?
The darkness didn't wait for them and continued to spread.
They had been walking for a good while.
Stachys paused for a moment and unslung his bag.
"Guys, are you okay? It's too dark. So watch your ankles. And Lily-ssi?"
Panting slightly, Lily answered Stachys's call. Stachys took something out of his bag.
"Please light a fire on this."
It was a torch. Lily, who had been following along while only looking at Stachys's back, only then realized how dark it was around them.
The shock of the darkness lasted only a moment; when Lily snapped her fingers -tak, a flame caught on the torch.
When things get bright, you realize just how dark it had been until then.
Further than expected, the torch illuminated the path far ahead.
"Everyone, let's move quickly now."
Stachys slung his bag back on and held the torch high. Stachys's impatience infected the party members as well.
Everyone kept up without a word of complaint even when Stachys picked up the pace, and they focused even more intensely on guarding their surroundings.
-Basrak-basrak
The sound of breathing and the sound of them stepping on fallen leaves were the only noises.
It was enough to create the illusion that the sound of stepping on leaves was echoing.
How much longer had they walked?
"...?"
Feeling puzzled, Stachys stopped dead in his tracks.
The other party members stopped as well, following his lead.
"Chis-ya, why?"
Perhaps due to the tension that had built up so far, Rus whispered quietly to him.
However, Stachys showed a side different from usual. He didn't even answer and was concentrating entirely on his surroundings.
Stachys moved a few more steps and stopped dead again.
-...Basrak
Even after Stachys stopped, the sound of stepping on leaves was clearly heard.
And the entire party heard it.
It was a moment where Stachys's actions were understood without any explanation.
Lily felt goosebumps breaking out all over her skin.
She hadn't expected that something might have been following along with their footsteps all this time.
It might have just been an illusion.
It might have just been the wind.
But they couldn't verify it.
The range illuminated by the torch was limited, and now that she looked, outside the torch's radius was pitch-black darkness.
Almost no light was entering the forest.
"Lily-ssi. Brighten things up for me just once."
Stachys spoke quietly to Lily with a hardened expression.
Even though the volume of his voice was low, since no one even thought of making a sound, those words reached Lily extremely well.
"Right now?"
"Count to three in your heart and light it up. And guys, prepare for battle."
Stachys said this while holding one of the tonfas from his waist in one hand. His other hand was still holding the torch high.
Rus also drew her sword and lifted the shield she had been slinging over her shoulder.
...Two, one.
As soon as she finished counting to three in her heart, Lily chanted her spell. Hoping that this situation, which might have meant they were in danger, was just an illusion.
"...Light."
A light burst from her hand like a firecracker and stretched straight up. Everyone lowered their postures slightly and prepared.
-Phung!
The magical light that rose upward burst, brightening the surroundings.
The darkness outside the torch's radius vanished.
And they saw.
Dozens of wolves were surrounding them in a circle, watching them from within the darkness and between the trees.
Each and every one of them possessed a bulk fundamentally different from ordinary wolves. They looked at least three times larger.
"Haha.. What the fuck."
This was the first time Lily ever saw Stachys swear.
"They're Tiger Wolves."