Chapter 77

"Alright, finally the day has come to try that thing! Let's get serious!"

"Understood! Thanks to the holiday, I'm brimming with energy!"

"Still, you should keep it moderate, okay? This time it's not just us, but other people are involved too."

A few days after Luna's first battle.

Finally, the day of our promise with Grin had arrived.

Thanks to the long holiday, Noal was pumped up, striking a determined pose.

It should be fine to be a bit flashy since Grin already knows, but since other people are involved this time, I'd prefer if he could tone it down.

If Noal seriously attacked the orcs, it would end up worse than minced meat.

"Because I haven't hunted in a while, my body has gotten sluggish. I'll go all out today!"

"Sisaha will mainly provide rear support today."

"W-Why!?"

Sisaha, who was overjoyed and clapping her hands at the prospect of going hunting, froze and screamed when she heard my words.

While it's fine to collect magic stones, I think it's a bit much that she loves hunting so much.

"Today isn't about hunting; it's about whether we can get magic stones. We're not the main hunters; we're here to let Grin and his team do the hunting."

"B-But... what about my enthusiasm!?"

"I don't care!"

We had already agreed to go today to let Grin and his team do the hunting, so why is she trying to hunt too?

Sisaha pleaded with me, her eyes moist and hands clasped in front of her chest, but I ignored her.

Today, I intend to have Sisaha support them as a priest to ensure they don't get hurt.

So I have no intention of letting her hunt... but I'm a bit worried about this.

"Sisaha, if you mess up this time... I'll tell Luna you don't need to deal with her anymore."

"Wh-What!? U-Uh... I'll be a proper priest this time, so please, please forgive me..."

Since I was still worried, I decided to lay down the law.

Sisaha, upon hearing my words, let out a voice that didn't seem to belong to a woman, and with a face on the verge of tears, declared she would be a priest.

I didn't expect it to be this effective... She must really care about Luna.

"Oh, to hear Sisaha say she'll be a proper priest... but that's not something to be impressed by at all..."

"Brother, you shouldn't threaten her like that. Sisaha is so pitiful, isn't she?"

"Uh... Ah, yes. Sorry."

Noal watched Sisaha's reaction with a somewhat exasperated voice.

It seems that even among Noal and the others, Sisaha's personality is completely known.

Since they seem to accept it, maybe it's fine...?

Estelle scolded me a bit for saying such things.

I used the most effective threat, but... maybe I went a bit too far.

---

"Grin, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Hey, thanks for coming. Let's do our best today."

We immediately went to the Adventurer's Guild where we had arranged to meet and joined up with Grin.

Behind him were a young man and woman.

The man, with short brown hair, looked a bit nervous as he looked at us, while the woman, with long brown hair, smiled and placed her hand on the man's shoulder to calm him down.

Both were equipped with similar leather armor, the man carrying a longsword at his waist and the woman holding a spear.

They looked younger than me... maybe they're new adventurers?

"Still, it's a pretty unusual request. If you're Daikura, you could easily hunt black orcs without asking me."

"Hehe... It's a bit of a personal matter. In return, I'll support you thoroughly, so please help me."

"Well, it's fine. You'll get to experience the support magic of a mage and a priest, and they'll get to safely experience a battle with black orcs, so it's not a bad deal."

Since it's an experiment related to collecting magic stones, I can't explain the details.

It's natural to wonder why I'm not hunting the black orcs myself and why I'm going along.

Still, I'm grateful that Grin accepted without pressing further.

The reward is that I'll give him money and all the drops from the hunt.

Additionally, I got him to agree to full support for Grin's party.

Grin signaled to the young couple behind him, and they moved in front of us.

"I'm Daikura, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too! I'm Almire!"

"Don't be so nervous, Almire. I'm Camilla. Nice to meet you."

When I greeted them, the man responded first, a bit nervously.

He seemed a bit unreliable but gave the impression of a sincere young man.

The woman followed, speaking in a calm, almost relaxed tone.

Unlike Deus and Miguel, they seemed to be a quiet young couple.

"They're quite young, aren't they?"

"Yeah, they just became adventurers a while ago. They couldn't get from F to E rank, so Manah asked me to train them. They've been E rank for a while, but they're still far from D rank... This is a great opportunity to gain experience."

"That's right. We were a bit stuck, so the timing is good."

After greeting me, they greeted Noal and the others.

During this time, I listened to Grin's story.

Grin was teaching them as a senior. They were indeed new adventurers.

Thanks to Noal and the gacha equipment, I skipped that process, but normally, it would have been much harder.

---

"Daikura, are we walking again today?"

We were on our way to the usual hunting ground to hunt black orcs after joining up.

Noal whispered to me in a small voice so Grin and the others couldn't hear.

"Yeah, we can't use the beacon to move."

"Hmm, that's the only inconvenience when forming a party with other adventurers."

Estelle joined the conversation, sighing a bit.

The Goblin and Orc Forest is quite a distance from Brunne, and it takes a while to get there.

If we could use the beacon, it would be instant... but it's better if the people of this world don't know about it.

If we move, we might end up near the beacon, and there's a chance it could be seen.

"Do we really need to hide it to that extent? If we use it more openly, it would be much easier..."

"Hmm... that's a tough one."

"If we understand the level of magic in this world, we might be able to cover it up to some extent."

We've always been cautious about using the magic bag, magic carpet, and beacon to avoid drawing attention.

Honestly, it's getting a bit troublesome to hide them.

But if they were discovered, it would be even more troublesome.

If something strange happens, we might be able to cover it up with magic... but I'm not sure.

When we first came to this world, we were still weak and worried about being robbed, but now we're much stronger, so maybe we can use some gacha items more openly.

"Hey, Daikura... are you really going to hunt here?"

"Huh? I plan to... is there a problem?"

"It's not just a problem... this is a monster's lair! If we fight here, we don't know how many will come at once!"

After walking for a while, we finally saw the Goblin Forest. As usual, goblins were scattered around the forest.

Grin called out to me with a disturbed voice, looking at the forest with a tense face.

I only planned to hunt around the edge of the forest, not inside... is this too close?

Indeed, when Noal and I hunted alone, monsters often attacked even without entering the forest.

"Don't worry. No matter how many come, that knight will take care of them. Plus, black orcs come out here more often."

"You hunt like this... no wonder you can hunt an abnormal number in a day."

Well, since we're hunting black orcs this time, it should be fine here.

With Noal, there's no danger at all. We also have Estelle and Sisaha, so even if 100 black orcs came at once, we could handle it.

"So, what's the plan? Are Daikura and the others going to hunt black orcs too?"

"No, we'll hunt goblins and orcs. Please deal with the black orcs when they appear."

We'll leave all the black orcs to Grin and his team, and Noal and I will focus on making them spawn.

Estelle and Sisaha will stay back and prioritize supporting Grin and his team.

"Alright, got it. But before we start, let us fight some goblins to get used to it. I want to see how much our movements change with support magic."

"Understood. Once Grin and the others are ready, we'll join in the hunt."

I was about to start, but Grin asked us to let him and his team fight some goblins first.

There's a big difference in movement with and without support magic... I was quite confused by it in the dungeon too.

It's impressive that someone who's been an adventurer longer than me thought of this. I want to be like that too.

"Then, I'll cast the support magic."

"Hmm... to be held back in front of a monster... can't I just take one?"

"Stop, please stop."

Estelle waved her staff, and a light enveloped everyone, making them glow softly.

Unlike Estelle, Sisaha sighed and weakly waved her staff, casting support magic while muttering, "Just one, just one."

She still hasn't given up! What can I do...? Maybe I should have her take a lecture from Estelle.

That might change her mind...?

"Whoa, this is support magic? I feel an unusual surge of strength."

"Have you never received a mage's support magic before?"

"Yeah, when I participated in a large-scale hunt before, I was assigned to deal with the minor enemies, not the main target. There were few mages and priests in the guild, so only a limited number could receive support magic."

Grin, who received the support magic, was swinging his sword to check something. He seemed to feel a significant difference.

I thought he had experience from the dragon hunt he mentioned before... but there are so few mage-type adventurers.

"Almire, Camilla. Even with support magic, don't let your guard down."

"Y-Yes!"

"Got it~"

"Alright, let's go."

Grin called out to Almire and the others, then ran towards a lone goblin.

Do they usually fight one goblin with three people?

The goblin noticed Grin and the others approaching and raised its club to attack.

The three moved a bit away, with Grin in front, Almire on the right, and Camilla on the left, planning to attack the goblin from three directions.

The goblin was confused and turned its head from side to side.

While it was doing that, Grin and the others got closer, and Grin's attack finally reached the goblin.

The goblin tried to block with its club, but Grin's sword cut through it and beheaded the goblin.

Wow, with Estelle's support, it's ridiculously strong.

With Noal and my buffs, his attack power is increased by 65%.

Just by forming a party with us, he becomes unrealistically strong, which is a bit scary.

"Hey, Daikura! What's going on? It's too strong!"

"It's all thanks to Estelle."

"Hehe, isn't it great?"

Grin, who had defeated the goblin, came back excited. He must have been impressed.

I'll just say it's all thanks to Estelle's support, as explaining the buffs wouldn't be believed.

She smiled proudly at Grin.

After that, thanks to the effect of Estelle's support magic, Grin and the others hunted monsters one by one, sometimes even one person taking on a goblin or an orc.

"I can one-shot a goblin... even an orc is easy to take down. Mages are amazing."

"I was worried about hunting black orcs, but with this, I'm not scared at all. Once you experience this, you might start overestimating your own strength."

Grin, Almire, and Camilla were all amazed and bewildered by how much their power had increased.

Support magic and buffs are indeed very effective.

Grin, who was initially worried about fighting black orcs, now looked confident.

"I'm casting support magic too, but..."

"Sisaha's support magic doesn't really kick in until you're attacked."

"By the way, does Sisaha's support magic only increase defense?"

Sisaha, hearing the praise for Estelle's support magic, was dejected and depressed.

Increasing defense is very important, but it's often overlooked.

Priests are more focused on healing magic. I've never asked about the effects in detail, so I might as well ask now.

"Well, it increases defense, HP, magic resistance, status effect resistance, and provides automatic healing. It should be enough to heal minor injuries without me having to heal them."

"Wow... it has more effects than I thought."

Sisaha's support magic is more effective than I thought... I'm sorry for thinking it was subtle!

Due to the focus on close combat, the other effects are often overlooked, but it's still a great support spell...

Well, it has helped in close combat, so it's a bit of a mixed feeling.

Alright, let's start our hunt.

---

"Grin! A black orc has appeared, please deal with it! We'll handle the other monsters!"

"O-Okay! Almire, Camilla! Let's go!"

"Got it!"

"Got it~"

Noal and I joined the hunt, continuously hunting the goblins and orcs that kept appearing from the forest.

Finally, the black orc we were waiting for appeared, so we left it to Grin and his team while we kept the other goblins from getting too close.

"It's a bit risky, but it should be fine."

"Grin is giving clear instructions."

Grin and his team led the black orc away from the forest to avoid other monsters attacking and focused on fighting the black orc.

Since it's a rare species, they are very cautious, attacking once and then retreating.

Grin uses his shield to protect the younger ones from attacks.

Sisaha's healing magic immediately follows any damage, so there's no risk of serious injury, which is reassuring.

After a while, as Almire's sword cut the orc's neck, the black orc fell.

Hmm, as expected, rare species are more durable than regular ones.

Well, if the magic stone is in my phone, our theory is correct...

I took out my phone with hope and checked the number of magic stones.

Since the complete gacha was exactly zero, if this increases by one, the experiment is a success...

"Huh... the magic stone didn't appear?"

"What... really!?"

"Are we definitely in a party?"

"Yeah, they show up in the beacon selection, so it's definitely a party."

"What's going on...?"

The result is still zero. This means that just forming a party isn't enough to get the magic stone.

Since Grin and his team's names appear in the beacon selection, we are definitely in a party.

Hmm? What's going on?