Chapter 65

"Here comes a 'Gorogoron' from behind!"

"Leave it to me! 'Provocation'!!"

At Cocoa's voice, everyone got into a battle stance. Kent used his skill to direct the 'Gorogoron's' attention towards himself and took the attack. However, since the attack was just rolling straight, it was easy to avoid.

"Throw Potion!"

"Fire Arrow!!"

Tart and Cocoa's skills hit and they kept attacking. They quickly defeated the 'Gorogoron,' which then disappeared into particles of light, leaving behind a drop item, a 'Rock.' It was just a rock lying around, so it had no value.

"Alright, you're getting better at defeating them!"

"Yeah, it feels good!"

Kent and Cocoa high-fived, celebrating their victory over the 'Gorogoron.' Seeing this, Tart and Tithia also mimicked them, which was quite cute. Of course, Roy and I didn't high-five just because there was some left over.

...So, after successfully setting up our base, we were doing some light hunting. The serious hunting would start tomorrow, and now was the time to solidify our party coordination. ...But it was going pretty well.

Initially, Kent and the others were nervous about the 'Deep Valley,' but they seemed to have relaxed and were now enjoying defeating the 'Gorogorons.'

As I nodded, thinking it was going smoothly, Tart's tail suddenly fluffed up.

"Meow!?"

"Wow, a cute fairy!"

Following Tart and Tithia's exclamations, we saw a 'Sylph' for the first time today. It was about 30 centimeters tall, wearing a green outfit with yellow and pink accents, a cute wind fairy monster that looked like a lot of effort went into its design. ...This one might be tough to defeat!

"Let's go, 'Provocation'!!"

Before I knew it, Kent was in his usual mode, charging at the 'Sylph.' He's so reliable...!

"Wh-What, you're going to attack such a cute one...!?"

"If you let your guard down because it's cute, you'll be the one to get hurt! You can't be an adventurer if you get distracted by the enemy's appearance!"

In response to Tithia's words, Kent said, "Besides, it's strong and attacks too!!" The 'Sylph' was using wind magic to attack Kent, so Tithia was startled and her expression hardened. She seemed to realize that it wasn't the time to call a monster cute.

"Prayer of Miracle! I did it, attack power up!"

Tithia then threw a 'Fire Flask.' She had become quite tough, but unfortunately, the fire flask missed the 'Sylph.' Tithia was shocked.

The 'Sylph' was small, so compared to the 'Gorogoron,' the hit rate of attacks was lower. ...It might take a bit of time to defeat it until we get used to the combat.

"Evading Tithia's attack...! 'Iron Hammer'!!"

Roy cast a magical cross to attack the 'Sylph.' At level 5, he was actually quite useful. However, without proper equipment, the difference in attack power could be significant. ...If Roy wanted to focus on attacking, it might be good to discuss his equipment.

I cast 'Goddess's One Hit' on Tart, re-applied support to everyone, and added 'Regeneration' to Kent. Roy re-applied 'Goddess's Protection.'

"Kyaa!"

With a high-pitched scream that hurt the ears, wind blades flew. But thanks to Roy's 'Goddess's Protection,' it was no problem.

"Cocoa, finish it! 'Goddess's One Hit'!"

"―! Here goes, 'Fire Arrow'!!"

Cocoa's attack, with doubled power, defeated the 'Sylph' beautifully. It disappeared into particles of light, leaving behind drop items, a 'Small Flower' and 'Herb.'

"Alright!"

Kent made a fist pump, showing his joy at the victory. It's great to have successfully defeated a new monster for the first time. I understand.

We put the drop items in my bag and continued hunting for a while longer.

***

I confirmed that the butter had melted in the small pot and started adding broccoli, mushrooms, and small pieces of meat. Hmm, the smell of butter is so intense.

"Sharon, what seasoning are you using?"

"The salt in the butter does a great job, so just enjoy it with bread."

"Wow, that's convenient. I'll try it next time."

Roy was impressed by the ajillo I made. The amount of butter used is quite excessive, so I want to close my eyes to the calories, but since we've been hunting, it's not a problem! ...I'll just enjoy it.

We grilled skewers of vegetables and meat over the campfire and prepared bread and ajillo, along with cheese. We sat in a circle around the campfire and were about to have dinner.

"Let's eat!!!"

Dipping the bread in the ajillo and adding mushrooms, it was so delicious that I could only make incoherent sounds like "Mmmmm!"

Across from me, Kent was biting into the meat, and next to him, Cocoa was eating bread with cheese. Tithia was looking at the ajillo with sparkling eyes, and Roy was taking the meat off the skewer to make it easier for Tithia to eat. Tart was munching on the meat next to me, saying, "It's delicious, meow~!"

We ate with intense focus for a while, then relaxed and continued eating while brewing more tea. Of course, there was no alcohol, but it would be fun to have a drinking party with everyone someday.

Just as the conversation paused, Kent called out to everyone.

"Um... We've done some light combat, so how about we do proper introductions now? Is that okay? ...Is that alright...?"

Kent's gaze was directed at Tithia and Roy. He must have sensed that they were not ordinary. ...No, I should have explained properly.

"Come to think of it, we came hunting with a lot of momentum."

"Since we've been here, we've been busy fighting strong enemies."

Tithia and Cocoa looked at each other and laughed, "Ahaha."

...Yeah, these two don't think too deeply!!

"It might take a while, so I'll brew some more tea, meow."

"Thank you, Tart."

"No problem, meow~"

Tart blushed and brewed new tea. Tart's bag, which she got with the 'Adventurer's Bracelet,' actually contained quite a variety of food and snacks.

When I looked at Roy, he nodded quietly. It seemed okay to talk about the two of them. I took a small deep breath and explained Tithia and Roy to Kent and Cocoa again.

It's been a while since the last update...!

I'm happy if you're enjoying it.

Kent is actually quite reliable.

Next time, it will be introductions (a discussion).

It's not a request, but if you want to read a story from someone's perspective or wonder what someone was doing at a certain time, I'd be happy if you could add it to your comments. I always struggle with who to write about in the SS...