Chapter 46 - The Bugs that Dance in the Night, and Conquering the Bikini Armor!
I'm on night watch.
The plan is for two people from each group—Levante, Altair, and the Mateo Trading Company—to stand guard at all times. For us in Levante, the rotation is me and Aira, Maira and Mizuki, and Fam and Cecily. The pairings were decided by drawing lots.
Speaking of which, Levante. We have to keep reminding ourselves that's our party name, or we're liable to forget. I have zero confidence we'd even realize someone was talking to us if they called it out.
I'm sitting with Aira around the campfire. The writing on our foreheads was successfully removed with a variety of slime oils. Fam put up quite a fight when it was her turn, which was a hassle.
The stars are as incredible as ever. Come to think of it, I haven't seen a single drop of rain since coming to this world. I wonder if it just doesn't rain here.
"What was that all about during dinner?"
Aira spoke up.
"'That'? What's 'that'?" I asked, playing dumb.
"Everyone was angry."
"You too, Aira?"
"…Yes."
"Really? I thought you wouldn't be angry."
"Don't mess with me."
"I haven't told you or Cecily, but I made a deal with the Mateo Trading Company."
I explained the whole story, including how Mateo told me I could do whatever I wanted with Claire.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"What do I think? Just do what you want, right? No one will oppose you. Everyone likes you, so they'll never create a real conflict. In the end, things will always go your way."
"You too, Aira?"
"…What is it with you?"
Aira's expression hardened.
"Oh, nothing. I just thought maybe you liked me."
"…I don't."
Aira stood up and stared off into the forest.
"See something?"
I stood up too. I followed her gaze, but I couldn't see anything.
I could, however, hear the buzzing of wings. Sounds like an insect.
A tiny dot approached, drawn to the campfire, and then fell at my feet.
I picked it up between my fingers.
"A stag beetle. It's huge. Maybe a Miyama stag?"
I showed it to Aira.
"Eek!"
Aira recoiled. Looks like she hates bugs.
"Afraid of insects, are you?"
"I'm not afraid. It was just so sudden, it startled me."
"Is that so? Well then, want to touch it?"
I offered her the beetle.
"Eeeek!"
Aira scrambled backward.
"You really don't like them, do you? Why lie?"
"I-I don't dislike them!"
I couldn't understand why she was getting so worked up. I decided to stop pushing the insect on her. If she let out a loud scream, it would cause a huge scene.
"I wonder if I could gather a bunch of these and sell them in town."
"A-a bunch…" Aira paled.
"Not 'a bunch of boobs.' Where I'm from, stag beetles sold for a high price."
"What kind of creepy town is that?"
"…"
I had no comeback for that. I thought boys dreaming of rhinoceros and stag beetles was a universal constant.
Just then, I heard another buzzing sound.
A black dot landed on Aira's left breast. It was another magnificent stag beetle.
She froze, standing stock-still. Completely rigid.
"Want me to get it off for you?"
Aira shook her head.
"Why are you being so stubborn?"
"You like insects, don't you?"
"Well, I'd be hard-pressed to say if I like them. I don't like or dislike them."
Seeing a stag beetle gets me excited, but if someone asks if I like insects, it's a bit of a gray area.
"Hey, Mash… try putting the one in your hand on my other breast."
"Are you serious?"
Aira nodded.
I placed the stag beetle on her right breast. She remained perfectly still. Should I tell her it looks good on her?
"…I want to cry."
"I don't get it. What have you been trying to prove this whole time?"
"Because… you hate me."
"I don't hate you."
"But you think I'm a pain."
"I don't. In fact, I thought you didn't like me."
"You're not wrong about that."
"Ouch, that actually hurts!"
"…What if… what if their pincers pinch my nipples?"
Was that a request to be pinched? I honestly couldn't tell.
"Do you want them to?"
"Because I thought it would make you happy."
What on earth has she thought of me this whole time?
"…In that case, I'd rather you just let me grope you normally. I don't like pain either, so I'm taking them off."
I removed the stag beetles enthroned on her breasts and released them into the darkness. Aira may have come to dislike me, but I hoped they would grow up strong and healthy.
For a while, I stared into the darkness. Nothing changed.
"Hey, what are you planning to do once we reach Migul?"
"I don't know. I haven't decided anything."
Aira looked up at the sky. Her expression seemed utterly lost.
The next morning. It was before we set off for the day.
Me, Fam, and Mizuki were doing our morning training with Avea and Beers from Altair. At Fam's suggestion, this was now part of our daily routine. Avea was in charge. Right now, we were just doing some light practice swings.
Aira was watching us. I'd asked her last night to be on standby in case anyone got hurt.
Incidentally, Beers was apparently going to keep calling himself Beers. He said it gets a better reaction. I have my doubts about changing your name for a gag, but now that he's a member of Altair, maybe it's for the best.
Avea was staring intently at my practice swings.
"Your form is the cleanest of the bunch."
Yeah, and Mizuki and Fam will surpass me in no time anyway. Having just had that sad experience with horseback riding, I was already feeling a sense of resignation.
"You think so? Do you think I could handle the fourth floor of the Richelle dungeon?"
"Fourth floor? Everyone knows you beat a B-rank adventurer who cleared the fortieth floor."
"We're F-rank, and the farthest we got on our own was the third floor."
"You should be fine up to at least the tenth floor."
"Someone else said the same thing, and we had a horrible time when we went to the twelfth floor."
Avea gave me a skeptical look. It's the truth, so there's nothing I can do about it.
"Well, whatever. It's the first day, so I want to get a handle on everyone's abilities. Let's have a few one-on-one matches."
We drew lots. It ended up being me against Mizuki, and Fam against Beers.
"The day has finally come to settle my daily grudges."
Mizuki flashed a fearless smile, gripping her wooden stick.
"Hold on. What daily grudges?"
"A daily grudge is a daily grudge. And I haven't forgotten my virginity grudge, either."
"…I might actually die if your Super Kill activates."
"Don't worry. I won't let it activate. Probably."
Mizuki took her stance. She held the wooden stick in her right hand and had a wooden shield strapped to her left arm.
I gripped my wooden stick like a katana and faced her from a middle guard.
"It's alright, Master. You will absolutely not lose," Fam said encouragingly. I wondered what kind of person I was in her mind.
While I was lost in thought, Mizuki closed the distance. She feinted an attack, so I deflected her wooden stick with the tip of mine to break her momentum.
"Hmph!"
I tried to back away and create some space, but Mizuki pressed forward, not letting me. The tension mounted as we entered the one-step, one-strike range.
The moment she raised her weapon for an overhead strike, I swung my own stick, aiming for her wrist.
My blow was about to connect for real, and I instinctively froze.
A split second later, Mizuki's stick came crashing down on my head.
"…Ow."
When I came to, I was lying with my head in Aira's lap.
Mizuki, Fam, and Avea were peering down at me, with Beers a little farther back.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
Mizuki apologized. Contrary to her earlier bravado, she looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"No, this man is the one at fault. If you hadn't stopped, Mizuki's wrist would have been struck, and she would have dropped her weapon. Why did you stop?" Avea said.
The atmosphere wasn't exactly conducive to saying, Because I didn't want to see Mizuki get hurt like that. We were supposed to be training seriously. Bringing those kinds of feelings into it wasn't good for either of us.
"Uh, I thought it would be a good chance to get pampered by Aira."
"…We're going to have to beat that attitude out of you. I'll be your next opponent."
Avea stated.
"Wait, wasn't it supposed to be one match today?"
"You haven't swung your weapon even once in a real exchange. Get up."
With no other choice, I stood up. My weapon was gone. I looked around and saw Fam holding it.
"Sorry about that. I lost."
I said to Fam.
"…"
Fam was staring at me, as if sizing me up.
"Master… For me, too… no, please win next time."
I took the wooden stick from Fam.
I settled into a middle guard, same as before.
I knew it was one-dimensional, but it was all I could do, so it couldn't be helped.
Avea was in the same stance as Mizuki, but without a shield.
While I was trying to figure out my first move, she stepped in. Fast.
She closed the distance faster than I could back away.
She raised her wooden stick. Just like with Mizuki, I tried to strike her wrist as our paths crossed, but I was too slow and hit nothing but air. At this rate, I'd just get hit, so I charged forward, ramming into her with my body. I intended to shove her back, but she absorbed the impact with ease. Our weapons locked.
"Not bad, dodging that," Avea grinned.
"Shut up."
I tried to apply pressure, but she didn't budge an inch. Those are some serious muscles.
Avea switched to a two-handed grip and pushed me back instead.
I had planned to pull some kind of trick on the retreat, but I was so focused on keeping my balance that I couldn't do a thing.
From there, Avea's relentless assault began. She swung her wooden stick literally every which way, trying to land a single blow on me.
I was completely on the defensive, doing nothing but blocking as I retreated.
I knew that retreating was a bad move. But I wasn't being given any other options.
"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?"
As the words left her mouth, I aimed a sweeping blow at her torso. She quickly stepped back, dodging it effortlessly.
The distance was broken. I was breathing heavily. I took a deep breath to calm myself, then returned to my middle guard. Seeing this, she readjusted her stance as well. Despite her furious attack, her breathing was perfectly steady.
It's no use. Nothing I do seems to work.
I was being crushed by her sheer pressure, and my spirit was starting to break.
I had to watch her more closely. Having successfully defended against her assault, I felt like I was on the verge of a breakthrough.
Trying not to lose focus, I subtly moved the tip of my stick up and down.
As if lured by the movement, Avea moved. I tried to knock her weapon aside as she initiated her attack, but again, she was faster, and I struck empty air.
Her rush began anew. Once again, I was forced onto the defensive.
Her attacks were focused on my head.
Just as I was thinking that, a front kick came flying at me. I spun to the side to evade it. It was a chance to counter, but my hands wouldn't move. The distance was broken again.
The heavy, suffocating minutes dragged on. My heart rate was soaring, and my breathing grew ragged.
"Not bad," Avea laughed.
I wanted to say something snarky back, but nothing came to mind.
"Ready to start fighting back, even if your opponent's a woman?"
She'd seen right through me.
"…How did you know?"
"I can't stand guys like you."
Avea thrust the tip of her wooden stick at my throat. The killing intent was immense. She was planning to end it with the next attack.
But understanding a little of what was in her heart allowed me to calm down.
Something was swaying. It was her chest, wrapped in bikini armor.
How had I not noticed before? They must have been bouncing wildly while we were trading blows. Now, they swayed gently with her breathing.
I hadn't looked at them at all until now. I wanted to punch my past self.
I readjusted my stance. The tip of my weapon pointed toward her solar plexus, just a little in front of it.
There was no need to force my way into her range or take a hit just to land a blow. All I had to do was swing my own sword. Against her robust and straightforward style, this was the only weakness I could exploit. I had to aim for that one point. I would bet everything on a single breakthrough.
"Avea, any further is dangerous. You should stop the fight…"
Fam, who was watching the fight, called out.
"Hey, she's worried about you," Avea laughed.
"No. She's worried about you."
I understood. Fam had completely sensed what I was about to do.
"You're kidding me."
Despite her words, she stopped laughing.
Good. The anger would surely cloud her vision.
I began to aggressively close the distance.
Just before we reached the one-step, one-strike range, I deflected her wooden stick with the tip of mine.
She tried to press down on my weapon to break my stance. I flicked it back, tracing a small half-moon as I slid my stick up hers and lunged forward. I moved the tip of my weapon as if to strike down at her wrist.
"You one-trick pony, always aiming for the wrist!"
She backed away to dodge my attack and raised her wooden stick. She'd fallen for the feint.
"You're the fool!"
I charged straight at Avea. My target was the great divide of her bikini armor's chest piece—the single point of the cord connecting the two pieces of cloth.
My weapon's tip made contact. There was resistance. But it was fine. From the feel of it, I could cut it. As I swung through, I thought I heard a small snap.
"Bikini armor, defeated!"
"Idiot!"
Avea's wooden stick came crashing down on my defenseless head.
If she was going to call me an idiot, I wished she'd stop hitting me on the head and making me even more of one.
I lost consciousness without ever getting to see the reward of her bare breasts.
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best. Thank you for pointing out typos. It's a great help.