Chapter 7: Tomorrow is another day

Enri awoke to the throbbing of her inner thighs.

They rang like small bells, causing her some slight pain, but nothing unbearable.

There was an unusual sensation beneath her. Not the soft padding of her sheets, but instead, something a bit rough.

Her vision gradually returned. That's when she realised there was a shirt placed on top of her.

Sitri's shirt.

"Ah!" She jolted upward, overwhelmed by the numerous incoming memories of her late-night encounter.

Gaaaaah! Yesterday! I acted like… like…!

Her braided blonde ponytail swung like a pendulum as she shuddered in cheek-burning embarrassment.

What got into me? I did something like that with a man I barely know!

Of course, the perpetrator of her lust was nowhere to be seen.

But why did he leave his shirt…?

Something clicked within her.

Are the sheets… were they stained?

She scoured her room for hints, but her sheets were nowhere to be found. A shiver coursed through her thighs, making Enri realize she'd been walking around without anything on. To add to the strangeness, her clothes were folded atop her dinner table.

"What…?" The confused girl mumbled.

After clothing herself, she opened her window, allowing the sun's rays to warm her skin.

White drapes hung right outside of her home.

"Are those…?"

Enri rushed outside and inspected the white sheets. They were cold, as if they'd spent the night there.

Someone washed these?

Though her fingers tightened around the damp fabric, Enri no longer felt any chill.

No. What she felt was something very warm inside of her.

Very, very warm.


"Forgive me, Chief, Jugem." Sitri bowed deeply before the two, "I've never claimed to be a good man, and certainly don't expect you to forgive me after this, but, it's as my companion says… the whole story about a goblin curse… it was a lie."

"The adventurer thing?" Jugem spat bitterly.

"Plates I found off of deceased adventurers."

The elderly Village Chief caught Jugem shaking his head in anger.

"What says you're not just some murderer who killed them and stole their plates?" The Goblin Leader accused.

"Nothing," Sitri had yet to raise his body, "I know that I've abused your trust, but I needed to come clean before I departed. Both Fadila and I were incredibly touched by your kindness, and your sincerity. We're used to people being hostile towards us, since Demi-Humans are rarely accepted anywhere."

Jugem crossed his powerful arms, frustrated by Sitri's attempts at justification.

"That is something I can understand, at the very least." The Village Chief acquiesced. "Carne Village is somewhat of an oddity."

"Careful, Chief," Jugem said, "This guy's way too good at lying. There's no telling, even now."

"I presented you a lie. I hoped you would take pity on me so I could receive free food and shelter. I even put your people at risk, since I was probably the cause of the Barghest attack. I deserve no forgiveness, but please know, that these lies, I've forced them on my companion as well."

Fadila peeked from behind Sitri's leg.

"I promise to never return to this village, but please, if my companion wishes to stay… please grant her the honor of sharing a home with her kin."

"Sitri!" Fadila exclaimed, tugging at his tunic in concern, "I cannot be without you!"

"Fadila… don't turn away this opportunity…"

The Village Chief raised his hands, attempting to clear the suffocating tension with a few casual waves, "Listen. You don't need to go that far."

Sitri retorted, "But I've-"

"We know what you've done. There's what you told us, but there is also what we've witnessed with our own eyes." The elder's traits softened, "We've witnessed a man save our people from dangerous beasts. We've witnessed a man ready to offer any form of help to our people. We've witnessed a man who dined with us, made us laugh, and enthralled us with his stories."

"Chief…"

The elder posed his wrinkled hand atop Sitri's shoulder, "Lift your head, Sitri. The man I've met, is a man I would always welcome."

Sitri straightened his back, fists clenched. "Thank you… Seriously, thank you."

"You're very welcome. And if you have any more troubles or concerns, then know that you can always come talk to me for help."

"I… I'm not great at very many things, Chief, but I am confident in my strength. I shall repay you! The villagers have told me of a beast called the Wise King of the Forest. If you want, then I shall bring this beast to you, as tribute."

The elder, absolutely convinced that he was joking, laughed heartedly in lieu of a response.

"And Jugem, I'll work hard to regain your trust."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" The Goblin waved him off dismissively.

The men shared a final bow, before Sitri headed off, his olive-skinned companion scampering behind him.

"Sitri…" Fadila muttered.

The warrior ignored her.

"Sitri."

Nothing.

"Do you want me to leave?" She asked, casting her eyes on the ground.

A sad expression painted the gobliness' puffed cheeks, however…

Wham!

She collided face-first against Sitri's back.

"What? Leave me!? Are you serious? How will I use the Compass of Adventure without you?"

"B-B-But…" Fadila bumbled in surprise. Sitri reacted as though she had said the most outrageous thing possible. "Your words before?"

"Oh yeah," Sitri posed dramatically, flexing his massive biceps, "That was pretty good, huh?"

"You…"

"Gahahahaha! I'm a people-pleaser!"

The gobliness went red, or greenish-red, with anger, "You are a devil! Your words are poison! You lie like you breathe!"

"That's me!" He wrapped his arm around his green-skinned companion, "Now tell me, my darling. Where to next?"

"Grrr…" She groaned in frustration, but once Sitri pulled away, she slid her hand within her tunic, and pulled out the magical tool.

Sitri grabbed the device and uttered a prayer, "I'm sorry I mistreated you, buddy. You've been looking out for me this whole time, gracing me with beautiful women wherever I go." He stroked the unresponsive compass, as if a beautiful maiden, "So, how about the next one? Let's make it exciting! Dangerous! Fun!"

He handed the item back to Fadila.

"Onward, to more beautiful women! Gahahahaha!"


.

..

...

..

.


"S-Sitri!" Fadila called in surprise.

"Huh? We're still here? What? Why?"

"Look! Look at magical item!"

Before Sitri could pose his eyes on the Compass, several goblins ran past him.

"Some strange folks headed our way! Get to safety!"

"Call the boss! She's gonna wanna see this!"

Last in line was Jugem, who shouted at Sitri, "This better not involve you!"

The warrior glanced at the Compass of Adventure, and unmistakably, its arrow pointed towards the entrance of Carne Village.

"Okay, so, we go back the way we came from? What's the big…"

The needle momentarily pulsed in golden light. It blinked like so for a solid minute.

"Seriously!?" Sitri fought his desire to grab the Compass, "There's another cutie!? Another one!?"

"Magical item is glowing…" Fadila expressed in astonishment.

While they basked in bewilderment, a familiar young woman approached them.

"S-Sitri…" She said with blushed cheeks.

The warrior turned and saw Enri Emmot. He did a quick double-take to confirm, but the Compass wasn't pointing towards her.

Enri was accompanied by two goblins, who urged her to follow them.

"Hey there, Enri. How are you feeling?"

"Good… I suppose…" She fidgeted about, playing with her braided ponytail, "I heard you were leaving?"

"About that! I've got a mission involving the Wise King of the Forest, so I'll be sticking around for a little bit."

"Is that so…?" She looked down at her feet and smiled, "G-Good…"

"Boss!" The goblins urged her, "We gotta see who's at the gate!"

"Yeah! Jugem's already apprehending the intruders!"

"R-Right! Let's go, then."

Sitri followed them, exclaiming boastfully, "Intruders? Sounds like fun!"

He noticed Enri awkwardly shuffling forward, like her thighs were slightly gaped underneath her dress.

"See that?" Sitri whispered to Fadila, then pointed to the village girl, "I did that."

"Silence! No more talking from you!" Fadila scolded him in a hushed voice.

While the group made its way down the trail leading to the village's front gate, Sitri's eyes occasionally crossed with Enri's, as she regularly peeked over her shoulder.

After marching down said trail for several minutes, Sitri overheard Jugem saying, "Especially the full-plated guy! Ya give off a real dangerous feeling."

"Hm?" The warrior saw the goblins standing before an impressive group of people.

There seemed to be three men forming a frontline with their weapons, while another fellow stood a few steps behind them. Further away, a blonde person with long bangs drove a small cart, and finally, at the very end of the group, there were two more people.

The first was a tall, imposing, full-plated swordsman, wearing black armor, adorned with golden trimmings. He had a large red cape splayed atop his right pauldron, and there seemed to be two massive sword handles on his back.

Right next to him was…

"S-Sitri! The Compass!" Fadila muttered.

The needle glowed fiercely, roaring its golden hue in the goblin's tiny palm.

"The Compass…" Sitri followed its mark, and as expected, it indicated the raven-haired beauty next to the full-plated swordsman.

She had sharp features, as if her expression was constantly on the verge of a scowl. Two locks of hair, like a mantis' claws, extended down the sides of her face, reaching down to her neck. A long black ponytail, tied with an elegant yellow knot, extended down her back. Sitri also especially enjoyed that her forehead and eyebrows were covered with her bangs; it gave her a dark, foreboding aura, like an envoy of the underworld.

"Gahahaha! Now this is exciting!" Sitri cheered

One of the people forming the front-line, a much less noteworthy swordsman with short sandy-blonde hair retorted, "Who are these guys!?"

Enri made her appearance before the supposed intruders.

"Mister Goblin, what's going on?" She inquired.

Jugem turned to his leader and replied, "Oh, boss!"

But before he could explain the happenings, the fellow riding the cart shouted, "Enri!"

Sitri narrowed his gaze, "Is that another cute girl I see? The one with blonde bangs covering her face?"

"Ah! That's my childhood friend, Nfirea!" She exclaimed happily.

While the joyful village girl reunited with her friend, Sitri joined Jugem, "So who are these fellas?"

The goblin grumbled, unwilling to reply, but Sitri, unfazed by his attitude, noted a silver-colored plate around their necks.

"Oh! Adventurers! Silver ranked too!"

The blonde-haired swordsman stepped forward, "That's right. We're the Swords of Darkness."

"Sitri," He shook the man's hand, "And this is my companion, Fadila."

The swordsman nodded towards the goblin, who hid herself behind Sitri's leg. "I'm Peter Mauk, leader of our group, " He turned and introduced his comrades, "Lukrut Volve, our ranger, Dyne Woodwonder, our druid, and Ninya, our magic caster."

"Three men, and one cute girl. That's quite the group."

Peter, the swordsman, appeared perplexed, "I'm sorry, but what do you mean?"

"Well, that cutie with the short hair," He pointed to the magic caster, "Her."

Lukrut, the ranger, interjected, "Ninya!? Oi, oi, he might have a pretty face, but he's definitely a man!"

"W-What!?" Sitri staggered in shock, "The same mistake twice in less than five minutes…!? Why do the men in this world look like cute girls!?"

"Uwah... He's like Lukrut…" The large-bodied druid commented.

The androgynous spellcaster did not say a word.

"A-Anyway," Peter continued, "Are you the Leader of this village? Can you explain what's going on?"

"Him?" Jugem interrupted, "He's not our leader. He's just a traveller, same as you. Actually, he was on his way out."

"Not anymore!" Sitri asserted with enthusiasm, slipping a glance towards the raven-haired beauty at the back of the group, "I'll be sticking around for a little while."

"Right, whatever…" Jugem motioned his troops to clear a path for the travelers, since they seemed acquainted with their boss.

The group was allowed entry in Carne Village.

Sitri and Fadila, who chose to follow the adventurers, exchanged a few words during their march, "Alright, it looks like there's still stuff for me to do here. Let's trust the Compass of Adventure and stick around for a little while."

"Okay…" The gobliness hushed her voice, "But this time it looks like the danger is very very high."

"What do you mean?"

"The magical item points to dangerous woman, like nothing before. The black armor man with two swords also has same danger… maybe more."

"You dummy! Don't you remember!? A full-plate swordsman and a raven-haired beauty!" His toned was quiet, but he was definitely scolding Fadila, "We heard about them, when we were holed-up in E-Rantel! She's supposed to be some big-shot magic caster, so this won't be a problem!"

Despite the warrior's confident tone, Fadila could not shake off the feeling of dread, born of the suffocating aura surrounding the two mysterious copper-plate adventurers.

"Use head… not fist. It is possible they are stronger than you."

"I always use my head, Fadila."

The path to return to Carne Village was not exceedingly long, a few minutes of walk at the very most, but during that time, an odd feeling weighed on Sitri's back.

He looked around and spotted the cart-driver, a young, supposed boy, giving him venomous glares.

Perhaps it was because Enri was also slipping Sitri a few looks.


After arriving, Enri and Nfirea met for a private talk, while the adventurer group Swords of Darkness settled underneath a tree to relax.

Sitri saw the two mysterious adventurers retreating nearby, "Oy! Hey, you two! Can I talk to you guys?"

There was an immediate sense of tension, as both Swords of Darkness, and the mysterious duo turned towards Sitri.

A frightening expression crossed the raven-haired spellcaster's face, as if enraged with Sitri's address.

After some momentary silence, however, the massive full-plate swordsman approached the warrior.

He was impressively tall, certainly several inches taller than Sitri, and his large black armor gave him considerable width. Compared to Sitri, who wore nothing but a bland tunic, some regular leather pants and a steel gauntlet on his right hand, the difference was immense.

"You guys are adventurers, right? I heard about you in E-Rantel! My name is Sitri, and this is my companion, Fadila." He offered the black-armored swordsman his hand.

The swordsman crossed his arms instead, "My name is Momon. This is Nabe."

His voice was deep and gruff, like it belonged to a middle-aged man.

"Your legacy precedes you, Sir Momon! People were claiming your friend Nabe is able of casting third-tier magic!"

"Psh, that's not all…" The comment came from the long-limbed ranger, Lukrut Volve, "Momon was able to take down an ogre in a single swing of his sword. They're surely adamantite-level."

"T-That's amazing! And here I thought they were just copper plates!"

Momon answered, "For now."

His reply was short, and curt.

"Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"I was just very curious about Miss Nabe's abilities. You see, my companion can also cast third tier magic, although just a single spell. It's the spell Slow." He patted Fadila's head, urging her to show herself.

"Hmm? Is that so? And, what of it?" Behind his dark-helmet, Momon looked down at the pudgy gobliness.

Fadila trembled as his intimidating gaze weighed upon her.

"Well I thought we might be able to share some magic information, you know? Help our magic casters improve and all that?"

Sitri heard a slight scoff behind Momon's helmet, "Hmph. No, I don't think that will be necessary."

"Really?" Sitri awkwardly scratched behind his neck, "Is there a reason why?"

Nabe spat angerly, "Silence, you vermin. Lord… I mean Sir Momon has already given you a response."

"Oh~ Feisty." Sitri perked his eyebrow in interest.

Sensing curious intent from the burly warrior, Momon continued, "It's fine, Nabe. I will answer this rude man. Simply put, I have nothing to gain from such an arrangement."

"Tough luck, Sitri. No one gets close to the beautiful Miss Nabe that easily." Lukrut taunted from behind him.

The other group members shared a subtle laugh.

"Bah, fine. You folks are busy, you're on a quest or whatever, sure. I should get going anyway, I have to deal with my own quest."

"Oh, and what quest is that, Sitri?" Peter asked.

"I'm going to subdue the Wise King of the Forest."

"What!?" The adventurers exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm off to tame that beast, as requested by the Chief of Carne Village."

"Oi, oi, are you serious? That thing's been alive for hundreds of years! It's a powerful creature, capable of casting incredible spells. No offense, but there's no way a random person can take it down." The leader of Swords of Darkness warned.

"Even if your companion can cast third tier spells, I don't think it's a good idea…" The soft-faced Ninya continued, "You don't even seem to have any weapons…"

Sitri's eyes lingered on Ninya's face. The spellcaster soon looked away, with what might have been hints of a blush.

"I got all the weapon I need right here!" Sitri flexed his arms, revealing his admittedly bulging musculature to the group. "Beside, I might not look like it, but I was able to take down one of those dog creatures in one punch."

"Dog creature… A Barghest?"

"Yeah and it was huge too! That thing could also supposedly cast magic."

The druid exclaimed, "A Greater Barghest in one punch?"

"You must be joking…" Lukrut plastered his palm against his face, "I'm getting sick of meeting people stronger than me."

Momon took a pensive pose, "This might be problematic… I had also thought of facing off against the Wise King of the Forest."

"Ah, well that's unfortunate…" Sitri crossed his arms behind his neck, presenting a smug smile.

Nabe furrowed her brow at his arrogant display. "Why, you-"

The full-plated swordsman halted her stride.

"If you're so confident in your abilities, then why don't we settle this with a duel?" Momon suddenly unsheathed both his blades in an instant. They were close to two meters in length, bearing curved ends like the blade of an axe.

"Ho! Hey! Easy there!" Sitri blurted in surprise, "I got this request first, why would I fight you for it? I don't think a great adventurer settles all his problems with violence."

Thankfully, Momon seemed to respond to appeals to his reputation; Sitri was betting his line of thought on that presumption.

"Hmm…" The Black Swordsman lowered his dual blades.

"Look, how about this. I'll voluntarily relinquish the request. You can have it, but in exchange, I'd like your partner, Miss Nabe, to share some of her magical knowledge with me. Does that sound good?"

"Tsk, how absurd…" The beautiful woman had trouble hiding her disgust.

"You expect me to lend you my companion? In exchange for a right you barely hold?"

"I mean, it's no big deal. I'd just like to pick her brains about third-tier magic and stuff. And it won't take long! Just enough for you to finish your quest, and deal with the Wise King of the Forest."

"…" Momon stared long and hard at Sitri, as if attempting to read the into the arrogant fighter's mind.

"Come on, a few hours of chit chat, in exchange for potential glory and fame? I mean that's hardly a bad deal."

Finally, after what appeared to be intensive deliberation from the Black Swordsman, he answered, "Let me consult with my partner."

"Lord… I mean Sir Momon, let me crush this miserable-"

But Momon dragged Nabe away before she could say anymore, leaving Sitri with the members of the Swords of Darkness.

"You're pretty crazy, Sitri. Provoking Momon like that." Peter led the critique, "He's not a man you want to anger."

"And that woman, Nabe, she's no joke either. Those two are in the realm of heroes." Added Dyne.

"Tell you what, if he refuses, then I'll settle for Ninya, alright?"

"W-What do you mean settle for me!?" Roared the magic caster.

"Well, you know magic too! At least I'll get something out of it!" Sitri replied casually, though his eyes still lustfully scoured Ninya's lithe figure.

"Nuh-uh! T-There's no way I'm staying alone with you! You keep giving me creepy looks!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you look cute."

"Ghh…" The spellcaster turned away in shame.

"Hahahaha! Sitri has a crush on Ninya!" The blonde ranger chuckled heartedly, leading his two other comrades to also join in on the absurdity of the situation.

"If your hair was longer, then I'm sure you'd at least be as cute as Enri."

"Cut it out already!" Ninya shouted, red-faced and frustrated from Sitri's teasing.

"Oi, come on, Sitri, that's enough." Peter asserted, still holding back laughter.

"Make sure you don't say that in front of that alchemist boy. If he catches you looking at Enri…" Lukrut commented.

"The blonde kid? He's her childhood friend, right?" Sitri answered, "Yeah, I heard about him."

And though the others paid it no mind, a cruel smile emerged on his lips. "He's another one that looks like a cute girl."

The members of the Swords of Darkness stared at each other in silence, before bursting into ferocious laughter.

"This guy's a certified deviant! Hahahaha!"

"You have an interesting eye for women, Sitri!"

"I'm glad it's not just me he's targeting…"

The thick druid motioned towards Sitri's leg, "Is he always like this, Miss Goblin?"

Fadila, ever clinging to Sitri's leg, was surprised to be spoken to. In a timid reply, she affirmed, "Sitri has broken head."

"Fadila! You're supposed to be on my side!"

Smiles and chuckles erupted all around.

A soft breeze wafted over the adventurers. As they lay atop the bristling greenery, sharing jokes and cheer, basking in the sun's warming rays, a great sense of camaraderie filled them.

"Questing around the world, living as you please, meeting new people and making new memories..." Peter's gentle words melted into the bright blue sky.

"Aye… we're a lucky bunch…" said the thickset druid, leisurely stroking his beard.

"It's a gift, there's no denying that." Sitri chimed in.

"You're an easy guy to talk to, Sitri. Feels like we've known each other for years."

"That's because the two of you are obsessed with women, Lukrut." Peter noted.

"I had a feeling you were going to say that…"

They heard hurried footsteps. Looking up, the group saw Nfirea jogging towards them.

"M-Mister Sitri…" The boy gathered his breath, "I'd like to thank you, for what you've done for this village. Enri told me how you saved her and Nemu from a huge Barghest."

"Gahahaha! Not a problem, kiddo!" The boisterous exclamation came with a gaudy pose.

"I'm… sorry if I was… um… staring at you." His blonde hair was like a full helmet atop his face, covering even parts of his eyes, "I was just worried about Enri…"

"Oh, is that all she told you?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

Vile deviousness painted Sitri's face, "That… I did it in one punch! Just one! And I was holding its chain in my other fist too! I looked totally cool doing it."

"Ah, no! She didn't tell me that." The young alchemist looked relieved, "But you're right, that does sound very impressive."

"Hoho~ Right? Right?" Sitri pumped his bicep, "Wanna feel it? It's proof of my strength!"

"Uh… I think that'll be alright… I believe you." Nfirea backed away, a bit concerned.

"Hmph, so I guess you really aren't a girl…" Sitri crossed his arms, feigning immense sadness. "That's a shame, you look really cute too…"

"W-What...?"

"Ah, don't mind him, Nfirea. His goblin pal said he received a bad blow on the head, so you've got to excuse his rudeness." It was Peter who came to the alchemist's rescue.

"O-Okay then…"

To which Sitri merely shrugged his shoulders, a smug grin plastered on his lips.

"Ah! I've got to speak to Sir Momon!" With that, Nfirea quickly darted away.

"Damn," Sitri's lips kept twisting further apart, "For some reason, I'm feeling really hungry. Is it just me?"

The others seemed confused, "Well, maybe a little..."

"Yeah, no… I've got to find something to eat, right now…" His devilish expression extended so far, he had to cover it with his steeled right hand. "I'll be back in a minute."

Oddly enough, he made his way towards Enri's home.

"S-Sitri, don't leave…" Fadila's fingers failed to cling on, "… me."

Unbearably flustered, the gobliness clutched her staff in her hand, and ran off in a different direction, presumably to see her goblin friends.

"That was weird…" Peter said, to the resounding approval of his clanmates.

"Do…" Lukrut looked around before continuing, "Do you think he's being serious? When he calls guys cute?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure, but I'd rather not find out. Personally, I'm content with just passing it off as a joke."

Dyne nodded firmly, while Ninya sighed.

A deep, deep sigh.


Before Enri could lift her head, Sitri barged into her home.

"S-Sitri! What are you-"

Her face was ignited by the burly man's ruthless kiss. He lifted her body in his arms, effortlessly holding her, like a small doll in his powerful grip.

Enri saw fireworks for those endless seconds.

Their embrace came to an end once Sitri said, "You can be with anyone you want, but you'll always belong to me."

Those outrageous words delivered, he turned back and headed outside.