In the end, after gritting my teeth while struggling through my inner turmoil, I pushed off my feet and chased after Alice.
It just didn't sit well with me, as a man, to let a girl run off into battle alone like that.
"Alice! Wait for us!" I shouted. "Hang on, Komekko!"
"Hnnnngggrrr!" Komekko groaned, using her one arm to hold on to me who was still carrying her piggyback, and the other to cover her mouth.
She was actually quite dainty and didn't weigh me down that much. Running with the bouncing sword I kept strapped behind my waist was more awkward, if anything. Where does all that food go?
"Satou! Don't abandon me! I'm a goddess, for heaven's sake!"
Aqua seemed to be misreading the situation yet again. In any case, she quickly caught up to me and Komekko.
Alice had gone very far ahead, and was putting more distance between us with each passing second. It wasn't only that she was just that fast; with my low stats, I was also just that slow.
Still, why had the goblins cowered like that the moment Alice stood up to them? It was like the second they saw her, they started pissing themselves.
There was also that thing the Mushroom Mutant had said. 'What sort of a monster are you?'
Could monsters also sense when they stood no chance against a powerful adventurer?
I mean, why couldn't they? It made sense, it just went against my gamer's intuition of monsters mindlessly attacking the player in most regular gameplay.
As I thought such, I passed a bloodied goblin's corpse that lay strewn on the side of the path, followed by another. Alice was picking them off one by one.
"Satou, can you stop for a second? Goblin meat isn't very good on its own, but using it as bait will attract some bigger, tastier monsters, so I would like to procure some."
"No time, Komekko!"
I didn't want to hear about this person's drawn up meal plans while they were still in the middle of a bad stomach ache from the last thing they ate.
"Satou, can you wait up? Goblins may be monsters, but it isn't good to just leave their bodies out in the open like this. Let me at least send them off with a prayer really quick―"
"We'll do it later, Aqua!"
Why did she have to pick now of all times to suddenly act like a proper archpriest?
By this point, I had lost sight of Alice. Luckily, I could hear the noise made when she caught another goblin, for the goblin had wretchedly squealed its final deathcry.
My feet got heavier and my breathing became more ragged as I pushed myself to try to keep up. Unfortunately, I could feel the fatigue setting in, painfully reminding me of my low stamina and speed stats.
That was when it happened.
A large, black shape appeared from the dense foliage like a shadow. Next thing I knew, the gaping jaws of a huge, feline monster were lunging directly at me, giving me no chance to react.
"Cursed lightning!"
I was blinded by a light, and instantly stopped my unsteady feet. "Ah, my eyes!" I cried, wiping at them to try to chase away the white spots in my vision.
"Satou, watch out! There's a Rookie Killer!" Aqua exclaimed from behind my right shoulder.
I could tell by the seriousness in her voice that she was not bearing good news. Anyway, the shivers sent down my spine by the visage of a massive set of jaws had already told me about as much.
But I didn't feel the shredding and maiming pain I was expecting, so Komekko's magic must have done its job.
As I blinked furiously, its black form began to take shape. A large cat, that was not adequate to describe it. It was bigger than a tiger, with saber-toothed fangs the size of daggers that were set at the front of its jaw.
So this was a Rookie Killer. A monster said to have especially high intelligence, one that would often use weak monsters like goblins to lure novice adventurers into a deadly trap.
And today, we are that group of novice adventurers who fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
"Alice!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Get back here! We've found a Rookie Killer!"
The Rookie Killer pricked its ears and glanced over its shoulder, in the direction where Alice was currently preoccupied with the goblins.
Yeah, if she were here, you would be one dead kitty.
When I thought that, it turned and gave me this look like it thought the same thing.
Hold on. Did it wait until she was separated from the rest of us to attack? The twinkle in its eye made me think so.
Come to think of it, that attack came at the exact moment I was too tired to fight back. The timing was too precise to be coincidence. If it hadn't been for Komekko, I would have been―
These things really did have a high intelligence.
"Crap," I muttered. World Pause!
It was no use, I was too out of breath from all that running. This is bad!
"Komekko, now is your chance to shine! Hit it with another blast of Cursed Lightning!" I urged.
"Is that how you thank someone who just saved your life? Stupid Satou."
"I'm sorry. Thank you for stopping its ambush just now, so show me that magic you Crimson Demons are so proud of!"
"Fufufu! That's better. Very well, as you wish! Rookie Killer, your luck ran out when you encountered me this day! I am Komekko, wielder of advanced magic and she who has slain a general of the former Demon King's army! I may have allowed you to avoid that previous attack, but that was merely because I was entranced by your shimmering and fluffy black pelt! It's so cool! I am tempted to make you our pet, but alas! You would make a pretty big steak, so I fear I have no choice but to turn you into my next meal!"
She got off me to make a pose as she began her chanting. Although, is this really chanting? I don't think I remember her saying some of those lines before, and what does any of it even have to do with magic?
In any case, the Rookie Killer was watching her closely.
Meanwhile, I noticed Aqua sneakily tiptoeing back the other direction. "I'm not cut out for the front lines, so I'm just gonna let Komekko handle this!" she said when she realized her covert retreat had been discovered.
"No you don't! Stay here and help support her like a good archpriest!" I grabbed onto her collar to keep her put.
After all, if I had to stay here at the battlefield, so did she.
"I just have to support her a little and then I can go, right? Ko-me-kko! You can do it! Go, fight, win! There, I gave her support. Are you happy?"
"I didn't say to be her cheerleader! And that was the most half-assed cheerleading I've ever seen!"
"Thank you, big sis Aqua!" Komekko shouted, taking the middling cheer attempt in stride. "Have at thee! Light of Saber!"
The Rookie Killer leapt from side to side, dodging the beams of destructive power that were extending from Komekko's fingertips. The light cut down trees and slashed through earth like butter. But the Rookie Killer avoided every blast.
"Ooh, not bad," Komekko whistled, impressed. "Let's see how you handle this: Bottomless Swamp!"
The earth around the Rookie Killer turned into an untraversable muck, but the monster avoided it by jumping up into the branches of the trees. It continued to stare at Komekko warily, but she left it no opening to attack.
"Nice job, Komekko! If you finish it off, I'll let you eat a big dinner tonight, so don't let up!" I said. Komekko was performing well for once, so I figured a little encouragement was in order. At least, I was sure my support was better than Aqua's.
Komekko puffed out her chest. "Of course, for an archmage of my caliber, even a Rookie Killer doesn't stand a chance! Since you have worked so hard, my ferocious and fluffy beastie adversary, I'll let you in on a little secret! This isn't even my full power, I've just been playing with you this whole time! If I were to get really serious, you wouldn't have even lasted five seconds!"
Okay, no need to rub it in with empty boasting. You'll bring about bad karma.
"Everyone! Sorry, I didn't realize there was a Rookie Killer close by! Exterion!"
At that moment, Alice returned and immediately sliced at the air with her ranged sword attack, one that seemed to cut at whatever distance she chose.
The Rookie Killer leapt from the branch and disappeared, vanishing deeper into the forest.
The others were watching vigilantly for it to make another ambush from the shadows, but I suspected it had retreated for good. I may be a rookie the likes of which it would happily prey on, but Komekko was already proving to be too much to handle, and it seemed to definitely want to avoid Alice.
I have to give it credit where credit is due. Rookie Killers are definitely as intelligent as their reputation suggests.
"I think it's gone," Aqua said.
"That's another flag," I retorted. But in this case, I think Alice's strength may be greater than the power of flags.
Komekko brought her face around to me. "Hey, Satou! Wasn't I cool just now? That was some pretty good offensive magic, wasn't it!?"
"Yeah, I'll praise you this time," I said. "Good job, Komekko. Holding off the Rookie Killer on your own was uber cool."
Komekko just about melted at my words.
Once she was certain the coast was clear, Alice turned to face us. "I am very sorry! When I heard Satou shout that you had encountered a Rookie Killer, I was so worried. I never suspected that if I followed after the goblins and left you all behind, a Rookie Killer would attack while I was away. Truly, I humbly apologize." She sheathed her sword and bowed at the waist. "I am so sorry that my naivete put everyone in peril! Thank goodness you are all safe!"
Whoa, I didn't expect her to be so forward with her apology. Then again, Alice wasn't like these other two morons I'm partied up with. She was able to properly take responsibility for her mistakes.
"Don't worry about it!" I said, waving my arms to brush her off. "We managed to hold it off, and Komekko really did pull through when it counted."
I suddenly felt two glares boring into my sides.
I thought my praise was overall positive, so why are Aqua and Komekko so angry?
"Satou, are you letting Alice off easy because she is your favorite? I was beginning to suspect this for some time, but you have a crush on her, don't you?"
"Satou, when I ran off to eat the mushrooms, you scolded me far more sternly. Alice did the same thing and put us in even greater peril than I did. At least punish her a little more severely. It's as Aqua said, you definitely have a crush on her, don't you?"
"H-hey! I do not! I only treated her differently because she did most of the work in fending off the monsters today!"
Why is this accursed goddess only so discerning at inconvenient times like this? And their tag-team combo was doubly deadly!
I glanced sidelong at Alice, afraid of how she would react to the mere mention of the possibility I liked her. Which I could most certainly say was not―
"Actually, I had to let the rest of the goblins go when I came back to fight off the Rookie Killer," Alice mentioned. Good, there was no sign that she was taking it weirdly. Wait, was that good?
"Plus, while it may be true Aqua was being loud earlier, it was definitely Satou's yelling at Aqua and scolding me that attracted the goblins to us!" declared Komekko. I winced, since I couldn't deny that much. "It's good that Alice already apologized on her own, now let's hear Satou's apology!"
Grrr! This coming from the girl who caused so much trouble earlier! Well, she was right though, so I couldn't say anything...
"All right, I will admit I missed up too. Sorry. Guess that means we all messed up in one way or another today."
Even though if I hadn't reigned them in somewhat, who knows how much more trouble Aqua and Komekko would have caused.
Komekko nodded, satisfied. "Good. As Satou's punishment, you must work hard and level up more. Reflect on your mistakes while you strive to become less useless in the future."
...I'm only useless right now because a certain someone eats so much I can't afford any startup gear! And because a certain other someone gave me the wrong cheat power!
"I will also strive to become stronger, as my punishment!" Alice inserted.
"Alice is already strong enough. I think for her punishment, it would be better if Alice brings snacks again for tomorrow's quest."
"Understood!"
"That's not a punishment!" I protested. "That's taking it easy on her because she fed you! Who's the one giving Alice preferential treatment now? No, if anything, that's taking advantage of her kindness!"
"Shut it, loverboy," Komekko yapped.
"I'm not in love with her or anyone right now!"
Why do I have to put up with this? Okay, so I was attracted to Alice at first, but who wouldn't be? Her features are more flawless than a western super model's! And I've never had a girlfriend before, so isn't it normal to dream big when someone like that suddenly joins your social circle?
"Guess it can't be helped. Satou always did have a thing for older women archetypes. It was the same for the girl that rejected him back in Japan right before he died, ksu ksu!" Aqua put her hand to her mouth to muffle her snicker.
"T-that's not―" Now that I think about it, it was true that what I admired about my senpai back in high school was the way she was always looking out for me...
Seriously, why is Aqua only observant at the weirdest times?
Crap, my face is starting to burn up real bad. I turned about to look the other way.
"My oh my, feeling embarrassed, are we?" Komekko said, adding insult to injury. "Satou wasn't this shy yesterday when a certain pretty girl approached him at the Eris church and offered to kiss him!" She twisted at the waist to lean in for a better peek at my face.
"What? Satou, is this true!? As your divine guardian and this world's foremost deity, I expressly forbid you from setting foot into the despicable Eris church ever again! Those stuffed-robed women will try to seduce you in a heartbeat and use you until your money dries up!"
Aqua took a sudden hard stance against the Eris church for some reason.
"They seemed nice to me… And hey, don't just take Komekko's word so quickly! As I remember it, the supposedly 'pretty girl' she is referring to is none other than herself! She even licked up the rice grains that were stuck to my face! If you ask me, she's definitely worse than I am!"
I attempted to spin things back at Komekko, to take the heat off myself.
"Eh!? Komekko!? Are you and Satou already in that type of a relationship? Am I going to have to chaperone you two more closely from now on?"
"Fufufu! Is it really any surprise that Satou is already falling for my charms as well? Unfortunately, my heart is set only upon food and big sis, so he's sadly going to have to look somewhere else!"
"How can you say that so boldly!? Don't try to spin it like I was the one who was going for it!"
Aqua seemed quite shocked at my revelation, however, Komekko didn't even look the slightest bit embarrassed to have her dirty laundry aired.
Meanwhile, Alice just looked like her head was spinning as she listened to the conversation drag on.
"Satou… and Komekko… were doing those kinds of things together? Like trying to kiss… and, and―licking rice off each others' cheeks?!"
"No! It wasn't like that! Well, technically Komekko did do that, but she was just going for the food! There wasn't anything else to it!"
Alice was envisioning things I would rather her not knowing about.
I wanted to go crawl in a hole and die now. I never expected telling the others about Komekko's mischief at the soup kitchen would backfire so quickly. I'm such an idiot for even bringing it up.
"Hey, Komekko, listen to big sis Aqua's advice for a minute. Deep down inside, all men are just ravenous wolves waiting for the chance to show their true nature. Satou thinks he can hide his lustful and lewd thoughts, but as the goddess of water, I declare that I can see them all!―Well, I guess he isn't as bad as Kazuma, but that isn't saying much."
Please, stop!
And I'm definitely not like the Demon King, rumored to go around stealing womens' underwear in broad daylight without regard to the police or higher courts!
Aqua lifted a thumb and forefinger up as if she were looking through a lens at me. "Hm, I see, Satou has never even in his heart of hearts dreamed of dumping his female companions' freshly worn clothes out on the floor and rolling around on the pile, so I guess it is safe to say he is not as bad as Kazuma."
…Did the other Kazuma Satou actually do things like that? No wonder he ended up becoming the Demon King.
Wait, that's not what I should be upset at here!
"Of course I wouldn't do that! I want to have a nice relationship with a girl, one built on mutual respect and trust! I want us to be the kind of couple that is always lovey-dovey, not constantly arguing about stupid things or driving each other crazy with our various niche interests."
Just like a normal, high school romance; even something straight out of a manga would be fine. Is that too much to ask for?
Komekko was taking a long, hard look at me. "I think Satou is the type of person who would have a couple of secret admirers, and whenever they tried to flirt with him, he would always mistake it as passing for normal conversation, thereby missing their hints."
"Like a dense manga protagonist? No way, he is more the type who would think that the girl sitting next to him in class dropped her eraser because she liked him, when it was really just a plain and simple accident." Aqua laughed. "He would probably convince himself that every girl who gave him a courtesy chocolate on Valentine's was confessing their love for him, when in reality nobody in school has a crush on him in the first place."
"Oh, the self-deceiving narcissist? Yes, that does sound more like our Satou!" The two shared a laugh at their inside joke.
Neither of those sound anything like me! Are my romantic prospects really that pathetic?
I'm getting seriously depressed here.
"Can we talk about something else?" I demanded. "In fact, aren't we done here? We found the goblins, they ran away, end of story. Right?"
"That is true," Komekko said, while Aqua nodded.
I was drained, physically and mentally. "Let's just head back and call it a day."
As I turned to leave, Alice spoke up. "Actually, we may be able to finish off the rest of the goblins. I would venture to guess that their hideout is not far from here."
"Exterion!"
"Light of Saber!"
I felt bad for the goblins, who were getting cut to bits by our DPS experts while they cowered in the back of a small cave without cover. It turned out Alice had a skill called Pursuer that let her locate nearby enemies that were either hiding or retreating, so long as she had visually seen them recently enough.
This was apparently how she knew the Rookie Killer had truly fled, as it had escaped beyond the limits of her range.
I know goblins are monsters that adventurers are ethically bound to eradicate. For the sake of the contract made by accepting the request, as a pure matter of personal survival, as well as for the general safety of humanity, monsters encountered during a quest ought to have their lives taken, that was just the way it was. That was what I thought, but no matter how you look at it, Alice and Komekko are the true monsters here.
Literally, the moment the goblins realized Alice had shown up at their home base, they all fell down crying or dropped their weapons in surrender while shaking in existential fear.
After the goblins' nest had been exterminated, Aqua did spend a little time praying for them, which was the first time I had seen her act like a proper archpriest since I came to this world. Meanwhile, Komekko and Alice searched the cave for treasure.
Oh, and it goes without saying that Komekko refused to listen to me and ate a share of the goblin meat.
But more importantly, after seeing the pattern emerge enough times in action today, I had to say something.
"Alice," I said, as we were preparing to make our return journey back down the forest trail, "all the monsters we encountered today seemed to be utterly terrified of you."
Alice assumed a sheepish grin. "Oh, did you think so? I guess they were, haha…"
"...Oi."
When Alice couldn't maintain eye contact, I pushed further.
"The Mushroom Mutant said your aura was so intimidating, it was trembling. The goblins couldn't even stand up to you, and the Rookie Killer ran away the instant you showed up. Then there was that unknown something in the bushes back when Aqua was being too loud. There was a reason it didn't attack, either. Wasn't there?"
Alice bowed her head. "You noticed sooner than I hoped you would. The truth is, my body seems to emit an especially bright magical aura, which scares away most monsters. The only ones it doesn't affect are swarming monsters that only share a collective hivemind and no individual intelligence, like yesterday's cabbages. Also, some really strong boss monsters can withstand my aura, like the Mushroom Mutant. Most of the time, however, things are just as you saw. Actually, I used to have a powerful magical necklace that reduced my magical aura. But ever since I lost it, well..."
"...I see."
I knew Alice was strong, but dang. I didn't know she was that strong.
In most fantasy stories, the princess is a dainty flower who relies on the hero and other strong warriors for protection.
This princess, so I have heard, is stronger than the highest ranked general of the Demon King, the daughter of the former Demon King.
Having her on our side seemed like a good thing on paper. However, after everything we went through today, I was beginning to see the problem.
"Alice, the thing is, if you always scare away monsters just by being near them, how are we going to complete any future quests?"
The moment I asked the question, Alice seemed to shrink before me. She pulled her arms in close and looked down at her clasped fingers. Suddenly, she looked more like an uncertain young girl who bore a heavy weight than a confident, cool-headed adventurer.
"All I want to do is go on adventures so that next time I see Elder Brother, I can tell him some of my stories for a change. But, that is difficult when monsters always run away from me on sight. I was hoping that by joining a strong party, I would finally be able to go on real adventures. In truth, I was unsure about joining your party until big sis Chris said you were aiming to defeat the Demon King. A party that had such a lofty goal would surely be able to make use of me, I thought to myself. Yet it seems I am just holding your party back. Sorry. If you no longer desire to let me stay in your party, I fully understand."
Looks like despite being both a former princess and a strong adventurer, Alice had her share of problems, too. I felt for her.
"You're not holding anyone back, Alice! In fact, I find your desire to seek out adventure despite knowing it's inefficient incredible! It's really moved me!"
Said Aqua, and I found myself agreeing with her for once.
Alice's face lit up. "Really? Does that mean I can stay in your party?" She glanced back and forth between me and Komekko.
I ruffled the back of my hair. "I mean, it worked out today, and I never said anything about not wanting you in our party. You are free to stay as long as you like."
Komekko nodded her head as well. "After all, if she quits now, Alice would never be able to pay the penalty of preparing daily bentos for me."
"For us!" Aqua quickly specified.
"Right, for us, that's what I meant," amended Komekko.
I thought it was just snacks, when was the punishment upgraded to bentos?
Or was a full bento the same as a snack to someone who ate as much as Komekko?
Alice smiled, full of relief. "Thank you, everyone! I promise to keep working even harder! So feel free to use me however you like, Satou! Do not hesitate to put me on the front line! I shall perform to my utmost to rid this world of injustice and restore peace and harmony to the people!"
Such a sweet girl! This world doesn't deserve an angel this precious!
"After all, if big sis Chris is right and this party does manage to draw out the Demon King from the castle, I'll finally get my chance at reforming him and becoming Elder Brother's bride!"
There it is. Her crazy side comes out at last.
I think I'm finally starting to understand why she is always so gung-ho about picking difficult quests with strong monsters.