Side: Yuki
"So, with that in mind, I'd love to get some advice on hunting monsters."
Saying that, I bowed my head to Tori and Riel, both of whom had plenty of adventurer experience.
Ah, Kaya was with us too. Well, she fought a fair bit to protect her village back then, so learning a thing or two from her certainly wouldn't hurt.
Right now, since our magic training wrapped up in a flash, I was taking the opportunity to seek their guidance.
By the way, Eris was over at the Headmaster's office doing some investigating.
At this point she was practically the ultimate anti-Headmaster weapon. She'd given her some fruit candies and apparently had her completely wrapped around her finger. Vice Headmaster Lara, who had been wearing a sour expression, had also been won over with cake.
Eris is terrifyingly good at this...
Anyway, none of that matters right now. I need to hear an adventurer's mindset and wisdom!! Because I am, after all, a novice adventurer!!
"Umm..."
"Hmm..."
For some reason, the two I asked were hesitating with troubled expressions.
And watching them, Kaya quietly muttered:
"...I don't even know what advice to give you, Yuki."
"Eh, Kaya. I'm a beginner though."
"If Yuki is considered a beginner, then every adventurer on both the continent of Weed and this new continent combined is below beginner level."
Tori and Riel both nodded in agreement.
"No, no, that high evaluation of me is purely because I have a ridiculous heap of cheat skills. But if those cheats ever become unusable, I'd die in a heartbeat. That's why I wanted you to teach me how to fight with almost no skills and how to sense presences, so I can survive even if something like that happens."
"No, Yuki-san, if a situation like that ever occurs, you just need to focus entirely on running away."
"Yeah. If Yuki-san ever disappeared, we wouldn't know what would become of us."
"...Yuki, take better care of yourself. You have wives and children, after all."
"Calm down. Of course I'd run. I have no intention of dying and leaving you girls and the kids behind. That's exactly why I need to learn."
Exactly.
If you lack the ability to escape, you can't even play the escape card in the first place. That's why this isn't pointless.
Returning to the mindset of a beginner and learning properly from experienced adventurers is crucial. In fact, since I skipped the beginner phase entirely, I think this is a very sensible thing to do.
"I honestly think my wives have spoiled me too much. If I get complacent because of that kindness and fail to run when I should... I don't want to die leaving all of you and the children behind. So please. I'm serious. Even if it's only stories from your adventuring days, I want to hear them."
"""......"""
I said it lightheartedly, but I'd accidentally hit the heart of the matter.
No, this was definitely worth hearing. I'm not perfect, after all. Different perspectives are always valuable. I've received the stamp of approval from Mobu and his crew, but there's still plenty to learn from Tori and the others.
My best friends and Tanaka used to say it, didn't they? 'Everything becomes experience'.
Even if you escape while crying and screaming pathetically, if that patheticness lets you survive, then it was the right choice.
"I understand what you're saying, Yuki-san."
As expected of the most sensible one among my wives, who used to keep Riel in check back during their adventurer days.
"But somehow... it feels like you're saying all this on a whim, yet somehow you're still hitting the mark."
GULP.
Crap. This wife's intuition is sharp.
"...Sigh. Well, what you're saying isn't wrong. Riel, Kaya... let's do this together."
"Eh? I don't have anything I can teach Yuki-san, though?"
"...Me neither."
"No, both of you—what Yuki-san wants are your personal experiences. If it's purely about ability, even if he restricts himself, we're no match for him anyway. He probably wants stories from a different perspective than Mobu-san and the others. Right, Yuki-san?"
"Yeah, please. I'd be really happy if Riel and Kaya helped out too. I'll properly reward you, of course."
"Reward?"
Riel and Kaya's animal ears perked up instantly.
Oho, a good reaction.
At first, I was just hyped about going on an adventure, but I genuinely want to listen now.
Let's push this through with the reward offer.
"Yeah, a reward. Your stories will definitely be useful, so ask for whatever you want within reason. Of course, that goes for you too, Tori, so don't hold back."
"T-Then, um..."
"Yes, yes! Just like Eris, I want you to love me thoroughly all night long!!"
"I want that too... and fried tofu dishes."
Ehhh? Another marathon session like the one with Eris?
That takes a massive toll on my stamina, though... Well, it can't be helped. The advice is worth it, and it's not like I dislike getting passionate with my wives.
"Alright, got it. What about you, Tori?"
"U-Um... I-I'd like the same..."
Tori hid her face with both hands, blushing furiously.
Yep, that's so like Tori.
Her wolf ears drooped flat with embarrassment, but her tail was wagging in tiny hopeful motions.
"Got it. It's your turn tonight anyway, Tori. Shall we make tonight special?"
"Yes!!"
Her tail started wagging at full speed.
It was moving so fast you'd think she could take off flying if she spun around.
"Muuu, Lucky you, Torii~"
"...My turn is still far off."
Their turn comes after Tori, and then the one after that.
Normally, they'd just join in, but...
"Hey, Tori."
"What?"
"Can I join tonight too...?"
"If you're okay with doing nothing but watching Yuki and me wrapped around each other the whole time, then sure."
"That's torture!! Ugh... yeah, I guess that's impossible."
"It can't be helped, Riel. You'll just have to look forward to tomorrow."
"I guess that's my only option... But hey, we got his promise, so it's all good!"
"Exactly. Being greedy isn't good."
"Yeah, yeah... Wait! Kaya asked for fried tofu too, didn't she!?"
"Yuki already said yes. No problem."
"Gah! Somehow that still doesn't feel fair!!"
Well, this kind of banter is so typical of the three of them.
* * *
Once their playful bickering wrapped up, I started asking questions and Tori's group answered.
In the end, despite the short amount of time we had, the discussion turned out to be quite meaningful.
What I primarily asked about were their failure stories.
With Mobu and his crew, they mostly taught me practical adventurer techniques and the types of requests available. Not that they didn't have their share of failures, but Mobu's group were already seasoned veterans trusted deeply by the Guild. Plus, given my special circumstances, failure stories were pushed aside in favor of prioritizing mission execution.
On the other hand, Tori and the others' failure stories mostly revolved around a lack of communication with the clients.
For example, a request form once simply listed "Orc Subjugation." Based on their past experience, they didn't pry into details; they just asked for the location, went out, wiped out the Orcs, and returned—only to find out the client didn't want proof of subjugation, but rather the actual Orc corpses brought back.
From Tori's perspective, Orcs are great monsters whose entire bodies can be sold for a decent sum, so they had wanted to bring them back anyway. The client, on the other hand, just posted the subjugation request assuming they'd get the Orc materials back as usual.
The root cause of this miscommunication lay with the Guild side that accepted the request.
That village always needed Orc materials and posted regular requests for them. Because of that, the client assumed writing "Subjugation" on the form was self-explanatory. The Guild staff member who accepted Tori and the others' job thought it was strange for this village to just say "Orc Subjugation," but simply processed it exactly as written.
This led to a bit of an argument.
Tori was indignant because they had followed the request to the letter, but Riel picked up on the client's confusion and decided to hear them out. That's how they eventually realized the Guild staff had likely oversimplified the request details.
In fact, the reward for that request was three times the normal rate for an orc subjugation.
Tori had originally thought it was just unusually generous, but Riel had found it slightly suspicious from the start. In the end, they handed over all the orc materials to the villagers, completing the request.
Afterward, they explained the situation to the Guild staff, who bowed their head and apologized.
Learning from that lesson, they made sure to carefully verify request details from that point onward.
Hearing it now, it sounds like a classic, everyday mistake. However, for the people involved whose daily livelihood depended on it, it wasn't something to be dismissed lightly.
Tori mentioned that back then, she was just getting used to being an adventurer, so her guard must have been down. Riel also felt that after that mess, leaving everything up to Tori probably wasn't a good idea either. Though her tendency to go wild in battle didn't really improve much after that.
Surprisingly, in the past Riel had taken the leadership and pulled the worldly-inexperienced Tori along. When they became adventurers, Riel felt Tori was better suited for communication and tactics, so she handed the leadership role over to her.
While Riel laughed off her childhood so casually now, she had been ostracized by her village and almost killed in the end. Because of that background, Riel was overly tolerant—or rather, desensitized—to malice, accepting things like docked pay or extra work as if they were completely normal. That's why Tori, watching that, had decided to take over as leader when they became adventurers.
Looking back, it's a blunder they can laugh about now.
For me, though, it served as a solid lesson: "Always double-check the details".
Ah, but the ones who reduced Riel's pay or ostracized the village and tried to kill her are unforgivable.
Well, there are probably various circumstances with customs and such, but now she is mine — my wife.
For now, Riel hasn't shown much interest in her old villagers, but someday we're going to pick up Riel's mother. There's bound to be interference when that happens... In fact, considering the worst-case scenario, her mother's grave or home might not even exist anymore. If Riel cries when that time comes, I'm probably going to snap.
In fact, that's exactly why I still haven't suggested going back. Every one of my wives feels the same. Everyone is furious after hearing Riel's past. Riel smiles when she tells the story, but what she went through was horrific.
Tori even said she might accidentally beat her own relatives to death if she went back, so until Riel brings it up herself, we're putting it on hold... After all, if all of us snap at once, an entire village would quite literally be erased without a trace.
Anyway, I got off topic.
The rest of the discussion focused on fighting in forests.
Since Tori and her group are Beastkin, their sensory organs are extremely sharp. Especially their hearing.
I've never mentioned this before, but beastkin have both animal ears and normal human ears. They can use them selectively—they can wear earphones normally and enjoy music just fine.
The animal ears are specifically for hunting and combat. By utilizing them, they can pick up unusual sounds in the forest and pinpoint enemies. That's the fundamental baseline for Beastkin. It might be tough for me to replicate, but paying attention to sound is a basic skill, so I'll try to be more mindful of it than before. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to catch up to Tori and the others someday.
While the two's stories were great, Kaya's insights were also extremely educational.
Having been slated as the next captain of her village's defense force, Kaya was thoroughly versed in how to fight during emergencies when defending an area with zero defense capabilities and very few combat personnel.
Nowadays, she's quiet and rarely shows emotion, but to have been picked as the next captain, she must have been great with people too.
Despite her village being destroyed and having gone through terrible trauma herself, she still answered my questions earnestly—she really is a wonderful wife.
To summarize Kaya's advice simply into two points:
1. If you're going to run, run immediately.
2. When you fight, use every tool at your disposal to survive.
It looks like two points, but both boil down to the same thing: Survive.
A village's fighting force is small. Losing even one person directly impacts the village's survival. Hence, the absolute command to survive.
"Thank you. That helped a lot."
Since it was almost time to meet up with Eoid and Taiki-kun, I wrapped up the conversation.
It really was a lot of great, practical advice.
"I'm glad it was helpful. Um, I'm really looking forward to tonight."
"Nfufu, Yuki-san, I'll be waiting for tomorrow, okay?"
"...I want fried tofu today."
"Yeah, a promise is a promise. Oh, right. What are you three doing this afternoon during monster subjugation?"
Come to think of it, I hadn't asked how these three and Eris were planning to move.
Ah, by the way, Ria has been by my side the whole time. She was listening and learning alongside me during Tori and the others' stories.
Jessica was guarding Princess Miffy—and as planned, Princess Miffy was set to temporarily return to Jilva. In her place, Rurua and Milly remained as resident agents in Jilva, while Ratz was gathering information incognito in Enaria. Seraria and Derieu returned to Betan under the pretense of escorting Princess Miffy alongside Jessica, filling the void left behind when Tori's group and Labyris' group came to the Academy.
Sia and the others had naturally been brought along as well, while the Holy Sword wielders assigned to monitor them had arrived as planned.
With this, everything was ready no matter when the enemy decided to make a move... Well, honestly, with dungeon high-speed travel, we could have just launched an attack from the start. Ever since Sia and Kishua were captured, the enemy has been meticulously gathering intelligence. Not a bad play on their part, but... well, too bad for them.
Anyway, back to the girls' plans.
"Err... what was it again?"
"Geez, Riel, you're always so careless with these details."
"...It seems like we're spectating a monster subjugation together with Samantha?"
"'It seems like'?"
Kaya, why the questioning tone?
"About that. We're with Samantha-ojousan and Amanda-san, but those two are apparently top-performing students, and today they're going to conduct a monster subjugation observation for the Level 1 students."
Tori answered my question.
A monster subjugation demonstration for Level 1 students, huh?
"So Samantha-ojousan and Amanda-san will be the ones actually fighting while the Level 1 students watch?"
"Yes. There'll also be instructors and guards accompanying them, but Samantha-ojousan and Amanda will be doing the actual demonstration."
"Wait, doesn't that mean you guys and Eris won't get to hunt any monsters?"
"Ah, that's fine. During magic training, we went a bit overboard, so they already view us on the same level as Eris."
"...Everything has been cleared with the Headmaster too, so no problem."
"Ah, I see. Well, that's fine then. It's a good opportunity, so watch Samantha-ojousan and Amanda-san's abilities for me. I'll hunt monsters while keeping an eye on Eoid."
"Understood. But please don't overdo it."
"Yeah. If you wipe out all the monsters, there won't be anything left for the demonstration."
"...Hold back, okay, Yuki?"
"I know, I know. Alright, see you later. Ria, let's go."
"Yes."
As we walked toward the meeting spot with Eoid, Ria whispered softly:
"Um... I can't offer any useful advice like Tori-san and the others... but, um, I'd really love it if you loved me passionately too..."
Damn it. I knew this was coming.
However, to prevent the damage from spreading, I need to contain the situation with Ria right here.
"Sure thing."
"Really!?"
"Well, you were listening right there, so leaving you out wouldn't feel right. Besides, Ria, you always work hard guarding me. Ah, but keep it a secret from the others, okay? If you don't, I'm going to get completely drained dry."
"Yes, understood!! My lips are sealed!!"
Her silver twin-tails fluttered beautifully as she flashed a bright, adorable smile—a promise that, inevitably, would end up broken.
No, it wasn't Ria's fault.
It was just that after I gave it my absolute all, Eris and the other four ended up looking so unbelievably radiant the next day that everyone else interrogated them, forcing out a confession—which ultimately led to me having to put in double the effort for everyone else.
"...What am I going to do if I die from this?"
『Don't worry. Even if you somehow die from overexertion, I'll just bring you back to life. Pfft, but a Dungeon Master dying from overexertion would be completely unheard of! Want to give it a try?』
"As if I would, you useless goddess."
『Booo~ come on, why not?』
As expected—my greatest enemy was still this hopeless goddess.
