38 38.
After returning to the original group, I approached Isabel.
"I'm back Miss Isabel, my girlfriend was fine and I was able to find her and her friend, who saved 10 other students.
- Seriously? you know that you could be eaten by wolves on the road right?
"I knew it, but I needed to make sure that she was okay somehow.
Isabel didn't say anything else, she just sighed without seeing the distant look on her.
Arriving with the other group, I nodded to the 2 girls and while Isabel was explaining the new plan to go to the core of the dungeon, I approached Kiriko.
"hey kiriko.
- hm? what's up ren?.
"It's your turn to shine.
- Sorry.
"I say you should lead alongside Miss Isabel to get safely to the center.
- but I'm a student.
"But you are the strongest of all of us, so you should speak at Miss Isabel's side, having a known ally will make others more perceptive.
- then you should be with me leading.
"I suck at it, that's what you're for, I'll be taking care of Aiko as her assistant.
- um, okay, if I need you I hope you help me.
" as you like.
As I watched Kiriko leave, I turned my attention to an Aiko next to an Amerie with worried and slightly anxious expressions.
Approaching Aiko's back, to at least reduce her stress level, I blew into her ear to distract her.
and it worked wonders seeing her squeal cutely.
"Is something wrong, miss?
- hi! ren, by the goddess, you scared me!
"Keep your voice down miss, people are starting to look this way.
Aiko looking around her saw that there were some of her looking at her somewhat strangely, she apologized and turned her attention to me.
-why did you do that?
"I saw you stiff, so I tried to divert your attention.
- Well I guess it's obvious, there is a possibility of dying by wolves the further we go into the forest.
"Don't worry about safety, if necessary, I will give my life for you.
-Really?, oh ren (｡◕‿◕｡).
'Exactly, if I let him get hurt, I'll have my ribs cracked by his father and an annoying kiriko.
From afar, Kumiko saw the tremendous misunderstanding that originated, and Amerie similarly, realized that these 2 are not on the same page.
after a motivational speech from a protagonist with the kindness trait, we start walking back towards the boss's room.
This time we had to be walking carefully to avoid wolf attacks, those of us who have weapons, are the 5 protagonists, and a few more people, the others didn't even think of coming armed, although I don't blame them.
not every day they betray you and abandon you in a dungeon with hungry wolves, although most don't know, only those in group B and Isabel who had a gloomy expression know, and for a stoic person, it is something.
Although I know that the wolves won't come near at the moment, before passing through here, I left concentrated bags of vanilla in some parts of the area so that they drive away the wolves from the surroundings, although it is only a temporary measure, since I plan to do that this group of prey become predators, but for that, I need 3 leading people and for that, I hope it will be done at night.
All afternoon I was by Aiko's side telling stories to her and the girls so that they are entertained and to be able to have some calm and preparing the ground to teach them some things later, although Kuroka stayed away from the group at that time, seeing their red heels, you can tell she's doing badly, but with our relationship like this, I decided not to get involved so as not to make it worse, but I gave Aiko an ointment, but for some reason, she didn't want to go, so I surreptitiously asked amerie to go later to help her.
When we arrived at the cave of the boss, knowing that it is impossible for a wolf to enter this area, we made an improvised camp with the campaign bags that Kiriko bought.
why he did do it, was just talking to Kumiko about organizing a trip by themselves to deepen their relationship a few days ago.
and Kumiko told her that she would like to camp with him one day and Kiriko immediately bought many tents, without fear that he would run out of money or space in his ring since he usually brings everything there.
If the space in my ring would be 20 cubic meters, Kiriko's would be at least 20 times more.
the benefits of being rich I guess.
We separated 2 groups, boys and girls into different corners and made a fire in the middle.
We only ate some chocolates that the students brought in their rings, knowing that from tomorrow the problems would begin due to the lack of food, I approached the group of the protagonists who were sitting on a log out of place in this place where everything is concrete.
Since I had already talked to Aiko before, I approached Amerie who was sitting on a said log.
"Miss Amerie.
- yes you laugh?
"Could you help us, please?
-Sure, what do you need?
"Please join us out of the boss room.
-Come with us?
- yes amerie, please come with us.
said Aiko and indicated to the others to come too
since all the students were in the middle of the bonfire, chatting among themselves, it was not difficult to slip away, less if Miss Isabel had already spoken with us beforehand.
Arriving at the beginning of the forest, I turned to some children looking in doubt.
"We need to get food and water.
- And how do we do that, genius?
Hearing that response from Kuroka, I turned to look at her, and strangely 2 more pairs of her eyes did the same and sent her a deep look.
It seems that there may be discord later, however, there are bigger problems.
"The food we have is not unlimited, and problems will come later if people are on an empty stomach.
- what do we do then ren? I guess you have a plan to call us all here.
Kiriko said.
"Yes, I have it, for that, I need Miss Amerie.
- me?.
"Yes.
- Okay, what do I have to do?
How much do you know about hunting?
-well...
she said as she avoided my gaze.
'an elf who lives in the forest, who is usually known for their skills with arrows, does not know how to hunt, this world is becoming more incredible every time.
"Never hunted before?
Amerie with red cheeks answered.
- Well, not really, my mother didn't have time to teach me and she could only practice a little with objectives.
"Okay, so who isn't afraid of getting their hands dirty? We need someone who isn't afraid of blood.
-...
-...
-...
-...
- Looks like it will be me.
"Well Kumiko, it will be an extra lesson this time.
"For now I will go with miss Amerie and Kumiko to get food, and kiriko, please lend me some sealed containers so that I can preserve them and avoid the humidity of the meat.
-wait!
said the protagonist.
" Yes?.
- where are you going?
'You really didn't realize it until now?
"to hunt wolves, their meat can give us more days to survive.
-Hey?
-Then, then I'll go with you, in case I help.
"We need you here with Kara and Aiko to defend the camp, it will take at most 3 hours, 4 if Amerie doesn't understand quickly, and Kumiko worked with me before, it will be easier to do things, I trusted you to protect everyone.
"And you miss, please do not use flames, if we start a fire in the forest, we will have to go to the second floor and we are not ready for that yet.
Kiriko just nodded with a determined look and went with Kara, Aiko, and Kuroka back to the cave.
.
.
.
while the 3 entered the forest, more precisely to the southeast.
Ren climbed on a branch of a large tree, while the girls wondered what he was doing, Ren climbed back down and headed towards Amerie.
"Very well Amerie, first I have to see your bow.
Amerie hesitantly took out the bow from her ring, seeing it Ren couldn't help but marvel.
"Oh god, can I, can I touch it?
- Of course, at least I can let you see it.
touching it, ren was feeling the wood gently, tested the tensioning ability, and felt the whole string.
The bow was not an artifact, although elven royalty is given the [goddess bow] which is said to have the wood used being from the world tree and the string being a hair from the goddess herself, that is something that is known. she hits the head of the family, and amerie as she still has a long way to go to reach that position, they only made her a bow, but obviously they gave her a very good one as heiress.
The girls who saw Ren playing the bow felt strange, it seemed that she was touching a lady, with great delicacy and love.
After a while, Ren started to speak.
"So this tree is from an ancient oak tree, and the rope is made from some kind of unique animal, it's very strong but also flexible, what will it be?
Amerie who was next to her was surprised, although very few know, that she is a fan of weapons, and seeing Ren seriously analyze the bow, she took off all the noble facets of her for a moment and crouched next to her. her.
-It is made with the skin of a saber-toothed tiger, an S-rank monster.
"Huh, really? But wouldn't it be better to use a skin that is more durable to moisture like the blue mole? S rank.
- Well, that would be under normal circumstances, but you see, they caught one of those tigers in the dungeon and then they put him alive in...
As those 2 entered his world, the narrator got bored of the advanced archery those 2 handled and turned his attention from himself to Kumiko.
Kumiko who was brought here with Amerie was very little surprised that ren knows about hunting, at least in some recipes she used some wild plants, the cooks of the capital do not usually use wild plants in their meals, because here they are not usually cultivated very Following.
after 5 more minutes of useless talk for her who never touched a bow, ren coughed a couple of times and handed the bow back to her then pointed to the branch again, looking at the girls she said to amerie.
"Can you shoot from here?
- Sure, I can shoot even if I'm standing on a rope, but why is it necessary to climb up there?
" Well, I will attract the wolves, and you should aim for the clavicle as fast as you can to those who will come, so as not to ruin the skin when processing it.
eh?, how can I get such precision in a wolf?
Ren held her forehead and helped Amerie to hold on to the same branch, Ren stood behind her and gave her indications that the useless author has no idea about advanced hunting.
(...)
"For now you will practice with squirrels, if you manage to hit at least 3, we will leave it at that, you have a concealment ability, right?
- Of course, a basic one.
"Perfect, first I'll go to Kumiko to get some bait and I'll be back.
After that, Ren jumped off the branch, and with Kumiko, they headed east.
- what do you want to talk about?
" I do not understand what you say.
- Do not play the idiot, what do you want to tell me to bring me here?
"Calm down idiot, well first, we have to get a deer, they should avoid the clan of wolves, as the wolves are to the southeast, we will go to the northwest to look for some animals as bait.
- Understood, but my question is, what do you really want to tell me?
"I guess you know a lot about me now.
-...
"Anyway, I'm not really going for a deer, I'm going to go for wolves and have them come this way, since we're far from camp, if I get them right, I'll be able to make them go even further.
- Um, did you fight a pack of wolves before?
"Sure, it's just staying in control if you're surrounded and being light on your feet.
-...
- ha..., anyway, it's impossible for you to change your mind, I'll go protect amerie in case a wolf notices her, don't let them kill you, ren.
"So the great Kumiko cares for a commoner?
- fuck your ren.
"Hahaha, there is still a long way to go to rot as you say, see you later.
They both went their separate ways as one laughed openly and the other laughed silently at this guy she had to take care of like a brother.
After 15 minutes of traveling through the trees, Ren had already changed his uniform to the outfit he used to go for Akane, he saw a wolf running with a unicorn horn rabbit in his mouth along the way, and he decided to follow him to see if they find his base.
The wolves used a large cave to make their base, Ren knowing that his sword might not be the best weapon in close quarters, decided that he would take them out the traditional way.
He first made some preparations before, and with a silent melody, the future of these wolves was decided.
.
.
.
while ren was preparing his crazy things, in another area, a tired amerie hit the last squirrel.
When he looked back, he noticed that it was just Kumiko sitting on a different branch while she ate an apple.
- Where did Ren go?
She went to lure the wolves to come through here.
- how will do?
-I don't know, she just said to wait.
It- Kind of cruel to keep a lady waiting, hm?
In the distance, Amerie and Kumiko saw smoke coming out, it seemed that a fire started.
When they were about to go see what was going on, Kumiko saw Amerie's long ears twitched, knowing the great hearing ability that elves have, Kumiko took out her shield to be prepared for any possible attack.
A few moments later Kumiko also heard a howl.
Though this howl doesn't seem like it was when a wolf hunts.
After a few moments they saw about 20 wolves running past their tree, some with blood on them, others with their pups in their mouths (alive), but they all had something in common.
They were running as desperately as possible, Amerie didn't have time to figure out why, she grabbed her bow and arrow and started shooting as fast as she could.
After about 20 minutes of waiting, while the 2 girls were gathering the 4 wolves that Amerie managed to kill, they suddenly heard footsteps behind them.
Amerie hurriedly drew her bow and aimed at the mystery she only managed to hear as she made her presence known.
"It's me! Don't shoot, don't be fire-friendly.
Seeing that she was just Ren, Amerie sighed and put her bow away.
- I'm scared ren, can I know what happened?.
"I attracted the wolves as I said, how many did you manage to kill?
Amerie didn't say anything for a few seconds, she felt a little embarrassed to say her number while she kept looking at Ren.
"Miss Amerie?
- managed to kill about 4.
Amerie said at the end proudly, that she tried hard and managed to kill those wolves alone which is something that deserves praise.
"Oh, that's good, adults?
-...
- Of course, do you think it would kill the babies?
"It's not that, I mean if they were already mature adults or maybe young people not yet developed, to have more meat for everyone, I can't make fires often, right?
- I guess you're right, so, now what?
"Now could you please go back to camp? Kumiko and I will skin the meat and come back later.
- as you say.
Ren called out to Kumiko and they both gathered around one of the wolves.
-many?.
" that ?.
- I said how many did you kill?
"Why do you think he killed a wolf?
- because we both know that 4 wolves will not be enough for 58 people.
"Yes, if they reach.
- come on ren, don't make me hit you, tell me how many you killed.
instead of answering, ren looked around, then she told him.
"Kill 15 wolves, should last us at least for tomorrow night.
while she took out 15 corpses from her ring of her, as it is said, the storage ring does not store living things, but she did not say anything about the dead.
Kumiko just sighed and asked Ren for directions on how to process a wolf.
ren grabbed a wolf and opened its neck to drain it of blood while she hung it upside down on a tree with a rope and went to another wolf, which is big, they should have a length of more than 2 m.
While Amerie was on her way, she deactivated her ability, and her ears which were slightly longer than before, returned to normal, she sighed and with the bow, in her hand, she made a decision to avoid being a bit presumptuous when it's about strength.
After 2 hours, around midnight, Ren and Kumiko returned with a deposit each to the boss room.
- So, what will you do now?
"Now I will go with Kara to make weapons, tomorrow, you will have to cook for everyone, take advantage and participate with kiriko, take it as a couple activity.
- Although you know that I would like that more than anything, I ask, what will you do?
"I'll be eating like the others, and if others ask, tell them that Amerie was the one who hunted the food alone, and to join other bow users to hunt on the third day, we should run out of food by then.
- Rather, let Amerie take the credit, right?
"Of course, with her great charisma, it will be a good advertisement for her popularity as the daughter of the matriarch of the elves.
- Whatever you say, boss, I'll pass the information to Amerie, for now, I'm going to call Kara, give me your deposit, and wait here.
" I have a better idea.
Kumiko looked at him strangely for a second, while they laughed at strange bird sounds, a few moments later Kiriko arrived with his sword in hand.
- what happened?
"have.
Ren said as he handed her the deposit he was carrying.
Kiriko thought it was weird, but he noticed when Ren pointed his eyes at Kumiko and gave him a wink.
A few seconds later he realized and remembered something he had said to Ren in the past.
"One of the ways to get acquainted with Kumiko is that if she is sent to carry things as an assistant, help her, but don't be an idiot and carry all the load, with Kumiko's character you will make her angry by making her feel weak.
- but I never wanted that, I just wanted to help.
"For that reason, she is a capable woman, help her with half of her load, so they can walk together.
Remembering those words, Kiriko winked back with the eye that was on Kumiko side who was on Kiriko's side.
Kumiko seeing the idiocy of these men who didn't know how to hide, just sighed and didn't know whether to feel happy that Kiriko cares about her, bitter because she needed an idiot to notice her, or maybe embarrassed because she walked with him. kiriko, even though it's only 120 steps, still.
so as she couldn't make up her mind, her brain gave her all 3 sensations simultaneously and she turned red with a frown.
ren seeing that, he decided that he wouldn't spend energy from her neurons to know what the hell that expression means and let them go while he waited for Kara.
