Naught

Seeing how Cairn did battle, Elizabeth felt equal parts bewildered and awed. She had met others who didn't fear death, but Cairn's particular brand of 'recklessness' was something to behold...

"Liza, focus!" shouted Johnathan, freeing the dark-haired swordswoman from her daze just in time for her to react to the charge of a human-sized Glooming Harpy from her left. The imminent death of their Abbess would have caused a smaller group to scatter, but when there were hundreds of monsters in a group, it was normal for a few to be desperate and starving, forcing them to behave differently.

Slipping past the claws of the Glooming Harpy, Elizabeth sliced through its torso and wing, tearing through the latter with her momentum. Blood ended up staining her hair, face, and clothes, but she didn't so much as flinch as she transitioned from a sweeping motion to a precision stab into the base of a second Glooming Harpy's elongated throat.

"Chain Lightning...!" shouted Leona, sending thick tendrils of blinding, bluish-white electricity through the bodies of several Glooming Harpies. The attack wasn't strong enough to kill them, as she was making use of [High-Speed Casting] to reduce the Spell's Mana cost and potency, but since the Harpies lacked resistance to Lightning Damage, it was virtually guaranteed to stun them.

Briefly breaking formation, Yuuna used [Charge] to close the distance with one of the stunned Harpies. Then, as the muscles in her arms and thighs flexed, causing the fabric of her trousers to strain, she swung her longsword like a bat, using the flat of her blade to send the Harply flying into its allies with a "Hyap~!"

With several Harpies grouped up, Leona grabbed her staff with both hands before slamming its pointed base into the ground, shouting, "Earth Spike...!" at the top of her lungs. Skipping the chant reduced the power of a Spell tremendously. However, by channeling excess Mana into it, Leona was able to skewer the Harpies with several spear-like spikes of hardened dirt and soil.

"That's...what you get...!" panted Leona, sweat beading from her brow as exhausting Mana had similar effects to depleting one's stamina. She was also suffering from the effect of the Glooming Harpies' silent song, so the lower her Mana, the more difficult it became to stay focused and resist its influence.

Taking advantage of Leona's diminished capacity, one of the Glooming Harpies observing the battle from a canopy swooped down as silent as an owl to grasp her by the shoulders with its three-taloned feet. Leona cried out in pain as the opportunistic creature attempted to flee into the air with her in tow, but Johnathan reacted timely, jamming his axe into the head of one Harpy before twisting his body and drawing the dismantling dagger at his waist, throwing it in a smooth arc that saw the blade embedded to the hilt in the second Harpy's diaphragm.

"Let go of Leo...!" shouted Yuuna, swinging her sword in another wide arc, this time empowered by her [Sweeping Rend]. The activation of the Skill caused a bluish-white light to gather along the blade's edge, and when it was swung, a roughly crescent-shaped blade of energy shot out, sailing swiftly through the air and slicing the Glooming Harpy in two.

Falling several meters, Leona crashed to the ground with a painful thud. Fortunately, the pain helped her remain conscious, buying her time to reach for one of the potions she was entrusted to carry, only to find that most had broken by the fall.

Reaching Leona's side, Yuuna grabbed one of the few intact potions and immediately emptied its contents onto her friend's body. A hissing sound filled the area as heat and mist exuded from her body like steam, but the puncture wounds in her shoulders closed within seconds.

Before Leona could offer her thanks, Johnathan shouted, "The fight's not over!" as he sliced the throat of a Glooming Harpy attempting to sneak up on Yuuna, resulting in all three of them being showered with blood. Yuuna didn't bat an eye to this, but Leona, having surpassed her limits, entered a state of wide-eyed shock as she began to hallucinate, darkness creeping into her vision as the sound of pained wails permeated her mind.

"What's happening with Leona!?" shouted Elizabeth, joining her brother to form a defensive line with Leona and Yuuna at their backs.

"I'm not sure!" Yuuna replied, her voice loud but her expression a mask of calm as she gave Leona a few light smacks to try and break her out of her stupor. Her [Blessing of the Harvest], [Resilience], and [Heroic Grit] all had components that allowed her to remain composed in even the direst of circumstances, so among everyone present, she was the least affected by the Glooming Harpies' mentally corrosive song.

Peering back to get a look at Leona's blank expression, Elizabeth's hold on her sword tightened, her teeth clenching as she started to doubt her decision to face the Harpies directly. While Cairn's words were certainly 'logical,' willfully exposing her Party members to danger-

Before Elizabeth's doubts could take root, a veritable beam of purple-black flames swept through the area, slicing through several trees and more than a dozen Glooming Harpies. Then, appearing without a scratch on him, Cairn dropped down next to Yuuna and Leona, grinning as he pulled out a vial of glowing blue liquid and said, "Here, use this. Force it down her throat if you have to."

Though she was briefly stunned by Cairn's sudden appearance, Yuuna recovered quickly and smiled, accepting the potion as she said, "I'll do just that," before surprising him as she emptied its contents into her own mouth. Instead of swallowing, however, she forced Leona to lean back before bringing her lips to the stunned Mage's, forcing her to ingest the potion.

Blinking back to awareness, Leona's pupils contracted as her hazel eyes widened to their limits. She instinctively tried to pull away, but Yuuna was far more powerful than she was. As a result, all she could do was struggle in vain as the 'tyrannical' swordswoman's tongue invaded her mouth until she was forced to swallow several times.

Separating from Leona after nearly a full minute, Yuuna licked her lips clean before asking, "Feeling better?" with an unabashedly warm smile. Leona's face was bright red, but since she did, in fact, feel much better, she extricated herself from Yuuna's embrace and rose to her feet without lashing out or responding verbally. Instead, she looked around for signs of remaining Harpies, but even those on the periphery had fled in fear of Cairn's [Darkness Dragon's Breath].

"You good...?" asked Cairn, setting his [Ookami's Visage] to invisibility mode to reveal a raised right brow and a slightly concerned expression. Then, as the tell-tale aroma of ammonia reached his nose, he summoned the Interspatial Pouch to his hand and said, "There's a small bathhouse at the back of the cottage. You have my permission to use it."

"Thanks..." muttered Leona, her head and shoulders slumping sulkily as she entered the Interspatial Pouch without further comment. She felt obligated to thank Cairn for his consideration and the fact he had used something as valuable as a Mana Potion to help her recover. However, as he was the one to suggest they confront the Glooming Harpies head-on, another part of her wanted to jam her staff so far up his ass that he could taste it...

Passing his gaze over the blood-soaked Yuuna and Elizabeth, Cairn gave a curt nod and added, "The two of you should also go and wash up. We'll discuss equipment maintenance and other stuff once you're done."

"Thank the Goddess..." expressed Yuuna, her words coming out as a sigh of relief. However, before entering the Interspatial Pouch, she adopted a smile, staring directly at Cairn as she asked, "Will you be joining us~?" in a curious tone.

"Tempting, but I'll have to pass," said Cairn, shifting his gaze to Johnathan as he explained, "I might be a hypocrite, but I try not to be. I wouldn't be comfortable with John here sharing a bath with any of my companions, so I'll abstain from intruding on you and yours."

Shouldering his large, hatchet-like ax, Johnathan plainly remarked, "Your concern is unnecessary. I know when to keep my distance, so even if you permitted it, I had no intention of sharing a bath with anyone."

"Maybe, but you hopefully won't be the last guy that joins or accompanies my group in the future," said Cairn. "The cottage and the area around it is meant to be restricted to me and my women. I'm only letting the girls use the bath as a reward and because I feel guilty seeing them caked in blood because of my suggestion."

Leaving Cairn a little speechless, Yuuna touched her chin with her right index finger and asked, "Does that mean that if I become your woman, I can use the bath and other facilities whenever I want?"

"If so, I would also like to become your woman," chimed Elizabeth, her expression and tone making it clear she wasn't kidding around. She did her best not to complain, regardless of the circumstances, but if she had to choose between sleeping in a well-furnished cottage and roughing it outdoors, she would readily choose the former.

Adopting a wry smile, Cairn remarked, "You know, there are limits to how shameless and opportunistic you can be..."

"If you're worried about my mother, please, be at ease," said Elizabeth. "While it is true that she tasked me and my sisters with approaching and entraping you, I have decided to follow my own path. With Lady Restia as my witness, I swear I will never betray you. My only desire right now is to become as strong as possible before the situation in Cliabhaan escalates out of hand."

"And I just think you're really handsome," said Yuuna, staring at Cairn and smiling without a hint of deception in her clear, silver-grey eyes. In truth, she was just horny after an exciting fight, and since Johnathan refused to sleep with anyone close to his sister, Cairn was her only real option if she wanted a man.

Closing his eyes and exhaling a faintly exasperated sigh, Cairn shook his head and said, "For now, just go wash up. John and I will take care of the loot items."

"Before we depart, there's something I want to ask..." said Elizabeth, her expression becoming serious as she asked, "Were any of us able to obtain the mental resistance you referred to...?"

Activating his Insight, Cairn passed his gaze over the trio before shaking his head and revealing, "No, but, to be fair, neither did I. However, since I never really felt like I was in danger, I'm not too surprised. You usually have to endure something similar to what Leona went through to obtain resistance-related Talent. Things like [Fire Resistance] are much easier to acquire since you can literally just set yourself on fire..."

"Then...once we return...please permit me to petition Lady Sera for her assistance..." said Elizabeth, her obsidian-black eyes shimmering with a fierce determination. The thought of burning herself wasn't pleasant, but while she didn't doubt Cairn's claims, she needed proof that his methods could bear fruit. There was a very real possibility it only applied to him, so before she requested Johnathan, Yuuna, and Leona to endure something similar to what they had just experienced, she needed confirmation they wouldn't be suffering for naught.

Acknowledging Elizabeth's conviction, Cairn nodded approvingly and replied, "Sure. Just don't push yourself too hard all at once. Developing Resistances is similar to honing your swordsmanship. You need to take things step by step and have the proper mentality. Without it, you won't suffer for nothing, but your progress will be much slower."

"I understand," replied Elizabeth. Then, alongside Yuuna, she made her way into the Interspatial Pouch. In their absence, an awkward silence fell between Cairn and Johnathan, but as was often the case with men, they didn't need to speak to understand that neither was really thinking about anything. Instead, they just exchanged nods before splitting up to collect the items dropped by the Glooming Harpies, loitering for about an hour to ensure the girls would be finished with their bath before they entered the Interspatial Pouch themselves...

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