Honestly, it seemed like Sae’s real intention wasn’t to comfort Kaho so much as to kick her while she was down. Kaho could easily have been mistaken for an elementary schooler; a small growth spurt wouldn’t have helped her much at all.
“Ugh. The truth should not always be spoken aloud,” said Kaho. “I wish I were at least as tall as Yuki...”
Since her name had been brought up, Yuki tried to comfort Kaho too. “D-Don’t worry, it’s what’s on the inside that counts!”
Kaho just stared at her. “We realized earlier that we are no match for your party. I mean in that regard too.”
“O-Oh, um, just play to your strengths!” said Yuki.
“Strength itself is my only strength,” said Kaho. “I don’t imagine I could take out an insurance policy in this world?”
“I-Insurance policy?” Yuki thought about it, not making eye contact with Kaho, and then seemed to hit on an idea. “You mean something like a Nao general insurance policy?”
“Wait, what?!”
At the same time I reacted, Haruka said, “Hold on, Yuki.”
I knew I could count on my fiancée to help me out in times of need! Please scold her on my behalf, Haruka!
“In this context, you mean a Nao life insurance policy, not a Nao general insurance policy.”
Huh? No, that’s not the point, Haruka!
“I believe both you and Yuki are both missing the point here, Haruka,” said Natsuki.
Whew, I knew I could count on you to have some common sense, Natsuki! Please correct them on my behalf!
“The purpose of the plan as you described it is to provide mutual aid, so I believe that something along the lines of ‘Nao-kun fraternal insurance policy’ would be a more fitting name. What do you all think?”
Really? I can’t count on Natsuki either? Damn it! What can I even say here?
“Mutual aid, you say?” said Kaho. “C-Can I opt in to that policy, then? How much is the premium?”
“Uh, well, I guess it’d cost you...the rest of your life,” said Yuki.
“That’s way too costly!” I said hastily. “Or rather, don’t opt in to something like that, Kaho!”
I had no intention of being forced to take responsibility for someone else’s life, but Kaho gasped as if she’d just realized something, then looked at me and scratched her head.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry about this,” said Kaho. “It’s just that I’m rather ill at ease when I think of what challenges await me in the offing...”
“It’s still way too early to panic about stuff like that,” I said. “Also, the one bear-type beastman I’ve seen was the size of an actual bear, so maybe fox-type beastgirls are all around your size and you’ll be able to find a fitting partner eventually.”
I was willfully ignoring the fact that Kaho had been very petite even during our time back on Earth, but she just pouted.
“Well, most people take for granted that fox-type beastwomen ought to be mature and sexy, don’t they?”
“Well, yeah, that’s probably how people back in our world would picture something like a nine-tailed fox,” I replied. “I think those are kind of a different deal, though—they’re almost more in the category of monsters.”
“You make a compelling point,” said Kaho. “At any rate, it’s rather awkward for someone like myself to admit this, but I find it difficult to believe that all fox-type beastfolk without exception are cute young boys and girls. I suppose I should simply be grateful that I was able to obtain the Extremely Attractive Appearance skill.”
“Yeah, exactly,” I said. “You’re very cute as is, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Kaho nodded. “O-Oh, I’m glad to hear that.”
She turned forward again and approached the dead mind viper. As she prepared to gut it, she murmured something that sounded like “Let’s finish this so we can move on.”
Whew. I somehow managed to get myself out of that mess. Sure, they were probably all just joking, but I’m not going to take any risks!
“Um, Yuki can I opt in to that insurance policy too, just in case of emergencies?” Yoshino whispered.
“Oh, I would love to opt in as well,” said Sae.
“Sure, both of you can feel free to join,” Yuki whispered back. “It’s always a good idea to prepare for the worst. All you need is to pay a preliminary deposit, and then we can discuss the details at a later date.”
Uh, something about the way she said that really does remind me of a shady insurance salesman, but I’m sure I’m just imagining things.
“Yoshino, Sae, aren’t you two going to go help Kaho?” said Touya. “Your party can take that viper back with you and sell it. Let’s get a move on here!”
Yoshino’s face glowed with joy. “Really? Thanks!”
But then she suddenly nodded to herself as if she had realized something important.
“Oh, right. We used to have to toss things we could have sold all the time because we couldn’t physically bring them back with us, but now we don’t have that problem anymore.”
“Let’s get this over as fast as we can, Yoshino,” said Sae. “The sun will set if we keep dawdling.”
A bind viper could fetch a few dozen gold coins back in Laffan. Naturally, the monsters in these woods increased in value proportionate to their strength. Perhaps realizing that fact, Yoshino and Sae hurried to join Kaho.
★★★★★★★★★
The next few battles confirmed Sae’s claim that the girls didn’t have much experience as adventurers. They fought monsters that were resistant to physical attacks, monsters that used magic, monsters that were hard to notice until they were really close, and even giant spiders. We were standing behind them the entire time, ready to bail them out if needed. We hadn’t provided them with any detailed information about the enemies they would be facing, and they seemed surprised every time they encountered something new. There were some scary moments in which it seemed like it would be necessary for us to intervene. Still, every time, their high-level skills won the day, but even that was only possible thanks to Yoshino’s healing magic.
They had to slow down in order to keep a closer eye on their surroundings than they had before, but if they wanted to explore the Summer Resort Dungeon on their own eventually, they had to be able to get through these woods. They seemed to understand this themselves; as they continued to fight on the front line, they didn’t complain about the lack of help from us. We finally reached the open area in front of the dungeon. Fatigue was clearly visible on their faces, but now that they could finally relax a bit, they all smiled.
“O-Oh, have we at last arrived at our destination?!” asked Kaho.
“Whew, I’m glad we made it,” said Yoshino. “This area sure ended up being more difficult than I expected.”
“Yes, it’s easy to understand why so few people come here,” said Sae. “I assume most adventurers couldn’t make it here alive.”
Although this area was more open than the woods, it wasn’t as safe as they were assuming. Still, I had no intention of scolding them. I couldn’t detect any enemies nearby, and Jade Wings had worked hard both at combat and at gutting monsters. They had earned the right to rest.
“You did quite well,” said Haruka. “We were a bit worried initially, but it seems that you’ll probably be able to fend for yourselves just fine.”
“Really? I hope so,” said Yoshino. “A party of three is definitely a bit too small.”
“It definitely is,” said Yuki. “The ideal number of people in a party kinda depends on what work you want to do, but a few more members wouldn’t hurt. I dunno if it’ll be that easy to find new members, though. You for sure won’t be able to find anybody in Laffan who’s as strong as you, so that’s one big problem.”
✦ ✦ ✦
