“Walking through the woods like this brings me back to my days as an adventurer,” Rosalia mused.
“Y-you really are incredible, you know that?” I panted.
“Wh-why is she even a maid?” Astesia groaned.
We were both out of breath as we followed Rosalia through the woods. There wasn’t so much as a game trail here, so it was taking a toll on us physically. I’d been working out lately, but I looked pathetic next to a former adventurer like Rosalia.
Astesia, could you please not secretly heal yourself? That’s so unfair.
“Kew, kew!” Unlike us, White was cooing happily. Looking at him was enough to put a smile on my exhausted face.
“At least you’re in a good mood, White,” I said.
Astesia giggled. “Divine Beasts love nature.”
I swear, just having him here makes me feel like I’m being healed.
Anyway, it would all be worth it when we found what we were looking for. “I’ve never had shroomboar before,” I said. “I’m excited to try it.”
“Well, they’re considered to be a high-class delicacy,” Rosalia said. “You are as impressive as ever, Lord Weiss. It’s incredible that you know where to find the famous shroomboar. They’re so rare that even the Adventurers’ Guild struggles to locate them consistently.”
“Kew, kew!”
I smiled and played it off. “Yeah, well, I have some connections…”
It’s not like I could tell her that I knew from the game that shroomboars were monstrous boars covered in mushrooms that absorbed nutrients from the boar itself.
More importantly, shroomboars were delicious. The mushrooms themselves were tasty, of course, but in addition, those mushrooms also sent signals to the boar’s brain that made the animal eat only plants. This meant that shroomboar meat lacked the gamey smell expected from this kind of creature. Its fat was also uniquely sweet, and that light flavor apparently made it easy to just keep eating.
Long story short, it was a top-tier food.
“Sorry to drag you both out here like this,” I said to the girls. “As thanks, you’ll be the first ones to try some when the time comes, okay?”
“Please don’t apologize,” Rosalia said, beaming. She loved to help. “Shroomboars are not particularly powerful monsters, which means other creatures typically kill them the moment they’re spotted. They have to live in places cut off from the outside world in order to avoid such a fate. Besides, as your personal maid, I will follow you wherever you go.”
“And I’m your priestess,” Astesia added. “If you go somewhere dangerous, of course I’m going to come with you.”
“Right. Thanks, girls…”
I suddenly felt tears forming in my eyes. I was curious why Astesia emphasized her position as my priestess like she was competing with Rosalia, but that didn’t matter. I was just happy that they cared about me so much. White cooed and licked my cheek to remind me that he was with me as well, so I gently rubbed his head.
After walking for a while longer, a cliff came into view. From afar, I could see an area with a massive stone sticking out of the ground, covered in greenery.
“There. That’s where the shroomboar is,” I said.
“Okay. How are we getting there? We don’t have any rope,” Astesia pointed out.
“That’s a good question,” I replied, prompting her to shoot me a cold look.
This isn’t my fault! In the game, my little sister, Firis, uses levitation magic to get there. I didn’t think it would be so high up!
A complaint that had to remain in my head, unfortunately.
“Sorry, talk about being unprepared,” I said instead. “If we buff our physical skills with magic, maybe we can get there?”
“Fear not,” said Rosalia with a little laugh. “I can climb this, no problem. Vines of ice, open my path forward!”
“Wuh?”
Before I could get a full question out, Rosalia cast her magic and created icy vines that ran up the cliff like a ladder.
“Oh, awesome!” I said. “We’ve got a way up!”
“I’m your personal maid, Lord Weiss. This is nothing.” Rosalia giggled.
“Huh…”
They looked cold to the touch, but at least we had a way to climb up now. Rosalia seemed proud of her creation, but Astesia wore a more conflicted look on her face as she stared at the ice vines.
“I can support you too, you know,” she said. “I’ll buff your physical abilities and make them easier to climb.”
“In that case, buff my magic instead,” I told her. “I have an idea.”
“Sure, but…”
Astesia looked puzzled, so I shot her a smile. Unlike in the game, I could use magic outside of combat. Rosalia had reminded me of that just now.
“Ladies, hold on tight! Heed my words, shadow hand!”
Two arms emerged from my shadow and grabbed onto the icy tendrils. Now none of us would have to get our hands cold.
“Amazing, Lord Weiss!”
“Huh, not bad.”
Both young women wrapped their arms around me, impressed by my work…
Grah! They’re so soft!
I could feel Astesia’s heavy breasts pressed up against me, and though Rosalia was covered in armor, her sweet scent certainly wasn’t helping my ability to focus. But…right now, I was in the body of my fave! The Weiss I knew wouldn’t act desperate in the face of a fanservice event like this!
Screaming internally, I used my shadow hands to climb the cliff.