According to World’s Eye, there was a natural Elixir somewhere within the woods. It was entirely possible that I’d passed it on a walk, even.
“Hey, Soulgros’s boss. Do you know these woods or something?” Lucil asked me curiously.
I nodded. I’d do my paperwork in these woods from time to time and took walks here on my time off. That was after my adventure with Laladie, of course, as the others had only let me leave our headquarters after that. The thought was troubling, as it made it seem as though I had no true freedom at Yerkchira—though surely that couldn’t be the case. It was also the forest in which Laladie and I had done her walking practice all that time ago, and there was a chance the corpses of the orcs Yuuto and his comrades slew were still there. I made a mental note to avoid that clearing.
More importantly, however, I asked Lucil why he referred to me as “Soulgros’s boss,” of all things. “Master” was a far easier and more comfortable form of address.
Lucil blinked at me. “Huh? I mean, you haven’t told me your name. I thought about calling you Master like Soulgros does, but Apollo’s my master. Doesn’t that make it close enough?”
“Aw, Lucil!” Apollo tossed an arm around the boy’s shoulders, tears brimming in his eyes. “You can be real cute sometimes, y’know?”
“Dammit, get your hands off me!”
Despite his protests, he didn’t seem too offended by the show of affection. They were a close-knit bunch all right.
The way he addressed me still bothered me, though. It didn’t seem like something you’d call a person to their face, and it seemed a little rude to Soulgros herself.
When I voiced my concern to Soulgros, she firmly shook her head. “I rather enjoy it—no, I prefer it.” She continued in a barely audible whisper with a hint of a grin, “It makes me feel as though I am naught but your possession.”
I was unsure how to react to that. Most people would take offense to it for that precise reason, but if she was fine with it, I wasn’t about to argue.
Apollo turned to me. “By the way, you said you knew these woods, right? Any chance you could show us through?”
He moved to put a hand on my shoulder, but Soulgros slapped him away before he could make contact. The other guildmaster staggered back, eyes spinning.
Clearly, I was wrong about Soulgros being more level-headed. We’d lose all the good will we’d accumulated at this point, so I hurried to answer Apollo’s question. I explained that while I knew the forest, I had no idea where we were going, and I didn’t know the place that well.
Pelorro sighed. “Great… Should’ve guessed.”
I apologized, but Soulgros shook her head at me.
“Fret not, Master, thou hast not wronged. If anything, the blame lies with Pelorro and his miserable attitude.”
The scout did a double take. “It what?!”
Ligg shrugged. “Sorry, Pelorro. I’m with her on this one.”
“Yep.” Lucil nodded.
“Guh.” Pelorro drooped.
Soulgros grew closer in an attempt to reassure me. Pelorro seemed resigned, despite his earlier flare of anger. The mood had worsened tangibly, but I felt I had to thank Soulgros for her reassurance nonetheless.
“Perhaps we should focus our search on places Soulgros’s Master hasn’t been yet?” Ligg suggested.
“That’s what I was thinking!” Lucil eagerly seconded.
Soulgros giggled, but in response to my stroking her hair instead of their conversation.
While I doubted Lucil had come to the same solution, Ligg’s suggestion made a lot of logical sense. If I hadn't seen the Elixir, we should logically explore areas I'd never been to—assuming this World's Eye individual could be trusted.
Lucil clapped his hands together. “All right, let’s go get that Elixir!”
With that, he headed right into the woods. That was a little concerning, so I checked with Apollo to make sure he’d be okay.
The leader nodded. “Haha! Believe it or not, the kid’s pretty strong.”
That did little to allay my doubts, and I decided to come clean as to the forest’s dangers. I’d seen groups of orcs here in the past, and while they were fairly weak on their own, they could be quite threatening in groups. I also felt I had to mention the ogres Laladie and I had fought during our last visit. While they weren’t as overwhelmingly dangerous as dragons, they were respectably powerful, and I was unsure Lucil could handle such opponents on his own. Furthermore, I was under the impression that Soulgros and I had been commissioned specifically because of the danger in these woods, and letting Lucil go off alone seemed to contradict that.
With every word, Apollo grew increasingly pale before finally shouting after the boy. “Get back here, Lucil! This place’s dangerous as hell!”
Soulgros snorted. “What fuss over mere orcs and ogres… I see little reason to exercise caution.”
“W-We’re not like you!” Ligg protested. “Orcs are plenty tough for us, let alone ogres!”
Soulgros and I exchanged glances. Surely he was overreacting. I could understand the issue with ogres, but even I could slay the likes of orcs, and Soulgros would barely recognize them as a threat. Nonetheless, Apollo and the rest of their guild hurried into the undergrowth after their youngest member, leaving the two of us alone.
“What an unexpected turn, indeed,” Soulgros mused. “Alone with Master… A kunoichi and a virile young man, shielded from prying eyes by the darkness of the woods…”
She cast me a hopeful glance, but I told her as firmly as I could that nothing would be happening between us. She was like a daughter to me, and I’d long since disposed of my libido. I reminded her that we were there to save poor Lucika’s life, first and foremost. I also asked her to drop the ninja dialect, because her pompous air was negatively affecting our teamwork with the group. The last thing we needed was to appear unapproachable in our quest for help.
“As thou wishe—As you wish.”
Soulgros sighed before continuing under her breath, speaking her thoughts aloud. “I can at least rest assured that he will not lay a finger on those sluts, then. Perhaps a powerful aphrodisiac is in order? I have time, and I doubt we shall find the Elixir by nightfall—rather, that would mean returning to headquarters, and I would like to avoid that. I will devote myself to enjoying this time, then…”
The entire time she muttered, I did nothing but watch her in confusion, unable to figure out what the ninja had in store for our expedition.