There was also the ambush stationed in the forest to my right. If it made its move before I could move my group to the left, there wouldn’t be much I could do with my level of athleticism. In other words, getting them behind me so I could act as their shield was our best option. Finally, I asked them to move naturally so as not to alert the ambush party. The last thing I needed was for Team Ambush to see what I had in mind and lose us the advantage.
“Nemaki…” Mr. Chotos had noticed something off as my tone was unusually forceful. He remained silent the whole time he shifted to my left.
Now I would have to take the full brunt of any attack. This wasn’t a particularly strange position, I thought. It just looked like I was being a responsible bodyguard-for-hire.
I monitored the movement of my party with my heightened senses and waited for them to get into position. Now I just had to convince Gol to act.
I whispered into Gol’s ear, “I noticed the ambush to our right, too. It’s fine. Even if they attack us, I’m sure I can handle them myself.” I showed her a glimpse of the Earth Battle-Axe in my sleeve. So, Gol, I need you to wipe out the enemies in front of us.
Gol was clever, so I was confident she would understand. In the worst-case scenario, where my true identity was revealed and I had to use a sorcery attack, even a peaceful, cultured man like me could probably at least buy some time for Gol to defeat the enemy and return.
While that might have been the case, I didn’t think my abilities could do much to the enemy’s heavy-class golem. After all, NTR had practically no effect on golems. Even my sorcery attacks hadn’t been able to scratch the main body of the ancient Earth Dragon, despite all those shots I rained down on it. All told, I was less than reliable.
But if I worked hard and kept focused, I figured I should be able to at least provide some support—like perhaps tripping the heavy golem. I would perform to the best of my abilities with the cards dealt to me.
I also hoped a huge golem wouldn’t be able to run fast or well through the forest. A slow golem would give me more time to adjust my plan before it reached us.
“You got it, Gol?”
Gol wavered, hesitant. She was so worried about me that she didn’t want to leave. She had been like this since our first encounter with the monkeys.
“It’s fine. Trust me,” I said as I stared directly into Gol’s eyes.
Gol remained conflicted. Her eyes flickered restlessly. It appeared her desire to grant my request wrestled with her desire to not separate from me.
No? Was it no good? Normally, this would be the emotional scene where I gave her the determination to fight… However, I really did understand her feelings. I had a damning track record.
“Relax. I’m your partner, right?” I spoke in the most gallant and honest tone I could muster.
Gol looked delighted as she stared at me. But her eyes also wavered, and she clung to my sleeve. She showed absolutely no signs of leaving.
That was strange. I would’ve thought that by now our friendship and mutual trust would have been reaffirmed and the fight would start. Anyway, I wouldn’t be discouraged; I continued my attempt to persuade her.
“Hey, have you forgotten, partner? I’m the man who defeated a dragon, remember?”
Well, now that I thought about it, that win might have been a fluke of beginner’s luck. Furthermore, at the time, I had become strangely furious and lost myself. If I were told to defeat the ancient Earth Dragon the same way again, I would declare it 100 percent impossible.
However, Gol unexpectedly accepted this statement. For a moment, she seemed to agree with me.
Oh? Did that work?
I had high hopes, but it seemed Gol immediately reconsidered and grabbed my sleeve again. Augh, it really was no good. Even I didn’t think I had been very persuasive just then. This was bad. My usual uselessness and Gol’s overprotectiveness made it extremely difficult to progress.
“It’s really all right, Gol. Just relax, okay? Can you trust me? If I think it’s dangerous, I’ll, um, make sure to run away…”
Gol heard my request, but her eyes couldn’t focus due to all her distress and conflicting feelings. In fact, her eyes were turning blue, like she was crying. The white hand grabbing my robe began to tremble. It didn’t seem like she would ever let go now.
What could I do? This was an utterly different development from what I’d expected. Perhaps I had misread Gol’s overprotectiveness. Far from dramatically and efficiently persuading my partner, the more I talked, the more I triggered Gol’s maternal instincts, further bogging down the situation.
At this rate, it was going to get bad.
I steeled myself. If possible, I didn’t want to use this move, since it wasn’t a very good method for training. But human lives were on the line. I had no more options. This was my last resort.
I softly whispered in Gol’s ear: “If you do well, I’ll wipe all over your body tonight as a reward.”
Gol’s beautiful profile slowly and quietly turned to face our enemies. Her crimson eyes burned with the fierce, scarlet flame of war, and her angelic, snow-white limbs shone with the weight of divinity as an intense pressure rolled off her entire body. Her majestic appearance resembled that of an alabaster war goddess descending to the battlefield.
Yeah, so… I knew this from my experience with owning a dog. Dogs will throw away every last drop of pride for the right reward.
Gol took a powerful step forward, and each step that followed overflowed with clarion determination.
“Don’t kill them,” I said, just in case. “We need them as witnesses to the crimes of the Paisley Company.”
It didn’t seem like she heard me as she moved in front of me, light and graceful as the breeze.
Hmm…I wonder if she really understood.
This marked the end of a difficult meeting with my partner. At last, the curtain rose on the battle against the Four Jester Wielder, Ginem Bari.