Master’s Smile Chapter 23

"Huooooah!"

The man in heavy armor intercepts one of the orc's deadly blows. It dawns on me that I've been calling the two 'man' and 'youth' this whole time… I guess it wouldn't hurt to call them by their names, at least in my head.

"Haaaah!"

While the orc is still recovering, the light-armored youth cuts it down. The orc's disgusting blood gushes out, clinging to the otherwise beautiful flowers below.

Ooh… So they're at least strong enough to have the leisure of helping others. Not to say that orcs are particularly powerful monsters by any means, but the way they battle makes it clear. We really cut it close. If these people had found out that we were part of a Dark Guild, I doubt they'd let us leave without a fight.

"Longmann-san! Please, retreat if you're injured!"

"Right!"

One of the two girls that had tagged along behind Longmann had called out to him when she noticed his light injuries, courtesy of the former orc. She's wearing a habit, not unlike Anat's own. The design on hers is a little different, though. Thank goodness for that. I don't think my mind could've handled another addition to the Master Cult.

"O Great Angel. Grant him surcease…"

"Alright! Thanks, Mary!"

The girl - Mary, as her name turned out to be - places a hand on the man's wound and closes her eyes. She utters a prayer, and with it comes a warm glow. Longmann's shallow wounds close completely.

…Is that healing magic? Huh… Well, I'm sure she's just holding back. That low level of magic is more than enough for those kinds of wounds.

My mind wanders to one incident where I happened to trip and fall. Anat's face was blood-red at the time, her use of healing magic far too intense. I keep using that as a basis for comparison. Really though, what she'd shown me was amazing. Amazing enough that I sometimes wonder if that much healing magic might be enough to resurrect the dead. It probably isn't, though.

"Huooooh!"

The youth - Yuuto - lets his sword pierce through an orc's throat. Blood jets out, and the orc falls down into the bed of flowers. Orcs are generally known for their vitality, but a fatal wound to the neck is more than enough to keep them down.

"GRAAAAAARGH!"

"d.a.m.n it!"

That's when one of the orcs Longmann's been holding back takes notice of us and starts running. It must have a.s.sumed that the other four were too much to handle, so it had decided to go straight for those who hadn't fought yet. Namely, us.

It's a surprisingly intelligent maneuver for an orc to make, but forget about me for a second. Do you have any idea how strong Laladi is? Well, it doesn't matter. If it comes here, we just have to chase it off. I ready myself, consolidating magic into my hand.

"Earth Bullet!"

"GRUAAARGH?!"

Before I have the chance to fire my magic, however, a ball of earth comes hurtling towards the orc. I turn to look who had fired, and it turns out to be the fourth, and final, member of their group. She'd used magic.

Oh. You saved us. Thank you kindly.

"…"

She pointedly averts her eyes when I impart my thanks. Well… yes, that's not entirely unexpected.

While I, thankfully, can't say the same for the members of my guild, my first meetings rarely go well. Especially when it involves the fairer s.e.x. They tend to avoid me. I wonder why… I always make sure to keep myself clean at all times…

'Ah. She got damaged by Master's super-handsome smile. It's a sure killer for all women who see it.'

Why's Laladi glaring at her now?

"Ah! The last one's getting away!"

With Longmann's voice guiding my gaze, I see a single survivor, an orc who attempts to dash back into the forest. The death of two of its buddies must have made it clear that it can't win this one.

"Well… It doesn't look like we can chase that one."

Yuuto sheaths his blade away, putting a relief to the tension of battle.

Well, you certainly saved our hides. Thank you ever so much.

Yuuto gives me an almost apologetic look when I speak up to the four of them.

"Oh no, we couldn't possibly accept your thanks. We should be apologizing, actually. Those orcs? We were supposed to be fighting them somewhere else entirely. A small group of three got away during the fight. We panicked a little and chased after them, at least until we ran into you."

Oh, I get it now. I thought it was strange than orc would come here out of its own volition. They'd been running away from Yuuto and his party and just wound up in this clearing.

"We can't apologize enough!"

"I can only do the same."

Both Yuuto and Mary bow their heads. Longmann and the remaining girl, on the other hand, don't.

"…"

Laladi. I promise I'm not angry at them, alright? Don't look so annoyed. I know I'm the only one who noticed, but it's just a matter of time before the others pick up on it.

The girl doesn't take her eyes off me, staying vigilant. W-Why…?

Anyhow, I tell them that I take no offense and offer them my thanks in spite of what they'd told me.

"You wouldn't believe how happy that makes us."

"See? I told you we didn't need to apologize!"

"Longmann!"

Haha. Well, it looks like Longmann's a real honest kid. But, while I do believe in the virtue of honesty, I also believe it should have its time and place.

To tell you the truth, Laladi's looking colder by the second. If she gets mad, there's nothing I can do to stop her, alright?

"Hey… What were you two even doing here?"

Oh, the other girl finally speaks up. That makes me a little happy.

"Lala's training herself to walk right. The flowers here are really pretty, so he brought me here."

"Hmm…"

Laladi offers her an answer, but the way the girl looks at her still shows her doubt.

Well… It looks like she's a pretty sharp one.

I have to warn Laladi not to say too much…

Alright then. I might as well ask what they're doing in this place.

"Oh, see, we got this request. We're heading for a village that's just outside this forest. We just happened to run into orcs along the way…"

And then they chased those that got away and met us, did they?

"Um… If you don't object, how would you like to join us on our way to the village? It's just that I can't leave you here with a good conscience… These forests are crawling with all kinds of monsters. We can protect you from them. It's our way of saying sorry…"

Yuuto looks timid when makes his proposition.

H-Hmm… I can already understand that he's the type who has a really strong sense of duty, but I'd be lying if I said this isn't a bit of a mixed bag.

Our guild is a bit removed from the village they were heading towards; I'm sure it is. And there aren't any monsters in this place that Laladi, or even I, can't handle. Their protection's really unnecessary; we can just as easily go from one end of the forest to the other out of our own accord.

I'm really tempted to say no. But…

"What do we do…? Should Lala just make one of those plants? The one with drugs that make people's heads go, like, 'daddaradaaa'…?"

Laladi clings to me and begins to whisper. Well… I'd say that's definitely going too far.

And what does that even mean, 'daddaradaaa'? What kind of poisonous plants do want to make them stick their noses into?

My mindset on protecting these four from her wrath, I graciously accept Yuuto's proposal.