The next day
Woods outside Axel
Darkness had temporarily joined a small party.
They were clearing out slis that had been stealing food supplies.
"Ahh... finally cleared it all out…"
The party's leader, a young swordsman, flopped onto the ground.
"So weird! All the weak monsters nearby have vanished…"
"But the number of slis hasn't gone down," the party's mage added.
"Well, I'm not complaining. I'll take easy jobs that still pay," the thief girl chid in.
She turned to Darkness and grinned.
"Thanks for attracting those slis."
"Things went way faster thanks to you."
"We'd heard so... rumors before."
"We were kinda nervous about teaming up at first…"
"But we were wrong. Sorry about that."
The three of them bowed apologetically to Darkness.
"Wha?!"
Darkness flailed, waving her hands in panic.
"N-no, it's fine... really…"
She blushed slightly.
Being entangled by slis wasn't exactly unpleasant...
Darkness looked down at one of the sli corpses.
It wouldn't be too bad to keep one as a pet...
"ROAR—!!!"
A sudden roar echoed from deep in the forest.
A massive black saber-toothed tiger stepped out from the bushes.
Everyone's hair stood on end.
"Th-that's the new killer beast—!"
"What the hell is sothing that strong doing here?!"
"Run, now!"
The three teammates turned and bolted.
But Darkness suddenly charged toward the monster, sword in hand.
"Hey hey hey!!!"
"If we all run, we can make it!"
"I'll hold it off!"
She swung her sword down with a gleam in her eyes.
The three froze in shock.
Facing a monster like that for soone you just t?
"Damn… she's such a good person…"
"How could there be weird rumors about her?!"
"I even doubted her... I'm garbage."
The next mont…
The new killer beast slamd its paw down.
Darkness was sent flying.
Her armor cracked, her clothes tore.
"Are you okay—?!" the others shouted.
Darkness slowly stood up.
A wide smile on her face.
"I'm fine… don't worry… just run."
Then she rushed the beast again.
They were stunned.
Too moved to speak.
"No, we can't just sit here."
The leader suddenly rembered sothing.
He pulled out a potion bottle.
"This debuff potion is supposed to work on large monsters!"
"Maybe it'll help!"
He shouted at Darkness.
"Get out of the way—!"
He hurled the potion through the air.
It made a clean arc, aid right at the new killer—
Until Darkness suddenly stepped in the way.
The potion exploded on impact.
Soaking her completely.
Instantly…
Her body was flooded with numbness from head to toe.
And then, suffocation.
"???"
Everyone froze.
They turned to the young man.
"Are your eyes on your ankles or what?!"
"How the hell did you miss that badly?!"
He was speechless.
Spiraling into a pit of self-doubt.
"I... I was aiming... at the monster…"
"How could it miss like that...?"
Darkness gripped her sword, using it to prop herself up.
Her face flushed.
Breathing heavier by the second.
Her smile... grew unsettlingly wide.
"No... I'm fine…"
"Heh... heh heh…"
"I... I'm good… hehe…"
"Eh?!"
Everyone turned toward her.
Darkness was panting.
"Not bad…"
"This situation... this sensation... not bad at all…"
???
Even the dumbest person would realize sothing was off by now.
"W-wait… is it just ?"
"Why does she... look like she's enjoying this?!"
They all exchanged awkward glances.
The killer beast hesitated.
It paced in place, refusing to charge again.
Darkness frowned.
She shouted at it.
"Co on!"
"Drool on ! Bite harder! Push to the edge while I resist, little by little!"
"What are you waiting for?!"
"Don't think I'll stop struggling just because I can't move!"
"Even though it's completely useless now."
"Still... co on!!!"
Killer Beast: "???"
The three adventurers: "???"
For the first ti ever, they saw a monster with a [???] expression.
Eventually, thanks to Darkness's indescribable "bravery"...
The killer beast ran away in fear.
The three behind her swallowed hard.
They looked at each other...
Then at Darkness, who looked disappointed.
Confird.
This Crusader is 100% ntally broken.
---
Adventurer's Guild
At a table…
The young party leader bowed deeply to Darkness.
"We're giving you a little extra reward."
"But... please find another team."
Darkness blinked.
"W-why? I can tank!"
"You don't need to pity !"
The young man shook his head violently.
"No. No no no."
"Please spare us."
As soon as he said it, the whole party fled without turning back.
Darkness picked up the pouch on the table.
Enough for dinner and a night at the inn.
But what about tomorrow…?
She turned to glance at the other adventurers nearby.
"?!!"
Instantly, everyone averted their eyes.
Avoiding her gaze like it was a disease.
Afraid she might cling to them.
Darkness sighed.
She walked toward the quest board.
"I still don't have enough for tomorrow."
"Gotta pick a new quest."
[Investigate the slis appearing in the forest.]
"Slis... should be fine on my own…"
"Let's go with this one."
---
anwhile, in a corner of the guild cafeteria
Chishiya was rubbing his temples.
"ka-ka-ka-ka…"
Across from him, two small girls were devouring their als like starving wolves.
How did he end up raising two food-obsessed brats?
As Chishiya stared blankly...
gumin reached over and snatched his snack.
And imdiately shoved it into her mouth.
"Hey! That was mine!"
gumin munched triumphantly, cheeks puffed.
"Sensei, in a world where the strong prey on the weak, being naive like you is fatal."
"If you want sothing, you take it."
"Right, Rim-chan?"
Rim nodded while chomping down.
"Yummy~, so yummy~"
Chishiya clenched his jaw.
"You two little gluttons…"
(To be continued.)
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