Chapter 174

Our attacks weren’t working .

That was, the same as not having any means to go against it .

This forest was always making us go through trials and tribulations .

「Twin Sword Style–『Tempestuous Blade』」

The silver and golden lights flashed so quickly that it could barely be seen .

Even when Asahina-kun drew out both his swords and attacked the monster that Nanase-kun shot out of the sky, it was still unscathed .

「Haaaaaah!!」

Even when Satou-kun agilely swung his sword down, it was simply repelled .

Nanase-kun, who was protecting those in the back, used his wind magic to pin the whale monster onto the ground, but that’s not going to hold up forever .

Neither magic nor physical attacks were effective .

Was this what they mean by there being nothing that could be done .

「Please don’t give up!」

I came to stand in front of the whale monster and frantically raised my shield, protecting Hosoyama-san, Ueno-san, and Waki-kun who was behind me from its attacks .

I couldn’t let the needles, whose tips were shining, which made it obvious that they were coated with poison, touch the three people .

As I was thinking if there was anything that we could do while gradually retreating, suddenly, the figure of a person jumped out from behind me .

「Hosoyama-san!?」

「What are you doing!?」

Ueno-san and I raised our voices, bewildered .

I wonder where she learned to do that, as Hosoyama-san agilely dodged the whale monster’s attacks and gradually approached it .

She seemed to be aiming for something, but what that was, I did not know .

However, Hosoyama-san wouldn’t do anything that was impractical .

Asahina-kun, Satou-kun, and Zeal-san’s eyes widened, startled, and got into formation in order to protect her .

Nanase-kun was concentrating on his magic and didn’t notice, but Zeal-san was now right next to Hosoyama-san, so she should be alright .

However, despite appearances, Hosoyama-san was unexpectedly someone who was assertive and got things done .

It seems that she told the three people her plan, but her voice was too far away for me to hear .

The two people behind me probably couldn’t move like Hosoyama-san did, and currently, we were being one-sidedly attacked by a storm of needles, so the others could focus on attacking .

Either way, we won’t be able to participate, but I wanted to say something .

That was truly bad for the heart .

「Alright, let’s go!」

At Zeal-san’s signal, the three people all simultaneously attacked the monster .

They worked together so that they didn’t get in each other’s way, attacking the same place, and they did so with barely any prior preparations .

The three of them were amazing .

It seems that the statuses of those who were summoned had higher values than those of regular humans, so the one who was amazing was Zeal-san who could keep up with Asahina-kun and Satou-kun .

「Now! Hosoyama!」

Starting from here, I couldn’t see it very well, but most likely, everyone’s attacks focused on one point and opened up a hole .

A hole that was big enough for a woman’s finger to barely slip through .

It seems that the attack was not nullified completely .

Even so, even when a hero, samurai, and knight used all their strength, they only made a small hole, so its strength was not hard to imagine .

And, compared to us who panicked because our attacks were ineffective, Hosoyama-san, who patiently observed and noticed that they weren’t completely ineffective was amazing .

I’ve often heard that women displayed their strength at the last moment, but it seems that it was true .

『Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!!』

As the monster screamed, its attacks grew weaker and weaker, until it stopped .

I kept my shield up, just to be on the safe side, but judging from the rapidly weakening monster, I understood that it no longer had the strength to attack .

Even though I cautioned the two people who timidly came out from behind me, they too approached the monster .

The three people who integrated their attacks and Nanase-kun who had restrained the monster gathered around Hosoyama-san .

What did Hosoyama-san do .

「You stole its life force!?」

Waki-kun’s eye widened in surprise as he stuffed his cheeks with a large piece of meat .

I took a piece from the monster meat that was grilling in the center of the circle that was enough for me to eat and nibbled on it .

Incidentally, this meat was from the whale monster that Hosoyama-san and the others defeated .

The one who suggested that we eat the monster whose meat had become so tender after it died that it could even be cut by a knife was Hosoyama-san, and with her skill, the poison testing was complete .

I was a bit worried, and when I asked her if she could detect slow-acting poisons, she gave a full-faced smile and a firm nod .

I did not have the courage to ask her how she could ascertain that .

Or rather, I didn’t want to know .

I was still unaccustomed to eating the meat of monsters that we defeated, but monster meat was much more delicious than the meat of domesticated animals .

I heard that that was due to the bit of magic power that still flowed throughout the body even after their death .

It’s no wonder that monster meat was frequently being recommended when I went to the Adventurer Guild .

The retired adventurers too generally had a splendid stomach .

「That’s right . It’s the exact opposite of healing, where you give your magic power to others . I saw Yuuki-chan’s dispel magic and came up with it . Unlike magic power, I couldn’t sense it so it was pretty difficult, but I was able to acquire it . The skill『Gluttony』 . 」

Hosoyama-san gave a peace sign and smiled, but the name of the skill was fairly ominous .

『Gluttony』, that meant eating anything and everything, right .

Along with testing for poison, the number of reasons why we couldn’t do without Hosoyama-san increased yet again, but just how far was she going with this .

「I can’t use it if I’m not touching it directly, even more so for those who are strong like the one just now, but if a monster similar to the one from this time appears, please count it as one of the methods of attack . 」

I nodded when I saw the serious look on Hosoyama-san’s face, as that’s what I hoped for as well .

However, it seems that Satou-kun did not agree .

「It turned out well this time, but that doesn’t mean it will go as smoothly the next time as well . Moreover, coming out from behind the shield and not letting Tsuda-kun know, that was suicidal . If he had been distracted by you and loosened his grip on the shield, Tsuda-kun, Ueno-san, and Waki-kun would no longer be here with us . Naturally, if you had made a small miscalculation, you too would’ve died as well . 」

Oya?, I tilted my head in confusion at his unexpectedly harsh words .

According to what I remember, Satou-kun had only ever raised his voice like this when he was with Oda-kun .

It was unusual for Satou-kun, who was always gently smiling, to frown and get angry .

Satou-kun continued to say this to Hosoyama-san who dejectedly hung her head .

「I am the hero, but I’m not omnipotent . I can’t protect everyone . That’s why, if you do it next time, properly get permission for it, and after having someone guard you . I wouldn’t be able to take it if anyone here was gone . 」

「I’m sorry, it was thoughtless of me . 」

「No, if you understand, then that’s fine . Let’s finish our meal . 」

I could see the heat in Satou-kun’s eyes when he looked at Hosoyama-san who bowed her head honestly .