Chapter 12: The result of the unity

‘In truth, I know very well that all of this is meaningless.’

‘I also know very well that he isn’t a man who would easily fall for seduction.’

‘But······.’

‘Even if it’s like this, I want to leave a strong impression on him.’

‘Yes, just hugging him on the first day was far from enough······.’

Elisha quietly smiled to herself.

‘During that time, I diligently memorized the locations of traps in this forest and found the optimal route.’

‘I even perfectly reviewed it through the last regression.’

‘Although he still seems to have no interest in me······.’

‘Just not earning his hatred is enough.’

‘Today.’

‘Using these countless traps, I will definitely make his heart pound.’

****

It was a sight that left me speechless.

“Ah, oh! Help me···!”

“······.”

Elisha, with her body tightly stuck in vines, waved her arms towards me.

This was already the third time.

Yes, this was the third time she had fallen for such a flimsy trap.

Once, it wasn’t even a vine trap, just a well-grown tree branch, but she still got caught too easily···.

It was utterly absurd.

First, as she asked for help, I cleared away the surrounding vines and freed her arm.

Since this was the third time, I gave her a look that meant she should handle the rest herself, but Elisha, as if to show off, shook her vine-wrapped leg.

“It’s too tight, I can’t get it out.”

“This is really···!”

“Hmm?”

“···It’s nothing.”

I, of course, knew that this woman was telling a ridiculous lie.

Where did she sell off the physical abilities that allowed her to lightly swat away the head of a charging Dire Wolf?

She could probably tear through all these vines and get out even with just one hand free.

The other team members, who were keeping watch as per Elisha’s instructions, also had uncertain expressions, as if thinking, ‘Can’t she do that much herself?’

Still, the reason they hadn’t said anything so far was probably because they thought it might be due to their exhaustion from fighting monsters.

After all, no matter what anyone said, Elisha was the one who had made the greatest contribution in combat.

Of course, I knew very well how strong she was.

I had experienced it firsthand when she attacked me before.

If it were the current Elisha, even if she were a little tired, she should normally be able to easily rip through such flimsy vines.

From my perspective, I could only think she was either exaggerating or had some other motive.

No, but seriously. What could she possibly gain from doing such useless things···?

“Hurry and untie me······.”

“Yes, yes.”

At Elisha’s urging, I finally knelt down and placed my hands on the vines wrapped around her leg.

‘They’re not even tied that tightly.’

As I slowly untangled the vines one by one, Elisha suddenly moved her leg.

She lifted her leg, which had regained half its freedom.

When I looked up with a puzzled expression, she spoke with a mischievous smile.

“Oh, how is it?”

“Pardon?”

“Hehe, my leg. Isn’t it softer than you thought?”

“······.”

I tried hard to ignore her and continued to untangle the rest of the vines.

However, Elisha didn’t seem to intend to stop her crazy antics.

“It’s quite soft, you know. If you’re curious···. H-how about you touch it? I’ll only allow you.”

“Th-that’s fin······.”

Before I could even finish my sentence, she used her free hand to pull up her combat uniform pants.

Thanks to that, Elisha’s fair skin on her leg came into full view before me, who was kneeling.

······It was embarrassing.

As I remained silent, she whispered softly.

“Hehe, don’t be shy, you can really touch it if you want.”

“I’m genuinely fine.”

I turned my head, avoided her gaze, and roughly untangled the remaining vines.

Perhaps it tickled, as a small moan escaped Elisha’s lips.

“Heuk!”

“Please bear with it a little, even if it tickles.”

“Uh, okay······.”

Leaving Elisha’s strange smile behind, I continued my work.

The two team members who were keeping watch behind me were sending chilling glares, but I ignored those too.

After finally dismantling all the vines amidst those burdensome gazes, I spoke to Elisha.

“It would be troublesome if a monster suddenly appeared while you’re like this, so please be a little more careful.”

“Alright.”

A sly smile hung at the corners of her lips as she nodded.

It didn’t seem like she intended to listen at all.

Indeed, for Elisha, this Northern Forest wasn’t particularly dangerous.

Since it was originally a place for freshmen’s practical training, weaker monsters appeared compared to other forests, so it could be considered relatively safe.

More than anything, the current Elisha was as strong as Hestia.

How strong Hestia, the Hero, was would soon be known, but to explain a bit more, she was strong enough to continue excellent sparring matches with the combat department’s professor.

In short, she had somewhat surpassed the student level.

Elisha herself must be aware of this, so it was understandable that she was walking around without any tension.

“Ah! Oh no, I got caught again!”

“······.”

“······.”

“······.”

“Help me!”

However, such carelessness sometimes··· invites trouble.

– Kyaaaak!!!

I looked at the giant monkey falling towards me from the branch above Elisha’s head and thought.

‘Even if it’s just to correct the inexperienced Regressor’s mistake, it’s probably right to let this happen, isn’t it?’

– Pow!

****

“Ah······.”

Elisha’s two eyes trembled violently.

At the sudden event unfolding before her eyes, she could only gape, as if unable to believe it.

– Kyaak!

The monkey-like monster that had just sent him flying let out a short cry and then faced her.

“Good heavens···!”

“Elisha, are you okay?!”

Lena and Tiara, realizing the situation belatedly, rushed over.

The monster, facing them as they approached, became highly wary and slowly backed away.

The standoff continued.

Lena gripped her weapon tightly and asked Tiara.

“What is that thing?”

“Barba···. It says it’s a bit trickier than the Dire Wolf we caught earlier.”

Lena, hearing her explanation, swallowed hard and turned her head to the side.

There, Elisha, still wearing a blank expression, was bound by vines.

“Elisha.”

“······.”

“Elisha!”

“······Why.”

“What do you mean, ‘why’···! Snap out of it and get out of there!”

Despite Lena’s scolding, Elisha remained motionless.

Unable to understand why she was acting like this, Lena, feeling frustrated, suddenly looked in the direction Elisha’s eyes were fixed.

There lay someone covered in dirt from head to toe······.

‘Oh right! There was someone else I should be worried about!’

Only then did Lena and Tiara remember the existence of another team member, whom they had briefly forgotten.

“Oh, what do we do?”

“We shouldn’t approach carelessly. If Barba, who’s wary of us, takes an interest in that side, the situation could become even more dangerous.”

Barba seemed to think it had dealt with him in that one attack, as it paid no attention to the direction he had flown.

In fact, he wasn’t moving at all···.

First, they needed to deal with the monster in front of them, and then check on his condition.

Lena met Barba’s gaze directly and spoke to Tiara.

“Tiara, I’ll hold it off for a moment, so hurry and free Elisha first.”

“Understood.”

Answering thus, she carefully retreated and approached where Elisha was tied.

Barba merely remained wary of Lena, who was confronting it, showing no other significant movements.

‘In this gap, quickly······.’

Just as Tiara was about to move.

With a crunch! sound, Elisha instantly broke free from the vines.

“Huh?”

Lena, instead of Tiara who was frozen with a dumbfounded expression, continued speaking.

“What? So you could just get out after all. If you’ve snapped out of it, hurry and help me······.”

– Kyaak!

“Ugh!”

While she was momentarily distracted, Barba swiftly lunged.

Lena, who fortunately dodged the attack just in time, urgently called out to Tiara and Elisha.

“Don’t just space out, hurry up!!!”

“Ah, okay!”

“······.”

However, Elisha’s reply did not come.

Lena, starting to get annoyed by this frustrating situation, fiercely turned her head towards Elisha.

And what met her eyes was···.

“I’ll kill you!!!”

Elisha with an utterly furious expression.

“Elisha, are you ok······.”

Tiara tried to calm her, but her body was already right in front of Barba and···.

– Bang! Kwoaaak···!

With just a single attack, she sent the creature that was about to pounce on Lena flying.

“No way······.”

Lena’s jaw dropped as she watched the monster she had struggled so much with get instantly slammed into a tree.

“You could’ve helped earlier.”

Thinking the situation was over with Elisha’s single blow, Tiara approached her side as she let out a deep sigh and casually put away her weapon.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, more importantly···. Didn’t we forget something?”

“Hmm···? I wonder?”

“There was definitely something important······.”

As the two slowly tried to recall.

“How dare you!”

– Crack!

“In front of me!”

– Thwack!

“Touch him!”

– Crunch!

“You dare?!”

– Bang!

“Die!!!”

– Pop!

Under Elisha’s completely enraged and merciless kicks, Barba’s head finally couldn’t withstand it and burst.

“Haa···. Haa······.”

She breathed heavily, shaking off the blood-soaked leg of Barba.

It wasn’t that she was particularly tired.

She just couldn’t control her anger and was having more trouble regulating her emotions than usual.

Elisha let out a short sigh, “Whew,” and slowly composed herself.

This kind of disheveled appearance wasn’t good.

There was nothing good about showing it to others, and most importantly, he might see her in a bad light······.

‘Th-this isn’t the time for this!’

Elisha immediately ran towards him, who had been struck by Barba’s attack and sent flying.

He seemed completely unconscious, still showing no movement.

“Oh, what do I do···!”

Although no visible injuries were apparent, his appearance, covered in dirt from head to toe, could not be described as normal.

In truth, there wasn’t a single scratch on his body, but to Elisha, who was always worried about him, even the dirt looked like a serious injury.

“I’m sorry······.”

Tears welled up in Elisha’s eyes as she quietly knelt.

She carefully lifted his body and held him in her arms.

“Because of me······.”

Elisha shed tears.

Everything was her fault.

If only she had paid a little more attention to her surroundings···.

If only she had played around a little less···.

He wouldn’t have gotten hurt···.

She had done something foolish just to satisfy her personal desires.

The fact that she had caused him harm due to her carelessness was incredibly heartbreaking.

“Huu, heuk···.”

Behind her, quietly sobbing, Lena and Tiara approached.

They looked at the crying Elisha with bewildered expressions.

“Why is she crying?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Was that man getting hurt really that shocking? I just met him today, do you know who he is?”

“No, I just met him today too. Besides, there aren’t any visible injuries, he just fainted for a moment······.”

Lena and Tiara conversed quietly so that Elisha wouldn’t hear them.

Feigning unconsciousness, I listened to their entire conversation and thought.

‘Well, it wasn’t exactly as intended, but it seems to have worked out somehow.’