A Different Kind of Back

“Have a good night! Brother Jin-sang! Sister Luna!”

“Yes, good night.”

“G-good night.”

After finishing our meal, we parted ways with Ms. Physique in a cheerful atmosphere.

Then, as Luna-noona and I returned to the inn and were about to enter our respective rooms to sleep:

“J-Jin-sang!”

“Yes? What is it?”

“W-well, you know, t-that…”

Luna-noona tightly gripped the fabric near her stomach and hesitated for a moment.

Having spent a long time with Luna-noona, I knew what this meant.

That was the gesture she made when gathering courage to say something important.

So I didn’t rush her and quietly waited for Luna-noona to speak.

Then.

Whoosh! Luna-noona hugged me.

“L-Luna-noona!?”

I felt the softness of Luna-noona’s plump chest and her soft rabbit ears tickled my cheek.

“I-I too! A-always a-appreciate you h-healing me! T-thank you, J-Jin-sang!”

Could it be?

Did she think she should do this after seeing Ms. Physique hug me in gratitude earlier?

If that’s the case…

Thank you, Ms. Physique!

I’ve had another good experience.

H-hehehe…

No, more importantly!

I shouldn’t just stand still.

“L-Luna-noona…”

“Y-yes!”

I stretched out my arms and hugged Luna-noona back, saying:

“I should be thanking you for being in a party with me! I look forward to our continued partnership!”

“Ah… Y-yes! L-looking forward to it! J-Jin-sang!”

In this way, Luna-noona and I strengthened the bond between party members.

“…”

“S-shall we separate now?”

“Y-yes!”

Whoop! Luna-noona and I parted from each other.

Luna-noona’s face was red, and she was shifting her gaze around.

Well! I was doing the same!

“G-goodnight!”

“Y-yes! G-good night, Jin-sang!”

Luna-noona and I simultaneously entered our rooms with a bang!

And.

That night.

I had a very happy-happy night time with two very good side dishes.

◈

The next day.

In the morning, we met Ms. Physique at the training ground as usual.

“Brother Jin-sang! Sister Luna! Good morning!”

“Good morning, Ms. Physique.”

“G-good morning, Ms. Physique.”

“Yes! Ah! Brothers and sisters! I have a request before we exercise!”

“What is it?”

“Please come with me to pick up my dumbbells!”

Following Ms. Physique’s request, we headed to Ferguls’s blacksmith shop.

“Welcome, Physique. Hmm? My benefactor and his companion came along too.”

“Hello.”

“H-hello.”

“Here are the dumbbells you requested. I’ve doubled the weight from before, so you’ll enjoy your workout.”

“Really! Thank you!”

Ms. Physique received the dumbbells and repeatedly lifted them a few times!

“Ohhh! This heavy feeling! It’s wonderful!”

“Of course. Look who made them.”

After receiving the dumbbells, on our way back to the training ground.

“Hey! Customer Jin-sang!”

The dwarf who had made Luna-noona’s dagger,

Mr. Jelbon, called to us from in front of his shop.

“Hmm? What is it?”

When I approached and asked, Mr. Jelbon smiled and said:

“I’ve finished repairing the dagger, so come and get it!”

“Oh! Already?”

I thought it would take until lunchtime.

“Hahaha! Seeing the Master recover so well, I was overflowing with motivation! The work went very smoothly!”

“Is that so?”

“It’s all thanks to Customer Jin-sang!”

“That’s good.”

But are you using that title on purpose?

“Luna-noona, here you go!”

I received the dagger and handed it to Luna-noona.

“Y-yes!”

Luna-noona took the dagger and drew it from its sheath.

“Wow… it’s s-sparkling!”

“Of course! A freshly maintained blade is naturally beautiful, hahaha!”

“T-thank you!”

“No need for thanks! A craftsman naturally produces excellent results as requested! Please visit again next time!”

Having fortunately retrieved the dagger while following Ms. Physique to get her dumbbells, we returned to the training ground in good spirits.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

“Heugh! Huff! Hugh!”

“Aah! What a fulfilling moment! Training together with companions is truly a happy thing!”

We trained intensely.

And I appreciated the healthy bodies of Luna-noona and Ms. Physique as they sweated profusely.

Hehehe.

◈

After finishing training.

After having a meal together, we decided to go on a quest right away.

The first quest for our party, though temporary, with Ms. Physique was:

-Kieeeeek!

-Kgek kgek!

Goblin subjugation.

Since Gallio is a rocky region, we walked for quite a while and arrived at the goblin habitat.

“Brother Jin-sang! Why goblin subjugation?”

“Hmm~ It just felt like a golden rule for a first quest?”

“Golden rule?”

“It means something standard!”

“I see!”

“Actually, it’s not just that, teamwork is important too! It’s about seeing how well we can coordinate!”

“I understand!”

When Ms. Physique immediately understood, I promptly climbed onto Luna-noona’s back.

“Heave-ho!”

“Are you riding on the back this time too?”

“This way I can move quickly and provide healing!”

“Aha! I understand!”

“We’ll hunt a few, so please subjugate some too, Ms. Physique!”

“Understood!”

“Let’s go, Luna-noona!”

“O-okay!”

Tadadadadak!

Luna-noona immediately charged toward the goblins.

Honestly, for mere goblins, even without using techniques:

Shashashak!

-Kgeeeeeek!

Just moving quickly was enough to defeat several goblins.

Of course, it consumed stamina, so I cast Stamina Heal after defeating the goblins.

“Wow! You’re really fast, Sister Luna! Then it’s my turn to shine! Yahooooo!”

Looking back, Ms. Physique was running toward the goblins we had deliberately left.

-Kgyaaaaaaak!

Even the goblins, determined not to die, fearlessly swung their clubs at Ms. Physique.

But Ms. Physique easily dodged the goblin’s club, then:

“Holy Punch!”

Bueeeeeeeerk!

She extended her fist using holy arts and struck the goblin’s head.

The goblin’s neck, unable to withstand the impact, was torn off and:

Thuddeeeeeerk!

It hit a nearby tree.

Oops!

That’s pretty gruesome.

After defeating the goblin,

Ms. Physique shouted toward me:

“Brother Jin-sang~! Please heal me!”

“Huh?”

This time her arm wasn’t bent in a strange direction…

“It’s dislocated! It’s surprisingly very painful!”

Ah~ so if it doesn’t break, it gets injured like that.

“Luna-noona! Let’s go to Ms. Physique! Go, go, go!”

“G-go, go!”

Tadadadadak!

“Heal!”

I immediately approached Ms. Physique and used Heal.

Ms. Physique’s dislocated arm immediately returned to normal.

“Thank you! Brother Jin-sang!”

“Ms. Physique, you go through a lot of trouble.”

“Thank you for your concern! But this is nothing if it’s for fulfilling God’s teachings!”

Though it was painful, Ms. Physique looked very happy.

◈

Several days passed since forming a temporary party with Ms. Physique.

After the first goblin subjugation.

The following days, we took on what were known as regular quests in Gallio.

Once we did golem subjugation again.

Besides golems, we also defeated rock turtle monsters called Rock Turtles that inhabit rocky areas.

We also subjugated monsters called Scalipi, which look like scorpions.

By the way, since Scalipi meat is used as a good ingredient, that day we went to a restaurant specializing in Scalipi dishes.

It was surprisingly delicious.

While we were subjugating monsters,

Ms. Physique proposed to me:

“Brother Jin-sang! Please try riding on my back once!”

“What? On you, Ms. Physique?”

“Yes! Just like you recover stamina while clinging to Sister Luna! Please cling to me and continuously cast Heal! I want to try hunting more monsters, faster, at once!”

“Um… well, let’s try it?”

“J-Jin-sang?! A-are you tired of m-my back…?”

“Huh? What are you saying, Luna-noona?”

“N-nothing at all!”

Luna-noona made a strange comment, but I clung to Ms. Physique just as I would to Luna-noona.

Because Ms. Physique had a long, large ponytail, clinging to her gave a soft feeling thanks to her hair.

Additionally, I could smell Ms. Physique’s nice fragrance even better.

“Then I’ll give it a try! Yahooooo!”

The test subjects were golems.

Ms. Physique charged toward the golems wandering around and swung her fist.

“Holy Punch!”

Kwaaaaaaang!

“Heal!”

I immediately cast Heal on Ms. Physique.

“Wow! Instant recovery! I’ll go again! Yahooooo!”

And Ms. Physique continuously struck the surrounding golems with her fists.

By the way, when she punched, I could feel quite large vibrations even while clinging to her back, which made me realize that Ms. Physique truly had incredible strength.

It was a bit uncomfortable to directly witness her arms breaking every time she swung her fists.

And after defeating all the surrounding golems, when I got off her back, Ms. Physique said with sparkling eyes:

“That was such a wonderful experience! Aaah! It was truly a fulfilling time! Thank you so much! Brother Jin-sang~!”

And whoosh! She hugged me again and nuzzled her face against mine.

Hehehehe.

We can do it again next time!

And a week after forming a temporary party with Ms. Physique.

The day my personal spear would be completed approached.