The sunlight faded, and the moon shone brightly. The place was quiet, with the sounds of crickets filling the air. The stars emerged in the black sky, and the moon smiled, illuminating the ranch filled with animals below. It seemed that Laos and the others were now waiting for the wolves to arrive. Ponier stood upright in front of the broken section of the fence, while Laos sat further away with Maris, waiting silently like lions stalking their prey.
It looks like my aura is still visible. So it's real, huh? It seems I have a unique aura. Well, that's nothing to be happy about since I see it as just an aura anyone from another world would have. But… what if I really am special?! I was able to speak with Thalesa, which means NPC is a legendary class. So, could it be…? No, no, that's impossible.
Also, Ponier seems to be good at sensing auras. He was the only one who mentioned it since I arrived. I hope my hidden power scenario turns out to be real. Ugh, just imagine it! The whole world chanting my name as I travel through kingdoms and continents, exploring Staria, and slaying the Demon King after those fuckers fail their mission. Then, I'll get the title of Yuusha! Woooh!
"Laos, they've arrived!" Ponier suddenly shouted, popping my fantasy bubble and dragging me back to reality.
He then drew his weapons—two short silver swords. Suddenly, a wolf with an open mouth and a missing eye lunged at him, but Ponier shoved one of his swords into its mouth and slammed it to the ground. A group of other wolves advanced immediately after. Good, there are only four of them, and one of them is pregnant. That means it's the same lone family that keeps attacking this ranch. Hah, this will be an easy quest.
"Water Slash!" I shouted as I launched an attack at the pregnant wolf, which was moving sluggishly.
She crashed into the fence after receiving a deep wound from my strike. One of the wolves glared at me with terrifying eyes, making me tense up slightly. It then sprinted toward me, saliva dripping from its horrific open mouth. Fuck, I can see the killing intent in its eyes. I took a step back and shouted: "Water Slash!"
I managed to strike its face, causing it to fall to the ground, thrashing around in its own blood. I quickly rushed in and stabbed it with my Astral Sword. Fortunately, my slashes are incredibly fast, making them impossible to dodge. I feel so overpowered—hahaha!
Further away, Ponier was still fighting. But suddenly, one of the two remaining wolves leaped and managed to bite his arm, while the other headbutted him. Ponier collapsed to the ground. Fuck, isn't he a Bronze-rank adventurer?! Come on, you fox, get up! What's wrong with you?!
I ran toward him, but suddenly, Ponier shouted a midspell, "Fotsios!" A fireball exploded, sending one of the wolves flying. Amazing—he can use magic! After that, I took care of the wolf that got blasted away. Hmm, should I use another Water Slash? Man, when I keep spamming slashes, I feel like a weak spammer. This ability is fucking strong. So why not try fighting with my sword alone? Come on, Laos, consider this your test.
I stepped toward the wolf that had quickly gotten back up after being knocked down. The only thing it could see was me standing right in front of it. Instinctively, it charged at me with its disgusting open mouth, attempting to claw at me, but it failed thanks to my leather armor.
"The Sea Blade!" I shouted. My sword's form changed.
I suddenly felt a massive wave of stress surge within my emotions. I swung my blue blade swiftly and with great force. The only thought in my mind at that moment was to kill this fucking wolf—nothing else. With one reckless swing, I stabbed its face. Then, gripping my sword tightly with both hands, I swung back and slashed its belly at full speed like I was swinging a golf club. The dumb jumped at me with its mouth wide open, exposing its stomach!
I watched as its guts spilled from its torn belly. Shit! That's disgusting! It thrashed wildly before finally dying. I… I killed a wolf without Water Slash! Hahaha! Did you see that, Thalesa?! I'm improving!
"Fotsios!" Ponier shouted behind me.
I turned around to see that he was still fighting the last wolf. And… the pregnant one was still helping it, even though one of her legs had been severed. But what the fuck is this fox doing? He keeps shouting midspells, but nothing is happening. How the hell did this failure reach Bronze rank?!
"Damn it, what's wrong with my magic?! Why won't it work?!" Ponier yelled in frustration before drawing his twin swords again.
Why isn't his magic working? Could it be that he ran out of mana? Or… oh, I remember! Magic is tied to one's will. Maybe his will to kill the wolves with magic is weak. If that's the case, then I just became a teacher! I gathered my words and shouted at this useless fox: "Maybe your will is weak! Try focusing on the idea of killing the wolves with magic!"
"That nonsense again? Hah, whatever," Ponier muttered before slicing off the male wolf's head.
"If you could kill them this easily, then why bother making things harder with magic?" I asked, baffled by how unnecessarily complicated he was making things.
Suddenly, the female wolf lunged at him from behind. It seemed he didn't notice her, so she managed to bite his shoulder. Woooh, what a failure. He fell to the ground but quickly stabbed the wolf in the neck, finally killing her. Then, he answered my question: "Because I want to enjoy myself…"
"Maris, come heal his shoulder," I said as I stared at Ponier's bleeding wound.
"Coming!" Maris replied as she ran toward us.
"So, do you see the price of enjoying yourself?" I asked, looking at the fox as he sat on the ground, clutching his shoulder.
"Yeah," he replied, laughing.
"Ahh!" Maris suddenly screamed.
It turned out she had tripped while running toward us. Damn, that's embarrassing. I ran over to her, laughing. I hope this doesn't make her mad. I helped her up, and it seemed she had only stumbled over one of the wooden planks from the broken fence.
"Fuck, who the hell threw these wooden pieces here?" I muttered.
"I...," Ponier whispered quietly.
"It's okay, I just twisted my ankle a little, but the pain will go away after one night," Maris replied as she stepped toward Ponier.
"Heallisial," she chanted her spell on Ponier's shoulder.
"Thank you, and sorry for throwing the wooden pieces there."
"It's fine, it's not your fault."
"Let me see your ankle," the fox muttered. What the fuck is he doing?
Then, without any hesitation, Maris took off her sandals and extended her beautiful foot to the fox's hands. What are you doing?! Hey, hey!! Stop it! And then that fucker Ponier started massaging her foot. I know this is normal, but I'm jealous! Fuck you, I can't even tell them to stop. Ugh, this is annoying.
"How does it feel now?" the fucking fox asked.
"The pain has eased a little. Thank you, Mr. Ponier," Maris responded as if her husband wasn't standing right behind her.
Then Ponier licked her foot with his tongue after finishing the massage and finally let go. No, no, no, this is over!! What the hell is this fucking animal doing? God, I want to cut his head off. Fuck you, you beast! I swear, if he does this again, I'll kill him... Even Maris found the act strange. Thank God this isn't a normal thing in this fucking world of Staria. For a second, I thought licking feet was just something everyone did after finishing a massage.
So, I swear, if that fucker does it again, I'll kill him. Goddamn it, I can't even talk to him. Shit, this fucking introversion of mine is so frustrating. Then Bolf approached with his wife and three children. They were all smiling, as if we had saved them from the Demon King and not just four wolves and a pregnant one that couldn't even jump.
"Thank you all! My goddess, you're the first to complete this quest!"
"No need to thank us," the fucking fox replied as if he were the one who killed them all and not the one who couldn't even cast a midspell.
Goodness gracious... Alright our quest ends here. I'm not gonna lie—I felt really happy when we killed all four of them. If only that fucking beast hadn't done that disgusting act, my happiness would have been perfect. But anyway, another day ends for me in the town of Iveleth. Honestly, my life has gotten better since leaving that fucking palace, and it will only keep getting better. I hope so. While the others laughed and chatted, I stared at the stars, a wide grin spread across my face. Looks like I'm happy.
"Laos, the adventurer," I whispered.
◆ ◆ ◆
Maris' POV
Another hot morning in this tavern. I rubbed my eyes. But unlike all the previous mornings here, Laos wasn't sleeping beside me. Where is he?! I've gotten used to seeing his beautiful face right in front of me whenever I open my eyes. This is strange. There's no way he went to have breakfast without me… Well, you idiot, he has new companions now. Of course, he won't wait for me to wake up before eating breakfast.
Sigh This isn't the kind of life I imagined outside the palace. At the very least, all I want is a little attention, but I haven't gotten anything except for Laos and his semen. Haaah… Alright, come on, Maris. Life will start getting better now. We've paid off our debt, and we'll use our money in the best way… But I need clothes now. My goddess, this is really bad.
Suddenly, the door to the room opened. Then Laos appeared. What was he doing outside? He entered the room holding a leather bag. What's in there? After that, he closed the door and looked into my eyes. My goddess, maybe he looks better with white hair than black!
"Oh, you're awake," he said.
"Where were you?" I asked while staring at that leather bag.
Then he sat in front of me and started untying the bag's strings with a smile. My goddess, now I'm excited! What's in there?! Then he pulled out clothes from the bag. They were beautiful clothes, similar to what the townsfolk here wear—white garments with some leather and green embroidery, along with long boots and thigh-high stockings. They were women's clothes.
"This is my gift to you, Maris."
"..."
"L... Laos," I murmured, unable to believe it.
Then I jumped at him and hugged him tightly—the way he liked, pressing his head into my breasts. Thank you! Thank you so much! Even though you're my husband, I never thought you'd care for me like this. Well, I don't mean to say Laos is a bad husband, but when he's busy, he forgets he has a wife. My goddess, I'm so happy.
"Come on, try them on."
"Yes, I will!" I replied, my smile about to split my face.
I put on the clothes and stood in front of the mirror. They're amazing—I can't believe this! And the size… it fits perfectly. How did he know my size? No way, this is incredible! Every part fits just right, though the chest area seems a bit loose. Did Laos think my breasts were bigger? Or maybe he just didn't want them to be too exposed?
"Amazing! How did you know my size?!" I asked while spinning around, admiring myself in the mirror.
"What kind of question is that? I've known your body for a month," he answered. Honestly, that's a reasonable response.
"They look great on you. So, what do you think of my taste?"
"Amazing! Your taste is amazing, Laos!"
"How much did you buy it for?" I asked.
"Four and a half nova."
"That's a good price. Thank you, dear," I replied, feeling incredibly happy. I'll never forget this—Laos' first gift to me!
"Alright, now let's get to the most important part..." Laos said calmly.
"What is it?"
"Maris... From now on, I don't want you going on adventures with me and Ponier."
"What? Why?!"
Oh my Goddess, what does he mean all of a sudden?! Why doesn't he want me to adventure with them anymore? I mean, it's not that big of a deal, but what's the reason? No, wait—it is a big deal! I always want to go on adventures with him! I can't imagine Laos adventuring with other people while I'm not by his side. What's with this decision all of a sudden?!
"Why?" I asked, puzzled.
"Well, honestly… Maris, I just… I just get jealous," he admitted in a low voice.
So that's it… Laos, it seems like you're on your way to earning the title of 'perfect husband.' But perfection isn't always a good thing. I don't know… This idea just doesn't sit right with me. Staying in this filthy room would be so boring. There's no way I'd be able to stay here alone. Ugh, how do I reject his idea now? He bought me a whole outfit—I don't want to hurt his feelings.
"But Laos… staying here alone will be boring," I replied, hoping he'd understand.
"I know, but I get jealous, Maris. You remember what Ponier did last night?"
"Oh, so that's what this is about. Why don't you just talk to him about it?"
"Well..."
"Are you afraid of him?"
"Impossible. I'll kill him if he does it again. But… don't you see how useful Ponier is when it comes to completing quests? If I bring it up, he might not want to form a party with us anymore."
"But…" I muttered. Laos, you're really asking for something difficult here.
Suddenly, he hugged me tightly. He seemed determined—he wasn't going to take no for an answer. Then, he whispered in my ear: "Please, Maris. Say yes. It would make me really happy… I promise I'll bring you lots of gifts, and we'll go on plenty of outings together!"
Sigh… What do I do? He sounds really serious. For a moment, I felt a little happy. Maybe because he hugged me… or because he said he'd bring me lots of gifts and wouldn't just leave me to rot in this filthy room. I guess I have to agree. After that, I hugged him back and whispered: "Fine, but don't you dare come back begging me to heal you."
"Great!"
Then, he gave me a smile—one so contagious that I found myself smiling as well. Your happiness, Laos, is my happiness, you jealous kid! Alright, from now on, I hope my life improves with this decision.
"Maris, the housewife," I whispered.