Kenta-kun sighs again, maybe he's bored? I can understand that. I would also be bored if I weren't busy looking at the status of the others. As I can hardly read human impressions, I don't know whether the slight fluctuations in [Stamina Points] are because of being on the edge or because their muscles grow tired.

I lightly flick my ear, a soothing sensation wanders through my body. At this point, it wouldn't be inappropriate to add the data I get to my notes instead of looking sharp, right?

*clank, clank, clank*

Too bad, there is something. I look at Kenta-kun who is several looaf in front of me, waiting to give me the signal to start my spell. He hasn't noticed the sound of metal plates grinding at each other. He still needs to improve his hearing, though it's still far better than Momo's and Katarine-san's.

Now Kenta-kun gives me a sign, so he has finally caught the noise. He lifts one finger, telling the other two girls, who are hiding further back, how many people he hears. 'Hears' is the keyword, as it could be that there are more, as we also expect some [Stealth]-shenanigans.

Our hiding places are good, it will be difficult to see us from below, especially Kenta-kun, who is in his [Camouflage] and acts as the lookout.

My personal problem is that I'm also too far away to properly sense any spirits that are on the path. I can feel some scrubs that defy the rocks to grow here, several rodents, and a pair of cougars that became aware of us and are sneaking away. I have an idea: “Kenta-kun?” I speak softly. Only he should be able to hear me. “What do you think, should I use [Sleep] on the cougars? In case we need some?”

“Ara-san, we're about to start, dammit.”

Bummer. They could be useful. Now that I think of it, the [Tamer]-class would have been a nice addition to my repertoire, but sadly I have no [Class]-slots left. [Tamer] would have allowed me to send wild beasts and tamed monsters at my enemies, not even lifting a single finger myself. Now I remember why I decided to not learn it: Traveling to a place to teach me the class and taking care of beasts in general was just too troublesome. Maybe I can learn the [Summoner]-class-up in Zethtrin though. We are heading there anyways and if I summon my harbingers of death, I won't need to feed or toilet-train them.

Maximum results for minimum work.

After this fleeting thought, I casually return to the present situation. I think I can see the armored person... it's still too far away to see details though humans should be able to.

“Daichi-kun...” Momo sighs these words more than saying them, yet they’re easy for me to understand. She can't see him, but maybe she can recognize the clank? Can she even hear it at this point, I'm always insecure how bad human hearing is.

Nonetheless, she's most likely right. So this is Yamauchi Daisuke, [Student], [Warrior], [Grappler], and [Blacksmith] when Momo last had contact with him. His strategy is to draw monsters to him and either kill them with physical superiority or pin them for others to deal the killing blow.

As I expect that he wants to be able to do both strategies, I assume that someone is hiding close to him. There is no sound, so that person is most likely using the [Stealth]-ability and its [Sneak]-skill which mutes all sounds from moving.

“Ara-san,” Kenta whispers, knowing I can hear it even several looaf away. “Move into position and start the spell. Target 1.”

There are three targets that I should aim for with my [Tidal Wave] to cause a rockslide. The first one is to separate the scouts from the group, the second is for the case where the first fails, the third one to cover our retreat.

I move to the point where I can collect the necessary water for [Tidal Wave] without the giant bubble being in plain sight. For this, I descend and I'm now standing just around the corner to my target. I begin my cast, my lips and vocal chords begin to chant a melody, syllables without any lingual roots rather than words.

I hear rock grating on rock from behind and break my chant to evade a [Stonebullet]. There is a hairy human, maybe a mercenary. Interrupting with my spell, how rude! “[Fountain Gun]!” I shoot a spell back.

“[Earthshield]!”

An [Earthshield] is a solid barrier, other than the [Watershield], yet it also steals the user's sight. I change to [Acrobat] to jump the cliffs back up. “Kenta-kun, there is someone on the other side.”

“I know! It's Yoshimura, I think.”

“Yoshimura-kun doesn't have a beard.”

“Beards grow!” Oh, that's right. I forgot about this. “Shit! The spell also alarmed the armor-guy. Phew... Retreat route 1.” As this was a likely scenario, Kenta-kun decided to have the first retreat route on a plateau, using my [Acrobat]-class and his [Mountain-climber] to get to a point that's much harder to follow.

I don't like that route, because that means I have to take Momo piggyback and jump. Nonetheless, I go to my friend with a serious weight problem and offer my small, frail body to her like a mount that would eat its rider if it weren't for the muzzle.

We really need to come up with more plans that don't involve me carrying heavy humans. Maybe I should put some effort, for a change, to teach Momo how to make plants return to normal when walking on them and find a way to give her access to reach higher altitude.

“Rine, let's- Ara-san, go!” He notices at same time as me that a spirit is approaching us, most likely using his [Wild Eyes] while trying to assess the situation. Kenta-kun puts his bow into his backpack and lifts his spear from the ground.

He says I should go, so I will. I jump from rock to rock, higher and higher, until my feet touch the lush grass on top of the plateau. I start running with Momo on my back while jumping over a crevice.

“Arako, stop!” The passenger starts urging me while we're in mid-air.

“I can't.” I lack a [Skill] that would allow me to stop mid-jump, so Momo has to deal with it. Now that I have landed, I make another jump though. “We will meet up with the rest at the mountain-top.” This is the retreat-point we are supposed to head to if we fail. The [Spouse-Location] is a great advantage in times like these.

“But what about-”

“Kenta-kun and Katarine-san? Don't you expect them to be able to handle a situation like this better than we would be? Or are you worried about your friends? Isn't this the reason why we retreat now before anything irreversible happens? We tried to outwit them, we failed, now we retreat, and try again. Stop being so human about it.” Humans are much more emotional, that's the reason for their often illogical actions. Alfar also have emotions, of course, but we won't let them dictate our actions. Unless it's for fun, but even then we're ready to put it second if necessary.

Momo falls silent after my lecture and lets herself be carried away. [Spouse-Location] tells me that there is some movement with Kenta-kun, so he and Katarine-san may have started their retreat as well.

I land on a new plateau as the ground beneath my feet begins to move. I try to jump, but a hand made out of dirt, an [Earth Grasp]-spell, gets my ankle and I fall flat on my face. It hurts, but is manageable. Momo, still in motion, falls from my back, from the sound of her grunting, she's also in pain.

Then the rock beneath me starts to crumble, I involuntarily hit the ground below. There is another human there. She has a staff, most likely the spellcaster that brought me down. Momo is still on the plateau. “You're the wrong one,” the human says while she has one of those strange human faces.

There is something that I dislike about that person. “You're copying me.”

“What?”

“You have a ponytail. It's my hairstyle, so I demand that you change yours.”

“...” This is a face I know, this is the face humans make when they're unsure how to properly answer a question or demand of an alfr. “What are you talking about? I have had this since forever.”

“How old are you?”

“Huh?”

“Your age. Maybe sixteen?”

“So what?”

“I'm 144 years old, I've had a ponytail since I was three years old, therefore my claim outdates yours. You are the copycat and therefore I demand of you to stop wearing a ponytail.”

I hear Momo approaching the ledge. While the human is still busy trying to figure out what to say, I look upwards and use [Whisper], delivering my message without any chance for meager human ears to overhear it: “Go ahead, Momo. I know what I'm doing and will join you later.” After a second, I add: “Stop being human.” This causes Momo to turn around and run.

The other human—I guess it's a girl, she has long hair and utters, though not as impressive as Momo's or Katarine-san's—regains her composure: “There were people that had ponytails even before you!”

“Can you show me a person that old to prove this thesis?”

I broke her brain. I can see how her facial expressions change quickly and how she's unable to form any words or even sounds. She just flaps her lips as she can't muster any answer to my last words.

Very satisfying.

After a few seconds, the copycat suddenly lifts her staff. “I'll-”

“You are even copying my other traits. Staff, robes, being able to cast spells.”

“I'm not copying you!”

“I know that being me is quite satisfying, but I'm sure that you have your own merits. So show me your status and I'll help you determine them.”

“Uhhh... AH!” She begins screaming, totally following my pace. It's a typical error for people so young not able to understand that she has lost this argument and should just surrender at this point instead of wasting her and my time with being verbally beaten.

It's the same as in strategy games, only those who lack the experience and skill will fight every game to its very end.

“You!” The human girl finally can muster an answer. “Where is Kyou-chan!”

“This is a good question.”

“Tell me!”

“I believe that you have the order all wrong.”

“What!?”

“To interrogate someone, first you need to have an advantage over the one you ask questions to. At this point, I have neither surrendered nor have I any other reason to listen to you, as the only thing you did was to cause me some pain.”

“Then I just have to beat you to get my answer?”

“This would be counter-productive, as if you beat me, I may not be able to answer anything depending on my physical condition. So I have a suggestion.”

“...what suggestion?”

“You can show me your status, then you explain it to me, so that we can see the gap between the two of us.”

“That doesn't make sense at all!”

“...do you have rare classes like [Nymphomaniac] that you don't want to show?”

“[Nympho-] WHAT!?”

“I see, so you wanted to enhance your sexual drive, causing you to select such a devious class.”

“I--- I don't have a class like that!”

“I have problems believing you, so you better show me your status.”

“Why is it going this way again!?”

“Because you're acting coyly.”

I hear someone else approaching, a person in metal armor. Maybe the same as the one who we were trying to split from the party. “Eri-san, everything’s alright!” He steps between the two of us and lifts his heavy axe.

“Daichi-kun! She's horrible!”

I try to emulate the same head-cocking as Katarine-san tends to use. “I'm confused and don't know what she is talking about.”

“Hey elf!” The armored person says. “You better give up and-”

“I surrender.”

“Huh?”

“I surrender. You can restrain me, if you like.” I put my staff to the ground. “I will do as you say. You have won, I have lost.”

The copycat starts widening her eyes while the helmet of the other person turns to her. “What should we do?”

“May I make a suggestion?” I ask them. “Maybe you should bring me to your leader.”

So far, my plan is working as intended.

―○●○―

A few minutes earlier.

“Rine, let's- Ara-san, go!” I raise my spear while looking into the direction my [Wild Eyes] picked up a spirit. It's using the rocks as a hiding space, only covered by a red-rock-colored [Camouflage].

I block a weapon, a shortsword and move to evade a club. Dual-wielding, huh? I attack using the other side of my weapon against the person who becomes visible, yet the enemy is jumping back. Longish black hair, the tips blonde, the rest black, a beard, Asian facial features... is that Hoshibashi?

Now the armor-guy with the axe, clearly muscle-brain, is charging as well, “Rine, take over.” I disengage so I can look at retreat route 2. Yoshimura is too close, so we have no choice.

CLANG! With a horrendous sound of metal against metal, I see how Rine is blown back against the wall, yet she lands with her feet on it only to make a wall-run. Hoshibashi looks smug about this while he takes a thing that looks like the combination of an iron club and a sword from his back. His muscles grow as well, [Class-Change]. “[Rock Smash]!” The weapon hits the ground and hurls rocks at her, yet Rine dances between them while jumping right at Hoshibashi.

The same smiles, quickly using his weapon to shield himself from the slash Rine starts, yet she suddenly raises her leg: “[Sweep]!” Her first and only [Brawl]-skill, which has broken some monster-legs in the swamps.

Her foot crashes into Hoshibashi's knees and he suddenly flips upside down. His head crashes into the ground. “Rine, route three. Also, slide.”

“Yes.” Following my plan, she runs into a rather narrow crevice and begins to move, in ways I will never be able to, by jumping from one wall to another to gain altitude like a game character. I run into the same crevice, it's basically a death trap if they also have some reinforcement before us to cut off the retreat.

However, if we can create a rock slide here, we just have one way to worry about.

“Not so fast!” Hoshibashi switches his class back and starts following me with incredible speed. So he outspeeds me, huh? ...isn't that bad?

At least we're leaving muscle-brain in the dust. Yet, if Hoshibashi starts fighting me, even that blockhead will catch up. “[Speedthrust]!” I just have to hope that Hoshibashi's class sucks at fighting. Yes, the bladed club seems to be too unwieldy, he messed up! Dammit, you can't just dodge!

Shit, muscle-grows, this- “[Titan's Blow]!” The good side is that I have my weapon ready to block. Even after my spear is brutally pushed against my torso, some of the force is distributed through the staff.

The bad side is that it's still enough to lose all the air in my lungs, hurling me several meters through the air until I hit a crevice wall, break off some rock, and then bounce from it against the opposite wall.

IT HURTS! So bad! My whole body screams in pain, dammit!

“Kenta!” I hear Rine, who should prepare to cause the rock slide, crying out while jumping down to stand by my side. “Are you still alive?”

...seriously? “...what would you do if I'd say no?” I mean, what's that question supposed to do?

“I'd cry.”

…

… …

“Yes, Rine. I'm still alive.”

“Yay!” She's just too damn adorable at times!

I lift my head to see Hoshibashi waiting, most likely thinking how he can approach Rine without getting his ass kicked. I point at a small mark I made when we laid our failed ambush. “Rine.”

“Yes! [Crescent Moon]!” Her flying cut hits the mark and a tremble goes through my body as the rock loosens. Rine and I turn around and start running. I look back for a second, Hoshibashi just yells some curses and starts retreating.

I guess we haven't lost this first encounter. We didn't win either, but that's alright.

We follow the crevice until it starts opening a bit, there is a path climbing upwards, this way we can get on top of the labyrinth. This may sound like a good spot, but in a world of magic, this can also be a trap. Nonetheless, we need to regroup and for that I need a better look at the perimeter. We have decided upon a retreat-point, but I want to make sure... wait, the [Spouse-Location] tells me that Kyou-san and Ara-san have started separating...

Your wife Ara'ainn has been captured. You must rescue your love or the curse will return, devouring any future you could have together. Your curse will slowly reactivate, coming back to full effect after 48 hours.

Shit! Rine is also staring at her own message for a second, before she turns for me, looking for answers.

I'm glad that there are more birds here. “[Share Senses]!” I hack one and after a few seconds of adjustments, I notice Kyou-san, running around while looking for a way to the retreat-point despite only finding cliffs too far to overcome. In a game, she would be lost in an overworld with an arrow pointing to the next objective but it points to a dead-end.

At least Kyou-san is still on the run. At this point I should just count things that went well, I guess. “We'll regroup with Kyou-san first.” After looking at Ara-san's status I know that her HP, SP, and MP are stable, therefore it's unlikely that she was subjugated by force.

“OK.” In times like these, Rine's optimism shines through, yet she's the key to everything. My body still hurts from Hoshibashi's attack, and he hasn't even shown his [Savage]-class yet. I would have definitely noticed the furious eyes and angry growls. So this attack wasn't even all that serious for him.

...what a headache.

We walk up the path to the plateau and I wave at Kyou-san in the distance before using [Whisper]: “Just stay where you are.” There is still dust in the air where we have caused the rock-slide, I look for a way for us to get to Kyou-san while staying away from it. Luckily, the whole crevice situation means that we'll be hard to spot from below. We just need to keep our distance from large crevices.

Rine and I run, jumping over smaller ones, using our well-trained bodies... well, not like mine was actually trained this way. Being a hero means being a cheater.

The moment we're close to Kyou-san, she starts blabbering: “Ken, Arako, she-”

I lift my hand, interrupting her. “First, we need more distance.”

“But Ken-!”

“Kyou-san! Distance! This is totally the danger-zone!” I take her hand and start pulling her. “Just shut up and follow me.”

“Eri-chan has Arako!”

Eri... was that the shrimp or ponytail? I think ponytail, because shrimp was Tetsuko or something. “Then Ara-san is buying time for us.” That would be the most logical thing and while alfar are often mischievous, in the end, the only reason why they let emotions rule over logic is because of fun.

So unless Ara-san sees a reason why… … … Oh god, there are so many reasons for her to let herself be captured. She's obsessed with heroes, after all, so of course it's logical to let herself be captured to further her research.

“You see!” Kyou-san may have read my face wrong, most likely caused by her agitation.

“Kyou.” It's Rine who tries to calm her down: “Don't worry, I'll get her back.”

“Rine, you'll come with us.”

“But Kenta-” “Ken, you-”

“You both have a misunderstanding.” I say to them as they're clearly letting their emotions get the better of them. “Kyou-san, has she said something to you before you separated?”

“Erm... she said that she knows what she's doing and that she will join me later.”

“You see.”

“But Arako is-”

“Kyou-san, if Ara-san says she's alright, she's alright.”

“How can you say that!?”

“Because I know her. That's why I trust her.” Kyou-san's eyes widen in shock as I say this. “She does her thing. We'll get away and come back later.” While Ara-san surely has some additional, rather questionable reasons to let herself be captured, she's still led by logic.

She's the same as me in many ways, so she sure has the same idea that just crossed my mind. Every other person from our party would be valuable in a way or another for Correo, Inoue, and the rest. Yet they only got Ara-san, so there is no way that they'll stop and be happy with what they have.

That's exactly why she acted like she did. She just turned this disaster into a great advantage.