"So, how did things end up for you girls?" - Alf

"Nothing but gorillas, gorillas, gorillas! And I'm not using their scientific name here!" - Garami

Damn, there was no progress at all! The night came before we knew it, so we had to set up camp after Alf's group returned. Today's only thing we achieved was getting our faces filled with gorilla muscles!

The chef's curry is good though. I'm not gonna touch the banana curry though. How are Alf and Noire capable of eating that stuff? Anyway, *munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch*.

"Ehm...will you have seconds?" - Marcus Pollen

"Gladly!" - Garami

"......, cough, as for our team, we did locate a few suspicious river entrances, but they didn't have any traces of ships having traveled through them. Quite the opposite, they were overgrown with vines and other types of flora." - Alf

"No chance for there being something like a secret passageway somewhere?" - Mira

"No chance...is not something I can say for certain. If those bandits are indeed hiding on this island, they sure picked one heck of a place." - Alf

"Alfred, you're forgetting about that one river I found!" - Noire

"Sorry to say this after you outperformed yourself to find it, but I doubt the thieves would be alive if they chose that path." - Alf

Hmm? Is something up? Also, did I hear some rustling from the woods-?

"O-HOOOOO!!" - King Kong(!?)

"*Spit*! What the-!?" - Garami

A giant gorilla, three times bigger than the ones we fought earlier today, suddenly jumped out of the forest with a bang! Where did this guy hide!? I wouldn't have missed this big of a monster's appearance if he was this close until now!

"M-monster?!" - Noire

"Just where did-bababababa-!?" - Mira

Wha-wha-wha-what's-s-s g-g-going o-o-o-on!?

"OOO-HO-HOOO!!" - King King(?)

Gah!? Th-that was rough. I can barely feel my limbs. That gorilla... He fled as fast as he arrived. What was that all about?

"H-hey, are everyone alive?" - Garami

"I think so..." - Mira

"Agagagagagag..." - Noire

"Noire seems to be out of commission. That lightning blast must have been too much for her." - Alf

Lightning? So THAT is what it was! No wonder why everyone looks a little deep-fried. Rather, we should be happy we're alive. Noire has a respectable high RES-stat thanks to her skill build being half magician, but it seems her vitality wasn't enough. I would have been in the same situation hadn't my stats has been so much higher. Thank you again, [Demon Lord].

"That was the Lightning attribute?! It sure knows how to leave an impact." - Mira

"Same for its user. What was that thing just now!? Bloom!" - Garami

"Yes, yes~. I'm here~. Master, did karma finally hit your usual incredible luck streak? I cannot fathom any other explanation why an Elchied Gorilla would suddenly appear like that." - Bloom

"El...what?" - Mira

"Elchied Gorilla. It is a Lightning-based C-rank evolution that primate-type monsters can obtain only if they are recognized as the leader of their pack. I think the other attributes allow other evolutions, but Lightning equals gorilla in this case." - Bloom

Who's the idiot who decided that? However, C-rank... No wonder we didn't stand a chance. I've faced enemies that were stronger than me in the past, but back then, I had prepared an advantage for myself. This time it was the other side that launched the surprise attack. Considering its attribute, I bet it wasn't that I never noticed him getting closer to us. That guy just blasted his way to our camp like a lightning strike. It's a miracle we're still alive.

"By the way, are you guys not missing someone?" - Bloom

Huh? What is she talking about? There's me, Mira, Noire who's still out cold, Alf, and..., and...

"HOLY CHEF!! They got Pollen!!" - Garami

"Hah! You're right!" - Alf

"The lightning blast must have hit us harder than we first thought. But when did gorillas start kidnapping people?" - Mira

That's true. Primate-type monsters aren't exactly known for their viciousness. Even the gorillas we drove off today weren't that aggressive. Or, to be more precise, they were looking more for an excuse to test out their muscles rather than to kill us. Not that I showed them any mercy due to that. Rather, it just inflated my will to make them part of my necro-counter collection!

Then why did that giant gorilla attack us? As I was looking over the mess that's our camp, I could see that something was missing. But what? Come on, my memory......HAH! THAT'S IT! But, doesn't that mean... Ehh? For real? You're telling me that is the reason for the attack/kidnapping? You gotta be joking... Or maybe, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance?

"Alf, stay here and keep an eye on the deadbeat. Mira and I will go after the giant gorilla before its trail grows cold." - Garami

"That is fine by me, but are you sure? That thing didn't even bother to finish us off." - Alf

"No worries~. I have a plan here!" - Garami

"...Why am I getting this intense feeling of dread?" - Bloom

Shut it! You're not even part of the plan! Now, onward!

---

A little while after entering the woods..., we got lost! Psych. Offensive-focused or not, I am a user of several Scout-line classes. Offensive for a non-offensive category of classes, but still... Man, I gotta think of alternative ways of combat. The muscle gorilla from earlier really did a thing to my confidence. But I digress.

The woods are damn thick, enough for the branches on the trees high above us to create a ceiling that prevents sunlight from getting through. It's night though, but it should work during the day as well. Anyway, the darkness makes this forest the ideal place to get lost, but I've got good night vision, and have been trained in navigating through confusing locations such as this. Having to live in a Dungeon makes you quite well-stacked with survival skills, and that's not counting the System-given ones!

Anyway, we found the monkeys' base of operation. For being primates, they're more developed than I would suspect. They have created a primitive village with large wooden fences around it. And I'm talking about a proper fence worthy of a frontier city. Calling it a wall would do it more justice.

The reason why I'm not doing so is that it is easy to climb over. The giant trees easily tower over the fence, meaning we can bypass it by using the Tarzan route. I am one thing, but Mira seems to have some trouble climbing up the giant piece of wood.

"Th-this is impossible..." - Mira

"Did you never go tree-climbing when you were a kid?" - Garami

"Never! Solomar is a volcanic country! There's no such thing as trees big enough for people to climb on them!" - Mira

Ah, that's right. These fantasy world biomes...

Anyway, I can see the chef. He's being kept bound to a pillar in the middle of a stage in the middle of the village. And there are lots of gorilla monsters and smaller monkey monsters surrounding the area. Hmm, I'm not getting any signal from the little ones.

"That explains it." - Garami

"Explains what?" - Mira

"Those small monkeys, they're prolly not classified as monsters. Which means that they don't trigger [Detect Monster]." - Garami

And that means they may have spied on us while we were making port at the island. I distinctly remember there being some rustling in the bushes while we were fighting the first gorillas, so maybe we were being spied on even then.

Oh, boy. No wonder why the boss gorilla knew about us. I'm not sure whether he came to attack us because we killed some of his underlings..., probably not. If that was the case, then he'd smash our heads when we were paralyzed on the beach. Maybe that gang had been criminals, or the village couldn't provide for them, so they were kicked out.

Looking at the current behavior of the gorilla village, I doubt those delinquent monkeys are on their mind. Yes, this is gonna work~.

"Are they...worshipping something down there?" - Mira

"So it seems." - Garami

All the gorillas were ignoring the chef and were instead bowing to something else on the stage. Even the boss gorilla is among the feverish worshippers. The lack of guards by the fence may be because they're too busy prostrating.

"Just as I thought~. Or, they're more serious about it than I thought." - Garami

"What was that?" - Mira

"Nothing. I'll see you in a jiffy~." - Garami

I produced webbing to latch onto the giant branches above us and swung myself into the village's airspace. With some fancy acrobatics, mostly for making an impressive entrance, I landed softly on top of the pillar the chef was bound to.

"...!?!? M-m-m-miss Garami!?" - Marcus Pollen

Good. He doesn't seem to be hurt. And his surprised shout managed to gather the attention of all the gorillas. Nice~.

"Hello, all primates and fruit lovers of Tree Sea Isle! I am Garami, the leader of the Nightmare Voyagers, and for you, the bringer of happiness and joy, so be happy!" - Garami

My introduction speech caused the gorillas to tilt their heads in confusion. Even the boss monkey. Good, now I'm less likely to get gorilla-punched or zapped without warning again.

"You, boss monkey. I know you can speak 'human' (thanks to Bloom and the Kigal-Note's info), so speak up! If you are a warrior of honor as your race prides itself in, then you will not utter any lies! Why did you kidnap my client?" - Garami

"O-hooo... This man, the legendary fruit, had captured. Taken. Stolen! It's ours! We want it!!" - Boss Monkey

The monkeys around us started to jump around and shouted unintelligent yells, but I ignored them and jumped down from the pillar and cut the ropes holding the chef.

"Is that your reply?" I asked as I turned the peanut gallery's attention away from the boss monkey. "Because, if you continue disrespecting this great god of commerce, the chef Marcus Pollen, you will regret it deeply!"

"HUH?!" - Marcus Pollen

"...He, weak, looks." - Boss Monkey

"Kukuku. That is the limit of your ability. After all, you did not drag his greatness over to this village just to punish him for 'stealing' the fruits?" - Garami

"Hmph. You, smart." - Boss Monkey

Smarter than you guys.

"What fruit?! What are you talking about?!" - Marcus Pollen

"That thing over there." - Garami

I pointed at the object the monkeys had been treating as some holy grail a few moments ago. I'm talking about the pot filled with curry that the chef had cooked for us.

"My special banana curry? Why-" - Marcus Pollen

"*GAAAAASP*!!!" - Whole monkey village

All the monkeys gave a shocked gasp at the chef's words. The chef himself looked around confused, but not me. I think I've gotten the psychological profile on these monkeys completed now. In short: they're stupid.

"*Cough*, as you can see, his greatness is one with the authority to utter the name of the legendary fruits without any worries. After all, he has the divine power to bring out as many as he wishes for!" - Garami

"O-HOOOOOOOO!?" - Monkey village

"Th-that is, true. My, people, said so." - Boss Monkey

So there WERE some sneaky spies at the beach! Not that it's worth anything being mad about that now, but I'm feeling hurt over having failed at noticing them. Sulk...

"Correct! However, even his greatness needs something crucial to allow his powers to take effect!" - Garami

"C-crucial?" - Boss Monkey

"Yes......it's MONEY!" - Garami

"Money?! ...What, that?" - Boss Monkey

"A type of item that only people have. HOWEVER! If you are willing to share the blessings of this bountiful forest with his greatness, then he can obtain this divine item that allows him to again obtain the legendary fruits." - Garami

The monkey village looked shocked over my statement and started to talk among each other, as much as "O-hoho" can be considered "talking". Some monkeys were so overcome with joy that they fainted with smiles worthy of saints on their faces. While they were busy, the chef whispered a question to me.

"W-what is going on here, Miss Garami?" - Marcus Pollen

"Simple. This island isn't capable of growing banana plants, but these guys know about it for some reason. Those things seem to be miracle food for them, the kind that could blow off the clothes of people who tries to taste it. That's why the boss monkey brought that strange curry of yours with him." - Garami

"...Then, do I need to provide them with bananas from now on?" - Marcus Pollen

"Just think about it as having expanded your customer base." - Garami

"When you say it like that, it does not feel like a bad thing after all." - Marcus Pollen

Glad you're seeing things in my light. Now, on to Act 2.

"Alas, my dear primates, his greatness Marcus Pollen is saddened." - Garami

Hearing my words, the monkeys' attitude went from heaven to hell. Especially the boss monkey. He was starting to turn so pale that his black fur looked white instead.

"Be at ease, primates. His greatness is not hurt by your slight instance of disrespect. No, what hurts his heart is the loss of his dear, dear partner, Milo." - Garami

I could practically feel the chef realizing my goal here. Now, time to weave a story that'll let us get some serious manpower on this island. Or should I say "gorilla power"?