Unorthodox Guild

The Forest of Moe, Outer Edge.

Goo!

The incoming arrow shattered the slime's core.

"..."

It feels like I've actually experienced this storyline before...

Seeing that there were no other monsters nearby, the black-haired boy put the drawn bow and arrow back into the quiver behind him.

Today is a day off, and both Elisa and Yura are on holiday, so Kaya is able to go out and hunt monsters all by himself, which is a rare treat.

Of course, his efficiency in fighting alone would be far greater than if he were to bring two idiots along.

What? You're asking if Kaya doesn't rest?

"..."

To be honest, in the past, Kaya wouldn't have voluntarily worked overtime on weekends to hunt monsters.

Because the daily kill rate is already much faster than the production rate of monsters in the forest, which are mainly slimes.

Therefore, in order to maintain ecological balance and ensure the recycling of resources, he also takes two days off every week: this not only gives himself a break, but also gives the monsters in the forest a chance to grow, so that they don't become extinct.

But things are different now.

Two new members joined the guild... two newbies.

This resulted in Kaya having to spend a lot of time every day training skills and moral education.

As a result, the efficiency of monster extermination has decreased significantly compared to before.

Not only that.

Kaya also noticed that the number of monsters in the forest has been increasing abnormally recently.

There wasn't much to do in this remote little village, so Kaya thought she would use the weekend to control the number of monsters and investigate the slimes in the Moe Forest.

"Pfft, pfft."

"...Here we go again so soon."

Kaya had just put the arrows away.

[Blue Slime lv03] [Blue Slime lv03] [Giant Blue Slime lv08]

Accompanied by strange popping and smacking sounds, several large blue slimes appeared again, hopping and skipping around.

"The quantity is indeed a bit off."

Dark gray magic surrounded him, and he drew a long, purple-handled object from the scabbard at his waist.

Get into a charging stance: the distance isn't enough, the arrow's impact won't penetrate the slime's core.

Therefore, the short sword is the most suitable fighting method...etc.

"..."

Enveloped in wind magic, Kaya, who was about to charge forward, was frozen in place as if petrified.

"......"

"What the hell is this?!"

Kaya's expression was quite complex as she tossed the mosaic-covered purple object aside.

The blade on the wooden hilt of the short sword was no longer snow-white; instead, it had become something indescribable.

"Byd Elisa, I won't let you get away with this."

Even a fool could guess who did it, but the important thing is that the slimes have already run up to us.

"Whoosh."

Using wind magic, while creating distance, the arrow was re-stringed.

"Slap, slap slap!!"

Several crisp sounds rang out.

The swarms of slimes collapsed one after another onto the grass, as if they had lost all their strength.

"..."

Looking at the blue slime all over the ground.

"..."

And next to the slime, there's that purple toy that can't be shown without being censored.

"..."

What's with this inexplicable sense of rationality?

If someone unaware of the background were to see this scene... it would probably cause quite a stir.

"..."

"..."

"Forehead......"

However, after a period of internal struggle, while collecting the core fragments, he also put the purple columnar object back into the scabbard.

"Ugh."

He never expected that even on vacation, Elisa wouldn't let him off the hook.

Ever since that night when I got inexplicably angry, the frequency of those white things acting up has increased considerably.

So, he's worried about something.

"Exactly, if that guy didn't intentionally leave this here with me..."

"..."

Although the possibility is very small.

but.

......

What if?

If that's the case, and I just carelessly throw this thing into the forest, Elisa will probably get angry again.

Not to mention, if left unattended, what if other passing adventurers saw this scene...?

This unconventional forest, and the unconventional guild beside it, are likely to be caught up in some rather strange turmoil...

shook his head.

I still have investigation tasks to complete today, so I don't have time to waste here.

Turning my head, I looked in the direction where those slimes had just appeared.

The midday sun shone through the gaps in the leaves, extending deep into the Moe Forest.

"So, the slime just now also came from the depths."

"..."

After a brief pause.

Kaya's footsteps echoed across the grass once again in the lush, dense forest.

.........

.........

Meanwhile, deep within the Forest of Moe.

"Hmm..."

The black-haired girl, clutching her stomach, sat on a bare tree trunk.

"I ate too many fries, ugh."

Although Yura now feels like she needs to find a place to throw up.

"Hmm."

But because Mr. Kaya's fries were so delicious, she was still a little tempted.

"I didn't expect my magic power to recover so much."

The girl, dangling her legs, reached out her small hand and grasped at the air in front of her.

Before joining the guild, her mana reserves were 5/100.

After a few days of rest, his magic power has recovered to about 10/100.

......

Don't underestimate these five percentages.

The number that serves as the denominator is the sum of a demon king's magic power.

Although Yura cannot yet be called a true Demon King, there are only a handful of beings on the entire Demon Continent and Demon Island whose magical power can rival hers.

Not to mention, she's only been in this guild for a few days.

If this rate of recovery continues, her magic reserves will reach their peak within a month or two.

"Hmm."

However, Yura was not quite sure why her magic power recovered so quickly.

It's said that the environment of the Forest of Cute is good... but actually, the magic power in the air is quite thin, otherwise there wouldn't be only one low-level secret realm.

"..."

"...Could it be..."

Is it because of the potatoes?

"No way..."

If the amount of magic restored these past few days is really all thanks to fries...

The effect was already more powerful than most of the mana restoration potions she had ever seen made by pharmacists.

Furthermore, most magic potions don't taste good, and they also have the side effect of gradually decreasing recovery effects with continuous use...

"Gulp."

Yura swallowed hard at the thought.

"....."

"Mr. Kaya, he wouldn't have put something in the potatoes, would he...?"

Of course, she was referring to mana recovery potions or something: after all, this explanation makes sense for the abnormal mana recovery she's experienced these past few days.

"But if that's really the case, then Mr. Kaya must be extremely skilled in potion making."

The person Yura described as "very capable" could already be considered a strategic talent for a human nation.

"only......"

How could such a skilled pharmacist end up working for a guild?

It's not one of those well-known guilds on the mainland; it's just a small guild located near a low-level dungeon, with less than a dozen members...

"Hmm, we need to persuade Mr. Kaya to join the Demon King's Castle."

Dark magic surged.

A blue slime, empowered by the magic of the Demon King Yura.

In just a few seconds, it grew to several times its original size.

After doing all this, she seemed to have made up her mind and clenched her small hands that she had just opened.

The girl secretly made a vow.

After completing the mission of slaying the hero.

"No matter what means..."

"Yura is going to take Mr. Potato back to the Demon King's Castle too!"

...............

...............

at the same time.

Cat Town, Shopping Street.

Sunlight filtered through a few white clouds, scattering across the streets paved with brownish-yellow stone bricks.

The place was peaceful and serene, with people bustling about, all enjoying the leisurely weekend.

Landscape Cat Town is just a small town on the border of the Free City Alliance.

However, due to the lack of disturbance from monsters and the long period of peace and stability, this place has also developed to some extent.

"Miss Elisa—Lilia's here, meow!"

Seemingly noticing the white figure not far away, the purple catgirl in a simple white dress excitedly waved her little hand.

"Oh, Lilia, you're here really early."

She twirled a strand of white curly hair beside her cheek: "I overslept this morning, so I'm about ten minutes late. I'm sorry."

"Hehe, Lilia won't mind, meow."

"I know, Elisa was just being polite."

"Meow?"

"Hey, where's the boss?"

Looking around, Elisa didn't see a single familiar figure.

"Boss meow? He said he's going to hunt monsters today, so he's not coming, meow."

"......"

"Oh, I see, huff huff..."

As if she had thought of something interesting, Elisa couldn't help but laugh.

"Meow? Miss Elisa, what are you laughing at, meow?"

"It's nothing."

"By the way, Lilia, does your boss usually go out with you on weekends?"

"Eh, it doesn't meow."

Lilia quickly waved her little hand: "The boss usually doesn't go out to play with Lilia, meow. Even if I sneak into the boss's house to beg him, Lilia will only get a beating, meow."

"..."

"Meow..."

"...I'm sorry for asking some things I shouldn't have."

"By the way, Lilia, you look pretty good today."

Elisa quickly interjected, ending Lilia's somewhat sad topic.

"Hehe, Lilia is a little excited because it's her first time going out with Miss Elisa, meow."

"Hmm, what kind of excitement are you talking about? Elisa's sexual orientation is perfectly normal."

"Meow?"

"It's alright, you can continue."

The girl with purple hair didn't seem to care much about this unexpected incident.

He took Elisa's little hand and then described it vividly.

"So last night, Lilia couldn't sleep at all, and she's been waiting here since 1 a.m., meow."

"..."

"Meow?"

Looking at the purple-haired cat blinking its big eyes in front of her, Elisa began to understand why Kaya wasn't very willing to go out with Lilia.

"But, hehe."

It seems they noticed something special.

Lilia, with a smile, circled Elisa once.

"Miss Elisa, you look so beautiful today, meow."

"Eh, yes, is there?"

Lilia's sudden compliment startled Elisa for a moment.

She quickly pulled down her sun hat and tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear.

"Mmm, mmm, she looks just like a saintess straight out of a church, so beautiful, meow~"

A light yellow sun hat paired with a blue and white plaid dress.

Combined with the girl's naturally white curly hair, although Lilia's vocabulary was somewhat limited, Elisa truly possessed a saintly purity and holiness, just as she described.

"Hey, no, no way, Elisa isn't some kind of saint..."

"Hmm, then Lilia, let's establish a cult for Miss Elisa. From now on, Elisa will be the saint of the Cat Cult, meow!"

"Oh yes, Lilia, you're wearing the same white dress today too."

Seeing that things were taking a strange turn, Elisa quickly steered the conversation back to the clothes.

"Hehe, that's right, meow."

"The dress is so light and airy, it's so comfortable to wear, meow."

As Lilia's ears twitched, she swayed slightly.

Her light white dress swayed gently in the breeze.

"..."

Of course, some huge things also swayed along with it.

"...That's true. The boss probably likes it a lot, after all, he's a total pervert."

"..."

The girl looked away from the enormous object in front of her and lowered her head again...

With an unobstructed view, I saw my own little feet sticking out.

"..."

Elisa kept her mouth tightly shut and remained silent in place.

"Hmm, Lilia hasn't asked Boss Meow yet..."

As if he had thought of something, he revealed another enigmatic smile.

"But the boss didn't say he didn't like it, nor did he hit Lilia on the head, so he probably just likes this dress, hehe~"

"So Lilia has over a dozen dresses at home, and she wears a different one every day..."

"I'm going to buy clothes today!"

...........

...........

"whispering sound."

He wiped away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

A surge of dark gray magic suddenly appeared, and Kaya quickly retreated a considerable distance.

boom! ! !

The instant they retreated, an enormous slime fell from the sky and crashed into the spot where Kaya had just been standing.

[Elite] [Giant Blue Slime lv19]

[Increased physical resistance due to the influence of elite affixes]

[Increased magic resistance due to the influence of elite attributes]

[The significant speed increase is due to the influence of elite attributes]

Kaya had been distracted during their journey and hadn't noticed the guy.

This resulted in them not having time to react and being injured due to a sneak attack.

Fortunately, Kaya chanted a protective spell at the crucial moment, so his mobility was not greatly affected.

"How come an elite-level monster has appeared in the lowest-level secret realm?"

"And it's so fast, it doesn't seem like a slime at all... Hmm."

Before Kaya could figure out the answer to this question...

Seeing that the giant slime had noticed him again, he quickly activated his gray-black magic and dodged to the side—

boom!

Splash, splash—

A loud crash, accompanied by falling trees, came from the very spot where the trees had been.

With such a powerful impact, if he had dodged a few seconds later, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand even the protective spell.

Meanwhile, Kaya dodged.

"...Become a frozen statue, Glacial Bind."

The incantation has already been completed.

"roar......."

The moment the incantation ended, gray-black magic power tightly enveloped the slime's body.

The surface where the magic flowed had already condensed into a thick layer of frost, which quickly seeped from the slime's blue surface into its core.

"..."

Due to the frost, the giant slime's speed was significantly slowed down.

"Crack..."

But this is only temporary.

Because of the fact that they were dealing with a fast-moving monster, Kaya was not given enough time to chant.

What he just released was merely a relatively short, intermediate-level freezing spell.

As everyone knows, even considering the elemental advantage, a single intermediate-level spell is insufficient to break through the armor of an elite monster.

"Crack, crack..."

The ice layer on the surface of the slime was visibly crumbling, and it was about to...

"!!!"

A sonic boom that cuts through the air.

As the purple dagger was drawn, a gentle breeze swept through the deep forest.

"Click..."

Several cracks appeared on the core of the slime.

"Click!"

It shattered into several small pieces, which fell to the ground one by one.

The slime's enormous blue body shattered along with its core.

As if it had lost its support, it turned into a pool of blue slime, wetting a large area of ​​grass.

"..."

Sheathed the purple short sword.

Kaya looked up at the azure sky:

"..."

"Surprisingly, it feels pretty good."

"..."

He looked around to make sure no one was watching him, after he had just used the strange thing as a weapon.

After collecting the core fragments from the ground, they continued deeper into the forest...