Published: September 4, 2025
I think lewd things are not good.
Correction made on 8/11.
This is Satou. Seasonings are something we use casually every day, but I wonder how many people actually know what they’re made from? Mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, dressing... you only realize how valuable they are once you run out.
â—‡
“U-um, no, Master,”
Lulu looked up at me with a worried face.
“It’s okay. Now, just relax.”
“Y-yes.”
I placed my hand on Lulu’s waist to support her as she tried to back away nervously and let her lean on me.
“Here we go, Lulu.”
“I-it’s impossible. It’s too big.”
“Don’t worry. Trust me and just do as I say.”
Still anxious, I placed my hand over her delicate hand to reassure her.
Then—
Lulu’s finger pulled the trigger of the demon gun.
â—‡
Below us, in the space in front of the waterfall’s basin, about six gigantic newt-type monsters, each over ten meters long, were lounging in various postures. Their name was Hard Newt, and they supposedly had a special attack that breathed acid.
They were all in the upper 20s level range, relatively strong.
There was a reason I took the frightened Lulu out hunting monsters.
After the incident in Muno City, Pochi’s level had fallen behind Liza and the others, so whenever monsters appeared near the campsite, I took Pochi out for nighttime monster-hunting dates. Arisa and Mia found out and accused me of favoritism, so I reluctantly promised to go monster hunting on days when stronger monsters were near the highway and to rotate who got to go.
We decided on the order with rock-paper-scissors, but not only Arisa and Mia but also Nana and Lulu joined, so eventually Mia went first, then Lulu, Nana, and Arisa last. Hunting one person at a time is inefficient, but apparently “just the two of us” alone was important.
A few days ago, I found some suitable monsters and went out with Mia, but although we hunted seven level-15 caterpillar-type monsters, her level didn’t increase. It seems elves level up more slowly.
â—‡
“M-master, a lot are coming. Wh-what should I do?”
Lulu clung desperately to my chest. Even desperate Lulu was cute.
Out of her sight, I activated a guided arrow (remote arrow) and finished off one newt monster hit by the demon gun cleanly. The remaining five seemed to recognize us as enemies. True to newts, they climbed the cliff, so I used a short stun to knock them down.
“Lulu, drink this, and then let’s go for the second shot.”
I gave her a magic potion to recover MP and charged magic power into the demon gun. I thought Level 3 Lulu could fire about 30 shots without resupply, but one charge used half the magic power. There seems to be a considerable individual difference in magic charging efficiency.
Maybe she leveled up after the first monster, now the magic gun could be charged with only about 20% magic consumption. I aimed and let her shoot like before.
I repeated the routine—demon gun shot, followed by guided arrow finish—and in about three minutes, all six monsters were taken care of.
Leaving exhausted Lulu atop the cliff, I collected the monster corpses. There seemed to be three monsters with higher levels behind the waterfall, but after this much, Lulu should have leveled up to around 7 to 10. I planned to relieve her and switch with Nana next time.
Carrying the pale-looking Lulu in my arms, I ran along the water surface of the tributary leading to the big river by the highway back to the others. The skystride skill was too convenient.
â—‡
“Oh? Lulu, what happened? Feeling sick after your first battle?”
“Ah, Arisa. I-I'm okay.”
When we returned to the campsite, Arisa came running with concern. Lulu was putting on a brave face to avoid worrying anyone, but her complexion was bad.
Like with Liza and the others in the labyrinth, it seemed her body was shocked by the sudden level-up. If it’s the same, she should recover after 3-4 hours sleep. If it’s tough, I’ll give her some fever-reducing or pain-relieving potion.
“W-what on earth did you have her fight against?”