Chapter 54 : Chapter 54
Volume 1
Chapter 54 : An Encounter
The edge of the broadsword drew closer and closer.
Only at this distance did Muen realize that Scarface was not using the blade, but the flat of the sword, just as Muen had done earlier when dealing with Ann.
Even after I punched him so hard just now, he still only wants to knock me out?
That is so touching... no, this is not the time for that.
If this keeps up, I really am going to get knocked unconscious and forced into becoming the bandit bride of this bear-shaped creature—male!
I refuse!
But just as Muen was wracking his brain and still could not think of any solution, he suddenly heard a gentle chant, so warm that it nearly moved him to tears.
“Kind Mother Goddess of the Earth, please grant me...”
A yellow-brown light enveloped his body.
The flat of the steel blade smashed into it with a heavy boom, but could not shake it in the slightest.
“This is—”
Scarface’s cheek twitched.
He lifted his head and looked toward the girl he had been ignoring the entire time.
“You are going to meddle in my business?”
“This is the price of overlooking a mage.”
The girl lightly waved her wand, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Besides, I do not think forcibly abducting a... a man counts as a good thing.”
“Damn it.”
Scarface could not help grinding his teeth.
If I had known this earlier, I would have dealt with this woman first!
“You lot, hurry up and take care of that little bitch!”
Scarface barked orders at his subordinates.
But no one answered.
Startled, Scarface whipped his head around, only to find that his bandits A, B, C, and D had already collapsed to the ground, fast asleep.
“You do not actually think I am as stupid as you, do you?”
The girl blinked playfully.
“Not wasting time on nonsense is an essential quality for an excellent mage.”
“You really saved my life!”
Muen burst into laughter at his escape from certain doom.
He nearly wanted to pick the girl up and kiss her hard on the spot.
But he did not let the opportunity go to waste.
Taking advantage of Scarface’s furious distraction, he threw another vicious uppercut straight into Scarface’s jaw.
“Defense Enhancement.”
“Speed Enhancement.”
“Battle Aura Recovery Enhancement.”
“Reaction Enhancement.”
“...”
Scarface had only just been forced back a few steps when more than a dozen enhancement buffs were cast onto Muen in one flowing sequence.
For a moment, Muen looked like the hottest guy on the dance floor in some nightclub, his entire body glowing with multicolored halos.
“I feel like I am overflowing with power.”
Muen clenched his fist, unable to suppress the excitement in his eyes.
So this is what it feels like to have a top-tier support backing you up?
At this point, you could tie these buffs to a dog and it would still massacre everything in sight!
With support like this, why would I be afraid of some gay pervert?
“Haha, let us keep going!”
Suddenly filled with the illusion that he was invincible, Muen no longer hesitated.
Waving his broadsword, he charged at Scarface with loud howls.
Scarface raised his blade to defend, looking for a chance to counterattack.
But Muen did not give him any such opportunity.
His attacks were broad, fierce, and powerful, completely impossible to predict.
—In simpler terms, he was just swinging wildly like an idiot.
There was no technique to speak of, but there was an old saying that random punches could beat a master.
Under the effects of all those powerful buffs, he actually forced Scarface steadily backward.
“That's all? That's all? That's all? And this is enough to make you think you can capture me as your bandit bride? Are you dreaming? Why do you not piss in a puddle and look at yourself? Do you think you are worthy of even a single leg hair of the handsome and invincible Muen Campbell? Huh?”
“...”
Watching Muen charge over with green light practically glowing in his eyes, growing more excited the more he hacked away, Scarface suddenly began to doubt his own orientation for a moment.
He liked perverts.
But this blond naked man in front of him... was he a little too perverted?
Between the two of them in their current state, who exactly looked more like the evil bandit tyrant trying to abduct an innocent man by force?
“Damn it. You win this time.”
Seeing that the situation had turned against him, Scarface made a swift decision.
He immediately turned tail and ran, not even bothering his subordinates.
“Just wait! I will be back, beauty! Muen Campbell, right? I will remember that name!”
Scarface threw back one final threat over his shoulder before vanishing into the dense forest.
“Hey, wait.”
Muen’s outstretched hand froze halfway in the air.
“He ran that fast?”
Watching Scarface’s back disappear completely in the blink of an eye, Muen scratched his cheek, suddenly unsure whether he ought to chase after him or not.
“I advise you to give up on chasing him.”
At some point, the girl had already come to stand beside Muen.
“Huh? Why? Is this not exactly the time to finish him off while he is weak?” Muen asked in confusion. He definitely did not want some gay man constantly coveting his body.
“Three.”
The girl did not answer. She merely said a number.
“Two.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“One.”
The instant she finished speaking, Muen’s pupils suddenly contracted.
His body collapsed to the ground as if every ounce of strength had been sucked out of it.
A tidal wave of exhaustion came crashing over him.
“Th-This is...?”
“Enhancement magic may boost your combat power and numb your pain, but your stamina and body are still your own. If you use them like that, of course your body will not be able to endure it,” the girl said as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“So that is what it was.”
Muen let out a sigh of relief, gave up struggling entirely, and flopped flat onto the ground.
“I thought someone had poisoned me again.”
“Why do you think someone would poison you the first time they met you?”
The girl tilted her head, puzzled.
“Haha, that is... a long story.”
Muen laughed awkwardly and did not continue.
“...”
“...”
The two of them fell into a strangely awkward silence.
A moment later, Muen was the first to lose his ability to endure the frosty atmosphere. Tentatively, he said,“Um... beautiful lady?”
“Hm?”
“Although this may be a bit abrupt, could I ask you to help me strip some clothes off those bandits? I am suddenly feeling a little cold,” said Muen, who had been naked for days.
“No.”
The girl rejected him with absolute decisiveness.
“Why?”
Muen widened his eyes. “Is it really that difficult?”
“No.”
The girl turned her face away. “It is just that my mother always warned me from childhood not to get close to perverts.”
“I am not a pervert! Why can you not get close to me?”
“Wandering around stark naked in the wilderness. If that is not perverted, then what is?”
“There is a reason for that! It is because some evil woman stole my clothes!”
“Outdoor exposure? You city people really know how to play.” The girl quietly took several steps back. “This is bad. I feel like I should stay even farther away from you now. I might get pregnant. I already have a beloved, so if you were to defile me, what would I do? Boohoo...”
“You are the one sounding deeply questionable right now!”
Muen protested tearfully.
But just as he was about to say more, his vision went dark, and a fur skirt was suddenly tossed onto his face.
“Thank you.”
Muen forced himself upright and wrapped the fur skirt around his waist.
“Hm?”
Looking down at his current appearance, Muen could not help stroking his chin.
It did cover the important parts, but something still felt a little off.
It kind of looked like... a naked apron?
No, no, that had to be his imagination.
A fur skirt and an apron were two completely different things.
Besides, those bandits were clearly smaller than he was.
Their clothes would not fit him anyway, so this was all he could manage for now.
“Anyway...”
Now fully convinced that he had shed all suspicion of being a pervert, Muen extended a hand toward the girl and smiled.
“Let me introduce myself first. My name is Muen. Um... for the moment, I suppose I am unemployed.”
“My name is Eluka.”
The girl stared at Muen’s hand for quite a while, only finally reaching out to shake it after determining that it would not contaminate her with any perverted aura.
Or rather, not a girl—a young married woman.
“A former adventurer. Currently a newlywed wife, diligently training.”