Chapter 141: Another trip to the forest

Apollo grinned as he pranced through the pathway covered by the grass on both sides. The pep in his step confused the brown-haired man on his side. Finally, his curiosity overpowered his patience and he called out to his god.

"Apollo-sama?"

"Hyakinthos, my beloved child, bring me everything you can find on that child. The one with eyes as golden as the sun."

This again… Hyankinthos clenched his right fist away from his god's eyes. As much as he loved his god, the odd habit of his god displeased him. Why couldn't Apollo-sama only look at him?

"I will, Apollo-sama."

However, the order was an order. He had to follow all of them. He spun around and dashed out of the gate, to contact the fly his Familia left in the guild.

Apollo guffawed and craned his neck. The bright sun reflected in his red eyes. That boy's eyes flashed in his mind. Two perfect golden bright globes, nothing he had ever seen. That alone made him worth collecting… but there was something else about that child.

His covered aura as if he didn't exist. Even the eyes of a god failed to distinguish him from the crowd. But once he did, his entire attention was drawn to the child. Gazing into his golden eyes, he couldn't look away, not one bit.

The strangeness made him chuckle. He had found another treasure rotting on the roadside.

I will have him soon.

No one could deny him, the Sun God. Everything existed solely for his amusement.

His low laugh resonated in the entire garden, reaching every adventurer idling in the manor.

—x—x—x—

[Asahi's POV]

Naaza, the chienthrope girl, smiled with droopy eyes and opened the gate for us. "Please, come inside."

Nao looked at me, her right brow raised high. Her eyes gleamed as a grin crept onto her lips. I shuddered in fear. Which god possessed my cute Nao?

"Asahi-kun, don't even think about it."

"Think about what?"

She moved closer and bit my ear. "The way you looked at that girl… I won't allow you to seduce any more girls."

I tightened my arms around her. "Nao-chan, you have grown. I feel proud of you."

"Stop it," Nao moaned, struggling to escape, but I kept her imprisoned. She gave up and let me hold her. Lefiya blushed, even her ears turned red while Ais just looked at us innocently.

Once I had my fill of teasing Nao, we followed Naaza inside the shop. An ikemen with dark blue hair and eyes matching his hair sat behind a wooden counter. Miach, the compassionate god with the habit of handing out free healing potions—it was hard to forget someone like him.

"Miach-sama, I told you I can handle this," Naaza grumbled as she tried to push the god away from his seat. "Go and do your godly duties."

"Naaza-chan, I am only here until others return from the dungeon," he spoke and turned to us. "You must be the Doll Princess from Loki Familia. How can I help you?"

A level 4 at her age, every god and goddess would have flocked to recruit her if she was from a weak familia. The two level 6 in Loki Familia could whoop anyone's ass in Orario right now except Ottar.

I unruffled the quest paper and slid it to him. "We would like to accept this quest."

"The quests for monster eggs," he whispered and scratched his chin. "We only needed three level 1 adventurers."

I pointed at the content on the paper. "It has no mention of it."

Miach stared at the paper and then Naaza, who formed a neutral expression.

"Naaza, you forgot."

"I am sorry, Miach-sama."

Miach sighed and lowered his head. "I apologize. This quest is a low ranked one and the reward is appropriate."

"I-I don't care about reward," Lefiya spoke up abashedly.

"Oh…" Miach rubbed his chin and took out four vials from the counter. "Since you all are being too generous, I will add four more potions to the reward."

Kinda useless to us since I can heal myself with the Life Element and others too if I tried.

"Miach-sama," Naaza made a sour expression.

Miach just laughed her off. He inquired about our guild documents, which I happily provided.

"Well, you all better get goin'. We need monster eggs here. Naaza, you will accompany them."

Naaza's wagging tail froze as the ears on her head rose, her droopy opening wide. "Seriously?"

Miach patted her shoulder with a smile. "You know more about the forest than they do. Guide them properly, child."

Naaza's lips curled into an adorable grin. "Yes, Miach-sama!"

Miach approached with a smile and squatted before Ais. "Keep everyone safe, okay?"

Ais nodded her head, her fingers gripping the hilt of her swords.

I still don't believe Loki let her go without someone like Riveria accompanying her, or these two escaped? They are gonna get me in trouble but my 'Protecc Loli' heart can't let Ais go alone to that forest.

Sometimes, I am too much… even for myself.

Miach stopped before me. "Look after everyone."

"As the only man in the group, it's my duty to ensure that everyone is safe."

[Miach: Respect +9]

"Good."

—x—x—x—

We reached the eastern gate and Naaza went ahead and hired a carriage. The driver gave me dubious glares. Naaza went over to the guard at the gate and signed some papers.

Naaza stowed her giant bag under the seat and squeezed beside Ais and Lefiya. Nao's shoulder brushed against me as she settled on my side.

"Asahi-kun, how are we going to sneak away now?" she used telepathy this time.

Smart.

'I will use the teleport stickers, so we can teleport back after returning with these girls.'

"Okay, let's have fun on our first quest!"

Naaza initiated a talk about us, asking our origins in a roundabout way. I also rounded off the answer to the poor state of my village and our determination to become first-class adventurers. The usual lies we made up.

The carriage slid on the smooth white road alongside a few carts and tall, thin stalks waving further in the background.

After thirty or so minutes, the familiar tall trees could be seen in the distance.

Once the carriage stopped, we hopped out. Nao put on her thin gloves, while I hauled the daggers tucked in my belt.

Time to annihilate the dino from this world too!

Stars twinkled in Lefiya's eyes as she looked around. Naaza's eyes were droopy as usual, while Ais lightly swung her head to examine the forest.

"This way," Naaza said lazily and walked ahead. Her bushy tail flew everywhere under her bag as though revealing her excitement.

Nao suppressed her giggle with a hand on her mouth. "What's with her tail?"

"Some say that it's hard for Chienthrope to disguise their emotions," Lefiya muttered. "Their tail and ears easily give away their emotional state."

"Lefiya knows everything..." Ais nodded her head.

"P-People in my previous school researched very odd topics…"

"Elven school?" I asked.

Lefiya shook her head. "The school in Orario…"

"Kyaaaa!"

Oh shit. I forgot about Naaza. She went ahead alone.

I kicked the ground and followed the steps she left in the dirt.

Soon two large shadows appeared on the other side of the net made of trees. I thrust my hand and shot two consecutive Barretts at the monsters' heads.

With their brain blown, the monster collapsed. I stopped before the corpses. Naaza's hand twitched under a monster's corpse. I kicked off the monster and pulled her out.

[Naaza Erisuis: Affection +9]

"T-Thank you," she fumbled on her words.

"You idiot, why are you rushing alone?"

Her head hung, and her brown dog-ears followed suit. "I am really sorry."

Compelled by the urge, I rubbed her ear between my thumb and index finger.

So soft…

[Naaza Erisuis: Affection +4]

Naaza looked up with tears in her eyes. "D-Don't."

The FBI doesn't exist in this world, right?