Pretending To Have a Girlfriend? Chapter 35

Pre

[T/N: Hey, everyone! I'm Dylan. Actually, Matthew had been neither updating chapters nor responding to us for two weeks; hence no chapters were released. But he told us just a few days ago that he would not be able to continue translation due to some personal reasons. Fortunately, I'd been already recruiting translators for some time now and was able to assign Steve after Matthew's confirmation.

Steve will continue this novel now and release chapters every Wed and Sat.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Dylan]

Chapter 35 – The Crossroads of Promotion (End)

"Guys, wake up."

Starchis, who had the last shift of the night watch, whispered to the party members as the day began to brighten.

Fortunately, nothing happened during the night.

No one among the three girls had slept deeply, so they all woke up at Starchis's whisper.

He took out some jerky from his bag and shared it with everyone.

With words of gratitude, they all chewed on the jerky to chase away their drowsiness.

The jerky was tough and cold and seemed a little damp. Although Starchis had made an effort to buy good-quality jerky, the taste was still rubbery.

However, if they didn't eat this, they would quickly tire out in battle, so even if they didn't feel like eating it, they all reluctantly put it in their mouths.

If one made an untimely comparison, it was still better than the food Vienna prepares, hence Starchis didn’t have much problem swallowing it.

Starchis frowned. It seemed as if his body had frozen from the cold.

He checked his physical condition and asked,

"How's everyone feeling?"

Vienna, with her eyes closed, rotated one arm while chewing on the jerky.

"...I'm okay."

"Still… Let's stretch our bodies a bit before we leave; some warm-up should be enough."

Lily and Luss, who had already finished eating, followed his lead and moved their bodies.

Any slight discomfort they felt earlier disappeared as they stretched. The warmth also returned to their bodies, which had grown cold overnight.

As soon as the sleep disappeared from everyone's faces, Starchis spoke.

"Well, shall we head back now?"

After a day had passed, the traces left behind had been further affected by the passage of time. Naturally, they did not look like freshly-made tracks.

“… I noticed it yesterday too, but they must have gone in that direction.”

Starchis knelt down and examined the tracks before pointing in one direction.

The direction his finger was pointed to was shrouded in fog.

As it was early in the morning, the forest was now covered with mist. The trees were already so thick that they couldn't be seen from afar, and this inconvenience had worsened due to fog.

"The fog is too heavy; we need to be more careful. Let's proceed with caution."

There was no option such as to wait for the fog to dissipate. Having camped the last night, they were already a day behind, and they also didn't know when the fog would dissipate either.

With those words, Starchis led the way.

No matter how short of time they had, he still made sure to leave a mark on a nearby tree, every time they traveled some distance.

****

It wasn't difficult to track the traces.

Perhaps because they were a big group, following the trampled grasses by the group, the traces continued to lead the way.

As Starchis walked, he became convinced that the group consisted of a total of seven monsters.

It was a regrettable situation for Starchis, who wanted to find a group of five Kumdo monkeys, but he did not abandon this trail and tried to find another group.

He didn’t know how long it would take, and finding a group of just 5 Kumdo monkeys was rare in the first place. Time was not infinite either; the longer they stayed in the dungeon, the worse their physical and mental condition would get. So he judged that it was better to quickly find and hunt one group rather than take time to find a new group.

Despite this, Starchis continued to worry, taking deep breaths from time to time.

Luss, who noticed his actions, spoke.

“Chis, let’s just follow this group.”

“Uh?”

"You're hesitating about whether to find another group or not, right? But it seems like this jungle is taking away more stamina than we thought. I think it would be better for us to finish this quickly."

Luss’ words became the decisive statement that solidified Starchis’ resolve.

Starchis nodded and without any further hesitation followed the increasingly vivid traces.

– Cheng, cheng

Starchis raised his hand at the faint noise and signaled the party to halt. But the rest of the party members had already stopped upon hearing the same noise.

– Cheng, cheng

it seemed to be the sound of clanging iron - a sound that is usually heard when a knight moves in heavy armor.

To Starchis’ ears, it was clear that the sound of unordered clanging of iron was due to several people clad in armors moving in a group.

He wondered if there was another party nearby.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the fog.

Everyone in the party hid themselves by leaning against thick trees one by one. They looked toward where the sound was coming from.

Soon, the other party came into view.

They were wearing armor covered in dirt and debris, heading in the direction that Starchis's party had come from.

It seemed they had finished their quest and were leaving.

"Which party is it?"

Starchis was about to speak, but he was Stopped by Luss, who was clinging to the tree right next to him.

Everyone froze at Luss's action. She had a finger over her mouth.

Starchis, reading the meaning in her eyes, hid behind the tree again and looked at the unknown party.

The party whose only a few members were seen now revealed itself entirely.

7 people…

They were all small in stature and had awkward strides.

As Starchis had guessed, they were donned in heavy armor from head to toe.

They looked like a unit of knights. They all had swords and the sword of the big one who looked like the leader was surrounded by a purple aura - an aura that was a special characteristic of the demonic sword.

‘…Does this make sense?’

They were the party of kumdo monkeys whose trail his party was following.

Starchis furrowed his brows in disbelief at the sight before him.

He had never heard of kumdo monkeys using any tool apart from swords, let alone wearing a full set of armor.

Even among the various tips and advice received from the mission center, he had never heard of such creatures.

‘How…?’

And where the hell did they get the armor from?

At first, they were not visible due to the fog, but now he could see that the armor they were wearing was bloody.

He immediately realized how they got their equipment; they were stolen.

The corpses without armor he saw the day before must be the work of these monkeys.

‘Ha, what kind of monsters are they...?’

The monster in front took off its helmet while playing tricks for the big monster who appeared to be the leader. It was the moment when suspicion turned into certainty. A hairy face emerged from under the helmet; It was indeed a kumdo monkey.

The first thought that came to Starchis’ mind was to hide and let them pass.

There was no need to fight these special creatures.

If they had the intelligence to protect themselves from head to toe by taking people's armor, then it wouldn’t be surprising if they could do something even more unusual.

It would be much better to search for a new group of kumdo monkeys than fight this strange party.

After assessing the situation, Starchis also put his finger to his lips. Everyone nodded in response to his signal, and from then on, they hid themselves against the trees and waited for the monkeys to go away. This way, even though they wouldn't be able to see the monkeys, the monkeys wouldn't be able to find them either. And since the monkeys were donned in heavy armor, they could easily know when they leave.

'If it weren't for Luss, we could have been in big trouble,' Starchis thought.

Soon, the clanging sound of metal was gone.

Starchis sighed.

“Huh… What the hell was that?… we'll have to inform others when we go back.”

“Right… B-class missions are truly on a different level; I've never seen a special creature like that in either C or D-class missions," whispered Lily.

"On our way back, let's check the corpses we saw before. They weren't the ones the rescue team confirmed, were they?" suggested Luss, sighing.

At that moment, the ground trembled.

Once again, everyone stiffened and focused to locate the source of the sound.

-… Thump… Thump…

Something enormous was approaching from the direction the monkeys had disappeared to.

Leaves rustled, and birds flew away in a flutter.

They didn't know what kind of monster it was, but every party member had the same thought.

This must be an A-class monster.

Once again, they clung to the tree.

After a while, the noise grew louder and they heard the sound of trees breaking and falling in the distance.

These trees must be blocking the path of the A-class monster, causing them to fall, everyone guessed.

-Crick!!! Thud!!! Swoosh! Tweet Tweet!

The rustling of leaves, the sound of trees breaking and falling, running footsteps, and the screams of other creatures made the surroundings noisy.

It was so loud that it hurt their ears, and this all was caused when the monster only passed by. They couldn’t fathom what would happen when it actually fought.

Fortunately, the monster’s path did not intersect with the party's location… But the proximity alone was enough to make their hearts race.

After a while, the noise died down, and it seemed like the monster had gone far away.

However, Starchis felt his instincts warning him. It was the kind of feeling that something was watching him.

But looking around, he didn't see anything unusual.

Vienna, who was tensed up due to the monster, was clenching her fists.

"Vienna, relax."

“…I’m fine.”

Vienna relaxed her grip, then glanced at Starchis before clenching her fists again.

– Cheng, cheng

Suddenly, they heard the sound of clanging iron that shouldn't have been heard.

As soon as he heard the sound, Starchis shouted, “Prepare for battle!!”

There was no need to whisper anymore.

Luss drew her sword and shield, while Starchis hid Lily and Vienna behind him. He then pulled out his Tonfa and looked up.

Several monkeys in heavy armor were hanging from the trees.

"Uki-ki-ki! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!"

These were the kumdo monkeys they had seen before.

They seemed to have come close to them by taking advantage of the noisy chaos that ensued when the A-class monster passed by.

Perhaps, while running away from the monsters, they had found Starchis' party.

"Fall back!!"

With the monkeys hanging over them, the formation was broken; they had to retreat and rethink their strategy.

At Starchis’ command, Vienna and Lily ran backward first, with Starchis and Luss guarding them as they retreated.

But the monkeys weren’t just going to watch.

The monkeys, unable to use their swords while hanging, landed one by one on the ground and hopped into the left and right sides of the party to surround them.

This was also something unheard of. The monkeys, who were known only to swing their swords, were using battle tactics.

The more Starchis saw them, the more he felt that the opponent was not to be underestimated, but now that they were already in combat, they couldn't run away.

Okay, if they come at us with tactics, all we have to do is respond with tactics, Starchis thought.

Starchis and Luss had already learned enough about tactics while serving in the kingdom's defense unit, so it was a skill he was quite confident about.

[Bind!]

To block the approaching monkeys, Lily shouted an incantation, but Starchis stopped her.

“Noona!! Save your mana!”

"Even in this situation?!"

“Yes! That’s Noona’s enemy!”

Starchis pointed upward with his tonfa.

The biggest monkey was still hanging onto the tree, watching the battle unfold.

Starchis looked at Luss and pointed to her left with his head.

Luss nodded her head first and ran to the left.

“Vienna, Lily noona, stick with me.”

-Bang!

Luss raised her shield and charged toward a heavily armored monkey.

The monkey was knocked back, creating a gap.

Starchis ran through the gap that Luss had created for them. Vienna and Lily hurriedly followed him.

When the encirclement was broken, the monkeys running towards them from behind and from their right turned around and chased them.

Starchis blocked the downward slash of a monkey that was first to approach.

– Tang! Clink!

The downward slash was packed with an unexpected amount of power.

He had heard that these monkeys were strong and were good at wielding swords, but this one was even stronger than he expected. It wasn't like it was too difficult to handle, but it wasn't something he could handle easily either.

While he was holding back one of the monkeys, Vienna and Lily had already run through the created opening.

The encirclement was broken.

Luss was struggling to finish a monkey with her sword. It looked like a perfect opportunity while it was lying down, but the fallen monkey’s counterattack was too strong, and she couldn't find a weak spot in its armor. Her sword was good at slicing through soft things like leather, but it had no power against her armor.

Rather, it should have been Starchis who ended its life, but…

"Luss, don't strain yourself!" he commanded.

Giving up on ending its life on Starchis’ orders, she turned to defend Vienna and Lily.

-Woong

A white light enveloped Starchis' body, and he felt that the sword of the monkey facing him had become lighter… It was Vienna’s buff.

Using that power, Starchis pushed away the monkey's sword that was in his way and kicked it, causing it to stumble. Then he headed towards where the party gathered to protect Vienna and Lily.

When two monkeys fell, the chief monkey jumped down from the tree, drawing out his demonic sword. An ominous feeling spread in their hearts just by looking at it.

"Noona, keep that one away from us, spare no mana."

As soon as Starchis finished speaking, the chief monkey ran towards them with the demonic sword held in his arm, but he could not take more than three steps. The vines next to him had come to life, tying up his arms and legs.

Lily had already stretched out her hands, casting another spell, and blue flame-like light flickered around them.

Seeing this, two monkeys attacked Lily simultaneously, but Luss stopped them alone.

Starchis swung his tonfa at one of the monkeys that Luss had held back, crushing its helmet in one hit. Red blood gushed out constantly through all the gaps in the helmet.

The monkey with its head smashed fell weakly to the ground.

One down, six left.

Starches said: “These… I don’t know why they’re wearing armor, but it’s no big deal. The strangest one among them is that leader. It must have given these monkeys armor and taught them tactics.”

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" The bound chief shook its body in anger.

A rock flew from the surroundings and landed on its head, but it was unscathed. Instead, its helmet was knocked off, revealing its anguished face.

Luss, now with a free hand, cuts off the second monkey’s unprotected fingers.

The monkey whose finger had been cut off screamed, letting go of its sword. It didn’t dare fight against Luss anymore and ran away screaming.

– Tuduktuduktuduk.

The chief monkey, who saw this, tore the vines apart savagely with its thick, hairy hands and ran towards them again.

Seeing that Lily chanted a spell and bound it again.

"Back off!" Starchis yelled, and the party moved away as the bound chief slowly drew closer.

Seeing its subordinates getting killed mercilessly while it could do nothing, the chief kept screaming angrily with rage-filled eyes…

It seemed everything was proceeding smoothly.

While moving back a few times, Lily kept tying up the chief. Soon, the monkeys who attacked them instinctively were all dead, leaving only the chief behind.

It was a simple task for Luss and Stachis, who had plenty of combat experience.

Especially when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, they had learned a lot while serving as kingdom guards.

They took out one monkey at a time, and now they were about to face the last one.

Lily was breathing heavily. It was not only difficult to use up all her mana, but also very demanding to do so all at once in a short period of time. But, Lily performed her role well, and now even the chief monkey was covered in blood.

“Noona, hang in there a little longer.”

With Starchis cheering, Lily raised her finger in the air.

A sharp rock appeared from the ground and pierced through the chief's shoulder who soon spat blood from its mouth.

Lily was tired now. As her mana ran out, the vines that bound the monkey lost their power and loosened.

It wasn’t just the vine that lost the power though. The chief also fell backward, completely drained of energy.

The B-class mission was over.

At first, they were wondering what would happen when they fought against such a special monster, but surprisingly, the job was completed easily without anyone getting hurt.

Vienna poured her holy energy onto the panting Lily.

"...Well done," she said. But Lily kept breathing hard, without replying.

"It was easier than I thought. Isn't that right, Chis?"

“You’re right, Luss. Everyone did a great job. Noona, good work.”

"Huff...huff..."

Luss and Starchis turned around and looked at the ace of this mission standing behind them. Even though she was panting and struggling, Lily’s face was full of pride.

In the end, it was indeed much easier than everyone had worried about.

Perhaps it was because they had prepared so thoroughly due to those worries that it seemed so easy, but it could not be denied that they were going to become a B-class party soon.

Upon returning home, Starchis made up his mind to thank the receptionist, Marshall, once again.

“… Uh?”

Vienna spat out a weak sound while looking behind Starchis.

Starchis also turned his head seeing her like that.

The chief monkey, who had fallen, was standing again.

"What the..."

The monkey moved its hands to its waist and pulled out something. It wasn’t the demonic sword though, but a strangely dried-up piece of paper.

The chief monkey hurriedly unfolded the dried-up paper.

Lily’s eyes widened, ‘A scroll…’

“Ha..!.. Huff! Everyone..! Huff…!”

But before she could tell them to evade, the monkey tore the scroll apart.

-Bang!!!

As the scroll was torn apart, an explosive gust of wind swept over them.

Luss, who couldn't hold her posture properly, as well as Vienna, who was too weak to withstand it, and Lily, who was gasping for breath because her mana was depleted, were all swallowed up by the strong wind.

-Whish!

Only Starchis, who was in better physical condition than usual, stood firm against the gust of wind.

He wrapped his head with both arms and firmly faced the wind.

That’s why, It was only visible in Starchis' eyes: The chief monkey threw the torn scroll on the floor and climbed onto the gust of wind as it raised the demonic sword.

The monkey approached the party at the speed of the wind.

It was heading towards Lily, who had continued to bind and torment it with her magic.

-Thunk.

-Plop.

When the magic of the scroll ended, the three women fell to the ground.

Hurriedly regaining their senses, they looked up.

It wasn’t… over yet. The chief monkey was still alive and it was moving towards them.

On seeing the approaching crisis, as they panicked and fear gripped their hearts, a silhouette suddenly appeared and stood in front of them.

It was Starchis.

Once again, he was protecting them.

Once again, he was crushing the fear that gripped their hearts.

Without falling…