Am I crazy, our Soup just flipped me off…!?

I widened my eyes in surprise.

Am I upset about it?

No, quite the opposite.

A tingling, pleasant feeling in my chest.

‘I thought it would take much longer…’

Lee Yoo-ri grew up in a difficult environment, both at home and in life, and she always had thick guards up.

She was extremely reluctant to open up to others, even to the party members who seemed quite close to her.

She even hid her meals from them, as if they were complete strangers.

‘But now, Soup just flipped me off… after just one day of knowing me!’

Lee Yoo-ri flipping me off meant she had crossed the line from a complete stranger to a casual friend.

A little earlier, Go Yoon-seo had complained about Soup being ‘their’ Soup, and was a little annoyed, but I wondered if it was unnecessary.

Of course, since we haven’t even spoken to each other that much yet, we have a long way to go.

Nevertheless, a sense of accomplishment filled me.

As I smiled at Lee Yoo-ri’s raised middle finger, she scowled and lowered her finger.

“……What, what’s wrong with you? Are you really crazy?”

“Hearing the word ‘crazy bastard’ is nice.”

“……Crazy bastard.”

“Haha, don’t take it so seriously.”

Lee Yoo-ri scowled and shook her head.

Anyway, now that the Blood Goblin was taken care of, it was time to leave.

Unlike in the game, where defeating the boss monster marked the end, we didn’t know how the remaining goblins would react.

I didn’t want to get entangled with these green-headed creatures any longer.

“Kik…”

“Ke…”

“Ker-rur…”

The goblins stared at the headless corpse in disbelief.

I looked around and said to Lee Yoo-ri.

“Team Leader, let’s get out of here. I’ll take care of the Blood Goblin’s head.”

Lee Yoo-ri replied in a strained voice.

“……I’m experiencing mana depletion right now.”

Ah.

This was an unavoidable situation.

Mana depletion.

After fighting the Blood Goblin on top of an already exhausted body, it was to be expected.

With Lee Yoo-ri’s original specs, this goblin would have been a formidable opponent.

“Then, well… I guess we have no choice.”

“Are you going to leave me behind…?”

She sounded a bit sad again.

“If I was going to do that, I wouldn’t have come here.”

“But how are we going to get through all these goblins…?”

Lee Yoo-ri was worried about becoming a burden, given her current state.

Sheesh, didn’t she just see me take down the Blood Goblin a while ago?

I walked up to her and bent my knees, offering my back.

“Come on, get on.”

“……What, get on your back?”

“Yes, it’s too tiring to carry you. It’ll be uncomfortable, but we have to do it this way.”

Lee Yoo-ri’s eyes darted around, unsure of what to do.

“Hurry up. It’ll be a hassle if the goblins start acting up.”

“……Alright!”

She hesitantly placed her hand on my shoulder and leaned against me.

“And I need one of these arms free, so wrap your arm around my neck and hold on tight.”

I took her hand and wrapped it around my neck.

Squeeze.

Hmm, our Soup is quite strong.

She’s heavy and solid.

Before we set off, I glanced back at her and said,

“You had a hearty meal today, didn’t you?”

“……Shut up.”

I heard a teeth-grinding voice from my ear.

Why, wasn’t I just saying that it was good that she had eaten well…?

.

.

.

“Yuna. Are you done yet!?”

Go Yoon-seo chewed on her fingernails anxiously.

“We don’t know how long Team Leader can hold out. We need to hurry. Even with that guy joining us, this number is abnormal.”

Choi So-yeon circled Yuna, worriedly.

“Just a moment! I’m almost done!”

Currently, Yuna was working on a task.

It involved gluing Nakki skins to her coat, a time-consuming process due to the small size and limited number of skins.

“Hey, Choi, are you sure about this? What if Jin Yuha is lying to us?”

Go Yoon-seo turned to Choi So-yeon and asked.

“But it does make sense that the Nakki and goblins have a symbiotic relationship, so it’s plausible that the goblins can’t detect the Nakki’s stealth.”

“Then why don’t we just make a bunch of Nakki leather coats and get rid of the goblins! Why aren’t we doing that!?”

“Because Nakki leather is… more profitable as luxury handbags…”

Grrr.

Go Yoon-seo scratched her head in frustration and impatience.

“What the hell is Jin Yuha, anyway? It’s all an act. He seemed suspiciously weird from the moment I first saw him.”

.

.

.

Thirty minutes ago.

“I’m going to rescue Lee Yoo-ri now. Are you coming with me?”

Jin Yuha had just demonstrated his extraordinary skill by slicing through a goblin and a tree with a single sword strike, and now he was asking them.

“Of course, she’s our Soup”

“Of course.”

“Unni…”

Go Yoon-seo, Choi So-yeon, and Yuna all nodded without hesitation.

But the guy seemed displeased, tapping his shoulder with the back of his sword and frowning.

After a moment of thought, he spoke again.

“You three should stay behind and provide cover. Leave the rescue to me.”

“How dare you tell us to stay behind!?”

Go Yoon-seo bristled at his words.

“If I have to protect you, it’ll slow me down.”

“Who asked you to protect us!?”

“Haa, Lee Yoo-ri is such a fool to care about such useless people…”

Jin Yuha’s previous gentle and courteous demeanor seemed like an act as he spat out his true thoughts.

“To be honest, I didn’t plan on saying this now, but after watching your combat performance today, I realized something.”

Jin Yuha pointed his sword at Go Yoon-seo.

“First, Go Yoon-seo.”

Go Yoon-seo tensed up, gripping the hilt of her sword, but Jin Yuha wasn’t planning to fight her.

“You have neither the stamina nor the skill, yet you insist on being a dealer and dragging the tanker down. Because of you, Lee Yoo-ri has been stuck in E-grade gates. The aggro is all on Lee Yoo-ri, and the goblins are practically delivered to you on a platter. How do you keep getting hurt? You have no conscience.”

Before Go Yoon-seo could retort, Jin Yuha turned his sword towards Choi So-yeon.

“Your calm and collected personality is a plus. But your healing skills are lacking. Your skill aim is poor, and you can’t use it during combat. Every time we finish a battle, you waste time healing. Wouldn’t it be better to just carry a first aid kit instead?”

Then, he turned to Yuna, but he didn’t point his sword at her.

He just rubbed his temples, as if he had a headache.

“……Yuna, what are you doing here? You have no combat skills. Why are you even here?”

It would have been better if he had just drawn his sword and fought them.

“Lee Yoo-ri is an objectively talented tanker, and you three are holding her back. She made the decision to stay behind because she objectively compared your skills to the enemies’ levels and concluded, ‘It’s hopeless.’ If there had been even a slight chance of victory, do you think she would have made that choice? You would only slow her down if you went to rescue her.”

Then, he continued.

“But I can rescue Lee Yoo-ri. I can draw the goblins’ attention away and join her as quickly as possible.”

The three of them could only lower their heads.

Everything he said was true.

They were well aware that Lee Yoo-ri’s talent far exceeded theirs.

After all, they had taken the Velvet Academy entrance exam together, and while Lee Yoo-ri had passed, Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yeon had failed.

“So, you want us to just stand here and watch while you rescue her? We’re supposed to rely on a complete stranger, and you’re not even expecting much from us…?”

Go Yoon-seo bit her lip, her voice shaking.

Jin Yuha looked at her for a moment, then sighed and offered a solution.

“……What about the Nakki leather? We collected quite a lot today.”

.

.

.

‘I’ll go ahead and rescue Lee Yoo-ri from the goblins, and you can come later.’

And he added, ‘I don’t expect much from you, but…’

The stand-in party member was acting like a boss.

“That guy’s definitely got a bad personality.”

Go Yoon-seo grumbled.

“……But how is he so strong? He’s a man, after all.”

“I told you he was suspicious from the start. Soup has never mentioned a man to me! Could he be a stalker!?”

“But if it weren’t for him, we would have ended up like he said. He may have been harsh, but Jin Yuha was trying to protect us.”

“……”

Go Yoon-seo fell silent at Choi So-yeon’s cold, rational words.

But he was still an annoying guy.

“I’m done!”

At that moment, Yuna finished her work, attaching Nakki skins to their coats.

She handed one each to Choi So-yeon and Go Yoon-seo and put one on herself.

The hastily made coats were full of gaps, and the number of skins was insufficient, so they didn’t look very good, but time was of the essence.

The three of them quickly put on the coats without inspecting them further.

And the three made a determined expression.

“……From now on, we will rescue our Soup with our own hands. Since Soup isn’t here, I’ll be the temporary team leader and give the orders.”

Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yeon nodded solemnly, and Yuna followed suit.

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Yes, we’re going to rescue Unni, who’s waiting for us…”

Just then.

“Ah, what about the kids? Hmm… Oh, there they are.”

Suddenly, an annoying voice came from above.

Everyone looked up.

Jin Yuha, with Lee Yoo-ri on his back, and the party members locked eyes.

“……”

“……”

“……”

“……”

In the awkward silence, Lee Yoo-ri’s and the party members’ faces turned red.

Lee Yoo-ri felt embarrassed to be carried by a man after running off on her own, and the party members felt ridiculous after having just made their determined declaration.

“Wow. What are those coats? Are they in fashion? They look really unique, like bagworm larvae.”

In the meantime, Jin Yuha acted as if he had no idea what was going on.

Then, one of the little bagworm-like creatures knelt down.

Thud.

“What… have I been doing all this time…?”