Immoral Guild (不徳のギルド)

GOLDEN EGG

GOLDEN EGG Feels like it's been forever since I last used this.

Ever since I met them, the chances of me stepping up front have increased dramatically.

MOST OF "THEM" I'm afraid I might hit them with my arrows...

We've got ten of them already since we started the quest...

It's just the regular pace with Hitamuki's recon on our side.

This elven girl is Noma Rune.

She's a guard who saved Hitamuki and the others from repel spider the other day,

and she said she wants to learn a thing or two from us, so she came along.

This deftness is very hard to imitate...

But I must try to learn it in my own way somehow...

I meant to look after her since I've accepted her request,

but I can't just expect a golden egg to hatch here.

I'm pretty sure she also has her own "bomb" I have to deal with...

You said you want to learn a thing or two from us,

but you have your own party members, right?

They're just not well-suited to fight,

but they're actually more skilled guards with so much experience than me.

Yeah, but Senlik and Yoh have both left Mebuki City...

Huh?!

The fact that they left me behind and returned to the city,

and that you defeated the spider, despite them looking down on you,

must've taken a toll on their pride...

We promise you, Noma!

We'll become stronger than him!

We'll return someday as someone who can protect you well!

They went for training somewhere out of the city...

Why...

The guards in this city are getting less and less...

Is this a joke?

Why?!

Why aren't they thinking of a successor?! Why are they always so selfish?!

How is it that in this world, those living their lives seriously,

always get the short end of the stick?!

K-Key!

I'll do my best in the city, so rest assured!

IT'S NOT EVEN REASSURING IN A WAY...

Still, your recon abilities are amazing, Hitamuki.

The accident rate in quests will be reduced a lot by this.

Glad I could help!

I can hear humilisnakes creeping from underground as well now, so be careful!

Sure...

Huh?! You knew there was a hole there, but how?!

She has no attention span for herself.

Please let me... gooooo!!

Hitamuki!

The other head...!

It's wrapping them, so it'll be nerve-racking to cut it now...

Snakes are poikilothermic, so they should be weak against cold!

Ice magic!

Coldos!

Kikuru, finish it off!

Y-Yeah!

Thanks... you saved me again.

I'm sorry...

That quick ice magic was a good call.

You can use both black and white magic, right? Way to go!

No way. I can't learn any advanced spells from both,

and my skills are just half-assed stuff, really lacking for my job.

I rarely defeat enemies in one strike,

so I tend to leave the finishing blow to another, just like earlier...

So your lack of remarkable abilities is your shortcoming, huh?

That's short.

That's why I have to become stronger...

Not that.

I'm saying you have a "short" shortcoming.

Huh?

Look, Noma. A shortcoming...

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW ...is when your legs tend to give in, making you useless...

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW ....whenever you encounter a monster,

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW when you tend to attack

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW indiscriminately with aimless magic,

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW when you tend to go frenzy

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW and almost kill your allies,

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW or when you tend to rush in blindly

MEIHENA~ - ZTOOM - FWAAAAH - OWWWWW and get overrun by demons every time.

That's what a shortcoming is.

Can you really call them a guard...?

What do you think, Hitamuki?

Yes, you can...

But...

I'm a little happy now.

The guys from my previous party never let me do my job...

Noma, stay back a bit more!

Noma, stay close to me!

Noma, get behind me!

No, get behind me!

Thank you for actually considering me as a proper guard!

I think they're just being overprotective with how they never let you kill any monsters.

She has a little low self-esteem,

but she knows her weakness.

Let's rest for a little more until Hitamuki can catch her breath.

Her fighting style is just like mine...

Like mine...?

What is this feeling of ease that I've never experienced before?

Hitamuki, are you hurt?

- Hitamuki, are you hurt? - Right, she never does anything reckless.

- I'm fine! - Right, she never does anything reckless.

- I'm fine! - Without being distracted,

she always operates with the most important thing in mind: getting out alive!

MAGIC SPECIALIST She'll be easy to train, stress-free!

HEALING SPECIALIST Who cares about her being a jack-of-all-trades?

RECON SPECIALIST For me, I'd rather have someone like her...

PHYSICAL SPECIALIST ...than a bunch of specialists!

NOVICE GUARD GACHA - FIVE TYPES IN TOTAL Besides, I've been looking after four novices,

NOVICE GUARD GACHA - FIVE TYPES IN TOTAL but why is only Noma not coming out of the box?

NOVICE GUARD GACHA - FIVE TYPES IN TOTAL How could she slip through the

NOVICE GUARD GACHA - FIVE TYPES IN TOTAL 20% pull chance every time?

NOVICE GUARD GACHA - FIVE TYPES IN TOTAL Try as I might, Noma's not coming out...

Also, this might not be that important,

but her appearance and softness of manner...

...remind me of Miss Enome for some reason.

No, really, this isn't an extra factor of her good points or anything...

Let's say...

Yes, hypothetically speaking,

if I were to go on quests with Nora, I guess I still could continue this gig.

That's what I'm thinking.

A PEACEFUL EXTERMINATION LIFE Maybe the youth I've been wanting to get back...

A PEACEFUL EXTERMINATION LIFE ...is actually right here?

A PEACEFUL EXTERMINATION LIFE Kikuru?

You also fought all the way through, but are you okay?

Nah, this much is nothing.

My response has a somewhat junior high school boy-like innocence to it now.

But for those two to leave town...

...with the sole reason of protecting you...

...must mean they think so dearly of you, right?

Well, it's kind of mixed feelings as a boy to be protected, though.

A-A boy?!

I knew you'd get the wrong impression.

I found your behaviour a bit strange too.

I'm sorry! I thought you were a girl!

Oh, you don't have to.

I have a high-pitched voice, after all.

Err... Just your voice?

Well, yeah...

I figured he might be a boy, and he talked like one too.

Key?

I'll go check the surroundings.

So what if he's a boy?

It's not like I want to start a romantic relationship here,

and my goal is to get back my youth through campus life, too.

I don't even see Noma that way in the first place either.

Huh? I was just imagining weird stuff back there?

Man, I just thought he was easier to work alongside with other than those other four.

Don't you...

...get the wrong idea!

So he's a boy, huh...

Oh, shoot! I went too far away!

What am I doing?

MEGASLIMES HAVE APPEARED!

It got us!

Don't suck my breasts...!

I can't produce milk...

No! Stop!

I can't chant my spell like this!

It's the first time I've ever made contact with a monster other than a repel spider!

I never thought it'd attack in such a lewd way...

When I try to break free, it'll pull me back in with great force!

Then I'll just use this pulling force...

...to try getting inside of it instead...!

It's the same thing again... Must do something...

No...

But I can't... my power...

I took care of the thing, but I can't find Noma.

Where is he?

He really is a boy, huh?

Wait, no! Hey, Noma!

Are you okay?

Yeah...

Did you try getting inside it to crush it?

I tried turning the tables with that...

But I ended up like this after just taking one down...

I'm always so half-assed in everything, after all...

Hitamuki couldn't even defeat the thing.