The Path to a Rescue

"There's someone I want to save. Please help me."

Back at the inn, I had bowed my head and said exactly that.

I'd decided to be honest and ask for help from anyone who might cooperate.

Specifically, that meant Leone-san and Lyuka, and of course my companions Kanan and Adelia.

"Well, my own slave is the one who caused this mess, so I'll help too. Yukishiro-san… it would be too cruel to leave her in such a horrible state."

That was Kanan's offer.

"Just… let me check one thing. There are no ulterior motives, right? It's purely that a classmate is suffering and you feel sorry for her, so you want to help. That's all, right?"

She pressed me with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"Y-Yeah. Th-That's right, but…"

I answered, looking away.

"… Right, then, that's fine… Y-Yeah, of course. With me right here, there's no way your eyes would wander to some other woman… right…"

Kanan somehow convinced herself.

"If it's Goshujin-sama's wish, Adelia will grant it no matter what, nya! Leave it to me, nya!"

Adelia was fired up at being relied on. Mmm, that's reassuring… she's so cute.

I patted Adelia on the head. Good girl, good girl.

"For my part, since my position is essentially adjacent to the System, if otherworlders who came to this world are being put through something terrible, I'll spare no cooperation within my means. That said, suffering and sorrow inflicted by humans onto humans… That is a problem to be settled among you PCs. I cannot extend direct cooperation… Until you can come up with 250,000G, that is."

"Thanks, Lyuka…"

"I'm a former PC myself, so I'm willing to cooperate to a degree. Even now, you remain a precious customer… Though the only customers I have left are you, Naoto-san, and your group."

Leone-san said that with a mischievous smile.

… It was true. We'd already booked out every room in her inn.

"So then, Naoto-san, do you have a method in mind?"

"Well, honestly, I don't think there's any approach but the straightforward one."

In one sense, rescuing her was simple.

Noda and Yukishiro-san reigned as the champions of Eora. There was no running or hiding from them.

In other words, all I had to do was break through them head-on.

(1) Enter the Eora Champion Tournament.

(2) Win it.

(3) Challenge the champion, win the Garumon Battle, and take Yukishiro-san.

That's all.

"Oh, then, easy win!"

Kanan said.

"If it were that easy, I wouldn't be asking. The road to get there is rough. I can't see a clear way through…"

First, the problem with (1).

Only D-Class entrants could compete in the Eora Champion Tournament.

We were currently E-Class, which wasn't enough, and entries closed in three days.

Yesterday's estimate had us reaching D-Class in about five days, which fell a bit short.

"Well, we can solve that just by picking up the pace."

"Fufu, that's right. With Kanan and Adelia's abilities, I can't see them stumbling at the E-Class level."

Leone-san vouched for it.

Adelia and Kanan would have to fight at twice the pace I'd planned, so it would be quite grueling.

But I had no choice but to ask them.

"So the problem is everything after that?"

"Yeah. We've confirmed we can win at E-Class. But how far we can push at D-Class is still unknown. By my estimate, at our current strength, we can't even beat the challenger from this last tournament, the winner. Kanan, did you think you could win against him?"

"… Th-That…"

Kanan fell silent. Those three challengers… even seen from a distance, each of them was stronger than Kanan was now.

Yes, to win the tournament, you needed top-tier D-Class strength.

"But Adelia's gonna get even stronger, nya! If our level goes up, we won't lose, nya!"

"Right, exactly! Sure, at LV10 right now we can't beat them, but if our LV climbs higher… say, up to LV15!"

The two of them puffed up indignantly.

"Yeah, I think so too. The tournament starts in half a month and runs for ten days. In that time, our LV will rise by at least 5, no doubt about it. Then we'd have more than enough strength to beat that challenger. I have the math worked out up to that point."

That made the real problem obvious.

"In other words, the issue is (3), the champion match. Whether we can actually beat that Yukishiro-san."

"Are you saying I am inferior to Maika Yukishiro? Whether in beauty or in talent, there's not a single thing I fall short on, you know?"

Kanan got cross, but,

"You saw firsthand how strong she is…"

"Th-That…"

After watching that match up close, there was nothing she could say.

"What we fall short on is experience. In raw aptitude, we don't lose to her at all."

When I put it that way, the two of them broke into bashful smiles.

To begin with, both of them were top-grade UR-class Garumon. But so was Yukishiro-san.

"At equal levels, I really do think Kanan and Adelia wouldn't lose to Yukishiro-san at all. But going off the tournament schedule, that means two months. And before that, the time it took her to climb from G to D was probably about three months. Yukishiro-san and Noda must have arrived in this world that long ago. They've been honing their skills through brutal battles ever since. I couldn't see Noda's status, but his current LV is probably 30 or higher… maybe 31 or 32."

High-rarity Garumon are far stronger than low-rarity ones at the same level, but they level up much more slowly.

That was something we were keenly aware of.

Kanan and Adelia had only reached LV10 in just over five days.

And the higher the LV, the more sluggish the growth becomes.

In that sense, three solid months of fighting to reach LV31 felt like a reasonable estimate.

"That's right… I'm a top-rarity Garumon myself, and matching it against my own experience, LV31 at a fairly high fighting pace is achievable in three months, I'd say. In one month, even with the harshest training imaginable, reaching LV20 would be astonishing… Realistically, 16 to 18 would be the limit, I think."

"Could two LV18s of the same rarity beat a LV31?"

"Hmm… wait a moment."

Leone-san stepped away briefly, then returned, flipping through a book.

"… Look. This is from the arena, a gambling venue where Garumon are pitted against each other and people bet on the outcomes. It's a record of wins and losses. A previous customer left this book behind. It should have plenty of records of two fighters around LV18 versus one fighter around LV31. I think it'll be useful as a reference."

We hurriedly pored over the book. Lyuka tallied things at an incredible speed.

"I've finished compiling. Cases that closely resemble the situation we're considering: two combatants around LV18 versus one opponent around LV31, that is, a numerical advantage with roughly a 40% LV gap. There are 20 such cases. The result: the lower-level pair won 3 times. The single high-level fighter won 17 times. In actual practice, it's clearly easier for the stronger lone fighter to win."

That was the conclusion.

"First, I think there are very few cases where a pair can fight in perfect coordination. In the end, it tends to play out like 1-on-1 twice. The single fighter concentrates attacks to take one of the pair down first, and after that it's just 1-on-1 against the weaker opponent. With that in mind, there's no real factor that would make the lone fighter lose."

That was my analysis, drawing on past gaming experience.

Leone added more context.

"Let's see… about those three winning cases. One was a perfect elemental counter. Two low-level water-attribute fighters beat a high-level fire-attribute opponent. Fire takes a complete elemental disadvantage against water: damage halved, damage taken doubled, a fourfold difference in all. That's enough that they say even a halved LV gap evens things out. In a 2-on-1, there's no way you can lose with that. The other 2 wins were the same duo… I know this Lyna and Aina pair. They're a duo famous in the arena for incredible coordination and combos. Two of them fighting together is said to be worth more than double the strength. It's hard for two people to fight in perfect coordination, but those two have made it real. They're a popular duo who've pulled off miracle wins against superior opponents many times."

"… However, this same duo also appears in the loss records. Even with that level of coordination, they haven't reliably beaten higher-tier opponents."

Lyuka added.

"For reference, when challenging a single high-level opponent with two fighters, the threshold for being clearly favored is a LV gap within 20%. In other words, with the two fighters at LV24, it's even. At LV25 or above, you can call yourself favored."

"So… please, advise me."

The conversation circled back to the start.

"Simply put, you don't have to challenge with just two, do you? If we add one more and fight as three…"

"Three fighters within a 40% LV gap have the advantage against one. The compiled stats bear that out."

"… Yeah, if we could line up another LV18 UR-class Garumon to stand alongside Adelia and Kanan."

"… If that were easy, no one would be in trouble…"

"I saw her techniques. Some swapping might be possible, but in broad terms her skill kit is going to stay as it is. So I considered countermeasures, but, looking at it normally, she's just plain strong. Dance of Frost, which locks down the opponent's movement over several turns. Shadow Step, which projects an illusion and lets her dodge even magic. Accel Mirage, which attacks while accelerating until she becomes untouchable. And Blizzard, slow to activate, but a powerful, no-miss area-of-effect spell."

"Accel Mirage! That's a nasty technique…"

Leone seemed to know it.

"Did I tell you about the benefits of Speed?"

"Hm? Wasn't it just about getting the first strike?"

"… Oh dear, that was close. Knowing this from here on or not is going to make a world of difference. In this world's battles, there are bonuses for differences in Speed. If your Speed is more than double your target's, you get two attacks."

"… You don't say."

I had no idea. W-Wait, didn't we fight someone with average stats of 30 when ours averaged 15?

We were cutting it really close…

"For reference: quadruple Speed gives 3 attacks. Octuple Speed gives 4 attacks."

"… Actually, I have an acceleration-type attack as well. I used to specialize in burning opponents down in one go by exploiting that attack-count effect."

Leone told us.

"So I know the dangers of Accel Mirage, attacking while accelerating, all too well. Worst case, if she keeps accelerating until she's putting out four attacks per turn, you won't even be able to bear watching the carnage."

Seriously? Taking four attacks from a high-level opponent…

Of course, Dance of Frost can't be ignored either. A skill that locks you in place once every two or three turns, permanently.

If you wanted to take her down quickly, you'd have to break through Shadow Step first.

Blizzard is just sheer power, but precisely because of that, there's no real way to deal with it.

"Of course, there's the option of using a Garumon with ice resistance, or one with no-miss attacks. But then you'd run into the problem of conveniently having such a Garumon on hand… And honestly, I don't want to recruit a Garumon just for that purpose."

"… Fufufu, that's the good thing about you, Naoto-san."

Leone and Lyuka both smiled.

Of course, if I could have just produced 250,000G or 490,000G right then and recruited Lyuka or Leone as a companion, that would have solved everything. But if I'd had that kind of money, I wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with.

"Then there's the option of facing her with an elemental advantage. To begin with, fire is the perfect counter to ice. Adelia-san becomes the central pillar of the main fight."

"I looked into that. But apparently Nekomata are originally weak to ice. So her fire and ice cancel out, leaving her without weakness or advantage. The perfect counter doesn't apply."

"Right… at most, you could think of her as LV+30%…"

In which case Adelia could have been calculated as the equivalent of LV23 to 24. If Kanan had the same elemental setup, she could just barely fight, but…

"Hmm, it'd be nice if I could put the two of them through some training, but NPCs are forbidden from active combat actions."

So there was no real solution from consulting these two either…

"For Kanan-san's wind element… if we could add the fire element… Ah, that's it! There's only one, but there's a way!"

At that moment, Lyuka raised her voice.

"Eh…! You'll tell us? Lyuka!"

"Are you familiar with Garumon equipment?"

"Equipment? No…"

"Garumon can wear one piece of equipment. It can boost stats, add elements, and so on. There's a wide variety of it. If we can prepare a piece of equipment that adds the fire element, Kanan-san will gain ice resistance, which can be calculated as a roughly LV+30% boost."

"Oh! There's a way like that! Then let's quickly get our hands on a piece of fire-element equipment!"

A path to victory was opening up. It really had been a good idea to talk this out.

Even so, that would only put us at even, not exactly favored. But there was a world of difference between even and disadvantaged.

"Yes. I am a sorceress with Magic Item Create. I can produce magic items as you wish. Here is the menu."

What she presented to me was…

Expensive. Way too expensive.

Ah, I see. So that's why, even when you know your opponent is ice-element, you can't easily counter them on element alone.

Simply put, the prices were out of reach even for D-Class Masters.

"For reference, Tiny addition is about 1/8. Small is about 1/4. Medium is about 1/2. To get the LV+30% effect, you'd want the full 'Fire element added' tier."

"… Um… could we do an installment plan…?"

I lowered my head in shame.

"Naoto-san… I can't do that. I'm in the System's employ, after all."

Refused by Lyuka, I shrank into myself.

… But Lyuka gave a small chuckle.

"Don't worry. I am, after all, a specialist in Item Create. For you, Naoto-san, there is a way to obtain it. I'll explain."

…

…

The method she had outlined was… an outrageous one.

But if there was no other way…

"… Okay, Adelia? You're the linchpin here, but…"

"Nya… I-I understand, nya. For Goshujin-sama's sake, Adelia will do her best, nya."

"… Kanan, you good?"

"… Oh, fine! O-Okay! If you say there's no other way, I'll do it!"

Kanan agreed too. With both of them on board…

"All right, let's do this. I'm counting on you all. Lyuka. Leone-san. Adelia, Kanan."

… It was a method that only became possible with everyone's cooperation.

"F-Funyaa…"

And now, in front of me, Adelia… was completely naked but for a single towel covering her chest and a single handkerchief covering only the slit between her legs, her legs spread wide.

Her reddish-brown pubic hair lay bare before my eyes.

"U-Uwaaah…"

I went bright red with embarrassment, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from that reddish-brown triangle.

"E-Erm… s-so… W-We're… going to shave it off…?"

"Funyaa…"

Adelia looked like she was about to cry.

"… Yes. A Garumon's body hair contains a portion of that Garumon's power. A garment crafted from it is called Spirit Garb, and it grants the wearer a fragment of that Garumon's power. Among the equipment a Garumon can wear, it stands as a particularly outstanding piece. Adelia's body hair, being fire-element, can be expected to grant fire-element addition, or alternatively, ice-resistance properties."

"I-I see…"

If Kanan wore a Spirit Garb made from Adelia's body hair, she would gain ice-resistance defense.

Then for matchups against ice attribute, Kanan could be calculated as LV+30%, putting her at LV23-24 equivalent. In terms of fighting strength, we'd reach near parity.

"Couldn't, um, regular hair work, since it's all body hair anyway? If you just cut a little…"

"Head hair and body hair are different. Item Create using head hair does exist, but the garments produced from it are called Hair Garb, a tier below, and the elemental effect is only about 1/4. Only body hair can serve as material for Spirit Garb. That's the law of this world, so if you have complaints, take them up with the System. Adelia is a Beastfolk, but she has almost no body hair. Underarm hair would work, if she had any… The only place she has any is there."

The smooth, reddish-brown curls…

"Uu, ugh… but in a case like this, wouldn't it be better if Leone-san or Kanan or Lyuka shaved it instead…"

I tried to hand the razor off to someone, but,

"N-No way, nya. Something this embarrassing, only Goshujin-sama is allowed to do it to Adelia, nya."

… If that was her own wish, what could I do?

I lathered soap, swish, swish, over Adelia's pubic area, then took up the razor, gently, careful not to cut her…

Shree, shree…

I shaved off Adelia's pubic hair little by little.

The razor was nicely sharp and shaved through the hair smoothly.

… Eventually, Adelia had been left completely bare.

"Funyaaaa…"

Adelia went limp.

"S-So… that does it, right?"

I went limp too.

S-So lewd. Way too lewd…

I'd had Leone-san do erotic things to me, but I was still a virgin. The stimulation was just way too much…

"Yes, truly excellent, high-quality body hair. I'll transmute this with my magic, Item Create, into body-hair cloth. After that, we'll have Leone sew the Spirit Garb. But this alone isn't enough material…"

"It's all right. We Beastfolk grow hair quickly. Repeat this a few times over the next month, and we'll have more than enough to make a piece of armor."

Leone-san offered her advice.

"… D-Doing this… more times…? Uwaaaaah…!"

This was harder than fighting battles.

"For reference, the Spirit Garb of Flame has roughly the same price and effect as the Emblem of Flame. So, around 700,000G. This must be paid to the System and cannot be waived."

"… I don't have that kind of money…"

If I had, I'd already have Lyuka and Leone as companions.

"However, this time, we will purchase 'Adelia's body hair,' transmute it into 'Adelia's body-hair cloth,' and sell that. By that route, it can be created for 20,000G. Have Leone sew the Spirit Garb from there, and the cost drops dramatically, with the effect almost unchanged."

"Eh… Leone-san, that's amazing."

"Fufu, sewing isn't a System service, so I won't charge a fee."

"… Thank you… so much, really."

I was so glad Leone-san was willing to help.

But still, 20,000G… well, to save Yukishiro-san, that was a small detour.

"Furthermore, NPCs have the authority to discount up to 70% for Masters they take a liking to. So this time, we'll create it for 6,000G."

That much, at our current pace, I could earn in three or four days of fighting.

"… That helps. Thank you, Lyuka."

I was truly, truly grateful Lyuka had cooperated.

And so, in order to save Yukishiro-san, the path to defeating Yukishiro-san had been laid.

After that, all that was left was to do it.