## Chapter 68 – Ogre Raid
The next day, Claudie and I joined the ogre subjugation party.
“Not going with your buddy?”
“Copson? He’ll get here on his own.”
The night before, our names were added to the subjugation party roster. We left the city gates early in the morning. The guild explained that everyone would head to the assembly point on their own, and then the list would be checked.
It would be faster if everyone lined up and went together, but controlling adventurers with free spirits was practically impossible. They weren’t even trying for that.
“Damn, there’s a lot of people.”
Besides us, dozens of adventurers were heading towards the assembly point. With all sorts of weapon-wielding thugs moving together, the atmosphere was naturally charged.
Just like soldiers before a battle.
Humans are strange creatures whose fighting spirit boils over as their numbers increase. Gang mentality is a human right and an important value that makes people human.
“With this many people, there’s no way we can fail, right? Honestly, I think half this number would be enough.”
“Really? I still feel more at ease with more people.”
With this many, it’s doable.
No matter how strong the ogre is, it can’t stand against this many people. The ogre’s death is already a foregone conclusion. It will pay the price for slaughtering twenty people.
“They’re giving a 1 gold reward to the person who finishes off the ogre, right? Then it’s better to have fewer people.”
“Your boundless confidence is frightening. And I think even all these guys combined wouldn’t be a match for you.”
“You overestimate me.”
Well, everyone probably thinks similarly. But Claudie thinks it’s better to have fewer people to get the last hit, while most adventurers are trying to use the swarm of other adventurers to get a chance at the last hit.
The procession continued up the mountain. The ogre was said to be hiding in the green forest, attacking people traveling to other cities. Because of that, the city’s logistics were blocked. It seemed the reward was increased due to the urgency. Knowing that, the procession’s pace quickened slightly.
“So, Claudie, there’s a swordsman guild called Parallel Dog in the city…”
I walked along, chatting with Claudie. I didn’t notice when I was alone, but walking and talking like this was neither tiring nor did it feel like we were moving faster.
As we were walking,
“Hmm? Who are those guys?”
Some adventurers were approaching us.
I was going to ignore them, thinking they were just going in the same direction, but the three male adventurers were clearly coming towards us. The way they were smirking didn’t leave a good impression.
Wondering if they were robbers, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword.
Robbing with so many other adventurers around? They had some guts. With that much guts, they were likely the type to stab first and ask questions later.
Tension rose. It was an old habit of mine. When strangers approach, I always prepare for the worst.
Since I first came to this world, it was extremely rare for the people who approached me to be sane. If I couldn’t strike first, I had to at least prepare for being struck first. That’s how the habit started.
“Hey, Miss?”
One of the guys who approached us opened his mouth. Miss? Was he calling to Claudie? I quickly assessed the three adventurers.
ㅡ A tanned, blonde-haired man who looked frivolous.
ㅡ A muscular, slit-eyed bald man.
ㅡ And just a fatso.
It was that kind of combination of three.
Seeing that combination, something came to mind. What was it? They were definitely strangers, but they felt familiar somehow. Who were they? I rummaged through old memories. I brought information that had been pushed to the back of my mind to the surface. H… Somehow, the letter H came to mind.
Then.
“Yeah.”
ㅡSuddenly, it hit me.
These guys were the NTR trio from Hitomi!!!
“You’re really cute. Are you going to subjugate the ogre too, Miss? Why don’t you join me? I’m pretty skilled. I’ll protect you. Let’s go together.”
The blonde tanned man grabbed Claudie’s hand and said.
I was greatly flustered by the unexpected situation. And soon I understood the situation.
What, this son of a bitch is grabbing my girl’s hand?!
Claudie’s face immediately began to sour. I’m sure Morris had a similar reaction when he hit on her… No, more than that, an NTR guy!!!
Thinking that far, my head turned white with anger!!
“You son of a bitch, can’t you see there’s a guy standing right here?!!!!”
I shouted and immediately grabbed the blonde tanned man by the collar. It was an action done by spinal reflex without going through the brain. Without a middleman, the speed was like a raging wave. I squeezed his collar as if I was going to tear it off.
“Cough, cough?! Keh! Wh-what, who are you!”
“You hit on a girl when there’s a guy standing right next to her? This is basically saying you think I’m a joke! Why? Because my hair is black!”
Losing my reason, I immediately threw a gauntlet punch. Since there were three opponents, it was necessary to quickly incapacitate one of them with a quick decision.
ㅡThwack!
“Kuheup!”
The blonde tanned man who was hit squarely screamed and rolled on the floor.
Going out with your girlfriend and some guys hit on her right next to you? That was an act that could never be tolerated as a man. It was like saying they were going to ignore me and steal my girl. My anger was justified.
“You crazy bastard! Sheldon, are you okay?!”
“Sheldon!”
The slit-eyed man and the fatso shouted in panic. They supported the tanned man called Sheldon. Sheldon, who was being supported, shouted with a nosebleed.
“K-kill him! Kill that bastard!”
“What? Kill? This bastard just said kill me, right? Wow, you son of a bitch! Not only did you hit on someone else’s girl, but you’re trying to kill someone, oh my god!!! This is so unfair!!!”
I heard the word kill, so there was nothing more to see. Enraged, I drew my sword. These barbaric otherworlders tried to kill people at the drop of a hat. Killing them all was the best policy.
“You little shits! I’ll stab you if you move! Stay still!”
Foolishly, as soon as their companion fell, they didn’t immediately take a fighting stance and instead knelt down to support their fallen companion. Unless they were extremely skilled, they couldn’t immediately switch from that stance to a fighting stance.
When I threatened them, they froze in that position. After a moment of silence, I asked the tanned man.
“No, Mister. Seriously, why did you hit on my girl when I was standing right next to you? Did you think I was a joke?”
How much did they look down on me to hit on her when I was right next to her? This was a matter of basic etiquette. Hunting a girl walking arm in arm with her boyfriend was more than just starting a fight.
I was about to explode with anger, but I suppressed the urge to kill, thinking that killing someone here would not be beneficial. It was very difficult.
“…Damn it!”
“What? Damn it?”
“What are you doing! Kill that bastard!”
“This bastard… Seeing how easily he says kill, he must be a murderer! I will execute justice!”
Suddenly cursing, he reached for his waist and tried to stand up. He was trying to draw a weapon.
If the situation had escalated this far, there was no other way but to fight. It wouldn’t be resolved with words, and my anger gauge was already full, so I couldn’t stop.
As I had declared earlier, I raised my sword high. I said I would kill them if they moved, so I had to kill them. If those three attacked me at once, I would be killed in less than 10 seconds. Then I would be chopped up like delicious meat that could be eaten for dinner that night.
ㅡWhoosh!
I decided to kill one of them first and swung my sword. The sound of the blade cutting through the air rang out. If I killed the slit-eyed man who was kneeling down and then immediately killed the tanned man, the fatso didn’t look like much, to be honest.
“Die!”
Just as the blade was about to reach the slit-eyed man’s head.
“Katt, wait.”
Claudie said.
ㅡAt the same time, Claudie stopped my blade, which I swung with all my might, with her bare hand.
“Uh…!”
For a moment, I was shocked and thought I had cut Claudie’s hand, and I thought my blood was running backwards. She gestured to me as if to say she was okay.
“Hey, you! Your hand!”
Terrified, I looked at Claudie’s hand, but there was no blood. Only then did I feel the blood flowing properly again.
…She just grabbed my full-power swing like that?
It was an amazing level of bare-handed blade catching.
Even though she grabbed the sharp blade, not a drop of blood came out of her hand.
“Hehehe… Katt, thank you. You stood up for me, right?”
Claudie asked, looking at me.
“Uh… yeah. You’re my girl. I couldn’t just let it go when they touched you in front of my eyes.”
I was a little embarrassed, but I answered that way. Then Claudie made a strange expression and let out a breathless sigh. Her face was red.
“Really… really…”
What’s wrong with her?
“Heh, heh heh!”
And suddenly she burst out laughing. I started to get anxious. At first, she tried to suppress her laughter, but as time went on, she started laughing even louder. It was close to madness. Did Claudie have any medication she took regularly? She was my girlfriend, but there were still so many things I didn’t know.
After a while, Claudie’s laughter stopped.
“You guys! I’m in a good mood, so I’ll just let you live! Just go down as you are!”
Claudie shouted at the trio.
They had already drawn their respective weapons and stood up.
“Bullshit!”
The slit-eyed man shouted. Then.
ㅡShhh!
In an instant, all three weapons were cut. The weapons, each cut into five pieces, fell to the floor except for the handles.
Claudie had already drawn her curved sword.
“I told you to go down. Didn’t you hear me? This is your last warning.”
It was as if time had stopped. We all stared at the fragments of the shattered weapons with disbelief. Claudie’s voice, which showed tremendous divine power, was extremely cold.
“U-Uwaaaah!!”
It was the fatso who broke the silence. He ran down the mountain without looking back. He had long since abandoned the handle he was holding. The slit-eyed man followed him, and then the tanned man followed him again. It didn’t take long for the situation to end.
Dazed, I looked at Claudie.
Claudie spread her arms, looking at me.
“Come here.”
I approached her as she was. She hugged me with a smile on her face. It was such a pure smile that I couldn’t even imagine her making such a chilling voice just now.
“What a manly boy.”
“…You’re calling me a boy again.”
“Hehe.”
Hot breath entered my ear. I twitched slightly. It wasn’t a very surprising fact, and there was no point in knowing it, but my ears were a weakness.
“You were worried about me? Suddenly throwing punches out of nowhere.”
“…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry.”
She stroked the back of my head.
“Because I’m yours.”
And she whispered that to me. The hug lasted a little longer.
I climbed the mountain with a red face.
