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'Two?'
'Yes, two, you ignorant brat. It's the number that comes after one.'
'I know that! I mean, I can only sense one hidden enemy.'
'Ahh... Well, I guess that means at least one of the two monsters is doing its job, right? After all, that's the point of them being hidden. You can't really say an enemy is hidden if you can sense it. Is that what you meant? But now that I think about it... If you can't sense it, how do you know there's another hidden enemy besides the one you can sense?'
'Agh... It stresses me out talking to you when you get like that... Look, just focus mainly on the two hidden enemies you can sense.'
'Hahaha... Okay, I'll get right on it. Now leave me alone; I want to keep chatting with little Windy.'
'Little Windy? Bah... I'm not really interested.'
After those words, a small storm of black smoke with miniature red lightning bolts begins to spread from the sword toward the direction where the monsters are.
The stormy cloud quickly covers the area where they are, but it becomes much denser in two specific places.
From one of those places, a dark ball jumps out and attacks the Golden Eagle, knocking it to the ground.
Now that it has stopped using its invisibility ability, I can clearly see that the hidden monster I couldn't initially perceive is a Shadow Cat.
What I didn't know is that these monsters had the ability to hide from my interface, as this is the first time we've encountered one.
At least that I've noticed.
I also didn't know that Zariche has a greater ability to perceive enemies than my interface.
'Another advantage of having him as an ally.'
As the Shadow Cat leaps at the monstrous bird, from within the grassland in the other place where the density of the Dementia mist is greater, a green mist with violet tones begins to emerge, mixing with Zariche's skill.
In a few seconds, the greenish mist covered the area where the five monsters were, and they began to scream in pain as they felt their bodies literally begin to melt before our eyes at an impressive speed, as if they were wax figures that had been left too close to a fire.
The only one of the four monsters that resists the effect of the acid mist for the longest time is the Hellcat, probably because the flames covering its body limit the corrosive effect of the mist to a certain extent.
Even so, it only manages to resist long enough to jump towards the Carnivorous Flower and attack it with several swipes, from which dark red flames emerge that cover the plant monster for only a few seconds, as the flames disappear when the Hellcat finally dies from the effect of the mist.
But the amount of damage the Carnivorous Flower receives is lethal, as the flower-shaped monster also crumbles into a shower of golden particles a few seconds after the death of its attacker.
'Ha! Just as I thought... Dementia Mist isn't as effective as Sword Demon Domain, but it was more than enough for this occasion,' I think as I admire the result of my plan with a smile.
A few days ago, thanks to Zariche, I discovered that even though the description of Dementia Mist says that its effect is against people, that doesn't mean I can't use it just as effectively against monsters.
The advantage of using Dementia Mist instead of Sword Demon Domain is that I can direct its effects to specific areas, so I can use it without any problems when fighting alongside my girls.
But the enemy control effect isn't as beneficial, since it doesn't slow down enemies or heal me for the damage they take.
"Master, that was disgusting. Why did you have to show Delia that kind of spectacle?" Alessia speaks reproachfully, prompting me to turn and look at her.
"I'm fine! Seeing those monsters' bodies slowly disintegrate... It didn't shock me or anything," says the fox girl, but I can see that she is quite pale and her face has a slight yellowish tint.
'Damn...
Sometimes I forget that Delia, unlike Alessia and me, finds no interest or pleasure in fighting...
If it weren't for me, she probably would never have entered a labyrinth in her entire life.'
The Saint has no problem fighting to get food or to help Alessia and me, but that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't like violence.
And the scene I just showed her a moment ago was quite graphic, grotesque, and violent, with the monsters' bodies slowly disintegrating as they continued to fight each other until their last breath.
"Sorry, darling. I didn't realize that might upset you..." I say, and Alessia snorts indignantly in response.
The fox girl tries to say something to contradict me, but she retches and covers her mouth.
"... Let's rest for a few minutes. We've been exploring for quite a while now. Besides, there's no point in continuing if the person in charge of keeping us healthy is feeling sick."
This time Delia seems determined to say something despite her nausea, but Alessia interrupts her by approaching her and lifting her up in her arms, after which she sits down while cradling the fox girl against her body and looking at her tenderly. "Let it go, my love. Master screwed up and did the right thing by apologizing..."
After those words, the blonde turns to look at me and says, "...Next time, don't do that kind of thing without consulting us..."
'Ha! She has a lot of nerve... But even so, I love her madly.'
"... It would have been much faster and simpler if we had eliminated the monsters ourselves, even if we had been injured in the process."
"You may be right... But I still prefer not to have to face a group of monsters directly when there's a Hypnotic Bat among them..." I say as I sheathe Zariche, after which I sit down next to them.
"... I'm not distressed about the damage the monsters can do to us, since we have the best healer in the world with us. But the damage we can inflict on each other by mistake..."
When I imagine some of my attacks accidentally hitting one of my girls, I instinctively close my eyes in fear as a chill runs down my spine.
The difference between our stats is too significant, and now I also have Zariche as my weapon.
Under these circumstances, I could end their lives by mistake in a moment of confusion.
And that's something I couldn't bear.
"... That is a problem. Especially if I'm the one carrying out the attack."
After those words, Delia breaks free from Alessia's arms and throws herself at me, hugging me silently as she presses her face against my chest, causing me to open my eyes in surprise.
Alessia, however, looks at me with a mixture of sadness, anger, and affection that leaves me slightly bewildered. "We are not so fragile, Master. But I can understand your argument..."
Then she leans toward me and kisses me on the forehead.
"...You are forgiven this time."
After those words, she kisses my eyelids, my nose and finally reaches my mouth, where she lingers much longer.
'It's true that the gap is narrowing over time,' I think, as I return the kiss to my first girlfriend.
[Alessia Addari] [Great Adventurer Lvl 41] [Archer Lvl 38] [Sword Saint Lvl 9] [Explorer Lvl 40] [Strategist Lvl 42] [Survivor Lvl 30] [Harem member Lvl 48] [Barbarian Lvl 45] [Knight Lvl 51]
HP=59 || MP=16
Agility=63 || Strength=63
Intelligence=63 || Luck=14
[Resistance]
Physical=45 || Magic=45
Poison=45 || Curse=45
[Visible]
[Hidden]
[(Slave)]
[(Royal Blood)]
[(Masochist Lvl 19)]
[Alessia Addari has 4 free points]
[Delia] [Saint Lvl 20] [Adventurer Lvl 45] [Archer Lvl 45] [Lancer Lvl 55] [Warrior Lvl 46] [Harem member Lvl 47] [War priestess Lvl 52] [Explorer Lvl 37] [Great Adventurer Lvl 46]
HP=46 || MP=56
Agility=56 || Strength=56
Intelligence=56 || Luck=9
[Resistance]
Physical=41 || Magic=40
Poison=40 || Curse=40
[Visible]
[Hidden]
[(Nymphomaniac Lvl 9)]
[Delia has 3 free points]
'And Delia has even acquired a new skill'
[Status restoration (Ex) Lvl 1]
This is the skill that I suppose the Solus Temple uses to reset people's status.
According to Delia, it costs an immense amount of mana to activate, so a normal person would need to use the skill in conjunction with a large group of people, as only then could they gather enough mana to activate it.
Delia, on the other hand, doesn't need any of that, as her mana pool is incredibly large due to her 56 points in MP.
But even that amount of mana is miniscule compared to Delia's actual mana pool, as those 56 points are amplified by 1020% thanks to the combination of the mana storage ring I got from our family cellar and the mana storage capacity Blue Wind gained after defeating the Zombie Dragon.
'While my status hasn't changed much lately'
[Emir] [Great Adventurer Lvl 46] [Sniper Lvl 43] [Sword Demon Lvl 9] [Assassin Lvl 43] [Harem Lord Lvl 37] [Traveler Lvl 40] [Hero Lvl 20] [Explorer Lvl 38] [Strategist Lvl 37]
HP=83 || MP=83
Agility=83|| Strength=83
Intelligence=83 || Luck=16
[Resistance]
Physical=66 || Magic=66
Poison=65 || Curse=65
'But even with all their improvements, they can never compete with the unfair advantage my interface profiles give me... Haa... I really hate the idea of risking hurting them by mistake... It's unacceptable, no matter what Alessia wants and says.'
While I was thinking about these things during my kissing session with Alessia, I suddenly received a message through my communication bracelet.
"Master, the three humans you left me with think I should inform you that we have captured some criminals who were up to no good inside Delia's clinic."
Arya's voice comes through slightly distorted by the communication device, but I can still understand the message perfectly.
Emir: !!!
Due to the surprise, I momentarily stop returning my first girlfriend's attentions as I open my eyes wide.
"Master?" Alessia asks with concern, moving slightly away from my face.
"We caught them..." I say with a triumphant smile.
"... We've finally caught the elusive vermin who have been stealing from Delia's clinic all this time."