Chapter 37 : Spring Nights are brief girl please step back

Deep in the Short White Mountain Forest.
Shirley rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought as she recalled the first time she met Gavin.

‘Why… did I fall in love with him?’

Shirley and Evelyn came from a small village in the countryside. There, women were engaged to others at an early age, destined to become part of the labor force or childbearers. The villagers saw no issue with this life.

However, Shirley found it terrifying. Her life was decided when she was young, and she could only follow a predetermined path like a well-behaved doll.

Grow up, become someone’s wife, grow old, and then force her next generation to repeat the same actions.

So, the girl made up her mind. Sooner or later, she would escape this village, no matter the cost. Like a migratory bird, she longed for freedom.

To escape successfully, she feigned compliance for five whole years. Her good friend Evelyna silently supported her. Back then, when they were wronged, they would lick each other’s wounds like calves, complaining about their dissatisfaction under the cold moonlight, and confiding their hopes for the future amidst laughter.

“If we can escape from here one day, what do you want to do, Shirley?” Evelyna’s face, red from the cold, looked at her.

“Me? I haven’t decided yet!”

“I’ve decided. I want to go to a big city to save money first. When I have enough, I’ll open a shop with Shirley, and the two of us will live a normal life.” Evelyn smiled dreamily, as if speaking of a grand dream.

“Eh~ But I don’t necessarily have to marry Evelyna~”

“Huh? You said it! I’m going to hate you, Shirley!” The girls teased each other playfully.

Later, the two of them unexpectedly awakened their magical talents. Although not very strong, in that remote countryside, it was an unparalleled talent.

So they finally escaped from the deep mountains, left that village, and after many twists and turns, they eventually became adventurers.

At first, they were a team of two, but later, with Gavin’s addition, they became a three-person team.

[Stay away from us!]

Shirley clutched her head, feeling something churning deep in her mind.

‘Strange…’

She couldn’t remember how Gavin had joined them, and when had her and Evelyna’s private world been disturbed?

“Shirley, what are you doing? Use a wide-area magic!”

“Uh, okay!”

Shirley broke free from her thoughts and held the staff in front of her chest, red magic condensing between the staff.

Beginner Fire Magic:

[Fire Blast]!

A red rune circle condensed in front of her staff, then turned into a tongue of fire, surging towards Gavin and the monsters in front of them.

“Hey!”

Gavin, feeling the heat behind him, nimbly rolled away. The monsters, unable to dodge in time, were hit by Shirley’s magic.

And on the side, Evelyna also deftly dealt with the scattered monsters.

The path to the Mist Lord was just ahead.

The Mist Lord was a monster born in the center of the Short White Mountain Forest not long ago. Since its birth, a huge fog had risen from the center of the forest, obscuring the view.

Not long ago, the church, having noticed the anomaly in the forest, dispatched a bronze-ranked investigation team deep into the forest. However, only one person from the team returned alive.

To allow him to bring the information out of the forest, his teammates had sacrificed themselves one after another.

Just after he had relayed the information to the medics, he too collapsed and died.

In the end, all they got was some environmental information and a name, “The Mist Lord.”

It was said that this matter had been reported to the Cardinal. However, due to the Short White Mountain Forest’s distance from the nearest city, the church only took the measure of raising its level.

There were rumors that the church’s system had fallen into chaos due to the disappearance of its brain—the Saintess.

Before that, the bounty for the Mist Lord had been raised to the level of a demonic beast. As long as they defeated the Mist Lord, their Gluttonous Wolf Squad would rise to silver rank, becoming the fastest-promoting squad in recent years.

Deep in the forest, a thick fog obscured everyone’s senses.

Though it should have been daytime outside, it was as dark as midnight here.

“Hey, do you feel some kind of gaze?”

Shirley’s voice trembled slightly. She felt a chill down her spine, as if some ghost might pounce on her from behind at any moment.

“What gaze? You’re just being too sensitive, Shirley.”

Gavin said nonchalantly.

In fact, from the beginning, Ophelia had also felt a scrutinizing gaze.

[Holy Light]

With Ophelia’s soft whisper, holy light illuminated the surrounding mist.

Eyes, countless eyes.

No, it was a huge eye.

The mist dispersed, and the behemoth finally revealed its true form.

It was a giant black and white spider, over thirty meters tall. Its huge compound eyes reflected the astonished faces of the crowd. Its body was covered in fur, and its legs reflected a cold light like sharp blades, exuding a suffocating sense of strangeness and fear.

The truth of the night was the giant web that blotted out the sky, densely entangled above everyone’s heads.

This was the demonic beast that had wiped out the bronze-ranked team. It turned out not to be the Mist Lord, but a Mist Spider!

Faced with such a monster, especially one that highlighted its “bug” aspect, Shirley couldn’t help but tremble.

She was timid by nature, not to mention she would scream at the sight of strange insects.

At this moment, she forced down those fears.

“It’s okay, go for it, I can do it, I can do it!” She cheered herself on in her mind.

“Let’s go!” Gavin drew his sword and exchanged a glance with Evelyna, then they approached the giant spider from the left and right.

[Blessing]!

Golden light sprinkled on the two of them.

Swords flashed, and the intense battle made Shirley hold her breath.

She hugged her staff, her gaze tightly following the serious-looking man.

She wanted to do something, but the close distance prevented her from acting.

While Shirley was caught in a mental struggle, the battle in the distance had reached a white-hot stage.

Although the spider was huge, its movements were clumsy. With the addition of Ophelia’s [Blessing], the two of them gradually wore down the spider’s legs, causing it to let out fierce roars.

Gavin felt that this was an evenly matched opponent, but that also meant that it could be defeated!

He roared and drew his sword, steadily cutting wounds on its body.

“Now! Magic!”

The spider finally couldn’t bear the pain and sprayed webs indiscriminately in all directions. Gavin hid behind a tree and shouted to Shirley.

“Yes!”

The moment she heard that voice, all her thoughts vanished. She raised her staff:

“Oh, god of raging flames, please lend me your power!”

Intermediate Fire Magic: [Fire Jet]!

Terrifying flames spewed out from the staff, instantly melting the webs sprayed by the spider. The terrifying temperature burned the spider’s body, even causing it to let out a miserable groan.

The surrounding webs were also ignited, and it now fell heavily to the ground in pain.

It wouldn’t live much longer.

Seeing the spider preoccupied, Gavin quickly slid to its side, then with a swift move, he cut off its head.

“Phew, the Mist Lord, nothing more than this.”

“Ophi, your support was timely. Evelyna, you’re getting stronger and stronger too.”

“Shirley, next time don’t wait for me to say it, use your magic proactively!”

“…Okay…”

Gavin, who had successfully defeated the Mist Lord, looked very happy. Tomorrow, they would become silver-ranked adventurers.

Shirley bit her lip. She really wasn’t in a good state. Her head had felt dull from the beginning, as if her ability to think was constantly being stripped away.

“Wait… something is coming!”

From deep in the forest, a roar deeper than before echoed.