Chapter 16: From Regroup To Revelation - Part 3

"If you were watching back then, why didn't you help me immediately?!" Arezu whined, turning to look at Lynn sitting beside him. "Well, I wasn't exactly prepared to witness that kind of... intimacy, I guess?" Lynn replied, her mock grin still plastered on her face as she averted her gaze, trying to act innocent. "Argh~!" Down on all fours on the ground, Arezu's cry of embarrassment echoed through the forest. No matter how much he screamed in denial, the memory refused to disappear from his mind. "Can you two explain what you're talking about?" "Don't leave us out, Lynn, Arezu." Arezu's humiliating display and Lynn's smug demeanor as she cheerfully stood in front of Arezu's prostrating form only confused Liz and Hannah further. Satisfied by what appeared to be Arezu worshipping her, Lynn sat beside him again. She then turned to Liz and Hannah to explain what had happened while Liz was tending to Hannah, who had been stabbed through the chest. Back when Arezu was defending Liz and Hannah from the rampaging Alex, there came a moment when Alex straddled Arezu on the ground—and then made a series of strange movements that even took Lynn by surprise. "Argh~!" Ignoring another scream of denial from Arezu, Lynn cheerfully continued her tale. "At that time, Alex didn't just simply assault Mr. Arezu, but rather... Pfft!..." "Argh~!" Arezu's whining and Lynn's laughter—cutting her explanation short—left Liz and Hannah even more confused, unable to imagine what sort of incident had left the two with such opposite reactions. Doing her best to contain her laughter, Lynn finally managed to speak. "Pfft... Alex tried to... sexually assault Mr. Arezu... Hahaha!" "Don't laugh about it!" Lynn's revelation explained why Arezu had punched Alex—at full strength—and reminded Arezu of everything, including the sensation he wished he could forget. He had been prepared to die fighting monsters, but what he experienced with Alex left him emotionally scarred. "Come on, Mr. Arezu, you're overreacting," Lynn tried to console him, though her teasing grin remained. "Did that really happen?" Liz asked, doubting Lynn's story but looking at Arezu with a hint of disgust. "Arezu..." Hannah said softly, feeling sorry for him—though her pity only deepened his embarrassment. "Argh~!" As Arezu's scream echoed through the forest once again, Lynn began explaining the likely reason behind Alex's sudden lust. Though it was just a theory, the curse of lust in the goblins' monster cores had likely been altered due to its amount increasing, causing a shift to its influence. Instead of an insatiable desire for the opposite sex, the goblins—including Alex—were now driven to pursue the same gender. Lynn's theory was supported by the fact that the goblins had only abducted men from Mead Village, and that Alex had tried to kill, not sexually assault, Liz and Hannah. Disturbed by everything they'd just heard, the group took more time to recover, especially Arezu—though Lynn remained unaffected. Around three in the afternoon, the distant sound of Mead Village's bell echoed faintly through the forest. By that time, they had all recovered enough to begin planning the next steps in their goblin-slaying quest. Standing before them, Lynn declared their course of action. "Of course, we're going to finish this quest. The only question is: are you all prepared to do what's necessary to save Alex from his suffering?" No matter how noble her words sounded, their dreadful meaning was clear—Alex might not survive. The distressed looks on Liz, Hannah, and even Arezu's face showed how much they hated that possibility. "Obviously, I'm joking." "Don't joke about killing someone!" Setting aside her mischief for a moment, Lynn explained their plan to possibly save Alex. First, since Alex was still linked to the giant goblin's monster core, defeating the source of the cursed miasma might allow him to regain control of himself. Second, if Alex remained corrupted even after his divine gift lost its effect and the monster core's influence ended, destroying the dungeon core responsible for increasing the amount of cursed miasma might stop his rampage. "And if those don't work, we just beat that moron so hard the pain wakes him up." "You mean like hitting a malfunctioning machine to make it work again?" Arezu added with a wistful laugh—drawing the attention of everyone, especially Lynn. "What's a machine, Mr. Arezu?" "It means a golem, Lynn." "Ehh~ Then why would beating a broken one make it work?" Lynn's suspicious questioning left Arezu awkwardly averting his eyes as he explain what he meant. "Isn't that normal? If something is not working, just give it a few whacks until it does?" "Hmm~ yes, something like that." Lynn ended her questioning with a smile that warned Arezu he wasn't off the hook just yet. Returning to the topic of saving Alex, Lynn pointed out a major flaw in their plan. "In the event Alex uses his divine gift on us..." She didn't need to finish the sentence. Everyone already knew what it meant—if Alex formed a two-way link with anyone, the cursed miasma would corrupt them too. "So," Lynn repeated, "are you all prepared to do what's necessary to save Alex from his suffering?" Now the question weighed even heavier—not just Alex's life, but their own hung in the balance. Yet even in the face of that grim truth, Lynn's mischievous grin remained as she looked at their troubled expressions. Does she enjoy messing with us? Arezu wonder, glancing at Lynn, who met his gaze with her usual smug smile—as if she already knew what their decision would be. "If you already know our answer, then tell us what to do." With Arezu's declaration, Liz and Hannah nodded in agreement, determined to save not only Alex, but also the missing villagers and adventurers. Pleased, Lynn stepped forward, tapped Arezu's shoulder, looked him in the eye with her usual grin, and gave him his task. "While Liz, Hannah, and I handle the giant goblin flasher, you, Mr. Arezu, will fight Alex one-on-one." "Oi! Seriously?" "Mhm!" "Do you hate me or something, Lynn?!"