"H-Help us out. Anyone, help us out please."
When Keith arrived at the scene of the attack, he had to stop himself from hurling his breakfast out of his stomach. It was not a pretty scene by any means and even Keith had not expected things to be as bad as they had gotten.
The demon they had been hunting had ended up deforming and now everyone was stuck in a thread-like contraption. It was made up of thick threads and other materials Keith would rather not think about.
"Don't worry, help is here. The Grandmaster is here to help you out."
Keith's skin broke out into cold sweat as soon as he felt everyone look at him with hope in their eyes. They looked at Keith like he had the solution to all their problems but he was just a man.
Heck, he was not even someone from their world, so how would he get the answer about how to deal with these monsters?
"Calm down master and take a deep breath. You know you can count on me, right?"
Keith tried to follow through with what Clair had said but he choked on air and ended up coughing.
Everyone looked at him in concern and suspicion which made Keith straighten his back and look at the monster in front of him. It might have been difficult at first, but the more Keith looked at the pile in front of him, the calmer he felt.
'I can do this. I can act my way out of this mess. Clair said that I can count on her, right?'
"Pathetic. You all are facing this small of a problem and you cannot take care of it yourself? Even my useless servant can take care of this monster. Right, Clair?"
Clair looked a little surprised at the sudden address and responsibilities she had been saddled with which meant that she had not expected this outcome.
"O-Oh, yeah right? Taking care of this monster is no problem, grandmaster."
Clair's words said all the right things but her eyes were shaped like sharp daggers as they looked at Keith. She likely did not like that she was being used right now. But frankly speaking, it was her fault that Clair had ended up in this situation.
Everyone else also looked bumped once Keith finished his declaration. Words like, 'we won't get to see the grandmaster in action' were being thrown around.
'L-Look, I know you all want me to make a move, but I would die if I faced that monster alone.'
"Clair, stop standing around like a fool and fulfil your duties. We don't have a lot of time to waste here."
Keith almost let out a demonic laugh at the end before he stopped himself. He did not want Clair to get triggered enough to kill him in reality.
But the look he was getting from his slave told Keith that he was in treacherous waters already. He would need to find a way to bribe her with sweets later to make her let go of this grudge.
"Yes, I understand. I will take care of this monster and establish the name of Mystica guild's guild master all over the continent."
Clair made the vow as she dove into the thread-like monster. But before she could even cut, someone else chose to step in and steal her glory.
Blades made of wind cut through the steel-like threads as if they were made out of butter and it caused the suspended students to fall.
Keith side-stepped a few students who looked like they would fall on top of him. It did not matter to him that they would break bones without his cushioning them since he was more in need of his protection.
"Ouch, my arm."
"I think I broke my leg."
Most people would have felt guilty in this situation since their help could have prevented a lot of these injuries. But Keith was different since he was a selfish human. He was just happy that he had not gotten hurt.
'These people will heal soon. I would not have healed soon if I got hurt.'
Keith was straightening his clothes when he felt an arm slip into his own and a pair of soft breasts push directly into his arm. It felt familiar to Keith and he had a feeling he should not look down.
But he could not help his curiosity and ended up looking down at Shimi's face.
"Master, I managed to free everyone from the demon. Did I do good?"
Shimi asked as she leaned down a little bit. The moment caused her dress to slip just a little bit and express her cleavage more.
Keith could not help but notice how everyone turned to look at Shimi, even the students and passers-by as she did so. They were not immune to the half-elf's charming body.
But not everyone was charmed by her looks. And the primest example was Clair, who just looked pissed off. She had been waiting for a chance to hunt for some time but now it had been taken away from her.
"Ugh, you are so irritated. Where were you until now? And why did you have to take my prey away from me? You are just here to irritate me, right?"
Clair's short temper made itself known. For someone who asked Keith not to lose his cool. Clair sure had a short fuse. But her words only caused Shimi to smile and grip Keith's arm tighter.
He could feel his arm being pulled even harder against Shimi's body and soon her breasts would be touching Keith's chest if she continued to act like this.
What was worse - Shimi was too strong to pull away discreetly. Yohan was stuck in his current position without a way out and thankfully Clair noticed.
//////////////////////////////////
Shimi would not call herself a jealous woman by nature. But everyone would be jealous when the object of your affection did not consider you special.
Shimi knew she had a good body and that was why she had offered it to the grandmaster. She had been rejected at first until she told him about her condition. It was only that she had been accepted.
And life had been happy for Shimi. But what was difficult for her to swallow were all the other bugs that were lingering around the grandmaster.
Especially that cat-girl slave his master was beginning to favor recently. He had spent an entire week locked in a room with her.
'Just what is so good about that fool? I am sure I am so much better than Clair and I will prove it.'
With her mind made up, all Shimi needed was an opportunity to execute her plan. And the perfect one came soon enough during the hunting party.
Clair was ordered to clean up the nest of evolved demons but Shimi was not going to take this order lying down. She decided to clear the demon-evolved demon nest herself and save everyone in the process.
And currently, she was busy snuggling against the grandmaster's side in an attempt to gain his praise. She knew she had done a good job this time and no matter what Clair said, she would not back down.
"Ugh, you are so irritated. Where were you until now? And why did you have to take my prey away from me? You are just here to irritate me, right?"
Clair was not playing nicely. Her temper was rising which was good. It would irritate the grandmaster and he would tell Clair off any second now.
Except, that did not happen and the grandmaster signalled for Clair to let go of him. The discrete pull did not go unnoticed by Shimi and she quickly tightened her grip on the grandmaster's arm.
He was only tugging because he was bored. It had nothing to do with getting away from her, right? After all, the grandmaster could always pull away for real if he did not like it.
*cough* "let go"
It was barely audible but Shimi let go as if she had been burned. She could not help but feel like she had messed up somehow but she had no idea what she did.
"G-Grandmaster I-"
"You performed alright but next time, make sure you control your power when you attack. Now, can I leave you in charge of these injured people, Shimi?"
Shimi's down mood soared in a single second. The fact that she had been given the task to carry out meant that the grandmaster was not disappointed in her in the least. Instead, it meant that she was being rewarded.
She could not believe that she had finally managed to gain the much-needed acknowledgment she had been craving for.
Shimi quickly stole another look at the grandmaster and she could not help but feel like he was glowing in the dim light of the morning son. The grandmaster was truly the coolest person who ever existed.
And Shimi would follow this man for her whole life and until the end of time.