"..."
Catherine gulped down her salvia and tensed up, staring at the wall.
She took a deep breath, bit her lips, and…
Turned right around, deciding to run away.
Even if the Boarkin Orc might have been on its last leg, their fight ended up causing too much noise. It was more than plausible that more monsters were coming her way - including that peculiar Boarkin orc's companions.
After all, its kind would never travel alone.
"Stone sp…"
"BUUU-!"
As Catherine was rushing off to the side, she was activating one last spell just for good measure, but before she could finish the incantation, her stone wall exploded from the monstrously powerful hit from the furiously howling Boarkin Orc whose entire body looked like a pin cushion because of the tens of dozens of stone spikes that stabbed into him.
"!!!"
Catherine's eyes widened at the sight. The monster lacked any major wound, meaning that its earlier squall must have been an act intended to fool her into believing it was skewered by her spears—but that alone didn't stop her movement…
"HIIIII!"
"?!?!"
…until the monster finished its howl, creating a soundwave that physically shook the girl's body, causing her knees to give out as her thoughts jumbled up in terrified disarray.
"Eh?! Wh-what…?! N-noo!"
Catherine could not produce a single decisive thought as fear overtook her.
She was too scared even to realize that she ended up incapacitated by that particular Boarkin Orc's special skill - the Frighting Roar - which name alone was self-explanatory.
"Buhi!"
Seeing its opponent unable to counterattack or run away, the monster squealed with contempt and spat saliva mixed with blood to the side.
"Bu-hi!"
Then, the Orc took more herbs out of his satchel and used them to heal himself.
The drying plants swept by the green light forced the stone spikes out of his flesh and then healed the wounds, making the monster shake its head in relief.
"..."
Then the Boarkin Orc silently clenched its hand on its weapon and approached the incapacitated girl to finish the job.
****
"They were far too aggressive, don't you agree?"
Not too far away from the spot where Catherine was fighting, a gold-eyed girl with slicked-back golden hair was sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree.
She leaned back and pointed out while glaring down at the brutalized bodies of three Boarkin orcs.
"...yes… Boarkins are reckless and can... gain rage and berserk skills because of it… but those three were acting as if their wounds... didn't matter in the slightest…"
An individual standing over the monster's body agreed while breathing heavily.
He wasn't human but a one-armed Pigkin Orc with pale-blond, almost whitish hair that was more like bristle or straight-up fur. While his mace was dripping with the blood of the opponents he fell, he furrowed his brows as his pale-blue eyes were full of suspicion.
"Just as if they were used to having their wounds healed while in combat."
"...my lady… are you saying that their group included a cleric at some point…?"
The gold-haired girl nodded and pointed out, making the Pigkin Orc straighten his back and ask with a grim expression.
"You're saying it as if you believe that they lost that cleric recently. Don't forget that you took them by surprise. If it really is a cleric, it probably ventured out to gather some herbs… We're not far away from your favorite spot, aren't we, Ross?"
The girl snickered, shaking her head and pointing out while leaning back even more and sending a meaningful look to the side.
"...my spot…?"
Ross let out a low growl as his beastly face darkened with anger, and steam escaped from the nostrils of his pig-like snout.
"...?"
But then the Pigkin orc's expression changed, and his nostrils enlarged and shrunk. He took one deep breath after the other, raising his head and sniffing around like a bloodhound.
"My lady."
"?!?!"
Seemingly out of nowhere, a brown-haired maid appeared by the gold-haired girl's side and curtsied to her, causing Ross to flinch and defensively take a step back.
"Adi~! How's it going?"
"..."
But the gold-haired girl perked up and cheered out at the sight of her, so the Pigkin Orc breathed out in relief, seeing it was someone trustworthy.
"...enhanced heal…"
Ross also reached out to the satchel at his back and chanted a spell while tossing a handful of leaves in the air. The leaves were swept by the swirl of greenish light and dried up while his health and mana were restored. His spell had the added bonus of recovering his stamina and evening his breath.
"I've hunted down most of the low-level monsters from your quests, my lady. I've left a few stronger ones for you to practice holding back a bit more."
The maid declared with a polite smile.
"...where is that coming from? I can hold back pretty well if I can say so myself…"
The gold-haired girl furrowed her brows and pouted grumpily at the maid.
"My lady, must I remind you of the destruction you wrecked last time?"
"Hey! I can use the right amount of strength! Not to mention that sufficiently moist projectiles will cause an explosion instead of piercing the target! As proof, I only broke a few trees last time! We're in the forest! I'm basically doing the area a favor, making sure the area will not overgrow too much and lure in Ents and Forest Guardians!"
The maid pointed out, to which the gold-haired girl sulked defensively.
"And what if there will be a time you will use your strength within a friendly settlement? Do you believe that buildings are stronger than threes growing for centuries?"
"..."
The brown-haired maid pointed out, making the gold-haired girl bite her lips with an upset expression.
"Not to mention that the explosion caused by the so-called sufficiently moist projectiles is often so powerful it deals area of effect damage. Forget about fighting within a friendly settlement - in case of something of the sort near an ally who isn't within your party, the individual or a group in question might get knocked out or even wiped out by it. My lady."
The maid declared without a hint of hesitation and included the honorifics only at the very end of her statement.