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On the day of the raid.

I woke up from a deep sleep, stretching to get ready for breakfast.

“Kyaaa! Hoo… that feels refreshing.”

I hadn’t done much yesterday; I just ate and slept, so this was about as refreshing as it gets.

“It seems like Luke is feeling pretty good…”

Luna, who had woken up next to me with nothing on, looked at me with a resentful expression.

“A healthy man must exercise his waist at least once a day.”

“I’m dying here, you know?”

Originally, men need to relieve themselves once in a while, but with pretty slaves like Luna and Yui around, it would be a crime to father a child.

Before an important day, you need to relieve yourself so you can bring your full power the next day.

Luna, feeling shy now, covered her chest with the blanket.

And while saying that, her body was honest, with a shiny glow on her face.

“Acting all coy after having fun.”

“Today’s the raid day! What if you hurt your back?”

“If I hurt my back, wouldn’t I just shove it back until it’s straightened out?”

“…Do you really think that would work?”

“You won’t know until you try the length of it. Of course, I’m the long one.”

I got up first and finished undressing in 10 seconds.

“Let’s quickly grab Yui and go eat.”

“Yes…”

Since the inn had only two-person rooms, I had no choice but to leave Yui in a room across from us.

Even in a two-person room, we could enjoy a wild 3P, but I held onto Yui’s purity for a later need.

I’m the type to enjoy delicious food later.

I knocked on the opposite door, and the still half-asleep Yui stumbled out.

“Yawn~ Did you sleep well?”

From the look on her face, it seemed she had been eavesdropping on us again.

“Is eavesdropping your hobby?”

“Eep!”

Did she really think she hadn’t been caught?

Startled, she started to hiccup.

“W-What, how did you know…?”

“Hey. What time did we come back to the inn last night? If you slept since then, you shouldn’t be tired!”

We came back after dinner and even if we went to bed past 10, that would be at least 10 hours of sleep; if she was tired, that would be even weirder.

It’s not like we had been out hunting hard like other adventurers, or carrying heavy loads.

I had fallen asleep with no fatigue in my body, so what reason could there be for feeling tired?

It’s not like we had a computer around to play late-night games, nor did we have a phone to get sucked into YouTube algorithms with “I’ll just watch this before sleeping.”

If she hadn’t stayed up late, what else could there be besides eavesdropping?

“Since you’re not saying anything, just get ready to go eat.”

After all, it’s your future.

*

Having finished getting ready, I headed to the restaurant with Luna and Yui.

I went for a place where there were plenty of people.

Usually, a busy place means it’s a good restaurant.

As we entered the restaurant and looked for an empty seat, the woman we had met yesterday called us over.

“There! Luke! Come over here for a moment!”

Hazel, an A-Rank adventurer and the overall leader of this raid.

She was beckoning us over to an empty table where she sat alone.

She might have felt some familiarity with Luna since she was the same Beastman.

“Hello.”

“Hey. So, you guys came for breakfast too?”

“We need to eat well to raid.”

“Hehe, that’s a good point.”

Suddenly, Hazel’s gaze shifted to Luna.

“Looks like you had a hot night.”

“······!”

Luna flinched, her shoulders trembling.

“Oh? How did you know?”

There’s no point in making excuses since I’ve been found out anyway.

Also, I didn’t intend to make an excuse.

“The smell of night flowers.”

Hazel pointed to her nose with her finger.

“I can smell it. You’re quite perceptive.”

“The Beastmen are known for their great sense of smell, you know. I’m sure she knows that living a hot night with you.”

“Luna must have washed up this morning, right?”

“She probably did this morning, but did she sleep without cleaning up after last night? Don’t you know that once that smell is there, it doesn’t dissipate easily? Especially in areas like the tail?”

“Wow… So, Luna, you just slept like that?”

“I didn’t expect to meet Hazel-san first thing in the morning…”

Her tail drooped and her ears folded, looking embarrassed.

“Hehe. Young ones burning their youth. I have nothing to say but let’s eat together.”

“Food is definitely more important.”

We were soon going to go hunting, so we can’t go with our batteries drained.

I ordered a bunch of food, planning to shove it all into my stomach.

But then.

“Aren’t you a man? Double everything we ordered!”

“Are you treating us?”

“Yeah!”

“Wow!”

Free food is the best!

From today onward, any attack from Hazel will be considered an attack on me.

“Are you a Lion Beastman, Hazel-san?”

“Looks like you figured it out right away. So you’re a Wolf Beastman?”

“Yes.”

A lion Beastman?

What’s that? Teach me too, you nerd.

With that look in her eyes, Luna began to explain.

“Beastmen all have different traits. Wolf Beastmen like me excel in agility, but lion Beastmen like Hazel-san have great strength. They also generally have much more appetite than other Beastmen.”

“Oh…”

The author has made the settings for the races properly, but also made the settings for the Giant Ants all messed up.

Breakfast at the restaurant was lively, and while not all the food I ordered came out at once, some started to arrive little by little.

As I chewed the first piece of bread, I asked a question I was curious about.

“Oh right. Can you explain about the monsters?”

I only knew the names of the monsters, but didn’t know anything else.

“Ah, we’ll explain everything together after everyone gathers.”

“I see.”

Then I should focus on what’s in front of me right now.

“Hurry up, give me the meat!”

*

After breakfast, all the adventurers gathered at the port.

Currently, in front of us was the large ship we would ride during the raid, along with a crowd of adventurers.

And right in front, Hazel, who had just eaten with us, stood on a crate.

“It seems everyone is here, so I will start the briefing!”

With a voice as loud as a lion, she began her briefing.

“As you all know, the monster we will hunt today is the A-Rank monster, Sea Serpent!”

“You can think of it as a sea serpent that resembles a dragon, without arms or wings! According to witness reports, it’s approximately 40m long. Frontline fighters will defend against the Sea Serpent’s attacks while the mages provide fire support from the back!”

“Since this battle will take place at sea, protecting the ship is the top priority, and during the timing of fire support, the frontline should help load the cannons!”

“I will be issuing commands in real-time depending on the situation, so everyone should keep their ears open and get ready for battle! That’s all! The briefing is over!”

With the briefing complete, the adventurers began to board the prepared ship.

We followed suit and climbed onto the deck.

“40m… That’s way bigger than I expected.”

“Whew… I’m getting nervous…”

“What’s there to be scared of, with just 40m?”

Being scared of just 40m?

Sure, it’s not small, but compared to the S-Rank monsters that will show up later, 40m is just a walk in the park.

“Speaking of which, Luke, didn’t you know the future? Don’t you have any information about this monster?”

“Uh huh.”

You’ve never heard of a Sea Serpent before?

The main stage of the story is on land, so it’s unlikely that a monster from the sea would have a place to appear.

If a sea monster appears in this story, it must be after the Empire has sunk, right?

‘By then, it’ll probably be already destroyed anyway.’

“And crucially, I don’t seem to know anything at the important moments…”

“Do you think a possessed person is some kind of god or something?”

Possessed people are still human, okay?!

As we were chatting, the scenery started to move.

The ship had set sail.

Since the area where the monster resides is determined, the ship traveled straight along a designated route.

“Frontline, don’t just idle around! Move the cannonballs!! Get ready so we can take the first strike when the monster appears!!”

Hazel issued her command.

“Isn’t this a bit unfair for the frontline? Why only them?”

“Can’t be helped. The weight of each cannonball going into the cannons is dozens of kilos.”

“Tch. This is why magic users can’t be trusted. They lack physical training!”

“…Luke, you’re just too strong.”

Just in case, I had Yui try it, and even using her magical power, she struggled to carry it with her skinny arms.

Luna managed to move them, but even she had a tough time unless she enhanced her body with magic.

In fact, all the magic users were on guard, and only the frontline of other parties were lifting the cannonballs.

Since they need to see well to increase their bonus, I had to lift the cannonballs too.

For me, since I could just store it in my inventory, it weighed 0kg, but I was bored, so I picked up three cannonballs and juggled them as I moved.

For someone who swings around a greatsword that weighs roughly the same as the cannonballs, moving them was child’s play.

“Wh-What are you doing, Luke?!”

“Juggling.”

“Are you trying to sink the ship…?”

“Come on, that was just an accident last time. I’ll be careful this time. Watch and see, I’m doing great, right?”

And if dropping one cannonball would sink the ship, we wouldn’t even be able to do the raid.

*

Since setting sail, Hazel had been leading from the front.

She sensed the operation was going smoothly.

Even if an A-Rank adventurer was commanding, there are many aggressive adventurers.

She thought it was pleasant that no one was disobeying or acting on their own.

‘If they don’t listen, I can just suppress them by force.’

But soon, she began to wonder about one thing.

A man juggling with cannonballs.

Looking at him, she thought.

‘Uncle… Is he really helpful…?’

 

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