Chapter 18 18 – The Smile

Elise didn’t just stand there. She stepped forward, stuck out her sword, then spun around in high speed. Her whirlwind slash movement exploded quite a lot of Jelly Spheres, spewing liters of thick liquid that immediately soaked Elise’s body. The woman felt a disgusting stickiness, but she had no time to complain.

“It looks like your attack was effective.” Raymund snorted. “When the cooldown time is up, use it again, Elise.”

Elise slashed the monsters that were getting closer. Renee was still trying to cast her magic. Having no time to warn the mage to use martial arts, Elise continued to focus on repelling the monsters.

“I am a mage!!! And in the future, I will become the strongest wizard!!!” Renee shouted as loud as she could. The mage’s staff glowed so brightly. However, instead of emitting a fireball or other magic, the staff exploded, throwing Renee into the air.

“Renee!” Elise screamed..

The mage landed in the midst of the monsters, who immediately surrounded her. They did nothing but enough to make Renee breathless. “Help me!!!”

The woman’s voice was muffled by the monsters that were pressing down on her even more.

Elise did her Whirlwind move again, destroying a good portion of the mob. Then, the warrior continued to attack the Jelly Spheres almost non-stop. Even though there were many of them, the job was much easier than facing the goblins. At the very least, the jelly-like monsters didn’t deliver deadly attacks.

Half an hour passed when all the monsters were finally exterminated. There were quite a few Jelly Sphere’s cores scattered about, but Elise didn’t pay any heed to that. She noticed that her clothes had become slightly translucent from the sticky liquid, making her bra visible. Not only that, the fluids from the monsters entered her private parts. She felt very uncomfortable because of that.

Renee got up with a powerless body. Her condition looks worse. Because of her skimpy clothes, more liquid enters her private parts. Her exposed skin looked so shiny because of the liquids.

“I’m sorry, Renee,” Elise said while having a hard time breathing, feeling very guilty. “I was careless and killed their boss.”

The mage shook her head and managed to display a faint smile. “No, it’s not your fault, Elise. I was the one who wasn’t focused, so I didn’t warn you earlier.”

Someone’s loud laughter echoed. It came from the little boy who had called Renee aunty. He pointed at Renee from a distance until a party mate smacked his head. Then, holding back laughter, the boy left with his friends.

Renee widened her eyes, then looked down with a gloomy expression. Elise just watched the mage. The atmosphere became silent because the two women chose silence.

***

They returned to the city with people constantly staring at them. It seemed that such an incident was extremely rare. Renee’s smile had disappeared entirely, and she was walking in silence.

They arrived at the inn when it was already night. Fortunately, the female receptionist was a kind person and allowed the two women in. But, they had to go through the back door, use the bathroom near the barn, and then clean up the thick liquid that spilled when they entered.

The two women sat in small chairs, both completely naked in the bathroom, which was only covered by a wide curtain. Elise was cleaning the mage’s back using warm water and a cloth. The liquid from the monsters was difficult to clean because it had been on the skin for too long. Elise had to gently rub Renee’s back.

This time Raymund didn’t get angry and just sighed. He still couldn’t see the most important parts of the women’s bodies.

“Damn… The cost of cleaning my battle armor must be very expensive, and I only have one.” Renee laughed bitterly. “Hey, can you guess why I chose that outfit other than to attract the attention of the party members?”

Elise, feeling sorry for her friend’s made-up cheerful tone, answered. “I don’t know, Elise.”

“Because the price is quite cheap compared to equivalent clothes. That outfit has been in the store for a long, long time. The color is too tacky and…. Well, you know yourself, right? That thing is a little revealing.” Renee explained with her head lowered. “And another reason is, with clothes with such high stats, the risk of myself getting hurt is small. I won’t be a bother to my teammates. I realized that I am the most prone to getting hurt because I am an incompetent mage.”

Elise stopped rubbing Renee’s back for a few seconds before continuing again.

“But, even though it’s cheap, it’s still a cost fortune for me.” Renee continued her story in a more bitter tone. “And now my money is running low… Ah, maybe I should go back to my parents’ house…. I don’t want to go back there. They’ll just ridicule me….”

The mage choked, her tears flowing. In a hoarse voice, she asked, “Hey, Elise. Why don’t you scold me when you know I’m not a good mage? You’re the only one who doesn’t give me a disdainful look…. I’ve been changing parties for years, so I know it by heart. Well, I don’t blame them at all. I had given them hope, and it fell apart during the first mission…. Ah, sorry, I talked too much. Maybe because you didn’t give me a disdainful look, I wanted to talk to you….”

Renee couldn’t continue her words. She sobbed, and her body shook, but that woman kept her voice from being heard outside.

Elise fell silent again. She didn’t know what to do.