Seeker 156

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Chapter 156. Griffin Mountain

"""For big sister, anything goes!""

The voices of muscular men resound at the foot of Griffin Mountain.

Guided by them, a cart the size of a carriage climbs the rocky mountain path with a clatter.

Advancing along the mountain path are Eslyn-san, three burly attendants(?), Kazane-san, Yuzuki, and me, making a total of seven people.

Griffin Mountain is located very close to the mountain path we took when we headed to the Dwarf village.

While it takes about an hour on foot to reach the mountain base from the city, the real challenge starts from there.

Under the blazing sun, we tread the reddish-brown mountain path, steadily making our way forward.

At that moment, Kazane-san speaks to Eslyn-san.

"Are those men your employees, Eslyn-san?"

Kazane-san's gaze points to the three muscular men pulling the cart.

"Well, kind of. I haven't formally hired them. But somehow they're attached to me and follow me around. I make sure to pay them their daily wages."

"We're members of Big Sis Fan Club!"

"For big sister, we'll do anything!"

"If you want, Eslyn, we'll beat up that bastard Goludoo until he can't even eat anymore! We'll rough him up so bad!"

"Haha, no, we can't resort to violence."

Eslin-san responds with an embarrassed smile. It seems like quite the situation.

"Speaking of Goldo, who was that fat old man from earlier?"

When Yuzuki asks, Eslyn-san answers while furrowing her brow.

"Goldo-san is one of the influential merchants in this area. Maybe he doesn't like the idea of a greenhorn female merchant like me gaining power, or perhaps he strangely likes me, but he keeps bothering me for some reason. It's quite annoying."

"He was saying stuff like [Come to me quickly!] earlier."

"Haha, spot on, spot on. Well, maybe it could be a good opportunity, or maybe just a lie if I say I don't want some luxury. I don't want to be someone's pet. As a merchant, I want to succeed on my own merits. Even if it's a detour or something difficult."

"Well, I understand not wanting to be someone's pet. It's fine being a pet to senpai though. Woof woof."

Yuzuki says this and leans in, so I chuckle and pat her head.

"Don't give me those puppy eyes. I might give in."

"Is there a chance I could become senpai's beloved dog? I'm so attached, you know? Woof!"

"Stop looking at me with those round eyes. I might lose to you."

"Hey, is that the kind of relationship you have?"

Eslyn-san asks with a grin.

In response, Yuzuki clings tightly to my waist.

"Yeah, that's right. Senpai and I have that kind of relationship."

"And Daichi-kun and I have that kind of relationship too."

Furthermore, Kazane-san comes from behind and embraces me.

Triple fusion. Crash.

Well, displaying our lovey-dovey couple behavior in front of the client might not be the best idea.

"I-I see... I understand now. That's the situation."

"With all due respect, that's how it is. But don't worry, we still do our job properly."

"Well, I'm counting on you for that part."

Eslyn-san looks at us with a slightly doubtful gaze.

Naturally, that's to be expected.

"Speaking of 'that', Senpai. How do you use the [Tame] skill? It would be bad if you defeat the target, right?"

As a side note, Yuzuki asks that.

"Oh, yeah, it's no good if you defeat the target. I use the [Tame] skill after reducing the target's HP as much as possible. If it works out, the [Tame] is successful. The lower the target's remaining HP, the higher the success rate."

"I see, I see. That sounds quite troublesome. By the way, can you use [Tame] even if the target is far away?"

"Yeah. The range is about the same as attack magic."

As we talked about such things, we continued along the mountain path for a while.

Kazane-san reacted with a slight twitch.

"Something is approaching from ahead. There are 3 of them."

"Three? So, they're not Griffins, right?"

"They should be, but here they come!"

With Kazane-san's warning, 3 monsters came out from the shadows ahead, beyond the cliff.