Chapter 161 Sugita Group ④
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Where… where are we?”
I scanned our surroundings. We were in a small, vacant clearing deep within a dense forest. Just seconds ago, we were at home with Natsumi-san. Now, he was nowhere to be seen. Leki and Mihiro-san were here, but the teleportation had separated us from him.
”Mama, this place…” Leki started.
”I know, Leki,” I said. “I recognize this scent. The damp earth, the trees… this is where I first met him. The place where we lived together.”
”Lil-san, you don’t mean-” Mihiro-san¹ began.
I nodded firmly. This was the Forest of the Greedy Fool. The place where Natsumi-san gave me this form-the place where we first loved one another.
”Of course,” Mihiro-san muttered, their expression darkening.
This place was a graveyard of regrets for Mihiro-san. Back when they were still known as Chihiro, they had abandoned Natsumi-san here to save their own skin. Natsumi-san claimed he didn’t care anymore, but the memory still left a bitter taste in my mouth. My coldness toward Mihiro-san and Honoka-san wasn’t something I could just turn off.
But Natsumi-san was the priority. Reese-san had driven a spear through him in a moment of sheer madness. It was unforgivable. My blood boiled just thinking about it.
”Why did Sieben-no, Natsumi… why did he only send us back here?” Mihiro-san asked.
”I don’t know,” I replied.
That man holding Marl-san-that must have been Sugita. He had been planning something for me, I was sure of it, but I couldn’t fathom what. And Natsumi-san… he was so badly hurt. Honoka-san was there to help, but I had seen her pinned down, forced to endure that man’s whims. Unlike Marl-san, she had been fighting back with every breath.
”Speculating won’t help us,” I said, snapping out of it. “If this is really that forest, we either hike to Greedia or wait for Natsumi-san to-!”
I froze. I felt them. Dozens of presences. Leki and Mihiro-san sensed them too. We immediately pulled into a tight circle, weapons raised.
”Stop hiding and show yourselves!” I shouted.
I didn’t know if monsters would understand human speech, but I needed to draw them out.
”Heh… looks like you’re more than just pretty faces,” a voice rasped.
The response was in fluent, chillingly clear speech. Not a mindless beast? The creature that stepped into the light disproved that hope.
”And here I thought humans were too dull to notice us,” the creature said.
It was an Orc. But not any Orc I had ever seen. He was two heads taller than his kin, with skin the color of polished copper. His physique was lean and corded with muscle, looking more like an Ogre than a common Orc, though his face remained porcine and brutish. He stood shirtless, hefting a massive stone club. The sheer pressure radiating from him was suffocating. He was in a league of his own.
Behind him, other Orcs emerged from the trees. They were all far stronger than the usual trash we encountered. We could handle the rank and file, but this Copper-skin… I couldn’t see a way past him.
”Well, since the cat’s out of the bag, no point being quiet,” the leader said. “Let’s do this the hard way.”
”I assume there’s no point asking why you’re here?” I asked.
”Not a bit,” he grunted. “Orcs snatch women for one reason: we use ’em as breeding stock to keep the tribe growing. Simple as that.”
It was exactly what I feared. “Hurry up and take your lumps,” the Orc continued. “You’re gonna be our new seedbeds.”²
”Just try it!” I barked. “Leki, Mihiro-san, hold the line! Don’t let them break the circle!”
”Ready!”
”Understood!”
The three of us fought as a single unit, eliminating blind spots. Usually, being surrounded by a pack this size was a death sentence, but we weren’t amateurs. We parried and struck, carving through the initial wave. But something was wrong.
”They’re tougher than they look,” I grunted, parrying a heavy blow.
”Yeah,” Mihiro-san added. “And they’ve got Leadership.³ Look-the wounded ones are rotating to the back. They’ve got a shaman using healing magic.”
Without a finishing blow like Leki’s, Mihiro-san and I couldn’t kill them fast enough. The only true pile of corpses was at Leki’s feet.
”Mama, there’s more of them coming!” Leki yelled.
She was right. It was a war of attrition we were destined to lose.
”Don’t kill ’em!” the Copper-skin Orc shouted to his pack. “Just wear ’em down. They’re easier to bag when they’re too tired to scream.”
If we could just kill the leader or the healer… but we were pinned. Every time Leki moved to strike, three Orcs threw themselves in her way. Mihiro-san’s sorcery was being suppressed before they could finish the incantations. I had fought mobs before, but never a group this disciplined.
Then, a voice cut through the chaos-a voice that made my heart leap.
”Ugh… what a mess. What’s the situation here?”
It was him. My husband.
”Natsumi-san!” I screamed.
* * *
I opened my eyes to find Lil and the others surrounded by a sea of Orcs. Seriously, how did it come to this?
”Natsumi-san!” Lil’s voice reached me first.
The fact that Lil was struggling told me everything I needed to know. These weren’t normal Orcs; they were high-tier variants. Their coordination was too good. But I didn’t care about their tactics. They were touching my family.
I reached for my greatsword, but my hand met empty air. Right. Sugita took it. The whip-sword would have to do.
I tried to focus on the nearest Orc, but my head spun. Resurrection always left me lightheaded-blood loss, probably. The Orc noticed me and lunged. I’ll take the dizziness as a handicap, I thought.
I lashed out. The whip-sword uncoiled like a silver serpent, its segments shredding the air. It caught the Orc mid-leap, gouging through its chest and killing it before it hit the ground. I swung again, sending the blade snaking toward the group surrounding Lil. The sword moved as if it were an extension of my own will, wrapping around the throats of three Orcs simultaneously. I wrenched the hilt back.
”Martial Art: Tsurube-otoshi!”⁴
Three heads hit the dirt with a sickening thud. The blades hadn’t just cut; they had ground through bone. Even I felt a pang of disgust at the gore.
Mihiro-san looked like they were about to be sick.
The rest of the pack turned toward me, sensing the real threat, but a command stopped them cold.
”Hold it! This one’s out of your league!”
The Copper-skin leader stepped forward. He spoke the human tongue better than most merchants I knew. He wasn’t just a monster; he was a War-Ogre.
”I’ll handle the man,” the War-Ogre said. “The rest of you stay back. Don’t touch the women until I’m done.”
He walked toward me with a predatory grace.
”You’re a chatty one for a pig,” I spat.
”I just like a good fight,” he chuckled, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. “And I like winning. If I kill you, they’ll give up and belong to us.”
”Don’t talk about my wife and daughter like they’re prizes,” I growled. “You aren’t getting anything.”
”My mistake,” he said, hefting his stone club. “But the world’s simple, isn’t it? The winner gains, the loser loses everything.”
He wasn’t wrong. That was the law of this world.
”Natsumi-san…” Lil called out, her voice trembling.
”It’s okay,” I said. “Don’t worry.”
”Papa, you look like a ghost,” Leki whispered.
”It’s fine. Just a handicap,” I replied.
”Natsumi, don’t be stupid. Don’t push yourself,” Mihiro-san warned.
”No promises,” I said.
I wasn’t letting anyone take anything else from me. Not today.
”Let’s go, then,” I snarled, leveling my sword at the War-Ogre. “Let’s see who loses everything.”
—
Summary:
Lil, Leki, and Mihiro are teleported to the Forest of the Greedy Fool, the site of Lil’s first meeting with Natsumi. They are ambushed by a highly coordinated pack of elite Orcs led by a powerful ‘War-Ogre’ variant. Just as the group is being overwhelmed by the Orcs’ superior tactics and healing magic, a weakened Natsumi appears to save them.
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Trivia:
- The forest is Mihiro’s site of greatest shame (abandoning Natsumi).
- Natsumi is suffering from ‘resurrection sickness’ and blood loss.
- The Orcs are using sophisticated ‘Leadership’ skills and healing rotations.
- Natsumi’s main greatsword was stolen by Sugita.
- The ending is a parody of Demon Slayer’s breathing techniques
—
Character Insight:
Natsumi shows a protective, ‘dad-mode’ fury, willing to fight a superior opponent while physically compromised to prevent his family from being ‘stolen’ again.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The author uses game-like terms like ‘Leadership’ to define the threat level, typical of the ‘Narou’ web novel style.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Natsumi – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• Mihiro – Post-gender swap of Yuki Chihiro: Height 160 cm, B-W-H: 82-55-80. Futanari. Short haired black hair, handsome.
• Leki – Lil’s daughter. Height: 140 cm, B-W-H: 70, 54, 69. She looks more like a Siberian Husky puppy than a wolf. Honestly, she just looks like a stuffed toy, recently transformed into a human form. Now use great axe as weapon.
• Lil – One of the heroines. Height 166 cm, B-W-H: 90-56-90. She is a top-tier beauty with long indigo hair down to her waist, a large scar on her abdomen and sharp golden eyes. She has wolf ears and a tail.
• Chihiro – Height 178 cm, weight 70 kg (Male). Natsumi’s childhood friend. A handsome, athletic top student in the soccer club.
• Honoka – A member of the relief team with healing magic. Despite her cute, short, ‘transistor glamour’ appearance, she is cold-hearted and mocks Sasaki, now a bound slave to him.
• Reese – Jessica’s sister, currently asleep. Identified as a ‘beautiful blonde lady’ by Alice.
• Sieben – Young man with black hair and a mask covering his eyes. He purchased Honoka and Ria.
• Sugita – Sugita Kazu. The leader of the Sugita gang and the primary bully of Natsumi Sasaki. His grandfather is the Superintendent General and his father is a Police Superintendent, so the two of them covered up all his crimes. Because of this, he does whatever he wants wherever he goes. He has a lean build, sharp features, and a calculating gaze. Possesses the ‘Steal’ (窃盗) skill and uses it to brainwash women.
• Marl – Lil’s younger sister figure or companion who enjoys watching the couple from a distance. Not the real one.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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