Shunya had barely finished complaining about sore legs when Naomi dragged him right back to the NGCO hall after few days.
“Already?!” he whined, clutching his back.
“Can I not just— sleep for a week?
Or fake my death?
Or both?”
Naomi ignored him, flipping a report onto the desk.
“Blood Tusker sighted in South District.
Unnatural behavior.
We need an investigation team.”
Jean, sipping his tea, raised an eyebrow.
“Investigation?
Rookie’s first mission was barely finished, and you are pushing him into another?”
Naomi ‘s smile was too sweet.
“If he can dodge a boar charge, he can handle field work.
Right, Shunya?”
Shunya opened his mouth to protest, but Vikoria leaned in, her quiet voice brushing his ear.
“You shall learn more about this world faster on the field than sitting at home.”
Shunya sighed.
“Why does every logical argument end with me risking my life?”
✦✦✦
The next morning, On the road, they retraced their steps toward Riverbend Village, this time with heavier packs and less cheerful expressions.
Naomi marched at the front like a soldier on parade.
Vikoria walked beside Shunya, eyes scanning the treeline.
Shunya himself trudged in the middle, muttering about how heroes in stories usually got cool plot armor, while he seemed to get “plot bruises.”
Naomi overheard and smirked.
“Cheer up.
With me leading, you’re basically invincible.”
Vikoria tilted her head, smiling faintly.
“Or maybe he will survive because I shall keep healing him.”
Shunya blinked, caught between their gazes.
“…Why do I feel like my mortality is part of some weird competition?”
Neither denied it.
✦✦✦
In the Riverbend Village second time.
The atmosphere had worsened.
Barricades lined the streets, doors were shut tight, and even children were not playing outside.
The merchant they had helped before whispered urgently to them.
“You came back… good.
The noises in the forest have grown louder.
Last night, shadows moved near the fields.
Something big.”
Naomi’s grip on her sword tightened.
“We shall check it out.”
Shunya groaned.
“Of course we shall.”
✦✦✦
Into the forest
The air was thick and damp, every step muffled by moss and fallen leaves.
Birds had gone silent.
Vikoria crouched near a tree, running her fingers over deep claw marks.
“Bigger than the boar,” she murmured.
“Much bigger.”
Naomi grinned like this was the best news she’d heard all week.
“Finally, a real challenge.”
Shunya pointed at the gouged bark.
“Challenge?
That thing looks like it could bite a house in half!”
“Relax,” Naomi said, drawing her blade.
“You’ve got me.”
“And me,” Vikoria added softly, adjusting her staff.
Shunya’s stomach twisted.
Both of them were too calm, like predators circling prey.
Meanwhile, he felt like the prey.
✦✦✦
The encounter
The forest suddenly shuddered with a low growl.
Branches snapped.
Birds burst from the canopy in a chaotic flurry.
Then it emerged.
A massive beast, easily three times the size of the Blood Tusker.
Its hide was scarred, its horns jagged, and its eyes glowed faintly red.
Drool hissed against the dirt like acid.
Shunya’s jaw dropped.
“…Minimal risk, my ass.”
Naomi’s eyes lit up.
“Perfect.” She lunged forward.
The beast swung its horned head, nearly sending her flying.
She twisted midair, landing on a branch with impossible grace.
“Faster than it looks.”
Vikoria raised her staff, chanting, as streams of pale light coiled toward her hands.
“Shunya, do not freeze.
Distract it!”
“Distract it?!
With what— my face?!” Shunya yelped, diving behind a tree as the monster’s claws gouged the ground where he’d stood.
Naomi darted in, slashing at its legs, while Vikoria’s magic surged in waves of energy, slowing its movements.
Shunya, in a fit of desperation, hurled a rock.
It bounced harmlessly off the beast’s hide.
The monster turned, glaring at him.
“Oh no.
Oh no no no—”
“Run!” both girls shouted.
And Shunya did.
Very fast.
✦✦✦
Aftermath
Somehow— thanks to Naomi’s relentless strikes and Vikoria’s precise support— they brought the beast down after a brutal fight.
It collapsed with a final earth-shaking thud, the forest falling silent around them.
Shunya leaned against a tree, drenched in sweat, chest heaving.
“That… that thing could have eaten me in two bites.”
Naomi wiped her blade clean, smirking.
“You survived.
Huh.
Not bad.”
Vikoria walked over and handed Shunya a flask of water.
“You did better than you think.”
He took it gratefully.
“Better?
I threw a rock at it.
That was my big contribution.”
Vikoria’ s lips curved faintly.
“It looked away for half a second.
That was enough for Naomi to land her strike.
Small actions matter.”
Shunya blinked.
For once, her words actually felt… kind.
Encouraging.
Naomi, noticing the soft moment, stepped closer and ruffled his hair roughly.
“Do not let her make you soft.
Next time, you sall hit it with a sword, not a pebble.”
Their hands lingered— Vikoria’s on his flask, Naomi’s in his hair and Shunya realized with horror that he was standing at the center of something more dangerous than any monster.
A triangle- also known as A love triangle.
✦✦✦
Back at Riverbend.
The villagers cheered when they dragged the corpse back.
But beneath the relief, Shunya sensed unease.
The old man who had warned them earlier spoke quietly:
“This is not the end.
If such creatures are leaving their lands… something far worse is stirring deeper in the wilderness.”
Shunya gulped.
“Of course it is.”
Naomi smirked.
“Good, because I hate being bored, though.”
Vikoria looked at Shunya, her eyes unreadable.
“Stay alive, Shunya.
You’ll need to.”
And just like that, he realized: his “slow paced healing adventure” was already picking up speed, dragging him into something much bigger.
Bigger monsters.
Bigger secrets.
Bigger headaches.
And, worst of all, bigger romantic problems.
____
Author’s Note: Thank you reading.
I was quite busy so it was on hiatus for a while now but I have adjust some my time management to write again.
Please be remembere that it’s my first time writing Harem action romance so I can’t say how much I’ll able to make it satisfactory.