Grabalt, the land of forest ruled by the King of Beastmen.
As its name suggested, most of the country was covered with deep forests, rich in nature and scenic beauty. At the entrance to the forests, visitors could enjoy the grandeur of nature as casually as though they were having a picnic.
However, once one goes deep into the forest, one would find dark forests with no sunlight, a large number of insects, poisonous flowers that mimic the beauty of nature, and more.
The environment was not suitable for human activities.
Above all, it was a deep forest where even sunlight did not penetrate.
If one were not accustomed to that kind of environment, one could get lost in no time, and if one got lost, it was quite possible that they would lose their way and end up trapped...... for the rest of their life.
Nature was beautiful.
However, if nature were to bare its fangs, people could easily die.
That was the country of Grabalt.
When the Demon King was alive, his army was unable to attack and destroy it even though it had an army dozen times larger than that of the beastmen.
In the midst of such a deep forest, the second hero―― the daughter of the previous hero, Mariabelle, was walking.
"I knew it, but it's a deep forest."
Dressed in black clothing and light blue armor, with a sword hanging from her waist, she was too lightly dressed to walk through the forest, but she kept her breathing steady as she lead the group.
Her glossy black hair, which in this world was the proof of a hero, was tied in a ponytail, and her figure was so dignified that it was hard to believe that she was a princess of a country.
The white ribbon that adorned her hair was the only feminine part appropriate for her age. Other than that, she wore equipment that emphasized the atmosphere of the hero beyond her position as a princess.
Her armor protected her from all kinds of poisons, and her sword destroyed all kinds of monsters.
Previous hero―― The hero's equipment, given by the goddess Fasalina to Mariabelle's father.
Dressed in those equipment, which could be said to be too heavy for a woman to wear, Mariabelle's expression was tense, but she maintained a thin smile that made one feel relaxed and at ease, and her straight back made her look taller.
Her atmosphere and behavior were appropriate for a hero, and the knights who looked at her saw and trusted her.
Behind her were a group of beastmen who were accustomed to walking in the forest, and although they too were lightly armed, one could tell that they were equipped for ease of movement, and they have developed a certain degree of resistance to poison after years of living in the forest.
A little behind such a group of beastmen was a mixed force of elves and humans, who gathered to rescue the goddess Fasalina and the new hero, which was their purpose.
They were unfamiliar with the forest environment and poison, so they were equipped with armor that almost didn't expose their skin.
They were dressed in thick clothing, with gloves and boots made of animal skin.
Only their face was exposed, and their neck and head were completely covered with cloth.
The heat was trapped inside their clothes, and the sweat pouring down from their forehead to their cheeks told of the amount of heat they were exposed to.
In the past, they would not have had to wear such heavy equipment in Grabalt's forest.
Many of them would have walked around in light clothing that covered their skin but allowed for ease of movement.
However, the Black Ooze invasion that occurred a year ago had made the slime that lived in the forests a powerful poison, and in a forest where it was difficult to detect the "mimicry" that the slimes were good at, exposing skin was almost a suicide in itself.
They kill and absorb men and violate women to multiply to increase their own kind.
In this day and age when the ecology of such slimes had become impenetrable, it had become natural to cover one's skin not knowing where the slimes may be mimicking.
At any rate, elves and humans, who were not accustomed to poison, were rendered immobile by just a touch.
A man would be given a lethal dose of paralyzing poison and that would be the end of their life......
"Is the village where the woman, Frederica, was seen a little further on?"
"Yeah. It seems that she was using a village in a far place to hide...... it's quite annoying."
Mariabelle approached a woman in black walking next to her.
She was half a head taller than Mariabelle and wore a black military uniform that was plain than that of the female hero.
Made of thick cloth and embroidered with gold embroidery in places, her clothes minimize the exposure of her skin.
However, even in such a military uniform, the attractiveness of the woman Fornelis did not reduce in the slightest.
In fact, it was precisely because it so little skin, and because her clothing was so formal, that her splendid hidden limbs beneath stimulate men's desires even more than they already have.
What attracted the eye most was her breasts, which were heaped up in a big way.
Her bosom, which looked as though two large fruits have been forcibly stuffed into it, have fabric pulled to the left and right, and even though she was wrapped in clothes and underwear as she walked through the forest, they still sway boldly up and down.
Looking down, her waist, constricted by a leather belt, was surprisingly slender, and her large breasts carved a magnificent shadow beneath them.
The slender waist further emphasized Fornelis's bosom, which could be called big breasts, but not only her breasts, but also the buttocks beneath them were magnificent.
Her buttocks were boldly lifted up in a tight skirt with an impressive deep slit made on the left side, and her gray tail, the same as that of a wolf, which was peculiar to beastmen, was fully visible to those walking behind her.
The clasps extend from the hem of the tight black skirt, giving a full view of the black garter stockings she was wearing.
The beautiful legs wrapped in black stockings that emphasized the pure white beauty of her legs were probably one of Fornelis' most attractive features.
Led by two such beauties, a group of about 300 people was walking through the forest.
"Well...... her face has become known in many countries. She may only be able to operate in the deep forest."
"I see. That would explain why she was spotted in such an inconvenient place."
Frederica Rene.
A former adventurer who was now being sought after by the three countries on the continent, all of them with a piece of paper with her portrait on it.
And Black Ooze...... no, a human woman who was working with a humanoid slime that had evolved even more than the slime that overtook Fonteau.
No one knew why she was working with the humanoid.
However, she worked with the slime, an enemy of mankind, and then turned against Mariabelle and her friends.
――She was clearly an ally of the humanoid slime and an enemy of mankind.
A bounty had been offered for her capture, enough to easily keep an average citizen alive for a year from information alone, and she would only be able to live in the deep forests of Grabalt―― or so Mariabelle thought.
"And as for you guys...... I know it's hard to walk through the forest with heavy equipment but just bear with me a little longer. Because if you take a break in the woods with poor visibility, there's a good chance you'll be attacked by the slime."
"Okay... haah, haah..."
"Fuu―― I haven't been outside much recently. I guess I'm a little less fit..."
Fornelis, who was walking in the lead with Mariabelle, said so, to which Meltia, a silver-haired elf, and Kara, a chestnut-haired human, were also walking beside Mariabelle, replied, breathing heavily.
These two, like the others, were clad in thick cloaks over their clothes, keeping skin exposure to a minimum.
They were friends she trusted wholeheartedly, having defeated the Black Oozes who occupied the royal castle in Fonteau a year ago together with Mariabelle.
Meltia was Mariabelle's sister, and Kara was a scientist from a religious country that believed in the goddess.
And.
"You're so pathetic. How can you be so out of breath after a walk in the woods?"
"I don't want to be told by you who is flying and taking it easy, Fenelieka-san!"
"Well, that's terrible. I'm flying around from the sky to make sure everyone is okay, and you talk to me like that."
Fenelieka, a woman with magnificent red hair like that of a blazing fire, called out to Meltia and the others from above as though to tease them as their shoulders slumped in fatigue and their steps grew heavier.
On her back were black wings like that of a bat, and a tail from her buttocks.
She was dressed in an outfit so daring that it was hard to believe that she was marching through the forest, and it was rather believable that she was about to head off to an evening party.
The red lotus dress matched with her red hair was an outfit that boldly showed her cleavage to emphasize her beautiful big breasts, which were no less beautiful than those of Fornelis, and was decorated with ruffles to emphasize them.
Her waist, constricted by a corset, was surprisingly thin, and underneath was a long, tight skirt that emphasized her beautiful legs.
Underneath her skirt, which had a bold slit cut into the left hip, showed a pair of bold black net tights, and if she floated up into the sky in such a state, her underwear, which was hidden further down, was showing.
The color was red.
The back of the tight skirt was a thong with almost no fabric so that the lines of the underwear would not show.
It was passionate and indecent underwear suitable for the red-haired female succubus.
――A monster.
Normally, they should be incompatible with humanity, but other monsters, including the succubus, have been fighting alongside humans since the Black Ooze attacked, and relationships have been established with some of them over the past year.
Fenelieka, in particular, was the first monster that Mariabelle helped and became a member of her group.
Perhaps because of that relationship, they had worked together during the decisive battle against the Black Ooze, and even now they were helping the humans to find the goddess and the new hero who was an enemy to them.
Many of the monsters have parts that humans did not have.
Fenelieka, a succubus, utilized the wings on her back, unaffected by the deep forest, to check from the sky that Mariabelle and the group were safely moving through the forest.
Because she was a monster―― many still distrust her, but since Mariabelle, who saved Fonteau and was the daughter of the previous hero, trusted her, no one openly complained.
Even Meltia, who was still wary of her, did not think as badly of her as she always said, one could sense it from her words.
However, the relationship between them was one in which Meltia was inevitably harsh in her words, proof of their relationship when she was still wary of the presence of the monster beside Mariabelle.
In fact, Fenelieka laughed off Meltia's words and rather enjoyed her reactions.
"If you can say that, you're still going strong, aren't you, Melty?"
"Don't abbreviate my name in a weird way! Even okaa-sama doesn't call me that......"
"Yes, yes. Don't make too much fun of Meltia-sama, Fenelieka. It's really hard to walk through the forest, so don't let her waste her energy."
"Fuun. You must be pretty good to say something like that, coming from the usually nitpicky girl you are."
Fenelieka, who had stopped making fun of Meltia after hearing Kara's words, came down to stand next to Mariabelle.
Instead of flapping her wings, she moved silently, floating using the mana in her wings.
"There was a village up ahead. If we keep going at the speed we're going, we'll get there in a little while...... around noon."
"I see. Thank you, Fenel-san."
"Nod, nod*. You're so respectable. You're very different from your sister who gives back a lot of complaints even after you help her out."
"Kuh."
Meltia's eyes, which looked like that of red jade, narrowed in an attempt to refute the blatant provocation, but only a tired, disordered sigh escaped her glossy lips.
Mariabelle smiled at her sister in such a state and looked at Fenelieka with a troubled expression on her face.
"Please don't bully onee-sama too much, Fenel-san. She seems really tired right now."
"I guess so. Damn, I'm bored."
"......Bored. You think I'm a toy or something......"
"Yes, yes. Let's stop reacting and catch our breath, Meltia-sama."
For the past year, Meltia had been busy with her duties as a princess, cleaning up after the defeat of the Black Ooze and the recapture of Fonteau.
Kara, who was traveling with her again, rebuked Meltia with a sense of nostalgia for an exchange she had not seen in a long time.
In normal times, it would be a heartwarming scene, but now they were on the march to search for the missing goddess.
Too much private conversation would be bad for the morale of the soldiers.
"Absolutely―― We are moving to save the goddess. I'd appreciate it if you'd focus on the march and not on the unnecessary things.
Fornelis turned to Mariabelle and the others, who were in high spirits...... or rather, their shoulders were relaxed even though they understood the gravity of the situation.
She was not angry.
Rather, she thought it was important to have the gall to remain unstrained in this way even after hearing of the existence of the goddess who was said to have created this world, and of the hero who was summoned in this world.
Fornelis and the other knights and warriors who fought with the previous hero were nervous about the great task of rescuing the goddess, and their shoulders were heavy even before they fight the slime that seemed to have kidnapped the goddess.
Rather than that, Mariabelle and the others, whose shoulders were more relaxed, would be more likely to move readily in case of an emergency.
It was a light word, based on such trust.
They had been walking in the forest for about two hours.
The deep green trees that covered the sky seemed to fade, and then the forest opened up, as she squinted her eyes due to the light.
Trees were cut down in the middle of the deep forest of Grabalt, and the village in it was visible.
"All right. Let's split up to two groups."
"Yes."
It was something they had decided beforehand, before proceeding through the forest.
The Grabalt forest was too big for searching two people.
There was a risk of being attacked by the slime that mimicked various things in the forest, but they must take the risk in order to rescue the goddess that created the world.
The troops were divided into two, one to gather information on Frederica who had been sighted, and predict where she was headed.
The other group would go ahead through the forest, searching for other villages and ruins that might be inhabited, and set up camps for the troop that would join them later on.
In fact, about ten days passed since the goddess Fasalina went missing.
If it was a slime that attacked her―― it was easy for Fornelis and the other women who had been attacked to imagine what the goddess was going through.
"Jenna, Fiana-dono!"
"Yes, Fornelis."
"You called, Fornelis-sama."
Fornelis called for Fiana, the silver-haired female knight who was leading the elven knights at the back, and Jenna, the blonde-haired priestess who was healing the exhausted people in the middle of the group.
Fiana was a female knight who had wielded a sword since the days of the Demon King and was considered a hero among the elves, having exterminated numerous monsters with her magic.
She was once been defeated, captured, and violated by the Black Ooze, but that was why she understood the threat of the slime so well, and her specialty, ice magic, could even defeat the new species of the slime that resisted magic.
In a sense, she was a magic knight more accustomed to fighting slimes than Fornelis, the swordsman who traveled with the hero.
As for Jenna, she was a priestess who, like Fornelis, traveled with the previous hero, and she was the companion that Fornelis trusted more than anyone else.
Fiana was wearing a white robe with her magnificent silver hair under a thick cloak, and on top of that, she was wearing a light armor made of mithril, which had the property of storing mana for ease of movement.
Her beautiful big breasts, which were not typical of elves, swayed softly in response to the slightest movement, and her beautiful legs, wrapped in black garter stockings, peeked out from between the deep slits on both sides of her robe.
Jenna, who came with her, was dressed in a neat white and blue robe.
Her golden hair reflected the sunlight through the trees, and her movements, which even seemed holy, gave a sense of relief to those who saw her.
A cross made of mithril rested on her gently swelling chest, not as large as Fiana's or Fornelis', and in her hand held a holy staff, also made of mithril, that was as long as she was.
Her blue skirt, which seemed unsuitable for the forest, was strangely clean of mud and fallen leaves.
It was due to the miracle of the goddess, which was the specialty of the priestesses of the nation who believe in her, a barrier that protected them from all the impurities of the world.
It was the basic and most important protective armor that was automatically activated by the deep devotion to the goddess Fasarina, without the need to conjure magic as was the case with the magic that elves were good at.
It was not effective enough to prevent powerful magic or blows, but it was excellent protection against dirt and airborne poisons.
With that, Jenna had been able to proceed through the forest without any stain on her beautiful figure.
A female knight who was not only a hero of the elves but also full of charm and a "saint" who was the most popular priestess in the country of Lishlua.
The two stepped out in front of the beastwoman princess Fornelis and bowed lightly.
A slight smile appeared on their faces, and they did not look nervous.
Fornelis was relieved to see such a figure and smiled.
"I entrust you with the beastmen. I want you two to go around to the villages and ruins on the map I gave earlier and make sure those places are safe."
"I understand. Fornelis-sama, please take good care of Mariabelle-sama and the others."
"Yeah. I swear to protect them at all costs, even at the cost of my life."
"Life...... you're awkward as always. You live too, and meet again, Fornelis."
"Fuu―― yes. See you soon, Jenna."
It was not that she was nervous, and Fornelis seemed too preoccupied to protect the daughter of a dear friend and the female hero who was born in this world.
Jenna, who had known her for a long time, immediately noticed that and casually rebuked her.
From the way they looked at each other, one could see that they truly trusted each other with all their hearts. Fiana, too, relaxed slightly due to the important mission of searching for the goddess.
Concentrating on the mission was important, but if one concentrated too much, one could only look ahead and stumble over one's feet.
Having failed once before against the slime, and that one failure turned out to be fatal, Fiana reminded herself in her mind not to be too nervous.
"Well then, everyone. Follow me!"
After saying that, Jenna and Fiana led half of the group―― most of them formed of beastmen, marching not to the exit of the forest where the village was located, but to the west side, where the same deep forest as before spread out.
It was their job to continue through the forest, gather information from other villages and ruins, and establish a base for future exploration in the forest.
The kidnapping of the goddess Fasalina was a major event.
However, a year had passed, and Fonteau had not completely healed from the scars of the Black Ooze attack.
Grabalt was a nation formed by many different tribes, and it took time to gather them.
Lishlua had a small number of warriors who were good at close combat.
For these reasons, there was a limit to the number of people who could be gathered immediately, and search teams would be sent in succession after Mariabelle and her group, which was the first group to arrive.
"They're gone..."
"I have heard of Fiana-dono's fame, and Jenna is a better priestess than any of them. I am sure we will meet again safely."
Fornelis' words to Mariabelle seemed to be directed to herself.
They have fought the Black Ooze and know its threat firsthand.
They know how dangerous it was to search in the forests, where the slime had the advantage...... Still, they could not abandon the goddess Fasalina.
The goddess was not only the creator of this world but also the mother of all life that inhabited it.
"Besides, we will only work separately for four days. After that, we will join together and search for the Goddess."
"Yes. I'm not sensing any bad feeling―― I'm sure we'll meet again."
After Fornelis and Mariabelle said that, they first moved to the village where Frederica was said to show up and gather information about her.
The village was not large enough to accommodate all of the nearly 200 knights, even though less than half of them were there, so the first step was to set up a camp near the village.
They cut the grass, felled the trees, and set up tents.......
"A year ago, I was a vigorous mountain climber, but I've become very frail."
As Mariabelle, the female hero who had defeated the Black Ooze, was also helping to set up the tent, Fenelieka, who had been watching the area from the sky, came down.
Her gaze fell on a group of people sitting wearily, unaccustomed to marching in the forest, a short distance from Mariabelle and the others.
There was Kara and Meltia.
Rather, Kara was taking care of Meltia's personal needs.
Even though they were the same elves, a knight and a princess of a country were in different positions.
It seemed that Méltia was not feeling at ease, so Kara, who was also resting due to fatigue, was taking care of her personal needs.
Well, even though she was tired, in Kara's case, she was trying to rest here and there while hiding it.
Mariabelle smiled bitterly as she could sense such an atmosphere, though not in words, from the way she was fetching water from the nearby river and taking care of Meltia in a worthwhile manner.
And it was probably Meltia that Fenelieka was concerned about.
She was not physically strong but Mariabelle was rather impressed that Fenelieka was watching her so closely.
"Fufu, are you getting lonely that you are not having fun of someone?"
"Something like that. It's a pity that "chibi-chan" isn't with you."
"Mou―― Kara will get angry if you ridicule her, you know? You'll become her guinea pig..."
"Ara, I've never said that the "chibi-chan" is Kara though."
"Eh... mou."
When Mariabelle realized her mistake, Fenelieka jumped up with a big smile on her face.
"Hey, Kara."
"Wai-, Fenel-san!?"
Would the people around them who were engaged in such an exchange be appalled at the lack of tension between these women?
――There was no such thing.
They know that Mariabelle and her friends were superhumans and heroes who have done great deeds that they could never have accomplished on their own.
They knew that these women were working harder than anyone else for the good of their country.
That was why―― they knew that this exchange, this peaceful everyday life, was only for this moment.
Returning to her country, she worked for her country and for her people.
When they go to battle, they pick up their swords and fight.
So, for this one time, she wanted to experience the silly conversations like an ordinary person.
And the peace they need to protect. May they be as stressful as Mariabelle and her friends were showing.
The knights smiled as they watched Mariabelle and her friends, projecting what they wanted to protect.
