My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s - Chapter 174~『Gluttony』~ Tsuda Tomoya POV

Our attacks weren’t working.

That was, the same as not having any means to go against it.

This forest was always making us go through trials and tribulations.

「Twin Sword Style–『Tempestuous Blade』」

The silver and golden lights flashed so quickly that it could barely be seen.

Even when Asahina-kun drew out both his swords and attacked the monster that Nanase-kun shot out of the sky, it was still unscathed.

「Haaaaaah!!」

Even when Satou-kun agilely swung his sword down, it was simply repelled.

Nanase-kun, who was protecting those in the back, used his wind magic to pin the whale monster onto the ground, but that’s not going to hold up forever.

Neither magic nor physical attacks were effective.

Was this what they mean by there being nothing that could be done.

「Please don’t give up!」

I came to stand in front of the whale monster and frantically raised my shield, protecting Hosoyama-san, Ueno-san, and Waki-kun who was behind me from its attacks.

I couldn’t let the needles, whose tips were shining, which made it obvious that they were coated with poison, touch the three people.

As I was thinking if there was anything that we could do while gradually retreating, suddenly, the figure of a person jumped out from behind me.

「Hosoyama-san!?」

「What are you doing!?」

Ueno-san and I raised our voices, bewildered.

I wonder where she learned to do that, as Hosoyama-san agilely dodged the whale monster’s attacks and gradually approached it.

She seemed to be aiming for something, but what that was, I did not know.

However, Hosoyama-san wouldn’t do anything that was impractical.

Asahina-kun, Satou-kun, and Zeal-san’s eyes widened, startled, and got into formation in order to protect her.

Nanase-kun was concentrating on his magic and didn’t notice, but Zeal-san was now right next to Hosoyama-san, so she should be alright.

However, despite appearances, Hosoyama-san was unexpectedly someone who was assertive and got things done.

It seems that she told the three people her plan, but her voice was too far away for me to hear.

The two people behind me probably couldn’t move like Hosoyama-san did, and currently, we were being one-sidedly attacked by a storm of needles, so the others could focus on attacking.

Either way, we won’t be able to participate, but I wanted to say something.

That was truly bad for the heart.

「Alright, let’s go!」

At Zeal-san’s signal, the three people all simultaneously attacked the monster.

They worked together so that they didn’t get in each other’s way, attacking the same place, and they did so with barely any prior preparations.

The three of them were amazing.

It seems that the statuses of those who were summoned had higher values than those of regular humans, so the one who was amazing was Zeal-san who could keep up with Asahina-kun and Satou-kun.

「Now! Hosoyama!」

Starting from here, I couldn’t see it very well, but most likely, everyone’s attacks focused on one point and opened up a hole.

A hole that was big enough for a woman’s finger to barely slip through.

It seems that the attack was not nullified completely.

Even so, even when a hero, samurai, and knight used all their strength, they only made a small hole, so its strength was not hard to imagine.

And, compared to us who panicked because our attacks were ineffective, Hosoyama-san, who patiently observed and noticed that they weren’t completely ineffective was amazing.

I’ve often heard that women displayed their strength at the last moment, but it seems that it was true.

『Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!!』

As the monster screamed, its attacks grew weaker and weaker, until it stopped.

I kept my shield up, just to be on the safe side, but judging from the rapidly weakening monster, I understood that it no longer had the strength to attack.

Even though I cautioned the two people who timidly came out from behind me, they too approached the monster.

The three people who integrated their attacks and Nanase-kun who had restrained the monster gathered around Hosoyama-san.

What did Hosoyama-san do.

「You stole its life force!?」

Waki-kun’s eye widened in surprise as he stuffed his cheeks with a large piece of meat.

I took a piece from the monster meat that was grilling in the center of the circle that was enough for me to eat and nibbled on it.

Incidentally, this meat was from the whale monster that Hosoyama-san and the others defeated.

The one who suggested that we eat the monster whose meat had become so tender after it died that it could even be cut by a knife was Hosoyama-san, and with her skill, the poison testing was complete.

I was a bit worried, and when I asked her if she could detect slow-acting poisons, she gave a full-faced smile and a firm nod.

I did not have the courage to ask her how she could ascertain that.

Or rather, I didn’t want to know.

I was still unaccustomed to eating the meat of monsters that we defeated, but monster meat was much more delicious than the meat of domesticated animals.

I heard that that was due to the bit of magic power that still flowed throughout the body even after their death.

It’s no wonder that monster meat was frequently being recommended when I went to the Adventurer Guild.

The retired adventurers too generally had a splendid stomach.

「That’s right. It’s the exact opposite of healing, where you give your magic power to others. I saw Yuuki-chan’s dispel magic and came up with it. Unlike magic power, I couldn’t sense it so it was pretty difficult, but I was able to acquire it. The skill『Gluttony』.」

Hosoyama-san gave a peace sign and smiled, but the name of the skill was fairly ominous.

『Gluttony』, that meant eating anything and everything, right.

Along with testing for poison, the number of reasons why we couldn’t do without Hosoyama-san increased yet again, but just how far was she going with this.

「I can’t use it if I’m not touching it directly, even more so for those who are strong like the one just now, but if a monster similar to the one from this time appears, please count it as one of the methods of attack.」

I nodded when I saw the serious look on Hosoyama-san’s face, as that’s what I hoped for as well.

However, it seems that Satou-kun did not agree.

「It turned out well this time, but that doesn’t mean it will go as smoothly the next time as well. Moreover, coming out from behind the shield and not letting Tsuda-kun know, that was suicidal. If he had been distracted by you and loosened his grip on the shield, Tsuda-kun, Ueno-san, and Waki-kun would no longer be here with us. Naturally, if you had made a small miscalculation, you too would’ve died as well.」

Oya?, I tilted my head in confusion at his unexpectedly harsh words.

According to what I remember, Satou-kun had only ever raised his voice like this when he was with Oda-kun.

It was unusual for Satou-kun, who was always gently smiling, to frown and get angry.

Satou-kun continued to say this to Hosoyama-san who dejectedly hung her head.

「I am the hero, but I’m not omnipotent. I can’t protect everyone. That’s why, if you do it next time, properly get permission for it, and after having someone guard you. I wouldn’t be able to take it if anyone here was gone.」

「I’m sorry, it was thoughtless of me.」

「No, if you understand, then that’s fine. Let’s finish our meal.」

I could see the heat in Satou-kun’s eyes when he looked at Hosoyama-san who bowed her head honestly.