I Became the Wrong Race

36 – Warrior (3)

Golden Oriole, Melody.

She was truly worthy of her name.

Regardless of whether or not she was golden, she was indeed a woman who knew how to make sounds befitting an oriole.

Although she was actually a warbler, she whistled as pleasantly as an oriole.

At least by my standards as an ally.

I still enjoyed that scene. It may be that it happened a little while ago, but there were also things that had such an impact that it could never be ignored.

Use the paralyzing melody that inflicts paralysis in a wide area, and when everyone is paralyzed, rush in and kill the wizard with high resistance first.

It was a typical but excellent tactic.

Even the timing was great. If I had appeared a little earlier, Melody would have been in danger, and if I had appeared late, I would have died.

So there were no complaints….

I can’t say that there aren’t even some elaborate aspects.

It wasn’t that I was dissatisfied with Melody. If there was a complaint, it was mine.

‘Thank you.’

At the last moment, I could feel the consideration of the Owl Bear Transformers. You could call it abandonment rather than consideration, but no matter how I looked at it, it only felt like consideration.

It was right after the game was decided and the attack was avoided by crushing one arm. The idea that came to mind wasn’t bad, but it didn’t work out well.

On the other hand, what about this guy?

The shapeshifters are a race that is free to transform and unshape any part of their body or their entire body.

Even for the three clans of transformation, the level would be quite high.

It wouldn’t have been an easy task to instantly change his entire body from an owlbear-human hybrid to a human shape.

So, to him, my conversion attack was close to a shallow attack that he could have easily dealt with if he had returned to his human form, avoided it, and attacked again.

Nevertheless, I won. The reason was obvious. Because he didn’t intend to do that.

The fact that such an outstanding warrior would have been unable to come up with such an idea was a rather ugly mental victory.

And I don’t really like mental victory.

In the end, I won, but it was no exaggeration to say that my life depended on his mercy and sensitivity at that moment.

I didn’t like that. I don’t like losing.

I wonder how many people in the world like losing in the first place.

That’s why I didn’t make a fuss right after I woke up.

Rather, I calmly reflected on my shortcomings and thought about how I could improve.

[Occupation: Warrior – Mourner 4]

Fortunately, the timing was good.

As your level increases, you can access new abilities.

[Select a talent]

That was a feat.

Common to all characters, a kind of perk that can be selected when reaching a certain level.

I pondered and chose from a long list of talents.

There were many areas where I was lacking in combat, but the area where I was most lacking was defense.

[Cut out]

[“Don’t try to get rid of everything. Then you die.”

-The first thing taught at the Tribal Federation Swordsmanship Academy]

[At the moment of being hit, the skill is added to the defense roll. If you successfully defend, you can counterattack.]

In that sense, my choice was close to making up for what was lacking.

This was partly because there was no other way to maximize my strengths, and partly because I realized that actual combat and games are different.

So, in the game, I chose a talent that I would not have chosen if it were not for an agility-based character like Melody.

In actual combat, I knew that every time I allowed an attack, my fighting spirit would decrease and I would be at a disadvantage in subsequent fights.

I had to not allow the enemy to attack as much as possible. If that had to be done, the damage had to be minimized.

So what I chose was to cut, or in English, parry.

There was no way to reverse this choice, so I hesitated a bit, but in the end, I decided to go ahead and do as I had planned, and opened my eyes.

[Play time: 8,951 hours]

Then, an unfamiliar face greeted me on the unfamiliar ceiling.

A person with wide-open eyes as if surprised and a short stature.

He cleverly widens his distance and looks the other way, as if it were a lie that he was leaning towards me.

I quietly pull the blanket over me and stand up, closing my dazed eyes again. It’s narrow eyes.

I called the name of that little savior.

“Melody.”

Melody laughed, instantly capturing all the emotions shown on her face.

“It’s better if you call me Mel.”

His tone was that he knew there was no way I could call him that.

*

“It’s a homunculus, after all. “It’s neat.”

The task Melody began immediately after waking up was close to a kind of health checkup.

Well, Melody also had some expertise in medicine.

Is this because he is a bard with an aptitude for a variety of skills, and is often raised to take on the role of a troubleshooter in a party?

She briefly checked my body and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with me.

Considering that my health was 22, it was only natural.

“No, it seems like she’s recovering faster than her older sister?”

Her own title refers to her older sister, her pen name Lucilla. For a moment, I thought that if Lucilla was really my older sister, then Melody was mine.

Sister-in-law?

Or your younger brother?

As I was blankly unable to figure out which way to turn, Melody tilted her head and pressed the bridge of my nose.

“What are you thinking so much about? Please….”

Ah, the melody that interrupts while speaking. She nodded her head with a puzzled expression on her face.

“I was inconsiderate. Of course, she would also be worried about the safety of her colleagues. Homunculi usually do that.”

Colleague. Only then did I think of Isla. How could I forget Isla?

Although he was unconscious just a moment ago, humanly speaking, this should not have happened.

I suppressed the rising sense of self-destruction, and Melody said with a smile on her face.

“Fortunately, my colleagues don’t have any problems. Even though she hasn’t regained consciousness yet… Because it was a rough fight. “It would be difficult to regain consciousness already.”

That was correct. It was even an inappropriate fight.

A fight worthy of Isla would be closer to a hunt accompanied by her traps and schemes, but the fight that has continued since she and I met has been an all-out war.

It was also an unreasonable fight for her. Just when I was wondering if we could continue to be together.

‘I’ll die with you.’

I remembered what Isla had said while her face was half buried in her bed.

It was not a manly thing to leave without saying a word to someone who spoke like that.

We should talk about it when he wakes up. As I looked relieved, Melody quietly looked at my face.

“Then I think I heard everything I wanted to hear… “You should get scolded, right?”

“… Huh?”

“It was too much. “If I had screwed up, I would have died.”

I stared blankly at Melody. That was correct. To put it bluntly, he was really dead.

In fact, I would have died even if the melody had not come. In that respect, doubts arose.

How did you come and why did you come?

But Melody’s words came out faster than my questions.

“There is no interim report, and the city’s appearance is unusual. It would be a shame if I came to check in the middle, otherwise….”

Are you scolding me? Since the scolding was a little different from my sister’s, I was unable to respond, so Melody soon poked her index finger between my eyes.

“From now on, take care of your life. “Just because it’s a homunculus doesn’t mean it never dies.”

That was correct. If your head is cut off, you die. It was a symbolic death, and a death that the homunculus had no way of avoiding.

I, a monster who would not die unless killed or beheaded, scratched my head.

“I understand.”

“Okay. Good. However… “Why did you do it like that?”

It was then that an unexpected question came up.

Melody tilted her head at my blank gaze.

“I said I would give compensation, but if it’s really dangerous, I can run away, right? The land of the New World is not that large. “Even if I ran away, no one would have said anything.”

Nevertheless, I risked my life. Risking his life, he fought against the Owl Bear Transformers and won.

If Melody, Isla, and the imperial army had not been present, they would have died.

Why did that happen?

An ambiguous feeling, like I know the answer but also don’t. When I hesitated to answer, Melody smiled brightly.

It was a playful smile.

“No way… “Because I said I would kiss you?”

Then he chuckled. Seeing my bewildered expression, she opened one of her eyes and stared at me.

“Well, I’m kind of pretty. “I think I would give anything to be the first kiss from a pretty girl like me!”

It must be a joke. I didn’t completely delve into the story or character narrative of Grim Darker, but weren’t there nuances in the lines I saw and heard while playing the game?

In that sense, Melody was a character who dissed enemies, made fun of villains, and made fun of allies.

Should I say that I have a playful personality? It was only natural that my profession was a bard.

What should I say? I felt a bit screwed.

Yes, it feels like seeing a raccoon that comes to a line it shouldn’t be in and gets its head broken by an axe after making a fool of itself and shooting a poisonous stinger.

No, it’s not that bad. Although it feels vaguely similar.

I felt annoyance mixed with a slight sense of defeat, and I was strangely angry at being overlooked even though I never said so.

Only then did I guess why I did that.

Because I hate losing.

Yes, I really hated losing. The current action was in the same vein.

“That’s right. So, can I take it now?”

“… Ah?”

Melody’s face looks blankly at me. Her face was small and cute.

It’s not that I don’t feel guilty because I look younger than I am, but the feeling of guilt is better than the feeling of defeat.

I was that kind of guy. When I looked closely, it seemed like there was nothing I couldn’t do.

He has a cute face, a good personality, is an ally, and above all, didn’t he say that he will give it to him?

In hindsight, it felt like compensation I deserved.

“Sleep, wait!”

So I stretched out my hand. Faster than Melody, who panicked and tried to back away.

She and I were already close to the wall.

This was because he got out of bed and moved around for the examination, and also maintained a close distance for the examination.

She was immediately backed into a corner.

“Should I say that as a joke or seriously? No, I could give it to you if you wanted, right? “Think about it a little…”

I ignored her words and grabbed Melody’s small chin and placed my other hand on her thigh.

Melody’s eyes widen as she lightly presses down with her weight and lifts her chin.

Her golden eyes were watery. The bite was not caused by emotions such as surprise or fear.

It was a shame.

Shame filled her eyes and made her face bright red.

If someone else saw it, it would be more correct to call it a red warbler rather than a golden oriole.

“… Tsk.”

Eventually she closed her eyes. Even though I was just staring blankly at the completely unexpected reaction.

As I grab her chin, I lift her head slightly higher, close her eyes tightly, and place her hands lightly on my forearms.

It looked like all preparations had been completed. She froze.

It was floating as if waiting for something, but only its lips were twitching.

It’s my first time kissing, so I’m paying attention to the placement of my lips, and I’m trying to keep my expression as expressionless as possible in case it looks strange, but I’m acting like I’m looking forward to the contact that’s about to come.

I was dumbfounded by her actions.

The media usually said that it was a virginal reaction.

Wasn’t he a minstrel?

Isn’t being a minstrel usually done by bold people?

He jokes like that often, and he always responds by giving me a kiss as a reward, so I thought he would.

It was completely different from my expectations or experience.

I was frozen in a daze and made eye contact with Melody, who slowly opened one eye.

“Ayat.”

I just pinched her cheek.

Melody stares at me blankly, as if her cheek was being held.

I smiled slightly and let go of Melody’s cheek.

“It’s a joke. Joke. “Am I some kind of robber who would steal a kiss from a virgin?”

It was said out of consideration. Although I did it to win, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to lose my first kiss because of it.

Even after all this, I was a pretty moral person. And my morals dictated that I should give my virginity to the person I like.

So I gave her her mercy.

“… Ah.”

Melody was dumbfounded by my words, but instantly made a determined expression and held my face.

And before I could even react.

Page.

He kissed my forehead and fell.

It is ambiguous to calculate it as the first kiss, and it is also ambiguous to say that no kiss was given.

She jumped up with her newly red face, let out a sweet sigh, and placed her hands on her waist.

The words he spoke while proudly puffing out his chest only seemed pitiful due to his trembling voice.

“Virgin, no, it’s not. Under… But it looks like you’re nervous, so… “I’ll take a look.”

But that seemed to be the best for the melody. A virgin-like reaction without any of the usual eloquence.

In the end, I had no choice but to do it.