CHAPTER 255.1 - MOUNTAIN CROSSING I

Jujutsushi Wa Yuusha Ni Narenai

Day one of climbing the mountain. According to the plan, we were supposed to make it past the mid-mountain region by this time, which was the territory of the Red Vulture. However, due to the unexpected encounter and battle with the grimgore—and the resulting spoils—we decided to set up camp just before reaching that point.

And the next day, we added a new member to our climbing team and set off to continue our mountain climbing.

「Let me introduce our new comrades, Grim 1 and Grim 2.」

GUGAAAAH! Just like when they attacked us yesterday, the two grimgores let out ferocious roars.

The grimgores, clad in rocky carapaces that were generally grayish in color, had turned black due to their transformation into 『Corpse Doll』.

The rocky carapaces, which had a concrete-like color, had transformed into a glossy obsidian-like black, giving off a somewhat luxurious feel to them.

「Let's get along, everyone.」

「Pugagaga…」

「Momokawa, Kinako is still scared of the corpse doll just like before.」

That was something he had to get used to. He seemed to be fine with the roirops, so he just needed to get used to grimgores.

「Kyouko is going to ride Grim 1.」

「Oooh, it's quite high from on top of it!」

Kyouko quickly climbed on the back of Grim 1 with ease.

Was she deliberately flashing her panty, or was it just her wild indifference? Then there was me, staring intently, and Hayama-kun, subtly averting his gaze. What was with that innocent reaction of his?

「How's the comfort?」

「Yeah, it feels good.」

Like a test drive, she ordered Grim 1 to stomp around the ground and replied with a satisfied expression.

I thought the height being more than double compared to the raptor would result in more intense shaking, but surprisingly, the ride wasn’t too bad. Kyouko seemed to prefer this over Jaja as well.

「Kotaro, look here!」

Waving her hand, Kyouko tapped the head of the grimgore while pointing forward, giving some kind of instruction———— And right after that,

BOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

A powerful brown sandstorm-like substance was released from the grimgore's opened mouth.

「Sand breath… So they really are monsters with earth attributes.」

Putting Kyouko on grimgores wasn’t just a matter of personal preference. The information about grimgores being earth-attribute monsters had been known through emails. However, since we were avoiding direct combat, we hadn’t seen those abilities in action until now.

If all three grimgores had used their breath attacks simultaneously during yesterday’s ambush, we would have been wiped out for sure. Most likely, the sand breath wasn’t used during hunts but only when fighting enemies seriously.

「Woow, they're kinda like a real-life kaijuu.」

「Being able to use a breath attack seems to give it monster-like status.」

It seems that with Kyouko, a spellcaster, riding on its back, Grimgore's earth-attribute attacks could be used. Judging by the way Kyouko was gleefully testing the Sand Breath, it was clear that she was fully in control.

「Well then. Grim 1 will be Kyouko's mount.」

「Yaay! Best regards, Grilin!」

I was just glad she was happy with her mount. The grimgore itself must be thrilled to receive such a cute nickname too.

「Who's going to ride Grim 2 then? I don't really want to ride it though.」

「No one is going to ride it. They'll be our combat unit.」

After all, our party was truly in dire need of a vanguard. We were always looking for reliable people willing to put their bodies on the line to hold back the enemy!

「Let's change formation.」

Up until now, Rem and Kinako had been our vanguard, followed by us, with the roirops protecting our rear.

With the addition of the two grimgores, our vanguard would have more leeway, creating room to adjust our formation.

「At the front are Kyouko and Rem, followed by me. Right behind me is Hayama-kun, with Kinako and Beniwo sticking close to him. At the very back are the roirops and Grim 2.」

Even though she was just riding, having Kyouko at the frontline came with a certain amount of risk.

Hayama-kun would be safer with Kinako by his side, and thanks to Grim 2, their defensive capabilities were even more solid. Even if they were ambushed like yesterday, they would be able to react in time to handle it calmly and effectively.

「Today, we're pushing past the halfway point to reach near the summit. The real challenge begins from that point, so let’s give it our all!」

===

Numerous high-pitched wails echoed above us.

In a normal situation, those vultures would take a nosedive without a second thought, but…

「M-Momokawa, are you sure we'll be okay!?」

「Don't worry, it'll be fine.」

「I mean, there's more and more of them!」

「And that's all they can do, they won't attack us.」

Hayama-kun went into a panic seeing numerous vultures squealing noisily on top of us.

By the morning, we had reached the halfway point of the mountain, passing through the territory of the Red Vultures.

This area continued from the rocky terrain where the grimgore ambushed us, filled with numerous steep cliffs. It was mostly covered in patches of greenery, but there were no tall trees, providing excellent visibility.

We had to choose paths that weren’t steep cliffs, so we navigated with a winding, zigzag route, gradually climbing in elevation.

And so, as we continued trudging along the way, they flew above us, circling overhead as if trying to threaten us.

As expected, they were just gathering in a group without showing any signs of attacking us. If I climbed alone, they'd have already pecked at me by now.

In short, this was the first time after coming this far, and what we need to be cautious of was not the cowardly vultures, but rather the treacherous mountain path itself.

Judging from the appearance of the mountain, the slope becomes steeper as we approached the summit. Therefore, the mountain path became more dangerous the higher we climb.

So please, Hayama-kun, don’t get too distracted by the vultures overhead and end up falling around here.

Even if you survived falling off a cliff, the moment you stray from our formation, the red vultures would swarm you and gnaw you down till not even your marrow is left.

「Haven't we climbed pretty high now, Kotaro?」

「Yeah, we should leave those vultures' territory soon.」

Fortunately, we hadn’t encountered any monsters today. Perhaps it was because we were right in the middle of the red vultures’ territory. Thanks to that, our journey had been smooth sailing.

「Kyouko, can you shoot one of them down for me soon? It doesn’t matter which one.」

「Sure thing, are we going to eat them?」

「I don't think their meat is tasty though.」

We’ve prepared plenty of food in advance, so there was no need to go hunting now.

I mean, we even had honey candies for recovering from fatigue.

We only brought a small amount of honey, but it was times like this when we need to use it.

What we need right now isn’t food, but information.

「I want to use Rem to scout the path ahead.」

「I see, roger that.」

If I turn the red vulture into a corpse doll, we would have ourselves a makeshift reconnaissance drone.

I tried controlling a bird and sending it out, but it kept getting attacked by the red vultures and ended up crashing 100% of the time—it was almost an impossible feat back then.

However, once we reached the summit area beyond their territory, we likely wouldn’t be actively attacked by them.

Above all, I didn’t want to tackle the most challenging summit crossing completely blind of the situation. At the very least, some reconnaissance was absolutely essential.

Even so, the red vultures didn’t occupy the summit. There must be dangers up there that they avoid.

「Are you ready, Kotaro?」

「Please.」

「Our turn has come, Grilin! FIRE!」

Grim 1 AKA Grilin, fired sand breath to the sky, effortlessly taking down the arrogant red vultures that had been flying low above us.

Girl, I told you one was enough.

===

One day behind schedule, we crossed the middle part, which was within the red vultures' territory, and decided to set up camp.

「No matter how you look at it, climbing is tough, isn’t it?」

Come to think of it, taking two days to reach this point felt just right. Trying to get here in one day would have been quite risky.

===

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My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1

New Project:

Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations