Chapter 12. The Breeding Adventurer Who Hunts Beastwomen (Working Title, Don’t Judge)

Chapter 12: 12. The Breeding Adventurer Who Hunts Beastwomen (Working Title, Don’t Judge)

That behemoth... It was favoring that left shoulder. I’d noticed it the first time I saw it, and now I could see it clearly.

Every time the creature put weight on the front leg, a crack of exposed flesh opened up where Elsbeth’s cut had split the frost plating. If I could hit that spot again, maybe... I might be able to do real damage.

But the Behemoth wasn’t as foolish as the typical monsters you might encounter in a game. The Behemoth kept its side turned away from me, pivoting with every step I took.

If I tried to rush it directly, it would just crush me right away. And I could die peacefully just because I wasn’t a virgin anymore in this life.

And so... I cheated.

I backed up slowly, drawing it toward a patch of deep snow near the treeline, and when it lunged... I threw myself aside again.

The Behemoth’s front legs plunged into the powder up to its chest, and it bellowed and tried to heave itself free. The movement dragged its injured shoulder around, wide open, in the exact spot I wanted.

I didn’t even have to think about my next move. I just jumped... based on my instinct.

The sword sank into the wound up to the hilt, and the creature let out a shriek that I felt in my teeth.

NNNNGGAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!

A spray of dark blood hit my face, and I yanked the blade free and stabbed again, as hard as I could.

STAB! STAB! STAB!

"HOW DOES IT FEEL NOW, HUH?!"

The behemoth thrashed, flung me off like a fly, and I hit the snow on my back until I started wheezing. I looked up in time to see it sway, take two staggering steps, and collapse on its side with a ground-shaking thud.

’Oh, thank god... I thought it was going for a counterattack, but it seems like it finally learned how to fucking give up.’

Yes... that piece of shit didn’t get up again.

I lay there for a long time, staring up at the gray sky, breathing in great gulps of air. My ribs hurt, my arms ached, and I was covered in blood and snow; what I mostly hoped for was a monster.

But I was alive, and the thing that had nearly killed me was dead. It was worth it, especially since my body felt like it was going to come back to its prime.

"Holy shit," I said again, because I didn’t have anything better to say than that shit. "I did that... I actually fucking did that! By myself!"

"What’s even funnier is that I get strongest just by fucking a wolfwoman, and yes...! WORTH ITTTTT!!!" I screamed while raising my fist.

Then... A shadow fell across my face. I looked up and saw Elsbeth standing over me with her sword resting on her shoulder.

"Your technique is... crude," she said.

"Thank you... I think...?"

"Your footwork is terrible, and you waste too much movement from there."

"Noted..." I nodded. "Anything else before I start to give you a lecture on your sex technique?"

Elsbeth blushed hearing that and then quickly looked away. She looked at the corpse of the Behemoth, then back at me, and tilted her head slightly.

"You adapted in the middle of the fight that fast like a beast... You found its weakness, and you forced it into a position where it couldn’t use its strength."

"I’m starting to think that you’re not an ordinary human."

She slid her sword into its sheath with a quiet click.

"Power can be acquired, yes..." she said. "But judgment is much harder to teach..."

"You may actually have potential, Leon Levarion."

I grinned up at her. It was ridiculous how much more those words meant to me than any system notification ever could.

And to make it better... it comes out from a beastwoman, which makes me aroused. Again.

"Careful, Elsbeth... Keep complimenting me, and I might start thinking you like me." I said that with a smug grin on my face.

"Keep talking, and I will let the next monster have you."

"Aha! There she is! The woman I almost froze to death for." I laughed while facepalming and thought. ’She said that even though we’ve fucked minutes before...’

She rolled her eyes, but I caught the corner of her mouth twitching again, and she held out a hand to help me up.

We spent the rest of the afternoon burying the dead Behemoth under a pile of snow, which Elsbeth insisted was proper respect for a fallen opponent, and I insisted... it was a fucking waste of time.

Thereafter, we sat down by a little fire I managed to light, and she let me clean her wound properly this time. It was a lot less awkward than I’d expected, though she flinched every time I touched her ribs and glared at me like it was my fault.

"You saved me twice," she said abruptly, staring into the flames.

"Technically... I think it was more like three times... If you count the coat, that is," and then I start to whisper at her wolf ears. "Maybe I can bang you again for that?"

"Do... do not count the coat." She frowned. "Once when I was dying in the snow, and once when that beast came back..."

"I do not forget debts, Leon... I am not sure what to do with this one, but if you want to do it again... then I suppose I’m fine... with it." After that she shook her head until the snow on her head hit my face. "But after that... it’s over... no more for us to mate."

"You could say thanks, you know? I can’t just ask for more sex after what I just did to you before."

"Hm... I could."

"But you won’t?"

"I will think about it."

I laughed, and after a second she did too, quietly, like she wasn’t sure she was allowed. God... I’m starting to feel that feeling of love, and this one is different from any woman I’ve fucked in my previous life.

This is real love.

"I still don’t trust you completely, though," she said after a while.

"I know, and it’s fine by me."

"But you are..." She paused, searching for the word. "Not what I expected."

"That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me."

"Don’t count that as a compliment."

"Naahhhhh... I’m taking it as one."

She sighed, and I felt her lean slightly against my shoulder, just for a second, before she caught herself and straightened up. I decided not to mention it.

"Where will you go after this...?" she asked.

"Hmmm... No idea." I shrugged my shoulders. "But well... I’m guessing there’s a town or a guild somewhere nearby."

"I’m supposed to be an adventurer, apparently." I scratched my neck. "Any chance you’d want to walk with me until we find one?"

She was quiet for a moment, looking at the fire. "I suppose someone must make sure that a man who has just gained a great deal of strength does not do something foolish and die before he reaches the nearest village."

"Cool. That’s what I said."

"It is not what you said."

"That’s how I heard it, by the way... And I think that’s a very caring thing to say from someone like you."

"It is not caring... but more like a practical thing to say."

"Sure... it is."

She glared at me, and I smiled back, but then a sound that was almost a growl rumbled in her throat. But she didn’t tell me to stop, and I counted that as another win.

Ding!

[LUST SYSTEM: NEW STATUS]

[Host: Leon Levarion]

[Permanent Ability: Apex Physique]

[Partner Record: Elsbeth Evershade, SSS-Rank]

[New Radar Signal Detected An additional SSS-Rank beastwoman has appeared within the radar’s detection range.]

[Estimated distance: Unknown]

I stared at the notification, and slowly... a grin spread across my face. It was a big one, and it probably looked a little unhinged, because Elsbeth glanced over at me and her eyes narrowed.

Hohohohoho... another one that I can get, and of course... f-u-c-k!

"I know that kind of expression coming from someone like you," she said. "Whatever it is... the answer is no."

"I haven’t even asked yet."

"Whatever you are thinking... the answer is still a no."

I looked at the new blip on the radar, then at the wolfwoman sitting beside me with firelight in her red eyes and my stolen coat still draped over her shoulders.

Then I looked out at the endless white wilderness, the dark line of mountains on the horizon, and the whole enormous world waiting out there with all its monsters and magic.

"You know," I said, "I think I’m going to like it here!"

Elsbeth snorted and turned her face away, but this time she didn’t tell me to shut up.

And so... my adventure as an SSS-rank beastwoman tamer has officially begun.

Maybe I call myself as... The Breeding Adventurer That Hunts Beastwoman Only!

’Yes! That’s it...! Breeding All The SSS-Rank Beastwomen To Get Stronger!’

’Sounds cool!’