I couldn’t hold back my laughter at how ridiculous the situation in front of me was. At how chaotic the situation the young women had gotten themselves into had become. But unlike their argument before going to sleep, this was a much more peaceful scene.

Diane and Justine, who had gone after Erina, started throwing water at the girl, returning the attacks she had launched at them.

Camula had finally yanked Sarah’s bra off. My Swordmaster’s cheeks were as red as her hair. While Sarah bashfully covered her breasts, Camula triumphantly raised Sarah’s bra high with one hand, while covering her nipples with her other arm.

"Pfft! Hehehe." Alicia, who was beside me and had managed to regain her composure, started laughing at how stupid the situation was.

"Hahahaha." It seemed the princess’s laughter was contagious, because I couldn’t hold back my own laughter either.

It was just a moment of fun between us. We weren’t exploring a dungeon, fighting monsters, or putting our lives at risk for the thousandth time. It was just a trivial moment in our lives, but I truly valued these kinds of moments.

It was as if the intense battles we had faced and would still have to face were part of some distant reality. Very distant from that small, peaceful place where we were enjoying our silly moments together.

I wished every day could be like this. I wished I could have a peaceful life with my wives, but I knew I couldn’t bend the state of the world to my will.

There were enemies who wanted our heads, and after that, they would destroy this wonderful world we lived in. Even if, hypothetically, I ran away and avoided the conflict, the entire world would be destroyed.

To protect the smiles of my Valkyries, I would have to put myself in danger, and although I had grown stronger, something told me things would become much more dangerous from now on. I still had to face one specific enemy: the one who had killed Rick, my current self, in the original story.

’Forget it!’ I told myself. ’I’ve been getting stronger and leveling up. I won’t lose in a fight, whether it’s against the Silver Fang or the Night Apostles. If they try to destroy the peace I have with my wives, I’ll give it everything I’ve got and defeat them.’

My reverie was interrupted by Camula. She was happily holding Sarah’s bra with a big smile on her face, until her expression changed.

"Sniff, sniff."

She visibly started sniffing at something, and the scent seemed to intrigue her enough to bother her.

"Is something wrong, Camula?" I asked her.

"I smell something strange," she said, pointing towards the opposite bank from the one we had come from. "In that direction."

I decided to investigate with her, and the other Valkyries stopped their commotion and followed us as well. I decided to stay in front as a precaution, since I had the highest offensive stats in the party and could counterattack, not to mention the Sixth Sense skill I had gotten from Diane, which allowed me to sense nearby enemies.

Finally on the other bank, Camula pointed towards some bushes just a few meters away from us.

"There’s no doubt the smell is coming from there."

"Are you some kind of sniffer dog?"

"No, I’m a Slime."

"What the hell kind of answer is that?" I asked her, but I couldn’t deny that she had caught my attention.

I approached the bushes. My Sixth Sense didn’t activate, which meant there were no enemies nearby. Now that I was close, I could actually feel the foul smell entering my nostrils. Without thinking, I was about to put my hand into the bush to check, but Erina stopped me.

"Rick, wait!"

"Huh? What is it, Erina?"

"Don’t put your hand in there."

"Why not?"

"Why not? For the goddess’s sake, use Hawk Eye before touching something hidden."

"Hawk Eye is for long distances. Seems like a waste of MP."

"But you can use it for short distances too, and—Huh? You would avoid using a skill just so you don’t waste MP? You really are a cheapskate."

"Is it really necessary to use one of my skills for something so small?"

Erina stared at me with disdain, pleased to know something I didn’t, her amber-colored eyes shining because of her skill.

"Tch, tch, tch." Erina used her Weapon Furnace to create a long-barreled rifle. "Maybe you’ll change your way of thinking after seeing this."

With the barrel of her weapon, she pushed the grass aside, opening enough space for me to see what was hidden there. Hidden in the vegetation were several almost cylindrical, dark brown pieces that I instantly recognized as—

"Poop!" I stared at the droppings in disgust.

Erina raised her nose proudly, satisfied that she had saved me from touching shit. Although I still thought using 10 MP just to avoid shit was a waste, I was grateful to her.

"Thank you, I guess."

"Huh, huh," Erina said, puffing out her chest proudly. "Looks like you still have a lot to learn, Master."

"Don’t get so full of yourself. You only figured out it was poop."

"You’re so mean, Master."

"But I’m the one who found it," Camula said sadly, since we weren’t paying attention to her.

Justine approached the feces and crouched down beside them. She picked up a piece with the tips of her fingers and crumbled it between them, as if analyzing the material.

"More precisely, it’s the poop of a monster."

"Seriously?" Sarah asked, surprised that the young woman had figured that out just by observing it.

"Yes, I think there must be one or more monsters nearby. I don’t think they were Insect-type like the ones we faced earlier."

Noticing that the filth was still on her fingers, Justine wiped them on Erina’s white skirt. Needless to say, the wine-haired young woman got very angry about it.

"Are you trying to pick a fight, Justine?!"

But the bespectacled young woman couldn’t have cared less about her friend’s anger and turned to me instead.

"They seem to be medium-sized monsters, judging by the size of the excrement. You said you wanted to train Alicia and Camula along the way. Depending on how many of them there are, I think this could be a good opportunity."

"I was thinking exactly the same thing," I said to Justine with a smile, then turned towards the forest. "Hawk Eye."

When I activated the skill for the first time, it felt as if my eyes had been fused with a magnifying glass. Wherever I looked, I could see farther depending on what I wanted, ignoring the trees in the way.

After a few seconds, I managed to control my vision, learning how to adjust the distance to whatever interested me. That was when I discovered what my targets would be.

The monsters looked like pigs, but their fur was different from that of domestic swine. They had short black hair covering most of their skin, with the exception of the tops of their backs, where it was longer. The monsters’ red eyes glowed as they stared at the surrounding area.

Justine was right. Most of those creatures were medium-sized, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any exceptions to that rule. Deeper in the forest, there was one of those monsters, only much bigger than the others, sleeping and snoring without a care in the world.

’I don’t even want to imagine the size of that thing’s poop,’ I thought to myself. ’But killing that thing and all the smaller ones will certainly give my girls the points they need.’

"Oooh!" Erina let out a surprised sound, seeing the same thing I was seeing with her skill. "Who would have thought there would be so many of them around here? I believe I could take each one of them down from here."

"Not a chance. We need to balance the team, and you already have good enough stats."

Erina looked visibly saddened by me throwing cold water on her, but she didn’t oppose me. I patted her head, which seemed to improve her mood, at least a little.

I turned towards the Valkyries with the biggest stat deficits. "Alicia. Camula. Let’s hunt some Boars."

"Understood, Master Rick," Camula said, giving a brief bow.

Alicia clenched both fists in front of her chest and said to me with enthusiasm, "I’ll do my best!"

I looked around with Hawk Eye still active.

"There are no other threats near the river. You can keep resting here, but be careful. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Erina said, saluting me.

"Are you messing with me?"

"Always, my dear Master," Erina said without a single drop of shame.

"Anyway, you and Diane. I’ll leave the watch to you. Hawk Eye and Sixth Sense are perfect for watching the perimeter."

"You can count on us, Rick," Diane said to me in a serious tone.

Good, now that the teams were ready, I just needed to get the other two into shape with a little grinding.

’How hard could that be?’