Chapter 34 – We're starting from there?! (ソコからかぁっ！！)

Dawn arrived as we went from one tree to the next.

"Fueeeh~... I'm tired... I can't walk anymore... My feet hurt..."

Allis-chan ran out of energy and collapsed on the spot, unable to move.

Now this is where we start for real.

If you repeatedly deplete your HP, your max HP will increase, right?

At least, that’s how it worked in the game.

Still, it's worth a shot.

After recovering Allis-chan's feet with healing magic, I retrieved a HP potion from my 【Closet】and handed it to her.

"Here, Allis-chan!! It's a potion!! Drink this to recover and let's continue on!!"

"Hiee... I'll do my best..."

Allis-chan took the potion and opened the lid. After taking a sip, she choked.

"*Cough*!!..*Cough*!!... Urk!! ...Bleeeh..... It's bitter.... and spicy..... I can’t drink this~."

“You can do it, you can do it!! Drink it, drink it!! You can’t give up!! Chug it!!”

I took the potion bottle from Allis-chan and poured it down her throat while holding her down.

Allis-chan, realising she couldn't spit it out, managed to drink it with tears in her eyes.

Paul-san, who was watching us, was surprised and muttered in admiration.

"Noble ladies these days sure have guts. Even though many adventurers can’t handle the taste of potions either……"

This doesn't mean that all noble ladies can drink potions, so please don’t lump us all together.

But I really do think that Allis-chan did a great job with her sheer willpower.

"Bleehh... Bella-chan, that was so mean.... The inside of my mouth and stomach feel terrible... You demon...."

Allis-chan, who drank the potion by sheer willpower, shouted her resentments with teary eyes.

"But you've recovered, right? Now then, we're gonna keep at this pace to level you up in time before noon!!"

"Fueeeeeeh..... Okay."

Allis-chan stood up, albeit shakily, and went back to exploring the plains.

Hmm, the sun has risen, and we haven't made as much progress in leveling up as I expected.

Maybe I should be a little more Spartan?

"Allis-chan. Let's run while moving to build up our stamina."

"You're kidding~ That's impossible.... I'm not good at exercising."

Allis-chan stopped in her tracks and vigorously shook her head.

As a marquis’s daughter, she was raised to always behave like a graceful lady, so I could understand why she wasn't good at exercising.

But if she plans to stay by the second prince's side, she can't avoid leveling up.

We still don't know if His Highness will be able to master his skills, and even if he could control it, it's still possible he could lose control when in poor physical condition.

I think it would be best to take preventive measures so he couldn't hear her thoughts should that time ever come.

Besides, I think His Highness would have some peace of mind knowing that he won't have to hear the thoughts of the people near him without permission.

But, I haven't explained to Allis-chan that the second prince's skill is mind-reading, so how should I convince her?

As I was wondering what to say, Paul-san approached Allis-chan and spoke up to her.

"Miss Amaryllis. You are aware that the Second Prince has a skill that can pick up sounds within a wide range, yes? And that it targets anyone of a lower level than him?"

"Yes. I know."

Allis-chan nodded with a pensive look on her face.

She too, understood the need to level up, but her body just couldn't keep up with her mind.

"Then you must understand that if you haven't levelled up before the Second Prince wakes up, he'll be able to hear your humming, sleep-talking, weird sneezes, or any other things you wouldn't want to be heard, yes?"

I could see the blood drain from Allis-chan's face.

I'm sure she had just imagined her crush hearing her sleep-talking or an accidental old-man-like sneeze.

However, Paul-san continued his assault.

"It would be fine if that was all it was, but there's still the possibility of him hearing the noises you make when in the bathroom, whenever you belch, or even something he himself might not want to hear..."

"Hieee!!"

When given such concrete ideas to imagine, Allis-chan broke out in cold sweat and started trembling intensely.

And her tremble was very fast with minimal movements made, high-speed trembling!!

Amazing, Allis-chan!! You're like a phone on vibrate mode!!

And Paul-san, good job, but the bathroom talks were too far.

Unlike me, Allis-chan is a genuine lady so have some delicacy when talking to her!!

While I was reproaching him in my head, Paul-san went for the final push.

"What do you think, Miss Amaryllis? Would you like to continue working on leveling up?"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I will.... I will continyu!!"

She's in so much shock she stuttered, and fumbled even after rephrasing.

Allis-chan, you're in way too much shock.

It's fine if others hear you burp. You're human after all.

Still, Paul-san's threat.... I mean, his persuasion, was quite effective, for Allis-chan did her best like her life was on the line afterwards.

After sprinting through the fields with all her might and collapsing from exhaustion and HP depletion, she accepted one of my HP potions and drank it dry in one gulp, then went back to running.

Occasionally, she would collapse from muscle strain. But right after I heal her with magic, she would get up and continue her sprint in the next instant.

Allis-chan continued to look for mushrooms and herbs while endlessly sprinting around the fields, and by the time I suggested to take a break for breakfast, she had already drank through 12 potions.

"Uweeeeh...My stomach's all blub-blub now... I can't eat anymore..."

They're in small bottles, but a dozen of those would do that to you.

In fact, I'm impressed you could run around even after drinking 12 of those.

Fufufu... There's a lot more where that came from so don't worry, 'kay?

"It's been some time since the sun rose, so Slimes and Horned Rabbits should be appearing soon. Please be careful."

Paul-san warned us while eating the Giant Frog Toasted Sandwich I took out from my 【Closet】.

I thought I didn't see any slimes at all, but apparently it was because they had specific times when they tend to appear.

"Allis-chan. Here's a good luck charm just in case."

I handed Allis-chan a Physical Attack Resistance UP ring and a Poison Resistance UP bracelet.

Both of these are N-rare duplicates I got from the 200 yen gacha, but they can easily repel attacks from Slimes or Horned Rabbits.

In other words, you can one-sidedly attack without taking any damage whatsoever!!

Mwahahahaha!! This isn't a fight, it's a one-sided slaughter!!

"So Allis-chan, if you can keep up with a horned rabbit without letting it escape, it's not impossible for you to hunt it alone by noon!!"

"Fueh? B-but, even if I could keep up with one, how would I hunt them?"

""...........""

Right. Allis-chan doesn't have any means of attack.

"Ah, no, wait. Allis-chan, you have water magic right? And wind magic, too."

Allis-chan tilted her head in confusion.

"Fueh? I have water and wind magic?"

"───We're starting from there?!"

Come to think of it, the large scale inspection for skills and magic are done at the age of 10!!

Nobles might get to know their results earlier, but I wouldn't be surprised if six-year-old Allis-chan doesn't have all her skills figured out yet.

But it's too late to start practising magic now, so I'll have to think of some other method of attack...