Chapter 46 Babysitting and Enemy team
Meanwhile… Berry’s Point of View
It was the first time I ever had to babysit, well, I raised a daughter, but it just felt different because the children weren’t mine. They were kind of my grandchildren, but not blood-related. The whole situation my daughter found herself in was both weird and very good for the village. This village was just so boring until the farmboy appeared and started a harem.
It gave us something to gossip about while also eating the delicious fruits and vegetables he provided, or perhaps some goat's cheese, meat, and pickles on a charcuterie board. He had even purchased a cherry tree; it hadn’t yielded anything yet, but I was looking forward to the new, higher quality version of my favorite fruit. From what my daughter said, the boy was a stud in the bedroom; four women most likely wasn’t his limit, and I was looking to the gossip his future wives would provide.
I wasn’t sure how I convinced them to let me babysit, but I was going to do my best… Which is why I was covered in carrot mush and chasing after a cackling baby crawling at the same speed I could jog at. Cherry was never a problem; from the moment she was born, she was a shy and quiet baby. Only once she received her class did we see her come out of her shell somewhat, and even then, it wasn’t the same as she was around her husband.
I dove for the baby, lifting it from the ground, the little girl still cackling like running from me was the most fun thing she had ever done. “Good little Hamy, where’s your brother at?” I looked for Niel, but he was well hidden. While his sister was loud and fast, he was quiet and sneaky. I looked behind a couch as I heard baby babbling coming from behind me.
My eyes went wide in shock as I saw he was on the edge of the kitchen chair just as it was about to fall over. I tossed Hamy onto the couch as I ran full speed and jumped, crashing down hard to catch Niel before he slammed into the ground. Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I saw Hamy crawling toward the edge of the couch, ready to crawl off.
I rolled with Niel as he thought it was a game, just fast enough to get under the couch before Hamy fell off it. She landed on my chest as I saw she had somehow gotten two cookies off the stand next to the couch. She handed a cookie to her brother as they both began eating. I caught my breath as I remembered them looking at the cookies and trying to get to them earlier today, and the only thought that went through my mind was… ‘Did they plan this?’
…
Something kept me watching this group; none of us alerted them that we were here for some reason. I knew them, but didn’t really know them. I've seen them around town, but didn’t even know their names. I knew their leader better than the rest, just because she was the only unmarried female adventurer in the entire village. Beautiful red hair, she was human, at least in appearance, as nothing stood out to me that was inhuman.
Although she fought most of the time, her tall frame didn’t put on that much muscle. She took on a more heroic appearance; she wore armor that covered everything up top, but her bottom armor looked to be a plated skirt. She wielded a sword and shield as she both tanked the attacks and backed off to heal her allies. Her class must have been a paladin, her offense fell short of her defense and healing. Her four other teammates made up for it as all of them appeared to be offensive classes.
It wasn’t uncommon for groups to form without a single tank or healer; people just gravitated to the more offensive jobs. The groups with both tended to last far longer, but just the sheer number of offensive classes meant that every group couldn’t have them. It led to many groups taking non-offensive classes, such as alchemists or chefs, if they could provide the group some support, but once again, it was only a stopgap for the lack of tanks and healers.
They all caught their breath as the boss came charging out of the cave at the edge of the large open area. We all watched as I noticed something, and as I did, the rest of our group did as well. Silk whispered a question. “Why are the men of the group falling back and letting Sophia fight the boss by herself? Is this something she wanted?”
We all agreed to let Silk fight him by herself, she was strong enough that it might have been possible to pull off… I don’t think that was what was happening, though. We watched as Sophia also noticed the odd behavior and asked. “W-what are you guys doing? Let’s get the boss!” They just stood there looking at her with lust in their eyes.
It was clear what they were doing, but to make it more obvious, one of them even blurted out what they were planning. “Oh, we’ll help you, just after you’ve been weakened by the boss so you won’t put up much of a fight.” I’m about to stand up, as well as Tems, before Sarah stops us. “Wait, these idiots might let us know their entire plan… Plus, we’ll look more heroic when we show up at the right moment.”
I rolled my eyes as the situation played out more in front of us. “Why? What did I do to deserve this? Am I not a great leader?” All of them chuckled before speaking. “What the hell are you talking about? You spend all our funds on useless things or gamble them away. That would be fine, but you’re also a stuck-up prude who won't sleep with any of us. So we’ve decided to share you before heading to a different village.”
It was then that I was about to jump up again, but Sarah stopped me once again. “Stop. Seriously, how is she going to fall in love with you if her life isn’t in complete danger?” I could only deadpan stare at her as I didn’t know that was why we were waiting. Even so, the leader went on to explain. “I’m betting that the dungeon's core is in that cave, and we can get a pretty penny for it elsewhere by selling it. I know it’s treason to break these guardian dungeons, but who’s going to rat us out?”
Both Silk and Sarah had a short intake of air at the situation that was happening. They just admitted to wanting to destroy this easy dungeon, which could possibly let a more dangerous one take its place. It could lead to nothing, or it could lead to dungeon breaks that didn’t spit out goblins, but minotaurs or wyverns, it could be literally anything.
She stood up as she spoke. “Alright, now we save her.” The five of us rushed out of the treeline as we ambushed them. Cherry was the first to strike, her fireball striking the leader in the back, scorching right through his armor. These were highly leveled adventurers, though, not bandits. Her blow was strong; it forced the man to yell out in pain, but he didn’t die. I took in a deep breath as I watched the surprise shift to fear, then to fury in his eyes from the attack, as the real fight finally started.