I Became a 6★ Gacha Character-Chapter 542: Honey, Poison, Flame 2

While Katie leaned over after spilling sauce from her meat pie, and Irene pressed against me as she reached into her bosom for a handkerchief to clean it up, Grace leaned toward me without any reason at all.

She stretched languidly before resting gently against me, as if she were simply using me as a pillow because she was sleepy. But her half-open eyes were full of mischief.

"It's nice being cozy like this. Someone would probably prefer it if Hanna weren't here, right?"

"What?"

"Well, two's company, three's a crowd, you know."

Giggling, she slipped her hand under the side of my shirt and lightly scratched around my waist with her fingernails, sending shivers up my spine.

I wondered where a country girl who'd spent her childhood running through mountain valleys with a bow following her father had learned such things. I was tempted to embrace her tightly and pull her into my sleeping bag, but instead, I rolled my eyes toward a corner of the tent.

The culprit could only be Han Se-ah.

Under the guise of women's gatherings, they must have exchanged all sorts of stories while chatting and building friendships. Apparently, this included some adult gossip once the broadcast ended. Judging by how she uncannily sent her camera whenever we spent time together in a bedroom, they'd probably discussed just about everything.

"Oh, ohhh. Grace with the aggressive approach. When I used to play games all day, I couldn't understand why my mom watched dramas. Romance manga wasn't my thing either. But my mom really liked that 80s manga—Glass Rose? Something like that. Now I see why she enjoyed it."

-Suddenly exposing your mom's tastes LOL what's that about?

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-I love mischievous flirty women so much I could die happy seeing this every day instead of just wandering through forests ughhh so good!

-Forget triggers and gimmicks, I watch this broadcast just to see the party members LOLOL

-For real LOL Han Se-ah's broadcast is #1 guide? More like #1 romantic comedy harem party broadcast you childless bums LOLOL

-When chemistry meets chemistry, it's a feast for the eyes LOL The cat triggered something? Who cares, they're getting along great, cheers LOLOL

While Katie and Irene whispered about meat pies and food, I felt like giving Han Se-ah a flick on the forehead as she pretended to sleep in her sleeping bag while filming us. But seeing Grace snuggled against my side, my annoyance melted away. ꞦãŊօ₿Ës

Whether she pushed for this to find broadcast content or to create her own personal footage, the result was a complete Roland harem party, wasn't it?

So after glancing at Katie and Irene as they settled into their sleeping bags, I wrapped my arm around Grace's waist with a sense of showmanship. I had no intention of putting on a grand orgy show in front of the camera with all four watching, but holding someone while sleeping seemed fine.

With these thoughts, I pretended to sleep while contemplating when to pounce on Han Se-ah, whose mouth kept twitching at the corners.

Beep! Beep! Beeeyap! Beep beep!

"...What's that sound?"

"Is it that? The, um, finch that followed us from the forest fairy village."

"Do finches make sounds like that?"

Suddenly, outside the tent—more precisely, the ceiling of the tent—began to glow brightly as strange sounds echoed.

※

While Han Se-ah retrieved our equipment from her inventory, I rushed outside the tent without armor. As long as it wasn't a Four Heavenly Kings boss monster suddenly descending upon the 62nd floor, I could withstand a fair amount without armor, so as the tank, I was first out.

What I saw before me was indeed the starlight finch, flashing bright white light all over its body like some kind of security alarm. Besides activating gates, it apparently had a pest control function too, like a bird version of a security system.

Behind it, on the fallen log we'd placed to block the area behind the tent, was the shadow fang tiger, wagging its regenerated tail. If I remembered correctly, when dogs wag their tails it shows happiness, but when cats do it, it signals attack and alertness?

With a tail shaped like a spiny lizard, the wagging looked eerily similar to a venomous snake ready to strike.

"...What's going on?"

"I don't know. All I can see is those two alerting us to something."

But besides the two animals, nothing was visible as I slowly looked around. Shortly after I stood there bewildered, Katie emerged fully armored, followed by Grace and Han Se-ah, but still nothing could be seen.

What was this, a malfunctioning fire alarm?

"Can you sense anything, Grace?"

"Here, Roland. Put on your armor first."

"...Wait a moment."

As I hurriedly put on the armor Han Se-ah handed me from her inventory, Grace began to thoroughly scan our surroundings with sharp eyes, all playfulness gone.

Though I couldn't sense anything particular, the shadow fang tiger's head and tail and the loudly screeching finch were all pointing in one direction—perhaps something was there? Grace fixed her sparkling eyes on the area diagonally to the left of the tent entrance, what you might call 10 o'clock.

...They really did seem to be sparkling.

Maybe my half-joking comparison about her being 5.5★ was becoming true. She might even awaken to 6★ before Katie, who had gathered plenty of equipment.

Forgetting the urgency of the situation, I stared at Grace's beautifully glowing eyes, transfixed by her profile as she slowly raised her bow. She aimed steadily in one precise direction, apparently having spotted something invisible to me, my companions, and Han Se-ah's camera.

"I think there's something there?"

"Yes, there is."

Wind gathered on the bowstring as Grace used her mana. Having grown accustomed to this, she collected a surprisingly powerful amount without the slightest tremor or sound. The quietly humming arrow cut through the darkness and flew toward the far side of the forest.

The forest darkness briefly receded in the greenish magical light of the arrow. And in that moment, something hazy became faintly visible—something fluttering like cloth in the wind, unpleasantly floating through the air.

No, was it actual cloth? Translucent cloth?

Hee, heeheeheek—

"A ghost? Don't tell me the 'secret terror' isn't a beast-type monster that hides like the shadow fang tiger, but an actual ghost monster?!"

It looked like a ragged piece of cloth floating through the air. Occasionally, bony fingers or ankles would appear from beneath the tattered rags. If it weren't for its translucent body floating through the air, I would have thought it was some corpse golem created by a dark wizard.

It was hard to describe its amorphous shape, but it resembled a spider made of corpse limbs with cloth draped over it. Seeing those fingers wriggling disgustingly under the cloth piece that moved independently of the wind, I felt more revulsion than fear.

My companions were also top-tier adventurers who had slashed and hacked their way to this point. As the creature mockingly laughed "heeheeheek" and wavered in the darkness before retreating, they showed hostility rather than fear, slowly drawing upon their mana.

"This doesn't seem like an ordinary monster, does it?"

"It's probably related to that roar we heard during the day. It looks at least named-level."

"So beasts by day, ghosts by night. What an annoying forest."

Ghosts weren't the kind of beings that walked along a path and turned back when blocked. Even though it appeared to have retreated and vanished into the darkness, it might have actually gone toward the tent.

Though everyone might not have known from quest windows like Han Se-ah that this was the "secret terror," they seemed to have a general idea. Consequently, everyone's gaze turned toward the shadow fang tiger, which was still wagging its tail.

...What exactly did you bring back?

Enjoy the chappy!