Slowly Going the Way of the Hucow (DEMO/SAMPLE/UNFINISHED)
"Haaah... a dead end, peko? After all that we've been through...?" Usada Pekora complained, dropping the heavy bags of items and equipment she was carrying. Despite being the leader of the party of adventurers — mainly a self-proclaimed title —, her lack of apparent skill had relegated her to the duty of hauling all the gold and trinkets they managed to find in caves, dungeons and abandoned manors. She was thankful for the opportunity to rest, and so was her lower back, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed. Usually, this was around the time their group found something really special and valuable.
"I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so fast, Pekora." A polite voice echoed behind her, studying the room they were in. Where Pekora saw a dead end, the necromancer known as Uraha Rushia could tell there was more there than just stones and dust. She raised her intricate skull staff, whispering a soft incantation that caused it to glow faintly in a faint, greenish light. "Hmmm..."
"C'moooon, let's get our sweaty asses back in town... I need a bath and a mug of beer as quickly as possible~!" Houshou Marine interrupted Rushia's inspection, both her loud voice and the hug she gave the short necromancer causing a vein to pop out on the side of her forehead, her focus interrupted.
"Get... your... hands... off..." Rushia tried to keep her manners intact, but her low tone of voice was mere moments away from severely going up in pitch. Marine wasn't kidding about being sweaty. Everyone was far from being clean after an entire afternoon exploring the dungeon and dealing with the creatures and traps waiting inside, but the redhead pirate needed that bath much more than she needed a beer.
"We haven't found enough valuables for a night at the nearest Inn yet. I suggest we don't disrupt Rushia's investigation..." The half elf, half human Shiranui Flare said, after giving Pekora a potion to help her with her drained stamina. "I also think there's something else in this room..." She brought her fingers to her light red ears, their augmented sense of hearing trying to notice if something was amiss in the environment they stepped in. "What do you think, Noel?"
"No treasure chests, no creepy monsters lurking around..." The final member of the party, and the strongest, walked past Flare and easily peeled Marine off from Rushia's back with one hand. Her strength was undeniable: barely blinking, Shirogane Noel didn't even have to flex her muscles to throw the middle-aged pirate to the side as comfortably as she could. She noticed the way Rushia's staff glowed brighter when pointing to the left side of the room. "Rushia, are you thinking...?"
"Mmhm. Has to be..."
"...a secret room!" Both Noel and Flare said at the same time, slapping each other's hands to celebrate as Rushia sighed softly, her expression neutral but happy inside that they would be leaving the place soon. Slime goo and spiderwebs had ruined her necromancer robes, but she was more concerned about the lingering smell of a lecherous pirate coming from her clothes. The sooner they discovered what was on the other side of the wall, the faster she could be inside a hot spring, recovering from a full day of exploring.
"These walls are so thick, though... and I'm all out of explosives for once..." Pekora added.
"I don't think my magic can get past it. Not with my current mana, at least." And Rushia soon offered her opinion. She reluctantly looked at Marine for insight, expecting something useless, but the pirate just shrugged silently, resting against Pekora's slender figure and chugging the rest of the stamina potion the rabbit girl just had with large, desperate gulps. Once she was finished, it was clear the taste wasn't as good as wine or ale, her tongue escaping her mouth in disgust.
Flare placed one hand into the wall, and then pressed her ear into it. A smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah, there's definitely something in there. And while the walls are indeed sturdy, we won't need any magic to get past it... nor Pekora blowing herself up again..."
It took Flare one look at her for Noel to understand what she meant. Cracking her knuckles, the knight then patted her very generous chest, the clang of her strong hand meeting the breastplate causing the rest of the party to also shift their eyes her way.
"I guess that's a job for me and my mace~"
"Okay, I know you're strong, but tearing down a wall is a bit—"
"Wanna bet~?" Noel laughed, taking a deep breath and grabbing her enormous mace with ease, as if the weapon was as light as a feather. "Don't forget I sent that wyrm flying the other week using just my hands!"
"T-That's... that's...!" Speechless, Pekora just rolled her eyes. "Flare had boosted your strength during that expedition, so it doesn't count..." Ever the sore loser, Pekora muttered the last part, not wanting Noel to hear that. Still, she was intrigued, looking forward to another display of the knight's power.
Noel approached the wall. Rushia and Flare took plenty of steps backwards, not wanting to be hit with any debris and dust. Pekora and Marine, with their stamina replenished, got up and readied their weapons in case there was trouble on the other side. Hidden places could often be the lair of silent but deadly giant spiders.
"Here... I... go-!!" However, as soon as Noel delivered her blow, it was clear that even if there was a foe waiting for them on the other side, it was unlikely to have survived the damage inflicted by the knight. The heavy mace did enough destruction to the dungeon's wall on its own, but at the core of that strike was just Noel, her 150 pound figure packing muscles and strength that she had spent years honing. Coupling that with additional strength coming from the Knight class' passive buffs, the wall was brought down in one strike and a half, as Noel punched the structure lightly where her mace had struck, and what little remained of the wall came crumbling down. "Haaah... that felt good~!" She beamed happily, not breaking any sweat.
"I'm glad I joined you girls instead of robbing you that one time..." Marine said, once again surprised by Noel's strength.
"Joined us or kept stalking us until we caved in...?" Pekora replied, but she was also in awe of Noel's talents, and together the duo walked over to Flare and Rushia. Gathering behind Noel, the party readied themselves and entered the secret room.
There were no giant spiders, or traps of any kind — or at least none that Rushia's warding spell could instantly detect —, but the group had finally struck something substantial for the day. All afternoon they had to settle for random trinkets and remains of creatures that could serve as potential ingredients for dishes and potions, so walking into a small room with its floor filled with gold coins was the very definition of rewarding.
"Oh...~ We're so getting that fancy Inn treatment with all of this!" Marine’s morale went through the roof, thoughts of an endless supply of beer already dancing in her mind.
"I'll join you this time~" Noel knew exactly the kind of treatment Marine was referring to, and wouldn't mind splurging for once.
"Is... is it real gold... is it... OKAY FOR ME TO JUST TAKE ALL OF THIS FOR MYSELF— I m-mean, for us, peko...?"
"There's no magic in these coins, just dust. Ours for the taking." Inspecting some of the loot using magic, Flare signaled for Marine and Pekora to start filling their bags and pockets with all they could get.
"This was probably someone's secret stash from a long, long time ago. The coins look more rudimentary than the ones currently in circulation around the continent..." Rushia said as she walked around the room with more caution than the others. "Nevertheless, jewelry is always in fashion~" She grabbed a small emerald and couldn't help but smile, knowing that would turn into quite the profit for them.
"Oh, what's this...?" In front of Pekora and Marine, Noel bent over to grab something on the floor, skipping past the large amount of coins around her boots. "It's... cute!!"
"...hmm? What is?" Flare joined Noel's side, peeking over her shoulder. "A tiara...?"
"I was thinking of switching headgear, after all... mine was never the same after that giant centipede gobbled it up..." The knight showed the intricate headband she had found, which seemed to be made of finer material than the headpiece she used, possibly obsidian. "Plus, it's a lot cuter than what I am wearing!"
"Are those... horns...?" The half-elf looked puzzled. "You and I have very different views about what is considered ‘cute’, then..."
"Noel. I would wait after we return to the nearest town to wear that if I were you. We are out of identification scrolls, and equipping something unknown that was hidden away in a dungeon could mean troub— ah... you… you ignored me..." Despite her best intentions, Rushia's warning couldn't stop Noel from swapping headgear, her previous piece falling to the dusty floor as she wore her recently found headband.
Flare and Rushia gulped. This was the part she was possessed by an evil spirit or something, right!?
"...Huh...? Were you saying something, Rushia?"
The necromancer just sighed.
"You're probably too meatheaded for a possession..."
"Let's face it, that headband was probably popular with children one hundred years ago..."
"You meanies!!” Noel pouted. “You two are just jealous I found something pretty! Goddess knows us knights are lacking in that when it comes to gear… it’s all boring steel and plate for us!"
The trio searched around some more before returning to where Marine and Pekora were. The rabbit girl and the pirate were already grunting from the sheer amount of gold and jewelry they were carrying.
"Huufff... sooo, anything else for us to loot?"
"I think this is everything. We shouldn't return being barely able to move, there could be enemies we haven't encountered on the way in." Rushia warned them, her pockets filled with gold but her hands free of any containers, just in case she might have to ready her staff.
"Look, Marine, Pekora!! I got a new accessory! Ain't it cute!?"
"What even is that, peko?"
"...does that mean I can sell your previous piece...?" Marine asked, her feet already moving to where she spotted Noel’s discarded headgear, not waiting for an answer.
The knight stomped her feet on the ground.
"Would it hurt for you to compliment me for something other than my strength!? Mou..."
"Now, now... no need to cause this dungeon to cave in..." Flare tried to defuse the situation, even if her words only caused Noel's pout to intensify. "I do think you pulled it off well."
"Hnff...!" It wasn't enough. Noel closed her eyes, only to half open one of them, eyeing the rest of the party to also comment on her newly acquired piece of equipment.
"As far as items found in the deepest parts of a dungeon goes, I guess it could be a lot worse." Rushia was the first one from the remaining trio to offer some complimentary words.
"The black and white pattern is... huh... exquisite!"
"...I still have no clue what that is, so I won't say anything truly bad about it..." Pekora finished their verdict.
"Seems like a certain rabbit is going to carry all of our loot by herself on the way back—"
"Noel-sama, you look lovely!"
"Pfff... okay, that's more like it! Now..." The knight grabbed hold of most of what Pekora was carrying with little effort. "...Let's get out of this place in one piece, shall we? Rushia, light up our way!"
Pushing the weariness of their exploration away for a while longer, the party started their way back to civilization. Even if they were to encounter creatures and traps when retracing their steps, the prospect of a good bath and meal was enough to keep their morale very high, especially now that they managed to gather all of that extra gold.
Still, a smiling Noel couldn't help but feel like she got the most valuable treasure of them all. It was like that headband was made for her...
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"Another round!"
"I'd like some more, please!"
"Mmnnfff... keep it... hic!... coming!"
Those sentences would be just what one would expect from Marine on a regular day. And considering that she and her party of adventurers lucked out while exploring, there was no reason to dial back on her love for alcohol.
Except that, while the pirate was indulging in ale that evening, the one who kept placing order on top of order on the Inn/Tavern they were in was Noel. And she had her eyes — and stomach — set on meals of all kinds.
"Pwaah... it's so good...~" The knight said, in the short time the table in front of her wasn't being refilled with food.
"...aren't you eating too much, even for your standards?" Pekora asked, digging into her second slice of carrot cake, feeling full not just from her own meal but from watching Noel eat without a care in the world.
"You should've seen when we first started traveling together. Without much savings, every time we had enough gold for a meal, she closed the place for the day~" Flare fondly reminisced. "I've seen her eat more than that plenty of times."
"Besides, alcohol opens up a mighty appetite! Cheers~!!" Marine brought a mug of beer against Noel's glass of the same drink, and they both drank whatever remained of it in two hearty gulps. "Haaaah... I wish every day was as... hic!... lucrative as today was...~"
"It ceases to be lucrative when we spend nearly everything we find on food..." Even though she got a small but substantial meal for herself, Rushia felt the need to point out how excessively the party was celebrating. Sitting across Noel, she had the best view to witness the knight's full assault on food.
Bowls upon bowls of fluffy rice, as tall as small towers. Smoked ham. Dragon barbecue soaked in thick sauce. An assortment of berries and fruits from the region. Then more meat dishes, with accompanying portions of rice.
And it's pretty clear where all of that is going…, the necromancer thought, sipping from her glass of water, trying to not let her real emotions on display. Rushia's face might have been perfectly calm, but her inner feelings burned wildly with jealousy. No matter how much she eats, it all goes to that overgrown chest of hers! It took all of Rushia's self-control to not tap her own bust, so petite, so small, so barren... she didn't seem to care much about her petite figure before, but ever since she started traveling with the other girls, envious feelings had started to come up more often than not, and it was extremely hard to ignore them when she spent an evening looking at Noel's bountiful breasts, jiggling with every small movement now that she wasn't wearing her chestplate, so full and perky and...
"Guh..." She scoffed, to stop herself from staring at it. A few seconds later, the table was refilled with food, and the fried cockatrice portion Noel had ordered was so plentiful her view of the knight's chest was obscured, which eased her troubled feelings.
"...? Something the matter, Rushia...?" Flare asked, noticing a weird look flashing on the necromancer's face for a brief while.
"Not at all. Just... thinking about what our next plan of action should be." A sip of water later and she would forget all about her envy, at least until Noel's bosom wobbled in front of her again. With how passionately the knight was digging into that cockatrice thigh, she was sure that inner peace wouldn’t last long.
"Pekora already has it aaaall figured out, peko!" The rabbit girl was quick to reply. "Crystal salamander season will be soon upon us. I say we travel down south and try to find as many of them as we can!"
"They're kind of tough, though... didn't we have to run away from them last year?"
"That was last year! We all got so much stronger since then! More experienced! More... prone to surviving otherwise deadly blows and—"
Marine brought her tenth mug of beer down to the table.
"Gu-uaarp...! We should do i-ic!... regardless of any fatal consequences...! Think 'bout it... Yeah, yeah... looting gold is nice but we're talking crystal here! If we smash a lot of those lizards, Marine's dream goal will be finally—HIC!— achieved!!"
"..."
The only answer to Marine's sudden proclamation was the happy munching of Noel, already done with two beefy cockatrice legs, hands already moving towards another serving of rice.
"THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU ASK WHAT MY DREAM GOAL IS!!"
"...getting your ship and crew back?"
"Buying a fountain of youth is impossible and would it even work on someone your age—"
Marine gulped down more beer, not very pleased with those answers.
"Of course Marine's ultimate goal is... bueearp-!!... to do nothing all day, surrounded by priceless loot and devoted servants!"
"Haaah... did anyone expect anything different?" Pekora sighed.
"Are you girls that opposed to an idle life of pleasantries and—HIC!— luxury? Not having to move a damn finger for weeks, months, years!? BLASTED YOUTH!!" She turned around, and waved towards the bartender. "More beer, to drown out the sounds of the inintelligent masses!!"
"...it's unintelligent..." Rushia corrected, to Pekora and Flare's amusement and Marine's growing anger.
"Mnnch... well, I don't think that's... nmmph... too bad of a goal, Marine... mmm..." Noel said while tearing through the fried pieces of a legendary creature. "But if I had my way I would... nmchomp... find a nice place for all of us to live happy and calmly... mmnnff...~"
"That's... that's kind of sweet, actually..." Marine had to admit.
"Yeah, if Noel wasn't all smeared with grease, Pekora would think that's the nicest thing anyone ever said..."
"Ah...! Sorry...!" Noel reached out for a cloth napkin, dabbing the corners of her mouth. Obviously, she didn't notice the glob of sauce that had dripped to her cleavage, and Rushia wasn't about to point that detail out, in the fear of being hypnotized by the way the thick, golden drop of liquid slid against a sea of pale flesh. "Just feeling... really really hungry after today. Probably because of tearing down that wall or crushing those zombie orcs..." She grabbed another bowl of rice but didn't dig into it as recklessly as before. "Sooo... crystal salamanders are what we're hunting next? Aaaunph...~ I think I can... face them properly now!"
"Your strength and stamina had certainly grown since the last time we encountered them." Observed Flare. "Not to mention, Rushia has more mana, I got better with my sword and enchantments and..." Flare took the opportunity to have a drink of wine, just to tease Marine and Pekora who were waiting to hear on what they had improved. "Marine and Pekora truly are more capable of surviving otherwise deadly blows...~"
"Hunf, I'm the party's planner... as long as you follow Pekora's orders, we will be fine." Smugly said the rabbit girl.
"I will do anything for crystal! And that means protecting you all in any way I can!"
"Very well. Crystal salamanders it is, then." Typically, Rushia's opinion weighed much more than Pekora's when deciding what they would do. "Shall we visit the hot springs now and call it a night...?"
"Fine with me—"
GROOOOOoooooOOOOUUWWLL...~
A louder than usual stomach grumble erupted from Noel's middle. Only the odd bone and smears remained on the plates before her, and she got rid of the lingering rice grains around her mouth with a swift move of her tongue.
"Ehehe... sorry... but can I order something else before we leave? Still feeling a bit... peckish..." She held her slightly rounded out stomach, looking fuller than when she started eating but seemingly not full enough, as another gwwwwrrrl escaped the confines of her organ soon after.
"I'll order another round of ale to accompany you, then!"
"Maybe Pekora wouldn't mind more pie..."
"...our profits..." Uttered Rushia, but not loud enough to turn into a protest. Despite her observations, she didn't mind hanging out a little bit more with her party. It certainly beat the days she spent with only her undead summons keeping her company.
Besides, she was expecting Noel and Marine to just go for another round... not two. Or three. And so on. By the time Noel finally rested her utensils for the last time, Marine was absolutely drunk and Flare and Pekora just wanted to hug their pillows. Their visit to the hot spring was a lethargic one, and despite having consumed much more food and liquor than the rest of the party, Noel still seemed to have plenty of stamina left, the shining example of a knight. Countless meals and drinks were currently packed into her stomach and yet it hardly seemed to bother her.
"The food here was so good, we should definitely return some other time...~" Wrapped in a bath towel, her already curvaceous figure now had the addition of a bigger, well-fed belly. With how much she ate throughout the night, it didn't seem to have grown much in size, especially when overshadowed by her prodigious chest. In fact, Marine's stomach poked out a lot more, a bonafide beer belly that sloshed with every drunken step the pirate managed to do.
"HIC! With all the riches we're gonna make, we should HIC!... aim to eat at even fancier places!" Marine answered, tugging at the towel keeping her modest, the cloth ready to be undone with the slightest wrong move. Competing with her temporarily larger stomach was an ass that couldn't even be covered in full by the towel, easily Marine's biggest feature to the point she could outgrow the average tavern stool.
The pirate and the knight stepped into the open bath, where Flare, Pekora and Rushia were in already.
"Ahhhh...~ Much better...~" They cooed in delight, the warm water already working its way into healing them of an entire day of accumulated fatigue.
"...tch..." Rushia clicked her tongue at the sight of the water pooling out of the hot springs once Marine and Noel joined them. She was tired and needed a moment of relaxation badly, but that didn't put a pause on her envy.
Only this time, Marine noticed her reaction, and with countless mugs of beer clouding her senses and best judgment, she didn't miss the opportunity to tease her fellow party member.
"Oooh...~ Like what you see...~? What can I say... some with so much, others with so little...~" She put an arm underneath her chest to bring attention to its size, then reached out and squeezed one of Noel's breasts with her free hand, all the while looking towards Rushia, her eyes quickly going from Rushia's cracking neutral expression to her non-existent bust.
"Mou... Marine, quit it...~" Noel twitched a little under the pirate's advances, which obviously only caused her breasts to jiggle more.
"Hey, what do you mean by that? I have something going on for myself, peko!" Pekora proclaimed, proud of her small but still significant chest. "Ah..." She then quickly realized that only fueled Rushia's anger.
"..." The necromancer took a deep breath, not wanting to unleash her burning feelings in a place that wasn't a battlefield. "Not everyone wants what they haven't got." Was all she managed to say without cracking up. Even she wasn't entirely sure about the conflicted sensations she got whenever she saw big breasts. Disgust, envy… even lust and love could have described it in some capacity, but it was hard to put all of those mixed sensations into words. "Besides... I'm not jealous of having a fat ass that gets stuck in tight spaces. Maybe next time I won't summon my minions to help you out..." Rushia's red eyes sparkled diabolically at Marine, the corners of her mouth twisting into a sick-looking smile.
"That... that doesn't happen that often...!" Marine fired back, not wanting to think much about the close calls she had while exploring. Having a butt so big she almost was caught in a cave-in that happened when they were exploring a dungeon certainly wasn't something to brag about.
"Now, now... we should be using this time to rest. If we want to catch the peak of crystal salamander season, we have a long day ahead of ourselves tomorrow." Flare mediated the argument between the girls, lowering her body a bit more into the water, to avoid Rushia's complicated feelings from spotting her breasts. They couldn't rival Noel's, but she knew they were bigger than average. "It will probably take us about a week to reach those meadows. Any tranquil moment we have should be appreciated. Come tomorrow, we will pretty much always be on our feet."
"A truce, then...~?" Marine removed the arm that was squeezing her breasts upwards with theatrical effect, but then was pretty much over that small fight. It wasn't the first time she teased Rushia, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
"...very well." Rushia also submerged more of her body into the water, trying to focus her mind on other subjects. It didn't take much for her to start nodding off, her head going back and forth from resting on Pekora's shoulders.
With the others also anticipating sleep was coming — Noel had to prevent Marine from dunking her head into the water as consciousness escaped her —, the party then decided to return to the rooms they had rented. Pekora and Flare aided a sleepwalking Rushia to her bed, while Noel had to princess-carry the passed out pirate all the way to her room before returning to the one she would be sharing with Flare.
She didn't mind the extra walk — and weight carried — at all. The hot springs’ healing effects had already worked wonders on her body, to the point she barely felt tired. Upon making sure Marine was properly dressed and tucked in bed, Noel practically felt ready for another adventure.
GwwwwRRRRRRRLLLLLlll...~
And another meal. Despite the massive amount of food she had for the evening, her stomach still craved some more with a long, loud rumble.
"I know, I know...~" She tapped her slightly round belly. "The food here was better than usual, but we should sleep for now..." She happily talked to her organ as if it had a mind of its own.
UUUUUuuurrrWWWLL… With how loudly it growled back, maybe it did.
"...Fine, you win. We'll have a quick bite at the tavern, otherwise you're going to keep Flare awake through the night with your noises...~"
Flare slept soundly all evening. She didn't hear any shockingly loud stomach noises like Noel feared.
It was only natural that she didn't. Because Noel's idea of a quick bite soon turned into something far more substantial. She only returned to the rented room way past midnight. The tavern had run out of food, and for once her belly seemed satisfied, its loud grumbles reduced to barely audible, if very frequent digestion noises. Noel slept as soon as her head hit the pillow, but her stomach made sure to wake her up as soon as it was light enough outside for breakfast...
A melting red sun faded away from view as the party of adventurers rested for the day. Dusk would soon be surrounding them, but for both Rushia and Pekora, they didn’t make nearly as much progress as they wanted. Marine, for once, felt like she could’ve walked a couple miles more without feeling any of her usual cramps.
“If we keep at this suboptimal pace, we won’t make it in time to get the most of salamander season.” Rushia said flatly, staring at the ground.
“Ugh, I know, peko! If we arrive at those meadows after all the other potential hunters, there won’t be anything left!”
“And my stealing and looting days are behind me…” Marine said. “Well, from living things at least.”
The three then looked at Flare, who didn't seem as bothered as the rest of them. It took a while for the half-elf to take notice of their discontent — a performative cough from Pekora finally captured her full attention.
“Look, it’s true we haven't exactly been on our top game this past week, but we aren't that late, either…”
The other three exchanged quick looks.
“That's where you are wrong. We are in our top game… Well, most of us. There's just one member of our group that’s causing us to lag behind…” Rushia measured her words.
Upon hearing that, Flare just looked at Marine.
“H-Hey, it isn't me for once!”
“So, who could it b—”
“OOoOoUuUUaAARP-!! …Ghhuaafh… mmnff… that hit the-iuuEurp!... spot… nmonch…~*”
All four adventurers turned their heads around to the center of their camp, where a large, well-made bonfire had been prepared by Noel. But that wasn't the only thing the knight had set out to do. After helping out with setting up the tents, she wasted no time preparing her meal. A meal that could potentially feed a party of adventurers twice the size of theirs, and that Noel was happily — and noisily — digging into.
“...!” A bright shade of pink took hold of Flare's cheeks as Noel's voracious appetite evidenced the source of the party's problems in quite the crass way. “Should we like… talk to her about it?” She continued watching her friend from afar, seeing Noel reach out for another roasted dragon thigh despite still having another portion of it half-eaten in her other hand.
“AND BE MISTAKEN FOR FOOD!?” Pekora suddenly shouted. “Ah… I mean…!” But she didn't have to worry about catching Noel's attention. The knight's happy eating noises and the consequently gassy sounds that followed were more than enough to drown out her yell. “Why don't you try knocking some sense into her…? You two are a lot closer…”
“Pekora is right.” With Rushia agreeing so quickly with the rabbit girl, Flare knew the situation was a bit more complicated than usual. “I feel like I might come across as insensitive if I approach Noel about her… you-know-what…”
“It's a touchy subject, a-after all! Especially for a lady…!” Marine blurted out, holding Flare's hand. “Please… my future crystal accessories depend on us arriving there in time!”
Flare gently removed her hand from Marine's touch and sighed.
“Fine… I will see if there's something wrong… don't eavesdrop on us, then.”
“As if we will be able to hear anything over her belchin—” But Pekora stopped talking as soon as Flare shot her daggers with her eyes. “Good luck on that!”
Flare walked over to the bonfire, trying not to be mad at her friends. Still, as much as she had been more composed about their traveling week than the others, she wasn’t entirely oblivious about their less than ideal progress.
“Mind if I join you…~?” Flare tapped Noel on her shoulder plate, and then sat next to her before waiting for an answer.
“Mmnnff… not at… Uulp! Not at all! Please, try some of the boar too! Or maybe… ah! Sorry, guess I ate all the fish already, eheh!”
Flare just poured herself some water as she eyed Noel reaching out for more food. After a quick sip and a deep breath, she finally gathered enough courage for some friendly advice.
"Hey, Noel... I know bulking up is an important part of the Knight Class, but... don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?"
"Hn-nmnph...? Gullp! Watcha mean...? Mnnf…~"
"Well, it's just..."
Flare still maintained her opinion that she had seen Noel eat a lot more during their earlier days of traveling, back when it was just the two of them. But that appetite usually showed itself during a single sitting. For the past week that the party was traveling, she didn't cause any tavern to run out of food because she was starving, but that was only for the fact Noel never seemed to stop eating. She always appeared to be munching on something, no matter the time of the day. Flare even saw her reach out for a meat bun mid battle while they were defending themselves against trolls that made a surprise attack on their camp a few nights ago. Flare didn't exactly mind the knight's big appetite. Quite the opposite: she thought it was quite charming, coming from someone like herself who was such a light eater. But it was undeniable that Noel's constant breaks for more food were significantly slowing down the party, hurting their plans of reaching the meadows where crystal salamanders roamed in about a week’s journey.
And perhaps even more worryingly than the sluggish pace they were traveling was that all of that non-stop eating was finally starting to show on Noel's figure, in places other than her massive chest. Her bust was still very eye-catching, but in the week that passed, it had ceased to be the only big part about Noel. Flare couldn’t help but stare at what had formed just underneath her friend’s breasts. If the knight’s chest belt seemed to be struggling against her cleavage, then the belt on her waist seemed ready to snap against an undeniable potbelly. Noel’s abs, usually visible through her clothing, had vanished under a supple amount of fat. The harness that had once highlighted Noel’s muscles now clung tightly to her added poundage and looked as ill-fitting as the belt around her expanded waist, but if it caused Noel any discomfort, she didn’t show. The silver-haired woman kept eating, barely registering that Flare was at a loss for words. She ceased crossing her legs, spreading them as she dug into more roasted meat with gusto, and Flare couldn’t help but notice Noel’s thighs hadn’t escaped her sudden weight gain intact.
That explains why she isn’t as nimble as before…
The gap between them looked close to vanishing, swollen with meat and not looking as defined as they looked just a week ago. Noel’s thighs appeared to be almost as wobbly as her chest, the smallest movement causing them to move a bit in place, and just like her bust gave her upper clothing some trouble, her thighs were making her battle skirt look even smaller than usual. Her legs had softened, causing Noel’s flesh to ooze from her equipment, pooling just slightly over her thigh highs as well as her heavy greaves. Regaining her composure, Flare looked up again, wanting to look deep into Noel’s eyes, but her gaze had to notice how even her friend’s fingers had plumped up, looking quite sausage-like and strained against her fingerless gloves, which were already slathered with grease.
“...you’re looking a bit…” She tried wording her feelings, as well as the party’s consensus, once again, but couldn’t quite finish her sentence.
“Mnnch…~” And neither did Noel break away from her glutting.
Well, here goes nothing… Since we’ve been friends for so long, I guess she won’t mind…
She brought a finger to Noel’s bloated middle and poked it hesitantly. It wasn’t Noel’s lack of reaction that got her to poke her friend’s waistline a second or third time, or at least it wasn’t just that. It was because Flare had trouble reaching for Noel’s muscles. Her finger sank a couple inches into Noel’s belly until it reached any sort of musculature.
“...*mnnbWUUUOOOEEAARRR—”
Or maybe all Flare hit was a pocket of trapped air. In any case, Noel’s belch finally snapped her out of her binge eating, and she had noticed Flare looking attentively at her… as well as the half-elf’s finger prodding her belly.
“Nmmph… Flare…?”
“Y-Yeah…?”
“Why are you… ehehe… it tickles… pfff~”
Contrary to Marine’s beliefs, it seemed gaining weight wasn’t something that caused Noel to worry that much. Flare smiled a bit, intensifying her poking just to squeeze more giggling from the knight, and then she stopped.
“Just… you know, wondering how our muscly knight got a bit of a belly going on~” She kept the mood light, winking, not wanting to be too harsh or sudden while addressing the issue.
“Ah, this…? Hmmm… maybe I ate a bit too much today…?”
“...Not just today.” Flare kept her eyes fixated on Noel’s, but her hands searched for the knight’s palms, not caring for their greasy state. “I mean, it doesn’t look bloated, it looks… well, as if you were bulking up, but you usually do that when we aren’t adventuring and…”
“Flare…” Noel seemed to have understood what her friend was saying. “You’re worried about me.”
“Yes! I mean, we all are. You’ve been…”
“I know, but there’s no such thing as too strong, right? The stronger I get, the easier our journey will be!” Noel flexed out one of her biceps, and Flare could at least relax that those muscles were still well-defined, even if her arms were also a tad bigger overall.
“...S-Strong…?” Flare couldn’t believe it. “T-That’s not what I was… Noel, you might even need new equipment if you keep putting on wei—”
“I got all the new equipment I need right here~” She pointed to her headband, which had barely left her head since she acquired it at the dungeon’s secret room. “As for the rest, maaaybe if we do get hold of some crystal items, then I can upgrade my mace or…”
GGWWWWRRRRLL…
“Now, tell the others that they better… mnph…~ hurry up or I’m going to… eat their share, too… awwnff…~”
Flare retreated, a bit shocked by Noel’s lack of self-awareness. It was like she couldn’t listen to reason with food around her. Which wouldn’t be a problem if she could stop packing away for more than half an hour. The others could clearly see that the talk didn’t go as planned.
“Listen, I couldn’t just grab her belly and call her fat straight to her face, could I? She doesn’t seem to mind the weight she put on… or notice it, even, which truly is the worrying part of this…”
“Hmmm. If she doesn’t want to listen to her friends, then maybe…” A dark smile got hold of Rushia’s features, but the sun had disappeared enough for none of the others to see it. “...maybe she will listen to her equipment.”
“Pardon…?” Pekora tilted her head sideways, and Marine and Flare looked just as confused as the rabbit girl was.
“Look at how… tch… unsightly she had gotten in such little time…” Rushia put more bile than she expected on her words, because she was both secretly shocked and impressed by Noel’s fast growth, those feelings always mixed, always peculiar to her. “Say we let her eat carelessly for a few more days. Yeah, our travel speed will continue to suffer, but eventually we will arrive at our destination… and I don’t think that belt, that harness… that chestplate… any of those will fit her by then if she keeps this up…”
“Oh! T-That’s… that’s a bit extreme, no…?”
“A rude awakening, peko… I don’t entirely dislike it…”
“She might be a glutton, but Noel cares about her modesty! That can work!”
“How about we have more faith in her…?” Flare suggested. “Once we spring back into more significant adventures, she will shed the extra weight…”
“Those crystal salamanders weigh around a ton, no? Noel can try throwing them around… now that would be a workout…!”
Flare sighed, still worried, but knowing they would reach a happy conclusion eventually. They faced bigger crises before, it was just that those typically didn’t involve one’s waistline, and if it did, it was only Marine’s occasional beer belly.
“Anyways, no matter the outcome, I think we should join her for dinner and get some rest. I don’t think Noel was joking when she said she would eat your share…”
THUMP. THUMP. THUUUUUD.
The heavy steps of a giant crystal salamander shook the ground, causing Marine to lose her footing and nearly fall face-first on the tall grass.
“G-G-Girls, I got this one’s attention, b-b-but…!” She yelled to the rest of the party, trying to make the distance between her and the enormous crystalline creature bigger. She should’ve been able to outspeed it, but with the creature’s thunderous footfalls causing the area around her to be unsteady, she couldn’t start a proper run, stumbling every time she regained her balance.
“I KNOW! Just… hang in there!!” Flare shouted from nearby, hands occupied with her sword, and a trio of smaller but still quite large salamanders that she was fencing off. “R-Rushia, how long until your Paralyze Spell is done…!?”
A few meters away from where Flare was fencing the creatures, Rushia kept chanting to her staff in a low voice, with a sole remaining summoned skeleton keeping her company. With the rest of her army of undead minions thoroughly crushed in combat, she had no alternative but to try some alternative tactics. Hence why she was allocating all of her remaining mana into that Paralyze Spell. It wasn’t that strong, and the petite necromancer knew that extending the magic to a bigger area in the hopes of reaching all of the salamanders would only further hinder its effects, but she couldn’t expect Marine to catch the creatures’ attention for longer, or for Flare to defend her forever.
“WHY IS THE BIGGEST OF THEM GOING AFTER MEEeEeEeEeE–!?”
Or for Pekora to actually do something useful. Once her supply of homemade bombs proved unsuccessful in dealing relevant damage to the salamanders, it was clear the best Pekora could do was becoming a decoy while the rest of the party worked into dealing with the situation properly.
And to think we were worried about arriving too late… I think getting to these meadows before everybody else could prove fatal…! Rushia thought, her staff glowing, the spell close to being cast. She could only pray Pekora found a good hiding spot until then.
THUMP. THUD. THUD…
“EEEEeeeek! It found me!!” Pekora yelped, too scared to look behind her, her cover behind some tall bushes proving fruitless as the heavy footfalls kept approaching. She balled up on the grass, hoping that shrinking her body as much as she could would keep the salamander from spotting her.
THUD. TUUUDH. STOMP…
“Haaah… Pekora… that’s… HUNFF-!… it’s just… me… aaahh…” Instead of the eerie vocalization the crystal salamanders let out while in combat, a tired, panting voice could be heard as the heavy footsteps ceased just as they approached Pekora.
Reluctantly, the rabbit girl turned around, and her frightened attitude soon gave way to annoyance.
“Noel!! What took you so long, peko!? You were supposed to follow Pekora’s lead! Q-Quick, don’t stand there, or they are going to see you!”
“Mou… you shouldn’t have… aaarrphh… charged ahead while I was still digesting…” Noel panted, robbed out of breath. “N-Nevertheless, I don’t want to hide… I don’t think I… guurph… can get up again if I do that…”
“WHAAT!? How can you say that? You barely moved the entire day! You should have plenty of stamina and strength left…!”
“Dunno… I feel as if my energy has been sapped lately… I can barely raise my mace, b-but… mmmnhh… maybe if I… eat a little I can…”
“NO!” Pekora interrupted Noel as soon as she saw the knight’s exhausted expression become dreamy and drooly. “This is not the time to be thinking about food! Look! The rest of the girls are in trouble, peko! You have to… no, we have to do something about it!”
“I know…! It’s just… uuph… my equipment is all heavy all out of a sudden…”
“Equipment, huh…? Girl, trust me, the little of it that still fits ya weighs like a feather compared to what’s actually heavy…”
It was clear that the party’s idea of a rude awakening, or Flare’s hopes that Noel would drop some pounds while they continued their journey didn’t come into fruition. Standing in front of Pekora, wheezing profusely and sweating up a storm was a Noel that had gone past looking bloated or chubby. In the span of less than two weeks, the knight had grown into a fat parody of her muscled, toned self, as if the days she spent honing and training her body had never happened. Her chestplate currently was inside of one of Marine’s backpacks, after Noel’s chest had grown from generous to simply massive, the perkiness of her breasts falling prey to gravity thanks to all the added fat they soaked up. But they didn’t sag completely, as the knight’s potbelly had grown to surpass her bust in size and acted as a built-in, fleshy support. If Noel fought a bit with her bust equipment, not willing to discard its protection so quickly, she didn’t even bother with the belt around her waist. Even after Flare had expanded it, there was no way her protruding gut would allow for the material to hold her clothing anymore. Not that her skirt or battle dress needed any support. What wasn’t torn or ripped out was practically glued to her sweaty figure. Her boots and gauntlets looked equally painted on, the abundance of meat on Noel’s limbs oozing over them. Even her fingerless gloves weren’t spared as her digits plumped up from the explosive amount of weight she gained, her hands acquiring a softness one wouldn’t expect from a knight.
“Hahhh… d-don’t… don’t tease me again, this is just… a momentary…—”
GGWWWUUOoOoOooOoOOoOooooooOOOORWWLLL~
“...You gotta be kidding me. You’re hungry even now that we’re at risk!?”
“I’m sorry! I can’t… control it…!” Noel nervously clutched her belly apron, in an attempt to try to make the angry growls erupting from it less prone to attract the nearby creatures’ attention. Still, what was really frustrating to her was that just pawing at her fleshy stomach wasn’t enough to calm down her hunger pangs.
Pekora bit her lip, their little discussion not pausing the sounds of Marine running for her life or the strikes of Flare’s blade against crystal lizard skin.
“Listen… you can barely walk, but you’re still this party’s only knight. Get your head on the field! If you can’t defeat one of those salamanders, maybe you can block their attacks, peko! Heck, maybe if you somehow manage to sit on one of them…!”
“P-Pekora!” Noel protested, her cheeks red with embarrassment. Her battle dress had grown undersized, barely managing to cover the rolls of fat on Noel’s backside, which meant her much larger behind was way more exposed currently. She was used to having a large chest, but her bottom had never bothered her like Marine’s. Now, it had surpassed the pirate’s prodigious booty with mass and cellulite to spare, and it had joined the rest of the knight’s figure when it came to loss of musculature. Just trying to hide her bigger ass from Pekora caused it to wobble more than a dungeon slime. “Still… you have a point…”
“Of course the grand Pekora has a point, I’m the leader here! And although my battle entrance was… a bit lacking, Pekora thinks we can turn this around!”
“R-R-Right! Ummm… just…”
“What!?” Pekora was ready to advance towards the sounds Flare was making mid-battle when Noel stuttered again.
“C-Can you… help me move…? It’s all this hunger, but…”
“...guess this is payback from all the times you carried me, huh…?” Pekora held out her hand and grabbed Noel’s hammy fingers. She put all of her might into pulling Noel along, while the knight concentrated whatever strength she had left into moving the pillars of flab her toned legs had devolved into. Her thighs already touched before her weight had gotten severely out of control, but that was attributed to how strong and muscular they were. Now, they met almost all the way down to her chubby ankles, making not every footfall heavy, but also quite difficult.
It wasn’t easy to propel Noel back to her plodding footsteps, but the sound of the heavyset knight crushing the grass underneath felt encouraging to Pekora. The deep, out of control breathing and the sound of Noel’s equipment protesting and tearing was way more alarming, but Pekora did her best to block out that part. If they had a chance of turning things around, they would need to act as fast as possible.
“They’re… swarming us…” Flare said out loud, keeping the crystal salamanders at bay with swift movements of her blade, but knowing she was slowly losing ground, as well as her energy. She was starting to think it wouldn’t be possible to keep that position for longer, let alone protect Rushia while she readied her crippling spell.
THUD. THUD.
“Great, more of them…?”
THUUUD.
“Flare! Here!” But the sounds of a heavy creature approaching were accompanied by Pekora’s high pitched scream. “I brought along our human cannonball!”
“Ghuuurrff… haaaah… P-Pekora…!” Noel wanted to pout, but just waddling alongside Pekora required all of her focus and stamina. Making the rabbit girl pay for all of that teasing would have to wait… that considering they would manage to get past all of those salamanders first.
“Pekora? Ah… and Noel! We could surely use your mace around here…!”
The sudden entrance of Pekora and Noel caused the salamanders that were closing in on the half-elf to retreat a bit, but they didn’t scatter away. Their intelligence couldn’t compare to that of a dragon, but they knew how to ambush possible predators and defend their territory. It took them no time to start circling around the trio, as if they had realized the bony rabbit girl and the out of shape knight offered no major threat to them. They resumed their sizzling, their vocalization tactics, ready to lunge over and attack.
“HHUUUGH–!!… I… I can’t…” But Noel was in no condition to use her mace. Just carrying it around with her all of this time had felt like a miracle to her. The muscle tone of her upper arms was buried under a thick layer of adipose, the underside of her limbs trembling and jiggling wildly as she tried and failed to to lift up her mace in a way that would prove to be effective in battle.
“Flare… think you can buff her strength…!? Otherwise, I’m afraid she’s useless in her current state, peko!”
“I…” Flare had observed Noel growing lazier, more lethargic, weaker during the last few days, but not being able to use her weapon of choice was a more recent development, something that couldn’t have occurred at a worse time. “...I’m almost out of mana, but…” She glanced at Noel, and then saw what Pekora couldn’t see. The bond between Flare and Noel was so deep that they could communicate with just one look. So despite Noel’s expression being of utter exhaustion, there was still a fire burning inside of her, a will to fight that only the half-elf noticed. “...I think it’s enough to give our knight a little boost, yes!!”
Flare stepped sideways, her sword still raised towards the foes ready to pounce them, but one of her hands reached for Noel. Channeling the rest of her mana onto her palm, she tapped the knight on her back, touching one of the rolls of fat oozing out of her undersized battle clothing. Even if her fingers didn’t meet any bone, she knew the buff was successful, the last of her mana leaving her system… and hopefully fueling Noel in the process.
“hhHumph…!” The knight felt a surge of energy entering her body almost instantly. If Noel had been paying more attention to her nearly total lack of stamina in the last few days, she would be able to confirm that that was the strongest she felt in a while. But since she had spent pretty much all of her time gobbling up as much food as she could and moving as little as possible, the realization escaped her mind. But her determination was surely back. In spades— or a heavy mace, in this particular case. In every way, her body may have softened and her physical prowess was left in shambles, but the will to fight alongside her friends couldn’t be erased, nor be buried underneath any weight. “B-Bring it on…!” She teased the salamanders, only stuttering because she feared even a deep breath could cause whatever was left of her knight gear to break.
The bigger, strongest salamander did just that, which was exactly what Noel wanted. When an enemy charged at her, it made the action of striking it down with a mighty swing of her mace much easier. She managed to lift her mace in an acceptable speed, not feeling any burden, and then brought it down just in time to smash the first crystal salamander to bits…
…or so was the plan. While her movements were faster than before, that didn’t mean much when her previous state was that of a sluggish waddle. The salamander had no trouble dodging Noel’s mace, even if the creature was quite big itself. It pounced right at Noel with enough strength to bring her down to her fat ass.
“GHUUUFFH-!!” However, that also didn’t happen. Noel’s resistance seemed to have been left unaffected despite her diminishing knight prowess, or maybe Flare’s buff worked better than intended. Her breathing took a hit, but other than that, it was like nothing had hit her. The other salamanders, which were ready to start focusing on Pekora and Flare, now seemed unsure on what to do. “You… rude… thing… uarrph… I will…” Noel’s face grew even redder. Embarrassment and exhaustion grew at astonishing rates, so much she could almost pass as a half-demon. She brought her mace up again and tried to strike the nearest creature, the movement of her weapon very precise, but her steps and positioning much less so. Once again, she missed.
“Uhh… hey, Rushia… about that Paralyze Spell…” Pekora was starting to doubt Noel would be able to do any damage even with the aid of Flare’s buff, although she looked ready to take on a few more hits if needed.
“Almost… there…” Rushia managed between her frantic chanting. She didn’t like the sound of Noel’s clumsy steps, loud enough to mess up with her concentration, although she was relieved the knight was moving without much trouble this time around.
“HUUFFFH… C-C’mon… I know I only need… one hit to… guuarph… end these… hFFF–!” The swinging of Noel’s mace grew even more wild than her other two attempts, but the result was the same. She had managed to keep the crystal salamanders from reaching the rest of the party, but other than that, she was just wasting her stamina by flailing her mace around without a single successful strike.
In fact, her slow reflexes made it easier for the leader of the salamanders to recognize the obese knight’s attacking patterns. The creature watched with interest for Noel’s mace to rise up, and then feebly attempt to hit it. But now, instead of dodging and headbutting the knight, it had another idea. Since its other attempts at taking down the massive enemy in front of it had failed, the salamander decided to use more strength and aim lower, focusing on Noel’s untoned legs. With the knight’s balance thrown from another missed attack, the salamander’s full-on strike proved to be effective.
“GUH–AAAK–!!” Noel couldn’t ignore that hit like before. Her leg muscles had grown much weaker than the rest of her body, and the salamander’s focus on them meant she wobbled into place, only to feel herself falling over. Her worst fears had materialized: she was going to fall, and there was no way she was going to have the power or stamina to bring herself back up anymore.
“NO YOU WON’T!!” However, before she could just pray that her expanded ass would cushion her fall, Pekora and Flare sprung into action. Mimicking the salamander, they charged straight ahead, only they focused whatever was left of their strength in preventing Noel from being brought down to the floor. “HUFFFH–!!” It was a gamble. They both knew Noel had grown huge. But would their bodies be able to support such a large knight ready to fall over? With adrenaline pushing Flare and Pekora past their usual limits, they not only managed to prevent a disaster, but also…
“UNNNGH–!”... just barely send Noel stumbling towards the alpha crystal salamander.
It was time for the creature to be caught by surprise. Still out of balance after striking Noel, it couldn't react quickly enough to dodge the obese knight falling into its direction.
“OW-UUPH-!!” Noel didn't feel much from collapsing belly-first on top of a crystal salamander, but it wasn't exactly comfortable. She felt her lungs screaming for air after the impact, and she knew she was going to need another one of Flare's buff spells soon if she wanted to keep going. But for now… “Haaah… did we…?”
“Y-Yes!! It worked! I think you just… squashed the poor thing…”
“Ah…! That's…!” It was deeply embarrassing, and while Noel was proud she had knocked out the first of the salamanders after a very rough start, the way she did so wasn't the most flattering. She didn't want to think she was close to outweighing a creature as heavy as the one pinned under her gut. “H-Help me up, we need… huuuf… to go after the others…!”
“...you don't expect to squish them all, do ya?” Pekora shouted back, ecstatic about their victory but knowing they wouldn't be able to count on such a weird technique to work a second time. She was surprised that the clutch maneuver even worked out in the first place.
“No need for that!” Rushia raised her voice behind them. “PARALYZE SPELL!” The last of Rushia’s mana flared up in a surge of magic that spread around the meadow. She spent way more time than needed in the hopes of improving its reach, and now she could only hope it would be enough. Using her staff to support herself, as her body felt a lot more frail now that she was depleted of any mana, she stumbled to where Noel, Pekora and Flare were. “...did it work?”
“I…”
“HEY!! The ones chasing me stopped movin’!” Marine shouted from nearby, answering Rushia’s question.
The pirate was correct: the salamanders located the closest to the party were suddenly stuck into place, as if they were statues. The ones positioned a bit in the back could still move a bit, but not in a way that would prove to be a threat for the adventurers. The preemptive strike by Pekora may have backfired, putting the five of them into risk, but now the tides of battle have completely changed.
“Oooff… n-now… help me u-uuhp… and we can start pounding them down…!” Noel pleaded, still crushing a crystal salamander with her bulk. If the creature was stunned before, now that it had to deal with a paralyze spell and not just an avalanche of knight blubber, it was really struggling.
Rushia didn’t even have the energy to click her tongue at the sight of Noel flailing into place, flashing her jiggling ass for the rest of the party to see. They would really need to find something to cover all those extra inches to her figure or they might have trouble traversing through the next towns…
“Senchou is here to rescue ya~!” Marine sprung into action, tapping Rushia on the shoulder as thanks for the crucial spell, and then joining Flare and Pekora to help Noel back to her feet. “W-Wow, and you girls made jokes about my ass… it’s like sinking into dough…” The other party members had the decency of grabbing Noel by her arms, but Marine had a less pure approach. She tried wrapping her arms around Noel’s sides, but other than gripping the knight’s love handles, she quickly made camp around the woman’s well-cushioned behind. Once her hands had a feel of all of that warm, sweaty flesh, helping the main offensive power of the party ceased to be important.
“M-M-Marine… stop i-i-it…!” She tried building some strength on her legs, just so she could escape Marine’s perverted help, but Noel still couldn’t get back on her feet by herself.
“Sorry, sorry, just relievin’ some stress! Thought I was a goner just five minutes ago!” She slapped Noel’s ass one last time, watching the cellulite-dotted cheeks bounce around some more, and then actually started helping the knight up once her perverted eyes and soul were satisfied at least a little. It took the three of them, as Noel could barely muster flailing around in place thanks to her precarious position on top of the salamander, but the knight was finally standing up again.
“Huuph… haaah…” Tugging at the hem of her battle dress, Noel just shot Marine an angry look, and then focused on getting her breath back. “This one is… huff… done for. Let’s… let’s smash the rest and… horrf… get as much crystal as we can…!”
“We will need to be fast. They won’t stay paralyzed for too long.” Rushia added, and as soon as she finished talking, Flare and Pekora springed into action, with Noel following much slowly behind them.
“You’re not coming along…?” Raising her cutlass, Marine was also ready to start knocking some salamanders out.
“...I can hardly move. And Noel is in no shape to carry me like before.” The last of Rushia’s summoned skeleton had been reduced to a pile of bones as soon as her mana was depleted, and using her staff for physical combat wasn’t very effective. “I’ll start organizing space in our bags. Luckily I will be able to carry some of the loot as well.”
“I guess you did most of the hard work, after all… okay, make sure my backpack is free of any non-valuable stuff! We took so long to get here, doesn’t matter if we all have to waddle back to town!” And the pirate charged away, dealing as much damage with her pirate sword she could.
Rushia watched the action from afar, sipping a mana recovering potion.
We can’t continue like this… it worked this time, but if we were facing stronger creatures, I hardly doubt we would have succeeded. Observing Noel finally managing to land a mace attack to a foe, Rushia knew exactly what their next course of action should be. We’re going to need to do some research on how to fix her condition. The nearest town has a good library, even if it’s run by an eccentric girl… and if we can’t find anything, well, there’s always the church… doing that was a last resort that, as necromancer, Rushia wish they didn’t have to use.
Even if Noel wasn’t anywhere near her former glory, and that the rest of the party was also depleted of stamina, the four women managed to defeat the crystal salamanders just as Rushia’s Paralyze Spell was starting to lose its effectiveness. Some of the creatures fled, but the haul of crystal shards and pieces they managed to gather would be more than enough to fund their next adventurers.
“Rushia, look, look! We got soooo much stuff!”
“This was the better approach after all, peko. We would have lost a lot of crystal had we blown them up to bits…”
“THAT WAS YOUR IDEA!”
“D-Details, details, peko… all’s well that ends well!” The rabbit girl said, shoving as much what she could of her haul inside her backpack.
“...but can we even say that things ended well?” Rushia had regained some energy after idling out. She took a good look into each of her party member’s eyes, leaving Noel for last. “Noel. We ignored your… condition… for far too long. You used to be this group’s muscle. Without that, you put us all in serious trouble.”
“I… I get it… I will… try to… get back into… s-shape…” Even her confidence had melted away. Noel knew Rushia wasn’t being mean, but her words still hurt.
“...maybe we can try finding a ghost or a demon that can suck some of this flab away…?” Marine offered, poking Noel’s protuberant gut.
“M-Mou, Marine…”
“Rushia.” Flare knew the petite woman must have planned something while they were dealing with the salamanders. “I’m sure you must have an idea of where to go from here…”
“We need to understand what we’re dealing with first. Maybe she ate something bad. I’ve heard of ingredients causing weird side effects before… Anyways, hitting a library and finding a scholar with the right scroll can help.” She then took a deep breath and revealed the part she wasn’t a fan of. “...we can also try going to a church, as much as I… despise the idea.”
“Hah? Since when holy water has slimming effects? Plus, we would need liters of the stuff!” Marine’s teasing pokes evolved to a full-on grope on Noel’s sagging gut.
“Mooo…~ Marine, stop… playing with m-ooo…~”
It wasn’t just Marine that stopped her groping. All party members ceased moving upon hearing Noel’s words.
“Did she just…”
“...moo’ed…?”
“Noel…”
“W-What, moo…?” And then she realized it herself. “Ah…! I… I’m not doing it on purpose, moo!”
Rushia planted her staff on the grass, muttering angrily to herself.
“Of course. How did I not notice this before? It’s your headband. It is cursed, after all. And you’ve been wearing it all of this time, which explains all of the unsightl— I mean. The changes in your figure… and behavior.”
“B-But… it’s so c-oote, moo…” Noel brought one pudgy hand to the top of her silver hair, where the well-made headband was.
“...personal preferences aside, I’m sure turning into a cow is not something you would want…” The irony was almost hilarious to Rushia, but she managed to keep herself from smugly grinning at the realization behind Noel’s rapid change during the last weeks. To think it wasn’t just her appearance that was affected, but her personality as well. How deep does it affect humans, I wonder…?
“Noel, just take this off and—” Flare proceeded to remove the headpiece from Noel, who seemed too confused to be upset, as if the mammal sounds she was making weren’t reason for concern.
“DON’T TOUCH IT!” Rushia shouted. “We don’t know how powerful that thing really is.”
“Hey, cursed items are worth a lot in the black market, right, peko…?”
“We are going to be rich~! I mean… s-sorry for teasing you, Noel…” Marine backed off, slowly. “I can feed you grass if you want!”
Noel finally removed the headgear from the top of her head. She didn’t feel any different for a few seconds after doing so, but then, she couldn’t help but get the sensation that what she had just removed wasn’t a piece of equipment, but a part of herself.
“...Ugh, I’m getting a headache, moo-ph…” She whined, closing her eyes as a piercing sharp pain crossed her skull.
“That sounds like a curse, indeed.” Flare admitted. “We have no time to waste, then. There has to be someone that can help us in the nearest town. In fact… Marine, didn’t you almost join the Sisterhood nearby…?”
“You remember that story!? Ah… well… that did happen, but let’s say the Sisters there are probably more messed up than me…”
“Think they can find a solution?”
“Worth the shot. That holy water bath doesn’t sound like such a bad idea now, huh?” She tried easing up the mood.
Noel couldn’t take it anymore and put the headband back into her head. Instantly, she started feeling better. She could think clearer, even if what was going inside her mind wasn’t exactly positive.
I’m cursed? I’m turning into a cow? But… I’m a knight… I can’t… We have to find a solution, and yet…
GUUUUUUUOOOOOOOORRRLLL…~
“Ah… I’m hungry, moo…”
“If anything, I think you deserve a good meal for once.” Flare held her hand.
“Flare…? That’s the last thing—”
“I know, I know. But we can’t simply starve her back to normal, can we? We at least know what is happening now. We can fix this.” She then held both Noel’s hands, and the knight-cow looked her in the eyes. “We will fix this.”
“Flare… thank you, m—” Noel did her best to suppress her mooing. “E-Everyone, sorry for… letting this happen. I… I do want to continue being a knight for y-oo girls, moo, so… ugh… it’s coming out so... normally out of a sudden, moo…”
“...so naturally it sounds kind of fitting…” Marine admitted. “But hey, aren’t cows supposed to be herbivores? You ate anything that entered your field o’ vision these last days…”
“Noel seems to have only inherited some animal mannerisms. The transformation is not complete, it seems. Which is good. Although her not being able to take the headband off without hurting doesn’t bode well. We need to find a cure as soon as possible. Otherwise…” Rushia cut her sentence short.
Otherwise, she is only going to turn into a bigger cow than she already was. It’s like this universe telling some sick joke… the necromancer thought, eyeing the knight’s obscene, bloated proportions and once again feeling some many conflicting sensations. It was one thing to be a little jealous of Noel’s former plump proportions, but why was she still being envious of someone so big and unfit? Finding a solution to Noel’s predicament would possibly get rid of her own inner turmoil, so that was another reason for them to hit the road before it got dark.
WWWWWWOOOOORRRRL…
“Okay, maybe we can stop for a bite before we get to town…”
That finally eased the tension. Noel clutched the fleshy apron that was her gut, as if to soothe its rumbling, noisy protests.
“...there, there… don’t be so unruly, moo… we are going to eat something here, and then get a proper meal at a tavern, okay?” Flare and Pekora handed Noel some bread and cheese, just to tame some of that appetite.
“So, that explains the grazing, at least… munching away all day without a care in the world…” Marine said to Rushia, in a low tone. Suddenly, teasing Noel didn’t seem as fun as before.
“Hunph.” Rushia didn’t want to waste a single second more, but it seemed Noel wouldn’t move without tending to her stomach first. “Cows were rumored to have four stomachs, but that is a common misconception. Turns out it is split into four different places.”
“Do we really need a scholar when ya such a brainiac?”
“I may know the basics about cows.” Rushia answered. “Hucows, however… that is unknown territory to me.”
The two watched Pekora and Flare aiding Noel into getting food before they departed. It was like tending to an insatiable beast. There was enough food to last the rest of them some days worth of travel, and yet it was all being decimated in a flash by the cursed knight.
“Moo… sho… sho much… better… *nmbWuuuUUARP-!!” Unaware of the concerns she caused to her party as long as there was food close to her lips, Noel only stopped eating until all she had were crumbs on top of her cleavage.
Needless to say, it took some time before she could gather the energy to waddle again, with digestion and exhaustion keeping her unwilling to move. But eventually, she did manage to get back on the road.
It only took all of Flare’s regained mana to keep her movement speed acceptable, however.
TO BE CONTINUED…?
HERE LIES THE ORIGINAL PROMPT/IDEAS/GUIDELINE
Maybe it would also work better as a "Cursed Item" sequence where Noel picks up something like a "cow headband", and then everything starts to slowly change from a stats and appearance standpoint. that idea has been underused a lot for /d/ writing
Sankisei on a 4 man party quest, doing some JRPG story
Noel finds a cow headband on the floor and picks it up, equipping it
Unbeknownst to Noel, the headband causes her to rapidly change stats, going from Knight to Cow in a few weeks
Her rapid change in class also means her body grows in size, delaying the group every day
Noel starts to panic once her attack drops, but slowly accepts her change into a Cow
In just a few weeks, Noel went from a valiant knight to a huge cow that provides health and shelter for the rest of sankisei, while they all show concern that their one valiant knight became this immobile bovine
Even after becoming a cow, her body still grows slowly
Her body went from a mere 75kg to over 750kg, with all her attack and STR going into health
Her body is covered with cow markings, and she can only struggle to barely even waddle across the landscape, her only cure being some rare feather that can reverse this cow-ification headband.
Sankisei has to venture out and find this rare feather before Noel completely becomes a cow
It's fun to think WHY every member of the party will start showing the side calf effects...
Marine simply starts feeling jealous of how lazy Noel gets to live
once she learns the curse spreads through milk, she wastes no time trying to be the prized cow of the party, much to the other's annoyance
Flare is the one in charge of milking Noel, because her breasts start to ache if she goes without being squeezed for too long
as Noel's weight increases, so does the dairy she produces, causing Flare to run out of bottles one day
since it's an intimate moment of sorts for them, she uses her mouth
her elf genes prevents her from blowing up as fast as the others, but she's the one who also starts lactating
Rushia demands the others to stop, that they need to find the cure ASAP
but despite her words and attitude, the other members start to notice she is putting on weight too
of course Rushia secretly got hold of the cursed headband instead of getting rid of it in a vain attempt of finally getting the big chest she wanted
it can go either way, she either ends up ridiculously bottom heavy with little gain to her bust or finally achieves her goal, the price being her mobility
Pekora is the only one not interested in any of that
but it's Pekora we are talking about
somehow she's the one who ends the biggest
Ideas I want to write moving forward:
Rushia and Pekora visit Shiori’s library for cursed gear research and a scroll to analyze Noel’s status (that’s how they eventually confirm Noel is no longer a knight)
Meanwhile, Flare and Marine bring Noel to a church, where Father Fubuki gets to say the funny FAT FUCK line (actually she doesn’t)
Rushia gets tempted to use the headband herself, figuring if she uses a protective spell/trinket while doing so she will only harvest the good effects, like increase her bust (obviously backfires)
Flare starts milking Noel, then drinking her milk, also transforms
Marine wants to laze around just like Noel and then drink both girl’s milk??? This is where I start to run out of ideas
The cure for the entire party’s problem lies in the Candy Kingdom, where they have to do a fetch quest for Luna (her banquets are quite decadent, which means the party starts packing up the pounds even more... Luna chubby, her bodyguard Subaru fat??? dunno)
????????