I love time travel the most!

Although she always made the same movements when she was physically exhausted, Kobayashi felt that something was wrong with her.

Slow down and come to her side.

"Huihui, what happened? You've been looking downcast."

"...I'm sorry, Kobayashi."

The sudden apology left Xiaolin completely bewildered.

"It's all my fault, I lost a lot of money."

It turns out she was blaming herself.

Is he being sullen because he's afraid of being expelled from the squad because of this?

It seems I need to appease her.

He chuckled softly and placed his hand on her head.

"There's nothing to apologize for; you did nothing wrong."

"But!"

"Money will eventually run out, and we'll have to do missions sooner or later. The rest of the team knows this, which is why they're not angry. Besides, you're the best explosive mage I picked—Phoenix Chick! How can you be humiliated? Fighting back is the right thing to do."

"Xiaolin, thank you..."

Huihui was deeply moved.

She had joined several squads before, but after learning of her incompetence, they expelled her from the squads. No one had ever believed in her or comforted her like Kobayashi did.

"Next time, if someone insults me again, can I retaliate with explosive magic?"

"Of course! And we'll retaliate fiercely!"

Xiaolin affirmed her.

"So, if he really humiliates and belittles me, can I bomb him?"

"Keep frying him until he apologizes to you."

I'm sorry, Sato-kun, your days ahead may not be easy.

I silently mourned for him.

"Can I explode if Kobayashi humiliated me before?"

"Um... cough cough, I beg Miss Huihui to be lenient with this."

"I do not want!"

Huihui beamed and ran forward quickly for a distance before turning back, grinning, "...But if you treat me to a kids' meal, Xiaolin, I'll forgive you!"

"Eat, eat a big portion!"

Xiaolin shook his head and chuckled.

What? Isn't that just a child's mentality?

Chapter 28

The crystal deer is famous for its crystal-like antlers; otherwise, its appearance and shape are no different from ordinary deer.

But don't just treat its horns as pretty decorations.

As we all know, crystals are not conductors; they have high density and hardness, and are therefore immune to all types of magic... except for advanced magic.

"Therefore, Huihui is not allowed to use magic in this mission, understand?" Kobayashi nodded at the eager little girl's head.

"cut."

Huihui clicked her tongue softly in displeasure.

She always wanted to use explosion magic to blast hard things, as if she was constantly proving that her magic was the strongest.

However, this mission is to collect deer antlers, so if the mission is destroyed by an explosion, it will naturally fail.

"High-level magic won't work, and explosive magic is unusable, so this time it will be close combat, with the main objective being capture and brute force. Is that alright?"

"Received!" X4

After that, Kobayashi began assigning tasks.

Similar to the previous arrangements, Darkness focused on defense to prevent the Crystal Deer from escaping, while Kobayashi took on the responsibility of capturing and killing Darkness. Aqua provided buffs and resurrection magic for everyone, and Kazuma Sato, whose attack power was insufficient, protected Megumin, who could not use magic.

A fairly reasonable arrangement.

"Even so, why not set a trap?" Sato Kazuma preferred to wait for the rabbit to run into the tree stump, and his actions were related to his own personality.

"It took too long, and the input and output were not proportional."

But more importantly.

"Come on, there are so many of us, and it's just a deer that's immune to magic. Don't we feel ashamed to wait for it for days?"

"really."

Kazuma Sato nodded and said with a smile, "Well, no matter what, we still have Kobayashi-senpai here, so it should be fine."

But Ryuko asked curiously, "Lord Kobayashi, why don't you use me?"

"what?"

"Using my method, the mission can be completed in just one second. Such a convenient and quick method means that Lord Kobayashi doesn't need to take any risks."

"Because I want to grow."

Xiaolin explained why she refused the time-saving and effortless solution.

"If things continue like this, I might become a useless person who wants to live an easy life but underestimates life. In the end, I'll become a hopeless man who only drinks and doesn't work, complaining, 'It's not my fault, it's all the world's fault,' while throwing bottles at you, Ryuu, and telling you to go out and earn money."

"What?! Where is a man like that?!"

Upon hearing this, Darkness suddenly leaned closer, her cheeks flushed and panting, looking impatient.

Terrified, Kobayashi pushed the perverted knight's face away, preventing her from getting close to him.

Good guy!

You're really stubborn!

Who will ultimately destroy it?!

After pushing the perverted knight away, Kobayashi instructed Ryuu, "In conclusion, for the sake of the team's growth, Ryuu, please don't intervene, okay?"

"Yes, if that's what you say, Lord Kobayashi."

Liu Zi agreed softly, but then said with a dark and sarcastic look in her eyes, "If Lord Kobayashi were in danger and screamed like a girl, I, as your servant, would definitely come to your rescue. Isn't it nice to be a good-for-nothing who only relies on me?"

Wow……

Did she have a hidden yandere and sharp-tongued side?

Realizing that continuing the conversation would be dangerous, Kobayashi wisely changed the subject.

"Ahem, prepare for battle!"

"Oh!" X4

Everyone began to prepare.

Look, there's a lone crystal deer on the plain. It's rare to see one at this time of year; it's a very precious magical creature.

Remove the corners and you can eat it. The meat is tender, chewy, and elastic, and you get 5 times more experience points than with cabbage!

"Using deer antlers would be amazing! I'm going for it!"

Before Kobayashi could give the order, Darkness rushed forward with a flushed face.

"Wait... you idiot!"

Kazuma Sato tried to stop her, but failed. This was a common occurrence; Kobayashi was used to it.

"Sato-kun, I'm counting on you for support."

Having said that, he rushed forward as well.

The Crystal Deer is far more difficult to deal with than imagined. It is not only strong but also very agile. What's most annoying is that its antlers are very large and hard, and it can block every attack.

In addition, Darkness always wanted to compete in strength, which unintentionally caused trouble and added burden to Kobayashi, leading to a stalemate between the two.

Aqua cheered loudly from the sidelines, while Kazuma Sato watched with great anger.

"That perverted knight, why is she always fixated on a contest of strength? Doesn't she know she's in the way? Move to the left, move to the left, make room for her to attack! Ugh, how can she be so stupid! It's infuriating!"

It has the air of a self-important, arrogant king who is incompetent himself but points fingers and pontificates.

Then another crystal deer came into view.

It appears to be a scout sent by the deer herd to find its lost companions, and it became noticeably agitated upon seeing the crystal deer on the plain.

"Huh? There's another one?"

Kazuma Sato sensed something was wrong.

One deer is already troublesome; if another one comes, it will definitely change the course of the battle.

No, we need to help!

Remembering Kobayashi's instructions, Sato Kazuma gritted his teeth and said to Megumin, "I'm going to help. Megumin and you, Aqua, if things go wrong, run away as fast as you can!"

"Okay, Kazuma, go ahead and die without worry." Megumin nodded in agreement.

Kazuma Sato was speechless for a moment: "...You mean to say 'a resounding victory'?"

"No, they're going to their deaths."

Just how little do you trust me?!

Kazuma Sato wanted to get angry, but he didn't have time to fool around with her now.

He drew his dagger and used his stealth skill to charge at another crystal deer.

His goal wasn't to kill it, but to keep it occupied. As long as Kobayashi and the others dealt with the other deer, this one wouldn't be a problem either.

However, he misjudged the speed of both sides.