For better or worse, Lily was the only one to suffer any lasting damage from Fenris’s ‘attack’, and so the party was back on its way without much more delay.
“We should be in the clear now…” Louis looked behind him as the grasslands returned to their usual, dry hues. “Now that we’re out of there, we shouldn't need to look out for goretusks anymore—just the normal mobs.”
“Somehow, I’m a bit disappointed…” Gen sighed. “We even planted those flags earlier, but nothing happened.”
“That can only mean one thing…”
Louis pointed over to Lily.
“It's your turn!”
“... My turn for what?”
“If you’re the one raising a flag, maybe something’ll happen!”
“I don't want anything to happen!" Lily retorted. “Besides, it’s not like anything will happen just because of something I say--"
“Alright!” “She did it!”
Louis and Gen high-fived.
“... Ah.” Lily paled at her inadvertent flag-raising.
She hadn't been taking Gen and Louis’s flag jokes seriously—but now that she was embroiled with a flag of her own, Lily suddenly had a very bad feeling.
“C-can I take that back?” she asked hopefully.
“Nope.” “It's too late. The flag is already set.”
“Wah…”
Creeping dread ran up Lily’s back as the consequences of her impudence crawled closer and closer with every passing moment. Yes—it was the hand of fate (and definitely not Fenris’s) that tapped Lily on the shoulder and made her release a very startled… noise of some sort.
“Bwaghcbbvgdfh?!”
Fenris wasn't quite sure what he did, but he still felt a bit bad after seeing how high she jumped.
“... Sorry.”
“... I’m sorry, too.” Lily buried her blushing face into her hands, ashamed of her hair-trigger nerves.
“... So, what did you want her attention for, anyways?” Louis decided to skip to the important part.
“Nn.” Fenris pointed to the horizon behind them. “Big guy.”
Gen, Louis, and Lily saw a figure in the distance running towards them while being chased by a large, brown mass with massive tusks.
““Ah.”” They spoke simultaneously.
“... Does that look like a goretusk to you, Gen?”
“Certainly… Doesn’t it look like they’re running straight towards us?”
“Yep.”
“It does.” Lily agreed.
““Ha ha.””
…
The party quickly started running in the opposite direction.
———
“Why’d you have to set those flags, Louis?!”
“Look on the bright side—this means you’re the protagonist, Lily!”
“I don't want that sort of title—!”
The party vamoosed across the steppe, with Fenris hauling Lily over his shoulder so that she wouldn't get left behind because of her lower AGI stat. However, being the only one constantly facing behind them, she could also see the unknown adventurer—a rogue wearing a black bandana—and the pursuant goretusk gradually closing the distance.
The goretusk had a stocky body covered in coarse, wooly fur—much like a buffalo, except two sizes larger—and tree trunk-like legs propelled it across the steppe at breakneck speeds; fortunately (?), it lacked a neck to break, with its flat face seemingly attached directly to its body. The goretusk’s face consisted of a drooling, constantly-open maw filled with sharp teeth, two enormous tusks, and a pair of black, beady eyes.
“It kinda looks like Domo-kun,” Louis casually said to Gen while running for his life.
“This version wouldn't make a very good mascot,” she commented.
“Aaahh! Fenpleasehurrythey’regainingonus!” Lily sobbed almost incoherently.
Fenris huffed. While he would normally be able to carry Lily with ease, his physical ability was currently being gated by his stats; he literally could not run any faster.
After assessing their current predicament, Louis clicked his tongue and took command.
“Damnit… Alright! We’re turning around—get ready to fight!”
“E-EH?!” Lily screamed.
“No point in stalling the inevitable! It’ll be easier to win if we preserve our stamina and just go for it!”
Lily hated that his argument made sense. Groaning with dread as Fenris set her down, the party prepared themselves for the rapidly-approaching battle.
———
(EXTRA:)
“How are you still joking in this situation?!” Lily cried.
“I use humor to cope with my negative emotions!” Louis gave a thumbs-up.
———
