My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 15: Becoming a powerful adventurer requires a partner with whom you can fuse.

Just as dinner was about to be prepared,

Three boys dressed in coarse cloth peeked over to Rhodes and hesitated for a while, seemingly wanting to ask him something.

"Lord Hiro," the seemingly bravest child finally spoke, "we'd like to ask, how can we become adventurers as powerful as you?"

"Um……"

Rod finished the roasted meat in his mouth and then answered decisively:

"A partner who can merge with you."

"what?"

Not only did the three boys voice their doubts, but even the priestess Susanna, who was secretly observing Hiro, had a strange expression when she heard this.

One of the precocious boys blushed deeply and stammered:

"Is it really true?"

"Not necessarily," Rod thought for a moment and then said, "there could be more than one."

But seeing his serious expression, it seemed he wasn't playing a trick on them. The group looked at each other, unsure of what to say next.

"What exactly does 'fusion' mean?"

Just then, Don Quixote, who had been clenching his fists and trembling, could no longer hold back.

"We understand what he means!"

Her eyes shone, and her voice was filled with excitement.

"Like those legendary heroes who are renowned throughout the world, which one of them didn't have an adventure partner with whom they could share life and death, and entrust their heart and soul?"

"Without partners like these, even the strongest person can't go far!"

"Uh... so, what does it mean?" one of the boys asked timidly, seeing her so excited.

Don Quixote crossed his arms and spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Fusion, of course, refers to a union between partners that involves complete surrender and trust, even to the point of spiritual and physical merging!"

Seeing that they couldn't understand, she sighed and pointed at the three of them, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"It's the power of teamwork!"

"With such power, there's nothing we can't do!"

"Wow—so that's what it means?"

The three boys exclaimed in amazement, and even Susanna, who was standing next to them, was stunned.

Milan, who was drinking not far away, covered her face.

"Ah..." Rod opened his mouth, then realized that Don Quixote was right, so he didn't say anything more.

Of course, it was mainly Alina in the consciousness space who stopped him by appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him.

"What should we be careful about during the adventure...?"

The three boys were about to ask something when they suddenly saw the old village chief walking towards them, their expressions changed drastically and they immediately shut up.

"I knew you brats were hiding somewhere slacking off! Even Carol was helping out..."

As the old village chief said this, he nodded and smiled apologetically at Rhodes and the others beside him, then led the three of them away.

"You three brats are always giving me trouble..."

Not long after this little incident, the aroma of the roasted meat and the broth mingled together, wafting far and wide on the night breeze.

The campfire burned brighter and brighter, casting a red glow on the faces of everyone around.

Some villagers took out their homemade xylophones and played cheerful tunes; several young girls held hands and danced around the bonfire.

Don Quixote joined their group, and although his movements were clumsy because of his armor, he danced with great seriousness.

Susanna sat to the side, laughing and clapping along to the beat;

Milan leaned against the doorframe, holding a glass of fruit wine brewed by the villagers. She still had that lazy and arrogant look, but her eyes had softened a bit.

Rod held a bowl of steaming hot meat soup and sipped it slowly.

Although the taste was quite good, it felt a bit lacking without the addition of devil mushrooms.

The bonfire party went on until the moon was high in the sky, when the villagers gradually dispersed, greeting each other as they went home to rest.

As previously agreed, the group returned to their rooms. Don Quixote and Susanna shared a room, while Rod and Milan each had a separate room.

Good night, Mr. Hero.

Before closing the door, Susanna whispered to Rhodes.

"Um."

Rod pushed open the door to his room and then closed it behind him.

The room contained only a narrow wooden bed, a table and chairs, and a new wooden bucket filled with water on the table, which was probably placed there by the villagers who had previously repaired the house.

Rhodes leaned against the door, and with a thought, a pale green light emanated from his body.

As the light faded, Rhodes and Alina appeared in the room at the same time.

The moment Alina landed, her gaze locked onto the only bed.

"Another bed?"

"Um."

Alina felt somewhat helpless upon hearing Rod's meaningless reply.

This means she'll be sleeping with Rod again tonight.

They've only known each other for less than two days, and they're already at the point where they can share a bed?

Forget it, thinking about it too much won't change anything.

Since things have come to this, let's go to sleep.

Alina shook her head, too lazy to think about it anymore, and yawned wearily.

"ha……"

"What's wrong? Are you sleepy?" Rod glanced at her with some doubt, walked to the bedside, sat down, and stretched his shoulders.

I ran around all morning, fought with goblins in the afternoon, and then took care of John's gang.

Despite being in this combined state for so long, he doesn't feel tired at all; in fact, he's quite energetic.

In contrast, Alina's eyelids were already drooping, and tears were welling up in her eyes as she tried to stay awake and respond to him.

"Why are you so sleepy?"

"How would I know?" Alina rubbed her eyes and answered in a muffled voice.

"Even though I've been lying in your consciousness space all day and haven't done anything, I still feel inexplicably tired..."

"I see..." Rhodes stroked his chin thoughtfully.

It seems that when they combine, not only will the damage be distributed to the one in better condition, but perhaps even the consumption of physical strength and energy will be distributed together.

It seems that after Alina's condition improved from poor to good, the duration and stability of her fusion have both made a qualitative leap.

Not only is it more durable and stable, but its consumption in non-combat states is also negligible.

Maybe they really can stay in this combined state forever.

Alina took off her leather armor, leaving only her white shirt underneath. She silently climbed to the far end of the bed, lay down with her back to Rhodes, and shared the bed with him.

This bed is way too narrow.

The two lay there, their elbows occasionally touching. Even with their backs to each other, Alina could clearly feel the intense heat of Rhodes's breath, which caused her already confused mind to start racing with all sorts of random thoughts.

"..."

She couldn't help but turn her head to look at Rod beside her, and in the moonlight from the window, she saw his familiar face.

"She just fell asleep... So I'm the only one who cares about this kind of thing..." She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, somewhat envious of Rhodes's carefree attitude.

But when she thought about how they were physically united, Alina suddenly felt that it wasn't such a big deal that they were just sleeping in the same bed.

What could be more intimate than the fusion of body and mind?

"We didn't even know each other before... why me of all people..."

After much thought, it seems the only explanation lies with Rhodes.

She could neither understand nor resist that mysterious power called "fusion," so why torture herself by suspecting the other party of having bad intentions? It would be better to enjoy some benefits first, and perhaps, when she grew up, she could go back to find her mother...

Perhaps... I am the special one?

With this thought of self-comfort, Alina fell into a deep sleep.

……

……

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the wooden window, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Rhodes had packed up and was ready to return to Misty City, hoping to hunt some more monsters along the way.

Milan and the others had also gotten up by now, but their states were quite different.

Don Quixote was as radiant as ever, and Susanna seemed to be in good spirits too, except for Milan...

The weariness on her face deepened, and she rested her hands on her staff, clearly uncomfortable with getting up early, but she refrained from complaining to others due to her own etiquette.

Just as they were about to set off and leave the village, they saw the old village chief leading several villagers, hurrying towards them.

"Lord Hiro, and everyone else," the old village chief said anxiously, "have you seen those three brats from yesterday?"

Rhodes shook his head.

"no."

"No, what's wrong?"

"Those three brats are gone!" The old village chief leaned on his cane, looking anxious, his forehead covered in sweat.

"His family came to me this morning, saying that he disappeared before dawn and hasn't come back yet."

"Could it be that he went to help out in the fields at the east end of the village?" a villager said.

"Yes, they might have gone up the mountain to pick wild fruit and catch rabbits. They used to do that all the time," another villager chimed in.

"Maybe..." the old village chief sighed, "but I just feel uneasy all day."

Just then, a rapid bugle call suddenly came from the village entrance, instantly spreading throughout the entire village.

"Waaaaah—"

Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this voice.

"Something's happened!"

Why at this time...?

The group immediately followed the old village chief and ran towards the village entrance.

Rod and Milan exchanged a glance and followed.

Before long, a large group of villagers had gathered at the village entrance.

Everyone gathered together, discussing the situation with expressions of panic.

"What happened?"

The old village chief led Rod and the others through the crowd, where they found the bravest boy from yesterday lying on the ground.

He was covered in blood, with a deep, bone-revealing wound on his leg, and his arms were covered in scratches and bite marks. His face was as pale as paper.

"Quick! Get a clean cloth!"

"Water! Does anyone have water?"

The villagers swarmed around in a flurry of activity.

"I'm here, I'm the pastor!"

Susanna immediately ran over, knelt down, and began to cast a healing spell.

A white light enveloped the boy, and after a while, his breathing became slightly more even.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw the old village chief and everyone around him; tears welled up in his eyes immediately.

"Grandpa Village Chief...we...we were wrong..." he said haltingly, his voice trembling. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"What on earth happened?" the old village chief hurriedly asked. "What exactly is going on here...?"

"The three of us... secretly took a sickle and a hoe from home this morning... intending to go hunting in the forest..."

"We want to prove... that we can be adventurers too... we want them to take us to Misty City..."

"But...but we've only gone a short distance into the forest...and we encountered a monster..."

"So many goblins...and such a big wolf..."

Before the boy could finish speaking, a mournful howl suddenly came from the direction of the forest outside the village, followed by chaotic footsteps and wolf howls.

Everyone turned to look, and saw dozens of goblins wielding wooden clubs and stone knives rushing out of the woods.

Behind them followed five robust dire wolves, each carrying an elite goblin only slightly larger than a normal goblin.

At the very front was a giant goblin, a head taller than a normal goblin, holding a huge club in its hand, its face full of a ferocious grin.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!!!"

Upon hearing its command, the dire wolves and goblins also let out excited howls.

They especially revealed cruel smiles when they saw the terrified, weak prey and the human village in front of them.

"Goblins! And dire wolves!"

"How did they find their way here!"

"My God! How could there be such a terrifying monster nearby!"

"It's over...it's all over..."

The villagers were terrified and could barely hold onto their farm tools.

"These beasts let you come back on purpose..." the old village chief thought, glancing at the injured child on the ground.

This means that the monsters in front of us are intelligent.

Realizing this, the old village chief turned pale, but still forced himself to continue giving instructions.

"Quickly, everyone hide inside the village!"

"Don't run around! Take the children with you!"

Seeing this, Don Quixote showed no fear whatsoever; instead, he immediately drew his sword.

"Don't be afraid! With us here, no one will get hurt!" she shouted as she went to meet them.

With a sweeping motion of the longsword, a goblin charging at the front was cut in half at the waist.

Green blood splattered all over the ground.

"Come on! You filthy beasts!"

Don Quixote charged forward with his sword raised, the immense force sending another goblin flying backward, crashing into his companions behind him and rolling into a heap.

"Gurgle!"

Upon seeing this, the surrounding goblins were instantly frightened, but then calmed down under the leader's command.

Under their leader's command, they changed their tactics and stopped fighting Don Quixote head-on, instead roaming around and harassing him.

Three goblins, wielding clubs, entangled her and occasionally threw stones at her head, making her helmet clang loudly.

The rest bypassed her and went straight for the villagers who were fleeing in all directions.

"Stop! Don't hurt them!"

Don Quixote grew anxious and turned to chase after them, but her plate armor was too heavy to stop them.

"Damn monster, come and fight me head-on if you dare!"