Using Gacha to Increase My Companions and to Create the Strongest Girls' Army Corps

When the light subsided, I found myself standing at the entrance of the cave. Did I… did I make it out alive? The escape device activated just as the Centibar broke—talk about a heart attack waiting to happen. I quickly opened the map app and began running to reunite with Noru and the others.

But the moment I felt that wave of relief, my whole body started to ache. While I was running, I was too focused to notice, but now one arm wouldn’t move, and blood blurred my vision in one eye. I knew it would hurt like hell, but this was no joke—it genuinely felt like I was about to die. I hurt all over so much I couldn’t even tell where the pain was coming from. Mainly because it was just… everywhere.

I was so close to breaking down and crying… actually, tears were already streaming down inside my helm.  

I thought about drinking a potion, but with only one arm, it would be too hard to get it out, so I kept running. Plus, I was terrified that those Diabolos would come charging out of the cave at any moment… I needed to regroup fast. 

As I gritted my teeth against the pain and continued running, I finally spotted Noru and the others. Sisya noticed me and came rushing over.

“Ookura-san! Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Sisya placed her hands on me, and my entire body was enveloped in a warm, bright light. A soothing energy flowed through me, and the pain instantly began to fade. Ahh, this feels amazing… Moments like these make me truly appreciate having a healer in the party. I stayed still for a while, basking in the warmth, before Sisya finally withdrew her hands.

“It took quite a bit of effort to heal you this time… Ookura-san, you really took quite the beating.”

“Haha, I got tossed around like a ragdoll! But I made it out in one piece! Take that, you bastards! And thanks for the healing!”

“You’re kind of losing it… But at least you made it back. With all those bones broken, it must have been really close.”

Wait, my bones were that messed up!? No wonder everything hurt so much. Even a small fracture can be excruciating, so it’s a miracle I endured this. Was it the armor or some other item from the gacha? I couldn’t tell. I’m still wearing the Lion’s Heart, which makes it harder to panic… Could that be why the pain felt muted? It’s great to be able to endure pain, but it’s a bit scary not realizing just how bad it is.

“Not a single word of complaint… I’m impressed, Ookura-san. You really came through when it mattered.”

“Haha… O-Of course!”

Sisya smiled kindly at me, saying something that made my cheeks almost break into a grin. But it’s a bit embarrassing to be praised when I was crying like a baby inside my helmet. After the healing was done, I made my way over to Noru and the others, and this time Estel came running up.

“Big brother! I was so worried!”

“S-Sorry…”

She hugged me, her face lifting to show tears welling in her eyes. I didn’t think I’d worried her so much… I genuinely felt bad.

“Ookura-dono, I’m glad you’re safe. Honestly, I should’ve been the one to act as the decoy…”

“Don’t sweat it. You got Irina-san and the others out safely, so it all worked out in the end.”

It was a close call, but I’m just glad we all made it out alive. Sure, Noru might not have been beaten up like I was, but since she’s not defense-focused, I didn’t want her acting as the decoy. I usually rely on her, so it was my turn to take on the dirty work.

“We are truly sorry for putting you in danger like this, Ookura-san. We’re just grateful you made it out safely.”

“It’s not your fault, Irina-san. We knew it’d be risky going in.”

I knew there would be strong monsters, but I didn’t expect six Diabolos and that… purple slug-looking thing. I managed to endure the Diabolos’ attacks, but I nearly died from that thing’s body slam. I think that’s what broke all my bones.

“So, what’s our plan now? If we don’t decide quickly, those monsters will come after us.”

“I don’t think they’ll come right away. Even though we escaped, they likely don’t know we’re outside yet.”

“Estel’s right. According to the map app, they’re wandering inside the cave, looking for us.”

I checked the map app to see three red dots scattered around the cave. I expected them to rush out, but they probably think we just disappeared. I was beaten to a pulp and barely managed to escape, so they might still think we’re nearby.

“Then should we just wait for them to come outside? It’s too risky to fight them inside.”

“I’d love to, but I doubt they’ll come out. Three of them are searching for us, but the rest, including the big guy, are still in the chamber.”

“Ugh… that’s annoying. Aren’t those monsters’ whole objective to kill us?”

The remaining three Diabolos and Grandoris weren’t moving from the room where the shrine was. I’d love for them to come out so we could fight outside, but that slug’s poison skill makes it a terrible idea to fight in that enclosed space. Do they know this and refuse to come out, or is there something else going on? Estel, our dependable mage, chimed in.

“Considering what we heard from the sisters, I think those monsters are waiting for Testudo-sama’s protection to vanish completely. As long as they can stop us from restoring the shrine, they’ve achieved their goal.”

“If that’s the case, they definitely won’t come out… What should we do?”

So, their aim is to remove the shrine’s protection, not necessarily to kill us. Which means we need to wipe them out and restore the shrine before that happens… Easier said than done. I don’t want to face them head-on in that chamber again. I wonder if I could ask Estel to blow up the entire cave… Wishful thinking, I guess. That big slug has high magic resistance, so it’d probably shrug off most spells.

Wait a second… Those Diabolos, scattered in that confined space… This could work. If done right, we might take them out safely.

“Let’s ambush them.”

“Huh?”

Noru and the others all looked at me with expressions that screamed, “What is this guy talking about?”

●

After explaining my plan to Noru and the others, I slipped away to a secluded spot where Irina-san and her group couldn’t see me. Then, I set up the beacon to call Freesia and Runa from the house.

“Yay! It’s been so long since I’ve been outside!”

“Honestly, you’re so noisy, elf.”

Freesia was bouncing around, excited, while Runa stood with her arms crossed, looking exasperated. I had summoned them to a hidden location to avoid being spotted by Irina-san and the others. Despite their opposite attitudes, it seemed like they had gotten along well enough while we were gone.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“No problem. But is the situation really that bad?”

“Yeah. If we face them head-on, we probably won’t make it out. That’s why I called you two.”

“So, so! What should we do?”

“I need you two to join me in sneaking into the cave and ambushing the monsters.”

“Ambush?”

I brought them here because they were essential for my ambush plan. Runa tilted her head in confusion, but Freesia beamed with excitement.

“Oh, leave it to me! I’m great at assassinations!”

“Uh… okay. By the way, can you detect things even in the dark?”

“Yep! Darkness doesn’t bother me at all. And I can sense where someone is hiding, at least to some extent!”

Wow… So she’s also capable in the dark. Almost everyone in our party, except Estel and me, can function perfectly in the dark! Also, it’s pretty terrifying how she says she’s good at assassinations with that bright smile… She’s got skills for stealth in the woods, sniping from a distance with a bow, and moving in total darkness… She might actually be insanely dangerous. Let’s… not think about that right now.

“I’m fine too. Darkness is my domain.”

“Alright, I’m counting on both of you.”

For now, I sent Runa and Freesia to wait in another area while I returned to Irina-san and the others to explain that they needed to move to a safer place.

“That’s why I need you to stay somewhere safe with Noru until we’ve secured the area, Irina-san.”

“But… are you sure you’ll be alright, Ookura-san? You were in such bad shape earlier…”

“That was just because I got caught off guard. I’ll be fine as long as I’m prepared.”

“…Understood. It seems there’s nothing we can do to help, so we’ll follow your lead.”

It feels bad to deceive someone as kind as Irina-san, but it’s necessary to execute the plan safely. Ideally, I’d like to bring Noru along too, but this operation requires a small team. I finally convinced Irina-san and the temple members to stay away until we defeated the monsters. Sisya and Estel returned after casting their support magic, and we prepared to separate from Noru and

 the others again.

“So, we’re splitting up again… Even with Freesia and the others, I’m still worried.”

“Yeah… but given what they’re planning, we probably wouldn’t be much help anyway.”

“Ugh, it sucks that I can’t stay with Runa-san even though she’s here… Ookura-san! If anything happens to her, I won’t forgive you!”

“Haha… If things go south, I’ll come running back, so don’t worry.”

This operation will involve just me, Runa, and Freesia. Ideally, we would send Irina-san back to Sevarya and then attack with the whole group, but we don’t have the luxury of time. We could use the beacon to send them back, but conditions aren’t quite right.

So, Noru and the others will protect Irina-san close by, while we go and take down the monsters ourselves. Grandoris might be tricky, but we should at least be able to cut down the number of Diabolos. In the worst-case scenario, we can bring Noru and the others back for a full assault afterward.

“Alright, let’s do this. I’m counting on both of you.”

“Leave it to us! I’ll give it my all so I can play with Noru-chan later!”

“Honestly, I’m tired of dealing with this noisy elf. Let’s get this over with.”

“Hey, that’s mean! We were getting along so well!”

…Are these two really going to be okay?