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

Two days after departing from Sevarya, our journey progressed smoothly, with occasional encounters with monsters but no real obstacles. Each night, as dusk approached, we would halt to set up camp.

"*Sigh*... Thanks to us being two B-rank parties, none of these monsters pose any real threat, but the atmosphere around camp? That’s a different story," I murmured, taking a sip of the soup next to Sisya, casting a sidelong glance toward Mars, who sat off on his own.

Since last night, Mars has kept a palpable “keep away” aura while eating alone. I’d hoped for some conversation over dinner, but evidently, that expectation was overly optimistic.

"*Hmph*, he claims he acknowledged us, but that attitude says otherwise. Perhaps it’s time for some good old-fashioned ‘communication’ by way of my fist," Sisya said, cracking her knuckles.

"No! That’ll only make things worse!"

"Oh, calm down. I’m joking," she chuckled, though the sound of her knuckles popping said otherwise. Sisya’s “jokes” never sound like jokes at all, and that’s half the problem.

"Still, you’re surprisingly restrained this time. I thought you’d take out your frustration on a stray monster or two," I said, a little curious.

"With this many people, I need to save my energy for healing, obviously. I’d be a poor priest if I didn’t," she replied with a smirk.

"Sure, yeah, that sounds like a very priestly line—if it came from someone else."

"Haha, oh, I’m always careful and considerate of others, you know," she replied smoothly, flashing a mischievous smile.

"You know, you two really seem to get along," a new voice interjected. Gret, who had been observing us, smiled.

"Indeed! Ookura-san and I are the best of friends. Why, we’re close enough to have a good-natured fight at any moment!" Sisya announced.

"*Best* friends, you say? And by that you mean… fighting?" Gret asked, looking a bit confused.

"This one talks nonsense all the time. Please don’t take her too seriously, or you’ll end up with a headache," I muttered.

Gret chuckled, his face a little tense. "I’ve met many priests, but this is the first one quite like her."

"Thank you for the compliment," Sisya replied, undeterred.

No one’s complimenting you… and Gret’s face says he’s struggling to keep up. This priest seems to pick up all the oddest terms—probably Freesia’s doing.

"You’re a talented group, truly," Gret continued. "You’ve even managed to reduce the strain on our horses. Our mage Vyle said his back pain has improved too. At this rate, we may reach our destination sooner than expected."

"It’s my honor to help! Healing’s my specialty, so if there’s anything you need, please let me know," Sisya replied with an earnest smile.

With both Estel and Sisya reinforcing the horses, we’ve managed to maintain an impressive pace. Even Vyle, our mage companion, recovered from a sore back thanks to Sisya’s healing.

"Having both a priest and a mage in your party is quite the asset," Gret commented.

"I’m lucky to have such skilled teammates," I replied. "But you also have a mage in your party—Vyle, right? That’s not something you see often."

"Yes, Vyle joined us after a few collaborative quests around the port. He was intrigued and decided to stick around," Gret explained.

The Sevarya port—right. It seems some mages occasionally end up joining parties after working together on quests. Vyle himself seems to be the adventurous type, even calling this life ‘interesting.’

"So, what kind of work do you all typically do?" Sisya asked.

"We’re more on the exploration side. We take on mapping and information-gathering requests as we go along. Sevarya’s long-standing history makes it ideal for delving into unexplored ruins and forgotten caves," Gret said.

"Oh, that sounds exciting!" Sisya’s eyes gleamed. "It must be thrilling to uncover new things."

And it makes sense now why they have Azery, a skilled scout, with them. Exploration would be their bread and butter. This also explains why they were assigned to investigate the sightings of Diabolos.

"By the way, who is that armored lady in your party? I sense a remarkable strength in her," Gret asked, looking over at our group.

"Ah, you mean Noru?" I replied, glancing over to see her happily chatting and swaying her braids with Azery and Estel. "She’s quite strong, yes."

"Given her strength, it’s surprising that Mars has been rather combative toward you all," Sisya remarked. "It’s a shame; even now, he’s exuding nothing but hostility from afar."

"My apologies. He’s cautious and strong-headed, often mistrusting new faces. It’s tough to get him to warm up," Gret explained, sighing. "But in battle, he’s reliable, so I hope he doesn’t cause too much trouble."

"I see. At least we know he’s dependable in a fight," I said.

But wow, so Mars *was* watching us to gauge our responses. It makes sense with Gret’s well-timed interjections, which kept things friendly and informative. Maybe I should go talk to him.

"Alright, I’ll go talk to him," I announced, standing up.

"I should come with you—" Sisya started, standing up as well.

"No, I’ll go alone," I insisted, stopping her with a hand gesture.

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I want to try talking to him man-to-man. Plus, I don’t want to be seen as incapable of doing this alone."

Sisya chuckled. "My, look at you, so bold! If only you were always this dependable."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I muttered, walking over to Mars.

Armed with a mug of high-potion, I walked over to him. Noticing me approach, Mars shot me a suspicious glare.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to chat, that’s all," I said, holding up the mug. "Mind sharing a drink with me?"

"Tch. Fine, but just one drink," he relented, taking the mug from my hand.

Alright, that was easier than I expected. Mars took a sip and then, with a surprised expression, burst out, "What the—this tastes good! Wait, hold up, this isn’t alcohol?!"

"Ah, sorry! Thought actual alcohol might be a bit much here," I laughed.

With the conversation started, I tried to think of a topic, but Mars beat me to it.

"So, did you really take on all those monsters by yourself?"

I figured he meant Diabolos. Though it hadn’t been exactly as reported, I couldn’t just admit the whole truth. "Yeah, I used some enchanted items, but I did."

"Interesting. Your mage must be quite the enchanter if she’s enhancing your gear that well," he mused. "Gret makes similar equipment for Cruse’s arrows. It’s no wonder the kingdom supports its mages so actively."

"Oh, I see. That sounds like a useful combination," I replied.

Despite his initial hostility, Mars was surprisingly easy to talk to once we got started. I felt like we were making some headway, though the next question was a tough one.

"Still don’t buy it. You look like a regular guy, no aura or anything special. Makes me wonder how you did it."

"Heh, my friends say the same thing," I replied sheepishly, realizing he wasn’t exactly wrong.

"And that priest of yours? What’s her deal?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, Sisya… Yeah, she’s a bit hard to describe. Let’s just say she’s not your typical priest," I replied.

He chuckled. "No kidding. The look in her eye says it all—‘stay far away.’ But I respect the nerve it took to come over and start this chat, kid."

"I guess it’s a habit. Another adventurer and I had a similar misunderstanding, but we made up in the end. It’d be nice if we could get along, too."

Mars downed the rest of his drink and handed the mug back. "Yeah, well, we’ll see. I’m off to sleep."

As he got up to leave, I watched him go, wondering if this meant I’d finally earned a bit of his respect.  

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**Author Notes:**  

Thank you to everyone who submitted typo reports; it’s a huge help!  

A quick update as well: At Comiket 95, a tapestry featuring illustrations by Yasutaka Isegawa-sensei of Noru and Estel will be available for purchase. Check out the GC Novels website or Twitter for more details!