KoushaRyouri ~C12

 

Chapter 12: The Animals

 

 

Fletty and the others spent the night near my house.

 

As I expected, my house is not big enough to accommodate all five of us. There is only 1 bed, which is currently occupied by Mildy.

 

As a result, the female members of the group, Mildy and Richil, ended up sleeping inside my house.

 

"I'm sorry, Luciel-kun. Even though you're already letting us use your bed."

 

"Richil is right, Luciel-kun."

 

I understand that it's my house and I should be the one sleeping inside. I appreciate their sentiment.

 

I can understand why Fletty and the others are reluctant to sleep inside, but...

 

"I'm used to sleeping outdoors. And I don't feel comfortable asking women to sleep outdoors..."

 

"Luciel-kun..."

 

Fletty nods to Richil's opinion. Garner also silently agreed with them.

 

I'm in trouble...

 

Richil's voice tone drops.

 

Are?　Did I say something bad? I see. You are a member of the knight order. Maybe she didn't want to be treated like a woman...

 

"Sorry----."

 

"Luciel-kun, thank you!!"

 

Richil hugs me tightly.

 

A soft touch hit my forehead.

 

Ah, this... Maybe this soft touch, Ri... Richil's boobies...?

 

Hawawawa... It's so soft --- NOO! I, I can't breathe, but...

 

I didn't notice it until now, but is Richil boobies bigger than my mother?

 

"Then let's sleep together. That's right. I'll tell you a bedtime story that I know.

 

"No, no, no. Together......"

 

"You don't want to?"

 

Richil tilted her head.

 

At the same time, the things that just hit my forehead tremble.

 

My face suddenly became hot.

 

What pops into my mind is the image of me sandwiched between Richil and Mildy.

 

"Eh, pa, pa, pa, pass. I'll pass!　I'm going to sleep outside too."

 

"Really....... Even though I'm confident."

 

Confident?　Oh, right. She's talking about the bedtime story.

 

Auu....... I ended up made Richil feel disappointed.

 

Maybe I should at least listen to her bedtime story that she is so good at.

 

 

 

After such embarrassing moment, I decided to sleep outside with Fletty and the others.

 

They must be very tired.

 

Both Fletty and Garner are sleeping well. I secretly mixed the scales of a monster called Izanaichou in the drinks I gave them.

 

It makes them very sleepy, but it also helps heal their tired bodies and restore their strength.

 

Perhaps by the time they wake up tomorrow, they'll be full of energy.

 

I get up from the mantle I borrowed from Fletty.

 

I gaze up at the moon shining over the countless trees.

 

The moon is still high. The night is still long.

 

"I'll be going out for a short while."

 

I whisper to Fletty, who is sleeping nearby.

 

He twitches his eyebrows a little, mumbles something in his sleep, and falls asleep again.

 

I smile and go down the mountain in the middle of the night.

 

Thanks to the effect of my night vision, the night-time mountain is no different than day-time mountain for me.

 

As I descend the mountain, I think about the Knights.

 

Fletty is a very kind person.

 

Richil and Garner are also very kind...

 

I'm sure that Mildy and their master, who is waiting for his Knights to return, are also good people.

 

I can't lose people like them.

 

And I can't let the people around these knights feel sad.

 

Absolutely.

 

When I reach the bottom of the mountain, I use my presence detection skill.

 

I found them...

 

Near the road that cuts across the mountain, some men are camping in the forest.

 

I strain my eyes to get a better grasp of their current situation.

 

My eyesight is better than hawks and eagles. It got better after I ate a Memory Loader, a monster with countless eyeballs.

 

It was sickening to hear the Memory Loader's voice. Well, even I have some weaknesses.

 

A Memory Loader's eyes are the same size as a sea bream eyeball. By grinding them up and taking them as medicine, my eyesight improved dramatically.

 

"Maybe that is the one?"

 

A few... No, not just a few.

 

Many men look like villains gathering there. They are drinking and eating. There is a carriage near them.

 

Perhaps they had attacked a carriage that came along the road. I see what appears to be a man's corpse lying there, unburied.

 

I squint my eyes a little.

 

I listen to the men's conversation, keeping my anger in check.

 

My hearing is as good as my eyesight.

 

When I ate the Long-Ear Rabbit that gave me the "presence detection," my ears' ability also improved.

 

This one is as good as a bat's.

 

I usually seal this skill because I can hear too many things.

 

I unlock the seal.

 

Suddenly many sounds jump into my ears. The sound of wind, insects, trees, -----, and people's voices.

 

"What a dull place. There's no meat here."

 

"But, at least we have liquor."

 

"By the way, how long do you think they'll hide?"

 

"They'll be back soon."

 

"I'm looking forward to it. I really like that Knight lady."

 

"I prefer the boing healer (sexy boobies)."

 

I unconsciously frown.

 

I quickly deactivate my hearing ability.

 

These men must be the bandits that Fletty had mentioned earlier.

 

And there's only one reason why they're camped out at night along the road.

 

They're waiting for Fletty and the others to come down from the mountains.

 

The bandits don't know that Fletty is hiding in my house. This mountain is a dangerous place full of monsters.

 

They probably think Fletty and his team is going to come back after being attacked by monsters.

 

They're terrible people.

 

They may be doing their best to survive. But those who have no hesitation in taking what others have worked hard to obtain and playing with their lives are no better than animals.

 

No, they're lower than animals.

 

More importantly, I have to save Fletty and the others...

 

And right now, I'm probably the only one who knows about them and can help them.

 

I stand in front of them.

 

The bandits quickly surrounded me.

 

I ignore their stares and checked the body of the coachman. The body was already cold.

 

"Who the hell is this kid....?"

 

A bandit with a small stature approaches me.

 

" I feel bad for your family, sorry.... but you're all going to die here."

 

The bandits' camp, which had been in a festive mood earlier, instantly fell silent.

 

The next thing that broke out was their laughter.

 

They all become hysterics, pointing and laughing at me.

 

"Going to die here?"

 

"Gyahahahaha!"

 

"What are you talking about, kid?"

 

"Wow. I'm so scared!　Help me!"

 

"What a dirty kid. Hey. Somebody kill him quickly."

 

"No, I need to check him first."

 

"Uwaa. You like those kinds of things?"

 

 

 

My ears are rotting just by listening to them, and their breath stinks.

 

To these men, I must be like a lamb thrown amongst a pack of wolves.

 

Apparently, there is no other way.

 

I take a deep breath.

 

If possible, I don't want to leave any traces.

 

 

[Dragon Raging Fire]

 

 

"Hee?"

 

When the bandits realized what hit them, it was already too late.

 

A huge mass of fire that looks like a dragon's breath spits out of my mouth.

 

The fire is so massive that it could have burned up the bandits--- no, the whole forest itself.

 

The fire burns with a sound like a dragon's roar and wipes out the gathered bandits.

 

"Gyaaaaahhhh----......"

 

Their dying screams are cut off before they can be heard.

 

The bandits who turned their back and tried to run away also got wrapped up in the flame and instantly turned into ashes.

 

When I stopped, there was nothing left around me.

 

Only the ashes and the beautiful stars in the sky are left.