第２８２堀：家族とは (Part3)

第２８２堀：家族とは (Part3)

"Yes. Good luck with your work."

"Do your best!"

"You two take care as well."

After exchanging those words and parting ways with Kirika, I wandered around the city. I stopped by the innkeeper's place and was given some karaage.

"Nom. As always, the innkeeper's karaage is delicious."

"Munch. It really is, isn't it?"

It was just about 10:15 AM. There was still plenty of time before lunch. As I was thinking about where to go next while munching on the fried chicken...

『Mother? Mother? Are you okay? M-Mother!? Hey, answer me!!』

"?" "?"

I heard a voice. It seemed Firia-chan heard it too, as she was looking around restlessly just like me. But there was no one nearby who looked like a mother and child.

『Someone, please help my mother!!』

The desperate voice continued. ...Hm? I remember this feeling.

"Hey, Aslin. Is this a monster?"

"Yeah, I thought so too. Wait a second, let me try talking to it."

"I'll leave it to you."

While the residents of Weed can't speak, there are many monsters that can communicate via telepathy. I hadn't seen any in the New Continent, so I had completely forgotten about them until now.

『Hey, little monster? I heard your voice. Where are you? I might be able to help you save your mother.』

『Ah, p-please save my mother!! We fell into a hole, and she got caught in it too, and now she won't wake up!!』

『Okay, I understand. But please, calm down. Where are you? I can't come to help if I don't know the location.』

『Ah, um... I'm sorry. I've never moved from here, so I don't know where "here" is.』

『I see. In that case, can you channel your magical power into our conversation? If you do that, we can track your location.』

『How do I do that? Is it like breathing fire from my mouth?』

『Are you a dragon? If so, try gathering your power into the conversation with that same feeling.』

『Okay, I'll try.』

Then, I felt a large surge of magical power flowing toward us. Firia-chan seemed to feel it too, as she stared in the same direction.

"It's roughly 40km outside the city, in that direction."

"Yeah, I felt the same."

『D-did you find it?』

『Yes. We're heading there now. Oh, and since we don't know your mother's condition, please don't move her carelessly.』

『Okay, I understand. Please hurry and save my mother.』

『It's going to be okay. We will definitely save her.』

With that, Firia-chan and I stood up.

"We still have time before lunch, and even if we need to ask Brother for help, we should assess the situation first."

"That's right. The monster seems worried about its mother, so let's get to its location first."

The monsters, bandits, and Holy Sword users in this area are no match for us, and if it comes to it, we can just call Ta-chan and the others. Brother will understand. We can't ignore a child desperately calling out to save its family. We were saved by Brother, so if we have the power to help, we must. Brother always said: One for all, and all for one.

"Phew. We're outside the city now."

"Yep. Time to go at full speed."

"It's been a while."

"We have to make sure we don't accidentally blow away any monsters or animals on the way."

"That's true. If we cause a traffic accident, the other party might die."

We secretly jumped over the wall and did some light warm-ups. Even if the performance is slightly inferior to our own bodies, this Doppelganger form is almost identical to us. If we collide carelessly, the other party could be killed. There's no point in causing another accident while trying to save a monster. Brother said that when you're in a panic, you have to be careful and stay calm, or it will actually take more time.

『Please hurry... Mother still isn't moving.』

『Okay, just wait a little longer. We're almost there.』

Firia-chan and I dashed through the forest. We used to race at full speed in the forests of Weed, so a forest like this was a piece of cake. The forests Brother prepared were much more intense—filled with traps and monsters that inflicted status ailments, making them very difficult to traverse. But this forest had no such traps or monsters, so we were able to move at incredible speed.

In less than ten minutes, we approached the source of the monster's magical power. Then, a voice reached us from the monster.

『Ah, Mother moved.』

『Really?』

『Yes. She says she was just unconscious from the shock of the fall.』

『I see, that's a relief.』

『Yes.』

『But just in case, let's check if there are any injuries, okay? We're already right nearby.』

『Thank you. Mother, please stay still for a moment. Help has arrived.』

『...H-help?』

It was a beautiful voice. Is this the monster's mother?

『We heard your call and brought some medicine. It should work on monsters too, so please wait for us.』

『...A monster? Are you, by any chance, a Tamer?』

『Yes.』

『...I see. You're the same as me.』

『Unyu? By any chance, is the mother a human?』

『Yes. It looks like her leg bone might be broken, so can I rely on you?』

『Leave it to us.』

『Thank you. But why did you answer this child's call?』

『The monster called you "Mother." We don't have parents anymore. But we have family. We aren't blood-related, but they are precious family. Appearance doesn't matter. If we call them family, they are family. That is something very important to us. That's why we're going to save you!!』

『That's right!! Family should be together, that's a given!!』

『...I see. You're right, family should be together. Thank you.』

『We'll be there in just a moment, so please wait!!』

As we ran through the forest saying that, a goblin wearing a loincloth appeared.

...?

"Steve?"

"Is that Steve?"

"Don't use a question mark!! And now is not the time for that!! We need to get out of here immediately!!"

"?" "?"

I didn't really understand what Steve was saying. But since Steve is usually more useful than anyone else, we decided to drag him along with us.

"W-wait, hold on!? Princess Aslin!? Princess Firia!? Wait, please, just listen to me!?"

"Steve, follow us. There's an injured monster."

"That's right. We're going to help it!! And we're going to talk to Brother about protecting this family!!"

"Wait, that means there's only one pair of people this could be in this situation, right!? Hiii-!! This is why I hate being middle management!!"

I didn't quite get it, but it was just the usual Steve, so I figured it would be fine to just take him along.

Wait for us. We'll make sure to heal your mother's injuries. Firia-chan and I ran toward the monster's location, dragging the screaming Steve along with us.

***

**Weed Character Files**

* **Steve:** Male, Goblin, Weed Monster Army General.

* Personality: Gentle and extremely kind. Has a unique way of speaking.

* Abilities: Exceptional. Highly skilled in negotiation, paperwork, individual combat, group combat, and military command.

* Note: Despite his overflowing talent, he is often called a "useless goblin" for some reason and is known as a long-suffering man.

* Author: Cleena Torino-Weed, Weed Library Director.

***

Well, as you can tell from reading the story, it's not necessarily Aslin and the others' fault. The problem was that Yuki only left a note on the table, and everyone else misunderstood that they were supposed to go to Yuki's location on their own. Steve is the one getting the short end of the stick, though, lol.

Now, the incident with Ground Zero is nearing its end. What will happen next!!