Chapter 21 : I am flying!!

“Maru, come here.”

“Maru, come here.”

“1”

“Eh…”

How did this happen?

Right now, I was being dragged around in the back seat of a vehicle, captured by two beastmen.

“Maru.”

On the left, Nunu was pulling my arm…

“Maru.”

…and on the right, Bada was pulling my arm as well.

Thanks to that, being stuck in the middle, I was about to lose my mind.

I thought they would fight if they sat together, but why are they competing over me?

“Maru, it was nice in the bath with me, right?”

What on earth are you talking about?

Maru was groping my body!

“I only touched your tail…”

This is crazy.

At this rate, my body is going to get torn apart.

I’ll end up being Solomon’s Maru!

“Um… can’t you two just make up? If you keep fighting and end up getting hurt during the mission, it’ll be a big problem.”

I looked at the two alternately with the saddest expression I could muster.

Please, if you just cooperate during the mission, I’ll beg you.

I know you don’t get along because you’re a cat and a dog, but please…!

“If Maru says so…”

“…Then we’ll endure it for Maru.”

I don’t know if my plea worked, but the two of them tightly clenched their teeth and grabbed each other’s hands.

Phew. Well, at least they made up, so it should be okay.

“Hmph.”

“Chut.”

…Is this really a truce? It feels more like a temporary ceasefire.

Is it over now? Ugh, I don’t understand why Nunu and Bada don’t get along.

The commander, who was driving in the front, wiped his cold sweat and looked back.

Of course, he didn’t actually turn his head, but looked through the rearview mirror. I had told him to keep an eye on the road before we started, and it seems like he listened well.

By the way…

If they fight again, it’s going to be a problem. We need something to serve as a barrier between them.

At least they shouldn’t be a burden to each other.

“Ugh, this won’t do. I need to come up with something.”

“If they don’t fight during this mission…”

“Don’t they?”

“I’ll give you some pudding.”

One of my precious puddings.

It’s really sad to offer this, but if they don’t fight, that’s enough…

“Hmm, that’s a bit…”

Huh?

This is strange.

Pudding is a snack that everyone likes, so why?

“Then, hmm, I’ll give you a wish token.”

Is this enough? They don’t seem to dislike me, so a wish token should be okay.

“Really?”

Oh…

…But I might be pushing too hard. Their expressions seem a little off.

Ah, no way. What could they want from a small kid like me?

If they were going to ask for something, it’d probably be cooking ramen or hugging each other or something.

The latter is a bit much, but I can endure it if it means they won’t fight.

“Nunu.”

“Yeah, Bada.”

The two of them lock eyes. After holding hands, they nod.

Their expressions are so serious.

They’re not going to fight the Demon King, just for a wish token, but why are they so worked up…?

“It’s a temporary alliance.”

“Yeah.”

The two, who had just shaken hands, now turn their gaze toward me, who was sitting in the center.

Why are they looking at me all of a sudden? This is so awkward.

“Ugh.”

I suddenly felt a chill.

What’s going on? Did they turn up the air conditioning too high?

“Maru…”

The commander, sitting in front, sighed lightly.

Why is he acting like that? What’s the deal with the wish token…?

“Hehe.”

At the same time, the two who were watching me licked their lips and smiled.

“Ah.”

Only then did I realize something was off. I glanced between their faces, trembling.

I should have chosen something else instead of the wish token.

After trembling in place, I heard that we had arrived at the area of the ant ghost, so I quickly jumped out of the car.

The ground was covered in sand, and considering the ambush nature of the ant ghosts, we decided it wasn’t safe to approach by vehicle, so we were walking on foot.

Naturally, I, the tank, was at the front, with the assassin Nunu at the rear.

Bada, unexpectedly, was in the main dealer position. Is she going to attack by scratching since she’s a cat?

Whoosh, whoosh, swoosh.

I’m a bit curious.

In any case, the most important figures, the commander and Bada, were walking in the center so that Nunu and I could protect them at any moment.

“This is strange. It should be around here…”

If this is the E-B3 area, then it’s right here.”

“Then why can’t we see anything?”

We had been walking for a few minutes, holding our freshly cleaned and dried fox fur tightly in our hands, but we hadn’t seen a trace of the ant ghosts or any monsters at all.

Phew.

We were nervous at first, but now we’ve just been going in circles, it’s driving me crazy.

“Could it not be here?”

That’s possible, but there’s only sand here. If they moved somewhere else, we would have detected their location by now.

Even after walking for a while and seeing nothing, Bada and the commander seemed to sense something was off, and they started discussing possible theories.

Nunu stayed silent, keeping watch.

She’s been on alert for so long, it must be exhausting, but she’s impressive.

“Maybe they’re too scared to come out?”

…I don’t know if monsters experience fear, but it’s a possibility.

The commander rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought. Bada, who was observing him, also put a hand on her chin.

Wait, doesn’t it feel like the ground is shaking?

Nunu, walking at the back, mumbled as if she sensed something.

The ground is shaking? I don’t feel anything.

“Yes, I can feel a slight tremor.”

Bada also seemed to notice something, placing her ear on the ground.

Am I the only one who doesn’t get it? Really?

Am I the only one who’s clueless?

“Huh? What’s going on with you guys?”

I frowned and looked around. I could see the commander just standing there, looking blankly as if he felt nothing.

Ah.

It must be something only the beastmen can sense.

You know, like animal instincts or something.

I’m so jealous… If I were a beastman, I could be snuggling with a fluffy tail every day and using my amazing athleticism to get pudding and stuff.

“Wait, it’s getting closer.”

Maru! Get out of there!

Come out. I could no longer hear Nunu’s words.

Because…

—Kwaang!

“Uh, uh?! “

In the blink of an eye, with a loud noise, my body was suddenly lifted into the air.

—And really high up, too.

“W-What’s happening all of a sudden?!”

Startled by the suddenly elevated view, I looked down…

—!@!%!!@!$@!@

…A gigantic monster was opening its mouth toward me.

Its enormous jaws snapped shut with a menacing sound.

“Hiik!”

I immediately lifted my head and squeezed my eyes shut.

Am I going to die like this? No, more precisely, I’m going to get eaten.

Either way, I’m going to die. I’ll either be eaten or crash to the ground — but I’m going to die.

“Maru! Are you okay?!”

But… how is this possible?

By now, I should have already fallen, but I can hear the commander’s voice from down below.

Did I already get eaten?

But the commander’s voice sounds too clear for that.

“OO…”

Should I… check, just a little?

Carefully, I opened my tightly shut eyes.

And what I saw was…

“Wow.”

A refreshing breeze blowing and a perfectly clear sky without a single cloud.

I don’t know what’s going on, but I seem to be floating in the air. In other words — I’m alive!

Oh yeah!

“Maru! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

I’m flying!!

“…Looks like you’re fine.”

I could hear the commander’s sigh from below — or was that just my imagination?

It must have been a sigh of relief because I’m safe.

Of course.

“Bada! Can you distract the antlion?!”

“I’ll give it a try!”

Down below, Bada and Nunu were fighting the antlion.

They were skillfully dodging and taunting the huge monster, looking like they were quite experienced in fighting monsters.

Will I be able to fight like that one day too?

But wait — aren’t antlions supposed to stay in one spot and wait for prey to come to them?

How is this huge thing moving faster than ants?

“Sheesh.”

Anyway, how am I flying right now? I’d like to come down soon.

I need to get down to be of any help. Right now, I’m as useful as a sack of barley.

“Why is this thing so tough? I can’t break through!”

Hearing Bada’s frustrated voice from below, I turned my head this way and that.

And then, above my head, I saw a fully opened umbrella, standing out proudly.

“It’s Fox Rain! I knew I could count on you!”

It seems that when I got lifted up by the antlion, Fox Rain opened up and acted like a parachute.

That was lucky. If it weren’t for Fox Rain, I might have ended up as emergency rations.

Ugh, I don’t even want to imagine that.

“Why does this thing keep attacking only Nunu? Come here!”

But seriously, how do I get down from here?

Should I close the umbrella? No, then I’ll just end up falling.

What should I do?

“Waaah!”

“Maru?!”

Ack — that scared me.

A sudden strong gust of wind sent my already slowly falling body soaring upward again.

“Is this thing tormenting Maru on purpose?!”

“What a jerk!”

Looking down, I saw the antlion with its mouth wide open, blowing wind — at me, I think?

…Ugh. Gross. Is it just me, or does its breath smell a little too?

“Hiiik?!”

Come on! How far is it trying to blow me?! Save me!!

I need to think of something!

“…Huh?”

While flailing around, I happened to notice something sparkling in my pocket.

A flash grenade. The one I used during the tutorial.

Since when has that been in my pocket?

“Ah, whatever!”

I tightly closed my eyes and threw the flash grenade down.

There’s nothing else I can do anyway — might as well let it have this.

Bang!