Ch. 90 Munchkin – Chapter 90
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 90
“Don’t be so harsh, Kaelan.”
Someone spoke in a gentle voice.
It was the fox beastfolk sitting under the tree.
“She’s just a child.”
“…”
Kaelan’s face turned red.
The intimidating expression he had been directing at Lucy disappeared, replaced by a shy demeanor as his tail wagged slightly.
“If she were a bad human like a slave hunter, that would be one thing, but isn’t it fine for such a young and cute child to stay?”
The fox beastfolk approached and hugged Lucy.
Her ample chest pressed against Lucy’s face.
“She smells really nice too. Ah, her skin is so soft.”
“I… can’t breathe…”
Lucy flailed her limbs, her face buried in the fox woman’s chest.
Kaelan’s gaze wavered intensely as he watched.
“B-but the rules…”
“Ah, how about this?”
The fox beastfolk hugged Lucy tighter and suggested.
“Let’s ask her to solve the problem happening in Harmonia. If she made it through the Black Forest to get here, she should be capable, right?”
“You want… her to handle that?”
“Yes. If she solves the problem, we’ll let her stay in Harmonia until she meets her mom.”
“Hmm…”
Kaelan made a thoughtful expression.
The fox beastfolk quietly approached him.
“I’d like it if you were kinder to children, Kaelan.”
She placed her hand on Kaelan’s shoulder.
Kaelan’s ears twitched.
“W-well then…”
Kaelan lowered his gaze and spoke.
“If that child solves the problem… I’ll allow her to stay in Harmonia…”
“Thank you, Kaelan.”
The fox beastfolk smiled warmly and patted Kaelan’s head.
“Hmph, hmph…”
Kaelan accepted her touch with a red face.
The beastfolk children nearby giggled quietly.
“As expected, Chief Kaelan can’t resist Serana.”
“His ears are all red. He must be really embarrassed.”
“The chief definitely likes Serana…”
“Can’t you all be quiet?!”
Kaelan shouted with a stern expression.
“Eek!”
The children ran away, still laughing.
Step. Step.
Lucy followed Sophie down a small path.
At the end of the path, bathed in soft sunlight filtering through the leaves, stood a small cabin.
When they arrived, Sophie smiled and said,
“This is my home.”
It was a modest, cozy cabin.
Bright wildflowers bloomed around it.
“Wow, I like this!”
Finn flew over to the flowers and rubbed his face against them.
“Come on in.”
Sophie opened the door with a happy expression, and Lucy stepped inside.
Sophie’s home was warm and tidy.
A faint floral scent filled the air.
In the living room, there was a plush-looking sofa.
As Lucy sat on the sofa, Hon quickly climbed onto her lap.
Finn was still outside, wrestling with the flowers.
“What’s the problem I need to solve?”
Lucy asked while stroking Hon.
Earlier, Kaelan had said he’d let Lucy stay in Harmonia if she solved “the problem”, but he hadn’t explained what it was.
Serana, the fox beastfolk, had dragged Kaelan away to look at the flower garden.
“It’s probably about the voice. A voice has been heard at night.”
Sophie explained.
“It started about a month ago. At night, you hear things like ‘Let’s play,’ or ‘Open the window.’ But when you look outside, there’s nothing there… It’s been happening repeatedly, so the kids are scared to sleep alone. I’ve heard it a few times too, but I just ignored it and went back to sleep.”
Sophie’s ears drooped.
“The strange thing is that only the children can hear the voice. It’s like something is targeting them…”
“Is it a ghost?”
Lucy rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
If it was a ghost, the solution was simple.
Just destroy it.
The question was whether it would talk to Lucy too…
“Does it only come at night?”
“Yes.”
It seemed they’d have to wait until night.
Until nightfall, Lucy explored Harmonia.
Though it was called a village, it was mostly untouched nature, aside from the wooden houses.
The paths were all dirt roads, and small animals like rabbits and squirrels ran around everywhere.
At the center of the village stood the massive ancient tree she had seen earlier, with small decorations that looked like they were handmade by the beastfolk hanging from its branches.
“Wow, it’s a human!”
“A human!”
Suddenly, a group of beastfolk children came running over.
“She’s shorter than us!”
“She doesn’t have a tail!”
The children circled around Lucy.
“Let’s play tag!”
A wolf child said with sparkling eyes.
Then a bear child shouted.
“The human is it!”
“Eek, run away!”
The children quickly scattered.
Lucy made a bemused expression.
“Why am I the it…”
She looked to the side and saw Sophie running away too.
Even Finn.
“Lucy~ try to catch us~”
“…”
A smile slowly spread across Lucy’s face.
A somewhat mocking smile.
She quietly activated a skill.
[Dark Ascend]
A skill that maximizes physical abilities using dark energy.
A dark aura began to rise from Lucy’s body.
Whoosh!
Lucy’s body blurred, and she appeared in front of the bear child.
“Gasp!”
The bear child stopped in its tracks, its round ears standing straight up.
Its fluffy paws flailed in the air, and its chubby feet stomped the ground.
Lucy reached out and grabbed the bear child’s arm.
“Got you.”
For a moment, Lucy’s expression became dazed.
‘So fluffy…’
The texture under her fingers was incredibly pleasant.
Lucy wiggled her fingers, exploring the bear child’s arm.
“S-stop, that tickles!”
The bear child shook off Lucy’s hand and ran away.
“…”
Lucy looked disappointed.
But soon, she noticed a girl quietly crouching in a tree.
A cat beastfolk.
Her beige ears and tail shimmered faintly in the sunlight.
Her fur looked as smooth as silk.
Lucy’s eyes sparkled.
“…Eek!”
The cat girl’s eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly hid behind the tree.
But she peeked out from behind the tree, watching Lucy with curious eyes.
Whoosh!
Lucy couldn’t resist and pushed off the ground.
“Eek!”
The cat girl’s scream echoed.
After playing tag with the beastfolk children and satisfying her desires, Lucy returned to Sophie’s house when night fell.
‘I ended up touching every child at least once.’
The fleeing children were caught one by one, and Lucy couldn’t resist touching their ears or tails.
They screamed and flailed, saying it tickled, but escaping Lucy’s grasp was impossible.
In the end, they all became Lucy’s “prey”.
When the game ended, the children went home, saying, “Humans really are scary.”
‘It was a fulfilling day.’
Lucy smiled and looked at Sophie beside her.
Sophie’s ears had already been touched by Lucy several times.
“M-my ears can’t take anymore…”
Sophie said, noticing Lucy’s gaze.
“They’re really sensitive now…!”
Sophie curled up, desperately protecting her ears, and Lucy smiled reassuringly.
“I won’t touch them anymore today.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah.”
Only then did Sophie look relieved.
Lucy, feeling a bit regretful, stroked Hon in her arms.
Swish. Swish.
Finn sat on Lucy’s shoulder and looked out the window.
“It’s night now. Will the voice come?”
Sophie nodded.
“Probably. It used to come every night before I left Harmonia.”
“But doesn’t it only come when you’re asleep?”
“Right. It only comes when you’re asleep. Oh, now that I think about it…”
Sophie seemed to remember something.
“It only comes when you’re alone.”
Lucy frowned.
“It only comes when you’re alone?”
“Yeah. If someone’s with you, the voice doesn’t come. That’s why the kids don’t want to sleep alone.”
“Hmm…”
Lucy stood up.
“Then let’s do this. I’ll hide.”
There was a closet in Sophie’s living room.
It seemed like a good place for Lucy to hide.
“Are you sure?”
Sophie looked worried.
“Won’t it be stuffy?”
“It’s fine. I’ll come out as soon as the voice appears.”
Lucy casually stepped into the closet and crouched down.
“Don’t worry and just sleep.”
“Mhm…”
Click.
When the closet door closed, darkness enveloped Lucy.
At that moment,
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice if you hid?”
A voice spoke.
Right next to Lucy’s ear.
Whoosh!
Lucy burst out of the closet and examined the inside.
Nothing was there.
She activated a skill.
[Night Vision]
[Devil Vision]
A skill to see in the dark and a skill to gather information about demons.
Only then did she see what was inside the closet.
“…”
In the corner of the closet, something was crouching.
“Huh? Can you see me?”
It spoke.
“Interesting. You can see me.”
It was none other than Lucy herself.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading…!
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Let’s thoroughly and brutally commit some correction on this rascal~!
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