Chapter 56 : It’s something trivial

The lively atmosphere that had been noisy until just a moment ago was nowhere to be found, and a palpable sense of hostility filled the space, sharp enough to make my skin tingle.

In the tense atmosphere, like walking on thin ice, everyone remained silent.

“Puhuhuhu.”

Only the strange, seductive laughter of the woman echoed through the quiet stillness.

We all stared silently, forming a circle around the commander.

Honestly, I used to think that when you face a truly overwhelming force, your body doesn’t just start trembling out of fear like in old cartoons. But… actually facing it, the feeling is completely different.

It felt like I was walking down the street and a tough, muscular man was glaring at me with threatening eyes, and that fear kept creeping in.

In other words, it was incredibly frightening. I just wanted to curl up inside my room’s box right then and there.

“Ugh, I want pudding.”

In this situation, I’d definitely get indigestion, but it’s times like this when I really need some sugar. Pudding dilemma, no joke.

“Commander.” “Mm.”
Nodding, the commander exchanged looks with the women around him.

Hey, why are they all so intimidating? I just came to find a lost item, is this how I’m being treated as a guest?

You…

Who are you, and how did you get here? I didn’t ask those obvious questions. Judging by the woman’s expression, I could tell she wouldn’t tell me anyway.

But then… the woman’s mouth twisted into an eerie, almost sinister smile. …Wait, it actually looks like it’s tearing apart? Is she even human? Doesn’t it hurt?

Ugh, that’s like something out of a horror movie.

“Are you scared? It’s okay, Maru. You don’t need to worry. I really just came to find the item.”

I stepped back in shock, and the woman, watching me, raised her hands in mock surrender, as if giving up. What kind of act is this?

And who is she to act all familiar with me? How does she even know my name? And what does she mean by ‘today’? What is she planning for later?

…Wait a minute. That voice sounds familiar.

“No way, is she the huge watermelon from the hospital…!”

“Puhuhuhu, that’s right. The huge watermelon… Wait, what did you say?”

Upon closer inspection, this woman resembled the nurse who was standing next to the old doctor at the hospital.

She had horns on her head that weren’t there before, her skin tone was slightly different, and her chest, which had been huge, was now even bigger. But aside from that, she was exactly the same.

“Who’s calling me a huge watermelon?!”

“Ah, Maru, don’t provoke her too much.”

“H-Huh? I didn’t do anything…?”

I had no idea why, but the woman started to get angry and was yelling.

I didn’t say anything bad, though. I just called her by a nickname because there were too many nurses at the hospital, and she stood out with her big chest. Is that really something to get angry about?

“…Hmm, hmm. No, getting angry here is not a graceful thing to do.”

“Of course, 4…”

Let’s get back on track. Have you ever seen a stone that shines in different colors?

Suddenly, a glowing stone?

…Is she talking about gems? Wait, could she be a wandering mercenary trying to steal all the gems in our command?

No way, if that happens, I won’t be able to buy pudding. That can’t happen.

“Oh, not those strange gems you use as currency. I’m talking about a special kind of stone that makes a sound saying, ‘This is it!’ when you look at it…”

“Ugh, I can’t show it to you directly. I think you’ll get the idea if I draw it for you.”

It seemed like she was really looking for something. With a simple gesture, a piece of paper appeared in the air, and a pen started drawing on its own.

We all froze, thinking it might be an attack, but couldn’t help tilting our heads in confusion.

Wait a minute. She’s drawing in the air? What kind of magic is this?

“Do you think this will work?”

What’s that supposed to be?

For someone who was moving their hand as though conducting an orchestra, the drawing was surprisingly simple.

…Well, simple is an understatement; she just drew a circle. What’s that supposed to mean? It’s not modern art.

I could have drawn that.

“It’s just a circle, though?”

“Yes, that’s it!”

What’s it supposed to be? No matter how I look at it, it’s just a circle.

“What was it called again? Ah, the Philosopher’s Stone or something. It’s really important.”

“Philosopher’s Stone?”

What’s that? That sounds like something from an old cartoon.

The Philosopher’s Stone is probably… a stone that grants wishes, right? Something like that… Does it even exist?

‘We’re searching everywhere to find this stone, gathering everything we have, but it seems like it’s either gone underground or into the sea.’

“There’s been no success so far, so we’re still searching.”

“And on top of that, why are humans such an obstacle? I’m so tired of this…”

The woman, lost in her own world, seemed to realize her slip of the tongue and quickly covered her mouth.

It seemed like I had just learned a very important piece of information… but she’s so careless.

Wait, is she even human? I thought she was just a wandering mercenary, but now she’s talking about humans as if she’s not one herself.

“Well, who cares? Once we find that stone, there won’t be much else to do, so it doesn’t matter.”

“…So, what I’ve been wondering since earlier is…”

The commander, who had been silently observing the woman’s odd behavior, finally leaned forward and spoke up.

Upon closer inspection, he had already made a rescue request with one hand. I guess he’s trying to buy some time while gathering information through conversation.

Our commander is really smart.

“So, what does finding the Philosopher’s Stone have to do with us?”

“Hmm, very good. That’s a sharp question.”

At that moment, the woman, who had been covering her mouth and smiling, suddenly vanished from sight.

What? Where did she go?

“Huh, huh?!”

“It smells.”

Behind me… that woman was holding the back of my head.

I can’t believe it, but in the 0.1 seconds I closed and opened my eyes, she seemed to have grabbed me and moved to where she was standing in an instant.

Oh my god.

“Hmm…”

“Wh-what is this?”

The woman spun me around, hanging me in the air, and then grabbed my chin and lifted me up.

Our faces were very close. A strangely sweet scent wafted.

“Smells. It smells…”

She kept repeating that it smelled, and then buried her face in my nape and took a deep breath…

Huh? Huh? Wait a minute. What is this?!

“Get away from Maru!”

“Ahhh?!”

She buried her face in my nape and started doing this strange thing, so I tried to headbutt her… but the weapons of the older sisters coming from afar were much faster.

th!

“So annoying. I was in the middle of work, can’t you be quiet?”

“What, where is that work?”

The woman lightly waved her hand and sent the flying weapons away with a flick of her wrist, laughing as if to say, “Is this all?”

“…Oh my.”

But the previous attack seemed to be a distraction, because when I came to my senses, Nunu, Linne, and Bada were charging toward the woman from different directions.

Even though she was holding onto me, it seemed impossible to avoid the three-person pincer attack, and just like before, the woman vanished in the blink of an eye.

Taking advantage of that, Nunu quickly snatched me up.

“Phew, that was dangerous. Maru, are you okay?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Hehe… I was wondering where that smell was coming from. So that was it.”

From behind, or from the side, or maybe from the front, the woman’s chuckling voice echoed.

But I couldn’t see her.

Where did she go?

“Heh, time has already passed like this. It’s a pity, but I think I should go now.”

“…Who says so?”

“At least there was some progress today.”

Ignoring the sharp rebuttal from the commander, the woman’s voice gradually grew distant.

“…Is it over?”

“Commander! That’s a flag!”

Ah.

“Ah, right.”

The woman’s voice, which had been growing distant, suddenly started growing louder again as if she had forgotten something.

…Tch, really.

Our commander is really good at setting flags.
Thanks to that, I’m getting old, getting old!

“This is fate, since we met like this, I hope you’ll play with my pet once. What do you all think?”

“I don’t have much connection with animals.”

“It’s okay, Maru. The first time is always hard.”

Amidst the woman’s characteristic chuckling, a loud bang sounded, and something huge fell in front of us.

A green, muscular body with tusks at the corners of its mouth. And a bald head with no fur…

“…What should I say? It had the appearance of a ‘Orc’ from a fantasy world.”

“How do you like it? Our Orc is really cool, right? I know.”

“…Ah.”

It really was an Orc.

“And this Orc is a twin. Now, do you think you can handle two Orcs with such terrifying power?”

Grrraah!

Pffft.

Grrr?

“…Huh?”

Huh.

…The moment the second Orc fell, we couldn’t help but make a stunned expression.

The later falling Orc stomped on the one below, crushing it.

…What is this?