Chapter 72: Volume 6 - CH 68

On the opposite side of the field, from the direction of the forest, there were two people peeking into the Reine house.

They were Raymond and his subordinate, a former bandit. Of course, the distance between them is reasonable. Inspired by the High Mentor's personal letter on the message tablet, Raymond ignored the warning against direct contact and came to check.

However, Satoru and the others who had entered the building had not been able to see them, partly because they were in the shadows.

「That cabin. Even if it's just by chance, it's close.」

Raymond had learned that a mother and daughter of an elf and a half-elf lived on the outskirts of a small village that was not on the map. The plan was to capture the mother and her daughter and sell them to slavers for a small fortune, but Satoru and the others found them and contacted them before Raymond arrived here.

At this point, their little plan to keep the target from contacting the elves had failed. The thought that he might have been able to get away with it if he had made direct contact yesterday lingered in Raymond's mind like a wisp, and his desire to make up for his mistake led him to come and see the target in person.

「Raymond-san, stay away from the target.」

「Shut up. What are you going to do if you miss your chance to see it in person?」

The former bandit whispered a warning to Raymond, and he whispered back. He can confirm that there are four of them inside the building. There was also a glimpse of a girl who looked like a half-elf. She was in her early adulthood, and although he couldn't tell from a distance what she was capable of, she didn't seem to have any style problems. If she were for sale, she would fetch a very high price. Then there are the tall women, perhaps the mother elf, with his targets Satoru and Minerva or something like that.

Raymond wondered if he should ask the academy to correct the miscalculation. However, the instructions on the message board were only weakly worded, saying that there should be no contact, not that it was strictly forbidden, so he was too much of an idiot to think that this would be acceptable.

Suddenly, a plan flashed through Raymond's mind.

The reason why the big man called Satoru had contacted the elves was probably to enter the Dark Green Forest, or more specifically, the World Tree Village. It was hard to imagine that both mother and daughter would be asked to lead the way. One of them would have to guide the other, and the other would have to stay behind.

By taking the remaining one hostage, they might be able to do something to Satoru.

「That'll do.....」

In any case, the mother and her daughter living in that house were going to be captured and given to the slavers. What happens after they fall into slavery is none of Raymond's business. He could use the remaining slaves to have fun until Satoru came back with either the mother or the daughter who had guided him.

Disposing of Satoru as a hostage - shallow, but without realizing that it was shallow, Raymond developed a plan in his mind that was convenient only for him.

For example, if Satoru takes the daughter with him to the village, and he and his men raid this abandoned house where the monster has disappeared, take the mother as hostage, and threaten Satoru, who will probably return, to kill him....

And then a loud thud sounded, and Raymond's heart chilled for a moment.

「Oops. ......」

He saw a Flying Dragon of a size he had never seen before, flapping its wings and coming down the side of the house. Luckily, they didn't seem to have been spotted. From this position, the Flying Dragon would have landed on the other side of the house.

「Oh, the size of that thing. Ohh, scary!」

Actually shivering, Raymond hid himself behind a tree more carefully than ever. The distance to the building was about five majors (45 meters). Since the Flying Dragon landed so close to the building, it's unlikely to get any closer.

「.......Didn't you say that your goal is to have a flying dragon? Oh, that. That's a hell of a thing.」

Raymond is also a nobleman, so he has seen a Flying Dragon knight in person. But even so, he never seen a Flying Dragon as big as that one. It is probably four to five times larger than the Flying Dragons used as Flying Dragon Knights.

「If I could make that thing mine, it would be a great influence.」

Raymond grinned as he imagined himself flying high in the sky on a Flying Dragon of that size. He even licked his tongue. He doesn't know how Satoru, the target, has such a Flying Dragon, but normally he would be using a magical tool called the 【Collar of Subordination】. If Satoru can manage it, he can rewrite that Flying Dragon master with the 【Subordination】 art.

He thought it would be a stingy job, but it could be a huge bonus. Raymond was elated when he realized this. As he leaned forward to check on the Flying Dragon again, his subordinate pressed the hem of his clothes.

「Raymond-san, it's dangerous.」

「.......Tsk, I got it. Let's keep a little more distance and take turns keeping watch.」

Raymond had no choice but to obey his subordinate's restraint. Even if he was to be caught unawares and get into a fight with that Flying Dragon alone, there's no way he could win.

What's more, even if I don't stand a chance if I go head-on, there are ways to do it if I go from the rear. I'll need a direct line of sight on the target for a countermeasure――Raymond chuckled to himself, confident in his plan.

＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

Riko said she would help prepare the meal, so he left her to it and went up the ladder to the second floor, which he was told was free to use. The ceiling was a little low considering Satoru's large size, but there was nothing he could do about that.

He gathered up a pile of hay and spread leather on top of it to make a bed. Normally, Minerva or Leia would do this job, but under the circumstances, he had no choice but to do it himself.

Putting down his luggage and leaning the 【Giant Killer】 against the wall, Satoru sat down on the cot and turned his attention to his own shadow. He can now communicate with his shadow without moving his mouth.

(Sorry, Leia, Solor.)

He apologized to the two for missing the opportunity to go outside. Leia immediately spoke up.

『Don't worry about me. ...... but..』

Leia also shared her senses with Satoru, and their visual and auditory senses were in sync. She, too, was surprised to see Liz. She looked very similar to the face of Alice, Satoru's younger sister, whom she had seen in a picture left on Satoru's cell phone while they were on their way to the town of Aletta.

（I was surprised. Not only does Liz look like Alice, but Reine-san also looks just like my dead mother.)

There's a part of him that can't help but they feel like a stranger. Of course, the fact that their ears were different at times brought him back to reality, but the atmosphere they shared was also too close to the one Satoru knew so well.

『That's .....oh』

「Onii-san」

Leia's voice was interrupted mid-sentence. It was because Liz appeared from the doorway with a lantern in her hand.

While they were talking, the sun had gone down considerably, and without the light from the lantern, the light in the room was not bright enough to see properly. Even so, he could see enough thanks to the physical magic that he used without being conscious of it, as usual.

「Oh, Liz-chan. ...... It tickles me when you call me Onii-san.」

「Is that bad?」

As she walked up the ladder, Liz came up to the room. She must be the only one who uses the second floor, because Reine's legs are too bad to climb a ladder. The room seemed to be unused, though, and there was nothing but a pile of hay.

「No, that's fine. Call me what you want.」

When Alice called him, she called him "Onii-chan", so he couldn't get used to being called "san", but since Liz was not Alice but different person, he thought to himself, it's probably better to have some differences.

「Thank you so much. Can I talk to you for a moment?」

「Sure.」

Liz walks over, sits down next to Satoru, looks up at him, and smiles. She's not much taller than Leia, so when she sits next to him, she has to look up at him. She has big, dull eyes and black hair, but she doesn't look like an elf. I wonder if her father's blood, who used to be a human, ran deep in her veins.

It is said that she is discriminated against because she is a half-elf, but Satoru doesn't see any sign of that. She is in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar environment, supporting her mother who has bad leg - she must be a strong girl.

「Onii-san is an adventurer, right? I'd be happy if you could tell me some stories about the outside world.」

「Even if you say that. I don't have that much to tell you, you know? Rico's probably know more than I do.」

After all, Satoru is a Foreigner. He has seen Galhassan, Ares, and other cities, but he hasn't done anything that can be called sightseeing. Also, the common sense of this world is far from perfect, and it is dangerous to talk about it because there is no guarantee that it will not get out of hand.

Whether it was Reine or Liz, Satoru trusted them almost unconditionally because of their appearance.

Nonetheless, it is not possible to say that there are 【Immortal Family】 in his shadow or that he is from another world.

With a slightly disappointed expression on her face, Liz still looks at Satoru's face.

「Rico-san is, ...... is she Onii-san wife?」

「No, she's not. We're just traveling buddies for a reason.」

It is said that half-elves grow up like humans until the age of 15, and then their growth slows down. Their average lifespan is 90 years, which is longer than humans and shorter than elves. Liz is 14 years old, and in Elven society, 14 years old is a very young age.

Apparently, Liz is very curious and has a strong yearning for the outside world. Her eyes lit up when he told her about the Chalk Tower on Ares and the royal castle Strahltraun. Satoru is bombarded with one question after another by Liz. Although he was unsure about what he could answer, he answered as sincerely as he could.

However, he was troubled by this question.

「Where did Onii-san come from?」

In general, this world is considered to be one big continent. Since Satoru hasn't seen the ocean yet, he doesn't know if this world is really just one continent like Pangaea. There may be other continents in the open sea, but for now, the common sense of this world is that it is one continent.

In other words, he couldn't just say the name of the region. After much hesitation, Satoru gave the most clichéd answer he could think of.

「It's far, far away ......, from a place that Liz can't even imagine.」

That's all he can say.

While he managed to get through the barrage of questions, he also listened to Liz's personal story.

Her father died last summer, and the exclusive people of the World Tree Village, who originally didn't like humans, kicked her out, saying that half-elves were unfit for the village. Of course, there were some people who protected her, but only a few, and when she was about to be thrown out by herself, her mother, Reine, came along.

After walking around the area for about 20 days, a caring old lady finally helped them find this place. But the cost of walking in an unfamiliar environment had warped Reine's legs to the point where she could barely walk, Liz told Satoru with a pained expression on her face.

(...... Leia. Can you heal Reine-san's leg?)

『【Regenerative Healing】, perhaps. But after a year, it's difficult.』

Even the highest art of holy art, 【Regenerative Healing】, is not a panacea. If it's a superficial scar, you can just use 【Regeneration】," but for example, if you have your eyeballs gouged out or your arms cut off, the difficulty of the art increases at an accelerated rate as time goes on. Since the distortion in Reine's leg was caused by a gradual process, it would not be impossible to fix it, but it would be very difficult.

In addition to that, it's extremely difficult to perform a difficult art that requires a diagnosis and a precise assessment of the other party's condition from within the shadows, so unless Leia steps out of the shadows, it's impossible to perform the art itself. The 【Immortal King】 is out there―how much of a commotion will it cause?

Fuhh, Satoru breathed.

For now, while asking Liz about the small gaps and broken parts of the house, Satoru used magic to fix them in detail. He filled in the gaps with soil, and use 【Hardened】 and 【Preserved】 the logs. However, Satoru did this work in his imagination, without chanting. There may have been some discrepancies, but Liz was still amazed at how quickly Satoru was able to use the difficult magic.

「If it's this hard, you don't have to worry about being attacked by beasts.」

「Yes!...... Onii-san, you're really amazing!」

Liz told him that there is an elven curse called 【Beast Repellent】, and that if you cast a spell on a branch of Noritos and stick it in front of your house, it will repel beasts and insects. She told him that she had been using it to keep the beasts away, but that it was not as effective against larger beasts. It's better to have a strong house, she said.

Satoru tapped the log to make sure there was no problem. Liz's gaze became one of glittering respect. This is nothing more than a thank you for the overnight stay.

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If what Leia said were true, Satoru would like to heal Reine's leg as well. But to do so, Leia would have to be get out from the shadows, and as expected, Satoru hesitated to do so. Right now, it's a look of respect, but the moment Liz sees the 【Immortal King】, it will turn into fear. Whether it was Leia or Solor, it was hard to let them out of from the shadows after what had happened.

「Speaking of magic, can you use magic, Liz?」

「Oh, I can't use magic at all. I can only use a little bit of wind magic. I didn't have much opportunities to learn it.」

「What about your soul? How much is it?」

「It seems it's about 60 right after birth. It's low isn't it?」

It's normal for half-elves to have more soul than humans, but even among them, 60 is quite low. Even if that were the case, there would be some opportunities to learn, but there were no such opportunities in this remote corner of the village. She had no one of her own age in the nearby village. She had no one to play with, and moreover, with her mother's legs in such a bad state, there was no way she could go out that often.

「...... Don't you feel lonely?」

「A little. But it seems that my mother is having a harder time than I am.」

She looked at her legs, which were stretched out from the top of her pants, with a sad expression on her face. Her own legs are in good shape. But her mother's legs are not.

「...... Because of me, even my mother was kicked out of the village. She even damaged her leg. I feel so bad」

Satoru couldn't help but pat her on the head as he could feel her kindness, thinking of her mother more than herself.

This kind-hearted girl is being persecuted and discriminated against because she was born half-breed. How bigoted of the elven village to be unable to accept such an unfortunate girl. As for Satoru, he was getting angry.

Liz didn't seem to mind, and looked rather comfortable being stroked by Satoru's big hands.

「.....Father used to pet me like this.」

Liz muttered happily. For the girl, it was only a year ago that she had parted with her father. Since then, the girl has been living a healthy life while being tossed around by fate beyond her reach.

Despite the fact that she had just met a human man who rode a Flying Dragon and carried a large sword, Liz was not afraid of him. Of course, the fact that Satoru looked like her father was the first requirement, but also, from talking to him, she understood that Satoru was not scary, but rather kind. This person does not discriminate or persecute. I can believe that, even though I just met him.

「Onii-san looks a little like my dead father. If I had a older brother, I wonder if he would look like you.」

In Liz's memories, her father only looked like he was over fifty years old. So Satoru, in his mid-twenties, is more like an older brother than a father.

Satoru felt his heart ache at Liz's casual words, but he smiled awkwardly.

「......,Then, right now I'm your big brother, Liz.」

「Fufu」

She smiled happily. Liz smile is similar to that of Alice. It was too much like her.

「You can't call me "chan" then, can you? Onii-chan.」

Satoru tries his best to remind himself that she is not Alice, and replies very lightly to her mischievous remark.

「Sorry, Liz.」

「I forgive you」

The way she said that with a small deflection of her chest was exactly the same as Alice's.

Satoru couldn't help but feel something welling up inside him, but he held back. It's not manly to shed tears - it's just bluff. He stroked Liz's head again and again.

「Satoru, Liz, dinner's ready!」

Rico's voice sounded from downstairs. Liz smiled and stood up, pulling Satoru's hand.

「Coming. Let's go, Onii-san.」

Somewhere in his heart, Satoru felt guilty. He felt as if he was using Liz as a Alice's substitute, even though Alice was not in front of him. Thinking of Alice, who was probably crying in his hometown, made him feel even more helpless.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Leia was also worried. Of course, she didn't say anything about it.

It was an odd coincidence that they had met this mother and daughter, but it might have a profound effect on Satoru's state of mind. Such fears.

Some of her fears came true, and some did not.

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The night went on as they enjoyed a strange form of reunion.

Both Reine and Liz ate the roasted Magara bird that Minerva had hunted, which Rico had prepared. It seems that the elves of this world are not necessarily vegetarians. They just eat less. The rest was black bread and bean soup. Liz was pleased to see that meat was rarely on the table.

Throughout the meal, Liz kept calling Satoru "Onii-chan," and Satoru's attitude toward Liz was that of a younger sister. Rico looked a little strange, but she seemed to have let it go.

『Minerva is going to sleep~. Good night~. I want to have sex tomorrow~』

As expected, Minerva in her flying dragon form seems to have curled up outside. Satoru apologizes, but Minerva replies, "Don't mind~". As a Flying Dragon, sleeping outside didn't seem to be a painful experience for her. Minerva seemed to have some difficulty with the smell of Rico's menstrual blood, so she might as well keep her distance――In fact, it was ironic that the smell of blood prevented Minerva from noticing Raymond and the others who were watching from a little distance.

Originally, he thought it would be a bad idea to share the floor with Rico under such circumstances, but Reine and Liz seemed surprisingly unconcerned. He wonderer if their sense of morality is somewhat different from that of humans.

But of course, he couldn't just let it go. First Rico was on the second day of her period. As expected, he didn't want to force her to do anything that would make her bloody. He dressed lightly, but without taking off all his clothes, Satoru dove into the leather. He settled Rico in his arms as usual.

Leia and Solor are both in the shadows today. Minerva was outside, so Rico tried to bask in the joy of having Satoru all to herself, but she couldn't, because she heard footsteps coming up the ladder.

If she pushed herself a little harder, she might be able to get up there, but the light footsteps coming up the stairs were not those of Reine. (?)

「Can I sleep with you?」

When they looked over, they saw Liz looking at them with just her head peeking out. She had even prepared a leather pillow. She was wearing only a smock.

「...... Um, Liz. If you're at that age, it's probably not a good idea.」

Rico also wondered if there was a difference in moral values between humans and elves.

It was unthinkable for a fourteen-year-old girl to share a bed with a man she had just met, even if they had become friends. Rico thought that Satoru would probably reject the idea, but his answer was not what Rico had expected.

「No, it's fine. Come here.」

「Satoru, ......?」

Satoru had shown some perverse tendencies, such as asking for intercourse in anus, but he had drawn the line very clearly. That's why his answer came as a surprise to Rico.

―No way, I wondered if he liked Liz and wanted to make her his.

Satoru smiled a little at Rico's suspicion-filled gaze.

「It's all right.」

Satoru kicked the leather on the opposite side of his body, as if telling Rico to do so. With a happy thud-thud of her footsteps, Liz ducked into Satoru's side.

With Rico in his right arm and Liz in his left, Satoru enjoys the warmth of their presence. Liz has already begun to breathe in her sleep. If it's just her sleeping face, she looks more and more like Alice. However, the difference between 8 and 14 years old is apparent in her physique, and her body is on the verge of changing from a girl to a woman. The difference is significant because Alice is still a girl. In fact, if she were to reach the same age as Liz, there's no way Satoru'd be sharing a bed like this.

「You can't, Satoru. If you get horny...」

While checking on Liz's sleep, Rico whispered into Satoru's ear. Satoru was taken aback, but then he realized that he hadn't shown Rico any of Alice's images. Rico's behavior had been a bit suspicious since he met Liz and the others, but she must have been thinking about the exchange between Satoru and Liz.

「I won't. ...... Come to think of it, I never told Rico that. Liz looks a lot like my little sister. She's a little older, though. About Reine-san, she looks just like my dead mother.」

「Ah ......」

Rico had heard during the reunion that Satoru resembled the late Reine's husband in appearance and mood. She was convinced that this was the reason why both Liz and Reine were able to be so open with Satoru, even though they had never met before, but Rico didn't realize that Satoru had his own thoughts about their resemblance. Come to think of it, when Satoru met Liz, he called her "Alice", and when he met Reine, he called her "Mom".

「So that's what Onii-chan means.」

「It's the other side that said it. Don't get me wrong..」

「I won't. I won't.」

Rico gave a small laugh in agreement.

「...... father」

Liz squirmed and moved at Satoru's side. She had lost her father, albeit in his lifetime, around the time she entered puberty. And her life has changed a lot since then. Her father left her at an age when she still needed him, and the shock must have been great.

Then Satoru appeared, who was somewhat similar to her late father. Perhaps she was looking for the scent of her lost father in Satoru. Even though she knew it was only temporary.

Reine said that she filled her loneliness with Liz. But what about Liz? Her mother's leg was badly damaged, and she had nothing to cling to as she struggled to survive. He can't imagine how hard it must have been for her.

Thinking of that, even though he knew it was only for a short time, if he could share a little warmth with her, he would do so. That's why Satoru accepted the morally unacceptable sleeping together.

But... even though I knew that.

「......But even more so, I'm afraid that Liz will take Satoru away from me.」

Satoru let out a small sigh as he muttered to Rico.

「Idiot」

Satoru hugged Rico with one arm as she clung to him tightly. For Rico, Satoru's side was the place where she finally found herself. The fear of having that place taken away by a random girl like Liz had been haunting her for a long time.

Satoru brushed it off, but the fear still lingered in Rico's mind.

「.........」

If the journey is successful, Satoru will return to his world. She know that. Rico knows that there is a possibility that she will have to say goodbye for this life. If she could, she would, but as she was now, Satoru would probably refuse even if she wanted to follow him. Somehow, Rico felt that way.

She knew it was inappropriate, but if Satoru continued to have feelings for Liz and Reine, he might not ask to go back to his world. That would make Rico happy.

But if that happens, it won't be her who can stay by Satoru's side. It will be Reine, who looks like his mother, and Liz, who looks like his little sister. When that happens, What about me?　Where will I be?

A whisper of anxiety swirled in Rico's mind.

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