Uninvited Guests
Hello, good evening. It's currently around an hour before midnight.
I'm house sitting to care for Director while Alma's group is off gathering herbs.
...The senior in the group shouldn't be house sitting. But there's no helping it cause I'm the only one who can treat Director.
"Uuu..."
Meanwhile, Director's condition is getting worse with her HP reducing faster.
She might not last several minutes at this rate.
I keep transferring my life force to get her HP back up.
"D-director, is she gonna be okay...!?"
The silver-haired girl who's tending Director with me, Karlasheila spoke.
She looks like she's about to cry, pale from anxiety.
"...Ka...Ka..."
"Director...! Yes, it's me Karla, I'm right here, stay strong. Reina-oneechan is coming back with the herb."
"...Kalbi..."
"...."
...I feel like she's gonna do just fine on her own.
Please stop with the meat gag already. It's... not meaty.
I thought of cooking some meat dishes to help restore her stamina, but her condition could get worse while I'm in the kitchen so I refrained.
"...Just how obsessed she is with meat anyway."
"Our orphanage lacks funding, we don't know if we can have meat even once a month... Yet she'd share hers with the children despite how much she loves meat dishes."
I thought she was just joking around with the sleep talking but it seems there's a serious reason behind it.
...No wonder it even came up in her dream.
"Ufufu... That's mead, not meat, sire..."
"Looks like the worst has passed at least... That dream is bugging me a lot though."
"...Un."
We look at each other with wry smiles.
Now that Director's condition has stabilized, I'll have a little chat with her.
...There are several things I gotta confirm.
"Um, may I have a moment?"
"Hm, what is it?"
Surprisingly, Karla initiated it instead.
Even if I'm Reina's companion, mustering the courage to talk to someone far older is quite something. Or maybe she's simply an outgoing kid.
"Could you tell me about Reina-oneechan please. I want to know what happened after we were separated running from Stampede..."
"I think it's better for Reina to tell you herself about the period before she bumped into us, so it'll be about what took place after she met Alma and me, is that okay with you?"
"Yes."
I'm not gonna talk about Reina's life in the slum without her permission.
Let's start from the time she was playing tag with that bear.
...This part is super concerning in itself though.
I talked about how she trained to get Apprentice Ninja Job while obfuscating the stuff about mana and energy controls, how she saved me during Vinfitt Gluttony Slime incident, and about the port town Hunting Fest.
Karla's face would go pale, astonished, quietly laughing and such as the narration went on, even I was having fun watching.
"She had such a rough time in the past two months..."
"Also, Reina's gotten to Level 13 even though it's only been a month since her come of age."
"Eh, s-she's that strong already...!?"
"Yup, that girl's got talent, I'm sure she'll catch up to my current level in no time."
"Onee-chan is really amazing...!"
I'm praising Reina to the sky. It's more fun that way to the listener.
Also, considering her leveling pace, she should reach mid-class Job soon anyway.
By the way, my level has gone up to 33 after defeating platinum chicken and the golden-silver wolves. The bonus exp from defeating higher leveled opponents is pretty big.
My attributes raised by around 155 too, I can probably take on a High Cave Bear without mana control now.
That said, I don't wanna fight another opponent on platinum chicken's level again! It's scary!
"Okay, now's my turn to ask, do you mind?"
"Not at all, I'll answer you to the best I can."
Karla has opened up to me.
She's really well put together for a kid who hasn't come of age yet.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"Was there anything unusual preceding the incident with director and magic beast?"
"Unusual, as is?"
"Like say, suspicious individuals checking out the orphanage, or some sort of trouble brought by somebody unaffiliated by the orphanage."
"...Come to think of it, I think Director got in a dispute with some unsavory characters around half a month ago..."
Bingo, I knew it.
"Do you recall how they looked like?"
"Yes, I remember there is this man with a flashy red hair with only the bangs colored white. He was also really plump, wearing many bejeweled rings and demanded something from Director with a shrill voice. Director firmly declined him."
What an eccentric-sounding individual, no wonder it's left an impression on her.
It's not conclusive yet, but that guy is highly likely related to this incident.
He sounds like an upstart with the jeweled rings thing, he must have the money to hire people at least.
...I mean there's that dragon tamer I saw at the Monster Prairie, this might be similar to that.
...!
"...Hey, are you expecting guests tonight?"
"? No, I don't believe we are..."
"I see... Grab the children and hide them somewhere safe and out of sight."
"...Eh?"
"A group of people together with a pair of magic beasts are heading this way. They're most likely uninvited guests."
"E, eeh!?"
"Hurry up. I'll go deal with them, tell the kids to stay quiet."
I feel a tinge of guilt waking up children sleeping peacefully, but we can't be fussy now.
Some bad guy might slip in and take them hostage.
"O-okay...! B-but what about Director...?"
"I'll move her along with her bed, stay hidden with her."
I gently lift the bed with mana control.
I can probably lift it up myself with my current Attributes, but this method is best to avoid shaking.
Karla looked flabbergasted when she saw that, but it was an emergency, I paid her no heed.
Once I was done carrying Director, I went to the main gate and waited for the group's arrival.
Now then, wonder what kind of guests are we having. Pretty sure it's nothing wholesome.
...Alma, guys, please come back soon.
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