I am so sorry!!!!
The update was delayed m( )m
It was the very first day of our journey.
While we were traveling across the Freiheit Great Plains, we came across a pair of people with beast-ears surrounded by five rough-looking men.
They seemed to be in the middle of some kind of dispute; even from a distance, I could hear voices that sounded like they were shouting at each other. Furthermore, the men, who were dressed like common thieves, already had weapons drawn.
I wondered if this was what people called a "pinch."
"Nya-nya!? You travelers over there, save me-nya!"
Of the beast-ear duo, a girl with cat-ears growing from her head called out to our carriage for help.
Wait, her sentence endings were actually "nya"!?
S-So cute...!
"These guys are thieves-nya! If this keeps up, we're all going to be killed-nya!"
"You're calling us thieves?"
"Hey, shut this cat up!"
"Travelers, please don't misunderstand. We aren't thieves."
The cat-ear girl was pinned to the ground by the men. Struggling to resist, the teary-eyed girl stared toward us with a look of utter desperation.
"H-Help, nya...!"
The beast-ear duo was carrying large packs on their backs. The thieves were likely attacking them with their sights set on that luggage. I hadn't heard much about robberies occurring around Tower City, but I supposed the chances weren't exactly zero.
But wait a moment. If these guys were trying to steal luggage, wouldn't we—traveling in a carriage as we were—also be in danger?
"Hey, look. Isn't the horse pulling this carriage kind of huge?"
"If you look closely, the guy in the hood on the coachman's seat looks a bit weird, too."
"It's a carriage I've never seen before... these guys are suspicious."
The thieves shifted their target toward us.
It certainly wasn't something to be proud of, but we were suspicious. I had nothing but confidence in our suspiciousness; after all, I, a plant monster, and Fairy Kiri had been hiding behind Treant for a while now.
One of the thieves shouted a question at Treant, who was acting as our coachman.
"You lot! What are you carrying in that wagon? Where do you think you're going?"
"………………"
I was sorry, but my "little sister" was a Treant, so she couldn't speak.
However, if these guys were truly after our cargo, there was no need to be foolishly honest with them. Moreover, this place wasn't far from Alraune's Forest, which was under my control. As the Lord of the Forest, I couldn't just overlook a crime happening in my neighborhood.
The moment I tried to extend a vine, a voice called out from behind me.
"Fuwaaa... Alraune, what's wrong?"
"Rufe, I'm sorry for waking you. It's just a bit of trouble, I suppose."
Because the thief had shouted so loudly, the Little Witch, who had been sleeping soundly, had woken up. Honestly, they were a bothersome bunch for disturbing my girl's pleasant nap.
"Hey, Alraune. That girl has cat-ears on her head."
The Little Witch tensed up, looking wary. Oh, was she bad with cats?
"Cat-ears... she isn't an ally of the Witch Queen, is she?"
"Ah, I see! I believe the Witch Queen wore a cat-ear hat, so I think she's probably unrelated."
Besides, the Witch Queen could grow animal parts using transformation magic. None of the other witches had cat-ears, so I figured there was no connection.
"But Alraune... she has a tail, too. Could she be one of the Beastman Demon Race that attacked us before?"
"No, that child isn't part of the Demon Race. I believe she is likely of the beast-ear race."
Speaking of beast-ears reminded me of Vol-nii, but he was just a human who had grown dog-ears due to a curse. However, unlike Vol-nii, the cat-ear girl over there also had a tail. Therefore, she probably wasn't human.
She was—a demi-human!
In this world, races similar to humans existed. These were the demi-humans. They existed as a wide variety of races, and it was said that they lived with lifestyles quite different from those of humanity. Among such demi-humans, the most numerous were the ones with animal ears—the beast-ear race.
The beast-ear race looked almost no different from humans, except for the ears and the tail. For that reason, they were a race recognized by the Church as demi-humans who were allies to humanity.
Conversely, the beastman race, whose appearance was closer to the Demon Race, was not recognized as demi-human. The Beast King Marticoras, one of the Four Heavenly Kings I had defeated before, was a perfect example. Beastmen, whose entire bodies were animalistic, were categorized as Demon Race partly because they possessed such overwhelming physical power.
According to the Selene Sect, the definitions were as follows:
Beast-ear Race: Demi-human (Allies of humanity) Beastman Race: Demon Race (Creatures distinct from humanity)
The beast-ear race was supposed to be non-existent here in the Kingdom of Gardenia. Since they lived in the northern part of the continent, even I had only encountered them a few times during my Saint Era. Encountering one here was incredibly rare.
Unfortunately, such rarity made them perfect prey for thieves. Although slavery was prohibited in the Kingdom of Gardenia, the slave system still remained in the neighboring Glanz Empire. If the thieves captured a member of the beast-ear race here and took them to the Empire, they would likely fetch a handsome profit.
When I explained this to the Little Witch, she gave me a long, sideways look.
"Why does Alraune, who was born and raised in the forest, know so much about the beast-ear race being rare around here?"
"Ah... U-Um... Nina taught me about them once."
"Nina-san did? I see. You really were a diligent student, Alraune."
Oops, I got a bit too excited about the beast-ears and talked too much! However, thanks to bringing up the name of Nina—who had now risen to the rank of Saint—the Little Witch seemed convinced.
Thank you, Nina. I felt like I used her name as a scapegoat whenever the Little Witch got suspicious of me, but I would definitely continue to rely on her in the future!
"Anyway, so they're called the beast-ear race. That was educational. Well then, Alraune, let's keep going."
"Eh? Rufe!? Aren't you going to help them?"
"They have nothing to do with us. Besides, that cat looks shady."
The cat-ear girl was shedding desperate tears while being pinned by thieves, yet Rufe called her "shady"... Could it be that because of the Witch Queen's hat, the Little Witch had developed a reflexive rejection of anything with cat-ears?
As the Little Witch peeked out from the carriage, the thieves shouted again.
"What, there's a kid, too? Hey, little missy, bring out the owner of this carriage!"
"The owner of this carriage... that would be me!"
"You? That's a lie. There's no way a brat like you is in charge. Take off that hood and let us see your face!"
"No... I have no reason to listen to anything you say."
W-Wait a moment, Rufe? My girl was being quite defiant toward them! Well, since they were thieves, I suppose it was fine. With her abilities, she wasn't going to lose to the likes of them.
"A brat's carriage? That's even more suspicious. I'll ask just in case, but you aren't carrying Saint Nectar in there, are you?"
"We are."
"Are you serious!? Then, little missy, sorry but you're going to show that to us."
One of the thieves approached the wagon. Seeing this, the cat-ear girl shouted a warning.
"Don't let them get close-nya! They'll board the carriage and steal everything-nya!"
"I... don't think so."
The Little Witch raised one hand toward the sky. Immediately, black clouds gathered overhead.
"Storm Magic: 'Heavenly Thunder'."
"Ugyaaaaaaa!!"
One of the thieves was struck by a bolt of lightning and collapsed. It was Storm Magic—one of the black magic spells used by witches to control the weather. I hadn't seen it in a while, but it really was a brutal spell.
Startled by the sudden strike, the thieves began to panic.
"Where did that lightning come from!?"
"This kid is dangerous!"
"She controlled the weather... could she be a witch? Did those people come to attack the city again!?"
"Wait, I feel like I've seen that girl somewhere before..."
"You're a bit noisy... be quiet."
Next, thunder roared from the black clouds. Lightning struck the remaining four thieves directly. Having been easily defeated by the Little Witch, the thieves lay on the ground with their hair charred black. From what I could see, they weren't dead. Rufe had properly held back, which was a relief.
"A-Amazing-nya! To defeat those thieves in an instant... you're too amazing-nya!"
The cat-ear girl had been safe from the lightning. Rubbing her palms together in a fawning manner, she expressed her gratitude.
"By any chance, could you be... very famous adventurers-nya?"
"No. I'm not an adventurer."
"T-That's good-nya. Then I'm relieved-nya."
—Hm?
Why did she look happy to hear we weren't adventurers? Normally, wouldn't you feel more relieved if your rescuers were adventurers? Especially since the thieves were already suspecting Rufe was a witch.
"I will never forget this favor for as long as I live-nya. Well then, goodbye-nya!"
The cat-ear girl began searching the thieves' bodies while saying her farewell. I wondered what she was doing. I whispered a request to the Little Witch to ask for me.
"What are you doing, searching the thieves?"
"Ah, this-nya? I'm just taking back the luggage these guys stole-nya."
As she spoke, the cat-ear girl collected every valuable the thieves had on them. It felt like an awfully large amount for just "stolen luggage," but I decided not to worry about it. If we hadn't come along, the cat-ear girl and her companion might have been killed at worst.
I gave the Little Witch another instruction.
"I'd like to ask for directions. Do you know which road leads to the Royal Capital?"
"In that case, just go straight down this road-nya."
"And where does the road on the left go?"
"That leads nowhere-nya. It's just a dead end-nya."
"I see... thank you."
When the Little Witch thanked her, the cat-ear girl stood up and bowed.
"I'm grateful you saved me-nya. Well then, bye-bye-nya!"
The carriage proceeded down the highway, passing the cat-ear girl as she waved both hands to see us off. I never expected to stumble upon a robbery like that, so it had been quite a surprise. But since we were able to help someone, I felt pretty good about it.
"Come to think of it, where did the other beast-ear person go?"
After the thieves' attention had shifted to us, the other person who was with the cat-ear girl had vanished. Had they been hiding in the bushes? I hoped they were safe as well.
However, the relief of our journey resuming was short-lived. I suddenly noticed something strange. The inside of the carriage felt much quieter than before.
"Wait... where is Kiri?"
Fairy Kiri was nowhere to be found. She wasn't hiding in the gaps between the Saint Nectar barrels, and she wasn't on top of the covered wagon. She had disappeared before I even realized it.
"Eh? Kiri? Where did you go?"
"Alraune, this is bad."
"I know! Kiri is gone!"
"It's not just her. The Mandrake's flowerpot is gone, too."
"No way!?"
Both Kiri and the Mandrake were gone? Just where in the world did they go!?
Happy New Year. I look forward to your continued support this year as well (。・ω・。)ゞ
Next time: The thieves' true identity.