Chapter 1444.2

Davey calmly spoke to the small presence. “Stop spying and just come out.”

But no one showed themselves.

“Blue Ribbon, can you hand me that bone?”

“Hm? Here.”

As soon as she handed him the bone, which she had sucked clean, he surrounded its tip with a sharp aura and threw it.

Boom!!

A giant tree was instantly pierced through as if torn by a shockwave.

“Uh... UGHHH!!”

“Kyaaah!”

Three terrified voices echoed through the forest. Then, three figures burst out of the bushes.

Davey was surprised. “Kids, huh?”

One of them nervously replied, “W-well, you look young too.”

“I’ve lived longer than you. Way longer.”

“Ugh. Your voice is like the old man in our village.”

The tensed up boys and girls appeared to be adventurers, clad in light armor and each carrying a weapon, namely a large longsword, a staff, and a priestly scepter.

The girl had an adorable face, and the two boys were both young and handsome. They were good-looking kids who seemed destined to become real beauties and heartthrobs once they grew up.

Davey threw a question at them as they awkwardly walked out. “Who are you guys?”

“T-that...”

“Why are you watching other people eat?”

Just as the boy hesitated, looking around sheepishly, a rumbling sound came from the stomach of the boy in the priest's garb.

Face red, he stuttered, “T-that...”

“Hungry?”

“Yes...”

As Davey moved a piece of fried chicken around, their eyes quickly followed it.

Davey eventually sighed and tossed some fried chicken to them. “Have some.”

“Thank you!!”

“This soy sauce one is good! Red Ribbon will give you some, it’s my favorite!”

“Oh... Ooh. It's delicious!”

“It's really good!”

The three kids stuffed the chicken into their mouths frantically, as if they hadn't eaten for days.

They ate so voraciously and with such desperation that even Rinne, who was calmly having her meal, tore off a delicious piece and handed it to them.

“Haaah...”

“Thank you very much!!”

“Thank you for the food!”

Davey quietly examined the kids who bowed their heads in gratitude. They looked to be around their mid-teens. In Tionis, sixteen was considered adulthood, but they looked even younger than that.

Considering that twenty was the general beginning of adulthood on Earth, they were still children who needed protection.

“So. Why are you wandering around this forest and not even eating properly?”

“Hehe. Well, we just became mercenaries.”

Davey looked doubtful. “Mercenaries? You guys?”

The boy with the sword introduced himself as Calix, the girl with the staff as Vera, and the boy who looked like a priest as Baron.

They were only fourteen, yet enduring such hardship. Davey’s eyes coldly narrowed.

“Yes. Actually, we received a request from the guild to exterminate red mice. But we got lost while looking for their habitat...”

Davey sighed at the ridiculous tale. “So you were looking for those red mice, got lost, and went hungry?”

“Yes! If it weren't for you, big brother, we would’ve been in big trouble. But... are you a mercenary?”

“Idiot, can't you tell by his clothes that he's a noble?!” the girl shouted, smacking the back of the boy's head.

He didn't seem to mind. “Ah. Hahaha. I see!”

“Don't worry about it,” Davey assured him.

“But, big brother, are you here to explore this place too? Even with those little kids on your squad...”

“Family vacation.”

The three kids looked surprised at his answer.

“A family vacation?! In this dangerous place?!”

Davey was unbothered. “Is there a problem?”

“Ah. Well, if you're someone who can blow up a tree with a chicken bone, I guess it’s fine.” The boy who grumbled awkwardly stood up. “Thank you for the food. We won't forget this kindness. If you mention our names at the closest village's mercenary guild, we will definitely repay you.”

“Are you going to keep doing mercenary work?”

“Of course. Our goal is to become as strong as the transcendent heroes who saved the world.”

“Transcendent...? Why don't you just give up?”Davey said indifferently.

“Huh?”

“I don’t know what you're hoping for, but you guys have no future as transcendent fighters.”

It was harsh, unsolicited advice. There was no playfulness in his expression, either.

“If you don't want to die, stop taking quests, wash your hands of all this, and go home to take over your family business.”

“Hey! Big Brother, that's too much!” one of them shouted.

Another quickly shushed them, advising, “Hey... Stop it...”

They wouldn't be pacified. The boy, whose pride seemed quite strong, huffed in anger. “Aren't you mad?! I don't get why the guild members all tell us to give up! Even if we don't have much experience, we've succeeded in all our quests so far!”

“You might be able to manage for now,” Davey admitted. “But in your current state, you could die any minute.”

“Mercenaries live and breathe death. That kind of worry is overstepping,” the boy yelled back, clearly offended.

“Fine. I’m leaving soon anyway, so I shouldn’t bother. Forget it. Sorry I spoke so harshly.”

“...No. I'm sorry I got angry too...” The boy respectfully bowed his head and apologized. “The food was truly delicious. It might be the best food I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Hehe, Big Brother, thank you for worrying, but taking down red mice isn't that hard. They’re small and weak monsters that even kids can catch if they have weapons.”

Davey didn't have a reply.

“Well, we’ll be going now. You take care, Big Brother!”

He stopped them, requesting, “Make one promise before you go.”

“A promise?”

“Don't be unnecessarily reckless.”

“You're overstepping again. There's no need to worry. We're confident we'll be fine. But... we'll keep it in mind.”

Davey watched them wave and leave in silence. He stared for a long time at the spot where the three had left.

“That's enough. I can’t always be nosy for no reason. If they can take care of themselves, then whatever.”

As the kids said, mercenary work was a job where you put your life on the line. Once they realized they had no talent, they'd eventually give up.

“Red mice, huh? I guess they have them here too.”

Red Ribbon tried to repeat, “Re... Re...”

“Red mice,” he finished for her.

Red Ribbon’s head tilted after she climbed onto Davey's lap. “Woo! What's that?”

“It's a rat smaller than a person's forearm. Unlike rats that move in packs, they move in small groups and are omnivores.”

“Hmm? Mouth?”

“Mouse.”

“Mouth?”

“...Yeah, mouth.”

That pronunciation was a lost cause.

“Will it heart heart us?”

“Don't worry. Like they said, it’s not a dangerous species. There won't be a problem as long as they don’t do anything reckless.”

“Hehe.”

When Red Ribbon snuggled into his arms, Davey stroked her head. “Let's stay here for two days. After that, we'll move out and try to find something for Perserque as we do some investigating.”

“Order accepted.”

For some reason, this place felt strangely repulsive. When he took out camping gear from his Pocket Plane pouch and set it up, Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon absolutely loved it.

Time passed as twilight set in, and it became late in the evening.

Davey patted Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon on the belly as they lay side by side in a hammock and yawned. He then frowned and got up, hearing the sound of ragged breathing in the distance.

Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon woke up from the movement, rubbing their eyes.

“Dad?”

“Stay here for a second.”

“Lord Davey. Blood scent detected.”

“I know.” He immediately picked up a stone from the ground and flung it into the forest like a cannonball.

Thud!!!

A harsh impact sounded against an unknown creature, and Baron, the priest boy, burst out of the forest and collapsed while covered in blood with a messy face. He’d clearly fled to their campsite.

“Haah.Haah.”

His body was a complete mess. Davey immediately cast a light healing spell on him. He figured he wouldn't be too suspicious if he just used a spell of a low level.

Baron, whose injuries were so severe he couldn't even speak properly, slowly healed, and his breathing gradually became easier. However, his expression grew even darker. Eventually, he finally managed to call, “B-Big brother!!”

“What's wrong?”

Even though they'd only met briefly, seeing the young and innocent boy covered in blood and running from an unknown monster was not a pleasant sight.

Ssssss.

Rinne soon appeared, dragging a rat the size of a human. “Lord Davey, the assailant is presumed to be a red mouse. Rinne confirms it to have undergone extreme mutation.”

It had died instantly, its head apparently pierced by the stone Davey had thrown.

“Big Brother! Please help! C-Calix and Vera are still there! Please, Big Brother!”

Seeing the tears and snot streaming down Baron’s face, Davey heaved a sigh. “Couldn't just let things go quietly, eh?”

Davey stood up and stretched out his hands, and Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon instantly transformed into swords, settling in his grasp.

“Lead the way.”

Davey didn't even need to hear what happened. The recklessness of youth sometimes led people straight to their deaths.

He also had a feeling he knew what kind of situation the group had gotten themselves into.

Baron led Davey, stumbling like a person whose soul had been drained. He kept calling out for Calix and Vera, and it was clear that he wasn’t in his right mind.

Once they arrived at a large cave, Davey asked, “Weren't you guys after red mice?”

He got no response.

“What made you think you could handle a kobold cave?”

When Baron just sobbed and didn't respond, Davey gave him a light kick. “Answer, you punk.”

“Sob... Sob...”

“Haah, fine. Never mind. Let's go in.” Davey sighed once more and strode into the cave. As if they were waiting, bizarre monsters that looked like spiky humans with a dog face ambushed him from the narrow, dark cave.

Baron urgently shouted. “B-Big Brother! Watch out!!”

Yet, the kobalts turned into pitch-black ash and vanished before they even got close to Davey.

At the same time, a lively blue flame flickered around Davey.

Baron could hardly believe it. “Huh?”

“Pay attention and follow me,” Davey commanded. “I don’t even need to ask what happened to you guys, but remember this one thing.”

Then, he lightly kicked the ground toward the kobolds that were setting a trap and attacking again, causing a part of the cave to collapse on top of them.

The scene beyond was revealed.

Davey continued, “It'd be better to lose hope.”

“Huh? A... Aaaah!!!”

Beyond the cave which had been blasted open to create a shortcut, a tragic sight unfolded.

Calix, the swordsman boy, and Vera, the mage girl, were hanging from a giant tree.

Well, that much wouldn't be a problem.

But.

“Oo... Hurk!!”

Ultimately, Baron couldn't hold it in and collapsed, gagging.

The young boy and girl hanging from the tree were cold corpses, their limbs torn off and their bellies ripped open, apparently having been eaten alive by the kobolds. The two faces had signs of terrible agony and fear, proof that they had maintained consciousness until the moment of their deaths. The pain they experienced must have been unimaginable.

The space was full of grotesquely mutated, large kobolds, and creatures that looked to be the same species as the giant red mouse that had chased Baron.

Davey could feel the same kind of alien energy from the creatures as he’d felt from the mutated dagon parasite.

At the same time, the mutated kobolds that had been dozing off simultaneously raised their heads toward Davey and Baron.

They let out grotesque cries, pulled out their sharp claws, and charged all at once.

“KRRRAHHH!!”

Rinne reflexively drew her lightsaber, but Davey put out his arm to stop her.

He called, “Rinne, the Savior of Humanity.”

Instead of answering, she gathered particles in her hand, creating a jet-black crowbar. She handed it to Davey without hesitation, and he twirled it in his hand as soon as he took it.

“If they feel this similar, it looks like the dagon parasite really did come from here.”

Compared to other bubble dimensions, Troy was uncharacteristically rich in vitality and mana. It was so much so that it could advance to a high-grade dimension as soon as it stabilized to a certain degree.

They’d advanced the investigation into the dagon parasite while also finding clues to a high-grade material to give to Perserque. Even though he'd found both of them at once, he felt nothing but disgust.

He lightly spun the crowbar once and focused his sight on the nearest kobold charging at him.

The kobold, which seemed to have stolen Calix's sword, thrust the sharp sword tip, but Davey plunged in without hesitation and swung the crowbar.

The sword sliced through the air, and the crowbar hit the creature precisely.

Thud!!!

A tremendous shockwave erupted, instantly blowing the creature's head off. The shockwave spread in all directions, wrapping around the other monsters' heads and making them burst as well.

The way the incorporeal shockwave spread like chain lightning was truly a magnificent sight.

Baron stood frozen solid, shocked by the unimaginably explosive power.

“Rinne, there must be a medium that mutated the monsters inside. I need it for the investigation, so go get it and bring it here. If anyone gets in your way, you can cut off all their limbs.”

“Order accepted.”