Chapter 85: I Am Your Stepfather

Another day passed by and the two girls who collapsed are finally awake. Maple is the first one to recover. She was not sure what happened to her during that time she summoned her familiar, Muramasa which means that really is Muramasa who used her body as a vessel to use. I didn't tell her that she killed someone during the possession of her familiar since she hasn't told me yet about her familiar. It would be best if she told me personally.

As for the little dragon girl, she woke a little bit later. When she saw us, she quickly cower in her bed, shaking in fear. Due to this, the mimic detached from my arm and quickly go straight to the little girl's side.

"Calm down little one, they are not the enemies, they saved you from the bad guys."

"Grandpa mimic? They are not the enemies."

"Indeed they are not. They saved you from those guys. They won't be hurting you anymore."

"I see, so are they friends of my father?"

"Yes, they are."

"Then where is father?"

The mimic went silent abruptly. From the looks of it, he is not prepared to say something about what happened to her father. I was also taken aback by her question. But when we are silent, she looked down and gloomy.

"I see, so my father had already departed."

"It can't be helped since your father is already on his end, he just used it as a chance to avoid to you cry."

"I understand that already. In times like this, he would say to not cry. And I will do that for father," she said as her eyes started to get red from tears. She is indeed trying to keep her tears from falling down. I can tell she is trying to be strong. If only I also felt like that during my parent's death. However, that is not the case.

Still, she was just a little kid that has yet to see the cruel side of the world. To have her father leave her on this world is not a good thing. Since I heard that the dragon is already dying, he must have planned it already so that her daughter won't be all alone in this world. I don't know if the fatherly instincts of the dragon were also passed down to me but I felt something else that wanted to comfort my daughter or something even though I have not experienced any parental love or something of that sort.

The way she holds her tears somewhat increased the feeling to comfort her. I approached her and showed her the seal that his father has given to me. When she saw it, she looked into my face and was not sure how to react.

"Your father has entrusted everything he has on me. And because of this, I am going to act as your stepfather this time around. Also, your father has given me a task to find your mother, therefore, until I find your mother, you will be under my care. Alright? Are you fine with it?"

She stares at me with her blue eyes and for some reason, I saw myself on her when I was still a little kid that just arrived at my uncle and aunt's house. The days that I longed for my parents are something else though I already forget the feeling anymore. That only means that I am now immune to that longing. However, this girl just became an orphan at a young age. This is not going to be a good thing for a child who still wanted to feel the love of her parents.

"Oi, kid, you really think you can do the fatherly duties left by her father? I can tell that you have not gained experienced anything like this before then why are you trying to get the role of her father then?"

"I dunno, maybe the instincts of her father has also been passed down to me without me knowing. It suddenly came to me."

"Ugh, this is just troublesome. Oh well, I will help you with her then. Don't really worry about it too much."

After that event, the mimic gathered all the items of the little dragon girl so that we can already leave the cave. With the mimic easily gathering all of the items without much trouble, the whole cave is now free from items that the girl owned.

"That's right, I have yet to know your name. Can you tell me what your name is?"

"It's Anya."

"I see, I am Kazuma. From now on, you will be under my care."

"Thank you very much... father..."

Hearing that made me almost trip, I never expected that to be full of impact. Damn, it is not an exaggeration of the fathers getting happy hearing that from their daughters. I should take a little bit of caution to avoid that from happening.

Maple is scouting the area ahead of us. If it is full of monsters, we will immediately go on a detour. With Maple's ability to move stealthily around, it is not a wonder we can easily avoid any monsters nearby. That way, we can avoid pointless and time-consuming battles.

As we slowly move on the forest, Maple signals us to halt.

"What is happening?"

Maple pointed at our destination on something. Since we have no idea what she was talking about, I headed to the place and peek on whatever she was pointing unto. When I check it, I was stunned about what was happening below.

There are people below us fighting on the canyon. They are fighting some monsters but for some reason, they also looked like humanoids. But we are too far from the battle to see whatever was happening below. I can even barely see who those figures are.

"What is going on over there?" I asked Maple.

"Monster horde. A bunch of ogres and orcs have started to fight with the magicians. From the looks of the group fighting the monsters, those guys are the same participants that also got transported like us and teamed up with the others. Judging from the size of the horde, this is the yearly battle of the canyons."

"Battle of the Canyons?"

"You don't know about it?"

"I just participated this year so I have no idea."

"Hmmm, figures. Then, I shall explain. The Battle of the Canyons is somewhat a war between the orcs and ogres. Many magicians wanted to participate in this war because both the factions of ogres and orcs had good items that will be beneficial to magicians. Therefore, the magicians will also participate in the battle to try and get the said items that the two factions hold."

There really is something like this happening like this? This is just not something I would expect to a training ground!