CH 162

We said goodbye to Roswell and left the country of Ainowa.

Guided by Naomin, we left the Great Forest.

We keep moving along the dirt trail, wading through the tall grass.

"I wonder where we are. We must have walked a long way."

"Be careful. The ground is muddy over here."

"Kya!"

No sooner had I said that, Kaede almost fell down.

I caught her in my arms as fast as I could.

"S-sorry."

"It's okay, just watch where you're going."

"Y-Yes... Umm～ Master～"

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

Kaede, still in my arms, began sniffing me with an ecstatic expression.

Her white tail was rapidly wagging and her fox ears were drooping.

I don't know why she enjoys sniffing me so much. I smell like sweat, which I think is rather disgusting. I tried putting her down only for her to quickly put her arms around my waist and hold me tightly.

Frau, who had gone ahead, came back towards us.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you following us? Naomin is getting worried."

"Sorry, Kaede almost fell in the mud."

"Hmm~. My Lord, you're flirting too much with Kaede. I feel that Kaede gets more special treatment than me, even though I'm a lovely fairy who is willing to do anything for you. You should pet and pamper Frau more."

"Fine, fine."

"Hehehehe."

I stroked Frau's head and she smiled tenderly. Then I offered her a cookie to make her more content.

"Come on, let's go."

"Please wait, Master, I want to sniff you more."

"Hmm～ This cookie is so delicious."

I quickly started chasing after Naomin who was far ahead of us.

"You guys are too slow."

"Kaede and I aren't fairies, so we can't fly freely like you."

"It was very rude of you to speak to my lord that way. Apologize, now, from the bottom of your heart."

"Oh, is it my fault?"

Naomin reacts with a questioning face.

"In this forest, there is a spectacular sight called 'The Purple Fall', which can only be seen at this time of the year. Since we're here, let's go see it."

"Does it have something to do with those flowers hanging over there?"

Frau finds a purple flower hanging nearby.

From the tips of the vines wrapped around the trees, there were countless little flowers hanging like tassels.

When the flowers swayed in the wind, they emitted a faint bell-like sound.

"Yes, that flower is called a 'Jingle Flower'. When it blooms, it makes a beautiful sound. The best time to hear it is when a gentle wind blows, like today."

Guided by Naomin, we arrived at the place where the flowers were.

It seems to be a field of jingle flowers.

The beautiful purple flowers hung in rows like a shelf, and the petals falling to the ground were tinged purple.

"This place is so beautiful. It's like I'm in another world."

"I'm speechless. It's just beautiful."

"Good job bringing us here, Naomin!"

Frau deftly turns and flies around in the air.

Kaede also gently puts her hand on one of the flowers and enjoys its fragrance.

"Kyu."

"Panda, come over here~"

Panda heads towards where Frau is.

I take out my memory box and take a picture of the scenery.

I want to preserve this lovely memory forever.

Each of these photos will be a precious memory of the Manyu Brigade.

"Kaede."

"Yes?"

I took a photo of Kaede looking back at me as the petals continue to fall.

It was a very good photo. I want to take as many pictures as I can.

I left the memory box with Naomin and called Kaede, Frau and Panda.

"If I press this thing, a picture will come out?"

"Yes. Oh, wait a minute."

It's not fair that Panda is the only one.

I'm going to call Rosuke, Sharkboy, Chupi and Kuratan.

It's just us this time, but next time I'll be sure to get a picture with all our friends.

That's a promise.

"...There, I think that went well."

"Take another picture of me! I came out with my eyes closed!"

"I don't like the position of my tail. And I'd like it to be a little closer to you, Master."

"Kyu, kyukyukyukyukyukyu!"

"You guys are really annoying. And Panda, I don't understand anything you're saying, but you sound pretty funny～"

"Kyuuu!"

"Ugh!"

Panda got angry at Naomin and rammed her in the face.

"Goodbyes are so hard. I'm about to cry."

It was time to say goodbye to Naomin.

At the end of the large forest we could see a path that was well leveled.

In fact, we should have already continued on our way a while ago.

But Naomin delayed the journey causing us to stop longer.

"Frau and Naomin are friends. I'm sure we'll see each other again, okay?"

"Yes, it's a promise. And a promise can't be broken."

"All right. time I'm going to ask you to take me to many more restaurants, so don't forget your promise."

"I have a better memory than Frau. So I definitely won't forget."

""Whuaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!""

They both hugged each other and started crying.

It was surely the first time she had a friend with whom she felt this comfortable. It felt like they had known each other for a long time.

"See you later!"

"Frau-Chan, take care of yourself!!!"

Naomin was waving her arm goodbye, and Frau kept looking at her until she was out of sight.

After crossing the large forest, we came to a very strange terrain.

A series of hexagonal pillars composed of red stone formed a rocky mountain.

There was a canyon ahead, and the path we followed led us deep into it.

It seemed both man-made and natural.

I was overwhelmed because of the strange place we'd stumbled upon.

"Is it some kind of ruin?

"It looks like a huge outer wall. Hey, isn't that some kind of writing?"

At the entrance of the valley, there was an inscription that read; "Unauthorized entry is prohibited."

In addition, a large monster's bone is displayed at the entrance of the valley as if to intimidate visitors.

"If they tell me not to enter, I'll just want to do it even more."

"Kyui."

Frau, riding on top of Panda, was mesmerized by the sight before us. Her eyes were sparkling with curiosity.

To be honest, I pretty much feel the same way

I'm very curious to see what's inside this place.

"What shall we do?"

"Let's take a look at this place first. Besides, we can't get to the center of the continent without passing through here. So we'd better go on a reconnaissance mission."

"I understand maste--.... Frau-San?!"

"I'll go ahead and check the place out for you! Leave the scouting to the fairy!"

Frau and Panda rush ahead of us.

"Are you sure about this...?"

"Frau's level is high enough to fend for herself. And I'm good at finding my way through these kinds of places, so I'll be back soon."

She makes a good point, but I'm a little worried.

At times she gets into a lot of trouble.

"Huaaaaaaaaaah! Help meeeeeeeeeee!"

A few minutes later, I heard Frau scream.

A bunch of footsteps echoed from the back, then Frau and Panda sped out of the place.

A few seconds later, naked men who looked like midgets jumped out one after another and surrounded us.

"Good catch, looks good!"

"Ka-chan, that's too much. Easy!"

"Real messed up. Still love you though!"

"Eat meat. Eat it tomorrow."

The men utter incomprehensible words and point their spears at us.

In addition, they had strange patterns painted on their faces and bodies, and their lower bodies were covered with nothing but a piece of cloth that could fall off at any time.

"These guys suddenly started yelling at me in a language I don't understand. I started to run away but they just chased after us. My Lord, do something!"

"Kyui!"

"Yes, please do something! They're wearing almost no clothes, and it's very hard to look at them."

"This is not the time to worry about something as trivial as their state of dress!"

Frau covers the blushing Kaede's eyes.