CH 33

“~~~Bears!”

I put Ririi down on a grassy field, and she runs at full speed towards angel bears. These monsters look like bears, but they’re covered in pink fur with a heart-shaped pattern, and are appropriately as adorable as angels.

Adult angel bears are bigger than humans, but they grow slowly over the course of decades.

They are very docile and don’t attack people or other monsters, but that nature is also their ruin, and a lot die before reaching full maturity. They tend to be hunted by other living beings, and this living being is going to be hunting one today.

“Daddy! Bearies!”

Ririi says as she turns to me and hops around with her hands in the air.

…She’s been calling them ‘bearies’, but where did she learn about bears in the first place? There aren’t any wild bears around Zenith or the capital.

I’m guessing she probably saw them in a picture book, but that really gets me thinking about how kids learn all sorts of things without their parents knowing.

As for the angel bears, some are lying around, some are walking, and some are looking at Ririi.

I’m pretty sure they’re hunted quite a bit by people too, but they don’t look at all scared. It really shows how lacking their sense of danger really is.

“Let’s play, bearies!”

Ririi runs towards angel bear parents and cubs, and slips into where a few cubs are lying down. They’re about half her size, so when she hugs them they look like big teddy bears.

I’m guessing the parents sense the complete lack of enmity from Ririi, and let her be. The cubs look very curious about her, and hold on to her and climb on top of her.

“Hahaha! Daddy help~”

Ririi gets surrounded by cubs and quickly covered by fur. I panic for a second, but I’m sure angel bear cubs aren’t that heavy. Ririi doesn’t actually sound the least bit troubled either.

I calm myself, and a few seconds after that voice called out to me from that ball of pink fur, I start looking around. Ririi’s vision is blocked, so now’s my chance. I can’t forget why I came here in the first place.

“Maybe that one?”

There’s an angel bear walking around alone.

I set my eyes on my prey, focus magic energy in my right hand… And remember that gruesome sight from when I hunted the crystal dragons. This is all pointless if I destroy the materials. My attack needs to be precise, and only as strong as it needs to be.

Unlike crystal dragons, angel bears have no magic resistance.

“…”

The magic energy compressed in my right hand could be fired at any second, but…

“Puah… Ririh couldn’t breathe.”

“…!!”

Ririi pops out from that mountain of fluff, and I quickly erase the magic circle.

“Daddy! Are you playing with the bearies too?”

“Y-yes… I’m going now.”

My legs feel heavy as I walk through the grass, with my eyes on Ririi and the angel bears, who are clearly friends now.

◆

…I’m holding my head at my wit’s end.

“Daddy hurry hurry.”

…That’s not true. I can’t even hold my head right now.

“All right, leave it to me.”

I put more strength into my arms and legs in response to Ririi’s voice that’s coming from above.

I’m not losing in a race against angel bears, even if I’m on all fours with Ririi on top of me. I can’t embarrass myself in front of my daughter.

I ignore the pain in my knees and the palms of my hands, and run on all fours through the grassy field as fast as I can.

I also ignore that this is pretty embarrassing in itself.

“We’re catching up!”

“Ahh… Ahh…”

“Daddy run!”

I raise my head, and see the backside of a parent angel bear. The cubs running behind it are within my range, and I can pass them if I run a little harder.

I didn’t expect to join a parent and cub angel bear walk like this, but hey, Ririi’s happy.

“Ahh… Ahh…!”

I push past the threshold of my pain, and just move my limbs as fast as I can. I don’t even feel the grass prickling on my hands anymore. At this moment, angel bears are far stronger than crystal dragons.

Who would’ve thought that four-legged monsters went this fast while taking a walk? As a fellow four-legged animal (right now at least), they deserve my praise.

I’m almost catching up.

I’m sure I’m almost there.

…How much longer?

I think as I fill my completely empty lungs with air… But then I hear Ririi scream.

“Daddy! The beary!!”

I raise my head… And see a bear far away, bleeding on the ground.

Next to it is a girl dressed in a black native outfit, who slowly reaches over to a cub that’s snuggling up to the parent that I’m pretty sure is already dead.

“Daddy!”

“Yes!”

I quickly turn my body, hold Ririi, get up… And put my palms together to fire my fastest magic at that person.