CH 222

At the Mercy of the Stuart Family [Part 2]

Fukushima’s POV

“T-Then, if we’re going to take a risk regardless, it’s better to return!“

“What do you think this is?“

Lady Emma held up a dirty stick-like thing.

“?“

“It’s… an animal bone. At the landing point of Over‘s seeds, blood and pieces of flesh were found together under the debris of the thing that covered the seeds.“ 

“?“

“Moving things… are a source of nutrients for Over. If the seeds fell while aiming at things that could move… this bone might have been us if we hadn’t parked our carriages to take a break at that time.“

“?!!!“

“S-S-Scary!!! Emma, you really come up with the scariest things, don’t you?!“

“Nee-sama…?! Eh? EHH? We rode the cats and dashed here, though…“

“Well, the seeds had already started flying then. So I guess we just got lucky?“

“Scary! That’s too scary, Nee-sama!!!“

What’s with that?! What’s up with this girl’s analytical skills?

Unbelievable. I kept shaking my head.

She came up with one hypothesis after another.

However…

“No, that must have been a coincidence. I have never heard of… such a story…“

“No, it was written in point 79 of the [Advice from the People] section in document number 25600 that a seed hit a merchant’s carriage. And point 453 of the same section contained a statement from a witness that one of the seeds appeared to have shifted its direction mid-flight and landed right on a herd of deer, seemingly having locked onto its target.“

William-kun recited a passage from the document we had given to Melsa-dono from his memory.

“Huh? William-kun, you memorized everything?“

Eh? What’s with this kid… Despite his cute face, he’s… actually a monster?

End of Fukushima’s POV

“If only I had memory like that…“

…Passing Monster Science would be a breeze. George stared into the distance.

“If we can’t ride the carriages from here on… Isn’t the colony of Over closer to our current position now that we have come this far?“

Melsa, who had gone there once, suggested that Fukushima give up and move on quickly.

“What?“

“Fukushima-sama, we’re going, okay?“

Melsa got on the huge white cat and went in the direction where their carriages were parked.

“Chou-chan, we should return slowly, so no running, got it?“

“Meow♪”

“Wait, didn’t you say that moving was dangerous… Huh?“

“That’s why we are going back as slowly as we can.“

“It’s alright, Melsa. I will protect you even if the seeds fly towards us.“

“…Don’t, dear. If you still have the leeway to protect me, don’t mind me and just hurry up and escape.“

“If I have the time to escape, I will definitely come to protect you instead.“

“…Jeez, you’re so stubborn…“

“Melsa… I already said this a while ago, but you’re beautiful.“

Leonard stayed by Melsa’s side, walking alongside the white cat she rode on.

“…Eh?“

“Fukushima-sama, although we stopped our carriages, we still had a larger number of people. And yet, the seeds targeted the animal this bone belonged to instead of us. Thus, Mother guessed that moving fast was probably not a good idea.“

“It’s only a hypothesis, though.” William mounted the back of a calico cat while wiping the sand and rainbows spilling from his mouth with a handkerchief.

“Uhh? …What?“

Fukushima didn’t really understand what was going on, but things had been moving the way the Stuart family wished because he had been completely fooled and coaxed.

“Huh?“

“Fukushima-sama, the sky will turn dark if we don’t set out soon, you know? Let’s make haste and go see Over, okay?“

Emma and George also rode their cats and followed behind Leonard and Melsa, who were slowly entering a world of their own.

“Huh?“

“…Hm?“

“Huh?“

♠♠♠

Meanwhile…

The samurais who were left behind started fretting over their fear of Over and how Fukushima and the family had yet to return. But more than that, they were trembling because of the rustling sound they kept hearing from the Stuart family’s carriage.

“H-Hey… why don’t we open the carriage door for just a second?“ 

“Of course we mustn’t do that! Stop saying such dishonorable words!“

“But, hey, we wouldn’t be so scared if we knew what was inside.“

It was scary because they didn’t know what could possibly be there. The same went with the fear of the dark or ghosts, right?

They might be samurais, but what was scary would still be scary for them.

“We just have to put up with it until Fukushima-sama returns, don’t we?“

“And what if he doesn’t return? He went by horse, remember? Isn’t it about time he came back?“

Just waiting endlessly inside the landing range of Over‘s seeds is already scary enough. The samurai thought. And yet, the rustling sound seemed to only grow louder and louder. No matter how he listened to it, it wasn’t a sound made by one or two creatures.

“What if many spiders as big as the one the Count put on his head come out?“

“Eeeekkkk! Stop that, I don’t want to imagine it!“

*rustle rustle rustle*

“Don’t spout nonsense. How could there be that many spiders of that size?“

“It must be the Countess and her daughter’s clothes. It’s the rustling sound of the clothes.“

*rustle rustle rustle*

” ” “Fukushima-sama… please return quickly…” ” “

♠♠♠

Author’s words: Far from a spider, that rustling sound was actually…