Chapter 31: The Old Man Scares the Little Girl by Touching Her

Still… the attack probably doesn’t have much power behind it.

After all, Fel is still just an adorable little girl…

If anything, with a body this small, charging in with that much momentum might cause her to get injured from the recoil.

In that case…

I scrambled, and just an instant before the little girl could swing her claws down, I gently scooped up her small body, shifting her off her attack course.

…Well, even if she is a little girl, I’d rather not touch a female’s body without her consent, but…

It can’t be helped… this was an unavoidable act to protect her.

I’m sure Fel will understand.

In my arms, the little girl’s body was surprisingly light.

However, seeing her claws up close, they were, how should I put it, incomparably larger and sharper than those of any common demonic beast.

…Getting scratched by these would hurt, a lot…

…It might be best not to make Fel too angry…

Whoops… is it that time already…

Dealing with her unexpected move had taken some time, and before I knew it, the “Standby Time” was about to end.

In the final moment before the “Standby Time” was over, I gently set Fel down on the floor.

“Wh-wha… Y-You… When did you—!?”

Fel’s eyes flew wide open as she stared at me, trembling uncontrollably.

Her expression seemed to be a mixture of shock, confusion, and… for some reason, anger.

“Um… suddenly lunging at someone is… well… kind of dangerous, I thought… haha…”

I quickly forced a smile, trying to smooth things over.

I messed up…

I guess… touching her body without permission was a bad move…

Well… she’s an orphan at this age, and judging by the scars on her body from before… she’s probably been through a lot.

I really did something wrong…

Just as I was thinking I had to find a way to calm her down, Mighty Sword and the others called out.

“H-hey… M-Mikami, you… When did you get over there… n-no, more importantly, who’s the beastkin kid… There’s something strange—”

They were looking at Fel.

Something was off about Mighty Sword and his group.

They were shaking as if terrified of something.

Then, Fel,

“…You insects… I don’t have time to deal with you right now…”

Muttering something in a low voice, she turned her face toward Mighty Sword and the others.

And then, for some reason, she just stared intently at them.

“Wh-what is… this thing… This… aura…”

“Th-this thing… it’s not just some beastkin brat…”

“Eek…!”

As if driven by some instinctual terror, they scrambled over each other to escape the room.

I think I might have heard one of them scream, “It’s a monster!”

“Hey, wait! Is something wrong… I mean, seriously, what’s gotten into you all!?”

I watched their retreating backs and shrugged in exasperation.

Seriously… showing up in the middle of the night only to disappear right away… What a selfish bunch.

Still, that reaction of theirs…

Are beastkin really that feared, even when they’re just a child…?

Just then, Fel slowly turned back toward me.

Her face was as blank as a Noh mask, and her eyes glowed an eerie gold.

And those eyes were staring at me, as if trying to probe for something.

Then, for some reason, the distant howls of beasts suddenly echoed in unison.

It was quiet just a moment ago. What on earth happened…?

Are adventurers fighting demonic beasts in the forest at this hour of the night…?

No, more importantly, Fel seems pretty mad.

“Um… are you… still angry?”

I offered a strained smile.

I’d rather not get scratched by those claws, thank you very much…

“…Hmph… To think I’d send out that much killing intent and you wouldn’t even flinch… Those insects from before fled the instant they felt just a sliver of it… So… I am nothing of consequence to you, is that it…? My pride is a little wounded… And also… your movements just now… What was that…? Who in the world are you…?”

Fel murmured this, her face showing a hint of fear.

She can try to act tough with all those dramatic lines, but she’s still a kid.

Of course she’d react this way after being suddenly attacked by adult adventurers…

“Um… well… you’re safe now… so for now… let’s just calm down, okay…?”

I decided to do something out of character and pat the little girl’s head as she continued to stare at me, still trembling.

But Fel flinched away from my hand with a start, putting even more distance between us.

Then, with eyes that seemed to hold a mixture of awe and confusion, she simply continued to stare at me.

…Looks like earning her trust isn’t going to be a simple, straightforward process…

Oh well… In any case, today is probably the last day I’ll be with her, so… I guess it doesn’t matter.

“Well… in that case… shall we get some sleep… haha…”

I said, making it sound deliberately casual.

I put out the light and slipped into bed.

But I couldn’t seem to settle down.

I felt like I was being watched.

When I peeked over at Fel, I saw those golden eyes glowing eerily in the darkness, fixed right on me.

It seemed Fel couldn’t sleep, either.

I guess that whole incident from before really put her on high alert.

Well… it’s only natural, isn’t it? Of course you can’t sleep when there’s a strange old man you don’t even know in the room.

But… at this rate… I’m not going to be able to sleep either…

You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I’m surprisingly high-strung…

I always slept alone in my past life and in this one, so I can’t seem to relax when someone else is nearby.

It was the same way back when Mira-san used to pester me to sleep next to her…

In that case, I have no choice but to rely on my usual solution.

I rustled around in my tattered bag and took out a small tube.

This should… let me get to sleep.