Chapter 181

「You, what do you plan to do about Ria?」

I called out to Kurou who had been pouting since we entered the forest .

The branches snapped under Kurou’s feet .

Judging from the position of the sun, we had been advancing at quite a fast pace .

At this rate, we would most likely arrive at the meeting point at the same time as the hero and the others .

As far as what I could see from the statuses of the monsters that had appeared up until now, Zeal-san and the heroes wouldn’t be annihilated, but even so, it wouldn’t be strange for one or two of them to be missing .

That was just how dangerous this forest was .

It was natural that there wouldn’t be anyone here and that there were no signs of any wild animals .

It might have been a mistake to have separated from the hero .

「Is that, any of your business?」

Unconsciously, I gulped when Kurou turned his sharp gaze towards me .

Paying no mind to me, Kurou continued to move forward .

If it was before entering the forest, perhaps Kurou would’ve laughed scornfully at me, or even made some kind of snide remark, in any case, he would’ve had a reaction, but now, it seems that he wasn’t even composed enough to do so .

This was the first time I’ve seen Kurou so sullen .

「Akira, is Kurou acting strange?」

Standing next to me who had stopped walking because of Kurou’s thirst for blood, Amelia peered at my face .

I patted her on the head as she seemed somewhat worried .

「It seems so . However, maa, it was also my bad for poking my nose into someone else’s business . I thought of letting it be for now, but what is Amelia going to do?」

After looking a bit troubled, Amelia quickly came to a decision .

No matter what happened, Amelia was rarely troubled .

Deciding on what to eat was a bit troublesome, but even that didn’t take too long .

Perhaps it was also necessary for princesses to be decisive .

「I will also watch over him . I need to tell Ria and Amaryllis as well . Right now, Kurou is dangerous and shouldn’t be bothered . 」

I unconsciously laughed when I heard those words that described Kurou perfectly .

「You two, if you don’t hurry up, we’ll leave you behind!」

Amaryllis, who was now energetic because we took a break just now, raised her voice from between the trees .

That intonation reminded me of the Kansai dialect girl who’s in the hero’s group .

It seems that Amaryllis who, at first, timidly used polite speech and addressed us with prominent titles like “Elven Princess”, “Former Beastman Princess”, “Previous Hero Party Member”, and “Summoned Hero” had grown familiar with us .

The first time we met was an encounter, but it seems that she herself had a dog-like personality towards those she was accustomed with .

When I met her in the underground prison, lives other than her own hung in the balance so she was tense .

No, doing her utmost to intimidate people she was not familiar with, wasn’t that a cat?

「We’re coming now! …for now, I won’t involve myself with Ria and Kurou . That should be fine, right?」

I nodded when Amelia asked for confirmation .

Right now, Kurou was somewhat thorny, and even I didn’t want to talk to him .

Leaving aside Amaryllis who had just gotten acquainted with Kurou who was currently thorny, it would be better if Ria and Amelia didn’t approach him .

Ria too, talked with me and was somewhat relieved, but I knew she had yet to talk with Kurou himself as she was unable to find the timing to do so .

The lively conversation with Kurou from before we entered the forest had died out as well .

When we left Uruk, he seemed to have decided on something, but right now, he seemed to be hesitating .

Or rather, was it alright to be distracted by Kurou’s grumpiness .

Both Kurou and Ria had become extremely uneasy ever since entering this forest, and Amelia and I had been confused .

「Aah, that’s fine . 」

At least, until we understood the reason for Kurou’s grumpiness, we could only continue on like this .

The current Kurou somehow reminded me of my younger sister when she woke up .

Being in a bad mood and being irritated at other people no matter what they did .

Something like that .

After that, we walked a fair distance almost completely in silence .

I confirmed that the status of the monsters that appear were all at the level of those in the lowest level of the dungeon and gave a dry smile .

Perhaps, not one or two, but the entire group of heroes had been annihilated .

I hoped that they were alive, somehow or another, but I knew that reality was not so optimistic .

Because if this world was as soft as I was, then Commander Saran would have been alive .

The naivety of my assumption would once again kill people .

「A monster appeared!!」

The voice of Amaryllis, who had a higher leveled detection skill than I did, resounded .

Amelia and I raised a hand in response .

Although they were considered dangerous for the heroes, for us, to put it bluntly, they were small fry .

There was Amelia’s Gravitational Magic, my Shadow Magic, Kurou who had been selected to be a part of the previous hero’s party, and the beastman princess Ria .

You could say that we were overpowered .

Or rather, there was nothing for us to be wary of .

「What is this . A robot?」

As we were being vigilant, the monster that had appeared made me blink .

With dull silver armor that was something unnatural within a forest, the monster that was undoubtedly a robot set its target on us .

It was moving smoothly as if it were a human, but I immediately understood that there was no one inside it .

Thick armor was attached to its joints, but conversely, there weren’t any in the central area and the surroundings that were the vital areas of humans .

In other words, the only parts that were protected were those that hindered movement .

If there was a living creature inside, then that wouldn’t be the case .

Or rather, it was obviously man-made since there was no way that it was born in this forest, but I wonder who made it and for what reason .

When I looked at it using『Eye of the World』, I could tell that a distinguished person created it because the robot had a status .

On top of being capable of both short and long-ranged attacks that all inflicted paralysis poison, it executed mind interference as it fought, and furthermore, was also equipped with a self-repair function .

For me, I could continue beating it up until it could no longer repair itself, and it wouldn’t be a problem if Amelia used『Gravitational Magic』to suppress it, but if the hero and the others encountered this guy, that would be the worst case scenario .

Such a robot, its mechanics wasn’t bad, but that wasn’t the same for the naming sense .

If it were the monsters around here, we would probably be able to easily drive it away .

While we were standing there in blank amazement upon seeing such a robot, Kurou had no interest in it, so he walked past it and continued on .

「Kurou-sama!?」

That was the first time Ria had called out to Kurou ever since entering the forest .

However, Kurou paid no attention to her, and as if venting his irritation, gripped the head of the robot before it began to attack, and crushed it .

Seeing him act out in anger, Ria, who was about to erect a barrier, froze .

「You’re there, aren’t you, old hag! Come out!!」

As I gave Kurou, who shouted in a rough voice, which was unusual for him, a sidelong glance, the robot within his hands used its skill to repair itself .

With quick movements, Kurou drew something in the air, which applied pressure on the robot, resulting in it falling into a state of complete inaction .

Amelia saw that and raised her voice that was filled with shocked astonishment .

I had seen Kurou teach Amelia the 『Reversal』skill, so I knew a little about it, but it shouldn’t have been a simple skill where you could use it so precisely in such a distressing situation .

「Oya, oya, if it isn’t my son . It’s the reunion of mother and son after a few decades . 」

The aloof voice that seemed to be full of disdain could be heard coming from between the trees .

If my conjecture was correct, that voice should belong to Kurou’s mother, but that voice sounded much younger than I had expected .

Or rather, “young” perfectly described her tone of voice .

Perhaps the reason why Kurou had been irritated ever since entering the forest was because he had sensed his mother’s presence .

He purposely changed the meeting place so that he could avoid meeting his mother .

Even so, didn’t he sense it too easily .

「I’ve never thought of you as my parent . Rather than that, undo the magic that you casted on Ria . 」

Eh?, the one who gave such a reaction was RIa herself .

Wondering what they were talking about, Amelia, Amaryllis, and I all tilted our heads in confusion .

Had magic been casted on Ria .

Although it was a little strange, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Ria’s behavior .

「Oya, you noticed it, did you . The one I casted on the little girl is especially made, unlike the others . 」

As those words were spoken, a young girl came out from behind the tree that Kurou had been glaring at .

Her hair and eyes were the same color as Kurou’s, but their appearances were surprisingly dissimilar .

Also, she did not have the animal characteristics that those of the beastman race had .

「A human?」

Amelia, who used『Eye of the World』to look at her status, muttered this in a daze .

As if amused, the girl shook her pigtails .

「Correct, elven princess . However, that rude way of doing things would just be displeasing if you didn’t have a generous heart like me . 」

That manner of speaking, criticizing Amelia in a roundabout way with a smile on her face, did not match with her outer appearance at all .

Before Amelia could realize what she meant and apologize, Kurou, as if losing patience, threw the robot in his hand towards the young girl .

「Quickly dispel the magic and go away, old hag . 」

Another robot came out from behind the young girl and safely caught that robot that seemed to be about to hit her .

Looking closely, that robot looked just like the one that came to attack us .

It seems that both of them had been created by the young girl .

「Fumu, alright . It is the reward for destroying my masterpiece, ‘Usako No . 11’ . 」

When the girl snapped her fingers, Ria collapsed onto the ground, as if a puppet with its string having been cut .

「Ria!?」

Amelia, who was near her, lifted Ria into her arms .

「There are no particular abnormalities . She has just lost consciousness . 」

Amaryllis quickly gave her diagnosis .

Giving a sigh of relief, I looked at where the girl had been, but there was no one there .

She did as Kurou asked of her and went away .

However, it seems that I wasn’t the only one who thought that this matter wouldn’t end like this .

As evidence of that, Kurou’s brow was deeply furrowed .