Chapter 254

254 – Escape Guide

…At the moment, the inside of the cave is calm .

We’re no longer leaving right away and are staying here for now instead . At this rate, we’ll be able to recover our MP in here . By the time the guard changes shift in the evening, we’ll have plenty of MP to humanise again .

Having the sacrifices guide us should be more reliable, and we’ll be able to surprise the manticore this way . When searching for it, I’d like to avoid being noticed first, or letting the villagers see me and cause trouble . So far our interactions have gone okay, but that’s because we’ve been interacting with children who have yet to solidify their worldviews, so I can’t imagine it would go so well with adults .

The atmosphere in the cave is worse than when we were humanised . The children are watching cautiously while maintaining their distance .

The eldest girl from earlier is sitting closest to me . It’s as if she’s not frightened, but rather it looks more like she’s taking responsibility for what she said earlier .

My MP is gradually recovering as we rest . At this rate, we’ll be full in a few hours . That should be fast enough to fight the manticore . If nothing unexpected occurs, we should be able to be led to the manticore without problem .

“Dragon-god…sama, umm, you, why exactly are you in here? You could break out at any time… Even now…”

The eldest girl timidly calls out .

…I could use Humanisation Technique to explain, but I want to focus on recovering my MP . She’ll have to figure it out from the results . If I humanise to answer each of her questions, then if I’m unable to humanise when the guard checks on us, I won’t be able to look her in the eyes .

I reach out with my foreleg and scratch the ground .

The manticore’s appearance flashes into my mind . Umm… A leopard-like body… And a head that’s a cross between a human and a lion…

I draw the manticore with my claw as I’m recalling . But the lines are rough, making it looks like a child’s drawing .

…I used to be able to make pottery . I really have become clumsy . I’m using a forefoot, not a hand after all, so there’s no helping it . Well, I can always humanise to become more dexterous .

The girl doesn’t seem to understand my drawing, as she’s frowning and tilting her head .

I add a tail to the drawing, and a stinger on the end of it . “Manticore…?” she mutters, finally understanding . That tail is its characteristic feature after all .

I nod, taking care not to bump into the ceiling . I then stab my claw into the manticore’s body, gouging the ground . The girl raises her head, looking into my eyes .

“…Are you going to defeat the manticore?”

She asks, searchingly . She seems to have some doubts .

“…Guoh”

I growl and nod in reply, and the girl’s expression crumbles as she gulps .

She might have covered for me earlier, but that doesn’t mean she completely trusts me either . It conflicts with what she’s been taught all her life, so she’s not going to be so readily convinced . But I’m just grateful for her that she created an atmosphere that lets me stay .

From then on, time passes in the uncomfortable atmosphere . I lie with my belly on the ground as I focus on recovering my magic power .

While my partner is sleeping with her eyes closed, I am observing the other children through half-open eyes… They seem to be putting on a brave front, but there’s no way they’re not bothered by me . They’re surrounding the eldest girl and myself, watching over us .

Eventually, the cave is dyed the colour of the setting sun, red light filtering in through the ceiling .

My MP has long been filled . All that’s left to do is wait for the guard to change, then go and beat up the manticore . This time, I won’t let it get away .

I hear the sound of footsteps above the cave .

Finally, the change of guard has arrived . I should humanise . I’m counting on you again, partner .

“…They’re earlier than normal . ”

The eldest girl whispers that to me .

I hear the clunking sound of something being struck above the cave . I look up to see something swinging down from a gap in the ceiling .

Wh-what are they doing? Could someone have come to rescue us? From what she said, there’s a good chance it’s not the guard .

That reminds me, Yarg and Tatark worked together to move the boulder covering the entrance . Meaning someone is trying to get in by themself this time .

N-no, that’s great, but please come on a different day! It’s admirable that you want to come save girls who are being sacrificed . Just don’t come when I’m already here! I’ll save them, you know? I’ll defeat the manticore in front of them!

For that matter, what’s the guard doing! Isn’t he here for times like this?! What’s happening? Is there someone pulling the strings from the shadows to get in my way!?

Panicking, I activate Humanisation Technique . Heat runs through my body as it shrinks .

I focus my attention on my head, which I smoothly make sink into my body . The world becomes dark, and then I’m sharing my partner’s vision again . Nice, it seems I’ve gotten better at controlling it .

I lose control of my body as my partner starts to move it .

【Normal skill [Humanisation Technique] has risen from level 7 to 8 . 】

Ah, it went up . We’ve been using it lots today after all

My partner touches her head as she shakes her neck, checking her body . When we returned to dragon form earlier, she hurriedly took off her clothes, making them even more ragged and torn than before… Perhaps we should have stripped a bit more carefully . No, we were in a hurry, so it couldn’t have been helped .

Like before, something strikes the ceiling, and fragments of rocks fall . The gap opens wide enough, and evening light shines into the cave . A spotlight of red light shines down into the centre .

“O-oi, listen up!”

I hear a voice from above the hole .

For that matter, this voice is… The person peering down through the hole is the guard, Tatark .

It’s you! That explains why the guard wasn’t doing his job .

That reminds me, didn’t he say that Tatark’s an outsider and that his personality wasn’t suited for the task? Isn’t this a complete failure of personnel selection…?

“Including the girl with miko blood, all the key figures are having a meeting in the village right now! Even if you make some suspicious movements, they won’t notice anything until later! Get away from here while you can!”

Upon hearing the voice, the inside of the cave suddenly becomes noisy .

“B-but…”

“Even if we run, where…”

The girls let out sounds of confusion .

“Go to the dragon-god village! I, I heard earlier! The dragon-god has returned to that village!”

Hearing Tatark’s voice, all of the girls turn to look at my partner in unison . N-no, I understand your feelings, but it looks suspicious so please stop .

“Probably, the dragon-god drove the manticore off! That’s why the manticore came to the smaller village! If you go there, you should be safe! I’ve been there, so I know! I can’t think of any other reason why the manticore would come over here where there’s less people .

That’ll be what he meant by outsider . Tatark came here from the dragon-god village .

“Adults aside, they wouldn’t leave children to die! There might be some opposition, but… Please, believe in me!

Originally, the village split because of a distrust in the dragon-god’s power . As Tatark says, returning to the village under the protection of the dragon-god is the most sensible way for the humans of this village to escape the manticore .

…Though that’s contingent on the people of that village letting them in, of course . Thinking back to the dragon-god miko’s conduct earlier, I can tell they have some degree of resentment for the people of this village . That’ll be why Tatark said adults aside, I’m guessing .

Hearing Tatark’s voice, the girls start making noise .

“Drove away the manticore?”

“Um, the manticore is…?”

While saying this, they’re staring forcefully at my partner .

Since the dragon-god gave up on fighting the manticore once before, the dragon-god should be weaker than it . That’ll also be why the manticore jumped at me right away when it first saw me; it must have wanted to punish the dragon-god for misjudging its strength and loitering around its home .

The eldest girl looks at me in astonishment before dropping her gaze to my scrawl from earlier .