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In a panicked heat, I stand up by pressing my hands against the ground, jumping back on my feet, as only a true [Acrobat] can do. My ears move as I try to locate the spirit I just felt, that dreaded kind that makes my nails curl. Squirrels!

Yes, I recognize them. This is bad, they will get me, they will take me, no, I have to get away from them! With this single thought on my mind, I try my best to slowly retreat so that I won't fall into their hands again.

Given, the first time they took me while I was asleep, but- Oh, I didn't notice this window.

Your sister-wives have been kidnapped. Momokawa Kyou and Katarine von Stolzherz have been taken away! Regroup with your husband, make a plan to rescue them, and then do it. If you don't, the curse will be back, first on your husband and then spread to the rest of you.

Right, there was a reason why I was asleep, and the irony doesn't escape me that the last time I read that message it was me and Kenta who were supposedly taken away.

I look down at my dress, only to see bloodstains and a gaping hole in it, though the skin seems to be fine. However, I remember the quite painful experience of being stabbed, as I behaved like a human, put everything logical behind me, acted out of emotion, and got the just desert, with blood loss and organ failing on top.

I move my ears, trying to sense the spirit of Katarine-san and Momo, but I can neither see, hear, nor feel them. How long was I out? I also feel quite unstable on my legs, and this is bad, as the fact that I woke up was because a dreaded squirrel was at the border of my spirit sense.

There it is... no, it's another one. No, two. Both of them move over the broad, circular heap of earth, which marks the former border of the fight. Or to be more precise, how we one-sidedly flailed around meaninglessly.

The squirrels are approaching and even if I can run away, I won't be able to escape. I may need to converse with these critters, as they may prove to be a valuable source of information regarding what happened when I was out.

Everything hints that Katarine-san and Momo has been captured, especially that status-message, it also seems like I was healed beyond Momo's capacity, so they may have made a deal: Katarine-san and Momo cease the resistance and Gottfried-kun's side would heal me.

Yet I don't know the direction they went in, and if it's the same that Kenta-kun is in, which is conferred to me by the curse of the [Lioness' Wedding Ring].

I have truly acted a lot like a human recently. I may even become more like one on an emotional level. I had the doubtful optimism that Gottfried-kun let his guard down enough before attacking, based on nothing but a few successes in seeing through and dodging his attacks.

This isn't good. I'm an alfr after all, I need to act upon fun and logic, and the latter demands of me to set my fears aside and converse with the squirrels to learn more about the situation, even if I want to run away and hide.

“Greetings,” I start, knowing that my spirit and my [Whisperer] will give them the general idea of what I'm saying: “I know, that our relationship may be strained,” especially considering that Katarine-san killed half of them as she reclaimed my kitchen, or rather claimed it in the name of Kenta-kun: “Yet I want to ask you some questions.” With [Whisperer], I also get an idea of what they want to confer: They ask for help themselves. “With what?” Their boss got shredded and while she's healing, they're looking for food for her, but she doesn't seem to like the nuts they brought.

The boss has to be the oni who had shown up, and the shredding was done by Gottfried-kun, which shows either how durable she is, or how little he cared about her. I also suspect that the squirrels can't really understand the oni and are sticking to her as she may be the only person with the will and skill to kill Katarine-san.

Though now Katarine-san is with Gottfried-kun and it'd be foolish to follow them, even if I knew where they were exactly.

“I know exactly what she needs,” I proclaim without anything to back that up, although a killing blow may be appropriate. “I can give it to you, and then you can put it on her wounds, and she will have the time of her life.” I'm speaking of the itching powder, of course. She will never forget it.

Like so many times before, the squirrels and I sit down and begin negotiations. They want their boss to be healed and after I explain to them that Katarine-san won't be executed by Gottfried-kun, they also demand the princess' demise.

Someone like Momo would have used this, told them she will help them to get their intel, but will ultimately betray them. I'm a much simpler woman: “This is something I won't help you with. However, I do have the special medicine for your leader, so let us concentrate on this.”

Uh-oh, they reminded me of what they did to me last time. I... really don't want to relive that, but I won't be able to kill all of them instantaneously, so that the rest of their rout won't be warned by escapees or by their spiritual link. Maybe this is the time to escape.

I still have options, and I should regroup with Kenta-kun, who is at least still alive, though reading through his conditions confirms how senselessly durable humans are. Especially combined with the hero-status.

However, this is a chance that would slip by if I don't take it. As Kenta-kun's status isn't visibly worsening, I can assume that it doesn't matter when I meet up with him, at least as long as it's within a week or two. Therefore I proceed, just with caution.

Following the squirrels, I look for possible escape routes. We're entering the same forest where we may have used the oni as a distraction for Gottfried-kun, almost the same spot even. The ground, the trees, the brushes, the branches on the floor, the moss, the mushrooms, even every single grass blade has been cut in one way or another.

This spot is eerie. There is still life in the plants. They have only been cut, but their spirits themselves seem to be maimed. They seem to be fine, given their physical condition, yet plant spirits are simple, maybe simple enough to just roll with this condition.

The [Prism Strike]. I can't imagine how a more complex being would be maimed by this attack. Luckily, I don't need to imagine it, as I see half of a torso with an arm, and a head attached to it that serves as an example. It looks like it has burrowed itself out of a hole. “LYNXY!” She makes faces as funny as a human. Overall, what I can see from her seems rather human, except small horns on her nose, the beast-like eyes, and the horns on her head. The only thing that reminds of her giant-form are her twintails. “I'll tear you apart, eat your essence, and-”

I don't have time for threats: “Tear me apart? I think you need another hand for that?” I 'do' have time to make fun of her though. I really should have made up some torn-apart puns on my way here, now I have to improvise. “I could lend you a shoulder though, you're missing one.”

“[Oni Fire]!” She spits a pitiful amount of fire at me, I just step aside.

“More like [Oni Ember], though I'm surprised that you can spit any fire in the first place. Though with that hole on your lung--- do you even have a lung? I mean, when you're not cut up?” She grabs a branch to throw at me, but she doesn't even aim right. “Out of balance? I mean-ah, be merciful!” I cower as I feel squirrel claws on my ankles. “I was just poking fun at her, no reason to maim me as well!” These squirrels are about to bite off my toes!

“Yes, hold her still, so I can devour her!”

“Wait, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to negotiate.”

“Nego-what?”

“To speak with you.”

“I want to eat you though.”

“Why?”

“Because then I may purify my youki enough to regenerate.”

“If I recall correctly, you were able to use your youki again after drinking one of Kenta-kun's potions, right?” He told me of this encounter in detail, planning his moves if he ever comes to exchange blows with her again.

She grinds her teeth, her very sharp teeth that are still less terrifying than the squirrel teeth that are far too close to me. “But eating you sounds better...”

This is the problem with demons, they really like to hurt and kill other people, even each other if nothing else is close. “You can't even digest me. You have no stomach.”

“Ah, that's right!” Indeed, she's a simpleton. Unlike Katarine-san, who is educated and just a very direct person, this individual is lacking severely in the mental department. “How will the potion work then?”

“Oh, good point. Then I will just look for your stomach first, if we come to an agreement which includes not devouring me.”

“Don't you dare to trick me, Lynxy.”

“Why are you calling me that in the first place?”

“Because you move your ears like a lynx.” Simpleton indeed.

“Do you feel your toes?”

“No.”

“Have you ever been cut apart before? If yes, do you feel your separated parts? What was the tiniest bit? Do the singular parts even grow together again or are new parts forming from the piece with the head?”

“I have never been reduced to this! Because I'm a scary oni!”

“Who is now reduced to this.” I was just hoping for some help to look for her parts, as it seems like it will take some effort, given how the forest collapsed around here, which is the best way to describe the scenery. Looking for the rest of her body seems to take a while.

“...for my payment: I want to know why you're here, where Correro-kun is, and where Katarine-san is heading.”

“I will never tell you!”

“Ah, I see.” This makes it easier, as then I don't need to bother. There are more important things to do. I turn around and start walking, very aware of the squirrels that are still watching my every step.

“Hey, wait! It's not like that! I'm sorry, I just wanted to gloat! But I really can't tell you, I know nothing.”

Then why are you wasting my time? However, her act makes the squirrel move... There are only two ways it can go down. First, I can be a coward and give in, and provide any help needed to the oni. Or I can finally face my fear, overcome it, fight against the squirrels, end the oni for good, and come out of this encounter as a stronger alfr, woman, and hero.

Being a coward it is! “Let's re-negotiate.”

―○●○―

“H. … …. E.”

“It's alright,” Mirianne says to the unconscious ranger while she wipes the sweat and tears from his face. Even though he probably couldn't hear her, he calms down again. This is the fifth time it's happening, some abrupt sounds, some tears, some jerks through his body, which then squirms in pain, which brings more sweat and tears, but never a hint of consciousness.

Mirianne looks at the man before her. After disrobing him, Uncle Benjam came to the conclusion that this is a human, though his skin color is one she never saw before. Where did he come from? Déjuma maybe? He has black hair, after all. She never saw someone with black hair before.

His face is now bandaged, and even if he was conscious, he wouldn't be able to speak, as his jaw is broken and is currently fixated. How will he eat later? Of course, she will feed him, but how? Maybe pushing a spoon into the gaps between his teeth?

What did he do to become like this? While the older members of her family are arguing about it and deciding whether they should send someone to find out, Mirianne can only imagine it. It had to be a giant, like the one from her stories. Or maybe he fought against an especially nasty monster? Did he kill it? For sure, he may let himself be hurt to deal a killing blow to some eight-armed bear-lion monster, keeping four of its arms busy to go for its heart. That's what a ranger does, after all.

Maybe he was around her age, after all? Mirianne squints her eyes, trying to guess his age once more. His injuries make it hard, but he is much smaller than the young men on this farmstead, so maybe younger than her? Thirteen maybe? Five years apart?

At this age a ranger already? But also maybe a hero... Stories told about the resilience of heroes, how they recover fast. Even if he may be a bit young, he's definitely more worthy than all the men around a boring farmstead like this.

Her hand gently strokes his face. “You fought well.” Mirianne is sure that he likes it.