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I'm sitting with the oni, who's still not fully herself, you could say that she's torn, unable to pull herself together, doing everything piece by piece. I have a lot more thoughts I want the world to hear, but sadly, I have to keep my witty comments to myself, as I have two squirrels set on my shoulders that watch my every step.

At least I'm walking on my own two feet. “Go, Lynxy!” After she drank some Aeolferelda-tea to cleanse her so-called youki—a waste, if you ask me, though it shows that she either still has her stomach or that it isn't a requirement—the oni decided to make me carry her. Luckily, she has lost some weight, though I would have preferred that her gaping holes hadn't been covered up by new flesh for the time being. It would be a win-win, she would be easier and easier to carry, and eventually die from blood loss. Two wins for me.

“Go where?”

“Erm... there!” She points with her only hand at a heap of sawdust, wood, and leaves, most likely a former cluster of trees. “Let's start there.”

“As you wish.” I walk to that heap, ready to drop her, but the small spirits of the squirrels make me reconsider it, as there is that spike of onoth in them, which shows that they're still wary of me. “Here we are.”

“Now dig!”

“Dear oni, I'm nothing but a frail alfr, so you may reconsider the viability of this task.”

“Hah!?”

“Let me try to rephrase it: You have a small army of forest critters known for burying their winter stock, while you're a powerful oni in contrast to me, who is so weak.”

“Hehe! Yes, I am plenty strong.”

“You can certainly lift more with one arm than me with my entire body.”

“You are right!”

“There you have it. You have one arm, so it'd be more- I mean, that's why you are better than me.” I feel like I'm losing intelligence while speaking with this rather simple-minded individual.

“Well, you are right. Minions, start digging! I'll just throw the trunks out of the way!” Another victory to the Queen of Laziness. I really need to patent this title.

As I observe how the critters and their boss are playing with the dirt, I try to formulate a strategy. Neither the squirrels nor the oni even have an average intellect, however, they're much crueler and eviler than I can imagine.

The oni is also still quite powerful, she effortlessly lifts whole trees, even in this splintered stage and while I may outrun her, I won't be able to do the same with the squirrels. Whoever decided to grant their ancestors this spark of intelligence should come here right away and clean up their mess. It was mostly based around a prank, but this one has gone horribly wrong

With their interconnected spirit, I can't win with [Spirit Magic], and now one is nibbling at my ear, as it read my spirit and therefore concluded that I'm trying to beat them. “I would appreciate it if you wouldn't do this, these ears are very sensitive.”

This is certainly a situation where I get nothing but my safety out of it, and while I appreciate my safety, originally I decided to tag along with the squirrels to gather intelligence. As the oni seems to be a simpleton, I don't expect her to know much about the greater things going on, but on the other hand, she may be easy to interrogate.

I change my spirit as good as possible. As humans can change their facial expressions to convey different feelings they aren't feeling, alfar can do the same with their spirits if needed. This may be enough to trick the squirrels, though I'm not an actor. “May I ask a question?”

“What is it? Stupid wood! Get away! [Oni Fire]! Argh! I'm still too weak!” This certainly is a much stronger blast than before, but not enough to incinerate all the cut trees at once.

“Why are you even here? Specifically. I mean, Correro-kun told us that he will leave us alone for a while.”

“I don't know! I only know that I'm supposed to be here and delay an old warrior as much as possible. Now I'm free from the order, and it's time to look for Katakata!”

Delay an old warrior... Gottfried-kun? So Correro-kun knew about Gottfried-kun and decided to send the oni. “How did Correro-kun know?”

“Here! Burrow here, minions!” She instructs the squirrels after cleaning up a spot. “I don't know, I don't care! I just know what I'm supposed to do.”

Let's assume that Correro-kun had a scheme. The interesting part is, that the oni should only 'delay' Gottfried-kun, not fight him or even defeat him. This has been fulfilled it seems, so his scheme is working out.

The delay was short, so even these minutes were enough for her to be freed from this task, which seems to be enforced by some kind of pact, which also has to be the reason why she can be summoned away in the first place, according to Kenta-kun's report of Goldbrunn.

So something changed with her intervention that now benefits Correro-kun. If he knew Gottfried-kun is coming to get Katarine-san, that means he should also know that it'd be impossible to get her back with force after she was captured by the knight. At least, nothing Correro-kun ever did gave me the impression that he could overcome Gottfried-kun that way.

What do I know of Correro-kun? He's acting for the so-called Lady, Orinael—I'm sure that was her name. He has monetary resources. He's fine with taking his time and using as little effort as necessary. Also, he likes to act through others...

I see. That's what it is about. The only question is if I can trust Correro-kun's scheming abilities, as he actually does not have a good track record as far as I know. On the other hand, how often did he try? Aroahenn? Basically a win for him, the oni got away with the relics. Not much of a victory, as we just had junk left, but still. The mercenaries? Worked well, just a stroke of fate helped us, most likely a hero's drama effect. Goldbrunn? Not sure what his goal was there. Redrock Canyon? Actually, he only made an offer...

Ah, I see. Correro-kun is a lazy bum, the same as me. That's also why I won against him, because he had to succumb to my superior laziness and intellect. Yet competing with someone like me doesn't make him worse.

Let's count on him for now. This means I have to get away. This needs a clever scheme, a defiant ruse, a masterful manipulation: “Ah, my alfr senses tell me that there is something in this direction. It seems that the attack has been strong enough to literally blow away the rest of you.”

“There is? Carry me there, minion!”

I pick her up and carry her with me. I follow the direction of the [Spouse Location], it only takes a short while over some hillside until we get to a big cliff with a forest down below. “I think it's down there.”

“Where? I can't see! Get me closer!”

“Your wish is my command.” With her consent, I drop the oni off the cliff. Immediately afterwards, I take both squirrels off my shoulders and throw them right after her.

I notice how the other squirrels are jumping at me, but I'm well prepared. I'm already [Acrobat] and jump off the cliff myself, as this will turn their chase into suicide, while being an [Acrobat] means I'll deal well with large falls.

Yet I underestimated the critters. Several of them seriously jump at me from above, willing to die if it means murdering me in the process. I swing my staff, which I previously tucked into the crook of my arm while carrying the oni, and hit one, two away, but three to five land on me, while six and seven miss me entirely.

I change to [Druid] to take a page out of Kenta-kun's repertoire. Just before I hit the trees at the bottom of the cliff: “[Entangle]!” A branch catches me, I immediately switch back to [Acrobat] to wiggle myself free and jump to the next tree, while I still have squirrels on myself, which now get a lot of spiritual power passed by their brethren, which will turn into quite a situation, if they get the chance to cast a spell.

Like now. Branches are whipping in my direction, brown and red leaves are thrown like knives, I evade each of them with my spatial awareness as an alfr and flexibility as an [Acrobat]. Then I let two treetops crush into me.

Pain assaults me, and I can't see a thing because of the rest of the foliage. However, I don't need to see. This is much more of a demerit for the squirrels, as I can still sense their empowered spirits clearly. I take out a knife from my backpack and use the same movements Katarine-san taught me, cutting these critters down.

I won.

However, I better not stay here, as I expect that otherwise the squirrels will get me and now they have a personal grudge against me. I regret this, I soooooo regret this! Now I'm the squirrels public enemy #2.

I also wish that I could look for the oni once more and finish her off, but any delay may cost too much. Therefore I head into a random direction, as I first need to lose those squirrels for good, so that I won't lead the trouble towards Kenta-kun.

―○●○―

It's late in the evening, and Mirianne sits at the bedside of the ranger, her arms around her pulled-up knees: “No dinner...” She's more than a bit upset about it, but this is what she gets for insisting to stay at the ranger's side. “She said 'If you want to eat, come to the dining room.' and 'Someone else can look after him.' I mean, that's just mean.” She doesn't know why, but talking to the ranger calms her down. “I mean, for them you're just a burden.” While she doesn't really believe it, the thought crossed her mind that her family might want to get rid of him.

Mirianne stands up and looks at his armor, which lies on the table. It looks exotic. It's made out of red fur from a beast she has never seen. Maybe a special red wolf? It's very durable, maybe even magical? This would make sense. Rangers are the disciples of elves, creatures as feared as mysterious.

When she was little, Mirianne listened to her mother's story about the elves, how they would kidnap her if she misbehaves. Now that she's older, she doesn't believe it anymore, especially given how rangers are these valiant warriors that protect the people. They must have learned this from the elves.

With a grin, she opens the pouch that was on the ranger's belt. Glass shards and some strange skins. They're ripped and some strange powders are in them. “Most likely some sort of medicine that has been broken, right?” She asks the ranger without expecting an answer.

His spear doesn't look good, made out of wood and bones it's snapped at two points, rendering it useless. The wood itself seems to be strange as well. If her mother would have let her be an artisan, she could probably fix it, replacing the staff, but she isn't one and can therefore only dream about it.

Oh, there is a distinct smell. She has smelled it a lot with her younger siblings, did he- “Oh boy,” she can't help but smile a bit, waving her brown pigtails as she turns around and uncovers his blanket. Even down there, he's been bandaged, she only needs to replace them. This has to be why Uncle Benjam used one only for this section. She takes it off and feels her stomach revolting, as her eyes lay on the still black and blue skin underneath.

Just think of it as changing diapers. Of course, she has some experience with her younger siblings.

This task has been taken care of, but Mirianne strikes another idea: “Maybe you're thirsty now?” Using an old feeding cup, she slowly puts some water in his mouth, though finding a good spot with the spout is quite a challenge. “Good. Now swallow it.” Of course he doesn't, therefore Mirianne just hopes that the water will run down his throat on its own.

This would be so much better if he would respond. She doesn't even know his name, so how should she call him? Another look at his armor gives her an idea... Red. That's what she will call him for now. If he doesn't like it, he can wake up and tell her that.

“So Red... do you feel comfortable? At least considering your current state? I know, the pillows and the mattress are hard, and maybe it smells a bit too much like hay, but that's because mom is so stingy. I heard that in the city they use several kinds of wool, feathers, and hair for their mattresses, and even though we have chicken, goats, and sheep, we always sell those. Ah, I guess you're used to sleeping on the ground or on a tree. I can imagine that the fresh air feels good though. Also, sitting at a campfire is romantic, just imagine it. You and me, a dark night, and the warm flames, and--- Ah, forget that, this sounds silly. I mean, I would try it, if you show me though. I mean, living in the wilderness. It has to be better than being a farm girl, after all. Mom wants to marry me off, can you imagine it? It's not like I don't want to marry, but I--- how can I say... it sounds strange, but there is something beyond the farms, and I want to see it, I want to witness it. It has to be great. Visiting new places, meeting all kinds of people, witnessing all that’s happening in the world.”

Mirianne continues her babbling about her worries, her plights, her wishes. She tells Red all the things she can't tell her family. First her dreams, then her thoughts, and finally even some of her secrets. She imagines how Red listens to all of it and accepts it, how he magically heals over night and smiles mildly at her, with his wonderful face, which combines hardiness and gentleness.

She only left his side for a short moment to get a washing basin and some soap to clean the accident he made in his lower bandage. Usually, she hates washing anything, but it's just a small inconvenience when it's for Red.

The cry of the roosters makes her realize that it's already morning. Uncle Bemjan visits Red and brings something to eat for Mirianne, reminding her to call him the moment Red wakes up. Of course he doesn't call him Red, that's the secret nickname between Mirianne and Red, something only these two know about.

It's noon now, Mirianne still fumes about how her mom tried to drag her to work, despite having Red here, who needs someone at his side when he awakes. Otherwise, he'd be confused and possibly scared, and it's just natural that Mirianne is the first one to greet him, as she took care of him throughout the night and even though she's tired, the bond between Red and her is so strong, that she can go on endlessly.

“She just doesn't understand. She never tried to understand. It's all about her having her way, but she's not as important as she may think. She's in charge, I admit, but only of this farmstead. There is a whole world out there, and now with you, Red, that world is coming to us, and she's not that important anymore! …did you hear that, Red?”

Mirianne strains her ears. Yes, that's her nephew Obert, who's screaming. [small]“MOM! I'M SORRY. I WILL BEHAVE, PLEASE!!!”[/small] What is he talking about? Is Lurise putting him over her knee?

Wait, there is more. Rald, her older brother, is yelling something, is that a warning? Is there an attacker? “Bandits!?” Mirianne shrieks, as she quickly looks around, trying to form a strategy. She has to take Red and run, but she's not as strong as Lurise. Dragging him around will be impossible. Should she ready a cart and Moonshine?

Suddenly, Mirianne hears her mother's voice echoing through the hallway: “Wait, you can't-” Then Red abruptly opens his eyes, breathing out sharply, just before the door to the room opens violently, and a cold wind breezes through the room and down Mirianne's spine.

White hair, green dress, long ears. Eyes of two colors in a strange face, which has several scratches on it. “There you are. I'm here to pick you up,” a feminine voice sounds, while her inhuman eyes are looking at Red. “Oh?” Despite her calm face, her voice is full of wonder and admiration.

Mirianne stands up and throws herself at the intruder with her full body-weight, throwing both of them down to the ground.

She knows instinctively that this intruder is bad news. She's an elf, so as Red is a ranger, she may be his companion, his comrade. Yet elves are evil, and she was looking for him, which makes her suspicious.

Yes, elves take away people to make them rangers, so she's here to get Red back. It makes all sense now, he has escaped the elves... what are elves doing here anyway? There can be only one explanation: They're here to kidnap children.

Yes, and Red has fought them off, of course! Red is a hero, after all, of course he would help innocent children, saving them from the elves. Oh yes, and he has most likely slain most of them, but he was injured badly, and still went out of his way to their fields, trying to warn Mirianne's family.

Oh, it all makes sense now.

As Red has escaped, they send their scouts out everywhere, and one of those elves is now here and the only way to save Red and her family is to kill her, to buy time, to intimidate the other elves.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill!