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Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Small animal is going through tanukification, giving up on the girlhood to morph into a demon orangutan.

Day 67 – Nighttime, Souvenir Store Orphanage Branch

They are crying. They are finally able to smile, but they are bawling their eyes out. Just because smiling it still doesn’t necessarily mean that they are alright. Just because they are smiling, it still doesn’t mean that the wounds have fully healed… That’s why they are crying. They are clinging with sobs and tears, desperately pleading, while gasping for air in between wails.

「I’m coming tooo. I’m absolutely coming, I will work very hard, so pleease don’t leave me here!」

「I will work too, I can properly do all the tasks! I will soon grow up and will be able to carry heavy things too! 」

「Brother, sis, please don’t leave, please take me with you.」

「NOo, don’t goo. I’m not going to eat so much anymore, I’m fine with just little bits.」

「I will be a good girl. I will behave and listen to everything, so please… please…」

「「「UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAh. Don’t go, don’t leave us, we will work hard, we don’t need food too.」」」

A pandemonium of sobs from seriously crying orphans. They are desperately clinging, refusing to separate, all while wailing and sobbing, so it’s really noisy? I mean, it’s a live Surround Sound experience of pure unadulterated shrieking right under the ears!

「It’s fine, I’m just going out for a bit, so will we see each other again soon enough? I just need to take care of some very very important business. It’s definitely going to be alright?」

The pres and others are going around, trying to calm them down, but they aren’t listening at all, bawling like their lives depend on it, so the situation aren’t improving at all. Since it’s not about logic but emotions, the fear, they aren’t listening to reason at all.

Looks like someone told them that I’m going back to the frontier tomorrow. And after some delay the girls are going to follow too. Well, as expected, I can’t charge at an army while bringing the orphans with me? No, I have a hunch that it would’ve been fine if it’s the former army of the First Prince, but what kind of cozy Bring-Your-Child-with-you event is that supposed to be?

But I might’ve been slightly overthinking it. Looking at aunties or just your average citizens, the Capital has pretty much nothing but nice people among common folk. As long as there are no idiots (nobles) or trash (the confederation’s merchants) it’s not a bad place for the orphans. Hence, I thought that it would’ve been fine to leave them here.

But there is no way that’s the case. They only barely managed to survive, living in complete despair on the verge of death. It’s merely that their home became prettier, there are more people willing to help, they can eat plentiful meals, and receive actual payment for their work, but that’s about it… Nothing more. There is no way they wouldn’t be scared to be left in the town where no one lent them a helping hand. And there is no way orphans that lost their families wouldn’t be scared to be left alone again just because they appear more energetic and sociable now. Since it’s not about logic but emotions, the fear, there is no way words like『it’s going to be alright』bear any meaning.

Even if they laugh happily, they had more than enough pain, suffering, grief, and oppression until now. Even though it’s not even the smallest tiniest little bit alright at all, even though it’s extremely obvious that it’s not okay at all if one thinks about it even for a moment. Leaving the orphans in the Capital, assuming that it is safer that way, I thought of nothing but the future and what is to come after that, without considering what the orphans think or feel at all. That’s why they are clinging to us in tears. I don’t know how to answer their shouts and cries. Even so, can you please kindly spare me stereo crying right into my ears?

Yeah, Shrimp was right. Lately she is slowly evolving into a small tanuki from overeating, but the one who had a proper understanding of their feeling was this tanuki that returned to being a little child running around with the orphans. After all, she would know best since she was the one who was suffering and crying the most after being pulled apart from her family and brought to such a place… But I didn’t get anything. [1]

The idea that it’s going to be safer in the Capital, applies only when we are talking about monsters. It is precisely because it’s the Capital that they are so frightened. Even if they were told that it will be alright, even if the happiness lasted for a few short days, they can’t trust this city anymore. They received that deep of a wound. They lived with ever growing trauma. Getting a nice house, warm bed, or delicious meals, is nothing more than an extra for them. They finally found relief and became able to smile. We can’t leave them here… After all, that’s what they are most afraid of. They were afraid of others disappearing, and ending up all on their own. That’s why they lived while desperately helping each other, that’s why we can’t leave them here. Tanuki was right, even if her stomach is so plump, even if it’s because Tanuki herself doesn’t want to separate with the orphans, that animal instinct was right.

If so, let’s bring them to the Frontier. We just have to finish everything, and bring everyone to the Frontier.

So… Let’s go and put an end to everything.

The defensive system here is more than perfect. The rest is up to Rerorero old man. Later, I will give him back his swords and equipment, after reinforcing it with mithril, while what’s on the inside will be strengthened through forcible power up.

Or rather, that inside is currently being forcibly strengthened through a coercive beating called training. Undergoing training in both body and spirit he is getting molded into… something? Well, he is a bodyguard after all, so there is nothing wrong with making him stronger, and this training will undoubtedly bring him to a higher level. Even going higher than the heavens might not be out of the question, says with a distant gaze a person who had a personal experience of accidentally almost ending up there on more than one occasion. Let’s bury him in the basement if he ends up awakening to something weird from this.

However, that middle-aged man is strong, but… Being half-heartedly skillful he has way too much pretense to his fighting style. Even if you try to lure the opponent with an opening, an opening is still an opening, you know? Even if you made it yourself, even if you are waiting for the opponent to step into that trap, it’s still an opening… Well, beating it is! Yeah, it seems to have a high fitness value, but by now even his soul is getting whipped into shape… I can hear screams of a middle-aged man coming from afar… How annoying.

「Or rather, it’s actually annoying, can’t you take your beatings in silence? Not only is there no demand for middle-aged man’s screams, there soon will be complaints from both the neighborhood and the underground dwellers? But before the neighborhood, there is already a flood of complaints from the souvenir store, you know? After all, while I love making Armored Pres-san moan, scream, and gasp, I don’t need gasping screams from a beaten up middle-aged man? Wouldn’t changing gasping screams to a deathrattle make a great improvement? Yeah, breathing your last breath will surely bring us silence? I guess?」

「Haa, haaaa, haaaa, if, I… make… last… breath… I’d… be dead? However… I was confident… that if my opponent is using a sword, then even if I can’t win… I will be able to not lose… But I was no match… at all.」

In terms of pure stats alone, the middle aged man has better specs than Armored Pres-san. He is over Lv100 already.

Indeed, for a reroreroing old man, he has great technique and vast experience. Possessing his own unique fighting style he is also capable of matching it to his opponent. He has strength, speed, sharpness, flexibility, and precision in both his sword and own movements. However, he doesn’t have techniques to swiftly decide a fight in a single stroke, nor the ability to crush the impossible or avoid the unavoidable. He has an unorthodox technique that allows for fluid and transformative style… But that is still a fighting style bound to common sense.

「You think too much for an idiot, old man. You have to act more like an idiot, you know? I mean you are an idiot after all, or rather, it is because you are trying to use your non-existent brains that you end up lagging behind. Move before you think, and then use the time while you are moving for thoughts. Unless you track the flow instead of relying on tricks you won’t be able to catch up. You have to see the entire picture, or you will end up losing in reading the moment anyway? Yeah, like the way you were when you tried to steal a mushroom for your little sister, it’s fine like that. It was very idiot-like. A proper form for an idiot.」

He must’ve never fought for his own sake. That’s why he unconsciously takes a safe defensive approach… For the medicine, for comrades, for protection, for the goal, but ultimately, everything is for the sake of his sister. That’s why he should have his ass kicked, after all, I’m getting mine kicked every day, so everyone else should be getting beaten even harder! If they get vexed about getting beaten up, if they desire to grasp victory, that will become their blade. One cannot bet life on the sword that they didn’t wish for. Well, although there is a certain someone who was desperately trying hard every day, but any semblance of swordfight flew out the window, as he became unable to do anything but the most bizarre attacks despite not really wishing for that, so might as well leave them to resolve the question of their blade on their own.

Now then, let’s prepare for dinner. Both the little sister and the orphans have to be provided with calories, and the people who had too many calories, since Armored Pres-san is around, will be busy with endlessly repeating ONE MORE SET of calorie burning exercises (combat training). And I’m also about to become extremely busy in a highschool boy sort of way with lovely nyan-nyan squish-squish time, so let’s have dinner ASAP. I mean, there is nothing fun about watching a middle-aged man getting beaten up.

I also have to prepare some food in advance, so that’s a lot of work, but let’s make a mountain of delicious stuff, so they can happily stay at home.

Although I’m a bit worried about a certain small animal who have underwent 『Transformation』(growth) into a great tanuki, becoming so plump that she might soon become Orangutan Girl, but if I make more food than can be eaten, there at least won’t be any concern about them crying from the lack of food. If I knew it’d come to this, I would’ve spent time on establishing proper manufacturing process with 『Cooling (Freeze)』and『Heat (Dry)』skills. Being still unable to make ramen I was postponing this since I wouldn’t have been able to fully harness the greatness of freeze-dry anyway, but I wonder if the orphans will be able to handle cooking? Just in case, let’s install some sprinklers for fire prevention. And then… Ask for some helper to assist them in our absence. Alright, and also preserved foods!

「「「There is a whole mountain of food!」」」

Did I go overboard? The dining hall is not large enough, and the pile of foodstuff is about to collapse.

Well, in the initial construction I was going for Byodoin, but it turned out to be too small, so the rest is just a common two-storey wooden house. It’s not like I was trying to make it particularly huge either, however, I was still under the impression that it’s quite spacious… Did I make too much after all?

Aah… Slime-san and the Idiots aren’t here. I had them included into the calculations for the daily required amount of food, so the week’s worth of food became such a huge mountain. That’s right, the creatures eating from buckets are still busy pirating, and they should be returning straight to the Frontier anyway… Well, it’s slums, so might as well give out the excessive food. Having more wouldn’t hurt, I mean, after all, if they were anxious about having nothing to eat tomorrow, then having more than they can eat should surely put their minds at ease! If they turn into small tanuki from that it’s their own fault.

「Aight then, I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, so I’m counting on you to operate the store until Royal Girl and Meripapa-san enter the city and capture the monkey (the Second Prince), but Armored Pres-san is going to leave beforehand, and you should hurry to the Frontier as soon as you are done here too, okay? The Stalker Girl’s clansmen will distribute instructions. In the meantime I’ll try to curb the enemies’ progress while also curb stomping them into the depths of hell, gaining us some time while also gaining some fat profits, so don’t worry, I’ll do just fine?」

「「「We are worried, but can’t help feeling that it’s going to be super alright?!」」」　　

The meeting progressed smoothly, and the mountain of food is also being steadily devoured. Looks like at this point there is no stopping giant orangutan girls from emerging! And it also seems that Vice President C will soon need her own personal bowl (bucket) too. Yeah, she seems very stuffed?