49. No Way, How Can Mom Be a Giant Shrew...

—Fwooosh.

Before I knew it, I'd regained consciousness, and the sound of wind filled my ears.

Along with it, my blurry vision gradually cleared, and the surrounding landscape began to filter in.

Endless rows of collapsed, weathered buildings stretched in every direction.

Lying abandoned in a city that itself exuded a sense of emptiness, I took a brief moment to recall just why I was here.

"...The hell is this place?"

Isn't this weird?

I was definitely in Tachia's workshop. So why am I now wandering through ruins like this?

—Plink.

Just as confusion over this inexplicable situation was settling in, a faint sound reached me.

I turned my steps toward the source of the sound and there, in the middle of what looked like an open plaza, was a little girl crouched down.

—Tap, tap, plink.

Yeah, a little kid.

A child with short blue hair, wearing nothing but a simple dress, tapping away at the sand with a small trowel in her hand...

"Hey there, little one?"

Actually, this works out perfectly in this confusing situation, I thought, as I carefully approached and tried asking a question.

"...Hyo-eh?"

The girl reacted by letting the trowel drop from her hand, turning to stare blankly at me and blinking her eyes.

Eyes brimming with an untainted purity that stood in stark contrast to the desolation around us—eyes fixed on me.

"...Pa."

Then, as if she'd realized something, the girl broke into a radiant smile, ran toward me, and shouted.

"Papa~!"

"Wh-What?"

"It's Papa, Papa. Hehe~"

By the time I'd gotten my head together, the girl already had both arms wrapped around my waist.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was basically a widower before I'd even gotten laid, which was just bewildering, but the girl clinging to me and giggling was so damn cute that any thought of questioning it simply evaporated.

Well, she looked about three or four years old at most. She might be mistaking me for her dad, or just missing him.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go with that for now."

So I wrapped both arms around the girl, stroked her hair, and quietly surveyed the ruined place around us.

A mysterious ruined city I'd arrived in upon waking, and the only person I'd found was this one little girl.

Anyone could see this was an utterly bizarre situation, so inevitably, the girl in my arms became all the more important.

I didn't know if I'd even be able to communicate with her properly, but to break out of this situation, I had no choice but to rely on this kid.

"Hey there, little one. Do you... not have a mommy?"

"...Mama?"

Wait, hold on. What the hell did I just say?

That's the kind of thing you say to some STEM major who keeps throwing games in ranked—not to a kid left all alone. What if she really is an orphan?

"Mama ish."

"You do have a mommy!"

But thank goodness, the girl did have a mother, and I was thus spared the disgrace of being the kind of garbage human who cracks orphan jokes to an actual orphan's face.

And on another level, I was genuinely relieved.

At least I now knew this kid hadn't been abandoned all alone in this city.

"S-So, could you tell me your mommy's name?"

"Mama?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know your mommy's name."

I had no idea why this kid was playing here by herself, but if she was lost, I'd need to call out a name to help find her parents.

When I asked for the necessary information, the girl, having understood my words, placed a finger to the corner of her mouth and spoke.

"Ttaa..."

"Tta?"

"Ttajji."

"...Huh?"

"Yeah! Mama ish Ttajji!"

Words I couldn't make any sense of.

And with that, the girl hopped out of my arms, spread both arms wide, and shouted in a bright voice.

"Ttajji—Mama ish—THISH big!!"

"...Um."

I stared blankly at the girl with her arms spread wide and eyes sparkling for a good ten-odd seconds.

Then, having taken that time to process her words, I let them slip from my mouth in a daze.

What'd she just say? Her mom Ttajji is this big?

"Your mommy is a giant shrew?"

"Yeah!"

The girl nodded immediately at my question.

I felt my brain going numb and said, almost without thinking.

***

"No, how can a mom be a giant shrew..."

"What the hell kind of dream are you having."

"...Huhk?"

A dry, indifferent voice cut through my dazed muttering.

Only then did I realize my body, which had been frozen, was loosening up. I pushed myself upright from the bed I'd been lying on and turned my head toward the source of the voice.

Past the cluttered room, standing by the entrance, a weary-looking woman was staring at me with utterly flat eyes.

"Ta-Tachia-ssi?"

"You slept pretty long."

Unlike the last time I'd seen her, she looked perfectly fine now.

Relief washed over me, and just then, she glanced down at my body and spoke.

"Guess you'd built up quite a lot of fatigue? You slept so deeply you didn't even notice when I took your clothes off."

"...Excuse me?"

Took my clothes off? What's that supposed to mean?

Baffled, I looked down at myself and confirmed I was now wearing a white shirt and shorts instead of the damaged armor I'd had on before.

That in itself meant that, unless I'd developed some kind of sleepwalking habit, someone had changed my clothes for me.

"D-Did you change my clothes while I was sleeping?"

"Got a problem with that?"

Tachia just furrowed her brow as if I'd asked something utterly bizarre, waiting for my reaction.

That wasn't really something you say after seeing someone naked, but then again, given that I'd done far more dangerous things to her first, it wasn't easy to say anything in response.

She said her consciousness had been hazy at the time, but if she saw that I'd brought her to bed, she'd probably have figured out what was going on. Was she planning to just let that slide too?

"...No, it was my fault for sleeping in someone else's house. Yes, ma'am."

No, let's not think too deeply about this.

Come to think of it, this was the same person who, even when her chest made contact with me, just leaned in closer while talking about measuring cup sizes.

I don't know about other people, but trying to argue about this sort of thing with her is just a losing battle. Having quelled my internal turmoil, I quietly took a moment to glance around the room.

...No sign of the kid whose mom was a giant shrew.

So it really was a dream, huh.

"Anyway, whatever. If you're awake, come down and eat first. Judging by the luggage you've got with you, you've got business with me anyway."

"Huh? Eat, you mean..."

"Whatever comes after, it's morning, so you start with breakfast."

So saying, Tachia stood planted by the door, staring me down.

Her characteristically fatigued eyes held nothing but indifference directed at me.

"What, you don't want to eat food I made?"

"Ah, n-no. If you're offering, I'll gratefully accept."

Of course.

Whatever it is, free food is free food. Eat it gratefully.

***

A potato-based stew with a bit of meat and vegetables mixed in, bread with cheese on the side, a salad, and so on.

The meal Tachia had prepared was, beyond just decent, actually good enough to call genuinely enjoyable.

Well, for broke rookie adventurers, even this would be a feast.

"...The spear flies toward wherever you are?"

"Yes, like this."

After finishing the meal, when we sat across from each other with tea served between us, I gave her a rough summary of what had happened and casually tossed the spear into the air.

And then—thwip!

The spear, which should have traced a parabola through the air and dropped, instead flew right back and landed neatly in my grip.

"Anything else?"

"Uh... maybe it enhances its power by releasing mana on its own?"

"...Is that so?"

After hearing the whole story, Tachia silently sipped at the tea she'd brewed.

She was still as blunt as ever, but I could faintly sense that her expression was just a bit stiffer than usual.

It wasn't the face of someone looking at good results.

"By any chance... are the results not as good as expected?"

"No, they're more impressive than expected."

When I asked out of a vague sense of unease, she answered me without any particular fanfare.

"It means that a weapon which hadn't even developed an ego when I made it has now attained enough consciousness to seek out its own master."

Right, she had said that engraving a name on an ego weapon without a consciousness was a sufficient condition for it to recognize you as its master.

And on top of that, it even came flying the moment I called. So as of right now, you could say the weapon had recognized me as its owner.

Of course, given its value, that alone wasn't going to make her just hand it over to me, but... well, if I really wanted it, I could always come back and buy it later once I'd earned some money.

Although at the moment, even selling off all the materials I had wouldn't be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anywhere near enough.

"Anyway, while you were asleep, I took a rough look through your bag. You want me to either buy these or make them into armor for you, right?"

"Ah, yes. You figured it out right away."

"A broke rookie adventurer wrecks the armor he'd invested his whole fortune into, then asks to have something made from the dismantled parts of a demon he got lucky enough to take down—it's not hard to guess. Beating a demon of that level is something I'll chalk up to luck or latent potential..."

Tachia surveyed the spread of materials.

Then, as if something in particular was bothering her, she soon aimed a frown in my direction.

"...Where'd you go and sell off the most important ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠part?"

"Huh? The most important part?"

"The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heart, I mean. Judging by the quality of these materials, this was a demon that lived for quite a long time. At this level, a mana crystal formed from hardened magical power in the heart region is pretty much guaranteed."

Ah, right. They did always tell me to set those aside when I was working as a porter.

Back then I was too focused on just surviving to pay much attention, but considering they'd drilled into me that absolutely under no circumstances should I ever skim that part, I could at least indirectly grasp just how valuable it was.

Of course, the Heroes who'd told me that all got themselves wiped out, so it never really stuck in my memory, but anyway.

"So, th-this heart thing—how valuable are we talking in relative terms?"

"Comparing everything you've got here to the heart, it's about two to eight."

"...The heart is the two?"

"The heart is the eight."

"You guild bastards!!"

I get taking a twenty-percent cut for dismantling fees and taxes, but to include the single most expensive item in that!?

Maybe they were jealous that a rookie adventurer took down an executive-level demon... No, the guy who dismantled it or some higher-up at the guild probably just skimmed the valuable stuff for themselves.

But as frustrating as it was, considering everything I'd been through in this world, I was pretty sure that raising a complaint would only lead to worse outcomes.

They'd make up some excuse—something about how the pricing couldn't be determined at the time of dismantling due to lack of emotional feedback, or that it was specified in the contract terms. They'd find a way to stonewall me no matter what.

"Hah, seriously. Ignorance is a sin. Ignorance really is a sin."

I basically got robbed of something worth four times as much right in front of my face, and I was over there celebrating like I'd hit the lottery.

Then again, whether it's this world or the old one, the haves always get more.

"Getting scammed is unavoidable, but I don't think you need to beat yourself up over it."

While I was stewing in my frustration, Tachia pulled something out from her person.

She produced a pipe with a bluntly curved end along with an iron case, rummaged inside it, pulled out some crumbled leaves, and sprinkled them into the end of the pipe.

"The world's been made that way from the start, hasn't it? Birds that don't know how to fly get eaten by the beasts on the ground. And no matter how much of a natural-born predator you are, if you never learn to run, you can't hunt and you starve to death..."

"Ah, yes, well, that's true, but..."

"When even the parents who are supposed to teach those lessons can't endure the cruelty of this world and leave, the children left behind can't even properly learn the baby steps they need to become adults. In a situation like that, isn't it strange to call someone like you, from another world, ignorant just for not being familiar with this world's rules?"

Accompanied by this bluntly delivered advice, Tachia blew out a breath—fwoo.

Along with it, I heard the sound of embers crackling inside the pipe, and soon the inside glowed red as smoke began to drift out before my eyes.

"'Ignorance is a sin'—that's a saying that only holds true in a world where everyone starts from the same place and environment."

Tachia said this as she put the pipe to her lips.

"In a world where no one is born from the same origins, promoting that kind of talk is nothing more than a pretty excuse to hide the imperfections of a law-abiding society. So there's no need to beat yourself up. At least from what I can see, you're living your life a lot harder than most other humans."

Without even making eye contact, just smoking her pipe, Tachia quietly blinked her haggard eyes.

These words, delivered as if they were nothing out of the ordinary, felt world-weary yet carried no small amount of weight.

Her characteristic decadent aura was faintly telling me that the experiences she'd been through were anything but easy.

"...Uh, Tachia-ssi."

Yeah, this advice she'd given me—there was weight to it in its own way.

The moment I grasped that, the questions I'd felt while facing her suddenly began to chain together, seizing this moment.

"If it's not too rude, could I ask you one question?"

The way she handled matters without any regard for ethics or common sense. The way she lent a mithril ego weapon to someone she'd just met for the first time.

And even this advice just now—from the perspective of a normal person, these weren't things you could do easily.

"What is it?"

"Tachia-ssi, are you... perhaps not human?"

"......."

The answer didn't come right away.

Was that silence a yes? Or was she just dumbfounded?

"...Fwoo."

Without answering my speculative guess right away, Tachia merely exhaled the smoke she'd been holding.

She opened her mouth again only when the leaves inside the pipe had nearly burned away and the smoke had grown faint.

"Why don't you try guessing?"

"...Excuse me?"

"You said I don't seem human. So, don't you have a guess as to what species I might be?"

Was she turning the question back on me because my words were on the mark, or because they were off?

Either way, Tachia currently seemed to have no intention of giving me an answer outright, and she didn't appear to be particularly offended by what I'd said either.

"Just say whatever comes to mind. What species I might be."

"Uh, um..."

Well, it wasn't like I'd thrown out that question without any basis either.

Since coming to this world, I'd encountered many different species, and among them were those like Hellcry or the Death Knight who possessed a 'distinctive character and aura.'

The reason I'd asked that question just now was because I'd faintly sensed that same kind of aura from her.

"...Tta..."

But if her true identity really was what I was thinking... was it actually okay to say it?

Just as that thought was crossing from unease into dread, one idea that suddenly flashed through my mind spilled out of my mouth.

"A shrew, maybe?"

"...What?"

Tachia even pulled the pipe from her lips and stared at me blankly.

It was the moment when she—someone I'd figured nothing would faze—uncharacteristically revealed a hint of bewilderment.

"A shrew, you say... why would you think that?"

To her—who still somehow maintained her composure—I answered by following the stream of consciousness, thinking, welp, I've really done it now.

"Well, your name is Tachia, and that sounds like... shrew..."

"......"

"...I'm sorry."

Damn it, what the hell did I just say.

No matter how intense the dream I'd had today was, seriously—out of all the things I could've blurted out while fumbling through a discussion about other species, I went with shrew?

"Well, whatever."

But even though she could've taken offense and gotten angry at such a random, tactless remark, she simply turned her head away and spoke indifferently.

"It's possible, I guess. That's a funny joke."

In the moment when the sunlight from the window obscured her expression.

Was it just my imagination that, beyond it, the corner of her lips seemed ever so faintly upturned?