EP.17.5 After the Return
EP.17.5 After the Return
With En Varg over and no further reason to remain in the wasteland, Kor and I now wanted to return.
Fenrir whined, asking Kor to stay a little longer, but she refused, of course.
Kor said it was dangerous to wander the wasteland alone, and she didn't even know the way back well, so she couldn't.
Fenrir even offered to let me stay and tried everything to make us stay, but unfortunately I had no intention of staying any longer.
'Because I was starting to worry about the other companion animals.'
Before coming here, I'd told them all in advance that I'd be staying out overnight, but I couldn't help worrying.
Since I hadn't told them exactly how long it would take.
So getting back as soon as possible was the way to put my mind—and my companions' minds—at ease.
"*Sigh*... Hey, human."
"Yes?"
"Take this."
"Huh? Th-this is...?"
A large canine tooth dropped onto my arms with a thud.
I could tell at a glance it was Fenrir's tooth, but I didn't know why he was giving it to me.
When I looked back and forth between Fenrir and the tooth, he snorted derisively as if it were no big deal.
"I'm giving it to you because you're so weak."
"Ah!"
"Damn it, if you're gonna live with someone's precious daughter, you should at least be strong, shouldn't you?"
"I-I'm sorry...!!"
"Father...?"
Kor called out to Fenrir in a murderous voice.
The tips of her hair showed signs of ignition.
"*Ahem*! Well, anyway, just get a little stronger and protect my daughter. Stop yapping and take it. It's just a tooth I shed a long time ago."
"Thank you anyway. I'll treasure it."
Even if it was a shed tooth, Fenrir's tooth itself was an incredibly hard and sharp material.
It was the tooth that had easily pierced and chewed through even the hide of the Bulgasari that Fatal Light couldn't penetrate.
If I could leave it with Yata and have it made into a weapon, I'd become even stronger.
I could even ask Miho to duplicate the tooth...
"Just in case, let me warn you: don't get stabbed by that tooth. Even though it's shed, it still holds my power. If you get wounded, you're done for."
"Ah, right...!"
Fenrir's ability was the maintenance of phenomena.
Even with the passage of time, the properties of matter or phenomena remained unchanged, perpetually maintained.
In fact, the area Fenrir had swept through remained in a devastated state for years because it couldn't be restored.
"Then if you give this to me, wouldn't I be unable to use it?"
"Don't worry. It's quite old, so the persistence of its material properties is gone. The only power left in it is the preservation of phenomena."
"That's a relief. Though I'll have to be careful handling it..."
A grim object that would cause endless bleeding and eventual death if you got cut or stabbed by it, even by accident.
Still, the sense of security it would provide once turned into a weapon was beyond description.
It would be the perfect weapon against divine beasts like Taotie and Bulgasari, which had formidable regenerative powers, that I had fought so far.
"No problem, right? Then go now. I'm going to sleep for a while."
"Understood."
"Oh, right! And...!"
"Yes?"
Fenrir, who had been waving his paw to shoo us away, approached me and whispered quietly.
"Make sure you use contraception...! I'll be visiting regularly."
"Haha, ahaha...!!"
Fuck, so he found out about last night...?!
I'd definitely used Tia's ability to block sound and smell, though?
I guess hiding it from a Great Divine Beast was too much after all.
It was a relief that he let it slide this time, but I'd have to be extra, extra careful from now on.
Otherwise I might really get mauled to death...
"Got it?"
"I-I'll keep it in mind."
"Alright then, take care."
Having said all he needed, Fenrir sauntered off.
Leaving him behind, Kor and I set off on the journey home.
Just like when we came, I climbed onto Kor's back and we raced along the path home.
We spent an enjoyable time taking in the scenery and chatting amiably.
We also stopped occasionally to eat hunted wild game, or soaked our feet in the cool stream water.
We savored the small pleasures of travel to the fullest on the way back.
As time passed, the border finally came into view.
At the same time, my phone picked up a signal, and I could use communications again.
'Everyone must be worried.'
Sure enough, as soon as I got a signal, dozens of messages flooded in, making a racket.
Had something urgent happened? I decided to quickly check just the latest message.
The sender of that first message I checked was Yata.
When I opened it, a single sentence was boldly written there.
[Run]
Short but intense words.
Just what had happened while I was gone...?
***
"It's been so long since I was home!"
"It sure has...!"
We finally arrived in front of the house, but the sun was already setting low.
I was tired. Not just physically, but mentally exhausted.
Starting with the embarrassment of having to carry Fenrir's tooth around in public,
to trying to interpret the meaning of Yata's message—I was worn out in many ways.
No major incident had occurred in the country, so why had Yata told me to run?
No matter how many replies I sent, my message remained unread.
So I had to guess. The most likely reason was that something had happened to the other divine beasts...
I'd find out once I checked beyond the front door.
Just as I entered the passcode and went to grab the handle,
"Yuu!!"
"Ti, Tia?!"
Before I could even touch it, Tia burst out from inside and threw herself at me with force.
She came at me so hard that I fell over, but I managed to catch her somehow.
"Yuu! Yuu! Yuu!!"
"Wait...! What's wrong, Tia?"
Tia's eyes were brimming with tears and she was trembling.
What on earth had happened to make the baby dragon tremble like this?
"Hah...! Yuu! Let's run away!"
"Huh?"
"We have to get away from here, now!!"
"Why do we suddenly have to run...?"
—Screeeech!
At that moment, I heard something scraping from inside the house.
It was the sound of something scraping against something hard.
The sound was far away at first but gradually drew nearer, and Tia's trembling intensified in sync.
At first I wondered what on earth that sound was.
But when I finally saw the state of the house, I sensed something was wrong.
A bizarre sight: sword marks across the floor, the ceiling, everywhere.
The problem was that the scratches were writing, and the entire place was plastered with the word "husband."
Realizing at a glance that this was Miho's handiwork, I finally understood Yata's message.
I hurriedly tried to grab Tia and flee, but...
"Husbaaand...?"
That one icy remark from the fox made my whole body freeze.
My body had stopped of its own accord; only my head could move.
I had no choice but to turn my head and greet Miho brightly.
Miho, who should have been behind me, was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, an overwhelming presence began to emanate from in front of me, and when I turned my head back...
"Eeek...!!"
"You finally came back? I was wondering what to do if you didn't come by today!"
A fox woman drenched in blood was smiling broadly at me.
So wide it looked like her mouth might tear right open.
"M-Miho? What's that blood?"
"Ah, this? It's the blood that got on me when I cut off the head of some bird bitch."
"What do you mean...?"
There was only one person I could think of that Miho would call a bird bitch.
And that person was currently unreachable. Which meant...
"Miho, don't tell me you... Yata...!!"
—Ding!
[Husband, you got the pig wolf's fang, right? Could you have Kor bring it to the Yata Church headquarters? I want to make a weapon for you as quickly as possible.]
A timely message from Yata letting me know I'd misunderstood.
Then what bird was Miho talking about?
When I looked at Miho again, I saw a kitchen knife and a chicken's head in her hands.
How embarrassing.
No matter how possessive and jealous Miho is, there was no way she'd hurt someone precious to me...
What a fool I was to doubt such an obvious fact.
"Husband, come inside! Dinner will be ready soon."
"Ah, okay."
Deciding not to doubt Miho any further, I went inside with a light heart.
***
Dinnertime.
Seeing the table filled to the brim with my favorite foods made my heart swell.
Everything looked so delicious, my salivary glands exploded.
Even though my senses were only working at half capacity, the food before me was all making a powerful appeal.
"Please, eat!"
"Hmm... But is it okay if I eat first?"
"Everyone is away for their own reasons, so no one would complain if you start eating."
Kor had left to run an errand for Yata, and Yata said she was busy with work. And Tia...
Still frightened from earlier for some reason, she'd gone to her room saying she had no appetite.
"Still, maybe I should at least wait for Kor and eat together..."
"Husband."
"Yeah?"
"I've set aside a portion for Kor, so you don't need to worry."
"Hmm... If you say so, okay."
It was indeed rude to just sit still in front of a piping hot meal.
So I carefully picked up my utensils and fixed my gaze on the food.
Beautifully colored, wonderfully aromatic dishes. I was happily pondering which to eat first.
Miho just kept watching me and smiling.
"Aren't you eating, Miho?"
"I plan to eat slowly."
"Hmm...? Really?"
I grew uneasy.
I'd resolved not to doubt her, but for some reason a rising suspicion crept in that I couldn't shake.
Just in case, should I not eat and wait...?
"Husband, it won't taste good if it gets cold."
"Ah, sorry!"
As if to show there was no problem, Miho picked up some food, put it in her mouth, and swallowed.
So she was proving it was safe. I thought that, after all, I'd been imagining things.
Since she'd gone that far to prove it, I had to trust her.
So I also took a bite of the food Miho had eaten.
I chewed slowly, savoring the taste.
The spicy stir-fried pork was perfectly savory and went great with rice. True to her reputation, Miho's cooking was the best.
If there was a flaw, it was that the aftertaste was slightly bitter?
But it wasn't too bitter, so I could let it slide.
"I made a lot, so eat up!"
"Okay!"
First bite: the sweet chicken bites lingered in my mouth and pleased my tongue. But this one also had a bitter aftertaste.
Second bite: I tried the other dishes one by one. All delicious. Maybe she used the same spice, because they all had the same aftertaste.
Third bite: too lazy, I stuffed a wrap full of side dishes and ate it all at once. Delicious as expected.
Fourth bite: I felt like I was getting more and more absorbed in the food. Like I couldn't think of anything but eating.
Fifth bite: a strange feeling. My mouth was enjoying it because it tasted good, but my body felt light, like floating.
Sixth bite: I tried to put food into my mouth, but for some reason the place I thought was my mouth was actually my cheek.
Seventh bite: something was strange. Something was off. My senses seemed to be changing bizarrely.
Eighth bite: my vision started spinning slowly. Miho looked like two people.
Ninth bite: the spinning vision. Now my eyelids felt heavy and started closing.
Tenth bite: I—I'd been had! This was a trap laid by Miho...
"Oh, you poor husband~! You must have been very tired. I have no choice but to look after you so you can sleep comfortably! With all my heart. With all my heart...♡"