Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Grandma Can't Pass By a Hungry Child (3)
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"Ragia, cut the nonsense and stay put. You're just making things chaotic."
[Ahahaha! Telling me to stay put only makes it harder to do! Hahaha!]
While Ragia and I traded pointless banter, Enbi crouched low and extended her dorsal fin. The fine clothes we'd dressed her in for the outing were already caked in dirt, and now they tore right open as the fin emerged.
"Nothing goes right around here."
Half-transformed into her orca form, Enbi slowly and heavily swiveled her upper body, scanning the surroundings.
"Still, the humidity here's higher than that stuffy building, so it's a bit more bearable. Sniff... I can smell water. And something foul... something filthy... That's the stench of rotting meat!"
Enbi stared blankly into the air for a moment before bolting off.
"Water!"
"Lady Enbi! Hold on!"
I'd been holding the hem of her clothes like a leash, but it was useless. As she shot forward, the torn top peeled off like shed skin and stayed in my hand.
"Damn it."
I tossed the rags—once fine garments—onto the ground and nodded at Pippin.
"Can you catch up?"
"Of course."
"Set Dalia down and go ahead. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. Well..."
I took Dalia from Pippin and searched for the right words.
"Take good care of her."
"Understood."
Pippin dashed off toward where Enbi had gone, like a racehorse hearing the starting gun.
"Pippi's so fast... Brother, you going fast too?"
"Brother's going slow."
I set Dalia down and followed the crude footprints they'd left behind at a leisurely pace. Walking with Dalia slowed me down, but it didn't take long to reach the lake.
Less than ten minutes later, the open lakeshore came into view.
A loud splashing welcomed us. Pippin was trying to restrain Enbi, who'd jumped into the water.
"You fishy guest! The clothes Master gave you are all soaked!"
"Water! Water! I love water!"
"Come out!"
I approached them carefully, staying far enough to avoid the splashes.
"Good work, Pippin."
"Master! I'll reel her in in no time!"
Pippin grabbed Enbi by the scruff and hauled her out like a fisherman. Enbi thrashed, but she couldn't match his strength and was dragged onto land. The flopping orca-merperson and the sweating knight... Pippin's face lit up with pride.
"Uh..."
I'd seen that expression before. Back during vacation season at the valley, working at the spicy stew joint—the faces of fishermen who'd landed a big one.
Enbi flopped around, trying to escape Pippin's arms. Still holding her, Pippin extended a hand toward me expectantly, as if asking me to measure its length.
"Well done, Pippin. A real whopper, and right on time."
"Master! You got here quicker than I thought!"
I stepped back from the two idiots and surveyed the area.
"What about that girl Cookie? Found her?"
"Well... Haven't spotted anyone. She was thrashing so much, I couldn't look around."
Pippin crept toward us while binding Enbi. Dalia started running over with a "Whee, water fun~" so I stopped her.
"Pippin. Keep Lady Enbi from rubbing that soggy body of hers all over us."
"Master, you don't mind if I get soaked, right?"
"Of course not."
Dalia squirmed in my arms, eager to play, then suddenly whipped her head around. Her eyes fixed on the far side of the lake—sharp and curious, like a dog spotting a squirrel.
"Brother, Brother."
"Yeah?"
"Something's over there."
The live fish wriggling in Pippin's grip stared at the exact same spot. Something rustled in the dense thicket.
"A worthy opponent... A worthy opponent!"
Enbi shook off Pippin and charged toward the lake. Pippin staggered, planting his feet in the slick mud.
"Master! Should I reel her in?"
"Wait! Don't go in the water!"
"But! Why!"
Because if you jump in and soak your clothes, I can't leave Dalia with you. Wet clothes could mean a cold, or you could drown in the deep lake, or Enbi—who's strongest in water—could turn the tables on you...
No time to explain all that!
"Just don't if I say don't! Too annoying to spell it out!"
"Ah, Master!"
While I held Pippin back, Enbi had already transformed fully into her massive orca form in the lake. She poked her round snout above the water, baring her teeth in a grin. The last scraps of her clothes floated to the surface.
"This is insane."
The big, round orca let out an incongruously cute "Pbuu!" while kicking up waves. The spray she churned obscured whatever was on the other side.
"What's over there? Ragia, sense anything?"
Ragia elongated into a scythe with a sinister cackle.
[Something fun's here. Wanna charge in and watch, Sierra? I'm already itching all over! Figuratively speaking! Hahaha!]
I swung the scythe to fish out Enbi's clothes, then waited for the spray to die down. When Enbi finally stopped thrashing, I spotted something lurking far off.
"Cookie?"
Dalia tilted her head as she approached me. I'd confirmed what "it" was and quickly shoved Dalia toward Pippin.
"Pippin, guard Dalia."
It wasn't some cute thing you could call Cookie over there. Long, skinny limbs, a gaunt torso, matted filthy hair, a spine curved into a hunch.
"That... looks like a beastkin."
Pippin's voice was grave. Normally he'd be bouncing with excitement at the sight of one, so this was unusual.
"Any idea what kind?"
"Can't tell from here. Most beastkin resemble animals, but that... looks like a grotesquely twisted human."
"Keep that monster out of Dalia's sight. Bad for her mental health."
"Yes."
At my order, Pippin hid Dalia behind him. She stomped her feet, muttering quietly, "Cookie... Cookie's over there..."
What the hell? Wasn't this just about finding a granddaughter? Why's a beastkin crashing the party!
Maybe that granddaughter Cookie was captured by it. Gotta take down the beastkin to clear the quest.
I thought it was a minor annoyance, but it's turning into a huge pain. Should've just turned back home.
"Fight! Fight! I wanna fight!"
Another massive splash erupted from the lake. The beastkin, spooked by Enbi's charge, flailed its four spindly legs and fled deeper into the woods. Enbi burst from the water in pursuit.
"That idiot..."
Pathetic. Chasing a beastkin headlong just because she wants to fight.
"Death's Gate."
Mana coalesced, forming a massive iron slab in midair that soon turned into a furball and plummeted toward my face.
[Master!]
I grabbed Cosmo by the scruff and chucked him away. Cosmo craned his neck, peering across the lake.
[I smell beastkin. Tasty? No, smells bad.]
"It's heading that way."
Cosmo got it immediately and shifted into his giant lizard form—the one from the Tenerif fight.
He crouched low, flattening himself. I mounted Cosmo and nodded at Pippin.
"That girl Cookie might've been taken by the beastkin. Search the area for anyone down. If you find her, take her straight back to the village."
"Understood."
"Above all, Dalia's safety comes first. If it gets dangerous..."
I glanced at Dalia, then looked away.
"Let anyone die."
"Yes."
"I trust you."
I spurred Cosmo onward, leaving Pippin and Dalia behind. His thick forepaws splashed through Enbi's water trail, advancing briskly.
[Master! Master! If we find the beastkin, can I eat it?]
"Smells like it won't taste good."
[I wanna eat it anyway. Hehehe.]
Cosmo's red eyes gleamed with greed.
***
Boom!
Half-orca Enbi crashed into a tree. The thick trunk cracked and toppled with a thud. The beastkin burst from the foliage, nimbly scaling another tree. Its three pairs of legs ended in creepy hands.
"Ahahahaha!"
Enbi rose from the collided tree, laughing like a howl.
"Not enough water! Can't use my full strength without water! Ahahahaha!"
Was it laughter or rage? Enbi bellowed incoherently, slamming her body into trees like a raging bull. Pure beast.
The beastkin dodged without counterattacking, flitting from tree to tree. Each time it switched, Enbi rammed the trunk—boom—sending them crashing down one by one. Coming from the water, she had no regard for trees.
The trees were bad enough, but Enbi's condition was worse.
"Lady Enbi! Calm down!"
She was covered in blood.
"That moron's hurting herself crashing into trees."
I yanked Cosmo's horn, turning us toward Enbi. If she wouldn't control her temper, I'd force her to stop.
"Cosmo. Go bite her."
[That's not the beastkin? Beastkin's over there?]
"Hurry!"
I leaped off Cosmo. He charged straight at Enbi, jaws gaping wide, and clamped onto her torso.
"Uwaaaah!"
Enbi cried out in frustration. Cosmo rolled with her in his jaws.
[Om nom... This taste... Nom...]
"Cosmo! Don't eat her!"
[Not eating! Licking! Mmm. Ptooey.]
Cosmo pinned Enbi's body firmly. She went limp easier than I'd expected.
I drew Ragia from my belt and swung once. Sensing my intent, she morphed into a long scythe instantly. I slashed space open, summoning a small Death's Gate. Sugar ants oozed out like magma.
"I'll let the ants chew through that one."
The beastkin watched us from the tree, its hunched back heaving as it breathed.
"Swarm. Chase it down and rip off its legs."
At my command, a cluster of ant soldiers swarmed the beastkin. Meanwhile, I ran to Cosmo and Enbi.
"Lady Enbi. You alright?"
Enbi huddled, drool-soaked under Cosmo. I nudged his massive bulk aside with my shin and absentmindedly checked Ragia's blade. The sharp edge reflected the gloomy forest.
"Ugh..."
Enbi groaned in pain. A thought crossed my mind.
If push comes to shove, kill her.
That's why I'd brought the mermaid along.
I glanced around. Just grass and trees. No witnesses. If Ragia was sharp enough, I could decapitate Enbi right now. Bury the body in the woods...
If she died quietly here, no need for stupid favor-grinding. Perfect alibi: Encountered a monster in the woods, fled in panic, lost the guest. That excuse would hold.
Uncontrollable, useless, feral, potential future enemy—troublemaker Enbi.
'Should I kill her?'