Earth Eater

The village palisade gate was shut tight. In front of it, the villagers had gathered in light armor — though given that their opponents were goblins, there wasn't much tension in the air. They were chatting among themselves at an easy leisure when they spotted Kyle, and their faces lit up as one.

"Ah, Kyle!"

"Kyle's here!"

Admiration and trust sat plain in every gaze that turned his way.

"Hey there~"

Kyle raised a hand in greeting and climbed up onto the palisade. Mina and I trotted after him.

Jack was already up top — the same Jack I'd given candy to earlier.

"Kyle, you made it? Oho, and you brought Mina and the little elf along."

"Heh. She said she wanted to see her old man looking cool."

Kyle grinned and ruffled Mina's hair and mine at the same time. On my side, he even gave my ear a little tug.

I shook my head briskly, knocking his hand away. Soft or not, I wasn't interested in being pawed at. I wasn't a toy.

Jack smiled at the two of us, then turned his gaze out beyond the palisade.

"Get a load of those goblins. Soaked to the skin, like they took a swim on the way here. They can't even get over the wall, and they still won't give up."

Beyond the palisade, a pack of dripping-wet goblins had drawn up in a nasty-looking formation.

And then, all of a sudden—

"Kihek! Kieeek!"

The goblins thrust their claws toward me and started shrieking. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠general sense of That's the one! She's right there!

"Hmph. Mating season, is it?"

Kyle rubbed his chin.

"Goblins are the sort that drag women off and, until they drop…"

He stopped mid-sentence and glanced at Mina and me.

"They just force them to bear children, that's all."

"They tried to do that to me too, Father."

Mina's voice was quiet.

"When I went into the forest earlier, those goblins tried to grab me. The one in the middle even grinned and flicked his tongue. If Shirin hadn't helped me, it would've been really bad."

Kyle's expression hardened, and the air around him went cold. He looked toward the goblins with a face like murder, then launched himself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over the palisade in a single bound.

He landed in the very heart of the pack and drew his sword in the same motion, sweeping it through them.

A flash of silver. Goblin bodies crumpled.

Kyle flowed into the next strike without a pause. The goblins couldn't even manage a proper reaction before they were carved down in droves. A few finally turned to flee — but his body shot forward, trailing afterimages, and even the ones who'd run hit the dirt just the same.

Overwhelming. It took him barely ten seconds to put down a pack of several dozen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goblins.

That said, it was a fairly gory spectacle for a child to witness. Mina might have been shocked.

"Kyaa, Father, that was so cool!!"

…Mina, however, was bouncing up and down in delight.

Kyle flicked the blood from his blade and shot her a thumbs-up.

Is this just… normal in this world?

I was the one whose stomach lurched. Even my vision swam.

"Ah, Shirin, are you okay?"

Mina caught me as I swayed.

"I've got you."

Leaning on her, I made my way down from the palisade.

Jack threw the gate wide, and Kyle strolled back through at his leisure. The crowd burst into applause.

"Wow, that's our Kyle!"

"The best, as always!"

The atmosphere was downright worshipful — like a pack of newbie players singing a ranker's praises. Kyle smiled and gave a little shrug. It came off a touch arrogant, but after the display he'd just put on, you couldn't really argue.

"Kyle."

A woman pushed through the crowd toward him. Young, and pretty.

"You've worked so hard."

She drew a handkerchief from between her breasts and dabbed at the blood spattered across his face.

"You always look so dependable…"

Her voice had gone strangely syrupy. Kyle answered with a charming smile.

"I'm even more dependable at night."

"Oh my…"

She flushed and squirmed, twisting where she stood.

"I-I'm curious… just how much more dependable you get at night…"

"Haha. If you're curious…"

That was as far as he got.

"Father!"

Mina wedged herself squarely between them.

"I'm telling Mother everything you just said!"

Kyle's face froze. The woman gave a small cough and quietly withdrew. He watched her go with a hint of regret, then caught Mina glaring at him and hastily put on a smile.

"Want a piggyback ride, sweetheart?"

Mina's lips pushed out in a pout — but she gave a tiny nod. Then she glanced at me, and her hands flew up in a panic.

"N-no! I don't ride those anymore! I'm not a little kid!"

"Aww, come on. Daddy's sorry. C'mere. You love piggyback rides."

"No… I don't anymore… ah—"

Kyle scooped her up and settled her on his shoulders anyway.

A small smile crept onto Mina's lips. She did like it after all.

Kyle looked at me.

"Don't make that face. I'll give you a ride too once Mina's done."

…I don't need one, thanks. I'm not a child. What's with the piggyback?

Jack called out to the crowd.

"All right, Kyle did the hard part — let's handle the rest!"

"Okay~"

The villagers started filing out through the gate, apparently meaning to clear away the goblin corpses.

I went over to Jack.

"Would it be all right if I took care of the cleanup?"

The goblins had followed me all the way to the village. It felt only right that I be the one to finish this.

"Huh — she's an elf?"

"Oh, she really is an elf."

"What's an elf doing in our village…?"

Only now did people actually look at me and start marveling. I rather liked the reaction.

Jack gave me a puzzled frown.

"You'll take care of it?"

"Yes. My magic can clean it up completely."

He didn't look convinced, but after a moment he nodded.

"…Well, all right. Give it a try."

I glanced over at Kyle. My turn to show what I could do. Not that I was competing, exactly.

Kyle wore an intrigued little smile. Mina's eyes were sparkling.

I stretched a hand forward. Not particularly eager to look at the gore, I let my focus blur a little as I cast the spell.

"Earth Eater."

The ground rumbled, turning swamp-soft, and swallowed the goblin corpses whole. Then the earth packed itself flat again, as if nothing had happened. Not a single bloodstain remained. A flower popped up through the clean soil with a soft little burst.

The goblins underground would make excellent compost. A truly eco-friendly cleanup.

"Ooh!"

The villagers murmured in admiration.

"Not bad, kid!"

"That's impressive, for a little one!"

"The kid's pretty good!"

Kid, kid, kid. The word kept coming. Still, they were all praising me. I scratched my cheek, a little embarrassed.

Then something settled gently on the crown of my head. Kyle's hand.

"Well done."

He stroked my hair, slow and easy.

"Your magic's top-class."

A smile rose to my lips before I knew it. Honestly, it didn't feel bad at all.

And so, somehow, we ended up heading back to Mina's inn.

Along the way, Kyle set Mina down, slipped his hands under my arms, and hoisted me clean off the ground.

"W-wait—"

I squirmed. Mina spoke up from below.

"It's okay, Shirin. It's not scary. It's really fun."

If she put it that way, I supposed I didn't have much choice. I stopped struggling.

My legs draped over Kyle's shoulders, my hands resting on his head. As he walked, my body swayed in a pleasant rhythm. I'd never ridden on anyone's shoulders before.

…It is pretty fun.

Great ride. Wide view, too.

We reached the inn, and Rikon came running from the yard.

"Father! Did you take care of the goblins?"

"Of course."

Kyle held out his sword.

"Mind cleaning this up for me?"

"Yes!"

Rikon took it in both hands and trotted off. Not a hint of annoyance. If anything, he seemed to take real pride in tending the blade.

The inn door creaked open, and someone stepped out.

"You're back?"

A woman with dazzling blonde hair. My eyes went wide.

She was stunning. And her chest was… extremely… substantial. Overwhelming, frankly.

"I heard goblins attacked the village?"

"Eh, I wrapped it up pretty quick."

"You worked hard."

That was when Mina spoke up.

"Mother. Earlier, Father was… with Hailey…"

Kyle flinched.

"Mi-Mina! You should introduce this child to Mom!"

He set me down in front of the woman. I felt rather like a sacrificial offering.

"Oh my, who is this? She's an elf!"

Her eyes lit up, and she bent down and scooped me into a hug without the slightest warning.

"Aah, you're so cute! You're just like a doll!"

"W-w-wait—!"

My face was buried in her chest.

"Mmph…!"

The soft give against my face. A sweet scent, too. My head swam, and my cheeks burned.

I had no idea what to do, so I just squeezed my eyes shut. I might actually suffocate.

…There were worse ways to go, I supposed.