22
Chapter 22
A human woman at the coastal camp.
The baby held carefully in her arms caught my eye.
Looking closely, it wasn't a human baby.
It was a doll in the shape of a human baby.
And it wasn't just an ordinary doll.
[Dirty Doll lv.3]
┗Pw.3
┗Rnk.Normal
Wow! The Doll Tribe!
There was another one of my kind!
Well, there's no way I'd be the only doll-type monster!
I was even more glad than when I found the humans.
Because I had finally met a species similar to my current self.
It felt as if I had met my own kin.
Of course, we weren't true kin.
I'm a Teddy Bear and that one is a Human Doll, right?
We might both be doll-type monsters, but...
The chances of our ancestors overlapping are extremely slim, so it's a bit ambiguous to call us the same kind.
My mother is a Flame Bear!
I have no idea who your mother is!
So I should probably call us pseudo-kin.
For all I know, that one might not even have a mother.
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to insult its parents.
I'm just saying it might not have been born from a living creature's body like I was.
Anyway.
I wanted to learn more about that doll.
It was the first pseudo-kin I had met in this world.
How was that doll born?
Did life inhabit an already crafted doll?
Or was it a doll given birth to by a creature, like me?
If it's the latter, who were its parents?
Could it be the woman holding the doll?
Or perhaps another human entirely?
Maybe it's the child of a monster, not a human?
Was it level 3 from the beginning?
Could that doll also be a reincarnation?
Has it not acquired an Action skill yet?
And so on.
My curiosity was overflowing.
I wanted to approach it right now and ask.
I was dying to have all sorts of conversations with it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't do that.
Recklessly approaching humans could cost me my life.
Well, even if we met, I wouldn't be able to ask any questions properly anyway.
After all, I still can't speak any languages.
I forced myself to swallow my disappointment.
"......."
Are you disappointed too?
The doll and I stared at each other.
Not that it had actually turned its head to look at me.
The woman holding the doll just slightly turned her body, and the doll's eyes happened to meet mine.
Before continuing to observe the other humans.
I decided to focus my observation on that doll for a moment.
***
After taking some time to examine it.
I confirmed that the doll couldn't move on its own.
While I was observing it, it didn't show even the slightest movement.
It seemed like it didn't have the Action skill.
Or maybe it was acting like an ordinary doll.
My interest gradually waned since it wasn't taking any action.
As time passed, my attention naturally shifted to the human woman holding the baby.
The woman didn't separate from the doll for even a moment.
Whether she was eating, washing her face, relieving herself, or even maintaining her weapons, she always held it preciously in her arms as if the doll was her entire life.
It's possible for a fully grown adult to like dolls, of course.
There must be many people who cherish their childhood attachment dolls with an unchanging heart even as they grow old.
But this felt a bit different.
Rather than an attitude of simply treating a favorite doll, it looked like she was truly treating it as her own child.
Sometimes she would even talk to it.
She would smile quietly and stroke it too.
Her affection for the doll was quite extraordinary.
Perhaps that woman was feeling something similar to maternal love toward the doll.
Among the hypotheses I made earlier.
The possibility of my guess that the woman might be the doll's mother increased drastically.
If that's the case, I'm jealous.
Since I was abandoned as soon as I was born, after all.
How did that human come to accept a doll as her own child?
For one, the woman seems to already know that the doll is a living creature... Could it be common for humans in this world to give birth to dolls? The other humans at the camp didn't seem to find the doll particularly strange, either.
My curiosity flared up again.
Ugh, this is so frustrating!
Isn't there a human anywhere who can resolve my questions?!
Ah, wait a minute.
Wouldn't it be okay to try making contact with that woman?
Even if she's not friendly to me, she doesn't seem like she would be hostile, either.
Since she's a human carrying a baby doll, I feel like she'd be safer than the other humans.
I thought about it for a moment.
Hmm.
...Never mind, let's drop it.
Gambling is never a good idea.
I should at least try making contact after I've become strong enough to easily overpower humans. That way, I'll be able to cope even if a situation arises where the humans attack me.
True peace originally stems from overwhelming power, anyway.
When I finished my train of thought.
A few humans from the neighboring camp came over to the camp I was observing.
The Azure Human was there, and I also saw the Chastity Belt human.
Chastity Belt, why did you tag along, you punk!
Moving here was partly to avoid seeing that vulgar sight, but you just had to follow me all the way here.
Bear-Bear Punch! Bear-Bear Punch!!
Driven by the desire to chase the Chastity Belt human away, I threw punches into the empty air.
Begone, you evil demon!!!
"■■□□■□■ □□□■."
"■□■□■ ■□□■□ ■■."
The humans from the neighboring camp.
Some humans from this camp.
They talked for a while before starting to gather one by one in front of the forest entrance.
It looks like they are about to start investigating the forest.
Not every human in the camp gathered.
They mainly consisted of humans wearing some sort of Badge on their clothes.
The Azure Human had a Platinum Badge.
The Chastity Belt human had a Gold Badge.
The woman had a Silver Badge.
I guessed that they probably belonged to some sort of organization.
Anyway.
I decided to follow them.
In the process of investigating the forest, they would inevitably hunt monsters as well.
I should take this opportunity to observe them.
Which monsters do humans classify as enemies?
Do they distinguish friendly monsters?
Does the Soul Weapon possess any other powers?
And so on.
It was a perfect opportunity to acquire various pieces of information.
But that woman wouldn't be going with them, right?
She did have a Badge on her clothes, but she was carrying a baby, after all.
Sneakily.
I checked on the woman.
She was also grabbing her weapon and joining the Exploration Team.
Wait, you're going with them too?
With the baby?
What if the baby gets hurt?!
She apparently had no intention of leaving the baby with the other humans staying behind at the camp.
There must not be a human she deemed trustworthy enough.
Then, would you like to leave it with me?
Holding the baby even tighter in her arms, the woman mingled into the Exploration Team with a determined expression.
Please, be careful.
So that our baby doesn't get hurt.
***
The Exploration Team entered the forest.
I stealthily tailed right behind them.
At this rate, an assassin Teddy Bear route might pop up on my Evolution list later.
The woman was constantly checking the reactions of the other humans.
As if looking for a chance to break away from the group.
What's going on? Does she have some hidden motive?
I have no idea what she's thinking.
"□■!"
A man shouted.
Halt! Stop! Freeze! Boing!
It seemed he yelled something along those lines.
Because with his shout, all the humans stopped in their tracks.
Standing in front of the humans was a single monster.
[Thunder Ant lv.10]
┗Pw.20
┗Rnk.Uncommon
A Thunder Ant?
Why are you there?
It was a creature I had been seeing really often lately.
Step.
The Azure Human stepped forward.
He reached out an arm to hold back the other humans.
"......."
"Kee, keee!"
"□■■□□■ □■."
"Kee...?"
It didn't seem like they were communicating.
They didn't even look like they were trying to converse in the first place.
Because the Azure Human didn't seem friendly toward the Thunder Ant.
In fact, he was being incredibly wary.
He was even breaking out in a cold sweat.
Was he scared?
It seemed true that he had classified it as an enemy as soon as he saw it.
Since he was aiming his weapon at it, after all.
However, he didn't recklessly launch an attack.
The Azure Human was very carefully observing the opponent's movements.
The other humans, finding this strange, expressed their doubts to the Azure Human.
Eventually, one of the humans got annoyed and tried to swing his weapon at the Thunder Ant.
Whack-!
The Azure Human kicked that human away to stop him.
"Kee?"
The Thunder Ant tilted its head while watching the scene, then turned around and fled like a shot.
A few humans tried to chase after the Thunder Ant.
But that, too, was stopped by the Azure Human.
He seems to be a human with good intuition.
Even I don't hunt that Thunder Ant because it creeps me out.
***
I can't understand human language.
However, I could guess what the humans at the very back of the formation were babbling about right now.
Glance, glance.
The humans were glaring at the Azure Human with disapproval while chatting in hushed voices.
Just looking at them, it was obvious they were talking behind his back.
They were definitely cursing out the Azure Human who had stopped them earlier.
What pathetic humans.
They couldn't even say a word to his face.
"□■!"
While moving, a man shouted again.
It was the same man who had shouted earlier.
The humans stopped in their tracks all at once.
A massive monster stood imposingly in front of them.
[Moss Giant lv.25]
┗Pw.75
┗Rnk.Superior
"Intruder discovered."
Oh. It's that Golem from before.
The Golem's eyes flashed red.
I would finally be able to watch a fight between humans and monsters.
Is there any popcorn around here?