67
Chapter 67
Clang! Clank! Clang!
A clear sound rang out as the Guardian Stones' fists smashed against the Natural Mana Stones.
The Guardian Stones had begun mining operations in our stead.
Not a single one of them was slacking off.
They were all diligently digging out the Natural Mana Stones.
They were surprisingly hardworking.
We didn't help them.
Even if we did help, the Speed of the work wouldn't visibly increase, and it would be a disaster if we were ambushed while distracted.
I couldn't completely trust the Guardian Stones just yet.
For that reason.
We sat down in a corner to rest while keeping an eye on the Guardian Stones.
You could say we were basically acting as overseers.
"I'm still stunned."
Vampire said, her eyes fixed on the Guardian Stones.
"To think the Guardian and its kin would subserviently beg for their lives... A tribe guarding top-tier Mana Stones like that absolutely wouldn't be weak."
That's right.
They're incredibly strong.
The problem is that they're cowards.
"...You, you're a stronger Fox than I thought."
Vampire's gaze turned to Fox.
Fox reacted by wagging her tail at her words.
"Hehe, that's right! I'm on the strong side here! Heave-ho!"
"Seeing that you possess such strong power, it seems you really are of the Star Tribe."
"......."
Fox's tail suddenly stopped.
She wordlessly turned her head away.
What's wrong with her?
"I've heard legends that a beast-type Mutant is very rarely born among the Star Tribe, but to think that legend was actually true."
"......."
"For me to actually see that legendary Mutant... Hmm? Why the sudden change in expression?"
Her face had lost all trace of a smile.
Fox, who had been silent, soon spoke in a low voice.
"I am me. Not a star, but a Fox."
"Are you saying you're not from the Star Tribe?"
"Not right now."
"...Ah."
Vampire made an expression as if she had realized something.
Then, looking embarrassed, she scratched her head and bowed to Fox.
"I'm sorry. It seems I unnecessarily brought up a painful past."
"It's fine."
A painful past?
What happened to Fox?
So she is from the Star Tribe, right?
Too much of the conversation was skipped, making it hard to guess what kind of past she had.
Vampire.
Tell me your guess about Fox's past!
Don't just keep it to yourself!
"I suddenly need to pee. I'm gonna go take a leak."
Fox suddenly jumped up from her seat.
She trudged off to do her business out of our sight.
Soon, Fox's booming voice rang out from afar.
"Pee blast!!!"
While Fox was away.
I hurriedly stuck close to Vampire.
Tosuni also clung to Vampire's body at the same time.
So you were curious about Fox's past too, huh?
Tosuni looked up at Vampire and asked a question.
"Ooh, oooh?"
"Hm? Are you asking if Fox was abandoned and chased out by her kind? No, that probably isn't it. The Star Tribe values saving face quite a bit, so they wouldn't openly kick her out just for being a Mutant."
"Ooooh, ooh?"
"I suspect that Fox couldn't endure the discrimination and left the Star Tribe of her own accord. Even relatively normal Mutants face severe discrimination within the Star Tribe, so I can't imagine how bad it was for a beast-type Mutant. The discrimination would have been much worse, definitely not any less."
Vampire slightly turned her head.
Fox was already finishing up and heading back.
Watching Fox return, Vampire lowered her voice and continued.
"For reference, the Star Tribe doesn't banish Mutants, but they don't stop leaving Mutants either. In fact, they discriminate against Mutants hoping they will leave. In other words, they want them to take the hint and get lost."
To constantly discriminate against them just to hint that they should leave the tribe.
What kind of garbage tribe is that?
No wonder the Luna Rabbits hate them.
"Since the Star Tribe Mutants stick together, it's rare for them to leave the tribe as they somehow endure the discrimination together. And even if they do leave, they usually leave in a group... But since Fox was likely the only beast-type Mutant, it's completely understandable that she abandoned the Star Tribe and ran away alone. She was probably always a loner without a single friend to rely on. She might have even been discriminated against by the other Mutants."
Just as Vampire finished speaking.
Fox rejoined us with a refreshed expression and took a seat.
"I just took a refreshing leak. I shook it all off, so don't worry."
Having learned a bit about her past, Tosuni and I pressed ourselves closely against Fox.
Then.
Pat-pat! Rub-rub!
We patted Fox's back with comforting hearts.
You were a pitiful child too.
No wonder you were so desperate for friends and always walking on eggshells.
I felt an unexpected sense of kinship with Fox.
Because I was also an abandoned soul.
"Eh? Why are you suddenly doing this?"
Fox.
You aren't a loner anymore.
We'll always be right here by your side from now on.
"I don't know why you're doing this, but the patting feels good. Do it more. Hehe."
***
The Guardian Stones were working diligently.
One of them briefly stopped working.
And after looking around, he carefully approached where Teddy Bear's group was resting and spoke.
"Excuse me...."
"Don't slack off! I'll send you to the stars!"
Star Fox bared her teeth and shouted.
Flustered, the Guardian Stone waved his hands with a terrified expression.
"N-No! I'm not slacking off... I just wanted to ask where we should put the Mana Stones...."
"Ah. Was that it? You should've said so sooner! Sorry for the misunderstanding!"
"It's fine... Anyway, where should we put the Mana Stones?"
"Put them in the Sacks we brought!"
"Sacks? Where are these Sacks...."
"Do I have to tell you that too?!"
"...Aren't you supposed to?"
"Is that so? We're sitting on the Sacks right now!"
"Ah, so those were the Sacks. Then could you stand up for a moment so I can take them?"
"What? Then what are we supposed to sit on to rest! Are you telling us to sit on the bare ground?!"
Then what am I supposed to do?
This is a really crazy Fox.
The Guardian Stone swore internally.
At that moment, Teddy Bear flicked Fox on the forehead and forced her up from her seat.
"Eh...."
Thanks to Teddy Bear, the Guardian Stone was able to grab the Sacks.
"Thank you."
After the Guardian Stone expressed his gratitude.
He gathered all the Sacks and rejoined his kin who were mining.
Then he distributed the Sacks to his kin and continued the work of transferring the mined Natural Mana Stones into the Sacks.
Throughout the entire time they were working.
Glance, glance.
The Guardian Stones constantly stole glances at Teddy Bear's group.
Teddy Bear was currently using the Dragon Mimicry skill.
The sight of transforming one arm into a Dragon head doll.
Seeing that, the Guardian Stones were collectively shocked.
"D-Did you see? That Teddy Bear's arm...."
"...That's a Dragon, right?"
The Guardian Stones knew about Dragons.
Because the history of a young Dragon ravaging their Ancestors long ago was vividly carved into the cave murals.
"Could it possess the power of a Dragon?"
"What if it's actually a Dragon using Camouflage to look like a Teddy Bear?"
"Maybe so... If that Teddy Bear is actually a Dragon, it makes sense why it's stronger than that monster Fox."
"If we had attacked without knowing any better, we would have been annihilated...."
"To think it really wasn't an ordinary Teddy Bear."
"See, didn't I tell you? I told you that Teddy Bear was absolutely not an ordinary guy."
When the Guardian Stones' fear of Teddy Bear deepened even further.
Teddy Bear spewed Luck Breath from the Dragon's head several times.
His goal was to cast a Luck Buff on Tosuni, Star Fox, and Vampire.
Since this place was overflowing with Natural Mana Stones, there was no chance of running out of Mana.
Vampire knew Teddy Bear could use breath attacks, but this was her first time seeing this golden breath. Still, she trusted Teddy Bear and accepted it head-on. This was because Tosuni had told her beforehand that it wasn't a harmful breath.
"What? It can even shoot breath?"
"It really was a Dragon using Camouflage as a Teddy Bear!"
"Didn't I tell you? That Teddy Bear is absolutely not an ordinary guy. Hehe."
"More importantly, it's shooting breath at its own comrades? Is it crazy?"
"It must be an insane Teddy Bear...!"
"How could it do something so terrible to its own subordinates......."
"Seeing as they take no damage when hit, it just looks like some kind of skill that gives a Buff."
The Dragon's head.
And the golden breath.
Witnessing these two things, the Guardian Stones made a silent vow.
That they must never, under any circumstances, defy that Teddy Bear.
***
A place not too far from the cave where the Natural Mana Stones grew.
"Kiek...."
"Squeak......."
"......."
Countless monsters lay scattered around with their bodies gruesomely torn apart.
The identity of the slaughtered monsters was the Mask Ladybugs.
They were the ladybug monsters that, although unintentionally, had given Teddy Bear's group a ride near their destination.
And in front of the Mask Ladybug corpses.
The single monster that had torn them to shreds stood leisurely, letting out a yawn.
"Yawn... I was trying to nap, but they were passing by so noisily."
There was only one reason this monster had annihilated the swarm of Mask Ladybugs.
It was simply because they had interrupted its peaceful nap.
There was no other reason.
"Hmm. I don't think I can fall back asleep anyway... Might as well resume my tracking since I'm up."
Leaving the corpses behind.
The monster muttered to itself as it slowly began to walk.
"Let's see... I couldn't find any traces of spilled blood no matter how hard I looked, and she completely masked all her scent too... Hah, she even noticed and removed the mark I secretly planted on her during our fight. I engraved three tracking marks just in case, but to think she removed them all... What a sharp bitch."
Lamenting over its lost prey,
the monster let out a sigh and shook its head.
"This is why I hate Vampires. They're so creepy with how thorough they are."
His species name was Lycanthrope.
A species that was hostile towards the Vampire tribe.
[Lycanthrope lv.65]
┗Pw.390
┗Rnk.Elite
"Still, she probably couldn't have run that far. I might be able to find her if I keep searching the area... I have plenty of time, so let's take it slow and look for her."