NOVEL WEB Chapter 29 - Chapter 29: War Cry
Chapter 29: War Cry
Somehow, two weeks have passed. It didn’t take even a week to prepare the coffee and chocolate for the next street stall, but as we were brainstorming new products, quite some time passed.
In addition, life in the hideout was comfortable, so I didn’t feel motivated to go to the city. However, it’s not like we were just lazing around. We defeated Kidanakemo, harvested various things, and kept ourselves busy with various tasks.
The most impressive change during these two weeks was Shiro’s transformation. Perhaps due to a sudden improvement in her diet, her body has grown even larger. She hasn’t gained much weight, but there’s a feminine softness to her once solid physique. She still smiles brightly when our eyes meet, and sometimes, I feel like I’m falling in love like a maiden. For now, I’m managing to hold myself back.
Her horns have grown about 10 centimeters. Using the convex I carry as stationery, when I measured her height, including the horns, she was 2 meters 32 centimeters tall. It’s incredibly imposing. I hope she doesn’t get any bigger than this. Nevertheless, her ability to handle heavy work is truly helpful. She can easily carry Kidanakemo, which is about the size of a small car. Her strength is truly fearsome, especially her instantaneous power. Perhaps, the reason for this brute strength lies not only in her size and muscle mass but also in the regenerative power of the Oni tribe.
That’s because even though Shiro is incredibly strong, she clearly makes reckless movements. She can make sudden moves from a standstill and move in ways that ignore the strain on her joints. Instead of having a safeguard system like human bones, muscles, and joints, she seems to utilize her body with the Oni’s unique regenerative ability. She constantly exerts almost 100 percent of her strength, immediately recovering any muscle or joint damage she sustains. It sounds incredibly painful to imagine, but is she really okay?
Another change is that Shiro has gradually started speaking. Originally, it seems she could only speak the language unique to the Oni tribe. However, as I talked to her endlessly, her vocabulary gradually expanded, and we’ve managed to have conversations, albeit somewhat stiffly. However, she’s not naturally talkative. She exchanges simple words and mostly smiles gently.
Now that we can communicate, I thought about discussing the bodyguard payment that I had been neglecting, but it turned out to be unnecessary in the end. However, since there might be things she wants to buy on her own, when I suggested paying her a certain amount, she looked unusually troubled. Perhaps Shiro, or maybe the Oni tribe, doesn’t quite understand the concept of sharing wallets. However, considering that the Oni tribe occasionally works as mercenaries, they should each have personal property. And even if they form parties, how does that work? Or maybe it’s just Shiro’s specific nature. Well, I understand that Shiro has a familial sense of camaraderie with us, and I don’t feel bad about that. For now, it’s fine for money and belongings to be shared, and I’ll take care of managing them. It’s a relief not to have to do calculations, but when you start buying things for their necessities, expenses can unexpectedly increase.
Speaking of guardianship, regarding Kuro, I’ve been interacting with her in a protective manner for a long time, but actually, Kuro might also see me from a guardian-like perspective. Lately, I’ve somehow felt a gaze from her that’s like that of a guardian who fondly cares for a hopeless child. I try not to think too deeply about that…
By the way, this time, there are two expanded product lineups. One is a new type of chocolate. In addition to the sheet-like chocolate we’ve had before, we’ve prepared one with chopped oranges in it. Personally, I think it turned out quite well. However, it seems like a taste that might have mixed reviews. I’d like to see Marie’s reaction when she tries it. If this one goes well, I’d like to gradually increase the variety.
In these past two weeks, there have been various small things, but basically, there haven’t been any major events. With our fulfilling life in the hideout, both physically and mentally, we’re in good shape. It’s about time we went to the city. Thanks to Kuro and Shiro, we have plenty of products ready. We also have enough stock of preserved food. As we’ve been living, many things such as tools, household goods, and clothing have come up. I’ll finish packing today and set out early tomorrow morning. This time, let’s try to stay as long as possible.
If possible, I’d like to meet Menas and the others after such a long time.
While I was contemplating about it after dinner, Shiro said something outrageous.
“Bonus, Shiro wants to fight Kidanakemo.”
“Huh? … Seriously?”
“Gyaa?”
“Shiro wants to… show her strength.”
“… You want to test your strength?”
“Yeah.”
What’s gotten into her all of a sudden? Hmm, this is troublesome. Although it didn’t seem so much, maybe her Oni blood is stirring. Surprisingly, her instinct for combat seems strong.
“Hmm… I’m worried. Isn’t it dangerous for Shiro too?”
“Gyaa gyaa.”
“If you run away… you won’t die… you think?”
“If it comes to it, I can escape, so it should be okay.”
Well, certainly, Shiro has exceptionally high durability and is fast on her feet. If she can avoid instant death, she might be able to escape.
“Hmm, I’m still worried. Why do you want to try defeating Kidanakemo?”
“Shiro worries about Bonus. Pink is strong… but only pink… dangerous.”
I see… So it’s a problem that I’m too weak… Well, it’s true that I’ve relied too much on Pink, and it’s true that we don’t have any backup.
“Shiro, thank you for worrying about me. But if you weren’t here, I’d probably die soon, so I’d prefer you not to… do anything dangerous.”
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu.”
Shiro suddenly burst into tears. Despite looking mature at first glance, she cries like a child.
“Hey, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“Gya, gyau gyau gyau.”
Kuro and I are flustered together. No, this isn’t the time to panic. Basically, Shiro sees us as family. It’s unexpectedly tough not to have the feeling that she can protect her family with her own strength. But being reckless will only lead to death. This is the time to calmly think about it.
“Shiro, wait a moment. Don’t cry. I’ll think more seriously about it from now on.”
“Gyaa gyaa!”
“Okay…”
For some reason, Kuro is patting Shiro’s head.
Now, what should we do?
“Indeed, in the environment of this hideout, relying solely on Pink to deal with the threat of Kidanakemo is objectively not good.”
“… Yeah.”
Although we’ve been behaving to avoid such situations, if we were attacked by two creatures from front and back, it would be over. Moreover, when Pink unleashes her maximum firepower, she falls asleep for a while. If we were attacked right after that, it would be over. Based on experience, Kidanakemo doesn’t approach for a while after Pink unleashes her attack. But maybe that’s just because we’ve been lucky…
“In that sense, we should prepare a way to counter Kidanakemo as soon as possible.”
“Yeah.”
“Gyaa gyaa!”
“What about the timing…?”
Actually, I’ve been consciously postponing this issue due to its danger. But in reality, there might have been various things I could have done, at least I could have considered traps.
“Indeed, if we don’t challenge it when we think we can, we may unconsciously start avoiding it, and as a result, it may become too late.”
“Gyaa!”
“Okay…”
Maybe Shiro’s intuition is excellent. Perhaps she thought that now, when everything is going well, is the right time. When in dire straits, one may become dull…
“I’ve thought about it carefully, and I think it’s okay to challenge Kidanakemo.”
“Gyaa gyaa!”
“But, even so, we must ensure safety thoroughly.”
“Yeah.”
“For that, fighting an unfamiliar Kidanakemo is out of the question. It has to be a Kidanakemo whose nature we know well. We need to understand its main attack methods and movements… Furthermore, it should be alone.”
“Yeah.”
“Gyaa gyaa.”
Next, we have to consider what to do if Shiro can’t defeat it.
In that case, the options are to either run away or have Pink take care of it. In the worst-case scenario, if we retreat to the rocky shore of the hideout, there’s a high chance of survival.
At the same time, if I hide on the shore beforehand, Pink can also help by burning it.
“When I consider everything, being within 100 meters of the hideout is also important.”
“Yeah…”
“Don’t push yourself, if it gets dangerous, run into the cracks of the hideout. I’ll hide in the cracks, and if something happens, I’ll have Pink take care of it.”
“Gugyaaa! Gyaggyaggyaggya!”
“Hey, hey. How about Kuro hides with me~?”
“Gyaa! Gugyaaa!”
Huh? Why is Kuro suddenly so enthusiastic? This is getting more troublesome…
“Kuro and I will――――”
“Gugyaaaaa!”
“I think Kuro will be fine. Even Shiro can’t hit Kuro. Kuro has very… good eyes.”
“Oh… um, yeah…”
Kuro is dancing aggressively while shouting war cries. Haka?
It seems impossible to stop now… Rather, if Kuro gets excited and charges in midway, it might be troublesome, but surprisingly, it might increase Shiro’s safety.
After all, even I owe my life to Kuro.
“Kuro, if Shiro runs away, make sure to retreat to the hideout too. And don’t get in Pink’s line of fire, because it might burn you as a last resort.”
“Gyaa――――! Gyaggyaggyaggyaggya!”
“Shiro doesn’t need to dance too…”
Ah… We were supposed to plan to go to the town, why did it turn out like this…