Chapter 136

Chapter 136 Karen’s Way of Life

Volume 19… starts.

The next day after showing Karen non-attribute magic…

We stopped the carriage before the sun began to fall. After that, we divided the labor and prepared for the camp.

A group remained in the carriage to prepare meals and firewood, another group was working on procuring ingredients in the forest, but Karen and I were the only two doing magic training at a place slightly away from the carriage.

Karen’s training continued while being watched over by Emilia and Reese who had already finished the preparation of the bed. Let alone reaching the first stage of manipulating mana, it was time for her to use magic.

“Yes…” (Karen)

“Alright. Remain that concentrated condition, slowly move the mana and gather it in your palm. If it’s become tough like yesterday, don’t forget to stop immediately.” (Sirius)

“…Like this?” (Karen)

“Alright. After that, direct your hand to the target and unleash the mana at the same time saying the magic name.” (Sirius)

“…[Impact].” (Karen)

Then, an invisible magic bullet released from Karen’s palm hit the rock nearby and it crushed the surface layer a bit.

If it was my [Impact], it would open a big hole in the center, but it seemed that degree was the limit of Karen.

The reason was that the mana convergence was still light, but it was amazing enough even with this.

Although she was taught by the parent how to manipulate mana, this practice was designed to be able to use magic in a day after I taught her my magic theory.

It might be because her tribe was said to be proficient in magic, but I guessed it was also due to her efforts.

Just like the way Karen was reading a book that I had bought in town, her ability to concentrate was very high.

The disadvantage of that was she wouldn’t look at other matters once she fully concentrated, but then, she absorbed what I taught at phenomenal rate with that concentration. The siblings were also good, but I thought that Karen was no less than them.

Because of that, she was trying hard and it had caused mana exhaustion couple of times, but for the sake of knowing own limit, I didn’t proactively stop her because I thought that it was necessary to experience it in order to become strong. After all, I would stop her if she was highly likely to collapse.

In this way, Karen, who succeeded in her magic, turned to me and her mouth loosened.

“…I did it!” (Karen)

“Aah, you did well. With this, it has enough effectiveness even on monster opponents.” (Sirius)

That was at least several times better than the [Impact] used by the general public, so if she accurately aimed at weak points even if it was a big monster, that would make it faltered.

The common sense of [Impact] was… that it had no punch in spite of consuming enormous mana, and that was why no one wanted to use it.

However, Karen wasn’t influenced by that common sense. She believed in my words and had reached this far in a day. To put it simply, she was an innocent girl.

“Once you get better with the mana manipulation inside the body, you will be able to release stronger [Impact]. Since there is no need to be impatient, remember that and do it over and over again, alright.” (Sirius)

“…I will do my best!” (Karen)

Karen was flapping her wings and she seemed happy, but her complexion was slightly bad maybe because her mana was almost depleted.

The group that went out for food procurement would be back soon, and since I also had to prepare for dinner, I was going to stop it around here today.

“Let’s stop here for today. Aren’t you tired because you have been concentrating many times since the morning?” (Sirius)

“Yes, but… I want to do it again. I also want to be able to use magic like Onii-san soon.” (Karen)

Although she knew the pain of mana exhaustion, the appearance of working hard without sparing was really wonderful.

To be honest, she should take a break, but…

“…It can’t be helped then. Just one more time, alright. By the way, do you have something to ask?” (Sirius)

“Yes, I do. What is the difference between Onii-san and my magic?” (Karen)

“If that’s the case, I will show that magic once more. It is also very important to notice yourself.” (Sirius)

“Yes.” (Karen)

Yesterday, I released the magic in normal way, but this time, I would do it slowly so that Karen could observe easily.

At present, I invoked [Impact] in order to breathe, but since I had to do it deliberately, the time needed to focus mana increased and it was troublesome.

However, if Karen had amazing concentration, it was worth doing it since it was highly likely for her to watch and notice something.

“How is it? Do you notice that mana is gradually gathered in the right hand? If it is difficult to gather mana–…” (Sirius)

“…” (Karen)

Even while listening to my explanation, Karen maintained looking at me so as not to miss any single move.

The various parts where Karen did it at her own pace stood out, and since she was an innocent girl, working hard and more than anything, she had deep thirst about knowledge, I judged that this girl was truly worth teaching.

If this would help such Karen, I shot [Impact] while concentrating more than usual–…

“We’re back. We managed to get a lot.” (Fia?)

“Look, Aniki! Can you make something delicious with–… hmm? What’s wrong, Karen?” (Reus)

“…Honey.” (Karen)

‘…Should I take back the words earlier?’

I thought so while crushing the rock aimed by the [Impact] shot into pieces.

Anyhow, I noticed that Karen, who was observing everything seriously until a moment ago, was standing in front of Reus who got back from hunting.

Emilia and Reese, who were watching the series of scenes, were wondering how to react, while Fia put the ingredients gathered down and she was wondering.

“The situation is strange, but what happened?” (Fia)

“No, how should I say this…” (Sirius)

“You feel rather complicated… is it?” (Fia)

The conversation would end if I showed the magic again, but how could I describe this indescribable feeling?

From the side of Fia, who was listening to their conversation, Reus was talking in wonder to Karen who came in front of him.

“Seriously, I was surprised because you appeared suddenly. So, what is it?” (Reus)

“I smelled honey.” (Karen)

“Oh, you know well. Actually, we found a nest along the way. However, we didn’t have it all but only a part of it.” (Reus)

“I want to eat it.” (Karen)

“Yeah… but it’s going to be a dinner soon, so if you want to eat it, you need to ask permission from Aniki, alright?” (Reus)

It had been several days after we met Karen, and since she started opening her hearts to us, she showed various sides of her one after another.

One of them was Karen seemed to like honey more than I expected.

Although the smell of the honey almost nonexistent, that was the proof that she splendidly reacted to it.

As I unintentionally shrugged my shoulders due to such an exchange of conversation, their gazes were directed to me. I had to nod while sighing.

“…Just a little bit.” (Sirius)

“Ouh! Wait a sec, Karen.” (Reus)

“Yeah!” (Karen)

And then, Karen walked like a puppy, and followed Reus. He went back to the carriage to take the necessary tools.

It looked like her thought was completely filled with honey. She seemed to have completely forgotten about magic.

Well… I had decided to stop until now anyway. Since Karen seemed to enjoy it, there was no need to say anything.

After that, while bitterly smiling at Karen who motionlessly looked at the scene of sorting out the honey, I started preparing dinner with the ingredients that Fia and Reus had procured.

—

Now… pulling myself together, let alone trying to prepare the dinner, I suddenly felt hesitated.

I had decided that the main dish would be a stew, but I was hesitated because the poultry left in the refrigerator-like tool in the carriage was about to spoil soon.

The poultry was treated with antiseptic before meeting Karen, but since there was a possibility that winged people didn’t eat poultry, we unconsciously avoided eating it until now, including the meals we had in town.

If we didn’t have a stew, we would fine with just Yakitori, but we shouldn’t eat it in front of Karen.

It was a waste if I threw it away since it was a meat of rare monster, so for the time being, I discussed with Emilia and Reese who helped me preparing the dinner.

“…That’s how is it, but what do you think?” (Sirius)

“Well. I am from Silver Wolf Tribe, but I don’t have problem eating meat of monsters with wolf-like appearance.” (Emilia)

“But, it depends on the tribe. Right now, Karen will tell us, right?” (Reese)

“Yes, Reese is right.” (Sirius)

I couldn’t ask that because she was scared of me before this, but she would probably tell me now.

I stopped preparing the dinner at once. When I headed to where Reus and Fia who were sorting out the honey, there was a little work remained.

Since the hive of magical bee was big, it seemed that it was taken from a certain size of hive, but…

“I’m done here, Fia-ane.” (Reus)

“Yes, well, the last is Karen.” (Fia)

“Yes…” (Karen)

First, Reus moved the larvae away from the hive. Next, Fia transferred the honey into a container. Lastly, Karen scooped and licked the leftover honey in the hive to which she was handed.

Speaking of the sorting work, it was a bit tough, but they became soften when looking at Karen who seemed to be delighted. To put it simply, they were giving honey that hadn’t been cleaned. When I looked at her feet, there were many hives where the honey had been completely cleaned.

The two, who were looking at the sight with delicate expression, stopped their worked and raised head.

“What is it? If it’s for the dinner, I already separated them.” (Fia)

“No… I don’t think Karen should eat too much.” (Sirius)

“Is that so? There is not much honey remained in the nest, so there is still…” (Fia)

“I would like to say that after looking at the hives rolling on her feet.” (Sirius)

““Aah…”” (Fia/Reus)

It seemed that they didn’t noticed that. I thought that it would be rude to say this to Karen, but it felt like we were like feeding a pet way too much.

Well, I wasn’t sure about her feelings, but there was no choice but to do this.

I felt bad to tell Karen this like last time since she was still holding a hive, but she obediently nodded as if she had enjoyed it enough.

“…Is it delicious?” (Sirius)

“It’s delicious!” (Karen)

Oh dear, I couldn’t say anything when she was that complacent.

As I sighed inside, Reese, who was looking at Karen licking honey from the last hive, seemed to notice something.

“Karen-chan can eat the larvae, isn’t it?” (Reese)

“Yes. That is also tasty.” (Karen)

“That’s right. It has a slightly strange texture, but it is sweet and quite tasty, right?” (Reese)

“Does Reese-Oneechan eat this too?” (Karen)

“Are you giving it to me? Thank you.” (Reese)

I didn’t mind if she ate it since the larvae got nutrients, but since she was the type that didn’t eat much, I felt like she wouldn’t have too much of dinner. There was nothing to worry if it was the siblings or Reese.

Incidentally, I made a small twist during the preparation of the dinner, so I would ask the main question later.

“I want to ask something. Does Karen eat poultry?” (Sirius)

“…I never have that before.” (Karen)

“That means you are not prohibited from eating it… is it? I will make dinner by using poultry, is that alright?” (Sirius)

“It’s alright.” (Karen)

I didn’t see any reactions especially dislike. I guessed that there was no problem, so we headed back and prepared the dinner.

—

After that, we finished eating dinner. We, then, decided the order of night-watch and went to sleep.

The order of the night-watch changed every time to ensure equality, and this time, I was on the second order.

I replaced the first watch, Fia, and sat near the bonfire. I brushed Hokuto who came closer, and I spend the time by reading books while maintaining the view with small [Light].

When it was the time to switch over, Emilia, who was sleeping in a blanket nearby, woke up and got up.

“Fuah… good job, Sirius-sama. I’ll finish my preparation soon, so please wait.” (Emilia)

“Aah, take your time.” (Sirius)

Although it was a camping, Emilia couldn’t stay like that in front of me, so she quickly arranged her appearance.

She slept by taking of a piece of coat only. Then, she washed her face and lightly arranged the hair with a comb. Since that was important as a woman, I wasn’t going to rush her.

At the same time, Emilia prepared tea that hinder sleep. She sat next to me, so when I stroked her head as usual, her tail was wagging happily.

“You’re on time as always.” (Sirius)

“Ehehe… not as precise as Sirius-sama though.” (Emilia)

There was something like a scalable hourglass for time change, but Emilia always woke up a few minutes earlier.

If she could wake up precisely at the time decided, it meant that she could control her body well.

For people, sleep was also an indispensable existence. In that situation, people would be mostly unprotected. If it was possible to make the body learned, it would be useful in various situations.

However, people also unable to notice many things in the meantime. Learning it was very difficult, but Emilia learned it over the years in order to support me. Well, I was the man intended for that devotion.

“Haa… I’m satisfied. Likewise, I can get stroke from Sirius-sama when I wake up.” (Emilia)

“I’m not going to say anything about that, but does it feel good to be stroked? I think that will make you sleepy.” (Sirius)

“I feel calm to be stroked by Sirius-sama, but more than that, I feel happy and excited too.” (Emilia)

“…I don’t get it myself.” (Sirius)

“Anyhow, if you stroke me, I’ll become energetic. It’s like a magical hand for me.” (Emilia)

Since it didn’t involve many in particular, it was probably something that made her feel good.

I stroked her as it was for a while, but I stopped when I felt a presence.

“Are you done?” (Sirius)

“Yes. Please leave it to me.” (Emilia)

After that, I left Emilia. I wrapped myself in a blanket and lie down while turning my back on the bonfire.

While Hokuto lied down close to me to protect me against wind, I maintained my consciousness at the same time closing my eyes.

After a while, when the firewood of the bonfire exploded, I caught sight of someone coming from the carriage and slowly approaching Emilia.

“…What’s wrong?” (Emilia)

“Uhmm…” (Karen)

I couldn’t see the figure because I was turning my back, but it turned out to be Karen based on the voice and presence.

It seemed that she woke up when I was stroking Emilia’s head. I guessed that she was waiting for me to go to sleep.

And the reason she woke up was…

“Are you… hungry?” (Emilia)

“…Yes.” (Karen)

It was as I expected.

The dinner wasn’t only with a stew. I also prepared bread, meat and stir fry vegetables, but Karen was full with just having the stew.

Her expression was slightly painful, but from the point of eating the stew served, it seemed that her mother upbringing was solid.

I had no complaint, but that was because she overate the honey and the bee larvae. It was right decision to prepare it.

“There are some stews left. Would you like to eat it?” (Emilia)

“Is there leftover?” (Karen)

It was natural for Karen to tilt her head.

Because of the glutton siblings, she saw the pot containing stew was empty.

“Sirius-sama specially prepared it because he knew this would happen. I will warm it soon, so please wait.” (Emilia)

“…I’m sorry.” (Karen)

“You don’t have to apologize. You merely followed the flow because of Fia-san and Reus. Besides, they were trying hard to leave some behind even though they were still hungry, you know?” (Emilia)

“I was the one who ate the honey, so it’s no good to leave me meals.” (Karen)

“Karen-chan is really smart. But, it’s alright. If you reflect properly, neither us nor Sirius-sama will get angry.” (Emilia)

As Emilia said, if she felt sorry for eating snacks before meals, it should be good enough.

Besides, she was still a child. It probably couldn’t be helped when there was food available before dinner and that was served in front of her.

With that, the conversation between them stopped and the only sound I heard for a while was the sound of stew being warmed up. However, Karen resumed the conversation while eating the stew.

“It’s delicious.” (Karen)

“Hehe, please tell that to Sirius-sama in this morning. I’m sure he will be pleased.” (Emilia)

“…Alright.” (Karen)

“I guess it’s hard for you to say that. I understand that feeling well. I was also like that in the past.” (Emilia)

“Nee-chan too?” (Karen)

“That’s right. I was like Karen one time. I was hungry in the middle of the night and Sirius-sama and Dee-san who is like my Onii-san prepared meals for me.” (Emilia)

When I was still in the mansion when I was born, Emilia woke up in the night many times because she was hungry. It might be because she was growing up. So, Dee and I prepared late night snacks. By the way, Reus had twice the amount.

“Even if I wanted to return the favor to those two, it was impossible for me as a child. But, I want to make them happy when I grow up, so I desperately learned–… No, I am still learning even now.” (Emilia)

“…What do you mean?” (Karen)

“This may sound a bit difficult. To put it simply, we are happy if Karen-chan learn a lot of things and become strong. Today, when Karen used magic, he was very pleased, right?” (Emilia)

“I was praised!” (Karen)

“That’s right. The lesson for this mistake–… remember it well. Please do not repeat the same mistake next time.” (Emilia)

I was only looking after her brother, Reus, but I wasn’t good at dealing with children.

Karen didn’t reply, but from the air of her back and the short interval of time, I knew that she nodded.

Anyhow, with this, she could understand that she shouldn’t snacking before meals.

However, in the case of this child, why did I feel like she was going to repeat the same thing again especially when there was honey in front of her?

Despite having such a doubt, I went to sleep.

—

In the morning, when everyone was waking and preparing for breakfast, Karen came before me.

“Thank you… for the stew. It was delicious.” (Karen)

“Aah, you’re welcome. But, I have one more thing to say. I understand that honey is delicious, but think properly the amount you can eat when you’re going to eat meals, alright?” (Sirius)

“Yes. Next time, I will eat honey and I will work hard to eat meals too!” (Karen)

“…I see.” (Sirius)

“That’s the spirit, Karen-chan!” (Emilia)

“Today, you should challenge a big portion, alright!” (Reus)

“I’ll do my best.” (Karen)

There seemed to be no option to stop her from having honey.

Well… that was also an option, but more importantly, since Karen was a light eater, a bit overeating was not a problem.

As I involuntarily leaked a sigh, Fia put her hands on my shoulder as if trying to comfort me.

“You have it hard as a parent, isn’t it?” (Fia)

“Well, as I expected, parenting is difficult. But it is worth doing it together.” (Sirius)

“Hehe… we also want our children to be obedient like Karen. So, do your best, O-to-u-san.” (Fia)

“…That’s a bit hasty, don’t you think?” (Sirius)

“Sirius-sama. When we have children in the future, will it be better not to involve Lior-Ojiichan as much as possible?” (Emilia)

“That’s why you feel hasty, huh. But, I also agree with that.” (Sirius)

If my children imitated that Jii-san, I supposed I would have to worry.

Anyway, while worrying about Karen’s upbringing, our trip continued.

—

Two days after that… even though it was a bit behind our schedule, we arrived in front of a forest which seemed to be the entrance of the dragon’s nest.

Incidentally, the dragon’s nest referred to a mountain surrounded by vast forests. Apparently, it was named that way because a lot of dragons were flying across the mountain.

However, since tall trees were preventing us from looking on that mountain well, Fia and I leaped to the sky to confirm it. We were able to confirm that a tall mountain was beyond the forest that seemed to be called a sea of forest.

Perhaps, there was a settlement of winged people over there.

“Our forest is vast too, but here is also considerably vast.” (Fia)

“It is a forest that can break your bones no matter how you go in.” (Sirius)

When I enhanced my eyesight, I could see a lot of dragons flying in the sky around the mountain. If we went in poorly, we would be attacked.

I might be able to talk and avoid battle if there was high rank dragon based on rumor, but in a situation if we got attacked, the surrounding dragons would notice it, and we would fall into entrapment. Even though Fia and I could fly in the sky, we were probably no match against the dragon’s mobility.

Since we might be found and attacked if we flew for too long, we only confirmed the direction before descending to the ground.

“How is it from the sky?” (Emilia)

“More dragons are flying than I expected. Since it is dangerous to go straight, let’s go with the planned route.” (Sirius)

“How about defeating all dragons with me, Aniki and Hokuto-san?” (Reus)

“I expected that. However, I haven’t confirmed the dragon’s abilities and strength, and more importantly, the act of disturbing the ecosystem of the forest is bad.” (Sirius)

It couldn’t be helped if we were aimed, but if we proactively fight and reduced the number of dragons and monsters, it would make fools like Aseed easy to infiltrate this area.

It might be different if the winged people wanted to befriend with outsiders, but since nothing was known until now, it wasn’t alright to break the balance of the ecosystem.

“Anyway, let’s finish the preparation and depart. How about you guys?” (Sirius)

“Yes. There is a nice place over there. I secretly hid the carriage and I don’t think it can’t be found easily.” (Emilia)

“I also prepare small luggage, and I put the big luggage on Hokuto.” (Reese)

“Woof!” (Hokuto)

“Well done. Next is…” (Sirius)

Before everyone’s eyes, there was Karen, who was leaning on a tree and quietly exhaling breath of a sleeper.

Apart of being tired or not, Karen had nothing to do while we were preparing various things. She couldn’t take a book, and since we were going to walk in the forest soon, I also stopped her from training magic to prevent exhaustion.

Nevertheless, a sleeping child meant she was growing up, and she slept really well. Well, because she was sleeping, Fia and I could fly in the sky.

“…We will depart once Karen wakes up.” (Sirius)

“Aniki, there is no problem if we carry her, right? I can carry her on my back.” (Reus)

“No. She may recall something with the scenery she sees while moving, so I prefer her to wake up.” (Sirius)

Once Karen fell asleep, let alone voices, she wouldn’t wake up even if we shook her.

Because of that, I took out a small yellow lump from a pouch that I put inside my pocket and when I brought it closer to Karen’s nose…

“Hmm…” (Karen)

“Alright. Here you go.” (Sirius)

Karen opened her mouth and tried to eat it, but I retreated one step and intentionally swung my hand high.

It might be because there was nothing in the mouth, Karen stood up with half-open eyes.

She was still unaware even in this state, but she started walking slowly, aiming for what I had. On the third to four steps, she finally woke up.

“…Eh?” (Karen)

“Good morning. We will be leaving soon.” (Sirius)

“Yes.” (Karen)

“You don’t have to look at me with that kind of eyes. Look.” (Sirius)

What I had was a hard candy made with hardened honey. When I threw the candy into Karen’s mouth, the lonely eyes completely changed to a really satisfying expression and her mouth began to move.

I thought that was a very miserable method, but for now, it was the quickest.

Incidentally, since there were several pair of eyes looking at my back, I wasn’t forgetting them, so I threw the candies in their mouth.

“Ehehe. If Sirius-sama feeds me, it feels many times tastier.” (Emilia)

“Aniki, did you make it a bit bigger this time?” (Reus)

“It’s not only honey. It is delicious because it is mixed with other fruits.” (Reese)

“Personally, I would be glad if you do it from mouth to mouth but since Karen is here, I guess that I should give up.” (Fia)

“Good, it’s all good, right? We shall–…” (Sirius)

“I want another one.” (Karen)

“Let’s go!” (Sirius)

I didn’t really think that she would stop asking, but anyhow, we were entering the forest.

—

As we entered the forest, first of all, we searched for the river that I had enquired in advance. From there, the route was to head upstream along the river.

Since that river was the river where Aseed found Karen, if we kept going upstream, we would reach somewhere she remembered.

“Karen-chan. How is it?” (Fia)

“…Just a bit more. I’m smelling something familiar.” (Karen)

We were probably reaching Karen’s hometown since she was relentlessly looking around to the extent of going deeper into the forest.

At the moment, Karen was on the back of Hokuto. She was still instinctively scared at Hokuto because he was a big wolf and she couldn’t approach by herself alone. Now, she was riding together with Reese.

It was a considerable burden since he was also carrying luggage, but Hokuto’s pace wasn’t discomposed at all. He was a reliable partner as ever.

As a matter of course, there were many monsters lived in the forest. We encountered them quite a few times but most of them ran away and scared when they saw Hokuto.

Those monsters that didn’t run away were blown away either by my or Fia’s magic or by Reus’ sword swings. By the way, the reason we didn’t cut them into half was because we didn’t want to stimulate the surrounding monsters with the smell of blood.

And then, lizard type monsters that walked on two legs appeared from the river. Inspite of fighting the Lizardmen, we took a little break.

“If it’s about the dragon’s nest, there are many monsters look like dragons.” (Sirius)

“Hei, Aniki. Is this Lizardman also a dragon?” (Reus)

“It is not exactly a dragon, but it was a species that was said as a part of dragon’s family. Lizardmen are good at collective warfare, so better be careful when fighting alone.” (Sirius)

Other than that, there were bipedal earth dragon walking on the ground, and pterodactyls flying in the sky came attacking, but either of them they didn’t go further than being low rank dragon, so we had no problem in repelling them.

In that way, we repulsed numerous monsters. As we kept going forward while crossing over bad terrain, we came to a lake in a place where the trees opened up.

We seemed to arrive all the way to this depth of forest by minimizing the battles with the monsters, and giving the priority to movement.

“It’s a beautiful clear lake. I wonder if it has rare fishes.” (Reese)

“Look, Reese-ane. There is a big waterfall over there.” (Reus)

“Sirius-sama. What are we going to do from now on?” (Emilia)

“Well… let’s stop moving.” (Sirius)

The sun was starting to set soon. When I looked toward Hokuto while preparing for the camp, I noticed something wrong with Karen.

Although Karen was riding together with Fia, her line of sight remained fixed on the lake.

Until now, Karen was shocked due to being thrown away and fell to the water. The memory of when she separated from the mother was also ambiguous, but was she remembering something by coming here?

“What is it, Karen? Did you notice something?” (Sirius)

“It’s here… It’s here! I came here with Okaa-san!” (Karen)

If it was about a place where winged people could reach, this place seemed close to our destination.

Karen was showing the best reaction so far, but at the same time, she put her hands on the head to endure headache.

“But… what is this? Somehow… I forget something…” (Karen)

“Do you still have something that you can’t remember?” (Fia)

“…Yes. On that waterfall is… uuh…” (Karen)

“Do not overdo it. Look, take a deep breath and calm down.” (Emilia)

I would like to move fast, but it would be night if we moved from now on and it involved danger.

It looked like this would take time to climb the big waterfall that made the lake, which was nearby to us, so we probably should stay overnight here today.

When I was trying to tell Karen to be strong… Hokuto loudly barked as if he was wary.

At the same time, a big shadow appeared at our feet. When I invoked [Search] while looking up at the sky…

“Gurururu!” (Hokuto)

“Have we been found!?” (Emilia)

“Oh!? It’s huge!” (Reus)

“Karen, hide behind me!” (Fia)

“Y-yeah!” (Karen)

There were three dragons spreading large wings flying in the sky.

From Hokuto’s vigilance and the reaction of [Search], those dragons seemed to be higher than mid rank dragon.

I supposed that those were high rank dragons, so if conversation was possible…

[Found her!] (??)

[Are you being incorrigible again!?] (??)

[I’ll do it this time!] (??)

‘…What an unpleasant feeling.’

It seemed that they could talk, but since they were displaying hostility, I didn’t think we could have conversations.

While looking at the three dragons that had descended from high altitude skies, we were already prepared for battle.

—

Extra/Bonus – Karen’s Insight

The next day after Karen snacking too much before dinner… I was making small cupcakes as dessert for the lunch.

I was making one for each of us. However, I made a small mistake and made one extra.

“By the way, who wants to eat this extra cake–…” (Sirius)

““Me.”” (Reese/Reus)

“Me too!” (Karen)

I had expected the glutton siblings, but Karen was also raising hand since the cake was made with honey.

However, on top of reduced amount for individual portion, it was a bit troublesome to divide it into three.

For the time being, I gave the cake to Reese and told her to decide among themselves.

“Hmmm… It can’t be helped, isn’t it? Shall we decide it with rock-paper-scissor?” (Reese)

“Yeah. I am absolutely not going to be defeated!” (Reus)

“Rock-paper-scissor… what is that?” (Karen)

“I see. Karen-chan doesn’t know about it. Well, rock-paper-scissor is…” (Reese)

In such situation, the cake should be given to Karen since she was a child. Unfortunately, in regards of food, the glutton siblings basically wouldn’t compromise.

No… I guessed these two were teaching Karen about survival of the fittest.

Indeed, they were.

Yeah… I wanted to think that way.

After that, Karen was thought the rules of rock-paper-scissor, and the passionate match (one round only) began.

“““Hoi!””” (Reese/Reus/Karen)

I was watching while eating my share slowly, but the match had no winners and it kept continue like that on the second round.

I judged that it was a reasonable probability with three people, but they were probably desperate.

And just before the third round, I noticed that Karen had a gleaming expression or something.

“Eh!?” (Reese)

“Are you kidding me!?” (Reus)

“Karen won!” (Kaern)

Reese’s hand was rock.

Reus’s hand was scissor.

And Karen’s hand… had the thumb, index finger and middle finger up.

By the way, I also thought rock-paper-scissor to the siblings. I didn’t teach them about that technique, but Karen got it after the second game. (TLN: The technique in raw is 三位一体 but I don’t get it after searching for it and the direct translation is Trinity. Please let me know.)

I was amazed with her insight…

“No… that was a foul.” (Reus)

“…Is it no good?” (Karen)

“Not good.” (Reese)

If it was me, I would tell them the next round would be pointless. It was needed to decide the victory, but it seemed the glutton siblings weren’t convinced.

Somehow, I felt like the situation turned a bit muddy…

“There is no choice then. If that’s the case, let me do it. I ate a bit, but with half of this, you will have same amount as the little one.” (Sirius)

“Please wait a minute! If it’s Sirius-sama’s half-eaten cake, I want it too!” (Emilia)

“Ooh! Does Nee-chan want to do this too!?” (Reus)

“I’m not going to lose!” (Reese)

“Karen too!” (Karen)

It seemed that troubles would still continue.

—

The Extra of the Extra – NG Scene

Sirius didn’t hand over the remaining cake to Reese, and he placed it on a table nearby.

“Hmmm… It can’t be helped, isn’t it? Shall we decide it with rock-paper-scissor?” (Reese)

“Ouh!…Eh? Where is the cake?” (Reus)

“Nomnom… fuahhh?” (Karen)

“…Karen-chan, did you eat it?” (Reese)

“Nom–eat–nomnom!” (Karen)

“Then, what is the piece stick on that mouth?” (Reus)

“…Nom-nom-nom!” (Karen) *in denial

Karen had learned how to snitch food and feign ignorance.

—

Extra/Bonus – Instinct

“Sirius-sama. When we have children in the future, will it be better not to involve Lior-Ojiichan as much as possible?” (Emilia)

“That’s why you feel hasty, huh. But, I also agree with that.” (Sirius)

“Nuooo!?” (Lior)

“Wha-what’s wrong!? Why are you suddenly shouting?” (Beowulf)

“I have a feeling… that Emilia called my name!” (Lior)

“…In Lior-san’s situation, I don’t think it is a joke that you can laugh. By the way, if that’s true, why are you in such a bad mood?” (Beowulf)

“I felt like she was saying something inconvenient about me, something unpleasant! That’s because my opponent is that boy!” (Lior)

“Eh!?” (Beowulf)

—

Getting used to Hokuto – Beginner Level

No matter how divine his appearance was, Hokuto was a huge wolf. Those who were not beastkin would think of him as an unapproachable existence because of the appearance and intimidation.

Moreover, Karen was attacked by a group of wolves a few days ago, she was still experiencing mental trauma and she couldn’t get close to Hokuto alone.

“Even though you know that you will not be attacked, you still can’t do it huh?” (Sirius)

“Yes… I’m scared.” (Karen)

“Woof…” (Hokuto)

I heard that dogs paid attention to the children of their owners because they liked children.

When he was plainly told that by Karen, he seemed to be slightly overwhelmed.

“Look, it’s alright to do something like this, you know?” (Sirius)

“Woof…” (Hokuto)

First off, if I showed the sight of him being defenseless, her impression might change. So, I tried brushing Hokuto before her.

After a while, Karen approached Hokuto who was lying down with good feeling.

“…It’s soft.” (Karen)

“Woof?” (Hokuto)

Apparently, Karen cared how soft Hokuto’s paw was.

She pointed Hokuto’s paw which was visible when he lied down with her fingertip.

“How should I say this? Perhaps this is a good inclination since she is interested. It may be ticklish, but be patience, Hokuto.” (Sirius)

“Woof!” (Hokuto)

Ten minutes later…

“…*Squishy* *Squishy*” (Karen)

“Woof…” (Hokuto)

“Just, just a bit more!” (Sirius)

After ten more minutes… Hokuto was finally liberated.