Page 32

(Maany)

Recently, some very odd things are happening in the Orphanage.

Odd things they might be, they are in reality more beneficial than harmful.

Our Orphanage easily runs out of food, and this fact is even more prominent during a bad

With the famine still unresolved, the situation is even more dire than usual. Children who have already 'graduated' from the Orphanage sometimes bring what food they can gather to us as donations. But it's still far from enough.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been an emergency. But unexpectedly, we never seem to quite run out of food.

It is truly strange to find your stock of food perpetually remaining in the state of "We'll run out of food in a week" for months on end.

How did I realize something strange is going on? I grew suspicious and started to periodically count out exactly how much food we have every night.

Regardless of how much food was consumed on one day, the next day the same number of food would magically appear to fill the gap.

Could it be... that the Goddess has heard our plight and gave us her blessing?

Could this be possible? I have been a nun for decades, and never have I seen or heard anything like this before.

I talked to uncle Marbon about my findings. And he suggested that we patrol the granary every night to try and find out what's going on.

After a few nights, uncle Marbon with his keen sense of smell has concluded that someone always sneaks into the granary at night - that someone is Walson.

I never expected the mysterious and elusive Walson to be the one behind this strange occurrence.

We only found out because uncle Marbon's superior sense of smell has a demi-human. I never noticed anything amiss when it was my turn to patrol the granary.

Perhaps this elusive child has some special abilities that can hide him from others?

Could a [Commoner] truly have such abilities...?

No, perhaps such a possibility is too out of character. He must have a secret that he does not want to share.

After he turned thirteen and started community service, it became even more difficult to see him.

He always chooses the strangest occupations to study, and never seems to focus on any particular skill set. This worries me, but I never had the chance to speak with him.

But in any case... how did he obtain so much food?

During this famine, no one in the village has food to spare.

I talked with uncle Marbon some more.

He too has started to take notice of Walson's strange activities.

Once again we followed Walson's lingering scent, but we were surprised to find out that the child is sneaking into the mountains every day.

I tried to follow him, but Walson is fast beyond comprehension, I always lose sight of him.

In the end, we had to once again rely on uncle Marbon's nose to find out more.

Turns out, Walson went deep into the woods.

Yes, the most dangerous part of the woods. Places where strong monsters and beasts inhabit.

Uncle Marbon did not wish to venture further without ample preparations, so he came back and relayed this information to me.

I was completely shocked. What in the world is that child going there on his own!?

But uncle Marbon was far from finished. He told me that Walson's scent goes directly into the depths of a bamboo forest that is filled with the scent of the [Mountain King].

A phantasmal beast that can level a city all on its own, an S-rank monster, a gigantic golden wolf.

Uncle Marbon did not see the [Mountain King] this time, but the strong power and the scent are unmistakable.

There is no one that could equal the likes of the [Mountain King] in this region.

Walson, what is he doing?

Both uncle Marbon and I started to trek into the depths of the mountains. We were immediately attacked on our way.

But I am LV33 while uncle Marbon is LV45, so we dispatched them with ease. Aside from healing, I also know a bit of fire magic to protect myself. And uncle Marbon used to be a mercenary famous for his skills in smashing foes with his holy staff.

We also tried our best to avoid battles, so it took us half the day to arrive at our destination: the bamboo forest.

A combination such as ours is usually graded as a B-rank adventurers party, and on our way here we managed to fight with ease, but...

We did not meet the [Mountain King] as we had expected.

Instead, we saw a few wooden houses littered around the place.

The garden and the yard have all been cleaned, not a speck of dust can be found. So someone must be inhabiting them...

Does Walson have something to do with this?

I was lost in thoughts when uncle Marbon barked out a shout of warning.

"Watch out!"

I quickly lost consciousness to the darkness when I felt something hit me in the back of my neck...

Within the secret base.

Maany opened her eyes and found herself to be sitting with her legs bound and hands tied behind her back. Uncle Marbon, who is still unconscious, was also tied with her.

"... You are...?" Maany questioned the lizard-kin girl that has her back faced towards her.

The girl appeared to be fifteen years old and is currently operating some sort of strange mechanism.

"Melon." the girl replied curtly.

"Ah... Ms. Melon... Where is this?"

"You have intruded upon my Master's territory. We must wait for Master to return and judge you."

"Who is your Master?"

"..." The girl remained silent to that question.

After a few more inquiries with no replies, we know that asking more questions would not grant us any answers.

Maany felt some movement from behind her, it seems like uncle Marbon has come to.

He seems dissatisfied with the bindings and is struggling to get out of them.

"Apologies, but please sleep for a while!" With a burst of magical power, he broke free of the bindings.

Grabbing the wooden stick that isn't too far away from him, he attacked the defenseless back of the lizard-kin girl.

Holy hammer, a skill that uses holy magic to increase the destructive power of blunt weaponry. It was known as the bloodless judgment of God back in the day.

But the stick was easily neutralized as Melon's lizard tail curled around it.

"... I have been careless. I still have much to learn." She mumbled, and then with a swipe of her tail, threw uncle Marbon into the air. "Please wait patiently until Master returns."

The tail struck the still air-borne priest, and he lost consciousness once more.

Maany was struck speechless with what she saw.

Powerful. This girl is very powerful.

She wasn't quite sure how strong she was while she was unconscious, but to see the girl in action with her own eyes...

The girl is still very young, how has she attained such strength? Maany grew uneasy.

"I will refrain from harming you until Master announces his judgment." Melon tried to placate the uneasy nun with reassurances.

Melon bound the priest once more and sat him down in the corner of the room.

The silence stretched through the atmosphere, filling the room with a tense quietness.

Maany began to grow curious about who this "Master".

And then, petals began to flutter in her vision.

"... Ah, sister Maany." a familiar voice said.

"!?"

Why is Grace here!? Maany thought to herself.

Also, where did she come from?

"Acquaintances?" Melon asked Grace

"... My teacher." Grace replied. "... Why is she here?"

"Grace! You..." Maany was utterly confused.

How did Grace end up in such a dangerous place?

"... Can we undo the bindings on her?" Grace asked.

"... Fine, but not the male. He seems aggressive." Melon took a moment to release Maany.

"... Hm." Grace took out a teapot from who-knows-where and gestured Maany to take a seat, pouring a cup of tea.

Maany sat on the chair and stared dumbly at the cup of hot tea in her hands, the tea inside the cup is emanating an unfamiliar smell.

... Hm, it tastes delicious.

"... You... Grace, are you the Master?" Maany asked with tense shoulders.

"... No, I am not. Wait for Walson." Grace just shook her head.

Maany wanted to question her some more, but Melon suddenly stopped whatever she was doing and raised her head to the air.

"Master has returned."

"... Walson." Grace suddenly blushed as she gazed out the window.

Following Grace's gaze, Maany too looked at the window.

A gigantic wolf filled her vision.

Gray and brown fur, lean compact muscles with power hidden beneath it.

Maany gasped in shock. "The Mountain King..."

"No, no no. The [Arkon] is much bigger than Rifle." The boy who rode on the back of the wolf jumped to the ground.

It's Walson.