Chapter 97

Thrown back, I hung upside down and first checked to make sure Haru was safe.

Haru seemed to have dodged upward rather than being thrown, and appeared to be unharmed.

Suzuki... was, like me, checking to make sure Haru and I were safe.

Hanging upside down, I gave Haru an order.

"Haru, can you only break the branches on the centaur?"

"Mr. Joufre is in the way—"

"Hey, Joufre! Cut the branches on the centaur!"

Joufre, who seemed to have heard my voice, drew his sword and cut the branches.

The carrot fell and rolled on the ground, and the centaur, after eating it, finally stopped its rampage.

I almost fell headfirst, but I curled up to take the impact.

My body didn’t hurt at all, but I was quite startled.

"Phew, we’re safe... Wait, why is Joe here?"

"It’s been a while, Joe! Are you out for a walk?"

Joufre finally noticed my presence.

Elise, you definitely wouldn’t be out for a walk in a place like this.

"Brother, wait a moment."

"Milky, put up more barriers! Monsters are coming from behind!"

"---This is my limit... More importantly..."

Two high school-aged boys and one girl ran from the same direction Joufre and the others came from.

The boy with black hair was carrying a large amount of golden wool for some reason.

The girl who was running at the back seemed to be the first to notice me.

They must be the ones Suzuki mentioned who were with Joufre.

The one at the back, putting up barriers, must be the nephew of the cat user.

...She’s quite a cute girl.

"More importantly, two new guys... hahaha, hahaha, hahaha."

Scary!

What’s up? That girl suddenly started laughing when she saw me and Suzuki.

"Are you Milky, Filio, and Sutino? Your uncle, Milky’s, asked us to come and help."

Suzuki smiled brightly to reassure the three of them.

Given the situation, it’s understandable, but in normal times, I’d want to slap him for being so cheerful.

"By the way, Joufre, what happened? Could the appearance of the monsters be your fault?"

"It’s not us. I don’t understand it, but it was some Corat agents who did it."

...I don’t understand it either, but Corat was Dacat’s enemy country.

"I’ll explain."

Milky took a step forward.

Wait? She didn’t have any injuries a moment ago,

"Are you okay? You’re bleeding."

Suzuki looked at Milky’s face.

"I’m fine. It’s like a disease for her. Right, Filio?"

"Yeah, it’s a disease. Not an injury or anything."

Sutino and Filio nodded at each other.

A sickly girl...?

Seeing Milky bleed from her nose so profusely, I had a bad feeling that it was a different kind of illness.

"Corat agents seem to have cast a spell on the statue of the goddess, likely altering its function from purifying miasma to creating monsters from the collected miasma."

She explained while bleeding from her nose, but we finally understood the cause of the monsters’ appearance.

"Do you know how to stop the appearance of the monsters?"

"If we investigate, we might find a solution, but I’m not sure..."

Milky’s words lacked energy.

Filio and Sutino also looked quite exhausted.

"Kusunoki, they’ve been trapped in the labyrinth for several days. They’re very tired. Let’s talk after we get out."

"Right, no normal person could stay energetic after being in a place like this for days."

Haru, who hadn’t joined our conversation, stood next to me,

"Master, I’ll carry Milky."

"Alright, the guys can run."

There’s no way I can take them all the way to the statue of the goddess.

"Joe, I’m fine?"

"Joe, I’m fine too?"

You guys aren’t normal humans, are you?

"We’ll make a run for it to the outside."

I suggested this—but,

"Hold it!"

An unexpected voice rose.

It was Sutino, who was carrying the golden wool on his back.

"You guys must be strong since you came here. Let’s go to the statue of the goddess!"

"...I don’t mind, but are you guys okay with it?"

"Of course."

When Suzuki asked, Filio tried to say something, but Sutino interrupted and nodded vigorously.

This Sutino guy seems to have a strong sense of justice.

I thought he was a miser because he was carrying the golden wool, but...

"You guys can be our witnesses! Our job is to place something in front of the statue of the goddess. If we don’t, we won’t get our reward."

"Hey, Sutino! You can just leave it anywhere!"

"No, Filio! These people are quite strong. If we place it properly in front of the statue and have them witness it, the client will be satisfied!"

...Correction, he’s a miser.

But, is it really okay?

"Are you sure?"

Milky and Filio also look quite exhausted.

"Yeah, I’m fine. I can go anywhere with Elise."

"I can go anywhere with Joufre too."

"Elise"

"Joufre"

As Joufre and Elise were about to embrace,

"I didn’t ask for this!"

I slashed between them with a slash attack.

And—the centaur, as if demanding more carrots, was pulling on Joufre’s item bag with its mouth.