Chapter 63

Dianeia, freed from the thick arm of the golem, collapsed onto a tree stump.

"Ugh, what a terrible experience..."

"It's because you tried to enter through the back door. What do you want, half-naked witch?"

"It was your golem that stripped me...!"

Dianeia glared resentfully and began to readjust her clothes.

After properly re-equipping herself, she wiped away her teary eyes and started to speak.

"I came here to inspect the area."

"Inspect? Did something happen?"

"Even though the dungeon's activation has settled down, I thought it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. It's part of maintaining order."

Maintaining order, huh.

Prussia has just been attacked by monsters, so I can understand why she's sensitive, but this princess is as serious as ever.

"But why did you walk from the north side of the forest? Were there dangerous monsters over there?"

"No, that's not it. The rabbits who have their base in the north were acting strangely, so I went to check it out."

"Rabbits, huh..."

I remember, they're the species that shares territory with the werewolves. They're commonly known as combat rabbits, right?

I've never met one, though.

Actually, for some reason, the werewolves refuse to meet them. When I asked to see one, they said something like,

"If we meet those rabbits, we might be killed by the king's wife..."

Or something like that. I don't get it.

"Anyway, what's going on with those rabbits?"

"I received a report from the werewolf Osa that they seemed to be fleeing the village. When I went to check, the village was indeed empty."

"Is there something wrong with the combat rabbits being outside?"

Dianeia was silent for a few seconds, as if unsure how to answer.

"Um, do you know about the habits of the combat rabbits, Daichi-sama?"

"Since I've never met one, I wouldn't know."

"I see. Well, the official name for combat rabbits is Knight Bunnies. ...They occasionally go out to suck the essence from human males. They recover their magic power through sexual desire."

What? Did this witch princess just say what I think she said?

"Knight Bunnies? Why do they have the name 'combat rabbits' then?"

"There are three reasons for the common name. One is consideration for children. The second is that they are strong in combat, easily overpowering two or three adventurers. ...And the last reason is that they completely drain the 'nighttime combat power' of the men in the city, using it to recover their own magic power. It represents their terrifying 'nighttime combat power'..."

Hmm. The word 'combat power' sounds a bit off.

Yeah, I'm kind of curious to meet them now, for various reasons.

"...Daichi-sama? Your expression looks a bit strange."

"It's just the shock. So, where did these combat rabbits go?"

I'll stick with 'combat rabbits' since the 'Knight' part is confusing.

"I was searching for them when I came here. If a group of them drains the essence of the men in a city, it's a big problem, so I wanted to catch them or at least talk to them. ...I'm following their tracks, but I can't find them, and I'm not sure what to do..."

While talking with Dianeia,

"Hey, are these the rabbits you're talking about?"

"Huh?"

Hestia called out.

She was poking at a monster that had been knocked out in the outer part of the garden,

"Among the monsters, they were attacking, so they're knocked out too."

Among them were girls with rabbit ears and tails.

"Ah, really."

"Kyu~"

Their eyes were rolling, and they were completely unconscious.

"...You work fast, Daichi-sama."

"I didn't mean to work. They attacked me."

In any case, they attacked me.

I need to talk to them a bit.