Chapter 29

"Please save my people as well!"

The request of the rabbit-eared girl, Shia, echoed through the canyon. It seemed that the rabbit in front of her was not alone; her fellow tribespeople were also in trouble. Shia had been enduring the powerful kicks from the moon for quite some time, and she was clearly desperate. The moon's shoes seemed to be about to sink into Shia's cheeks, but Shia had no intention of letting go.

Due to Shia's desperate pleading, Aichi couldn't help but... use [Entangling Lightning].

"Aaaaaah!?"

By adjusting the voltage and current, it wouldn't be fatal, but it would temporarily paralyze her. Shia's rabbit ears stood up straight. After releasing [Entangling Lightning], Shia's body convulsed and she fell down.

"Really, you annoying rabbit with no common sense. Moon, let's go?"

"Hmm..."

Aichi, as if nothing had happened, injected magic into the motorcycle again, preparing to leave.

But...

"I won't let you escape!"

Shia stood up like a zombie and tightly grabbed Aichi's leg. Even Aichi was startled and stopped injecting magic.

"You, you're just like a zombie. After enduring that [Entangling Lightning]... how can you still move? By the way, that's a bit scary."

"...Scary."

"Ugh! What are you saying! Such a way of speaking! You've been elbowing and kicking me since just now, I think it's a bit too much! Strongly protest! As compensation, please help my family!"

Shia suddenly got angry and made a request. Aichi didn't expect Shia to still have so much energy. Aichi thought about just dragging her along, but felt that she would probably still cling on no matter where they went. The rabbit-eared girl, despite being dragged and bleeding, would definitely not let go... it was a completely terrifying scenario.

"Really, what a hassle. Anyway, I'll listen to what you have to say, so let go. Don't casually use my coat to wipe your face!"

Shia, hearing that Aichi would listen to her, smiled and casually used Aichi's coat to clean her face. What a character. An impatient Aichi elbowed Shia's head again. Shia let out a strange cry and crouched down.

"You, you hit me again! Even my dad never hit me! You hit me without mercy, even though I'm such a beautiful girl... Could it be that you're into the same sex... and that's why you rejected my seduction just now! Is that it!?"

After making another thoughtless declaration, Shia's head was hit again by Aichi's axe kick. The veins on Aichi's forehead began to show.

"Who's into the same sex, annoying rabbit? By the way, how do you know that reference? Both you and the moon, where did you hear it from? Anyway, putting that aside, I didn't fall for your seduction because, the much higher-level beautiful girl is right next to me. I wonder what your brain is made of to come and seduce me in front of the moon."

Saying this, Aichi glanced at the moon. The moon, blushing at Aichi's words, gently touched her cheeks and squirmed, a sign of shyness. Her long, wavy blonde hair, reaching down to her waist, shone brightly in the sunlight, and her doll-like features, combined with a touch of shyness, captivated anyone who saw her.

In terms of clothing, it had changed from when Aichi first met her. A pure white shirt with ruffled edges, a black mini skirt with the same ruffled edges, and a white coat with blue accents, along with short boots. Each piece was crafted from Oscar's clothes and materials dropped by monsters, and then re-sewn by the moon. They were practical clothes with high durability.

Incidentally, Aichi was now wearing a coat with a black base and red stripes, and black and red clothes on the bottom. These were also sewn by the moon. Initially, the moon had planned to design Aichi's clothes with a white base, but it was too embarrassing, and since her hair was white, having pure white clothes was also disliked. At Aichi's sincere request, the style was changed to the current one.

Seeing such a cute moon, Shia couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated. However, there was also the factor of "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." In terms of the beauty of the two girls, there was a lot of Aichi's subjective judgment. Objectively, Shia was also a beautiful girl.

Her long, straight white hair with a hint of blue, her emerald green eyes, and her white eyebrows and eyelashes, combined with her fair skin, gave her a mysterious and elegant aura when she didn't speak. Her long limbs, rabbit ears, and rabbit tail, which swayed when she moved, were undeniably cute. If beast fans saw her, they would undoubtedly be moved to tears.

More importantly... she had something the moon didn't. Yes, Shia had an extraordinary pair of large breasts. Wrapped in tattered cloth, they emphasized the uncontainable assets. With each movement, her large breasts swayed, strongly emphasizing their presence. To reiterate, it wasn't just a normal sway... it was a violent swing.

So, it wasn't strange that Shia was confident in her appearance. Rather, it was abnormal for Aichi to call her annoying. If it were the old Aichi, he might have shouted, "It's the rabbit ears!!!"...

Therefore, with her pride wounded, Shia said the one thing she absolutely shouldn't have said...

"But, but if we compare breasts, I win! That woman is just a flat-chested board!!"

"Not just a flat-chested board... not just a flat-chested board... just a flat-chested board... a board... a plank..."

The canyon echoed with the desperate cries of the rabbit-eared girl. The moon, who had been blushing and squirming, suddenly stopped and got off the motorcycle, her expression hidden by her bangs.

Aichi, saying "Ah... ah," silently clasped his hands in prayer, "Rabbit ears, rest in peace..."

Incidentally, the moon was just slender, but she still had what she needed. She was definitely not a flat-chested board.

A clear whisper sounded in the trembling Shia's rabbit ears.

"── ...Are you done praying?"

"── ...Will you forgive me if I apologize?"

"── ... ..."

"── I don't want to die!! I don't want to die!!"

"[Imperial Storm]"

"Aaaaah ──!!"

Shia was blown into the sky by a sudden tornado, her cries echoing through the canyon. About ten seconds later, with a thud, Shia fell in front of Aichi.

Just like a character from a demon lord dad anime, her head was buried in the ground, and her body convulsed. It was completely for comedic effect. Despite her mysterious and beautiful appearance, she was just a hopeless, tragic girl. Her already tattered clothes were even more torn, now just trash. Because she was upside down, her private parts were clearly visible. This was the kind of pose that would make even a century-long love story unforgettable.

The moon, with a "mission accomplished!" expression, wiped her sweat (even though she didn't sweat) and returned to Aichi's side, looking up at him on the motorcycle.

"...Do you like big ones?"

This was a troublesome question. Aichi really wanted to say yes, but he might end up like the convulsing, tragic rabbit. Please spare him on this one.

"...Moon, the size of the chest isn't the issue, it's who the person is that matters."

"..."

In any case, not answering yes or no, Aichi gave a vague response. He was really cowardly. The moon narrowed her eyes, roughly accepted it, and silently sat down on the back seat. Aichi's heart was pounding, trying to break the very uncomfortable silence but couldn't think of anything to say. His life card was completely useless. (Note: The life card is a reference, but not from One Piece.) As Aichi's gaze wandered, he noticed Shia, who was convulsing, using her hands to try to pull her head out of the ground. Aichi took the opportunity to change the topic to Shia.

"That one is moving... she's really like a zombie. She's beyond tough."

"……………………Hmm"

After a longer than usual pause, the moon finally responded, and Aichi felt relieved. With a plop, Shia finally pulled her mud-covered face out of the ground.

"Ugh... I've never encountered such an outrageous thing before..."

Shia, tears in her eyes, weakly straightened her tattered clothes. She approached Aichi and the moon, speaking incoherently. It was already very scary.

"Hey, what's with your durability? It's not normal... who are you, anyway?"

Aichi, looking at Shia with a puzzled expression, gradually got to the point. Shia also sat up properly, facing Aichi and the moon on the motorcycle, with a serious expression, though it was a bit late...

"Let me explain again, I am Shia Horia, the daughter of the leader of the rabbit people clan, Horia. Actually..."

Shia began her explanation.

Shia and her people were the Horia clan of rabbit people, who had a small village of a few hundred people in the Haltrina Tree Sea. Rabbit people had excellent hearing and were skilled at stealth. However, they were generally weaker than other demi-humans. They were often considered lower-class demi-humans. They had a gentle nature and disliked conflict. The rabbit people in the village valued family and clan bonds.

In terms of appearance, unlike the beautiful elves, rabbit people had a cute appearance. If captured by the empire, they would become popular slave commodities for entertainment.

One day, a girl was born who was different from the usual rabbit people. Rabbit people generally had deep blue fur, but this girl had pure white hair with no hint of blue. Moreover, she possessed magic, which was unheard of among demi-humans, and could directly manipulate it, using innate magic.

This caused a stir among the rabbit people. For the rabbit people, and demi-humans in general, it was impossible to have such an abnormal child. Possessing the same power as monsters, she would generally be persecuted. However, the girl's family, being rabbit people who valued family bonds, did not abandon her. The Horia clan, which considered the entire clan of a few hundred people as family, did not have the option to abandon her.

However, if the girl was discovered by the demi-human nation of Fyabelgen (Note: Fyabelgen means "City of Light") in the depths of the Tree Sea, she would undoubtedly be executed. For demi-humans, monsters were deeply hated and were their mortal enemies. The law required the destruction of any discovered monsters, and there were records of people being exiled for letting monsters go. They also had severe racial prejudices, harboring no good feelings towards humans and demons who had used magic to persecute their kind in the past. If a magic-wielding race invaded the Tree Sea, they would be killed on sight.

The Horia clan hid the girl and raised her for sixteen years. But eventually, her existence was exposed. To avoid capture, the entire Horia clan fled the Tree Sea.

Without a destination, they headed for the northern mountain range. The rabbits thought that with the resources of the mountains, they could survive. Although it was undeveloped, it was better than being captured by the empire or slave traders.

However, their plan was foiled by the empire. They were unfortunately met by imperial soldiers as soon as they left the Tree Sea. It was unclear whether the soldiers were patrolling or training, but at least a company was dispatched, forcing the Horia clan to flee south.

To allow the women to escape, the men tried to obstruct the imperial soldiers, but the gentle and peaceful rabbit people were no match for the magic-trained imperial soldiers. By the time they realized it, more than half of the Horia clan had been captured.

To avoid total annihilation, the surviving rabbit people used a desperate tactic and fled to the Laizan Grand Canyon. The imperial soldiers, lacking the courage to pursue into the canyon where magic didn't work, decided to wait outside. It was a gamble on whether the rabbit people would be attacked by monsters or the imperial soldiers would retreat first.

However, contrary to expectations, the imperial soldiers did not retreat. They set up a small squad at the entrance of the artificially created stepped cliffs, waiting for the rabbit people to be attacked by monsters and flee.

As predicted, monsters attacked. With no other options, the rabbit people surrendered to the imperial soldiers. But to prevent their escape, the monsters circled behind them, forcing the Horia clan to flee deeper into the canyon. They were chased around the canyon.

"...When I realized it, out of the original sixty members of my family, only forty remain. If this continues, we will all be wiped out. Please, save us!"

The initially tragic rabbit girl seemed like a different person. Shia's face was full of pain and pleading. It seemed that, like Aichi and the moon, Shia was an anomaly in this world. Especially, like the moon, Shia's unusual condition might be a case of atavism.

After listening to Shia's story, Aichi's expression didn't change much, and he bluntly replied.

"I refuse."

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Bonus: Aichi's stance on life and people.

People and things in the other world – basically "don't care"

Enemies and obstructors – "never forgive"

Close people and recognized individuals – "tsundere"

Moon – "doting and obedient"

Once a promise is made – always "keep it"

Obligation – "repay"

Occasionally becomes – "the tsukkomi character"

Glossary

Yakuza = speaks and acts without mercy or compassion, tsundere towards loved ones and recognized individuals

Outsider = enjoys plundering, harms non-enemies without reason