Published: September 2, 2025
Satou here. It's great to use handy tools, but sometimes you rely on them too much and miss something odd upon visual inspection, leading to unexpected mistakes.
Whether in daily life, work, or even in another world.
â—‡
Just before Arisa and Liza’s night shift ended, enemy figures appeared at the edge of the map.
There were three creeping shadows (Shadow Stalkers), a type of monsters I hadn’t heard of before. I checked their details. Level 12, with a race-specific skill of "Physical Attack Halved" and "Stamina Drain." Without a countermeasure, they might be tough opponents. They didn’t seem to be undead. Their movement speed wasn’t very fast, so it would take at least an hour for them to reach here. Perhaps the flying monsters had been wiped out.
I rearranged the various display menus into a combat-focused layout.
Then I directed my open gaze toward my chest. I realized why it felt compressed—the Pochi and Tama were lying on my chest and stomach, sleeping sprawled out in a posture that seemed to say “zzz.”
Careful not to wake them, I moved each of them one by one onto a sheet and helped them sit up.
“Oh? Master, are you creeping in the night?”
“Can’t sleep, Master?”
For some reason, Arisa, who was being held by Liza, called out. Liza’s voice sounded a bit weak, probably because she was sleepy. Maybe I should let them take a short nap until the enemies arrive.
“I’ll take over, so you can sleep.”
“Really? Wasn’t it Pochi and Tama’s turn next?”
“They’ll be on morning duty with Lulu and the others.”
Freed from Liza’s hold, Arisa lunged at me saying, “Give me a lap pillow~,” but I picked her up and laid her down beside Lulu. Arisa must be tired today too; without complaint, she hugged Lulu like a body pillow and fell asleep. Lulu’s adorable pained expression as Arisa clung to her almost led me to impure thoughts, but I shook them off with reason.
Adding small branches to the campfire, I kept watching the map. About 50 minutes until the monsters arrive. No reinforcements have appeared since.
“…I’m thirsty.”
Mia, who had gotten up, took the water bottle I handed her. She sat down beside me with a thud and drank steadily.
“Why?”
Mia asked quietly, not quite to herself.
“A reason to protect you from magicians?”
“Yes.”
“To be honest, there isn’t really a deep reason.”
Mia fell silent, perhaps unhappy with my answer.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, it seems so. They were commanding many monsters during the day.”
“Mize and the others… died.”
By the way, what was the connection between the Elf and the rat tribe?
“Where did you meet Akakabuto (Mize)?”
“In the forest.”
“The Forest of Boruenan?”
“Yes.”
Summarizing Mia’s sparse words: about ten years ago, outside the Forest of Boruenan, her parents rescued Akakabuto when he was near death, surrounded by goblins. Akakabuto stayed at Mia’s home for a while, learning many things from her parents and becoming friends with Mia. The red helmet he wore was a gift from Mia’s parents, a masterpiece made of mithril. So mithril really does exist.
That’s probably why Akakabuto called Mia “princess.”
“Were you attacked by magicians while visiting Mize’s hometown together?”
“No.”
After asking from various angles, I understood the general situation. Mia was abducted by magicians in her home forest and taken to a maze in the mountains. The magicians forced her to become the “master of the maze,” performing a ritual to form a contract with it. As master, she was made to designate the magicians as their agents and forced to sit in the master’s chair for half the day.
Since Mia’s power alone was too weak to move the maze, she was likely needed as a key or catalyst.
“Did Mize come to rescue you at the maze?”
“By chance.”
Shaking her head, Mia denied it. When I asked for details, she said that when she was returned to the room, she took advantage of a magician’s momentary lapse to touch the maze’s core and execute an emergency escape command. When I asked how she understood it, she answered “Elvish.” She probably pressed buttons written in Elvish.