Chapter 1187: Children of Horna

A few days pa.s.sed since we arrived at Horna.

The place ended up being a lot more peaceful than I expected.

We had little to do since the half-insectkin handled all the patrols, and the villagers were all welcoming. There were no signs of Raydoss soldiers coming to arrest us or anything.

Fran and Urus.h.i.+ simply rested their exhausted bodies while playing with the children. We went through a series of fierce battles right after entering Raydoss, after all.

This was the perfect chance to rest up, both physically and mentally.

「Hey, Fran! What are we going to play today?」

「That cops and robbers game yesterday was fun!」

「Yeah!」

The village children had pretty much nothing to do aside from tag and hide-and-seek, until Fran introduced cops and robbers to them. She was considered a genius by the children for this entertainment revolution.

Now she’s grown quite popular.

Well, the original source is technically me though. Guess I’ll teach them a few new games to maintain Fran’s popularity!

（What are we doing today?）

『Today’s game will be spinning tops!』

（Spinning tops?）

『Yeah. I put a box of them in your dimensional storage this morning. You got it?』

（Nn.）

I stayed up late last night, making spinning tops from melting broken weapons and shaping them with telekinesis. Though not very high quality, they should be suitable as children’s toys.

The children peered into the box Fran took out with curiosity, and picked up the tops.

「What’s this?」

「A spinning top.」

「Spinning top? Is it a toy?」

「Nn.」

The children played around with the tops with interest. While spinning tops exist in this world, it seems they aren’t well known in this village.

Good thing I did my research in advance!

「How do you play with these?」

「…?」

「Fran-oneechan, why are you tilting her head?」

（Master, how do we play with them?）

Woops. I should have explained to her first.

I told Fran how to play with spinning tops, and had her demonstrate it to the children. With her high dexterity, Fran was able to wind the string neatly and launch the top onto the leather sheet we placed on the box.

「Wow!」

「Amazing!」

「So cool!」

The children cheered upon seeing Fran spinning techniques. In no time, all the children in the village had gathered around and started playing with them as well

While none of the children had yet to match Fran’s skill level, there might be a future pro among them. Kids take their play seriously, after all.

But we also noticed a girl who didn’t join in. She was watching us from the shade of a distant tree.

「Who’s that girl?」

「Oh, that’s Mimi!」

「She’s a bit shy!」

Rather than getting left out, it seems she’s simply shy around unfamiliar people. Seems like we might need a little more time before she accepts us enough to talk.

Fran and Mimi stared at each other for a moment, then Fran slowly approached the girl. She concealed her presence as if trying to approach a wild animal without scaring it off.

『Fran, remember, she’s just a child.』

（Nn.）

I almost thought she was going to pounce on the girl, but it seems she never intended to go that far.

The girl s.h.i.+vered once she saw Fran approach, but she showed any signs of running away. Maybe Fran’s subtle presence suppression worked? Or perhaps it was because Fran herself was also very young?

Fran gradually closed the distance between them, until she stood right in front of the girl.

「Do you want to play together?」

「…」

「…Nn.」

The girl remained silent and turned her head down. Upon seeing this, Fran nodded as if she understood something. Then, she gently crouched down in front of the girl and brought their eye levels to the same height.

「I’m Fran.」

「…Mimi.」

「Mimi, want to play together?」

「…Yeah.」

Mimi agreed more easily than I expected. Seems she realized that Fran was just a child like her. Alright, let’s seal the deal!

『Urus.h.i.+, shrink down and come out! Then, cuddle with this girl to improve Fran’s impression even more!』

「Woof!」

「Wow, so cute!」

Just as planned, the girl fell head over heels for Urus.h.i.+’s cuteness!

「Nn. Urus.h.i.+, my familiar.」

「Can I pet him?」

「Woof woof!」

「He says it’s okay.」

「Thank you!」

Mimi squatted down and began petting Urus.h.i.+ in his puppy form. She only hesitantly petted his back at first, but her hands gradually s.h.i.+fted toward his head and belly as she got bolder.

「Arf!」

Urus.h.i.+ was delighted. It seems Mimi was a natural at petting dogs.

The other children gathered around once they noticed Urus.h.i.+.

「W-Woof?」

Oh boy, they’re petting him too hard! No, don’t pull on his fur! Don’t tug his tail either!

But I decided not to do anything.

（Kuhn kuhn!）

『Sorry, Urus.h.i.+. This is necessary to ensure Fran’s popularity among the villagers. Hang in there.』

（Woof!）