Chapter 59 : Oni Extermination Starting From Fifteen

「Please…… Save my sister . 」

When this little girl bowed to us, the smell of shampoo drifted out from her washed hair .

「……… . . Please……… . . Please save her . 」

Even without looking at her face, I knew what kind of face she’s making right now . The droplets of water that was spilling on the floor wasn’t her sweats .

Honestly, the changes that is happening right now was too fast . As such, my brain is still somewhat unable to catch up with the current development . First, we needed to calm her down, then asked her to tell us her story from the beginning . I meant, that was what everyone would do if they’re faced with the same situation as us .

But, why us?

However, before all else, I have something I have to say to her before asking for more information . It was something important to me――no, to us .

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「「――LEAVE IT TO US!」」

My voice overlapped with Mop-san’s own voice even though we didn’t synchronize our breathing . Well, I guessed Mop-san was also thinking the same thing as me .

But the girl didn’t move, or to be exact she couldn’t move . Because the female camps, Yukihime-san and Aoi-san were gently embracing the little girl

「It’s okay Kanon-chan, our party is strong you know . 」

「Let’s go together . That’s why, don’t cry, okay . 」

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「Thank…… . You . 」

Large drop of tears were spilling from the little girl eyelids . But I know, these tears were different from the tears from before .

And, from her tears, there’s one thing I came to understand .

The one who made this little girl cry is―― Our enemy .

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After the little girl has calmed down, she started to tell us about her story .

From what I could gather, the little girl―― Kanon was living together with her older sister who was five years older than her . They had lost both of their parents due to an accident some time ago, thus they somehow ended up living together with just the two of them .

But then, despite having a house that was left behind by their parent, when there’s no money left from their parent’s savings to feed both of them, her older sister decided to become an adventurer . Whether it’s sign of fortune or calamity, her older sister had a talent to use magic, thus she could somehow make a living as an adventurer .

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But around one month ago, her older sister who had gone out to do her adventurer job, never came back . That was unusual as her older sister had told her that no matter how long she had gone out, at the longest, she’d returned around the evening of the next day . But, this time after staying up till the morning, her older sister never came back home .

When I heard that story, the worst scenario appeared inside of my head . Kanon older sister might be…however before I could continue my speculation, Kanon showed a charm to me, perhaps guessing my thoughts from my expression

It’s one of the items of this world which gained a moniker called “Peeping Health Parameter” . It’s function was simply to show the abnormal status and the HP bar of registered person, but aside from that, it also helped someone who was left behind to understand the current condition of the person that was registered in the device .

For players like us, it’s something that was deemed unnecessary since we could check the other side status just by looking, but for the NPC who have no way to look at HP bar, it’s an extremely important item that was especially prepared for them .

Looking at the name that was displayed on that charm, it seemed that it was registered to ‘Lilith’, her older sister, and right below her name, there’s her HP bar indicator and her current status . While it showed that she was alive, those red colored letters that was shown indicated that she was involved with some sort of dangerous situation or was in trouble . Furthermore, there was also that abnormal condition written down below her current condition .

In short, despite being alive, Lilith life was in a great danger .

Kanon then continued speaking with trembling voice, gripping the charm tightly in her hands .

「I…… . . Don’t know why she is in that situation… . . So I can only ask for someone to save her……」

That’s only natural . After all, when I asked her about her age before, Kanon said that she was only 10 years old . With her only blood relative falling into such a dangerous situation, it’s no wonder that she fell into a panic . It was already admirable of her to be able to seek out for help .

「There are also the people who say that they’ll help me out but…… . They also say that since I need money for them to lend their power, they ask me to sell our house… . 」

Wait a minute, don’t tell me .

「Then…those people disappear…and then a merchant came and told me that the house isn’t ours anymore . 」

This is a game . Not a reality . I know that much . And yet…why did this kind of things happened?

「After that…I sold our properties to the shop to buy food…but, I don’t have any clothes to change to…」

I couldn’t help but clenched my fist when I heard that .

「It’s fine to act more recklessly when you couldn’t understand the situation, onii-san…… Sou-san is there for you . 」

Sc.r.a.p that “Why do I have to do this”-kind of thought . Those kind of thinking were trivial . That aside, right now I really wanted to bring back this girl smile even if it’s just a moment faster .

「I…… Have nothing to give you anymore but……… I’ll do anything, so……… Please…… . . Please save my sister――」

I stretched out my hands to stop the little girl from continuing what she’s going to say .

「I understand . Don’t say anymore . Leave the rest to us . 」

Originally, I thought it was better to let her finish what she’s going to say . But, I couldn’t take this anymore . I couldn’t see her sorrowful expression anymore .

Thus, I made myself a promise . The next time I saw her crying would be the last for I would be bringing her sister home .

「Uuhm…… . 」

We were coming with Kanon, whose eyes swelling due to crying, to the h.e.l.loWork . Naturally our goal is to look for her sister, Lilith . If she earned her living by working as an adventurer, she naturally would go to h.e.l.loWork to get her reward money .

This world NPC’s were famous for having their own personalities and live their own life . There’s no NPC that is created solely to say 「Welcome To x.x.x city」 to the players at the entrance of the city . That’s why ‘That’ should be in this place . Namely―― Her trace .

「Lilith?　Aah, that lively missy huh . There’s still no news from her after she went to complete that quest over there . Well this might sound heartless but, it’s an everyday occurrence in this world . Is she your acquaintance? 」

The one who said that is the section manager of this h.e.l.loWork . Right now, we were listening to his explanation inside the reception room .

「Well, that’s the gist of the information . Anyway, can you tell us about the content of her request? 」

I didn’t know whether this is possible or not in the game, but there’s nothing wrong in trying . After all, I didn’t know how the inhabitants of this world (NPC) would value information or whether it would be kept confidential or not . Though in the real world, it’d definitely be kept secret . After all, clients confidentiality is a must . Therefore, I still tried, yet, against my expectation, his reply told me that there’s a such thing as confidential in this world .

「My bad, I can’t do that . I do expect the reason for you guys to ask about her . I’ll help you as much as possible . We have our job too . 」

After saying so, the man left his seat――

「He~y, ojii-sa~ma, I want to have a nice and plea~sant chat for a while . In separate room…Can I? 」

Yukihime-san drawled out, using her Lethal weapon, Seduction Beam . That was history’s strongest weapon which would cause around half of the population of this world to succ.u.mb since the beginning of humanity, honey trap . Coincidentally, if the one who used that kind of weapon against me is Aoi-san, I definitely would succ.u.mb to her temptation too .

「U~h, I-it can be helped then . A little, just a little tidbit information, okay? 」

Oi, old man, what about the duty c.r.a.p that you spouted out a while ago, have some gut will ya . 　No, this kind of development would benefit us, but the unpleasant feeling for this old man was gushing out from inside .

And just like that, the man, who was originally spouting such righteous words, entered one of the available rooms along with Yukihime-san .

Though Kanon who came along with us was looking timid, Mop-san, Aoi-san, and I was sure that we’d only need to wait for the time needed to cook instant ramen .

「Thanks for the waiti~ng . I knew the place, let’s go . 」

Sure enough, in less than 3 minutes, Yukihime-san returned to us with dark yet extremely refreshed smile . Our party is extremely powerful huh, in various meaning that’s it .

「Are you alright, Yuki-oneechan? 」

Kanon asked Yukihime-san with a worried expression on her face . Ah, she clung to her already . Well, that’s how it is . Yup, I knew it .

「She seems to be taking a request in a forest northwest of this city . I think it’s around 2~3 hours distance from this city by foot . 」

So we’d arrive there before night by foot . It might be hard for us to settle the score immediately, but we at least got a little clue about this case .

「And then, regarding the quest she received…… . . 」

When I asked, Yukihime-san shot a doubtful-like gaze toward me . Eh, what did I do?

「The content of the quest was ogre extermination you know . 」

Hearing those words, Aoi-san was also looking at me . Eh, no, wait a minute .

「I-It’s not me you know! ? 」

Though Mop-san and Kanon didn’t know about the fact that I could turn into an ogre with a skill, they were also looking at me with a puzzled face, yet Yukihime-san ignored their confusion and kept pursuing that matter ceasely .

「Really?　Are you sure that you’re not being careless and got yourself entangled with some sort of trouble . 」

「…… . . Sou-kun, I think everyone is p.r.o.ne to make a mistake . 」

Yup, I thought so . Even Aoi-san doubt me as well .

「She’s accepted that quest around one month ago, right?　And speaking of that time, I hadn’t even joined in this game . 」

Ah, could you two stop making that kind of face already . What? me, an idiot? Wasn’t it you guys!? ?

「Well, though I’m a bit at a loss here, may I take that as an OK? 」

The adult Mop-san interject into the conversation, fixing the course of the train that was getting derailed . If he’s not a hardcore pervert, I would respect him for what he did but…… .

「Well, let’s go then . Do you want to wait somewhere else before then, Kanon-chan . 」

Hearing that, Kanon replied in panic, unwilling to be left behind .

「P-Please, take me too!　Very please」

Maybe her response was just because she couldn’t stop worrying about her sister, and it’s only proper, after all, her sister is her only relative left in this world . Then again, it’s not like we could bring this little girl out in the field too . In this case, we have no choice but to prioritize Kanon safety rather than her feelings .

「No, please wait in the city . The outside is too dangerous for you . Because the rampant monsters might come toward us . 」

「U~h…… . 」

Though she seemed pitiful, Mop-san was right in this case . Because I’d say the same thing as him .

「But……… My sister is…… . . 」

Kanon pleaded at us with a face that was wet with tears . It’s also troubling my gentleman side whether to bring her or not, but a little girl who kept looking up at you with moist eyes have a completely different level of destructive power .

「It’s not like we don’t want to take you along, it’s just that……… . 」

Yeah Mop-san, I could understand your feeling . This cuteness[destructive power] was a foul play . Nevertheless, please stand your ground and fight back . Coz I’d give up on the first try if she looked at me with such gaze .

「Hey, how about we bring her along, I’ll be the one in charge of protecting Kanon-chan . 」

WUUUUT! ?　Yukihime-san, what are you doing right there!　No, I could understand Kanon-chan feeling of wanting to come along . But, shouldn’t we prioritize Kanon-chan safety by not bringing her along with us?

「Kanon-chan is, you see……… She just wants to meet her sister as soon as possible . 」

And I knew that . But, doing something that would place Kanon-chan in dangerous situation would waste all of our effort . What were you thinking about, Yukihime-san?

「Moreover, another person is also thinking the same thing with me…… . Right」

Her words were just like a thunderfall on my head .

Yes, this girl is scared . No one around her would take care of her . Didn’t Aoi-san say the same things in the beginning, the fact that she used to be a loner . I…am such an idiot for failing to notice such things .

「…… I understand, I’ll protect you too, Kanon-chan . 」

「Sou-kun . 」

「Onii, chan」

I’d do something if Kanon-chan were in danger . Furthermore, I’d also do my best to reunite her with her big sister as soon as possible . Both are my current goal . That’s why, I definitely am going to achieve both of it .

「Sou-kun…… I understand, if you’re also going that far, then there’s nothing else for me to say . 」

Heaving a sigh, Mop-san said so to me,  but it seemed to me that he’s happy with my choice .

Thus, we left Sasebo city and went toward our destination .