Hand in hand with her son Clive.
His hair and his lips both resembled Cliff.
Remembering how Cliff had looked when they had first met, Elinalise began to drool... *Ahem* smile happily.
"Okaa-san, pumpkin! Buy the pumpkin! The pumpkin!"
"Not like that! If you eat pumpkin you know, you grow taller!"
"Lucy-chan!"
Elinalise's son Clive was a pretty boy.
But unfortunately he got his stature from his father and was quite short.
"It's a secret!"
Clive's face got a little red as he said that.
It was Lucy.
He wanted to get taller so that Lucy would think he was cool.
"Hmm?"
It was then that Elinalise's long ears picked up a familiar voice.
(Oioi, Isn't it common sense when you get something from someone to give something back huh?)
Looking into it, you could see a girl being held by two men.
And for a change, this time it was the girl that she knew.
"By voice do you mean like this?"
"Come on, come to the inn with us and let's have a listen? It's cool right? Let's go."
The woman didn't seem like she was completely against it.
What she wasn't showing on her face is that she was troubled.
"Hey, cut it out."
Elinalise, shopping bag still in hand called out to them.
"That girl is a friend of Rudeus. Go find someone else to hit on."
The two men turned their lustful eyes towards Elinalise.
"By someone else... Missie, how about you?"
"Your brother? You flatter yourself."
Elinalise had an embarrassed smile and a hand on her face.
Most likely traveling adventures.
With a tree branch he had picked up in hand.
"Dont touch my mother!"
"Waaa..."
Elinalise lifted Clive up and placed him behind her back.
"Hmm... Impressive at that age, you two must have some amount of talent."
"No, unfortunately I'm simply mediocre."
The two men drew their swords.
Elinalise carried her sword around for self defence, but unfortunately she didn't have her shield.
The two had looked somewhat scared before, but now they were looking towards Elinalise with lustful eyes.
The loud noise startled the two.
"Wha!"
Once Elinalise could see that no one was coming from the empty path, the back alley fell silent.
"...Heh, trying to give us a fright. There's no way anybody would be coming. We're behind a bar in the middle of the day."
Doors all around began to open one after the other.
Groups of wild men, all in jet black coats.
As part of their work, they helped carry in the alcohol that the bars planned to sell that night.
"Elinalise Anego!"1
"Who the hell do you bastards think you're laying your hands on!"
"You wanna go! We'll take you!"
Those normally courteous young men who would protect the peace, when dealing with outlaws or those that hurt others, would become quite ill mannered.
If it was Rudeus he would have apologised the second he saw them trying to intimidate him.
"We were ignorant of your greatness... We have only arrived today."
It took longer than two seconds for the men to throw away their swords and apologise.
Rudeus isn't a coward or a chicken after all.
"They haven't done anything yet, so let's let them off with a warning. Take them somewhere nearby and teach them a lesson."
"No, but we... um..."
"Umm, I have somewhere I have to be..."
The expressionless girl nodded.
"I awoke last night."
It was then she felt something was off.
"Oh, Nanahoshi, when did you cut your hair?"
As far as Elinalise could remember, Nanahoshi had long hair.
Elinalise was puzzled.
The girl called Nanahoshi pursed her lips and smiled.
It was a troubled smile, as if hiding something hard to say, or perhaps plotting something...
"I currently have no important tasks.”
And as told, Nanahoshi followed her to the Cafe.
Part 2
They had ordered the same fruit juice.
Incidentally, in front of Clive was a somewhat fancy dessert.
"There have been numerous occurrences, it is difficult to choose a single one. Please refine the question."
If a person changes so does their outlook.
"Then please tell me everything from the beginning."
"Yes, from the very start."
Nanahoshi blinked twice and began talking.
"I awoke on the dais. When I awoke Zanoba-sama and Rudeus-sama came up to me."
"The two of them, seeing me without clothes, looked exceedingly happy."
"After that the two of them touched my limbs and exposed chest, proceeding to check every corner of my body. After that they began to argue whether or not they would use me. After they were satisfied with me, they came to the conclusion to dispose of me and proceeded to put me to sleep on the dais and then proceeded to sleep themselves."
Elinalise's thoughts stopped for a moment.
Having seen those kinds of men plenty of times, Elinalise could imagine it quite easily.
"A-and you didn't resist?"
"True, they are Rudeus and Zanoba... Was Pergius-sama not present?"
But she did know that Pergius wasn’t in his castle all the time.
"W-was this the first time?"
"Are you saying it's possible they have been aiming for you since way back?"
For them it would be simple to know when Pergius would be out.
She was a woman who, due to her vast experiences, had the composure to remain calm in a situation such as this.
Putting aside the unpopular Zanoba,
The man who put his life on the line and fought Orsted for the sake of his family.
Rudeus who had Eris do all kinds of things to him at night.
She who was frantically searching for a way to return to her homeland.
There was a part of her that thought that it was impossible.
Rudeus had been sincerely helping her.
He went to the Magic Continent and fought the Demon Lord Atofe to save her.
But just looking at Nanahoshi's expression.
She neither smiled nor cried
The hair that she had looked after so carefully.
But she had still known her for quite some time.
She had never seen Nanahoshi so shocked before.
It could be a trap by someone to try and take down Rudeus or Zanoba.
There were all kinds of magic tools to change one's appearance.
The only people capable of that would be those who knew Perguis's schedule to some extent and could determine when the Sky Castle would be mostly empty.
She was flustered to an extent that she had never felt in these last few years.
She knew only one thing.
"It must have been hard."
Elinalise stood up and moved next to Nanahoshi and embraced her tightly.
"It's fine, I've heard enough.
I don't quite believe it but... Mmm.
"Yes, a terribly hateful crime."
"He hurt you. No, not just you. Depending on how they feel, he could have also hurt his wives... Sylphy, Roxy, and Eris."
"No, they have hurt your heart."
She somehow knew something was off around her heart.
She had never felt someone chest that felt like this.
"Found it!"
Looking at the entrance, you could see a man in a grey coloured robe pointing towards Elinalise's group.
Following behind him was Zanoba.
The person within her arms moved.
The girl shook off Elinalise's arms with strength she didn't think possible, and with unbelievable speed she flipped the table and jumped towards an open window.
Nanahoshi's figure had disappeared.
Speed on the level of a Saint Class Swordsman.
"It's true. That's the automaton that Shishou created. The average swordsman can't compare to it in speed or power."
He stroked the head of the bewildered Clive who was still clutching his fork and confirmed that he was unharmed.
"...No, I'm fine."
Elinalise gripped his hand and stood up.
"So just what happened?"
Of course, she would also teach the children swordsmanship, she also had a class at the school.
Of course, taking everyone out would be dangerous so she at most took 2~3 people.
And so, walking around the town and letting the children play somewhere suitable was Eris's daily routine.
Just a little while ago it was only Lucy, Lara, Ars, and sometimes Clive.
But lately because of Eris's training, Lara has been able to fight back.
Nearby were the boys she had fought with crouching down and crying.
When she was younger she often got into fights was scolded for it.
She wondered if she should scold Lara.
But she ended up praising her.
Lara didn't speak very much.
"Good job", "As expected of my daughter", was the kind of thing she said.
Of course, if Sieg or one the others had made someone obviously weaker than them cry, she would get mad.
But those boys were older and bigger than Lara.
Thinking that Lara would be going to school next year, giving her nothing but praise might not be so good, but Eris didn't think that far ahead.
That said, today they weren't at the usual park, they were heading somewhere different.
There wasn't any meaning to it, just a whim.
"Don’t go too far from the bank!"
Today they had come to the river to play.
Lately she had begun to toddle around.
"What is it? Is the water scary?"
Lilly and Lara looked quite alike but Lara was somewhat more docile.
Just then, it looked like Lilly found something.
"Mama! Sparkles!"
"It's sparkling!"
Looking where she was pointing, beyond the shining surface of the river, something else was sparkling.
A small fish about the size of a finger was swimming around.
"It's a fish."2
"Not annoying. A fish. Try saying it. Fi-sh."
"Yes yes... Let me see it."
Eris rolled up her sleeves and looked in the river.
And suddenly the fish was in Eris's hand.
"Yay! Yay!"
Eris gave the fish to Lilly.
It jumped off Lilly's hand and fell back in the river.
"It got away..."
Quite fast.
Lara was unaffected.
Sieg grumbled that he still wanted to play but Lara grabbed his hand and they climbed out of the river and began to dry themselves.
"Lara, help Sieg put his clothes on!"
Sieg had only recently been able to put on his own clothes.
She didn't feel any hostility from whatever was approaching but it was a bit too fast to grab the children and run.
Even if it was an enemy, she could probably win, but it would be better to have the children run.
Orsted's office was also close by.
There was no doubt that they would be safe there but...
"...Huh, what?"
But seeing what was approaching, Eris let out a confused sound.
Nanahoshi.
"If it isn't Nanahoshi."
Nanahoshi was about to keep running right through but hearing her name, she suddenly stopped.
"Good morning. I apologise but may I inquire as to what your name is?"
"Eris-sama. I have committed it to memory."
Eris felt something was off.
But Eris hadn't known Nanahoshi a particularly long time, she probably just thought that this kind of thing happens sometimes.
"Yes... No, correction. I am running away."
Nanahoshi looked behind her and answered as such.
She was poking Nanahoshi's leg with a sparkle in her eye.
"Kyaa!"
Nanahoshi lifted her up from under her arms and Lilly let out a happy cry and laughed.
"Good morning."
Eris didn't know why Lilly and Nanahoshi were so close but thinking that Lilly was being somewhat rude, she took Lilly from Nanahoshi and put her on her shoulders.
"Yaa~. Mama, can I have it?"
Seeing that, Nanahoshi grabbed a bunch of her hair.
"Do you want this?"
"Yaay!"
Lilly took it and her face lit up again.
"Eris-sama is Rudeus-sama's wife ‘Eris-sama’ correct?"
Hearing it from someone else, she was definitely proud.
"Existence...? I wouldn't get mad just from you being around."
Although she didn't know the reasoning behind the question, Eris still answered.
If he laid his hands on her, or asked to make her his fourth wife, she'd probably be a little mad though...
"Then what about Sylphy-sama or Roxy-sama?"
"Agree you say? What kind of agreement would that be?"
Sylphy would end her own life if it was for Rudeus's sake.
But that was something she wanted to do.
Even if it was for Rudeus.
Eris had to yield to that part of Slyphy.
"Understood. I would like to talk to Sylphy-sama. Do you know where she might be?"
"Very well. I thank you for answering my questions."
Nanahoshi's mouth warped into a smile as she bowed and she turned around and began walking towards the town.
"I wonder what all that was about."
Eris folded her arms, put her feet shoulder width apart and let out a 'hmp' from her nose.
It was Lara and Sieg.
That was something rare.
On her shoulders, the hair that came from Nanahoshi that Lilly was holding suddenly stiffened and straightened out.
"......"
She didn't know the cause of her unease but she knew she should hurry home.
She helped the kids onto Leo's back and began towards the office.
She also recognised the large number of Rudo Mercenaries gathering outside.
It seemed that Orsted was out.
“Eris! Why are you here!?”
And then, Rudeus walked out from the group.
And at the same time, confirmed that her unease from before wasn’t imagined.
“I ran into someone strange on our walk.”
Hearing Eris’s answer, a danger could be seen in Rudeus’s eyes.
“What kind of person?”
Like were they were or what happened.
“The children are fine.”
Rudeus looked worriedly at the kids.
Searching her from head to toe, touching her face, turning her around by the shoulders, and right about the time Rudeus’s hands reached her breasts a fist landed in his chin.
“I’m fine! Can you not understand that much by looking!”
“She didn’t do anything to us, but since Leo realised that she was a fake, we decided to retreat to here.”
Eris said that and looked at Leo.
Eris pat her on the head and turned back to look at Rudeus.
“So, just what was that?”
That the Automaton that he and Zanoba made ran away.
After that the two had followed it through the formation, woke up Julie who was lazing around in the workshop and enlisted the help of the Rudo Mercenary corp to search.
They had received reports of sightings over town and so after using his clairvoyance eye from the city walls, they confirmed that it was heading towards the office.
And while observing the direction the doll was coming from with the clairvoyance eye, Eris had arrived.
“She didn’t seem all that bad though.”
In the Automaton’s core were certain Directives.
In other words, the three laws of robotics.
But the doll had disobeyed orders and ran.
For now, its interactions with Eris and Elinalise only ended with a conversation.
If the『Ensure Human Safety』Directive wasn’t in effect, there was no telling if it would suddenly start a massacre.
“Eris, could you tell me in detail what you talked about with it?”
But the more she talked the stiffer his face got.
His and Zanoba’s conversation, Elinalise’s conversation and Eris’s conversation.
The doll had heard that.
The『Obey Commands』Directive didn’t seem to be functioning
In other words, to dispose whatever was threatening its existence.
That would be Rudeus’s wives.
It didn’t attack the sleeping Zanoba and Rudeus most likely because they were registered as Masters.
And thought that it should erase them.
That said, all it did was talk to Eris, who should have been a target.
No, maybe not.
In other words, which one was the biggest threat to its existence.
And its conversation with Eris made the biggest obstacle perfectly clear.
“And after hearing where Sylphy was it headed back towards the city.”
Hearing that, his face went completely white.
“Sylphy’s in danger!”
Rudeus began running towards the house, but immediately turned around and headed back to the office.
Once he had calmed down and caught his breath, he look at the surroundings.
Rudeus first turned to the bored looking Alek and lowered his head.
“Alek, I’ll be leaving the children and Julie here. Can I leave them to you?”
If Orsted was here, he would have had Alek do something else but it couldn’t be helped since he was out.
Julie was against being left behind, and since the doll walked past her while she was sleeping it would probably be fine, but it was decided that she would stay back on standby.
“Eris and Elinalise, I’d like you to head towards to school.
There’s already a group of the Rudo Mercenaries stationed at the school so meet up with them.”
“Understood.”
There was already a search group at the school lead by Rinia.
It was better to have backup on the chance something did happen.
“Half of the mercenaries are to head to Aisha and give a detailed report.
“Yessir!”
If they could borrow Pergius’s power, they could probably capture the doll in an instant.
Although it wasn’t certain they would need to rely on him yet.
“The other half of the mercenaries are to head back to Zanoba’s workshop.
It could head back to the Asura Empire the way it came and simply run away.
“Roger that.”
On Rudeus’s command, everyone scattered.
Part 5
The smiling Alek began to talk to worried looking children.
2. "It's a fish"=Sakanada "Annoying"=Sakanade. It's a pun. They sound similar.