Published at 2nd of February 2021 09:33:16 AM
Chapter 167
Chapter 15
Section 17: Mippo and Moppo
[Rose]: “It appears as if these gnomes were brought here long ago . I cannot say this with the utmost certainty, but if I had to take a guess, Oshunel may have brought them here to help build the dungeon itself . ”
Rose-san presented me with a cup of tea . I carefully took it with both hands and gently blew away the steam wafting off the surface . Ah, it’s delicious .
The farther down we descend into the dungeon the colder it gets . Even with the light bit of exercise we just went through, my body is still craving some extra warmth .
[Iris]: “Hm? But that would’ve been a thousand years ago!?”
Hearing Rose-san’s impressions a little after the battle ended had left me surprised . The gnome sisters were sitting right beside me, and it made even them jump .
[Saluena]: “Is it true?”
When Saluena asked the gnome sisters to confirm Rose-san’s theory, their stone boards popped up like usual .
≪Don’t know≫
≪Long ago≫
≪Brought here≫
They raised and lowered their stone plates as if they were semaphoring .
With the fighting done for now, we gathered together for a break . We broke out Saluena’s cookies to have together with Rose-san’s tea, and we talked about the current situation . Or well, I just listened .
Anyways, we managed to reach the following conclusions .
• There are three gnome sisters, and they were brought here a thousand(estimated) years ago .
• As for who brought them here, “Bird,” is the best we got from them .
• The eldest sister is Linzflare, the second sister is Mippo, and the youngest sister is Moppo .
• Somebody magically imbued them with Primordial energy . They don’t have many memories after that .
• The three of them made this dungeon together, but soon after it was finished, they were sealed away .
• They’ve been floating in darkness for a thousand(estimated) years now, but they recently woke up .
• Their minds remained murky even after they woke up which is why they ended up attacking us before .
• Afterwards, for some reason they weren’t sure about, they began regaining their sense of self .
[Iris]: “…… . is there anything else that needs answering?”
We were all sitting in a circle with Phoenix resting in the middle . She was doing us the favor of acting as a makeshift bonfire, and it was only thanks to her that we were able to boil up some water .
Lapris was lying on her back, enjoying the warmth of the fire as she kept a watchful eye on the gnome sisters sitting next to her .
≪Love≫
≪（‘ヮ’*）≫
[Lapris]: “What’s with the difference between your names and the older one? Aren’t you three sisters?”
≪Name≫
≪Sister≫
≪Took≫
≪But she≫
≪No taste≫
≪These names≫
≪Like（‘ヮ’*）≫
Mippo and Moppo were sharing a cookie between the two of them . They kept taking turns throwing up messages on their stone slabs while the other one took another bite of it .
≪What is this≫
≪Delicious!≫
≪ (。>ｖ<。) ≫
≪ ( ‘༥’。 ) ≫
Just from their expressions you could tell how much they cared for their older sister Linzflare-san .
(And yet, she tried to kill them both……)
Mippo and Moppo went to see their sister as soon as their minds had returned to them .
However Linzflare-san was still a primordial spirit and attacked them as soon as they got too close .
They would return to see her after escaping day after day, but it always ended with them being attacked . Until today when their luck finally ran out .
[Litzreich]: “Good thing we happened to be passing by . ”
Thank goodness .
If not, then by now they’d be……
≪Yum~ヾ(。>ｖ<。)ノ゛≫
≪Munch Munch Munch（‘ヮ’*）≫
It was the girls’ first time eating cookies, and they were really being taken in by them . Their eyes were shining brighter than any star .
Mippo was wiping off the crumbs clinging to the side of her sister Moppo’s mouth and eating them herself .
She was also taking the time to wipe off the crumbs that were falling down and dirtying Moppo’s clothes . She was doing a great job taking care of her little sister .
[Iris]: “Here . If you like them so much, you can have my portion too . ”
I broke my cookie in half and handed each part over to the sisters . They stared at the cookie for a moment before turning their wide eyes up towards me .
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≪Are you sure?≫
≪Thanks!!≫
≪（>ヮ・*）≫
≪（‘ヮ’*）≫
After accepting the cookie from me, Mippo gave the larger half to her little sister .
Honestly, they’re so adorable it hurts . If we had come by a little later, or if Moppo hadn’t made it, I would be a tear-stained mess right now .
Then again, I’m still worried about Linzflare-san .
[Iris]: “Uuu, *sniffle*…… . ”
≪What’s wrong？≫
≪Stomachache？≫
When I spontaneously began to weep, the two of them rushed over to me .
But seeing them like that just makes it even more painful . I try to fight them back, but I couldn’t stop my tears from oozing out of the corner of my eyes and pooling around my feet after falling to the ground .
[Rose]: “Iris-san!?”
Rose-san almost dropped her cup of tea when she saw .
[Iris]: “Sorry, I’m sorry, but…… . Mippo and Moppo were… . . hurt, but they kept worrying about their sister, went to see her again and again, their love, so I…… . I’m a big sister too, and……to have those three together again, Uuu, Uuu~”
I couldn’t get a good grasp on my emotions, and words kept randomly spilling from my mouth as easily as the tears fell down my cheeks .
[Saluena]: “Ah… . . Of course . ”
Saluena came up beside me and silently nodded . She wrapped her arms around my shoulders as I continued wailing aloud .
She stroked her hand down my back as if she were pacifying a small child .
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[Saluena]: “You have your own little sister . It’s only natural you would feel more strongly for these gnomes . ”
[Rose]: “Here, please use this Iris-san”
I gratefully accept a handkerchief Rose-san held out for me .
[Iris]: “Thank you……*sniffle*…… . ”
The rush of emotions that overcame me gradually subsided as I wiped away my tears . My sadness didn’t disappear completely, but as it faded away, it was eclipsed by the rising shame .
[Iris]: “U-Uu, s-sorry about that…… . I just suddenly, *sniffle*, started crying out of nowhere”
I have Saluena hugging me and Rose-san helping me with the handkerchief . Meanwhile everyone else is staring at me from their spots around the campfire .
[Ashel]: “There is nothing to apologize for . It is simply a sign of your pure heart . ”
P-Pure!? My embarrassment exceeded the max levels after being praised like that by a prince .
[Iris]: “R-Right…… . thanks…… . ”
There was steam coming out of my ears my face felt so hot . Thereafter the two gnome sisters popped up right in front of my face . I guess I really did worry them .
≪What’s wrong？≫
≪What’s wrong？≫
They looked confused, probably completely clueless as to why I was crying in the first place .
[Iris]: “……No . It’s nothing . But, I want to help you both see your sister again . ”
≪！？（‘ヮ’*）≫
≪Thanks！≫
After saying(?) that much, Mippo and Moppo broke out into a pair of large smiles .
It was the first time they had smiled since we met, and they looked far purer than I could ever be .