-------------- Point of View: Flora --------------
[Vixens, meet my vixens. Everyone get along so you can all suck my— in harmony.]
As soon as Carla and the others find a moment to step into the nonsense the brat considers a "reunion," his "introduction" is, of course, disgusting.
[[[Umm]]]
However, far from snapping back at him, the girls just roll their eyes with disdain and proceed to ignore him.
[Hmph. I thought I'd gotten rid of you.] — For some reason, Louise says very nasty things to Carla while crossing her arms.
[You wish.] — Carla, who normally ignores this kind of thing, falls straight for the bait, and sparks begin to fly between both groups.
What the hell happened?
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. How hard it is to be such a good-looking rat-boy.]
[[YOU SHUT UP!]]
Seriously?
[GYAHAHAHA! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING, BUT HATE ME! GYAHAHAHA!]
""Grii""
Just as things were starting to spiral out of control again, the timid squeak of the goblins breaks the rhythm.
[Um? What are you doing? Come over and say hello.] — As always, with the subtlety of a cactus, the brat beckons to the goblins who are hiding behind Ana. He's completely indifferent to their anxieties.
Even so, likely already used to it, the goblins quickly force themselves to jump out from behind Ana and cling to Astrad's legs.
[He… llo…]
"Grii…"
Kora clumsily imitates the human greeting, but Ruby still seems to be struggling with it.
[Kekeke, that's more like it,] — the brat said, patting both their heads.
I simply don't understand how the same girls who bare their teeth and lunge with savage fury when there are enemies can show such a timid side… wait, are they scamming the brat? … Or is it just me?
[So these are Ruby and Kora. It's a pleasure to meet you.]
[They're so cute~~~]
[Waa, this is like a fantasy world for you.]
"Woof!"
Astrad's companions and even that thing he calls a "dog" welcome the goblins without issue. Which doesn't entirely surprise me. But…
[Shiiiii] — the girl on Astrad's shoulders doesn't seem very convinced.
She glares at the goblins with obvious hostility before climbing down from his shoulders. Then, she clings to Astrad's free leg and begins pushing Kora's face away.
At first, the confused Kora and Ruby were yielding to the slow shove, but they soon realized what was happening.
[The rat-boy is in pain,] — Astrad complained as the goblins clung harder to his leg, digging in their nails while pushing their faces against the girl's hand in resistance.
[Gununu]
""grigrigrigrigri""
Soon, the brat's legs became a duel for supremacy.
What spot are they fighting over, exactly? Is it the "daughter" role? It's the daughter role, isn't it?
Police, police… Wait, I'm the police.
[I find it necessary to arrest you.]
[THE RAT-BOY CAN EXPLAIN!]
[Yeah, yeah. They all say that.]
Even if I'm wrong, this brat is better off behind bars.
[Gahaha! Kid, you're an unexpected magnet for diversity, aren't you? Fish-men, goblins, and now elves? You could've mentioned it!]
While I was wondering what to do with the brat, Winston inserts himself into the conversation.
Wait… elves?
After processing Winston's words, I follow his gaze and indeed, coming out of the house I assume belongs to the brat, is a group that can only be described as elves.
Still, it turns out we aren't the only ones surprised.
[Ah? Who let hippies into the rat-boy's house?]
The brat complains to Louise after a superficial glance at the elves.
[Why are you looking at me? Obviously, it's your ex's doing.] — Louise immediately shifts the responsibility to Milia.
[Milia?] — Yumi is the first to react.
[Mom… I was going to tell you…] — The girl immediately puts on a guilty face.
[So, they were already with you when I contacted you?]
[On… only during the last contact.]
Great…
[Ma'am, I assure you they have no ill intentions.]
The rest of the kids with Milia quickly start to calm the tension that was already rising. At the same time, from Yumi's house, more students emerge with a mix of expectation and caution in their eyes.
[Well… technically they threw a swarm of mutant insects at us,] — Carmelia drops a bombshell.
[[[[WHAT???]]]]
[IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!]
[Okay, okay. Let's all calm down.]
Winston quickly intervenes to soothe the conversation that was heading south. However, of course, there is someone who couldn't care less about any of this.
[Whatever, the rat-boy just wants his sponge bath.] — Astrad dismisses the situation while peeling the girls off his legs. Then, he walks toward his house with total indifference.
[[[[[….]]]]]
The reaction from the others varied from disdain to a shrug of the shoulders. Still, we all understood that, at least for the moment, there was no problem.
Unfortunately, the satisfaction lasted all too briefly.
Maybe not everyone notices, but after years in public service, you learn to identify certain attitudes and looks.
When the elves look at the goblins, there is a certain level of repulsion, to varying degrees. One in particular looked at the goblins with barely concealed disgust.
It didn't look like he was going to pounce on them. But the brat's zero-tolerance policy definitely won't be compatible with this.
Still, I thought it should be fine as long as we kept them separate for now. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law applies even in the apocalypse.
"Grii"
As if wanting to prove that kindness and innocence bring more trouble than benefits, Kora—noticing that one of the elves was injured—took a seed from her small bag and tried to offer it to the elf closest to her, as if wanting to explain how to use it to help his companion.
And to top it all off, he was the most disdainful of the group of four.
[[[Wait…]]]
Winston, Carla, Yumi, and I—even others among our more perceptive companions—instinctively tried to prevent the disaster before it manifested.
But we were a step too late.
[Tsk] — Whether by instinct or on purpose, the click of the tongue that screamed repulsion and that look of disgust in the elf's eyes combined with the subtle movement of his hand toward the dagger at his waist.
"Gri?"
Kora was the first to go on alert—the innocence of a child who doesn't understand what they did wrong, combined with the wild instinct of someone who has been through a lot.
But other emotions like fear or understanding didn't have the chance to manifest.
Pop.
The dull thud sounded faster than our eyes could process the image.
Astrad's movement wasn't elegant, skilled, or trained. But even a novice like me can tell that his trajectory was planned to enter through the opponent's blind spot.
["Tsk" what? You filthy, triple-son-of-a-bitch hippie. Who the fuck are you clicking your teeth at?]
Like a foretold prophecy, Astrad stands between Kora and the staggering elf while cursing.
But this guy wasn't Hannibal.
Although he stepped back, confused by the sudden impact, the elf didn't fall. A normal person would have definitely been knocked out by that blow to the chin, but this guy retreated instinctively, cushioning the hit. He definitely has some kind of martial training.
[ALTG FRIGTHERA!] — The elf let out an irate roar as he recovered enough to solidify his stance; then, he lunged forward to face Astrad while drawing his dagger.
[Your mother's a whore.] — Far from backing down, Astrad throws a kick right at the hand the elf is using to draw the dagger, stopping his momentum. At the same time, the girls take their distance along with the goblins.
[Tergatrt] — The elf winces in pain but doesn't stop his momentum. He spun around, using his kicked hand as a pivot, and threw a reverse strike. But it wasn't just a punch; at some point, he had grabbed a smaller dagger in that other arm.
[STOP!]
[WAIT!]
[Grat]
[tupoat]
[gutrajt]
The other elves and the other group of students, recovering from the sudden turn of events, seem to try and stop their companion, but the momentum is already too strong.
Even so, the boy isn't easy. With a strange flexibility, he lowers his body while leaning his torso back, narrowly evading the attack.
However, he was left in a compromised position and, seeing that, the elf naturally smiles at the opportunity while adjusting his stance.
Unfortunately for him...
"GRAAAA!"
Before he could make a single move more, the massive monstrosity lunges from behind the boy—its mouth large enough to swallow a child in one bite, and its teeth easily mistaken for kitchen knives anchored to a meat grinder.
FLASHHHHHHH! CRAAAACKKKK!
However, the expected result of the elf being torn apart didn't happen. Instead, Zeus's claws and mouth collided with what looked like a wall of air that crackled with blue sparks, holding him just above the terrified elf.
Cohou
Further back, the elf girl with her hands raised coughed as if she had taken a hit, and her face turned slightly pale.
If you look closely, there is a slight glow and a current of air in her hands.
[alft rutrys fusthre] — At the same time, the elf with the chest wound moves at an absurd speed and grabs his companion, throwing him to the ground out of danger and scolding him.
[It is enough.]
Simultaneously, Yumi grabbed Astrad (who had already pulled out his pistol while glaring dangerously at the elf girl) by the shirt and lifted him up, ending the fight.
[Tsk] — Astrad didn't look convinced, but he still holstered his weapon. Only then did Zeus back away, and the female elf finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
[[[[[….]]]]]
So damn awkward…
[A-And now, what do I do with this?] — As if she were oblivious to the tense atmosphere or perhaps quite the opposite...
The woman named Carolain speaks in a pitiful tone while taking off a sort of necklace.
[What's with that? A carnival necklace? Did you also get a fortune-telling crystal and a cat?] — Astrad loses interest in the elves and concentrates on Carolain's comment.
[It's a kind of communication necklace, they gave it to me…] — As soon as she pointed to the elves, Astrad snatched the necklace and, with a fluid movement, threw it at the head of the elf he'd just fought with.
[Keep your stinking hippie things away from the rat-boy's stuff. You guys too,] — he said angrily and walked into the house. — [Ugh! What's with this stench? Damn stinking hippies. Vixens, clean up. What do I keep you around for?] — His retorts could be heard even from inside.
Even so, we all sighed in relief, knowing the danger had truly passed.
[You keep us around to satisfy your virgin teenage fetishes; cleaning isn't part of the deal.] — Louise was the first to follow him, ranting right back, and the rest of the girls followed suit.
Only Carolain lingered a bit longer; she shrugged and looked at the elves before clasping her hands together and making a face as if to say, "Sorry, it didn't work out." Then she followed the group into the house.
[Did they just leave us in charge of this mess?] — Winston complains at the terrible truth, but Yumi looks at him with a bitter smile.
[I don't think he has the slightest intention of solving anything…] — she said, sounding more tired than I'd like.
[[[[[[Ahhh…]]]]]]
The sighs soon followed.
Damn brat. I can't even reunite with my daughter without having to clean up after you?