Chapter 96

“Ran away? What does that mean?”

I was startled for a moment, but then I realized.

“Guide’s expression when he greeted me earlier didn’t look good. Could it be because Bibi disappeared?”

If that was the case, then Bibi’s claim that she had run away for Guide’s sake was wrong.

Knowing Guide’s personality, he was probably crying his eyes out right now, saying that he had lost Bibi.

“Grandma! What are you talking about?! What if Guide is crying and making a huge fuss because you disappeared?!”

At my words, Bibi shook her head.

“That’s how children are. They’ll be gloomy for a few days, but after a little while, they’ll completely forget this old lady and live happily. You and the others will treat him much better than you do now, too.”

Gasp.

My mouth fell open in shock at her firm attitude.

“Grandma.”

“What is it?”

“...You really have no sense of responsibility.”

At my words, Bibi dropped the bread she had been eating with a startled expression.

“What?! W-what did you say?! What kind of thing is that to say to this old lady?!”

“Responsibility. You have absolutely none.”

If Bibi truly cared about Guide, she could never leave him behind.

Putting myself in his place—

What if Father and I had been living happily together, and one day Father suddenly said he thought I would be better off without him and quietly left?

How would I live after being left alone?

The thought alone was horrifying.

“Grandma, you’re basically abandoning Guide.”

I said that, crossed my arms, and turned my head away with a huff.

“Good grief! What do you know?! You have no right to say something like that to this old lady!”

Patapatapat.

Bibi suddenly rushed over and began hitting my chest with her tiny pink paws.

If it had been a real attack, my body would have been torn apart already.

But she clearly had no intention of hurting me. Her claws remained hidden, and she only poked me with her soft paw pads.

“Do you even know my circumstances?”

“No matter what your circumstances are, an adult can’t leave a five-year-old child behind alone!”

“What did you say?! Do you know what kind of feelings I had when I ran away, you insolent little thing?!”

That was when—

Press.

The soft paw pad pressed against my chest one last time.

Then Bibi suddenly stopped moving.

Her eyes began turning red.

Soon, round beads of transparent moisture gathered around her black-bean eyes.

“You insolent little thing... You don’t know anything about what’s in someone else’s heart....”

“G-grandma. Are you crying?”

My mouth twisted into a little triangle from confusion.

What should I do? I didn’t know she would cry....

“Why would this old lady cry?! It’s just... because you said something like that, it suddenly reminded me of the past... Kyiing!”

Bibi snapped angrily at first, but her voice gradually trailed off.

And in the end, she burst into tears.

“Grandma!”

“Good grief!”

Startled, I hurriedly opened my arms.

The old lady monster burrowed into my embrace as though she had been hurt.

Kying, kying.

Her heartbreaking cries echoed from my arms.

I became sad along with her and gently patted Bibi’s back.

After sobbing for a while, she murmured in a hoarse voice.

“...Before I met Guide, this old lady had a family too.”

“Huh?”

My hand stopped as I stroked Bibi’s back.

At that, she lifted her head.

Fortunately, she had stopped crying.

Though the area around her eyes was still tinged red.

Slowly closing her eyes, she began recalling the past.

“I had a daughter and son-in-law. I even had granddaughters who were so precious I could have placed them in my eyes and they wouldn’t have hurt. But then, out of nowhere, we were attacked by orcs.”

No way.

My eyes grew damp at the tragic story I could already predict.

“Did they... end up dying while trying to escape—”

“Good grief! There is no such thing as running away in a Feri’s dictionary!”

...Huh?

“I did not raise my family like that! Even if we had to die, we had to die fighting! We Feris are supposed to use our nimble bodies to zip around, tear those bastards’ ears off, and only then die!”

The tears that had been about to spill vanished instantly.

Instead, I hurriedly nodded along.

“I-I see.”

I take it back.

Feris were not this world’s version of white ferrets.

They were this world’s version of honey badgers!

But the pink fist of the old lady who had been angrily waving it slowly lowered.

Bibi dropped her head.

Regret filled her gaze.

“...That was wrong.”

“......”

“When my family all died and I was left alone, I realized something foolishly late. I should have run away. To protect your family, you need the courage to run away too.”

This was not simply regret.

It was guilt.

“So this old lady decided to die too. The orcs had already left, and there happened to be a human village nearby. I thought I’d just go there and ask them to catch me. But on the way there, I happened to run into that boy....”

So that was how she met Guide and became close with him.

My heart grew heavy at Bibi’s painful story, but I quickly shook my head.

The past was the past.

And now, Guide was Bibi’s family.

I understood why Bibi had left because she thought of her family.

But that also meant I understood how Guide must have felt after suddenly losing his family.

Careless advice or comfort could only hurt someone more.

Even knowing that, there was something I had to say.

“But you should hear Guide’s side too.”

While listening to Bibi’s story, I suddenly remembered Father and myself from before.

Father had always tried to protect me from every danger because he was afraid I would get hurt.

And I had tried to step forward in everything because I wanted to help him.

What I realized back then was that, in situations like this, communication was the answer.

I raised my index finger.

“First of all, Guide isn’t trapped at the ducal estate. He’s employed here. If he stays, he can earn money, sleep somewhere nice, and eat delicious food.”

“Good grief! Even so, if this old lady leaves, they’ll just keep watching him again! And they’ve separated him from his family and brought him all the way here. Don’t you think that child will be sad?”

“If he wants, we can let him visit the butcher every day. And besides, if we’re putting it that way, Grandma is Guide’s family too.”

“......”

“Why aren’t you thinking about how sad he’ll be?”

Bibi flinched.

Her body stiffened at my words.

The fact that Bibi was this shaken clearly meant one thing.

She considered Guide her family too.

I knew the two of them needed to stay together.

Then what should I do?

The people at the ducal estate would not separate them.

I could explain that they did not consider Bibi’s existence a threat, but—

I doubted she would believe that easily.

And there was still a possibility that people who were unfamiliar with monsters would reject her.

After thinking carefully, I continued cautiously.

“First, I think you should talk with Guide.”

More than anything, if she had already decided that she needed to distance herself from Guide, that was something that only Guide himself could change.

“...How am I supposed to talk to that boy?”

“I’m here! I’ll interpret for you.”

“...Good grief!”

Grandma Bibi still seemed dissatisfied, but she did not refuse.

And then—

Wriggle, wriggle.

Even while grumbling, she must have been cold, because she kept pushing her white rear end toward my arms.

Hehe. You like it.

I smiled and hugged Bibi.

But right at that moment—

Boom!

A massive vibration shook the ice cave.

The sudden tremor made both Bibi and me open our eyes wide.

“Father?”

Had Father already arrived?

But Calypse would never come in this much of a commotion.

Boom. Boom!

The vibrations did not stop.

Instead, they grew closer and closer.

It felt like something enormous was approaching.

Like a dinosaur walking toward us.

Bibi, who had been nestled safely in my arms, suddenly shot out.

She stood in front of me, planted her hind legs firmly, and raised her sharp pink paws into a defensive stance.

“Little brat. When this old lady counts to three, run away. Do not look back. Just keep running.”

“Grandma Bibi?!”

“Don’t worry about this old lady! Think about yourself!”

I looked at her seriously as she shouted with determination.

But the only people who should be coming to this ice cave were Father, older brother Lucas, or Kyle.

Then—

With a thunderous crash, the door to our room opened.

At the same time, Bibi let out a sharp cry.

“Kiiing!”

She leapt forward with her claws extended.

“B-Bibi!”

“Huh?”

It was Guide’s voice.

Bibi, already airborne, flew straight toward the face of the person who had entered through the door.

Fortunately, she had pulled her claws back in.

And Guide, recognizing Bibi, immediately caught her body.

“Kyah! This old lady is going to die!”