The night we saw Yuma off.
　After dinner and bathing, the children were separated into their gendered bedrooms and slept under the covers.
　In the women's bedroom, there was Michelle.

'Un......'

　Suddenly, Michelle woke up with a thirst.
　It was still dark outside, and she could hear the sleepy breathing of her children around her.
　I woke up at an odd hour, Michelle thought as she quietly walked out of the room.

　There was no light, and the hallway was thin and quiet.
　The lights had long since gone out, so no one was awake.
　The silence was a far cry from the usual bustling orphanage, and Michelle was a little scared.

(But ...... don't be scared, Sheena will laugh at you.)

　Sheena would definitely tease me if she saw me now.
　He decided to grow up in the daytime, so he couldn't be frightened of the night forever.
　With a huff and a sniff, Michelle went downstairs with an imposing gait and drank some water to quench her throat.

　He had just finished his business and was about to head back the way he'd come from.

'----'
--!

　I heard Lily and George's voices from a distance.
　I couldn't hear them well, but they seemed to be in some kind of panic.

'...... What's going on?'

　Maybe something had happened to them both.
　Now that Sheena is gone, I have to support Lily and the others for her.

...... Okay.

　After a moment's hesitation, Michelle, worried for them, decided to go in the direction of the voices.
　As she proceeded in the direction of the voice, she saw a large door.
　This is the room that Lily and the others have strictly told her not to enter.

'......?'

　The door, which usually doesn't open in any way, was somehow small and open.
　Now, it would be possible to advance beyond the door.

　Do I keep my word and leave, or do I proceed beyond this room?
　After much deliberation, Michelle decided to move on.
　I'm worried in case something has happened to Lily and the others.

　...... And honestly, I'm worried about what's going on inside.

　Opening the door so as not to make any noise, Michelle crept inside.
　It was dimly lit with no lights inside at all.
　Using the magic she had learned from her sister to turn on the lights, Michelle slowly moved forward.

　After a while, there was a staircase.
　Underneath it was covered in darkness and it was impossible to see what was there.
　The end of the stairs looked like a popped open monster's mouth, and Michelle shuddered as she burped.

　Fearfully, Michelle made her way down.

'Lily ...... George ......?'

　I tried to call out to her, but there was no voice.
　Just the sound of something moving in the distance with a gwangwang.

......!

　Michelle gasped as she made her way down the long staircase.
　The reason for this was because what lay ahead was a rather wide passage.
　It was divided into several branches, revealing various rooms.
　Lights set up in the ceiling illuminated the basement.

(Looks like there's another house in the basement.)

　I reach for one of the several doors to try it out, but it's locked or doesn't open at all.
　I put my ear to it, but there is no sound from inside.

......m.

　Looking for an open room, Michelle continued onward.
　At this time, my curiosity to explore the basement already prevailed over my first objective.
　She scurries around the basement, which looks like a secret base, scurrying around.
　The corridors are clean and almost free of dust, as if they are cleaned frequently.
　It's nighttime and the lights are on, making my eyes flicker a little.

'----'
............?

　After walking for a while, I heard a small voice in the distance.　

　There was an iron door ahead of me that had a slightly different atmosphere than before.
　A light is leaking from the gap in the door.
　There seemed to be someone inside, and I could hear a mumbling little voice.

'George ......?'

　It was then that Michelle remembered that she was looking for George and the others.
　At the same time, she felt guilty for entering a room that was said to be off-limits.　
　Fearfully, Michelle approached the iron door and peered inside to avoid making any noise.

''.......''

　The moment I opened the door, an unconventional stench wafted out from inside.
　This room smelled terribly fishy, as if it hadn't been cleaned.
　It smelled like fish his father had caught a long time ago, Michelle thought.

　Within sight of the door, there was a piece of equipment she hadn't seen before.
　A number of objects, particularly large chairs, lined up in a row.

(Lab ......?)

　I've heard that the two of them were tremendously skilled alchemists in the past.
　This room may be the room where they are conducting their experiments.
　Intrigued by what kind of experiments they are doing, Michelle opened the door further.

(...... eh?)

　A stranger was sitting in a row of chairs in the room.
　He was blindfolded with a cloth and gagged in the mouth as well.
　His hands and feet were tied to the chair and he was unable to move.

　Not George.

It's "......!　......!

　I can hear a muffled voice shouting something under the gag.
　The chair clatters and shakes in small increments as he scrambles to untie his bound limbs.

'--mph.'
......

　Just then, the sound of a man in a good mood came from Michelle's blind spot, laughing.
　It was mixed with a chuckle and a wet sound of physiological disgust.
　It's not George's voice either.

　Michelle almost screamed as she opened the door before she could see the owner of the voice.

'Hah ...... hah ......'

　There was a naked man, fat as a pig demon, fat and naked.
　He was breathing heavily, and his entire body was covered in sweat and glistening with a terrific glow.
　The flabby flesh stored all over his body pulled and swayed with each breath.
　Only his hair was neatly trimmed, which made it even more uncomfortable.

(What...... that......)

　This smell that had been wafting through the air earlier seemed to belong to that man.
　The nauseating horror of it made Michelle freeze her body.

I'm not going to be able to get it right. Mmmm, mmmm.

　When I looked, I saw that the man was straddling something.
　I don't know what he's doing, but he's rubbing his sweaty body against that something with a nipple.

(What, do ......)

　I open the door a little and take a peek at what the man is doing.
　Then he stops breathing.

'Ah ...... e ......?'

　Something underneath the man.
　It couldn't be possible, but Michelle knew what was underneath it.

　He had shoulder-length cream-colored hair and cat ears the same color as his hair.
　A best friend who left the orphanage, happy to see her family.

"Sheena, chan ......?

　It's impossible.
　He denied that, but the cat race (warcat) underneath the man was Sheena, no matter how he looked.

　She wasn't wearing any clothes and was lying naked.
　There were several painful bruises on her skin, as if she had been beaten.
　He was emaciated and unconscious, as if he hadn't eaten for days.

(Why ......?　Why ......?

　Sheena should have been taken out of the orphanage by Lily and the others two days ago.
　So why is it here?
　Who the hell is that creepy man straddling Sheena?

Poor girl. She's so skinny. It's cold, isn't it?　I'll keep you warm, okay?

　In a sticky tone, the man is addressing Sheena.
　He presses his greasy body against Sheena's with a grin and a nauseating smile.

'......!　......!

　With a rumble, the chair in the back made a distinctly loud noise.
　The man on the chair was flailing about.

'............!'

　He stopped moving uncomfortably and the pig-like man looked at the chair.

Shut up!　I'm making out with this girl right now!
............!
Uh-oh!　I told you to shut up!

　The man throwing a tantrum shakes as he screams.
　The man gets up with a bang and walks to a chair, shaking his fat.

"If you don't listen to me, hey, this is what you do!

　At the end of the cord extending from the chair, there is a large, colorless, stone-like object.
　The man touches it and chants some kind of spell.

　-- immediately after.

'Mmmmmm ----!'

　The man on the chair jumped up.
　Like a fish washed up on land, he flailed about in his bound state.
　Meanwhile, a muffled scream echoes from under the gag.

'......!'

　The changes were dramatic.
　The man's body gradually became thinner and thinner.
　His skin changed color to an earthy color, as if his entire body was being drained of water.

　As his body became thinner, his blindfold and gag fell to the ground.

''Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.''

　Bubbling, eyes wide open, the man screams.
　Michelle can't even make a sound at the sight of it all.
　After a few minutes, the man's momentum gradually diminishes as he rampages around, dripping feces and urine.
　Then, in a scrawny, mummy-like state, the man died.
　The hollowed out eyes and wide open mouth spoke volumes about the amount of pain the man had suffered.

　The colorless stone at the end of the cord had somehow turned as red as blood.
　It was a horrible red, as if it had been sucked out of the man's blood.

'Sheena-chan!　Now there's no one left to disturb us!

　Not feeling anything at the sight, the man happily called out to Sheena, who was sleeping on the floor.

'Mmmm, you look so cute when you're asleep.

　The man brings his face to Sheena and licks her cheek with his tongue.

''Hmm, fuhu!　Delicious!　It's so good!

　The scene is too much for Michelle to understand.
　I'm not sure what's going on at all.

Mmmmm.

　The man was on his back, jittery and trembling as his excitement reached its peak.
　The fishy smell in the room became more pronounced.

'Mmm. Then, Sheena, let's sit in that chair again. Let's sit in that chair again. Let's sit in that chair again, I'll absorb your magic little by little.

　The man exhales, then lifts Sheena up and drags her towards the chair.
　Zulu, the debilitated Sheena is only carried away without resistance.

"Sheena's scream is so cute, unlike the scum she saw earlier. Ahaha, such a pretty girl dying a skinny death, I can't bear it: ......

　I have to help.
　That thought came to Michelle's mind.
　But her body didn't move at all.
　On the contrary, it was shaking and trembling and looked as if it might fall down at any moment.

　At that time.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find it.

Dare!
"Hee!

　The man looks back at me with a bang.
　Our eyes met.

"Who......?　You're not my mom!


　The next thing I knew, Michelle was running away.
　She turned her back to the room and ran recklessly.
　All the thoughts in my head were soggy, coated in fear.

(I have to run, I have to run, I have to run, I have to run!)

　Run. Run. I'm going to run. Running.
　I almost trip over, but I just keep running.

　I hear a man's voice behind me.
　He must have opened the door and got out.

(I have to hide. ......)

　I tried to enter a nearby room, but it was locked.
　It wouldn't open the next one, or the one after that.
　Crying and screaming, I looked for a door to open, and the sixth door finally opened.

　I tried to jump inside at a glance.

Ugh. ......

　The unimaginable stench made Michelle stop moving.
　The smell was incomparable to the room from earlier.
　Michelle quickly realized that it was the smell of death.

　There was a pile of dead bodies.
　They were as skinny as a man who had been sitting in a chair.
　The smell was from these corpses.

'Ah ...... ah.'

　Adults and children, men and women alike.
　Dozens of corpses lying haphazardly.

............ eh?

　One of those bodies caught my eye.
　The corpse of a small boy on top of a pile of cracked or newer.
　The yellow hair and the long, dried up ears look familiar.
　It's a boy of the elf species that left the orphanage just this morning.

"Uma ......-kun?

　As soon as he said that, Michelle realized.
　I'm not going to be the only one.

　--It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on some of these things.

　The children left the orphanage when their family was found.

'Ubu......'

　Michelle retreated dazedly, splattering vomit on the floor.
　The door to the room closed with a dry thud.

'I see you've seen it,'

　Suddenly, Michelle turned around with a bang when she was approached.
　George and Lily were standing there with a sad look on their faces.

'Why did you break our word?　Didn't I tell you not to come in?
Oh, oh. Youma-kun, Youma-kun, Youma-kun! Not only that, but all the others!　They're all dead in that room: ......!

　They complain in incoherent terms, but they look terribly calm.

'Yeah, I know,'
'What does it matter?'

　Michelle felt her body rapidly cooling down at the calmness of the situation.

You are totally ...... not in the right place at the right time. You can't just walk in here, of all times.
You forgot to seal it.
You know, you should be more careful from now on. That's how kids get in here before.

(What the hell are you two talking about ......?)

I'm sorry, Michelle.
Yes, really.

　They come to look at me.
　As usual, they have a gentle smile on their faces.
　However, their eyes were so inorganic that it was hard to believe they were looking at a human.

''What are you talking about ......!　Sono, that's not important, Sheena-chan is!　Ba, attacked by a monster!

　With a twitch, the two stopped moving.

The ...... monster?
Yeah, yeah!　Yes, pig!　A pig monster--

　A moment later, Michelle's vision turned red.
　She fell to the floor with great force, hitting her back hard on the ground.
　It wasn't until a few seconds later that he realized he had been hit.

''You aaaaah!　Don't call our son a monster!
'Don't you dare mock Dar, you ugly bastard!

　George's face turns red and he yells at her, and Lily lets out a high-pitched screeching sound.

''You're a cattleman!　I'm going to squeeze the magic out of you right now and kill you!''

　Michelle didn't understand anything anymore.
　She was so full that she couldn't get any information into her brain.
　The reason she was running from the spot was probably because her instincts knew that her life was in danger.

　From behind me, I could hear the two of them screaming.
　Without looking back, Michelle continued to run.

'----'

　A strange sound resounded with a boggle.
　Immediately afterwards, the floor of the corridor in front of me rose significantly.

''Wha, what......?''

　It gradually grew larger and larger, until it became a humanoid creature of about three meters in length.
　It's an earth giant (golem) whose entire body is made of floor material.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

"Ah--

　The arm of an earth giant as big as an adult's torso was swung down.
　The arm closed in with a mighty speed, trying to crush Michelle.
　Cowering in fear of death, Michelle could only watch it.

'Help me ......'

　There were no running lights.
　Just before death.
　In her last moments, Michelle muttered as she squeezed out and was crushed by the arms of the earth giant ----


---- Yeah, I got it.


　--that murmur was answered by someone else.

　There was a thud.
　At the sound that shook the basement, Michelle opened her meditated eyes.
　The arm of the earth giant that was supposed to crush Michelle had fallen to the ground.

'----'

　The first thing I saw was gray hair.
　A tall man, dressed simply in a simple outfit with a cloth spread over his body.
　The stranger stood in front of Michelle as if protecting her from the earth giant.

''It's ......, le ......?''

　The man slowly turns around.
　Looking at Michelle, the man said with a slightly annoyed look on his face.



'--Amaz, apparently.