What are you going to do about Leah?


I call out to Crow, who has been somewhat grumpy since we entered the forest.
A branch crunched at Crowe's feet.

From the position of the sun, we were going at a pretty high pace.
If we continue at this rate, we'll probably reach the rendezvous point about the same time as the brave men.
Looking at the status of the demons that had come out so far in a cursory manner, it's unlikely that the brave men with Ziel-san would be killed in the blink of an eye, but it still wouldn't be surprising if they were missing one or two.
That was how dangerous this forest was.
It's no wonder it's not popular and there are no signs of wild animal life.
It might have been a mistake to choose to separate from the brave men.


'What does it matter to you?'


I gasped at Crowe's sharp gaze.
Crowe didn't react to that look on my part, and he just moved forward.
Before entering the forest, Crow would have snickered at me, or said something sarcastic, or whatever it was, he would have responded, but now he doesn't seem to have the luxury of even doing so.
I've never seen Crowe that grumpy before.


'Akira, is there something wrong with Crowe?'


Amelia looked into my face alongside me as I stopped walking at Crowe's killing intent.
She nodded her head, looking somewhat worried.


'Yeah, I suppose. But, well, it's a bad idea to stick your neck out too far. I think we'll see what happens now, but what about Amelia?


Amelia struggled a bit, then made a quick decision.
For everything, but Amelia doesn't have much to worry about.
Deciding on food would bother her a little longer, but only for a little while.
Does a princess have to be able to make decisions too?


'I'll see to it. I'll have to tell Leah and Amaryllis as well. Crow is not to be touched now, it's dangerous.


I couldn't help but laugh at the strange way he said the word for Crowe.


'You two better get going or you'll be left behind!


An energetic Amaryllis, who had just taken a break, raised her voice from the trees.
Her intonation reminded me of a girl with Kansai dialect who would be with the brave men.
At first, the "Elf Race Princess" and the "Beast Race Ex-Princess", the "Previous Brave Member", the "Brave Summoner "Amaryllis, who was freaked out by the so-so title of "so-so" and was respectful, is getting used to it.
The first time they met was the encounter, but she herself was apparently doggedly nostalgic for the people she was used to.
When they met in the underground prison, she was nervous because lives other than her own were at stake.
No, is she a cat in that she would threaten someone who wasn't used to it with all her might?


I'm coming! ...... but I'm not going to get involved with Leah and Crowe. That's fine, right?


I nodded at Amelia's confirmation.
The current Crow is somewhat spiky and even I don't want to talk to him.
Aside from Amaryllis, who only knows Crowe now, who is spiky, Leah and Amelia would be better off staying away from him.
Leah must have felt a little better after talking to me, but I can tell that she's not sure of the timing, as she hasn't yet gotten around to talking to Crowe himself.
The conversation with Crow that had been bouncing around before we entered the forest was gone.
He seemed to have made up his mind on something when he left Uruk, but now he seems to be lost.
Or perhaps it would be correct to say that he is disturbed by Crow's moodiness.
Both Crow and Ria had been very mentally unstable since they entered this forest, and me and Amelia were left confused.


'Yeah, that's fine,'


At least we'll have to stay like this until we find out why Crow is in a bad mood.
Crowe's current state reminded me somewhat of my sister in her sleep.
She's in a bad mood, and everything others do and say is irritating.
That's how it felt.


Then we walked pretty much in silence.
I smiled dryly when I saw that the status of the demons that came out was at the lowest level of the labyrinth across the board.
Maybe not one or two of the brave souls have been wiped out.
Somehow I wish they were alive, but I know that reality is not so sweet.
Because if this world is my sweet, then Commander Saran would be alive.
My naivety in assuming things is killing people again.


'The demons are here!


The voice of Amaryllis, who has a higher level of searching skills than me, echoed.
Me and Amelia raised one hand in response.
Even though the heroes would be in danger, they were clearly small fry for us.
Amelia's gravity magic, my shadow magic, and Crow and the beast race princess Ria, who was also chosen by the previous brave party.
It could be said to be excessive as a fighting force.
However, there was nothing to not be wary of.


''What the hell is this guy. A robot?


I just blinked my eyes at the demon that appeared amidst my vigilance.
An unmistakable robot with dull silver armor, which is unnatural for being in the forest, was aiming its attack at us.

Although it moved as smoothly as a human, it was immediately apparent that there was no human inside it.
The joints and other parts of the body are covered with hard-looking armor, but they are not attached to the heart and centerline, which are the key points of a human, in reverse.
In other words, the only parts that had to be protected were the parts that would interfere with the action.
It wouldn't do so if there was a living thing inside.
Or rather, it is artificial, not born in this forest, but who made it and for what purpose?
The fact that the robot has a status attached to it in "World Eyes" indicates that it was created by a considerable person.
In addition to being able to deal with both long-range and close-range attacks, all of its attacks were given paralyzing poisons, and as it fought, it could also interfere with my mind, and it was also equipped with a self-repair function.
As for me, I can keep defeating it until it can't repair itself, and Amelia would have no problem if I tied her to the ground with 'gravity magic', but it would be bad if the heroes encountered this guy.
It's such a robot, but it's not badly made, except for its naming sense.
You can easily fight off a few demons in the area.

While we were dumbfounded by such a robot and stopped moving, as for Crowe, he was just not interested and was trying to move on through its side.


''Master Crow!


This was the first moment that Leah had called out to Crowe when he entered this forest.
But Crow didn't respond to the voice, and as if to vent his frustration, he grabbed the robot by its head and squeezed it languidly before it could launch its attack.
Leah stopped moving as she tried to ward it off at the sight of its anger.


'I know you're there, you old b*tc*! Come out!


The robot was repaired with skill in his hands, with Crow screaming in a rare voice in his rear view.
The robot's movements are completely silenced as Crow pushes something he drew in the air with a swift movement into the robot.
Amelia looks at it and exclaims a somewhat out-of-place exclamation.
I have a little bit of knowledge because I saw that Amelia had been taught the 'Offsetting' skill by Crowe, but it shouldn't be an easy skill that can be exercised accurately in a state of disturbed mind like that.


'Well, well, my fool. You and your son haven't seen each other in decades.


An aloof, human-eating voice came through the trees.
If I was right, the voice would belong to Crow's mother, but the voice sounded younger than I expected.
Or rather, the voice sounded more like a young one, which is a good way to describe it.

Was it because Crow had been irritated since he entered the forest that he felt his mother's presence?
He even went out of his way to shift the meeting point to avoid seeing his mother.
It's not too early to detect it, though.


'I never thought of you as a parent. That's not the point, just undo the illusion you put on Leah.


Huh? It was Leah herself who reacted.
Me, Amelia and Amaryllis nodded their heads as well, wondering what she was going to say.
Was she being bewitched by Leah?
It's a bit strange, but Leah's attitude is the same as always.


You've noticed. The one I put on that little girl was more specially made than the others, though.


With those words, a girl came out from behind the tree Crow had been gazing at.
Her hair and eye color scheme was the same as Crow's, but her appearance was remarkably dissimilar.
Besides, her appearance lacked the animal features that should be present as a beast race.


''Human race?''


Amelia, who looked at the status with the 'World Eye', muttered in dismay.
The girl shakes her hair in twin tails, looking amused.


'Correctly so, Princess of the Elves. But your lack of decorum would just be offensive if you didn't have a generous heart like mine.'


The way he accused Amelia in a distant way with a smile on his face was completely out of character with his appearance age.
Before Amelia could realize what she meant and apologize, Crow threw the robot he had grabbed in annoyance at the girl.


'Quickly break the illusion and disappear, you old b*tc*.


It was yet another robot that came out from behind the girl and dangerously caught that robot that seemed to be going to hit the girl.
If you look closely, the robot that attacked you and that robot look similar.
Apparently, both of them were created by her.


"Hmm, fine. As a reward for destroying my masterpiece, Usako Eleven.


Crackling, the girl snapped her fingers and Leah fell to the ground as if a thread had broken.


''Leah!''


Amelia, who was nearby, helped Leah up.


'Nothing unusual. He's just unconscious.


Amaryllis makes a quick diagnosis.
She breathes a sigh of relief and looks around where the girl was, but there was no one there.
She seems to have disappeared just like Crowe told me to.
But apparently I'm not the only one who thought it wouldn't end like this.
The evidence of this was the deep wrinkles etched between Crowe's eyebrows.