It turned out that five days had passed since Pauline was captured, based on Lauren’s testimony.
Piyo silently watched Nina’s retreating figure. I also stepped out of the tent for a moment. Although not in direct sunlight, it was still hot enough to require air conditioning. That only made me more irritated. I decided to wash my face with water to cool my head. Suddenly, I heard the sound of bandits arguing. It was the boss and that girl named Kia.
“I knew that! But, but you see!”
“But what? Because of your reckless actions, you’re not just endangering our comrades, but outsiders too!”
It seemed they were reprimanding her for attempting to steal from the Garuda settlement. Well, I can’t say anything about it, as this event led me to meet Lauren.
“You’re always like this, you never understand how I feel! I want to be useful too…”
“I acknowledge your efforts. But there are some things that are impossible.”
Sharin calmed the boss down. Seeing her, the leader closed his eyes and sighed.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been indebted to you.”
“Right now, we should be thinking about the Giant Centipede. Let’s gather everyone and assign roles.”
Sharin, who is always calm, is a strong support within the bandit group. The boss nodded in agreement.
“What, what’s your problem! You just got here and you’re acting like a strategist!”
Then Kia pointed at Sharin and shouted. Sharin’s eyes widened at this.
“Hey, Kia, stop it. I’m sorry, she’s a little childish.”
“That’s exactly it!! You always treat me like a child and never take me seriously! I can fight on my own too! Why, why do you like that person who just appeared out of nowhere…”
“Hmm, so that’s what it is.”
“Whoa, Nina! Don’t surprise me like that.”
I wish you wouldn’t approach me silently from behind. Nina crouched down and appeared from the side.
“So, what is ‘that’?”
“You like that man, don’t you? But he likes Sharin.”
Huh? He likes Sharin? Is that true? Am I just too dense? If that’s the case, did Kia steal the Garuda’s egg to try and impress him, wanting to do something even more amazing than Sharin? The boss’s face turned pale when Kia said that.
“I don’t intend to treat you like a child. I told you before, didn’t I? You’re like a sister to me. I love you and I cherish you.”
“What’s the difference between me and her? Is it because I’m a Beastman? Or because she’s strong? Then I’ll prove it to you right here.”
Kia drew her dagger and faced Sharin. Meanwhile, Sharin, who had been unable to follow the conversation, looked around helplessly. Then she glanced at me. Although she is calm and intelligent, she is weak when it comes to romantic entanglements. Nina, seeing this, stepped in to help.
“Okay, okay, let’s end it here. Don’t worry, Sharin isn’t going to steal your brother. You should also try to understand her feelings a little.”
Sharin, having been helped by Nina, scurried back to my side.
“Mmph, what should I do? Did I say something to make her angry? I thought our relationship was relatively good.”
“It’s okay to leave these things to Nina. More importantly, it’s about the Giant Centipede. We haven’t even seen its form yet. To win, we must first know our enemy.”
Thanks to Nina, the situation was somehow resolved. I listened to the boss and other members talk about the Giant Centipede. Apparently, it’s classified as a Bugfolk, just like Pauline. However, its size is incomparable to hers. Its body, with numerous legs, stretches for tens of meters, and it has four arms. They say it has pincers in its mouth. I don’t know how much of it is true, but I suspect it’s incredibly dangerous.
Apparently, there used to be two of them, but the Garuda defeated one and the other escaped somewhere. However, that escaped one has returned. It has apparently stolen the nest of the ant-like Bugfolk called Worker Ants and is now residing there. Furthermore, the Giant Centipede has become more ferocious than before, and the Garuda, fearing it, are appeasing it by feeding it meat to stave off its hunger.
“Why don’t you just defeat it again? It’s actually an opportunity, since it came back anyway.”
“Because in the previous battle, there were many injured and dead. Even the descendants of Serket participated, but they were no match for it. No one will want to join the fight next time.”
The descendants of Serket must be those Scorpion Centaurs. They seemed quite huge even to me, and even they were no match for it. This means we won’t be able to get help from either the Garuda or the Serket in this fight.
