We rode as quickly as we could. To my surprise, Mother was quite the daring rider, not even hesitating on dodging or even jumping any rocks or bumps that she met in her way. In fact, she was so daring that I was starting to feel sick. I used to have a terrible motion-sickness in my old world. I couldn't ride a car or a bus for long before I felt I had to puke. I had to constantly take medications to counteract it, and even then, it didn't always work. Don't tell me that I have it too in this world?! Damn, I thought my new self is perfectly healthy without any allergies or illnesses in the slightest!
There was one silver lining though. Mother's soft breasts—they were pressing and bouncing to my back all the while through. It felt really nice to the point that my motion sickness was thwarted. I managed to last all the way without throwing up.
Oh, and a couple of monsters actually tried to attack us on route there, but they were easily dispatched by me and Sherry. While I defeated them through my ranged spells, Sherry had to do some really amazing acrobatics in the process, like standing on the horse, jumping off it, attacking, landing on the nearby cliff, and then jumping right back on the moving horse. Damn, she's just getting better day by day, isn't she? I still managed to see her panties in the process though. Get faster at it so I won't be able to see them, alright?
I couldn't help but wonder though. Could Mother take care of them on her own? She didn't help in the slightest at the fight. She just told us to fight on our own while she kept on the horse's reign.
Silly me, of course she could. She's a seasoned adventurer after all. Even if she's a cleric, and she didn't carry her staff with her, she could still probably blast some holy magic towards them with no problem whatsoever.
Once we arrived at Aarom, Mother immediately went to the nearest stable and stored our horse there. Travelers could use the facility with just a handful of coins upfront, though you would have to pay again when you took out the horse, depending on how long you left it there.
We then walked through the busy street in a hurry. If only we were on a more leisurely trip, I could definitely enjoy looking around a genuine medieval fantasy city like this.
As we half-ran towards our destination, I saw some shady-looking guys staring at Mother. Oh goddamnit. I just noticed how her boobs were bouncing every step she took. I even caught some male adventurers stopping just to stare, before their female companions stepped on their foot or elbowed them on the side.
Mom, your boobs are really too big. I think they got even bigger after you got pregnant with Erika.
Urgh, I couldn't imagine how Father handled it when they were still traveling together, having other guys leer at her like this. But knowing him, he might just be part of those guys who leered.
We soon arrived at the address Marina told in the letter. It was one of the several buildings used as outposts where the city guards could patrol from. The city was large, so there was a need for such an arrangement.
Qngement.
Mother shifted gear into a full sprint once the building was in view, lifting the hem of her ankle-length dress so she could run better.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am, what can I do for—"
"Get out of the way!"
Without any hesitation whatsoever, she shoved the guard standing in front of the door like he was just a mannequin. Whew, for a split second there, I thought she had obtained super strength like Sherry. We quickly followed, ignoring the guard downed on the ground, struggling to get back up under his heavy armor.
Once inside, Mother didn't hesitate to speak with the receptionist in front, slamming her hands on his desk, demanding a visit to Marina Greenwood at once. Poor guy looked so shocked I almost feared he would just faint at the spot. Though later on, as he went through his books, I noticed him stealing glances at Mother's breasts who were now dangling in front of him thanks to her bending over him at the glass window. That pervert! I gave him a glare. No one can give Mother perverted looks except for Father and me!
Afterwards, a different guard led us deeper inside, straight to the jail cell where Marina was being kept.
"Marina!"
The moment she saw her, she immediately ran to the bars and grasped at them with both of her hands.
"Oh, Marina! You're safe! Oh thank you, Saint! Thank you very much!" she said with teary eyes.
"Mother! You're here too?" Marina exclaimed with surprise, standing up from the bed she had been sitting on. "I thought only Father followed me here. And Hugo and Sherry as well" She gave a smiling glance towards us.
Wait, hold on, who is that other girl with her?
"I-it's a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am!" She spoke with somewhat of a high-pitched voice. "I-I'm Sophie! Sophie Bramblewood!" She bowed as deeply as she could.
That's a Hobbit, isn't it? I'm sure of it! That small body… those slightly pointed ears… and those hairy feet… she's definitely one of them!
I couldn't contain my excitement. I had read about them before—how they were a race that lived predominantly in Hobbiton, the country to the southeast of Marchen. When you're reborn in a fantasy world, of course you would want to see the nonhuman races. Alas, such a chance only came today, as there certainly wasn't any back home in the village.
Hmm? Sherry? If she really was a non-human, then she certainly didn't look like one. No pointed ears, no horns, no wings, no tails, and certainly no hairy feet. Surely if she really was one, then there should be a big obvious tell that she was one, right? I'm starting to doubt if Mother's suspicion was even correct in the first place.
And speaking of the hobbit, why was she here with Marina? Did the letter say anything about her? I didn't get to read it so I wouldn't know if it did.
"And I'm so sorry, Ma'am! It's all my fault that your daughter ends up in this situation!"
Her fault? What did she mean by that?
"Let me explain, Mother." Marina interrupted.
She then explained everything that had transpired, how she protected the Hobbit from a cruel shopkeeper and how it ended up landing her in here. And she ended said story with a sigh.
"I'm sorry, Mother. I was reckless. I should have just stayed home like you wanted me to."
I looked up to her and saw how stern her expression had become. It was hard to describe. If I had to try, I would say it's a mixture over anger, sadness, worry and even a little pride mixed inside.
"Don't lie to me, my daughter. If you can do yesterday all over, you would do it all over again, would you?"
Marina paused for a moment, before answering, "Yes, I would, Mother. I do not regret saving her. Not in the slightest."
Hearing Marina's statement, the hobbit considerably brightened, before she started hugging and thanking my big sister again with tears in her eyes.
Mother simply smiled in return. If I had to guess, she was mostly proud of Marina taking the role of the hero like that.
Well, me too, Mother. I'm glad I have such a brave and heroic sister like her.
I just hoped that one day, it wouldn't backfire on her. If it did, and it killed her in the process…
Another chill came into me. Even after what Sherry said, I still couldn't completely accept the fact that Marina was her own person, and that she could protect herself just fine. I should really start trusting in her strength more.
I just… I just don't want to lose her or anyone else in this family. Like I did with my old one…
----
After our visit, we went to our next destination.
That shop of that bastard who dared sending our Marina to prison.
Marina had told us how he had accused her of being a thief. Ha, Big Sis? A thief? Never in a million years! And how tomorrow, there would be a trial to decide her and the hobbit's innocence. Father had told her that everything would be perfectly fine, seeing how we would have the judge on our side, but I couldn't help to worry nonetheless. If this Newt Benedict guy was as influential as he was, he should have his own connections that he could use to turn this court case in his favor.
Then again, maybe he could change his mind. Maybe he would decide it wasn't worth it to waste his time and resources sending a 12-year old child and a hobbit to the gaol from a simple incident. So we got an easy trial and everyone's happy.
But knowing how petty he seemed to be from Marina' s story, I doubted that. Which was another reason why we should pay him a visit.
I was angry of course. Scum like that existed whether in this world or in my old one. Worthless trash that used their power and influence to bully the weak and defenceless.
However, looking at both Sherry and Mother's expression, they might even be angrier than me. Sherry looked like she was ready to snap his neck in two, while Mother was displaying a facial expression that was so scary no one dared to stare at her chest like before.
Oh boy, I think I have to be the calm one in this scenario. It would be really bad if we ended up killing him in broad daylight. Then we would actually be real criminals.
When we arrived though, the shop was closed. And we could tell that not just because of the door being shut, but also because of the large CLOSED sign hung on the front.
And Marina certainly didn't know where he lived.
BANG
Sherry, not satisfied with what we found, decided to punch the wall beside the door, shaking the entire establishment and creating little cracks on the heavy and thick large glass window. And of course, a large crater appeared where her fist had landed. Hey hey, that wall was at least three meters thick and she still could do that!
I sighed. Even though trashing his shop was something I could certainly get behind, this could reflect badly on Marina at court. Using my Earth magic, I repaired the wall. I couldn't do anything to the glass window though.
Oh, that's right. There's something I want to check.
Now this is something that will definitely backfire if my suspicions are proven wrong.
But, I can't be satisfied just by getting Marina out. I want to punish this man as well.
"Hey, Sherry. Can you force open the door? But don't break it. Just… push at it hard enough so it would open."
"You want to break in?" She raised her eyebrows, before a flash of realization came to her face. "Oh! You want to mess up the inside of his shop instead! Alright! We can certainly do that!"
With a simple push, she bent the metal that kept the door locked. She even snapped the other steel lock that was placed inside.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Mother hurriedly came when she noticed what we were doing.
"I want to check the hobbit's jewels, Mother!" I replied with a smile. "She said the man didn't return it even after knowing that they're fake, right? So I figured there must be something fishy going on here."
"You mean… Don't tell me—" She gasped.
"Yep!" Good job, Mom! You catch on quick!
Sherry though… she still doesn't get it, it seems…
We then did a search inside the jewelry store. Thankfully for us, we didn't have to stay long and risk being caught by the guards. We immediately found the box the hobbit had brought to be sold that contained the jewels. Thanks to its distinctive design that the hobbit had described in detail when I asked her, I was absolutely sure that this was it. But just to be sure, I opened it, and looked at its contents. Yep, the numbers and colors match. This is definitely it.
"Off to an appraiser, right?" Mother smiled.
"Correct!" I smiled back.
Oh, poor Sherry just blinked at us two, still not understanding what we're talking about.
Hehe, why ruin the surprise and tell her right away?
----
"All of these are real."
"All of them?"
"Definitely. No doubt about it. High quality too. These are worth a lot. I couldn't buy them off you even if I wanted. They're that expensive." The appraiser finished his explanation.
I exchanged looks with Mother. And we both smiled.
"S-so that Newt guy…"
"...is even more awful than we thought," I finished Sherry's sentence.
Sherry's expression slowly turned from one of confusion to one of rage. Now she understood what Mother and I were suspicious about.
Sophie Bramblewood never made a mistake. Her jewels were all legitimate.
And this Newt Benedict guy faked an outrage just so he could rob her of them.
"Unforgivable!"
Sherry stomped her right feet, sending a tremor to the entire shop.
"T-that man… that man is evil! Pure evil!"
"W-whoa, Sherry, save your anger for him, alright? Please don't destroy this poor man's shop." referring to the poor appraiser who was trembling in fear, thinking a small earthquake just happened.
Apologizing, I quickly fixed the floor that Sherry had broken with my Earth magic before leaving.
We went around doing the same with other appraisers. And all of them had the same exact opinion. After the fifth one, Mother decided it was enough evidence that the jewels were indeed real.
"It's clear what we have to do next then," Mother declared. "But before that, we should go check with your father first.
----
Marina had also told us where Father's inn was so it was easy for us to find. It was an adventurer inn, not too cheap yet not too expensive either. We talked to the innkeeper there, asking if there was anyone there staying under his name.
"And who are you exactly?" She lowered her glasses.
"I'm Renee Greenwood, his wife. And these two are our kids." She put her hands on Sherry's shoulder and mine.
"Hmph, yet another adventurer leaving his family behind…"
Umm, she might have gotten the wrong impression there… she probably thinks we're chasing after Father for leaving us behind to have his own adventures…
She then told us where his room was. "He's not in though. He left early in the morning. I suggest just waiting in his room until night."
Mother nodded and thanked her from the information. "Also, one more room please, for these two." Ah right, we can't all stay together in one room for the night after all.
This means I'll be sleeping with Sherry, just like that one time… Hoo boy… Let's just hope nothing like that happens again…
I threw a glance towards her. No complaint from her, it seemed.
No complaint from the innkeeper either. She must think we're actually siblings like Mother said. It's not odd for siblings to sleep together if they're still as young as we were after all.
The innkeeper then accompanied us to said room. Luckily for us, the room beside Father's room was empty, so we could have it for me and Sherry's room.
The room itself wasn't much. The bed was definitely softer back home but it was clean and well-kept, albeit quite small.
Once the innkeeper left, Mother turned to us with a smile. "Well, I guess we're doing it without your father after all."
"We're going after him, right?" Sherry asked with a determined look. I could tell that she would definitely just run off on her own to hunt him if Mother decided to refuse.
"I'm sure we can find where he lives if we just ask around," I chimed in. "He's a famous guy, right? Then there should be some people who know where his mansion is." I just assumed he lived in one since he's supposed to be this rich guy and all.
"Oh Hugo, do you think I don't know that? I used to be an adventurer, you know, and doing investigative work like that is part of the trade," Mother replied with an annoyed yet smiling look. "Really, you sometimes are too smart for your own good." She ruffled my hair. "But you did manage to pick up on that man's trick before any of us did. Good job on that!"
Hehe! Feel free to praise me as much as you want!
"One rule before we go though. No killing, got it? His mansion would no doubt have guards in it and they would try to stop us from getting to him. Just incapacitate them. We're going there just to scare him after all." As she said that, a smile was drawn on her face. But instead of giving me warmth, it only sent chills to my entire body. Whatever counts as "scaring him" to her, I don't wanna know. "Though if the guards actually let us in nicely, then that wouldn't be necessary."
A thought then suddenly came to my mind.
"Hey, Mother. Don't you think it would be bad for us to just barge in like that though? What if he still insists on accusing Marina and Sophie in the end? That would be bad for us in court, right?"
"Oh, don't worry," she replied, still keeping the same scary smile. "What he did to the hobbit, that's a serious crime, you know. If we bring up the matter to court tomorrow, then we would definitely win the case. And the hobbit would receive a generous amount of gold as compensation from him as well. And by 'generous', I mean enough that it stings."
"So the plan is to blackmail him then?"
"Yes. But just until Marina and Sophie are freed. Ideally, he would just retract his accusation and they would be freed without a need for a trial."
"And after that?"
"After that, we'll give the box anyways to the authorities." She smirked. "That, or return it to that poor hobbit girl. It's up to her. She's not going to get the gems back if she chooses to launch a counter accusation towards him."
Ah, that makes sense. But since when Mother is this cunning of a person?
With her explanation done, we immediately departed.
Just you wait, Newt Benedict! The Greenwood family is coming after you!