I had been freed from all restrictions, but that didn't mean I could do everything I wanted until tomorrow. Marcellus had instructed me to wait in this spot, away from the imperial soldiers' tents, until morning.
Tigar and the others were already preparing for camping, and they seemed to have their roles divided amongst themselves during the march, so I didn't have an opportunity to help them.
With nothing else to do, I leaned against the back wheel of the wagon and sat on the ground, staring aimlessly at the sky. Soon enough, the ox and the horse—no, if I remember correctly, they were called Shuu and Apao—were grazing nearby and came over to me, rubbing their heads against my side.
"Moomoo!"
"Neigh!"
"…Gagaa"
I wasn't sure why they were so amicable towards me, but I didn't mind. So, I followed Mika's example and petted their heads, carressing their fur gently.
The animals' tails began to wag happily, and I wondered what could have pleased them so much. But since they seemed to enjoy it, I decided to continue petting them affectionately.
"…?"
stare~~
While I was engrossed in stroking Shuu and Apao, I noticed some onlookers behind us peering from the back of the wagon. Although they might have thought they were being sneaky, unlike normal humans, as a being with compound eyes, I could see everything in different directions.
The onlookers were a group of children, including Leo and Kelf, who seemed to be gazing at me with envy for some reason.
"Ah?"
"Kelf!?"
Suddenly, as he leaned forward to get a better view of us, Kelf slipped and fell. Leo tried to catch him, but he missed his clothes by a hair's breadth. If nothing was done, he might hit his head on the ground.
"Gah!? Huh? Am I floating?" Kelf exclaimed;
Watching all of this, I acted reflexively. I extended my tail, which slid under the wagon, and gently wrapped it around Kelf's stomach to prevent his fall. I slowly lowered him to the ground, and the child quickly stood up, running towards me instead of returning to the wagon.
"Thanks, big brother," Kelf said, expressing his gratitude.
"…"
I lightly shook my head, indicating that there was no need to thank me. Kelf seemed like he had nothing to say, but he just stood there, staring at me. Did he have something else he wanted to say?
The ox, Shuu, grew interested in Kelf, who was still standing there. Shuu approached Kelf and began to sniff him. The child reached out tentatively and gently stroked Shuu's nose.
"Bumoo~"
"It's warm!"
When Shuu cried out in a pleasant voice, Kelf wrapped his arms around Shuu's neck with a smile. Watching this, the children couldn't resist and got off the wagon, cuddling with Shuu and Apao.
Apparently, they had been stuck on the wagon for most of the march and really wanted to interact with the two animals. They had sung together when they were in the cells, hence Shuu and Apao seemed to be very popular with the children.
Neither of the animals showed any sign of discomfort, and in fact, when Leo got carried away and climbed onto Apao's back, the latter didn't shake him off but instead neighed, inviting the other children to climb aboard. The children were thrilled and scrambled onto the animals' backs, trying to outdo each other.
"Don't make too much noise, kids."
"Oh my, they're all so energetic."
Seeing the children playing with Shuu and Apao, Tigar reproached them with a shake of his head and a wry smile. Sharl, on the other hand, laughed heartily at the children's antics. Unlike during the march, they were camping far from the other Imperial soldiers and could afford to be a little rowdy without fear of reprimand. As result, Tigar seemed to tolerate the children's joy.
As I sat sandwiched between the two playful animals, trying not to get in their way, the youngest female among the children squeezed through the gap and came to sit in front of me.
She was a member of the Kadaha squad; her name was… right, she was called Lappy.
I wondered what she wanted; perhaps she was too small to climb onto Shuu or Apao and wanted me to lift her up. I would be happy to oblige and help her join in the fun.
"Big brother~"
"?"
"Mufu~"
However, to my surprise, Lappy took an unexpected course of action. She climbed onto my lap and snuggled against me, looking up with innocent eyes and reaching out to touch my face.
Lappy fearlessly stroked my chin, perhaps enjoying the feel of it and giggling with delight. Then she reached for the small pincers on my cheeks, but being too young, she couldn't quite reach them.
"Mmm!"
Lappy grew frustrated when she couldn't reach my cheeks, so she turned around to face me and stood up on my lap, grabbing onto my small pincers with her tiny hands and pulling them towards her. I was worried that she might accidentally cut herself with the pincers, so I made sure to keep them closed around my jaws so as not to let her play too rough.
Lappy kept tugging on my pincers, then finally grabbed onto the base of them with both hands and hung on, putting all her weight on them. However, my pincers were sturdy, and Lappy was light, so it didn't bother me too much. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it when I shook the pincers a little.
"Mufufu~!"
"Hey, Lappy! Don't be rude to Big Brother!" Leo scolded her for playing with my pincers. However, although Lappy let go of the pincers, she didn't get off my lap.
Leo was about to say something else, but then some other children came over and crowded around me.
"Tail, haaard!"
"Tail, looong!"
Are children truly fearless? They poked and slapped my tail without hesitation while I slowly wagged it, and they clung onto it happily.
Leo looked at me with a troubled expression, but I shook my head to show that I wasn't bothered. He was busy taking care of the younger children and trusted me to handle them.
Nonverbal communication was possible, but speaking would have been so much better. However, with kids around me all the time, I hadn't had a chance to practice my voice lately. Finding the time seemed impossible.
As the evening approached, the children appeared worn out from all the playing and started to doze off on Shuu and Apao's backs and my tail. I held the sleeping Lappy that dozed off on my lap and carefully stood up, being mindful not to wake the children on my tail. Then, I placed each child into the wagon one by one.
The children on Shoo and Apao's backs were also taken to the back of the wagon in the same manner. When I got off the wooden platform, Tigar and Zald were waiting for me. I thought I might have done something wrong, but the two of them spoke words of gratitude instead.
"Thanks for entertaining the kids."
"They've been enduring so much; this was a good break for them."
I nodded and headed to sit by the wagon again, but Tigar and Zald stopped me. They guided me to the campfire, located in the middle of our camp. Almost all of the demon squad members were gathered there.
I sat on the cloth spread on the ground as they urged me to and stared at the crackling flames of the campfire. There was something inexplicably charming about the swaying flames and sparks that danced as the firewood crackled.
I had seen flames countless times on the battlefield, but the only thing that existed there was the merciless flames that took lives. However, the flames here were different, and I found them somehow soothing.
While we sat watching the fire, Mika arrived carrying various ingredients and some cooking utensils. Where did he get all that from? Did he steal them from somewhere, by any chance?
"That bastard Marcellus brought them over. He said, 'Have a warm meal before the mission.' Before leaving." Tigar said
"He gave us not only the food but also the pots and pans. Thank God for that…although we've never used them before." Zald said.
"We decided to leave them to someone who knows how to use them, so we asked him. You might have to do this too, so remember how it's done," Tigar added.
So that was the situation. I nodded in response to Tigar's advice. Mika, who must have overheard our conversation, deftly cut the ingredients with his knife. He put some of the ingredients in a pot over the fire, roasted them for a while, and then used his spiritual arts to add water to the pot. Then he added the remaining ingredients as well.
The soup that was made smelled delicious. Mika used a ladle to scoop the soup into bowls and distributed them to everyone with some bread. The children, who were awakened by the smell, got off the wagon and eagerly began to eat with spoons. They were quite a lively bunch.
"Here's your part."
"…"
I was the last one to receive a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. It was the first time in my life that I held my own dishware and ate with my own hands. I tore off a piece of the hard bread with my fingers and put it directly into my mouth. It tasted just like any other bread.
Next, I ate the soup with a spoon, mimicking how Tigar and the others ate. I couldn't really discern the taste, but I felt my body warming up from the inside. At the same time, my chest also felt warm.
After finishing the first meal of my life where I didn't use my small pincers, I took over the night watch position on top of the wagon. It was the highest point in the vicinity, and it provided me with the best view in all directions.
From the quiet campsite, I could only hear the sound of sleeping breaths coming from inside the tents. I thought the night would pass without incident, but someone emerged from one of the tents. Maybe they thought I hadn't noticed them since my back was turned, but my compound eyes allowed me to see behind me as well. So, even without sharpening my senses, I could see who it was.
(Mika? What are you doing here at this hour?)
Mika was the one who snuck out of the tent. He went to a spot a little away from the campsite without making a sound and began murmuring something. Intrigued, I stayed still but kept him in my field of view while enhancing my hearing to eavesdrop on what he was saying.
"My lord, "God of shadows". I was a fool who couldn't save his master, Orvo, a fool who got betrayed by his other master, Karelvo. What am I to do now? Is there any….worth in me, this inept individual, continuing to live?"
It seemed that Mika was praying to the god he believed in. If that were all he was doing, I would have probably lost interest. However, I became concerned about the despair emanating from his last words.
Could it be that Mika was looking for a place to die? Such a thought crossed my mind. If so, the dangerous infiltration mission he had volunteered for tomorrow… or was it already today? I didn't know the time, but in any case, this mission might be a roundabout way for him to commit suicide. I continued my watch with a vague sense of unease.
***********
TN: Mika…