"Hold our little one, then."
The gold-haired girl pouted before, barely noticeably nodding and handing him a small bundle of jangling blankets.
"Thank you for quick thinking, Cath. Ross… sorry for what just happened. If that helps, Zane is the second scariest being in this entire world."
Leaving Zane with the bundle, Melinda walked past the stunned black-haired girl, apologizing to her as she went, and then tapped the hooded individual on the side of the shield he had strapped to the stump of his right arm.
"As for you, little one…"
And then she leaned forward and looked straight down at the little sandstone-scaled kobold trembling in the hole while covering her face with both hands.
"...why did you attack us?"
"H-hey! Why doesn't anyone explain anything to me?! I thought this was supposed to be some lesson for me!"
Melinda asked with a kind expression, hoping that it was not the worst scenario, but that expression soon soured as a certain disguised princess remembered that she was, in fact, a spoiled brat and loudly reminded others about her existence.
"Alright. Lesson one. Being the center of attention is bad in certain situations and can make people despise you. You can learn stuff by listening without having the answer delivered to you on a silver platter. Know when to close your mouth and open your ears. Like, right now. Shut up."
"!!!"
Melinda's sharp gaze was a dozen times fiercer than the look in Bjorki's eyes, and her words weren't any softer, making the disguised princess turn red and lower her head in shame.
"!"
While the gold-haired girl was scolding the disguised princess, the sandstone-scaled kobold dared to peek at her through the spaces between her fingers, and her eyes widened and sparkled.
"Sorry for that. From the start. Hello, I'm Melinda Fenrioette, and I would love to know your name. Also, the reason why you attacked us."
Melinda noticed the kobold shifting and turned back to her, shaking off the strict expression and smiling in a friendly manner.
"I… I wasn't attacking… I'm bad at stopping when I start charging…"
"Oh? In that case, why were you charging at us?"
The little kobold lowered her paws so that they only covered her mouth, and she mumbled, making the gold-haired girl perk up and ask with a cautiously hopeful expression.
"I'm Otti. I used charge because I wanted to stop you. Sean said that his dad saw you were going to Koboldia town when it's dangerous. Vish is trying out a defense system so…"
The little kobold continued to mumble apologetically, leaning to the side and only then noticing the stone rampart spell protecting the group.
"AH! It attacked you, didn't it!? Are you okay?! Is everyone okay?!"
She then gasped in realization and tried to jump up back of her feet.
"...uuuug…"
But she only managed to squirm weakly before her face scrunched in pain, and a whimper escaped her lips.
"Let me…"
"Enhanced heal."
"...!"
Melinda leaned down, about to offer Otti a helping hand, when Ross stepped up from behind and tossed a handful of leaves at the little kobold while chanting a spell.
Within moments, the green light surrounded the fallen kobold, with the leaves swirling around her, slowly drying up and crumbling into dust as all of their healing properties were being sucked out and applied to the injuries.
"Ooohhh! Thanks!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Otti patted her limbs and body, focusing mostly on her tail, before cheering out happily, smiling towards the hooded individual who smacked her down.
"If you can't stop, you shouldn't aim towards someone who isn't an enemy."
"...ah…! Uuu… Yes… I'm sorry…"
Ross pointed out, making the tip of Otti's tail curl down in embarrassment as she admitted and apologized.
"...I'll do bette… EH?!"
The little kobold fidgetted, deeply bothered about her mishap, when she happened to lay her eyes on the hooded figure's right arm, of which half was missing, and the shield strapped to the tiny part of the forearm that was left…
"Wh-what happened with your arm, Mister!? Did Otti…?! Did I hit you so hard it fell off!?"
Otti raised both hands to her face and cried out in exasperation, her tail practically wrapping around her leg in dread.
"Pffft…! Bu-hahahaha~!"
"...eh…?"
For a second or two, Ross stayed in place motionless, only to let out a snort and start laughing, utterly confusing the little kobold.
"...haaah… cute. If you train well, someday you might be able to do just that."
"!!!"
The hooded Pigkin Orc straightened his back, shaking his head to calm down, before reaching out with his left hand and patting Otti's head with a word of encouragement.
Well, with their size difference, it was more accurate to say that he patted her head, neck, and at least half of her back since she buckled down under the size and weight of his hand and slumped down, barely able to stay on her feet.
"You aren't there yet, though. Instead of apologizing, practice more so as not to repeat the mistake."
He added, stepping away from her and returning to Catherine's side, leaving the little kobold looking quite unsure how she should act.
"Wait…!"
Bjorki seemed to find something so outrageous that she actually spoke up even after Melinda's harsh words.
She wasn't looking at the little kobold but rather at the one-armed hooded individual.
Her expression suggested that she made some major breakthrough, although in what subject would remain a myste…
"One-armed… and your name is Ross… Y-you're her tamed monster!? But! But you can talk!"
In the end, Bjorki would not keep her mouth shut and shouted, pointing at Ross with accusation.
"...and…?"
The Pigkin Orc casually pulled down his hood, revealing his beastly face and pale-blue eyes, cold with indifference as he motioned at the disguised princess with his snout.
The silver buckle of the control collar was shining right under his chin, but it was more than obvious that it had no effect whatsoever.
"!!!"
Bjorki's face turned pale for a moment, only to end up green in the next one, as she began backing off so fast she ended up smacking her back against Catherine's rampart.
"Y-you're all in on this…! Y-you're all on the monsters' side! I… I got kidnapped, haven't I? You're going to use me as a hostage or… or… or an example…"
The disguised girl said while trembling, her eyes shifting from one person to the next. Even the confused kobold wasn't spared from her suspicion.