Welcome to Hell! - Chapter 268: Woodsorrel’s Circumstances

“Is this an illusion…?”

“No, you’re wrong. This is a transformation technique, a secret art known among the demon fox race.”

Having transformed into a human-like form, Woodsorrel was now speaking with her own voice, not through telepathy. It seemed like she wasn’t just disguising her appearance with an illusion spiritual art; she had physically changed her body’s structure.

Seeing me frozen in shock, Woodsorrel chuckled mischievously like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank. Though she now appeared to be in her late teens, similar in age to Chris… on the inside, she might be closer to Leo or Magna.

“Wa-Wait a minute!”

“Ueeh?!”

Woodsorrel, who had been laughing, was suddenly hit in the face by something. It wasn’t a piece of cloth…. but clothing that was thrown by Chris whose face was now beet red. The reason for this was probably because Woodsorrel was completely naked.

According to the values of the human species, it was embarrassing to be seen naked, and it seemed that it wasn’t something that should be shown lightly to the opposite sex, even to one’s own comrades. While I knew this as a fact and had adopted the custom of wearing clothes myself, Woodsorrel hadn’t considered it which wasn’t surprising.

However, Woodsorrel seemed to be aware of clothing. And she slipped her arms into the sleeves of the clothes handed to her by Chris with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

Chris had thrown a coat intended for the larger members of the former republic’s demon soldiers. When Woodsorrel wore it, it looked like a connected top and bottom outfit on her, except the sleeves were far too long and hung loose, greatly exceeding her arms’ length. Woodsorrel began playfully twirling the excessively long sleeves with her hands.

“So… she’s the one in question?”

“Yes. I never knew she could transform into a Furu race member, but she’s definitely an acquaintance of mine.”

Chris watched Woodsorrel, who was innocently playing, with a complicated expression. She didn’t seem to know whether to trust her or not. This uncertainty seemed to extend to Woodsorrel’s comrades as well. They exchanged glances while occasionally sneaking peeks in our direction.

As I pondered how to bridge the gap between us, Lappy, yawning and apparently having fallen asleep during her studies, walked toward us. Her steps were unsteady as she approached me, but then she seemed to notice Woodsorrel. With a sleepy tilt of her head and rubbing of her eyes, Lappy made her way to Woodsorrel.

“Hmm… who are you?”

“I’m Woodsorrel, from the demon fox race! And who might you be?”

“Lappy is Lappy. Eiiy!”

After she introduced herself, Lappy made an attempt to grasp the wildly swinging sleeves that Woodsorrel was wearing. Despite Woodsorrel’s quick efforts to flick the sleeves away, Lappy, with her superior dynamic vision, effortlessly caught the tip of one.

“Hmm, not bad! But I won’t lose!”

“Hmm. Play together.”

Perhaps irked by being caught, Woodsorrel became determined, moving the sleeves in all directions, trying to outmaneuver Lappy. Yet, Lappy easily managed to catch them again, leading to a playful battle between Woodsorrel’s attempts to keep her sleeves free and Lappy’s determination to catch them.

Though Woodsorrel appeared older, the two began playing as if they had been friends for a long time. Watching them made any sense of mutual caution seem utterly ridiculous. Handing my twin swords to Chris for safekeeping, I approached Woodsorrel’s companions.

“I’m Antares. I met Woodsorrel about eight years ago. Do any of you know about her from that time?”

“…Yeah, I know about that, mister.”

When I inquired amongst Woodsorrel’s companions, one of the monkeys raised its hand and spoke up. Surprised that it used its voice rather than telepathy, I kneeled down to meet its gaze.

“Have you heard what happened?”

“I know that she was taken out of the forest. I don’t know the details, but it seems it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

“That’s when I met her before I became like this. Now, discussing this at the edge of the camp might not be comfortable. Please, come this way.”

“Alright, we’ll follow. Let’s go.”

Following the monkey’s lead, Woodsorrel’s companions cautiously entered the camp, where it became apparent that the monkey was the group’s deputy leader. While Woodsorrel was occupied playing with Lappy, I decided to gather more information from them.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

While Woodsorrel and Lappy continued their playful tussle, I led the monkey and the others to a different table. Chris, having stowed my twin swords somewhere, brought over a wooden goblet filled with water and placed it before the monkeys. For the bears and wildcats, she offered bowls of water, perhaps typically used for soup.

A goblet was also presented to me, and after thanking Chris, I drank from it. The water likely conjured through Chris’s spiritual arts, was refreshingly cool with a hint of sweetness. It must have been infused with the juice of citrus fruits found in the forest.

In its original state, the fruit was too sour to be consumed directly, but when its juice was diluted with water, it transformed into a refreshing fruit water. This fruit water has just the right concentration for me because Chris was used to brewing it. Perhaps I had grown too accustomed to relying on Chris.

“Ah, that’s delicious. What’s in it?”

“It’s made from these red fruits.”

“What? Those incredibly sour ones? No one eats those… I had no idea they could be used like this.”

The monkey, seemingly impressed, closely examined the contents of the goblet before gulping it down. The delicious taste was certainly a factor, but more than that, the monkey was probably thirsty from running all the way here. Indeed, Woodsorrel’s other companions were also eagerly drinking the fruit water as if competing with one another.

Seeing the monkey look sadly into the empty goblet, Chris smiled gently, crushed a red fruit in her hand to release the juice, and then filled the goblet using water spiritual arts. She then skillfully stirred the water to mix in the juice. It seemed to be an application of the technique she learned while serving Liselotte.

“Much appreciated. Aaaah, that hits the spot. You know, there are always a few kids who sneak out of their territory and just don’t come back. It seems that those with the talent to evade watchful eyes just can’t help their curiosity.”

“So, Woodsorrel was one of those with a strong, curious spirit. She mentioned going out to play…”

“Going out with such a light-hearted attitude, most kids don’t make it back. That’s why she’s one of the few who did return.”

Among the demon fox race, Woodsorrel was still just a child no matter how exceptional she was. She would stand no chance against the fierce creatures outside, not to mention the numerous and cunning humans. Indeed, Woodsorrel herself had mentioned being drugged and waking up to find a collar around her neck, a fate many demon fox children likely faced when captured by humans.

In Woodsorrel’s case, she was fortunate to have the collar destroyed and be freed as a result of a secret pact with me, allowing her to safely return home. But that’s probably an exception among exceptions. She wasn’t conceited to say otherwise; she seemed really lucky to have met me.

“I’ve come to understand a bit about Woodsorrel’s situation. So… you’re not here to deliver a decision, are you?”

“That’s right. We rushed out as soon as we heard mister’s message. We tried to stop her, but she was already here by the time we caught up.”

“…. That must be tough, huh?”

“…. It’s nice to know you understand.”

The monkey agreed with a tiered expression on his face. The monkey was probably used to being led on wild chases by the free-spirited Woodsorrel. Not just me, but even Chris, who was sitting beside me, seemed to sympathize as well and silently refilled our goblets with more fruit water without a word.

“So, what will you do now? Aren’t you in trouble for leaving your post without permission?”

“That’s the problem. We need to bring big sister back, but…”

The monkey hesitated to continue as its gaze fell on Woodsorrel, who was playing around with Lappy. Perhaps it was reluctant to dampen the spirits of someone who played so innocently. It seemed that Woodsorrel was well-loved by her subordinates.

It appeared that I was destined to play the role of the villain. Rising from my chair, I approached and caught hold of the back collar of Woodsorrel as she attempted to escape from Lappy and successfully captured her.

“Ugh?! What are you doing!”

“Maybe it’s time to go home? You came here on your own, didn’t you?”

“I’d like to say it’s fine… but you’re right. If we stay too long, there’ll be trouble. Lappy! Let’s call it a draw for now!”

“Hmm. We’ll settle this the next time we meet.”

In the brief time they had spent together, the two had seemingly come to respect each other as worthy rivals and exchanged a firm handshake. It’s probably a good thing that they became friends.

As I released Woodsorrel from my grasp and let her stand on the ground, she did not dispel her transformation art and instead lightly leaped onto the bear’s back. It seemed she was tired from having run all the way here and then playing with Lappy. She lay face down on the bear’s back, completely exhausted.

“Well then, I’ll be heading back for now. I’ll report that you were an acquaintance of mine after all. I suppose that might even get you a pass?”

“That would be helpful.”

“Oh, and… I haven’t forgotten the promise to bear you a child. Let’s go!”

With those parting words, Woodsorrel tapped the bear’s back to signal their departure. Ah, that’s right, she said something like that the last time we parted. I had forgotten about it, thinking it was impossible.

As I was recalling this, I felt a prosthetic hand placed on my shoulder. Since it was a prosthetic hand, it had to be Chris… but the hand was gripping my shoulder so tightly that it creaked as if it was about to tear off my flesh.

“What are you doing, Chris? That’s quite painful…”

“What did she mean by ‘bearing a child’? You’ll explain it to me, won’t you?”

I turned around to protest the pain in my shoulder, but my voice of complaint faded away. The reason being… I felt intimidated by Chris, who was standing there when I turned around.

Chris seemed to be smiling broadly. However, her eyes were not smiling at all. At that moment, Chris felt more terrifying than even the descendant of god. I found myself explaining the meaning behind Woodsorrel’s words, almost as if I was making an excuse.