Angel Little Sister 361

 

Chapter 361 : Staking Out

 

There was no light in the vacant lot, but thanks to the moonlight, we could see the entire place. My vegetable field was still intact when we arrived. Seems like we get here before the culprit does. This is perfect.

Feeling relieved, we headed to the playground next to the Moonlight Wolf Gang’s hideout I built on a corner of the vacant lot.

I used earth magic to make a small dome-shaped house and make panda ears on the top to blend in with the playground.

It looked like a snow igloo but was made of earth and had a cute appearance. We planned to stake out the field from here.

「Alright, this should do it. Let’s get inside.」(Mark)

「Whoaa! Mark, you’re amazing!」(Nei)

Nei was amazed. She started tapping on the wall, admiring the small building I had just built.

「With your magic, we probably don’t need carpenters to build houses anymore!」(Nei)

「Nah, that’s not true. I can only build houses out of soil, but carpenters can build them out of wood.」(Mark)

I’m not saying that the house I built with earth magic is not comfortable, but honestly, I prefer a wooden house, perhaps because I like the feeling of a wooden floor on my feet.

「It’s pretty warm here. I feel like I can live here for a while.」(Nei)

Nei entered first. She then started tapping the inner wall.

I wonder if she has a habit of checking things she has never seen before. I remember she did something similar while we were in Sadola Town.

Celine and Nicola went in, following Nei, and then I entered last.

「Nicola, tell me if you sense anything. I’m counting on you.」(Mark)

「Aye, Onii-chan~」(Nicola)

We could see the field, but the area surrounding this place was dark. We won’t be able to notice when the culprit is approaching by just relying on our eyes. It’s a good thing we have Nicola here.

After she replied to me with a thumbs-up, she sent me a telepathic message.

『Good job, Onii-chan! You really know what you’re doing!』(Nicola)

『Huh? What do you mean?』(Mark)

『I mean, this narrow space is nice! I can smell Celine’s and Nei-chan’s scent clearly!』(Nicola)

『Oi… I didn’t make this igloo house so that you can sniff…』(Mark)

This earthen igloo house was small and barely had enough space for the four of us, and… It’s a bit hot here.

Well, Nicola seems to be in a good mood thanks to that. I hope she will be able to do her job well.

「So, Mark, who do you think the culprit is?」(Celine)

「I completely have no idea. It might be a monster, but… I doubt the guards would let monsters get into this town.」(Mark)

「Maybe a flying one?」(Celine)

「Hmm… That’s possible.」(Mark)

What Celine said might be true, but I didn’t find any monster feathers on the field. ーNo, wait. They might be flying monsters that don’t have feathers like bats or something.

「But, Mark, you said the culprit might have a grudge against you or Gill oji-san, right? I think it’s one of the townspeople.」(Nei)

Nei made such a guess while resting her chin on her hand.

「Yeah, I said that, but I’m not sure. I would feel terrible if anyone in this town hated me or Gill oji-san, but… Well, we’ll find out soon.」(Mark)

「You’re right. I might sound weird, but it’s kinda exciting! I feel like a kingdom’s secret agent on a spying mission!」(Nei)

「Hey, remember, we didn’t come to play.」(Mark)

「I know, I know.」(Nei)

「Fufu. We didn’t, but I understand Nei’s feelings. It reminds me of some past missions. I’m kinda excited too~」(Celine)

「Right~?」(Nei)

Seeing Nei groaning with her arms crossed, Celine grinned cheerfully. I was surprised that Celine was enjoying this type of mission.

As for me, rather than excitement, I felt anxiety and fear of facing the culprit. I’m hoping that the culprit is not someone I know.

「Alright. Are you guys ready? I’m going to hide our presence. Make sure you touch my body.」(Mark)

We don’t know the culprit. They might be someone who can use Detection Magic or have a similar Gift to Nicola’s Spatial Awareness, so it’s better to hide our presence.

I have a stealth ability that I got after defeating Lumon, the leader of the bandits who tried to kidnap us on our way to the capital. (chap 300)

Lumon was a Gifted Person who had the Gift called ‘Stealth’ that allowed him to hide his presence. I ‘stole’ this Gift from him when I used Mana Drain after I defeated him.

Actually, this Gift not only allows me to hide my presence, but other people’s presence as well. However, they have to touch me when I activate this Gift.

After I gave the signal, Nicola, Celine, and Nei nodded and put their hands on my body.

Nicola and Celine put their hands on my shoulders, but… Nei put hers on my hand and held it tightly.

「Umm… Nei?」(Mark)

「Yes?」(Nei)

「I want to keep my hands free just in case, so can you touch my back instead?」(Mark)

「Eh? Aa! Yーyou should have said that earlier!」(Nei)

For some reason, she panickedly let go of my hand and slapped my back as if she was trying to hide her shyness.

She’s a cheerful and confident girl, but I just learned that she can be shy sometimes.

「Ouch! Ugh, I’m sorry… Well then, I’m doing it now… ‘Stealth’ activated.」(Mark)

This ability is so powerful that even Nicola couldn’t detect Lumon’s presence when we were trying to capture him back then. I’m sure the culprit won’t notice us.

「Whoaa… I feel like my body’s gotten cold and lost a lot of weight. It feels so strange…」(Nei)

「I know, right?」(Mark)

Nei, who felt her presence ‘being hidden’ for the first time, looked a bit confused. She started touching her face and body with her other hand.

「Does it mean that no one can notice us now?」(Nei)

「Yeah, but this Gift only erases our presence, so people can still see us. It doesn’t make us invisible after all.」(Mark)

「I see. But that’s more than enough. When the culprit comes, I will sneak up on them and attack them from behind! I’m going to beat them to a pulp and make sure they won’t come back! You can count on me!」(Nei)

Saying that, Nei clenched her fist.

Her hand felt soft when she held my hand earlier, but it could become as hard as steel when she turned it into a fist. She is a dwarf, after all.

I appreciate her enthusiasm, but…

「Umm… Nei, first, I’ll do something about the culprit with magic. If that doesn’t work, I might ask you for help, but please don’t hurt them too much. We just need to catch them.」(Mark)

「Huh? What are you talking about? In Sadola Town, we punish thieves severely, you know? First, we beat them to a pulp and force them to work in the mine without being paid for at least three months before we turn them to the knights.」(Nei)

「Re… Really…? I think that’s a bit too much…」(Mark)

「No, no. Mark, you’re too soft. Criminals should be punished severely!」(Nei)

「Uhh, I agree with that, but… Anyway, can you tell us more about Sadola Town? We can have some fun conversations while waiting for the culprit.」(Mark)

「Oh, I’m interested too~ I’ve been in Sadola Town a few times, but I barely know about that town.」(Celine)

「I want to hear it too!」(Nicola)

「Of course! Never thought you guys would be interested in my hometown so much. Hmm, where should I start… Oh, right! Do you know that there’s a fighting arena on the outskirts of the town?」(Nei)

「A fighting arena?」(Mark)

「Yup! Some of the people who live in Sadola are dwarves, and we dwarves love fighting! We hold a fighting contest once in a while. Other than that, we also have entertainment such asーー」(Nei)

We were listening to Nei’s story while keeping an eye on the vegetable field through the small entrance of this earthen igloo.

It made me want to visit Sadola Town again someday. When that time comes, I will also visit Secard Village on the way.

I wonder if Sanmina and the others are doing well there. I told her I would stop by on our way home from Sadola Town, but we ended up being teleported to Schultria Village after the incident.

After listening to Nei for a while, suddenly, Nicola changed her expression. She frowned and looked confused for some reason.

「Nicola, what’s wrong? Do you sense anything?」(Mark)

「U, un… I detect a powerful presence.」(Nicola)

「Powerful presence?」(Mark)

Does that mean that the culprit is a powerful enemy?

「But… This is weird…」(Nicola)

「What do you mean?」(Mark)

「It’s approaching from underground.」(Nicola)

「Underground?」(Mark)

「Wait, how can we beat someone that’s not on the ground!?」(Nei)

「Nicola-chan, is it a mole-type monster or something?」(Celine)

「No, I don’t think it’s a monster… It’s… Something different…」(Nicola)

「I see. Anyway, Mark, Nei, we should be ready to ‘welcome’ them.」(Celine)

Nei and I replied to Celine with a nod and kept our eyes peeled.

Not long after Nicola reported to us, we felt a vibration on the ground.

Certainly, something is moving underground, and it’s heading toward the surface.

ーBrrrrrrrRRRRRRRR! CRACK!!

What came out of the ground was tree branches… Moving tree branches, to be exact.

They sprouted out from the ground and grew bigger and bigger. They then started intertwining with each other and gradually formed the shape of a… person.

「No way…」(Celine)

Celine was flabbergasted. She bent her body forward and looked at that ‘thing’ in awe.

「Celine, you know what it is?」(Mark)

「Yeah… It’s probably a… Dryad…」(Celine)

 

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