Chapter 118
－POV: The Child Born to Core and Chai－
I race through the forest with Mother and Father, taking down prey.
I still can't do it alone, but my siblings and I can now take down a Killer Bobo.
Killer Bobos are strong prey, even in the forest.
My goal is to be able to take one down alone.
Mother and Father... Yes, watching them take something down in an instant feels good too, doesn't it?
My goal is to surpass Father!
Mother will be next, after Father!
I'll keep working hard.
When we carry prey back to our home, the golems immediately butcher it for us.
They work incredibly fast, so it's done in no time.
...Amazing.
Since eating it as-is is perfectly fine, we eat the smaller prey we hunt for lunch and such.
Honestly... the taste is so different that I almost wish the golems would come hunting with us.
It's delicious, though.
My siblings who were born at the same time seem to agree.
That's why I really look forward to meals at home.
It seems Master-sama is here today.
A remarkable person whom Mother and Father respect beyond measure.
Master-sama is human, right?
Yet can someone respected by Fluffy-san, Flying Lizard-san, and Marshmallow-san really be human?
The children of the other species wonder about that too.
I asked Father once.
Big Boss-san was there too, but apparently neither Father nor Big Boss-san seemed to know.
Master-sama's magical power is mysterious.
We children still can't properly distinguish magical power.
All we can do is compare magical power to determine whether it belongs to the same species or a different one.
But Master-sama's magical power is different from every kind of magical power in this home.
I thought it was because Master-sama was human, but apparently that's not it.
Mother told me that Master-sama's magical power is a mixture of all sorts of things.
We can detect human magical power in Master-sama.
But if we search for other species' magical power, apparently we find that in Master-sama too.
So although Master-sama looks human, Master-sama's species is unknown.
I wondered if that was really possible.
But from the way Mother, the Forest Kings, Shuri-san, and the others act, they don't seem to care much.
They seem to respect Master-sama simply because Master-sama is Master-sama.
Come to think of it, we don't care what species Master-sama is either.
We simply see Master-sama as an amazing person.
Mother and the dragons are about to train.
Not just them—Big Boss-san is gathering in the clearing too, brimming with enthusiasm.
Huh? What is it?
Oh, Master-sama stopped working after lunch today to watch us.
But Mother, that is still far too soon for us.
We'll be okay if we really run?
No, that's not the issue.
Big Boss-san, if that hits us, we'll die!
Run away?
Attack us so we can't escape, then tell us to run? Are you a demon?!
Thank goodness Father stopped her.
I swore never to train with Mother, so why is she in the clearing?
...
I run through the forest.
I take it in with my whole body.
The attack on the World Tree a few days ago.
When the World Tree put down roots in our home, the dragons taught us how important it was.
So when I saw it suffering right in front of me, my whole body shook at the thought that it might die.
I still tremble when I think about it.
Even huddling with my siblings, I couldn't remain standing; I sat down and trembled.
Mother and the others looked composed, but their faces were stiff, and it was painfully clear that something abnormal was happening.
When Master-sama came running, I felt relieved, but the thought of even Master-sama... left my mind in a jumble.
I was about to cry—or rather, I was crying.
Even in that abnormal situation, Master-sama calmly looked around at us and nodded to reassure us.
After that, Master-sama won overwhelmingly with defense, attacks, and intimidation.
We could only stare in stunned silence at the sheer amount of magical power and speed.
And then, for the first time, I felt anger in Master-sama's magical power.
It wasn't directed at me, but I found it terrifying.
Thinking that it was directed at someone... But they were enemies... Enemies? Then that's fine.
The anger and intimidation vanished in an instant.
Master-sama immediately returned to normal.
It seems even the attack just now had little effect on Master-sama.
That night, Mother told me that even the combined magical power of all the Forest Kings couldn't match Master-sama's.
I see... Amazing.
When just us children gathered together, we agreed to follow Master-sama wherever they went.
We also vowed to work hard from then on and grow stronger and stronger.
I don't know where Mother heard us talking, but our training became even harsher.
Mother, please show us a little kindness!